My first book by the author and most definitely not the last it had me on the edge of the seat i n3ed to know what was happening nect. I feel like i couldnt get through it fast enough. One of characters needed more work but other than that this was great

3.5 Stars
Evan Hobbs a famous, wholesome type of actor is found dead in a beach cliff landside the day after a faked video showing him as a child molester. Is it an accident, suicide, or murder? Detective Margaret Nolan and her partner, Al Crawford are called to the scene to figure it out.

The blurb makes it sound like Evan’s agent, Seth Baum, is part of the investigation into the death of Evan, but while we do get his POV he’s not part of the investigation. He’s what you’d expect an agent in that cutthroat business in Hollywood, but he was one of the more likeable of the array of unlikable characters here. The workings of the entertainment business featured in this case. The lengths people will go for fame and fortune is unsettling.

Sam Easton was also part of the story, but not featured in the investigation at all. There was some movement in his personal life, but to be honest his story wasn’t of much interest to me. Margaret’s personal life, her romance with Remy was on the backburner, but I didn’t mind that either, because I was more invested in the mystery anyhow.

I do enjoy a good police procedural, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as the previous Monkeywrench series. Still, it was an entertaining mystery. I did figure out the main plot but there was a surprise at the end I wasn’t expecting!

I alternately listened to the audio version and read an e-copy. Abby Craden is a performer I’m familiar with and I enjoyed her performance of both male and female voices. I listened at my usual 1.5-1.75x normal speed.

Thank you to the author P.J. Tracy, publisher Dreamscape Media LLC, and as always NetGalley, for an advance audio copy of THE DEVIL YOU KNOW.

I have to hand it to Abby Craden, the narrator for the audiobook, because she kept me entertained enough to get me through this one. Also, I'm so impressed she was able to voice such an enormous cast of characters, though that ended up being kind of part of the problem also. She simply didn't have the vocal range to give each of them the distinction they needed. We have to forgive her though, she's only one human. How many different ways can she express her voice?

Which brings me to my main point, which is that I couldn't follow this audiobook. I couldn't keep the characters straight because there were too many of them and they all behaved similarly to each other. So even if I had read the book rather than listened, I think character distinction would still have been a problem.

I couldn't follow anything that happened because I never really understood who was speaking or their stakes. And I couldn't invest because I never understood what was at stake! By the time I reached the end, I was so confused, I didn't even realize I had just been fed the climax.

But I did notice the lack of denouement.

I've read from other reviewers that this book reads better if you've read the other books in the series. Unfortunately, I didn't even know this book was part of a series when I requested it from NetGalley. I still think single books should be able to stand on their own, however, especially mysteries.

So take this review with a grain of salt. I'm giving it 3 stars because I could tell that the writing is excellent. I'm going to try this writer again!

Rating: 🤔🤔🤔 / 5 confused me's
Recommend? Yes? If you read the others.
Finished: January 24 2023

It's important to note that this is part three in the series and it will do the reader good to be caught up before reading. While it can operate as a standalone book, a lot is lost by not having the previous stories under my belt and I was often confused. As a mystery goes, the story felt rather obvious and very Los Angeles (but that's the point, right?). Several dead bodies show up and it's a classic whodunnit to figure out who the culprit is.

Thank you netgalley, dreamscape media, st martins press, minotaur books, pj tracy for the #gifted ALC in exchange for honest review. I wish netgalley you flag if the book is part of a series i had no clue there were previous books. I also was very confused by the characters and lack of plot????

A couple positive takeaways was that the narration was well done with a great cast and that it was a short listen.

Review:

The Devil You Know
P.J. Tracy

Since I completed this novel solely on audiobook let me just say the the narration was minimal. While they had been able to capture different tones and speech patterns it either felt extremely exaggerated or that they just woke up and remembered they are recoding an audiobook.

As for the novel, I did not do my research before requesting it from Netgalley. It’s part 3 of a series. Although it can operate as a standalone, because that is what I thought I got until I went to add it as read on Storgraph & Goodreads.

There wasn’t so much as a twist in the novel and it reads as very soap opera police/detective show. I think the only part of this novel that shows it’s a part of a series is the slight nod of “I’m not willing to be in committed relationship because I’m married to the job” came into play. It was weird and didn’t add anything to the actual plot, but I guess it added to the word count.

