Thank you Netgalley for an early copy of No Bad Deed for an honest review.
I liked the premise initially , but them it became so convoluted and confusing I just didn't enjoy it all. I am sorry

No Bad Deed by Heather Chavez is her debut book. If this is how her future novels will be, I can’t wait to read them! Cassie is a veterinarian, married with two kids. One night she is on her way home from work, late again, and sees a man and woman on the side of the road. They are in the middle of nowhere. The man is beating the woman. Cassie pulls over and calls 911. However, due to events in her past, she feels like she needs to do more. She gets out of the car and tries to stop the man. This sets off a horrible chain of events that put Cassie her family in grave danger. I thought I had an idea how this story would play out, but I was totally wrong. This is a very original plot, in my opinion. I especially enjoy stories where an average person is thrown into crazy circumstances and has to fight to come out the other side. Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for the advance copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

"Driving home one rainy night, Cassie Larkin sees a man and woman fighting on the side of the road. After calling 911, the veterinarian makes a split-second decision that will throw her sedate suburban life into chaos. Against all reason and advice, she gets out of her minivan and chases after the violent man, trying to help his victim. When Cassie physically tries to stop him, he suddenly turns on her and spits out an ominous threat: “Let her die, and I’ll let you live.”

Just reading the above paragraph I was completely bowled over and dying to read the book. So thrilled that I received an ARC.

The story was gripping from the very beginning and I was fully hooked! The book is compelling and keeps you guessing because nothing is as it seems. All my guesses were wrong and I loved that about the book. Now that is a great thriller for me. The twists had me twisted, yes that's how good it was! And that last twist.. woah! Did not see that coming!

This is a fast paced, action packed thriller which I definitely recommend.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for sending me a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

NO BAD DEED by Heather Chavez is an action packed thriller. The story mainly takes place in Santa Rosa, California. The protagonist, Cassie Larkin is on her way home from work when she sees a man and woman fighting on the side of the road. After calling 911, Cassie decides to try to help the woman. The attacker takes off in Cassie’s vehicle with her purse so he now knows who she is and where she lives. This leads to a very twisted and suspenseful few days for Cassie and her family and friends.

Cassie is definitely a compelling character that a reader can root for. She had very distinct flaws and virtues. But her goals were clear and her motivations seemed believable, with well-drawn and appropriate emotions. The secondary characters were less developed but still enhanced the story. There are several themes explored in the book including family, friendship, murder, child abuse, marriage fidelity, domestic violence and much more.
The prose was well-written, engrossing, absorbing, and vividly descriptive. The plot was suspenseful, clever, shocking, intense and riveting. The ending was dramatic and made me pause, reflect, and contemplate
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Overall, I was drawn into the book with the first paragraph and I was fully engaged in this tangled crime thriller.
This was a fantastic debut novel by an author I hope releases another book soon. If you like thrillers with lots of twists, turns and action, you may enjoy this book as much as I did.

Thanks to HarperCollins Publishers – William Morrow and Heather Chavez for an ARC of this novel via NetGalley and the opportunity to provide an honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way.

Oh, the things that can go wrong when you stop by the side of the road to help a stranger! NO BAD DEED opens with that compelling moment--and gets darker and richer from then on. Suspenseful and surprising.

This was a fast paced thriller. Kept me turning the pages but I thought there were too many characters which made it confusing. Also, the ending was pretty unbelievable, the way everything was connected.

When veterinarian Cassie Larkin heads home after a long day at her clinic, she passes a vicious assault against a woman on the side of the road. After she calls 911, she tries to protect the already injured woman by fighting the man. He speaks to her but she does not understand his comments. Then he breaks away and steals her car with her keys and ID inside. Later on this long evening, she identifies him as Carver Sweet, a violent criminal with past offenses against women.

The next night is Halloween and Cassie’s husband Sam takes their young daughter trick or treating. He disappears leaving the little girl to be rescued by neighbors. Cassie worries that Carver may be involved. Not totally trusting the police, she now tries to protect her daughter and teenage son while searching for Sam. What follows is one of the twistiest domestic thrillers I have read. False clues, things not as they first seem, odd characters, chases, and a plot that careens to a wild ending make No Bad Deed absolutely unputdownable!

