This book is as unique as it is brilliant. Loved the characters and the situations and I'm trying to think if it reminds me of any other books, and I would have to say that it does not. Kudos to this talented author.

Heavy book. Lots of helpless feelings and scrambling to gain any control of an uncontrollable situation, matched with necessary tenacity and obstinate reluctance to give up.

After some soul-searching and recognizing her stagnant life, Kate Hollister is an FBI agent on her first undercover assignment - tasked with integrating a drug ring in rural California. On her own and undermined by her own agency, Kate is immediately thrust into a much larger conspiracy which she will be hard-pressed to make it out alive.

**I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**

Kate Hollister works as an analyst for the FBI. Although she's become quite adept at researching and criminal behavior and longs to get the change to work in the field.

Going undercover in the small town called Lawless, she looks to connect with a drug ring run by her new neighbor, Stoney Randall. Friending his girlfriend and best friend, what she finds is that Lawless is well suited to its name.... drugs, criminals, the smell of marijuana everywhere, stolen goods, and animals mysteriously disappearing.

And now that she's in the middle of all this ... well, she's thinking maybe she should have stayed behind her desk.

It's a fast-paced, action-packed, page turner with twists and turns that lead to a surprising ending. The characters are deftly drawn ... but is everyone who they say they are? Bodies fall ... but why ..who and wanted them out the way? There are plenty of suspects to watch. The ending came quite as a surprise. Kate is a character I would like to see again.

Many thanks to the author / Bella Books / Netgalley for the digital copy of this small town mystery / crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Lawless started off well, it as storyline which held my attention at the start and middle of the book, The characters are ok. Some I liked, some I didn't. I like to be honest and this will or may sound really daft, but one of the off-putting things about this book was a character's name... I've decided I'm going to mention who as I don't want this to cloud your own opinions of the book purely because of a name!
There are quite a few things in the story that doesn't seem to get explained and leaves you slightly confused ... it really is a proper mystery story! Like I said before, the beginning and middle are ok, but it felt like the ending was rushed, I needed more things to be explained... wheres the body go??? where the chuff is Rachel???
I give the story a 3.5, it did keep me entertained and did hold me. But for me, there was something missing.
This is the first book I've read by Jenna Rae and I will read more of her books.

Kate Hollister works for the federal law enforcement agency, she's become an expert in researching crime and criminal behavior. But things change in Kates's life and decides she needs to escape from her safe, comfortable life and jumps at the chance to work in the field. She decides to go undercover as Kate Sooner in a town named Lawless, a remote town in northern California. In a run-down trailer park on the outskirts of the town, kate works to infiltrate a small-time drug ring purportedly run by her new neighbor, Stoney Randall. Kate befriends Stoney's girlfriends Sireaa Fine and her best friend Maggie Herndon.

Soon Kate finds why the town lives up t the name Lawless. Everywhere she goes, she finds drugs, stolen items, creepy people, animals that disappear, and the overwhelming smell of marijuana. ANd Kate is stuck in the middle of it all.

I was given a copy for an honest review.

This was a well written interesting book, full of uncomfortable topics that’s hard to describe as enjoyable because of those topics, but was nonetheless a good read.

I have to admit I think I must have misread the blurb for this - I was convinced a romance was going to be appearing somewhere in the narrative, but it didn’t. I wasn’t actually disappointed in that fact, as it would have been really strange, but this is a straight up mystery.

Kate is undercover in the town of Lawless. She used to be a desk based analyst but she wanted to do something different, get ahead in her career. She thinks she’s trying to infiltrate a drug ring, but her handler hasn’t necessarily been all that clear, she just knows she’s living in a trailer park, pretending to be straight and trying to find a way to become friends with the drug dealers girlfriend.

As Kate finds the “in”, we find out more about her as she interweaves elements of her own life with the back story she’s using as her cover up. It’s a clever way of getting to know both sides of Kate and one that serves itself well as well the paranoia of being undercover creeping in, alongside the self-doubt.

As is the way with these kinds of topics, they become intertwined with lots of others, and there is much discussion of many unsavoury topics. I found myself a little confused at times with the many characters and how they all fit into things, especially towards the end. Whilst this does essentially help in aiding the mystery element I guess, it’s one of the things stopping it from being a five star book for me, as I needed just a little more help in mapping out how they all fit together and how Kate came to her conclusions.

The other main characters in the book are written really well, providing great narrative foils for Kate and showing the realities of drugs etc. on life in small towns. It’s a really relevant book for today’s society, and not one I’ve encountered in this way in sapphic books before, so if you’re into mystery and or crime books, I’d definitely encourage you to give this one a go.

