01/30/18
#Perish #NetGalley
Unfortunately this is the most boring book I’ve ever read! It might be a great book if you want to learn about the financial crisis in the money market in 2008. That however is not what I am looking for in a mystery book. It got so boring that I advanced several pages ahead just to get into the mystery part. Unfortunately that was almost as bad since it was the money people who were getting killed so it wasn’t really that hard to look for the perpetrators among all the people who had lost their houses. At the end it’s like the author just picked a name out of a hat and that was that. No explanation how the killer managed to leave no trace other than a tyvek suit or what happened to enrage him so intensely that he eviscerated the victims. On the sideline is a vague story about one cop who supposedly is a serial killer but no ending or explanation. I would not recommend this book to anyone.

Jack and Maggie have settled in to a somewhat shaky truce. He may have a rather unorthodox hobby, but he does work well with Maggie and his partner. I like to think of them as CSI meets Dexter.

There were suspects coming out of the woodwork here and all had different reasons for wanting to get rid of the boss. There were so many unlikable characters in this book that I was actually cheering for the serial killer cop!

The story revolves around Sterling, and we get more than a few lessons on finances and shady mortgage lenders and what is legal is not always ethical, and as much as I love a good Lisa Black novel, about half of that could be taken out. It detracted from the story and I found myself skimming over it and I don't like to do that.

The motive and the killer were both a shocker in the end and we can only hope there will be another Jack and Maggie book!

Netgalley/Kensington  January 30.2018

Never trust healthy food? Maggie & Jack's relationship is still strained since their last case, how do they work together and just pretend that Jack has a strange after hours hobby? They have a new case and they will just have to get on to get justice for the victim. The victim Joanna Moorehouse wasn't the nicest person she was skimming money from her firm and she was doing barely legal stuff but who wanted her that dead? And how did the killer leave no evidence behind but how? The more that Maggie figures out about the victim the worse things seem, now that someone else has been killed in the same manner and they also had something to do with Joanna what ties them together? And now Rick the ex is digging into same cases that involve her buddy Jack should they both be worried? Even though she doesn't agree with Jack and his methods she is just as guilty as him.
Now there has been a third murder but who is killing these women the links that tie them together is weak at best but will they find the killer before he comes for Maggie? Will everything make sense in the end and will Maggie & Jack be able to repair the friendship? Another great book love these two and Riley is well just himself he adds something more to the series. I was lucky enough to receive a copy via Netgalley & the publishing house in exchange for my honest review.

I like this author and was glad to see the characters of Maggie and Jack back. I have mixed feelings about this book though overall I liked it. The mystery part was good with lots of suspects and a surprising twist at the end. It's always interesting to me to hear about Maggie's work - something not often seen in books. The downfall of this book - to me - was the neverending details about banking, mortgages, and crooked lenders. A little of this description goes a long way - - but here, I learned more about these subjects than I wanted to know. I think many readers might give up on the snoozefest aspects of the book and that would be a shame because the underlying mystery is good.

This was not my favorite Lisa Black book. There was way to much information about banking and financial dealings. I found my self skipping pages just to get away from the detailed info

Maggie and Jack are back with their unlikely truce. This time searching for a murderer of three women from the same company. Lots of mortgage talk which made my eyes glaze over a bit and quite often. I really like how Maggie and Jack’s uneasy relationship is progressing. Well written with a mystery that will keep you scratching your head. I look forward to more Gardiner & Renner mysteries!

** ARC provided my NetGalley for an honest review

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity tor preview Perish by Lisa Black.
This is a crime thriller and also a detective series. I did not read any of Black's previous novels. I think those that follow this series will like it - it is a police procedural and crime thriller.
Good read - starts with a murder of a young woman and ends with a bit of a cliff hanger. If you like this genre, it is well written.

While I typically love Lisa Black stories, this one was a little tougher.

First, let me say it's a well written story with a good plot and the characters are favorites of mine.
The downside is it's a little too detail heavy on the financial spectrum and the story gets lost at times. I something paged through bits of info simply because it was dragging on.

4 and 1 / 2 stars

Forensic expert and photographer Maggie Gardiner is called to photograph the scene of a horrific murder. The victim was Joanna Moorehouse. She lived in a palatial home in Cleveland alone. The home was bare of even the minimum of “homey” touches. Joanna was the founder of Sterling Financial. Her partner for this case is the sometimes brutal homicide detective Jack Renner.

Sterling Financial is a loan originator that specializes in sub-prime loans. They were involved in tricking unsuspecting senior citizens, immigrants and the poor into signing up for adjustable rate mortgages without benefit of explaining just what they were in for in a fluctuating market.