No Bad Deed is Heather Chavez’ debut novel and, wow, what a debut it is! Somehow she manages to make things that don’t seem possible in a real life situation not only real but completely engrossing. I can’t wait to see what her talent turns out next. A definite 5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley, Harper Collins Publishers and Heather Chavez for this ARC.

No Bad Deed Book Review by Heather Chavez

In this debut novel Chavez pulled the readers page after page as if this was her tenth novel. From the first page you are hooked and not lot let go for a while. Veterinarian Cassie Larkin’s life changed one night when driving home she witnessed a domestic dispute between a man and a woman. Trained to heal, she decides to help and intervene. Soon this encounter will turn her world upside down and will lead her to a series of unfortunate events that uncovers truths and lies hidden in plain sight.

The good: The book’s premise had me hooked immediately. I enjoy domestic thrillers and a good chase. This is where the author kept my interest. Her characters did not have much depth to them but you soon learn that this is a plot driven story and there is a lot of plot to take in. We read the story in the eyes of Cassie in first person. We get to see her anguish and her worries as everything is unraveled and she starts losing control of the situation. As a reader I can really appreciate it when authors do this. We are put into the protagonists shoes and experience all the feelings as she’s taking in everything. Early on, we get a glimpse that there are flaws in her marriage and that’s where the story takes you into a world of never ending secrets and action, lots of it. Towards the end the book takes a really dark turn that I had to put the book down because the scene was giving me reader’s anxiety (this is a good thing!).The book never lets go of your attention until about 65% into the book; an this is where the author not only lost me, but made me feel someone else wrote the ending.

In a book where so much is happening and a lot of reading engagement leaves you turning page after page, it’s quite disheartening that the last 20% of the novel the reader gets left adrift in the tremendous amount of characters that suddenly become relevant. These characters were being thrown at the reader without much history on them previously. I caught myself wondering who half of these people were and confused. The writer has a way of writing where BIG revelations were written as if they weren’t important and if you didn’t pay close attention you would miss that subtle but important detail. The ridiculousness of everything in the end had me skipping some pages because I found myself in a whole different book. I liked how dark everything became at the end it almost took a horror book turn, but it was just too much in too little pages. It seemed like the author had a page limit and was trying to throw everything she had left into 20 pages. So many and I mean questions were left unanswered. So much of the book’s initial set up was wrapped up so choppy that we really don’t get closure or a full understanding why some things happened.

I enjoyed most of this book and will definitely give this author a second chance because her writing was engaging for the most part and I hope those minor flaws are recognized and fix for her next thriller.

Thank you to HarperCollins for this copy of No Bad Need through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book comes out Feb 18th you should check it out!

I will have a review up on Amazon, Instagram www.instagram.com/books_and_stilettos, on my goodreads www.goodreads.com/mcp0y3 and on my blog www.booksandstilettos.com on 2/4/2020.

When veterinarian Cassie Larkin stopped by the side of the road to try to help a woman who is being assaulted, she has no idea how much her life is about to change. While it seemed like a random event, the attacker now has her address and when Cassie's husband goes missing. As Cassie searches for her husband she is led astray and struggles to figure out what is true. Was he abducted or did he leave her for another woman. At the heart of this book is the question '"WHAT DO YOU KNOW?" Good mystery, good book.

Driving home after another late night at the veterinary clinic, Cassie Larkin spots a man and woman fighting on the side of the road. She dials 911 and plans to wait for help to arrive but when she realizes the woman's life is in danger she leaves the safety of her car to help. The man, a known criminal named Carver Sweet, issues her a threat before stealing her car with her purse and all of her personal information inside. With assurance of her safety from the police, she returns home to her family where ongoing tensions with her husband leave her feeling uncertain of their relationship. When her husband disappears the next night, while trick or treating with their daughter, Cassie can't help but think Carver is behind it. Conflicting information about her husband’s disappearance leaves Cassie searching for answers but what she discovers may place her family as a killer’s next target.

