"Should Grace Fall" by Priscilla Paton is a crime novel that weaves a complex narrative with intriguing characters, but falls short of reaching its full potential.

The story follows Detectives Erik Jansson and Deb Metzger as they investigate the murder of a man who dedicated his life to rescuing trafficked teen addicts. The novel delves into the psyche of its characters while navigating a web of potential suspects, from drug dealers to corrupt police colleagues.

While the premise holds promise, the story was a struggle to finish. The plot is often convoluted and other times painfully dry, making it challenging to fully engage with the central mystery. The pacing is uneven, and the narrative occasionally loses focus, making it difficult to maintain a consistent level of suspense. The characters, though diverse and with potential for depth, often remain underdeveloped.

In the end, "Should Grace Fall" is a middle to lower end procedural crime novel that isn’t one I’d recommend to readers.

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to the publishers and #Netgalley.

I really enjoy detective and police procedural books, But, I had no idea that this book was part of a series until I was halfway through. While it was an ok book, I really had a hard time connecting with any of the characters.
It was a bit dry and at times, read more like an actual procedural non-fiction book.

I didn't realize that this was the second book in the series. Although it was not necessary to have read the first, it does help. This was a good police procedural story, and the characters were interesting. If you like police mysteries this this will be a satisfying read.

Detectives Erik Janson and Deb Metzger are investigating when a man is found in a trash dumpster, having been stabbed multiple times. The victim is identified as a former cop who recently spent a lot of time trying to help teens who have a problem with drugs and those who are being trafficked.

A teenage girl wants nothing more than to continue making music. It's her get away from knowing that her boyfriend just up and disappeared without a word to her. She's also got a good friend, Luna , who's recently been hanging out with some bad people.

As Jansson and Metzger investigate, these two stories start to merge. Some of the teens that the former cop was trying to help, are now in Luna's circle.

Who wanted the former cop killed? Why? Where is the missing boyfriend?

There are many twists and turns surrounding deftly defined characters. Throw in some varied, viable suspects with some solid police work and you have a novel well worth reading. There's a lot of action keeping the reader riveted to the tightly woven plot.

Many thanks to the author / Coffeetown Press / Netgalley for the copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Should Grace Fail is the second book in a series, and I'm not sure if you need to read the first book to get the full enjoyment out of this one.

This ended up a DNF for me and the main reason is that it was a bit dry for me. It leans toward a non-fiction procedural rather than a fiction/thriller and just didn't hold my interest.

Good crime thriller. Author does a great job with the descriptions of the two detectives that are the main characters. If you like mysteries you’ll enjoy this one.
Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for this copy in exchange for my review.

Having not read the first in the Twin Cities Mysteries did not lessen the enjoyment of Should Grace Fail. A former policeman is found dead in a dumpster but Detective Erik Jansen is on the scene. Meanwhile, his partner Deb Metzger is speaking at the conference of which the victim was to be speaking. So, the investigation begins and builds nicely to a resolution, thereby proving an effective police mystery story. A real strength of the narrative is the two main characters and what we discover about them. With thanks to the author and NetGalley for the eBook copy for review purposes - a three-and-a-half-star rating.

A solid and entertaining police procedural, I enjoyed it.
Interesting characters, a gripping plot and solid mystery that kept me guessing.
I look forward to reading other books by this author.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

A fine, entertaining thriller about crime with interesting characters and an interesting plot.

It begins with one of the two major characters, Deb Metzger and Erik Jansson.

Deb Metzger who has to speak at an event when the keynote speaker is found murdered in a dumpster.

Detective Erik Janssen, Deb's partner, is on the scene where the former police officer has been found.

Both detectives have an attention-grabbing backstories that are woven into this solid story. I really tried to decrypt both Deb & Erik’s motivations and personalities almost as much as the crime.

A really good read.

I found this to be a solid police detective thriller.

It begins with one of the two main characters, Deb Metzger, who is due to speak at an event when the keynote speaker is found murdered and Debs’ partner, Erik Jansen is at the scene. It’s an at times complicated plot line, but, with a satisfying ending.

Both detectives have an interesting background story that is woven into this solid good read and I’m grateful to NetGalley and Coffeetown Press for the opportunity to preview.

This books tests our understanding of good and bad. The characters are flawed - open to judgement as to whether they are “good” or “bad.” This makes them very relatable and I spent as much of the time assessing them as I did trying to solve the mystery. It’s a clever approach as it makes the book appealing to non-mystery lovers, too. Apart from this clever characterisation, the book offers a strong mystery and a great writing style. Highly recommended.

Quick note: I know this was an uncorrected ebook, but the formatting of it was DREADFUL. Hopefully, they get it under control for the release.

Detective Deb Metzger, who was to speak briefly at an event hosted by Nancy Leclerc, scion of a hotel chain, is asked to take over the keynote speech, which was supposed o be given by Dan Routh, a former policeman, when Routh doesn't show. She hesitantly agrees.

Routh, it turns out, has been murdered, his body found in a Dumpster. Detective Erik Janssen, Deb's partner, is on the scene where the former policeman and now quasi-social worker has been found.

The duo are assigned to investigate, and the first person they wind up speaking to is Gordy, Routh's sponsor in AA. Gordy's one of the most delightful and funny characters in this book - clearly wanting to o good, and right by Routh, but he also clearly has a case of scattershot thinking. After collecting the information he has, they continue on, following Routh's footsteps.

They find that Routh was lately working primarily with a girl named Luna - a fetal alcohol syndrome baby who grew up to be a talented musician. But she is in the wind, leaving Erik and Deb to start digging around in her life as well, trying to find her.

There's a secondary plot involving Jaelyn, an accomplished pianist, who may or may not know Luna, but who is definitely seeing Ray, a drug dealer - and carrying cash and/or product around for him.

By this point, we have a good reading of the two detectives' personalities: divorced Erik, quiet, and prone to going off to do something without telling Deb. Deb, single after breaking up with her last girlfriend, but seeing a possible new love interest in Jude, right hand to the imperious Nancy Leclerc.

As the story progresses, the overall investigation gets both broader but also more intently smaller, focused on Jaelyn's drug dealing boyfriend, another young man who seems to be ready to spill his guts, and someone within Nancy's inner circle.

Erik and Deb doggedly follow the clues, resulting in the arrest of the killer and a rather satisfying ending.

While there were a couple of draggy spots - the neighbors and voles/gophers, for instance - overall the book is quite readable and there weren't any gigantic plot holes to run trucks though en route to all the pieces of the investigation dovetailing quite nicely at the end.

A solid four out of five stars.


Thanks to Coffeetown Press and NetGalley for the review copy.