Roxanne Weary, my favorite sleuth, is back in action in the fourth installment of Kristen Lepionka’s mystery series. This time, Roxanne is investigating the death of high school nurse Rebecca Newsome. As clues begin to unravel, Roxanne soon finds that there’s much more to Rebecca’s death than she ever imagined.
It’s been a pleasure to read this series so far and I highly recommend it for fans of detective novels. Following Roxanne’s character development has also been a treat and I’m interested to see where she ends up.
Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely love this series. Roxane Weary is such a loveable mess. She's crusty and prickly but so easy to root for. IN this book, as with all her others, she can't seem to quit even when things get dangerous. Lepionka has an incredible ability to give the reader snippets of the mystery and then weave them together in unexpected and very satisfying ways.

Highly recommend this book and this series.

Roxane Weary is, without a doubt, my favorite private detective. She is the perfect balance of flawed, determined, vulnerable, and reckless that makes her seem quite real and relatable. There is never a dull moment. Her mysteries are always enticing, and Once You Go This Far is certainly no exception! There are so many threads that don't seem to match up, yet when they eventually do the readers can't help but kick themselves for not figuring it out sooner. The writing is very clever and Roxane's voice is witty, humorous, and distinctive, which is refreshing. So many first person books can fall into the trap of sounding the same, but our main character here is a person unto her own. This series could go on and on and I doubt I would ever get bored of them. After everything that happened in this book, I am so excited for the next one in the series! Kristen Lepionka, keep writing Roxane Weary books, and I will keep reading them!

The Roxane Weary series is a great one for fans of P.I. novels. In Once You Go This Far, the plot is compelling, with a lot of moving parts. Roxane is a fascinating character and I really enjoyed the supporting characters as well. In addition to the investigation, the forward movement in Roxane's personal life is interesting and opens up some potential issues for the future. This is part of a series and I would recommend reading in order.


Content Warnings: SPOILERS homophobic slurs END SPOILERS

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. The opinions in this review are honest and my own.

I'm becoming a fan of this series, if for nothing else than to follow the life of its super-interesting main character Roxanne Weary. This is the fourth book, and the stories have been consistently good overall, but this was not one of my favorites as far as the mysteries go. However if you're mainly reading them to follow the character development, like I am, this is a great addition to the series. So for that reason I'm giving it 4 stars.

If I was more of a mystery/detective story buff, I'd probably give it a 3. Plot-wise, the case was just a little too hard to follow, with too many different elements being juggled together. It was necessary to add a conversation between Roxanne and another character at the end to explain how all the different pieces of the case come together. The ending came a bit out of nowhere for me, and whatever the villain was trying to ultimately accomplish isn't totally clear.

“Be careful,” Roxane Weary tells a friendly woman who is setting off on a hike with her dog in a popular Columbus, Ohio park. Not much later, as she waits for her brother to join her, she hears a scrambling noise and a gasp and, strolling up the path, encounters a different woman holding the dog’s leash, assuming he is unaccompanied. Roxane looks down the steep ravine beside the path and sees scraped earth, broken branches, and the soles of a pair of shoes. Somehow, the seemingly athletic woman had fallen to her death.

There’s something suspicious about the way a skilled hiker died, and when her daughter hires Roxanne to find out more the PI finds herself embroiled in a case involving a runaway teen, a casino in Canada, a suspicious ex, and a church run by a charismatic and controlling man. The plot is complex, but the pacing keeps everything moving, while balancing story with character development. And Roxane is a great character with a tough-vulnerable funny-sharp voice.

When I read the debut of this series, I was blown away by the way this character revives the feminist PI tradition started by Paretsky and her peers while being entirely contemporary. This latest entry confirms my initial assessment - this series is a keeper.

Another great Roxane Weary mystery. Just minutes after meeting a stranger in the parking lot near a hiking trail, Roxane finds the woman has fallen down a cliff. Weeks after the woman dies, her daughter asks Roxane to look o to it. This was in interesting, complex mystery that kept me guessing the entire time. I cannot wait to read the next one!

