Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Detective Eve Ronin is on a sting operation that takes an unexpected deadly turn in “Gated Prey—Eve Ronin, 3” by Lee Goldberg.

This tightly plotted, gripping thriller follows Detective Ronin and her partner, Duncan Pavone, as they investigate the fallout from an undercover operation in a gated community.

Was Eve the target of this violence rather than the intruders who died? Was the trap set for her? Who can she trust?

If you enjoy police procedural novels with strong female protagonists and complex plot twists, Gated Prey fits the bill.

JoyReaderGirl1 graciously thanks NetGalley, Author Lee Goldberg, and Publisher Thomas & Mercer for this advanced reader copy for review.

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

Lee Goldberg maintains the pace and excitement of the Eve Ronin storyline with this novel. Thoroughly enjoyable.

Gated Prey, by Lee Goldberg, is the third in the Detective Eve Ronin series. Since the storyline builds on the storyline from the first two books, I encourage anyone interested in this book to read those first. Lee Goldberg is an excellent storyteller and this entire series is captivating.

Detective Eve Ronin and her soon-to-be-retired partner, Duncan Pavone, are assigned to a sting operation posing as a wealthy couple and hoping to lure a group of criminals who are engaging in increasingly violent home invasions. The trap works and all three intruders are killed; Eve and Duncan narrowly surviving the experience. Eve and Duncan believe that they were sold out by fellow deputies who were supposed to act as backup but are trying to get retribution for Eve's takedown of a corrupt clique within the department. They also believe that the robbers may be a part of a bigger criminal enterprise and they begin to undercover additional crimes lurking within Calabasas's million dollar neighborhoods.

Goldberg writes a compelling story and Ronin and Pavone are easy-to-root-for protagonists; I eagerly awaiting future entries in the series.

I absolutely adored this book! Lee Goldberg is one of my go to authors. I know I will throughly entertained while reading!

I voluntarily reviewed this book.

This book was so good! I want to see more from this author in the future!! I couldn't put this book down. What a page turner!!!

Gated Prey is the third book in the Eve Ronin series set in and around Calabasas. Eve’s popularity with many of her fellow officers is pretty much in the tank, but she does not allow that to stop her from doing her job. Eve is paired with Duncan Pavone, who although he has a foot and a half out the door due to his upcoming retirement, continues to stand behind, in front of, and next to Eve to get the job done. Keeping an eye out for those officers who wish them harm as well as working to catch the bad guys, keeps them on their toes and makes for a really good read. Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the opportunity to review this book! On to the next one in the series.

Eve is such a kick ass, tie up all loose ends kind of cop. So she is not well liked. Isn't is cool how she doesn't care and just keeps on keeping on?! What appears to be home burglaries in gated communities is not as simple as it first seems. This is a book I stayed up way too late to finish. I was impressed with Eve, Duncan and the crew. It was well worth the late night. Loved it!

This was an awesome installment to this series. Eve is her own person and a very strong character. There are notes of suspense, action, wit, and some violence along with twists and turns. The atmospheric writing makes this novel compelling.
Many thanks to Thomas & Mercer and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion

I loved the concept and plot. The main character was so interesting and I could picture everything.

I do think there was a lot of death involved that took away from other parts of the story.

This book is everything great about the Eve Ronin series dialed up to the next level. Two seemingly unconnected crimes become tangled together inside Calabasas’ gated communities. The tension in this book is high throughout as Duncan’s retirement looms closer and a new captain is assigned to the Lost Hills Sheriff Station. With the department still reeling from the Great Whites scandal revealed by Eve, at every step of the process she must ask herself who she can truly trust.

I love everything about the character of Eve, and this book only strengthened my feelings. This is the best installment of the series so far, with Eve’s instinct leading the way - connecting two heinous crimes and untangling the culprits’ methods and reasons. I’m excited to see where the series goes next!

Love this latest installment in the series! The writing is sharp and quippy, the plot is effortless to follow, already excited for the next one!

I received this ARC for an honest review:

We are back with Eve and her partner Duncan. They are working a case undercover and driving a fancy Rolls SUV. Arriving at the house that they are using in a gated community working on solving home robberies Duncan hopes that the gig lasts for another week or so. Eve of course is wanting something to happen and when it does it catches both of them by surprise. The quickness of everything has her and one suspect upstairs where the safe is when he is not paying attention she draws her weapon, he leaps out of the second-story window to dive into the pool, he misses and makes a mess on the cement next to the pool. Duncan shoots another suspect and the third takes off carjacks a woman and ends up at a grocery store. Meanwhile, Eve is giving chase in the Rolls, and of course, there is damage when she arrives at the store, running in she is looking for the suspects and when thinking she has him he is shot and killed by a security guard.
This is just the beginning of the story, of course, there is a lot more, Eve is still dealing with the fallout from the last book in happened. She does not like the way everything ended up with this crime scene, and then in the same gated community, a woman looks to have lost her child. So much is going on yet it all works. Work is the key for if she continues at her pace she will die of stress. A very good book with very good characters.