I received an e-ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a pretty good read, that is until the last few chapters. Perhaps I missed something. Could be.
Kate Hollister was bored with her job as an analyst for the FBI. So since she had the training she applied for a job where she could use her undercover skills. Her mission, move to Lawless, a small community in northern California. She wasn’t sure what exactly she was looking for, drugs, human trafficking, illegal guns, etc, etc. The way to do this was to develop a relationship with the people running the show. So after showing up as Kate Sooner she quickly became friends with two young women who seemed to have some information Kate could use.
Sierra Finn and Maggie Herndon have been BF since highschool. While Sierra was loud mouthed she gave the impression she knew a lot of the comings and goings in the community. It also helped that she was Stoney Randall’s girlfriend. And as such she along with Maggie found themselves running around delivering or receiving the goods that made money for them all.
This story was good but for some reason it left me feeling like there was something missing. The ending came without revealing anything we didn’t already know. It’s like watching a movie, waiting for the big car race or a shoot out between the good and the bad characters. But we are given nothing. It’s like the author had a set word count and when she reached that number the story was quickly wrapped up.
Ms Rae can and does write good stories re law and crimes. But this book is unfinished.
ARC via NetGalley/ Bella Books

I liked Kate and her determination to plant herself in with the locals in Lawless, determined to uncover an illegal drug trade in the area. She befriends a couple of local women hoping to connect with Sierra’s drug dealing boyfriend, Stoney. What she uncovers points to more illegal activities in the small town of Lawless than she was led to believe when she took on her undercover persona as Kate Sooner.

I wanted to love this mystery and for a long while I was fully invested in Kate’s search for truth. Red herrings were dropped here and there keeping me engaged. Missing dogs, an unexpected death and the large number of transport trucks leaving the expressway to travel through Lawless kept me speculating. The locals were unwilling or reluctant to share information with Kate despite her efforts to blend in and risk her life with little to no help from her FBI handler, Marcie. And why are there no black people living in Lawless?

Unfortunately too many clues led nowhere and too many threads were left dangling to make this a satisfying mystery. Kate receives an email she has been waiting for but doesn’t share the information with the reader. She recognizes the man in the plaid black and red shirt at a pivotal moment but doesn’t reveal his name. Too many questions were left unanswered. It’s all fine to keep the reader guessing and speculating about who to trust and who to blame as we watch Kate live by her wits but at some point there has to be some sort of resolution. Unfinished business left me feeling flat and unrewarded after spending time with these Lawless locals and their problems.

This was a four star book with a two star ending. I need closure in my mystery/thrillers Rae shows real potential as a writer and I will be curious to see what she writes in the future.

ARC received with thanks from publisher via NetGalley for review.

This was a very flat and disappointing novel. Coming from Bella books and with a very interesting sounding blurb I was really looking forward to this but it was a serious let down. The characters were either cardboard cutouts or completely over-wrought and not at all believable. I would not recommend this.

I had high hopes for Lawless by Jenna Rae. The premise of the story is really intriguing. The blurb of the book also grabbed my interest right away, so I was looking forward to reading this novel. Unfortunately, I was a bit disappointed with the actual story.

The novel is listed as a mystery and tells the story of an undercover agent (Kate Hollister) who is embedded in the small town of Lawless to watch and report back to her handler anything she sees involving illegal drugs or other activities. She is supposed to connect with the girlfriend (and her best friend) of the alleged drug runner Stoney, infiltrating with the group if she can. This part of the story is not bad, and there are parts of the tale that are well written, and kept me reading.

Here are the things that are disappointing. The characters themselves, both main and secondary lack depth, and I never really connected with any of them. The investigation seems off somehow, since Kate has no backup from her handler at all. That seems very unrealistic to me. The worst though, are the unanswered questions I am left with at the end of the book, and there are a lot of them. I realize that in real life the agent might be left with some things unresolved at the end of the investigation, but I’m not even sure exactly what specific illegal activities Kate uncovers. The author doesn’t give the reader all the facts that Kate herself has, just vague hints and generalities. I think that bothers me most of all.

I don’t think I can recommend this particular book, but I know the author is a very capable writer with at least five other novels, and I will look for other works by her in the future.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bella Books for an honest review.

Rainbow Reflections: http://rainbowreflections.home.blog/

Lawless tells the story of Kate Hollister who works as an analyst in a cubicle for a federal law enforcement agency in Virginia. Kate wants more for her career and her life following a breakup with her girlfriend, Gail. So she volunteers to accept an assignment as field undercover agent, Kate Sooner, in a very small mountain town in Northern California called Lawless.

Kate's role is to befriend the girlfriend, Sierra, of a small-time drug ring lead, Stoney Randall, and Sierra's friend, Maggie. So Kate moves in a small Shasta trailer that she rents in Lawless Manor adjacent to where Stoney and Sierra live. She lives the life of a very poor resident down to the smallest details such as waiting for her next paycheck from a small data entry job to not having enough food to eat. Slowly she gets sucked into Sierra, Maggie, and Stoney's world.

This was definitely a mystery/thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat feeling every detail of what Kate was experiencing. There was no romance in this book, but it was definitely a nice change of pace. I gave this book 4.5 stars, with a small deduction because the ending was rushed and the reader never got to understand what happened to Sierra and Maggie.

