To me, this book is all about the characters. I enjoyed reading their thoughts and watching their interactions. We will definitely get this book for the library--people are already waiting to read it!

This was one of my favorite books of 2016. Ms. Black did not disappoint me with this book. The twists and turns in the book make you read the book faster just to find out what will happen. This book is a must read if you enjoy psychological thrillers and suspense, this book has both.

4.5 stars

Lisa Black’s second installment in her Gardiner and Renner series is every bit as good as her initial one. I loved That Darkness, and Unpunished is a great addition to the series. Maggie Gardiner, a forensic expert, and Jack Renner, a homicide detective, are thrown together again when a series of bizarre murders occur at the Cleveland Herald. The two work to solve the murders while Maggie also struggles to come to terms with her knowledge that Jack operates as a hero vigilante ridding the city of criminals that have eluded punishment for their crimes. The two have reached an uneasy truce that is constantly threatened by a variety of outside factors.

The mystery in Unpunished was highly entertaining to me and is very relevant to today’s world. The Cleveland Herald is struggling to stay afloat as newspapers are dying a slow death. Black spent countless hours immersing herself in the newspaper business even touring one to accurately depict the ins and outs of that industry and the difficulties currently facing the newspaper world. She manages to relay very detailed information in an engaging and interesting manner so I learned a lot without feeling like it was hard to wade through the story. Black also addresses the age old issue created by new inventions - the loss of jobs (sometimes entire professions) in certain fields, but the creation of entirely new fields and jobs that are created as a result. I found her reminder helpful as I was bemoaning the projected loss of printed newspapers as I read Unpunished.

I really enjoyed reading this book and love the originality of the series. Thanks to Kensington and NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was torn between thumbs up for intriguing characters and thumbs down for dressing up a lecture on the sad demise of the printed daily news vs the growing dependence on the internet for daily info as a murder mystery. There was an essay on newspapers (how they work, how they are written, who does what, why they are dying out, etc, etc) every few pages. What started out as a gruesome murder mystery devolved painfully and slowly into a diatribe about the death of newsprint. I guessed fairly quickly the murderer's identity but not the motive. When that was explained, it felt forced and throw away, as if the author was done lecturing me and now just wanted the story to end. I finished this book, but will never read it again and will not recommend it to my friends.