No Bad Deed is a thrilling new mystery novel from debut author Heather Chavez. I never know quite what to expect with debut novels but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with this one. The story begins with Cassie, a veterinarian, whose overtime at work is causing family tension especially with her husband Sam. Cassie feels as if their relationship is on the verge of falling apart but she is in denial that he would leave her and the kids. After she engages in a life or death situation with a known criminal, a series of events, that appears to be unrelated, place Cassie and her family in danger. She has to discover the truth about her husband’s disappearance and piece together a puzzle that will tie her past to her present. This was one of the better thrillers I have read in quite a while and I will definitely be adding this author to my watch list for upcoming novels. The characters were relatable, the writing was engaging, and the plot was entertaining and compelling...I ended up finishing this in an afternoon.

Holy biscuits this book was intense!!!!

Driving home one night from a 12 hour shift as a veterinarian, Cassie sees a man and woman physically fighting on the side of the road across from an abandoned hospital. After calling 911, Cassie gets out of the car to try and help the woman who at this point has taken a fall. The man tells Cassie that she can live if she allows the woman to die. The police sirens can then be heard and the man takes off running up the hill to Cassie’s vehicle. The stranger now has her purse, registration, name, address, phone, and the name of her husband and children.

Fast forward to the next day which is Halloween. Cassie’s husband Sam takes their youngest daughter out trick or treating before Cassie arrives home from work. When Cassie calls to check in on them he promises to be home in 15 minutes. Cassie falls asleep on the couch and wakes up close to 2 hours later to an empty home. All calls to Sam go straight to voicemail so Cassie gets in her car on the hunt for her husband and daughter. Cassie finds her daughter in front of a house being watched by two moms from carpool. From there begins the quest of what happened to Cassie’s husband? Why would he just disappear while in care of their daughter?

This book had me hooked from beginning to end. I read it in less than 24 hours. I feel that it is rare to find a book that hooks you all the way through with so many twists and turns that you never know where the story was headed and cannot predict the ending.

Hats off to Heather Chavez for this incredible debut novel. I have my eye on you now and will definitely be picking up anything you write.

Thank you to NetGalley/HarperCollins for allowing me to read an early copy of this book!

I can now write my review after holding my breath throughout much of this book!

As the synopsis states, Cassie, coming home late again from work, see a couple fighting and the male throwing the victim down a ditch. She calls 911 but then makes the fateful mistake of getting out of her running car to get closer to see if she can help. When the police sirens are heard, the man takes off in her car with all her personal information. Her decision to help begins a cat and mouse game with possible deadly consequences. And then her husband goes missing. Is this a coincidence or a calculated plan to hurt Cassie and her family? But why?

The events in the story are built on an incident that happened many years ago with revenge motives. Events that Cassie never knew.

This book had me on the edge of my seat with the constant acceleration of suspense and action. A tense page-turner!!

An exceptional story by a debut author. I can't wait to see what the future brings from this author!

GR posted: 02/02/20
Blog posting: 02/12/20

"What? Oh, hell no! Hold up. Huh? Oh, okay."

Any Impractical Jokers fans here in Goodreads land? Because this infamous little quote from the show sums up exactly how I felt while reading this book.

It started off with a bang, and I was totally in it, thinking to myself, "Whaaat? That's crazy!"

Then it slowed down and I got really frustrated with our protagonist, Cassie. She was blindly running around, impeding the police investigation, and generally being all-around annoying. At one point, she did something really stupid and I was all, "Oh, HELL no!" What could she possibly be thinking?

Then the story got a little convoluted, and all I could think was, "Hold up." I needed to digest the information.

The final 25% of the novel was less than inspired. There were unanswered questions, plot holes galore, and a little too much suspension of belief required. And yep...you guessed it. I said to myself, "HUH?"

Finally, the final page. I sighed because I was a little underwhelmed, but a few things had become clear in the interim so it was totally, "Ohhh...okay."

Bottom line, I'd say this was pretty good for a debut novel. The plot was sound, and with a bit of tweaking, it would have been a decent novel. As it stands, I'm giving it 2.5 impractical stars.