This was a gripping story, with an excellent ending. There was one point towards the end where Roxane made a bit of a leap which I don't think was sufficiently set-up for the reader, but other than that the plot was very good. I liked the parts where Roxane interacted with her brothers, and I'm glad we have seen the back of Catherine.

What is this book about?
Rebecca was an experienced hiker who was found dead at the bottom of the ravine. It appears to be an accidental death but is it really? Maggie, Rebecca’s daughter doesn’t think so. She decides to hire Roxanne Weary, a private investigator, to investigate. The investigation takes Roxanne to Detroit, Columbus, Toledo and Windsor. She talks with many people along the way and soon realizes that it appears Rebecca’s death was no accident. Who is behind the death and what are they hiding.


What did I think?
Ahhhh Lepionka does it again. This book was great! The storyline is well developed. The characters are well developed. The twist and turns are well developed. Everything about this book was great! So much detail. So much WOW! There was so much going on in this story but it was still easy to follow. It was neat to see how everything was connected. I couldn’t put this book down! I highly recommend it you won’t be disappointed!

I have so much love for Roxane Weary. She’s so authentically flawed, and this book shows all those flaws. The mystery is a good one, but maybe a little too complicated for me, but I accept that Roxane does tend to get herself into complicated situations. Because there is so much happening in Roxane’s personal and private life, the plot keeps moving and I never want to put the book down. Really enjoyed the forward movement in her personal life - with her family and Tom - and professionally as she solves this mystery and it all comes to the big final reveal. Great book!

<i>I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for a review.</i>

Roxane Weary, be still my heart! One of my favorite hard-drinkin' detectives is back at it with less drinking and less Catherine, both things being those which should be enjoyed only in moderation. While I of course love Roxane and will read about her sleuthing it up all day long, this also features some great interplay between Kez and Novotny, a little Shelby and a dash of young queer love but not enough, and, thrillingly, several chapters-worth of the culmination of the bad guy's plan that involves the whole gang working together, even terrible brother Matt. I'm most appreciative of Roxane's evolution over the series; how she's been scarred by events from previous books and how her father's death is a less immediate grief but still obviously something that affects all of the Wearys, and I am thrilled that she's allowed to be attracted to men and women without getting into any big 'what does it all mean' territory. Oh, and it's really funny too. I love these books a lot and Lepionka can write at least five more of them as far as I'm concerned. They never get old.

I was so excited to get my hands on the latest Roxane Weary novel! This time, she’s on the case of a woman who fell (or not) to her death while hiking. On the way Roxane encounters a cult, much like our own real-live Columbus cult, that exerts total control over its members and their communication. I tore through this book and was thrilled to be back with Roxane, her family, and the rest of the series regulars. I can’t wait to see what she does next.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

Roxane comes across a woman who has apparently fallen by accident while hiking. Her daughter asks Roxane to look into whether it really was an accident. Her investigation involves a casino in Canada, a fundamentalist church, a candidate for public office, both her brothers, and the long-suffering Tom.

This was a gripping story, with an excellent ending. There was one point towards the end where Roxane made a bit of a leap which I don't think was sufficiently set-up for the reader, but other than that the plot was very good. I liked the parts where Roxane interacted with her brothers, and I'm glad we have seen the back of Catherine.

Highly recommended.

Maggie doesn’t believe her mother, Rebecca, an experienced hiker, fell to her death in a city park. Maggie suspects her mother’s ex-husband, but finding evidence and getting someone to believe that the ex-cop is to blame is easier said then done. And that’s where PI Roxanne Weary comes in, she can poke into places Maggie can’t. It would seem the ex is a real stinker, but probably not a killer. What’s more concerning to Roxanne are the large bank withdrawals and trips to Canada that Rebecca made before her death. It would seem there is a link between Rebecca and Leila Hassan, the one that got away in Roxanne’s last case. This is a twisted and complex mystery with a load of red herrings. Readers don’t have to have read the previous book, but it will be helpful in explaining a few details