Something was off with the whole plot, that still nags at me, just doesn’t nag enough to make me want to read another of Tracy’s book to see if the solution could be found in book 4.

I will say that the setting the scene for the “murders” was a crucial point in keeping me going. It was as if the scenes walk straight out of a Law & Order type show. And those had been so well written that you could have absolutely claimed to of been a fly on the wall.

Over a short period of time several dead bodies turn up. The dead bodies are all from the rich and famous in Los Angeles. Detectives Marge and her partner Al work with the cyber feds to uncover the tricks of the expensive lawyers obtained to protect the suspects. The hidden lives of the deceased are very interesting as we learn about their personal lives. Great details and the narrator adds a lot to the tone and mood of the story.

Thank you to NetGalley, P.J. Tracy, and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with a review..
Good and great twists but so many characters I kept getting lost. I got a little confused sometimes and had to reread some stuff.
Overall it is a good book. I hope you enjoy it

Sadly I was excited for this book but I didn’t notice it was third in a series, I hadn’t read the first two. Typically I can jump right into series regardless the number and be able to understand it all and I’m not to sure if I was just lost but I was incredibly disinterested in this story. I love a good audiobook but this one I couldn’t stay focused it just simply didn’t do it for me. This book isn’t a good standalone. This book just didn’t do it for me.

This book is book three to two previous books and as a reader would be able to understanding the characters and storyline better if better read the previous books first. This should have been notated before requesting. The Audio did not keep my attention to the story or the characters.

This police procedural takes the reader to glamourous and glitzy world of film and tv stars, it- girls, their agents and producers - parties and beach houses, as well as caviar breakfasts.
However, all that glitters is not gold. Under the veneer of flamboyance, something dark is lurking. An earthquake Leads to the discovery of a body and from there on several more are discovered - Detective Maggie Nolan does not believe in accidents or suicides, she suspects foul play. But there are so many potential suspects all with their own grievances and motives - everyone had opportunities, there was a big party …

The Devil You Know is a well written procedural - it’s the third book in the Maggie Nolan series but it can easily be read as a standalone. The short chapters keep the action moving along quickly and the plot is suspenseful and interesting. The writing was very descriptive. The complex characters added to the narrative as clues are dispersed along the way, highly entertaining ! I was reminded of Lee Goldberg’s Eve Ronin series - if you like those, you’ll love this one as well !

I had access to the audio for this one and the narration definitely added to the atmosphere of suspense!

It is really not very often that I dislike characters as much as in this book. I not only disliked the characters, I disliked what the characters seemed to be saying about the author. Who could write people this badly?

I am disappointed because I have liked other books from this author and in this series. My mind constantly wandered throughout this entire thing whether I was listening to the audio book or reading the ARC. I had to force myself to finish. I hate forcing myself to finish.

The Devil You Know by P.J. Tracy

This is book 3 of the Detective Margaret Nolan series. The body of actor Evan Hobbes is found in the rubble of a Malibu rock slide a day after a fake video threatens to ruin his career. It’s not clear to Detective Margaret Nolan whether it’s an accident, a suicide, or a murder. Then the bodies of the powerful brother-in-law of Hobbes's agent and an unknown starlet are found together. Is there a connection between the two cases?

I liked the character of Margaret Nolan. Detective Nolan is all but assured that there is a killer on the loose; someone with an axe to grind and message to deliver. Detective Nolan will have to work with her team to get to the bottom of what’s happening, all while she tries to deflect the gleam of riches and entitlement that stardom leaves in its wake. With a killer hiding, Detective Nolan knows that this will be a challenge, but when has she ever shied way from it?

Narrated by Abby Craden who did a great job bringing detective Nolan to life as well as other characters. This was a 4 star read for me and the only reason is that I did not read the other books so some aspects of the story was confusing but not enough to pull away from the story itself.
I do plan to go back and read the other two books as well as future books. I still enjoyed detective Nolan. If you plan to read this please read the other books first in the series it is not that well to be considered a full standalone.

Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for a free audio copy of The Devil You Know for an honest review. All ideas and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Before I get started on my review, I must preface that this is the third book in this series. I had not read the first two books, so it did take me a few chapters to get familiar with the characters, but I think this can easily be read as a standalone novel. I had no trouble following along.

I chose to read this book because I love a good Hollywood mystery! This story centers around the death of Evan Hobbs, a beloved actor, who is found in the rubble of a rockslide in Malibu. How did he die though? Suicide, an accident, or was it murder? As LAPD Detective Margaret Nolan starts to investigate his untimely death more bodies pile up which leads to a fun whodunnit mystery!

I listened to the audio book of this story and Abby Craden nailed it. I was never annoyed, and love how she differentiated between each character. It was one of those, “I don't mind traffic,” today type audio books!

Overall, I really enjoyed the story and want to go back and read the first two in the series. If you are into Hollywood mysteries check this one out! Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you netgalley for this advanced copy. I used to really enjoy these books, but it's been hard to get into the past few. I thought perhaps listening would be better. It was slow. My mind honestly wandered too much and I got to the end and didn't know who the killer was. Thankfully they said in the epilogue. Not for me.

Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen and review this audiobook.

To be transparent I did not realize this was the third book in a series. I may have enjoyed it more had I read/listened to the first two. I didn’t feel like the characters were developed enough. Even though this is the third book in the series it would have been nice if there was some recap or descriptions of the existing characters. I listened to the audiobook version and while I liked the narrator, some of the voices were too similar to distinguish at times. I did enjoy the plot and the pacing of it. There were some good twists and turns (even if they were predictable).

3.5 Stars
A few things before I get into the official review-
This was an audiobook and I did not realize this was the second book in the Detective Margaret Nolan series. I have not read the first one. With that said, I do feel that this was standalone in that I wasn’t completely confused, but if I knew the happenings of book 1, I’m sure some of the characters in this book I would have felt more of a connection to- specially Sam and Melody.

Overall it was entertaining. I had to listen to the beginning twice to kinda get what was happening- could just have been the narrator or my mental state at the time. I did start to suspect the murderer to be who it ended up being but then there an additional twist in the epilogue that I did not see coming that left me saying WOW. I didn’t particularly LOVE anything about the book, but I do like Detective Nolan so I may have to read the first book!

This was a fun read! I was fairly certain I had guessed who the culprit was and for once I was actually right!

The narrator did a great job and her voices were well done!

One thing that made it hard for me was that there were so many characters and I had a hard time keeping track of them all, but I’ve read other reviews that say it helps having read the previous books in this series. I had no clue beforehand that this is part of a series, so I may have to go back and read the previous ones!

Despite being pretty sure I knew who to blame, this still kept me on my toes and interested in getting to the conclusion!

Thank you to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, and of course PJ Tracy for this audio ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Thanks NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an audio copy of this book. I love PJ Tracy and getting this book a bit early was such a treat. I will be recommending it to my mystery-loving friends. Maggie Nolan is back saving LA from murderers. The book starts out with a woman at the beach being very zen and a few pages later, she is very dead. A Hollywood actor, famous for his wholesome roles with Disney, is the victim of a deep fake news report of pedophilia. Is it a fake? Later that night, he is found dead when a section of the PCH is washed away. Next, his friend is found dead, and later his agent. Tracy does a good job of winding in all the characters without confusion. She also brings in some characters from previous novels in the series in a way that doesn’t seem contrived. You find yourself wondering what will happen next. This would be a great book for book club.

The Devil You Know (Detective Margaret Nolan #3)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ / Pages: 294 / Genre: Mysteries & Thrillers

An A-list actor is found dead after a disturbing video of him with a child is leaked online. He swore it was a deepfake and he was being set up. Detective Maggie Nolan investigates the celebrity world of agents and actors.

Although this is the third book in the Detective Margaret Nolan series, you can easily read it as a one-off like I did because there isn’t that much going on in her personal story to follow. Nolan is just your typical tough female detective in LA.

Overall, I thought this was a decent story but there wasn’t anything really special about it. What I really didn’t like was the ridiculous use of unusual words and phrases. Not a great experience for an audiobook.

Thank you, @Netgalley and @StMartinsPress for the advance copy of this book.