This book wasn’t my favorite. I just did not like it. I think it was the narrator, but I just could not get into the story.

I struggled with this book and did not finish it even though I was hopeful. The different voices of the narrator threw me off and it felt like it took away from the book instead of enhancing the book. Also it felt very wordy and that there was a word count that had to be met and therefore a bunch of adjectives were thrown in here and there that were not necessary. I really wanted to like this book but could only get a quarter of the way in. Perhaps I would have enjoyed a digital copy better? I wish the author and this book much success.

I didn't realize this was part of a series and maybe it would have made a difference for me. I wasn't able to learn enough about the characters to really care for them and although it was a murder mystery it was slow. For most of the book I was waiting for something to happen to reel me in and it didn't until nearly the end. The twist was a good one though and I was glad I stuck it out.

I think my biggest issue was that the narrator was difficult to like and I kept loosing track of which character we were following in each chapter- and there are a lot of them. It may be easier reading the book though.

I would recommend this book to read versus listen too and to probably start with the first book.

This mother daughter author duo has an impressive vocabulary. The details had details. With so many large words and the number of character POVs, it was challenging for me to follow (as an audiobook) and I struggled to know what to expect from the plot until about the 30% mark because of this. Since I was struggling to follow while listening, I almost did not finish. But I’m glad I kept going because I did really enjoy how the story unfolded, and I eventually got the characters straight in my head. I really liked the resolution of the story and wish I could have read it from the perspective of the murderer(s).

I really enjoyed the angle of investigating the Hollywood rich and famous. I could definitely see this as a TV series. I liked the imperfections of the characters and how they were all integral. The narrator did a fantastic job with this book.

I normally listen to audiobooks at about 1.75x speed, but had to slow this one down because I struggled with keeping up.

Thank you Dreamscape for allowing me an advanced audiobook on NetGalley.

3.5 stars

I’ll be honest, I didn’t know this book was part of a series. But I don’t think I was missing anything in this book by not reading the first 2.

Overall this book was well written and I enjoyed how the mystery of who done it unraveled. It was more of a low key murder mystery, which was fine with me. I got time to enjoy the book instead of turning the pages so quickly to find out the ending. The author did a great job of getting the reader to really dislike many of the characters in the story, which made it easier to be ok with what happens and how it happened!

Overall The Devil You Know was a good read, the narrator for the audio version was good as well. I would definitely recommend.

***Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC copy in return for an honest review***

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this audio ARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date: January 17, 2023

The third in this series, and I wish I had read the first two prior to listening to this installment. There are many characters and relationships to know, and I think it would’ve been easier to get into this one if I already knew some background. This slow burn police procedural has plenty of twists that kept me guessing along the way!

⭐️Rating: 2/5
✍🏼Author: P.J. Tracy
📖Genre: Suspense

Margaret Nolan investigates the death of a Disney star who had a deep fake child pornography video surface just before before his body was found in rubble that fell from a cliff during an earthquake. Was this an accident? Suicide? Murder? As she investigates the Hollywood elite she finds that it's easier to find someone with a motive than without.

I'm going to give this one the benefit of the doubt and say I might have enjoyed it more had I read the first two books in the series. Usually with this genre you can jump right in, but nothing in this book hooked me. I didn't get to know any characters well enough to care about them. I really tried to get into the mystery but I couldn't and by 60% in, where it should have at least started getting interesting, I found myself just wishing to be done with it instead of turning pages wanting to know what was going to happen next.

“Los Angeles has many faces: the real LA where regular people live and work, the degenerate underbelly of any big city, and the rarified world of wealth, power, and celebrity. LAPD Detective Margaret Nolan’s latest case plunges her into this insular realm of privilege, and gives her a glimpse of the darkness behind the glitter.”

This murder mystery was a departure from most I’ve read, in that was the slowest of burns.

I enjoyed the characters, particularly the main female detective, the many points of view, the converging topics (murder and child porn and cybercrimes, oh my!) and the descriptions of Los Angeles, a city to which I’ve never been.