Apparently, Sterling Financial was discussing a merger with another company at the time of Joanna’s murder. Her boyfriend Jeremy Mearan pooh-poohed the significance of the interference of a regulatory commission into the proceedings. Was the murderer the boyfriend? One of her associates at the firm? Or someone else altogether?

With such a cutthroat business, detectives Renner and his partner Riley decide to interview the co-workers first. Picketing at the business is another potential suspect, so they interview him as well. After interviewing everyone, including the Federal Reserve representative, Riley and Renner had to conclude that they had nothing at all on why or who might have killed Joanna,

Tyra Simmons, the in-house attorney for Sterling Financial is murdered next and in the same manner as Joanna Moorehouse. While investigating Joanna, they learn that she had a somewhat questionable past. Joanna’s sister Jessica shows up at the house while the detectives are there and proceeds to announce that the home is hers and doesn’t seem all that upset at the loss of her sister.

Suddenly, one of the protestors, Kurt Resnick, comes and confesses to Joanna’s murder. He claims that Joanna killed his wife. The wife committed suicide. The two women have nothing in common. Who would want to kill them both? Again, the murderer left no clues behind.

The detectives learn that the default rate of the loans is much higher than reported to the company that is interested in buying Sterling. They decide to question the man who works at the rating agency. They wonder if he is getting kickbacks or something.

The Federal regulator who was working at Sterling, Anna Hernandez is the third woman to die in the same horrible manner as the previous two. Jeremy Mearan again found the body. He was taking a copy of the manual used to train new employees to her. It is a truly explosive document. He says Joanna wrote it. Is this why the three women were killed? Because of the training manual? Three dead women in three days, and the police are at a loss. They have plenty of suspects, but no evidence.

Through good police work, the killer finally emerges. It was a surprise, but his twisted reason for the killings made a sort of sense – sort of.


Ms. Black gives a very good accounting of the mortgage banking collapse and the whole situation behind it. I worked for one of the very big companies for several years before the collapse, and Ms. Black in right on with her descriptions. I couldn’t have described it better myself. This book is very well written and plotted. The suspense begins immediately in this novel, and continues throughout the book. It describes the sometimes tedious process of a police investigation succinctly. I truly enjoy the Gardiner/Renner novels and will continue to read them for as long as Ms. Black continues to write them.

I want to thank NetGalley and Kensington for forwarding to me a copy of this great book to read and enjoy.

Forensic specialist Maggie Gardiner is called to process the scene at the murder of the founder of Sterling Financial, Joanna Moorehouse. Also at the scene is Homicide Detective Jack Renner. Joanna has been brutally murdered. There are no clues at the scene and no obvious motive. Joanna is a powerful figure in the mortgage business and not very well liked.

Maggie and Jack have a history. They have a deadly secret that if found out could cost them their jobs and maybe their lives. This book has a lot of technical detail about the mortgage and high finance industry and how it works. It is obvious the author did her research. The ending was a surprise to me , I didn’t see it coming. This book is part of a series and could be read on its own, but I would suggest the books be read in order. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

Maggie Gardiner, Forensic expert, and Jack Renner, Homicide Detective each have a deep dark secret that no one knows except each other. These secrets, if uncovered, could cost each of them their jobs or their very lives.

This is the 3rd of a series. While this one does well as a stand alone, I would highly recommend starting with THAT DARKNESS and then UNPUNISHED. There are spoilers in this book that would damage the reading pleasure of this wonderful series.

Maggie is called to process the murder scene of the founder of Sterling Financial. Joann Moorehouse was brutally murdered. There were no clues, no DNA, no motive ....

Until the detectives start looking into the victim's background. Not very well liked at work, there are multiple suspects ... and as they say ... everyone lies.

Maggie and Jack know that the killings have only started ... more bodies will fall.

The author certainly did her research in this one. I now know more about loans and mortgages and high finance than I ever knew before. Money is the root of all evil ..is this the motive for these killings?

As always with this author, the book is well-written with stand-out characters. Secondary characters such as Jack's partner, Riley, and Maggie's ex-husband, Rick, also a homicide detective lend credibility to the story. The suspense drew me in starting with the first page and the unexpected ending left me totally surprised.

I am looking forward to the next chapter of their lives in SUFFER THE CHILDREN, due to be published August 2018.

Many thanks to the author / Kensington Books / Netgalley for the advanced digital copy. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Maggie Gardiner, an expert in all things forensic, teams up with her colleague, detective Jack Renner to solve the case of a woman found butchered to death in a mansion outside Cleveland. Joanna Moorehouse was the founder of Sterling Financial Company, and it would appear there are plenty of people who would like to see her dead. As Maggie and Jack try to find out what’s happening at Sterling, Maggie learns some disturbing things about her partner. Black doesn’t mince words, her characters and her story lines are needle sharp