**Many thanks to the publisher for my review copy.

Thank you to Net Galley and Harper Collins Publishers for the advance of this title in exchange for my honest review. This book drew me in from the first page and it kept me reading. We all would like to think that we would help someone in danger, but what if that goes badly awry? What if your life then turns upside down, and you aren't sure who to trust and whether people are who they say? The characters were well developed, and the plot was unique.

No Bad Deed is the debut novel of Heather Chavez. No Bad Deed takes place in just a few days, but days that have our heroine too often with her heart in her throat.....and the reader's there too!  Fast paced and difficult to put down. I'm looking forward to reading more by this author. I want to thank Net Galley and Harper Collins Publishers for an early copy of No Bad Deed to review.

See goodreads for my review of this book. Thank you for the opportunity to preview the galley and provide feedback.

This book is very hard to put down except when it gets too intense to keep reading. The pace is very fast and all of the characters are in life-or-death situations (even the "bad guys.) Interestingly enough, the characters -- except maybe Sam -- are well-defined, not stereotypes.
However, time seems to be contracted in the book; the victims are sometimes saved because the heroine gets there just at the right time, or the heroine is nearly killed because the bad guy gets there right at the same time. Hospital stays take much less time than realistically possible. The police respond a little too quickly. All in all this makes the book seem very cinematic. I can picture the car chases and escapes out of windows.
I could easily give this book to people who liked Gone Girl.
Thank you to Harper Collins and Netgalley for providing this prepub ebook.

Let me start by saying this will be 100% spoiler free review, as all my reviews are, but definitely want to make that clear for this type of thriller. This is a very intricate story that Chavez has put together, and for this being a debut it kind of blew my mind.

This book centers around Cassie. She is a wife, mother of two and a veterinarian. This book opens when Cassie is driving home from work and passes a man and women fighting on the side of the road. Cassie calls 911, and while they tell her to stay in her car, she feels the need to help. The man throws the women down and gives Cassie a threat that inevitably changes the course of her life.

The next day her husband goes missing while taking his daughter out trick-or-treating. This begins a very twisty story, that changes directions multiple times. Once you think you have it, don’t worry you will be thrown on a completely route.

Chavez does such a wonderful job, with this story. She must have started with the intricacies of the planned mystery and worked in the rest of the story. Don’t worry character’s do not lack at all. I absolutely could not put this book down at all. I am kind of meh on thrillers but this one should go straight to the top of your lists if you enjoy this genre.

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Cassie Larkin is driving home from work and sees a woman being assaulted. She quickly dials 911 but also jumps out of her vehicle to try and deter the assailant. Turns out, it might have been a good day to leave work early, take a different route home, or, oh yes, stay in the car! She is trying to be a good samaritan, but it seems that no good deed goes unpunished, and Cassie will come to regret her decision. When the attacker takes off in Cassie's vehicle, he now knows not only who she is, but where she lives.
The next day, her husband Sam takes their daughter trick-or-treating, and never comes home. Relief at finding her daughter unharmed, soon turns into a nightmare, as the husband she thought she knew, has secrets she never imagined. As Cassie tries to find Sam, it appears the attack she witnessed wasn't random at all, but rather involved people who seem to know her well, and just might have taken Sam.
This one was one roller coaster of a story! At one point, close to the end, I found myself a little lost because so many characters were introduced. I took that as a sign to just slow down and pay close attention to the details, and with a little re-reading, everything came together and made sense. There are many twists and turns, and my guesses regarding the whodunit and why were completely wrong. No Bad Deed was a page flipper and I look forward to Heather Chavez's next book!

I received a DRC from William Morrow through NetGalley.
Reviews will be posted to GoodReads, Instagram, Twitter, Amazon, & my blog.

I received a free ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I have read a lot of thrillers and this one does not at all read like a first time author. Chavez has done a great job of weaving a multilayered story that keeps you at the edge of your seat and has unexpected surprises at every turn.

When you you think you know whats going on....everything changes and you see it a new light.

Highly recommended and I will definitely look forward to reading more Heather Chavez books in the future.