I received an ARC from Bella Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A nice mystery following Kate who is undercover in Lawless, living on a trailer park where she needs to befriend her two neighbours to get info about a drug ring. Or so she thinks, it turns out not everything is at it seems.
This was an okay book..it was more like a month in the life of Kate who seems to be dropped into an unknown situation without support from her agency. You find out stuff when she finds out, but when the book ends you still don't have a clear idea of what was going on. It left me with an unsatisfied feeling as there was also no info on what happened to the 2 girls Kate befriended. But maybe more books will follow and this is the beginning of a series? Then I would give 4 stars because it sets the stage really well with the main characters and storylines but for now it's 3 stars. I enjoyed it, but too many loose ends.

*** An ARC was provided by Netgalley in exchange for a honest review. ***

I was surprised how quickly this book drew me in and kept me glued to the page. This is a crime drama with nary a whiff of romance.

Kate Hollister is an an undercover agent assigned to ferret out information on local drug dealers in a small, rather dismal town called Lawless. Living in a squalid trailer in a fading trailer park, she befriends Maggie and Sierra as a way to make inroads with the suspected local dealer. Kate isn't the only one in this novel playing a role and as we learn more about Sierra and Maggie. We see Kate manipulating the two women who in turn are manipulating Kate and it makes you reconsider initial assumptions and impressions. The unexpected murder of a local brings peels back further layers of mystery and, as Kate progresses, she begins to wonder what exactly she's been sent into this town to investigate.

Ms Rae creates a gritty and realistic feel for Lawless and Kate's character is rather fascinating as details of her childhood and early life bleed into her portrayal of her undercover identity - she seems to be more honest about those details with the people she is investigating than her co-workers. As a crime drama, this was interesting with the leads bringing Kate and the reader deeper and deeper into the uglier underbelly of the town. I appreciate how Maggie and Sierra are portrayed - they are more complex than you would first think and I kept swaying my opinion of how involved either one of them were - hapless victim, unwilling participant or the architect. There was no black and white - just lots of shades of gray.

I found that the end was a bit rushed and almost too much show, not enough tell. I felt that after the level of detail provided as Kate got pulled deeper into the unsavoury elements of Lawless, she put all the pieces together quickly and I was a bit unsure of what details she captured and what the end results were.

I really wanted to love this book. There were definitely parts I enjoyed, but overall, this book just didn’t check all my boxes. It held so much promise, like a well-built racehorse that bursts out of the gate with great intentions and a big-hearted spirit. But as the book grew, I had questions. I wasn’t comfortable with the way Kate’s handler, Marcie, was portrayed. She just didn’t ring true for me. If I’m going to be honest, I couldn’t really connect with any of the characters. I had lots of questions about them, and because the characters weren’t fleshed out beyond the surface layers, those questions weren’t answered. Motivations went mostly unexplored, except for the barest of examinations. I was left with more questions than answered. Why were the “hill people” there? Were they merely devices to save Kate? How did Kate figure out who the bad guys was?
While I admired Kate’s dedication to her job, her cover-story and the perception of her reason to be in Lawless Manor, there were times I wanted to smack her for flipping between being dedicated and being spineless. I understood some of her choices but I never really connected with her.

That being said, writing a book is hard work, and it can be tough to juggle a bunch of different elements at once. I admire the author’s effort, but there’s just no love for the community of Lawless or its citizens.
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Very entertaining and realistic. Kate is an FBI analyst who decides she needed some action in order to get a promotion. She goes undercover to infiltrate a drug ring in Lawless, a small town found in Northern California.
Lawless is just as the name suggested as this little town as so many secrets. Sex, Drugs, weapons.
She befriends Sierra the girlfriend of her subject Stoney and her best friend Maggie. Within a short period of time they maneuver her into their circle and having her doing little criminal activities. Upon further investigation Kate soon realizes that things are more complicated than they seem. There are a lot more criminal activities going on.
I liked Sierra and Maggie and at times found myself laughing at Sierra's antics.
I will recommend this book, 4.5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley and Bella Books Inc for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Tight and entertaining FBI mystery. Kate works in a cubicle as an FBI analyst. To get over a relationship and increase her promotability she moves to the field for an undercover assignment. She is sent to a dying small town called Lawless in Northern California. Her goal is to infiltrate a small drug ring always hoping to trade small fish for bigger criminals. Stoney is her target and his girlfriend Sierra and friend Maggie befriend her. After the murder of the mayors wife Kate realizes there may be more going on than drug trade.

The plot was interesting. Kate is a good agent and doesn't try to be a super hero. Her emotions and paranoia felt realistic. Especially with the lack of information provided by her handler. I enjoyed Sierra and Maggie and could see how they maneuvered Kate into owing those up the criminal chain. I would have given five stars except the ending was quick and I didn't feel I got got enough information on how things finished up for the town and particularly for her friends.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bella Books for an ARC ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Kate has the life she wanted for herself as a analyst while recovering over heartache. She decides to jump at a chance to go into field and go undercover in a town called Lawless.

While there she tries to get an in to whom they are investigating and winds up befriending the man Stoney she investigating girlfriend Sierra and her best friend Maggie as she gets to know them she feels guilty for lying to them.

As she digs deeper she realizes this town really does lives up to it’s name because every where she turns there criminal activity she realize that it’s more complicated than she thought.

I love this read because Kate gets out her comfort zone to do this job even though she learning as she go.

I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.