Gated Prey is the third installment in the Eve Ronin series and while you do not need to read the previous two novels to understand this plot, it would help with some of the background. In this story Eve Ronin and her partner, Duncan, are tasked to catch robbers who are targeting high end homes of the wealthy in the gated hills of Los Angeles. However, nothing is that simple and they soon find themselves on a case that has far further reach than a simple robbery.

One aspect of Lee Goldberg's writing that carries through all of the Eve Ronin novels is his ability to write as if the story was being told on tv or the big screen. The characters are always relatable and the reader can almost imagine the words "end scene" at the end of each chapter. This makes for a very interesting and captivating story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an advanced copy of this novel.

This is the third installment of the Detective Eve Ronin series but it reads well as a stand-alone.
f you like police procedurals with a difference, this one is for you. Highly recommended. Thank you to Thomas & Mercer, NetGalley, and the author for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Gated Prey is the latest Detective Eve Ronin mystery by Lee Goldberg. Eve is the youngest homicide detective in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, a position many think that she hasn’t earned since she got the job after a video of her went viral. Because of this, she isn’t very popular among her coworkers, except for her soon-to-retire partner Duncan Pavone.

In Gated Prey, she and Duncan are running a simple sting operation of home invasion robberies in a gated community of palatial homes in Calabasas when everything goes wrong. Three intruders end up dead, and Eve and Duncan almost end up among the victims. Eve chases one of the suspects into a local grocery store where a store security guard kills him. Eve’s bosses consider the case closed, but Eve feels there are too many unanswered questions. Was the trap actually for her, bloody payback for Eve’s very public take down of corrupt deputies? Or is it even more sinister than that?

On top of all that, Eve is dodging phone calls from Hollywood agents and producers who are turning her life into a TV show that she reluctantly agreed too, simply because she knew it was happening with her or without her, and this way she hoped to have some control.

Gated Prey is the third in this series, which happens to by my favorite series by Lee Goldberg. It is a fast-paced mystery with interesting and well-developed characters. Lee is a very skilled writer who always manages to throw in some witty dialogue to lighten things up; in this case, it comes in the form of the banter between Eve and Duncan. I love their relationship and really hope it takes several books before Duncan actually gets to retire. This is a fast and fun read and I can’t wait for the next one in the series! While the plot can stand on its own, I highly recommend starting with the first book, Lost Hills.

Goldberg did an outstanding job. I loved the setting - dreamy California where the Kardashians live. This was a much different story than that of the Kardashians, though. This involves a police officer pair trying to solve a crime. The pair is very different and in order to do their jobs, they need to get over their differences. This was a great portrayal of law enforcement, the community, ways that people of different cultures can connect and of course, mystery. I want to read more of Goldberg.

Gated Prey is a page-turner, as were the first two books in this series about young detective Eve Ronin, with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s department. You can definitely read this one as a standalone, without having read the other two books in the series. Of course, as with any series, you get more backstory if you read them in order, but the author does a great job of giving you the information you need.

These books are filled with local color and detail. You can tell that the author, Lee Goldberg, knows the area where the action takes place really well (in this book, mainly Calabasas and the surrounding area). I’ve had the privilege of visiting the general area recently as part of a family visit, and his descriptions are great.

Eve Ronin is an excellent main character - driven to succeed in what is still a very male-dominated field and who has made some enemies among her fellow officers via a corruption scandal she uncovered. I love her relationship with her soon-to-retire partner, Duncan. He tries to give her useful advice while chomping down on any kind of junk food he can get his hands on. In this book, Eve is living at a local hotel while her apartment is being renovated and Duncan always joins her in the morning so he can partake in the daily breakfast buffet.

There are two mysteries/crimes featured in this book and both were pretty complex, which made them enjoyable for the reader to try to figure out.

CW: gun violence, death of a baby

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the opportunity to read an advance readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

A twisty page turner in classic Goldberg fashion. My first offering that was so much fun I have to back a read more. Set in sunny and dreamy LA Goldberg will challenge you stay awake long past bedtime to finish.

Good story that kind of drug in some parts. It was entertaining at parts and then would slow. All and all not a bad book but I prefer something with a quicker pace.