The dialogue was a little clunky, the action (such that it was) left you hanging until the bitter end, and the huge cast didn’t allow for much depth.

I would very much advise to read the first two of the series before this one. While it’s mostly a stand-alone, there are a few characters that don’t figure into the main story arc and aren’t given much of an explanation in this book.

All in all, this one won’t raise your blood pressure, but if you like a deliberate unfolding, (think Agatha Christie and Anthony Horowitz), this one might be for you.

6/10

Thanks to NetGalley, St Martin’s Press, and Dreamscape Media for this simmering ARC.

I will be completely honest, I had zero idea this book was a part of a series. 🫣 I read enough of the synopsis to know I HAD to read it because it pulled me in, but stay with me, this book is FANTASTIC.

There are a lot of characters to keep up with, but the author goes into detail on each one and a little into their history, so I'm sure the earlier books have more details. But the details are what got me in this book. Each character has their own little quirk, if you will, and you are either going to love them or hate them. And with that, it feels like you're enduring this journey with the characters.

Now I need to go back and read the other books and really am interested to see if another book is written because I can totally see this being the end of their story or just the beginning.

4 ⭐️‘S for book 3.5 ⭐️‘S for audio
Nolan and Crawford’s newest case is set in LaLa land amongst the rich and powerful. Evan Hobbes is on the cusp of ruin when a deep fake video hits social media. As an actor he has a squeaky clean reputation, so who would want to destroy him? When he’s found dead in the aftermath of an earthquake, the detectives aren’t sure if it’s an accident, suicide or murder. Meanwhile another murder has taken place in Santa Barbara, one that very well could be linked to Hobbes, but is it? Nolan and Crawford are quite the team as the head up the investigation the reader is swept along. While it was fairly easy to figure out the perp, once you got deeper into the investigation it was a good story. Listening to the audio, the characters come fast and furious and there are many of them! Keeping them straight might be easier if reading the book and it takes a while to like the narrator. The voice lacks emotion and is hard to get past at first, but once the story gets going, it’s easier to listen to. This is a better read in my opinion. Thank you to Minotaur Books, Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for an ARC and ALC of this book.

“The Devil You Know” is a solid mystery set in glittering Los Angeles. The interesting array of characters include actors, producers, and agents, and a key element of the story is wondering when they are telling the truth and when they are acting. The crimes in this novel pile up, which means that there are a lot of cops involved—multiple jurisdictions, homicide detectives, and computer investigators—which adds a lot to the story. The reader will be balancing the various storylines and wondering how they come together. I felt that most of the characters were nuanced enough to seem real, while the crimes resonated as typically contemporary. As the cops move through glamorous houses and examine the lifestyles of the rich and famous they uncover what we now expect: the less savory side of Hollywood. There are some unexpected moments, but even if a few elements are predictable they are no less entertaining. I especially enjoyed this on audiobook and I am hoping for more stories featuring LAPD detective Margaret Nolan. Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this audiobook.

I didn't realize until several chapters in, that this is the third installment in a series, and it did cause some confusion. So, I give this book three stars for sometimes feeling disconnected and floating names around - it really make me wish that I had read the first two books. And the fourth star because I really wished I had read those two books!
The writing and characters were great, and I might very well go back and start from the beginning.

Thanks you NetGalley for the chance to listen to, and review this ARC.

Detective Margaret Nolan is back. This time her investigation is taking her deep into the folds of LA’s Hollywood scene. When her suspects become additional murder victims, Nolan finds herself at the center of a scandalous Hollywood story.

This is the third book in the series and honestly my least favorite. I’ve seen quite a few reviews of people reading this as a stand-alone, and I don’t recommend doing that. There is tons of character building in the first two books, that the third book just doesn’t provide.

I really enjoyed the first two books in this series, so was excited to dive into another. When the first book came out, it was hard to see Nolan as the main character with Sam playing such a strong role in the book. I was actually surprised that it was a series based around Nolan at the time. In book 2, we see Nolan more and I started to get a feel for how this series was following her career and not Sam’s. But in this newest installment it’s purely Nolan focused, and honestly Sam’s pieces of the story are sidebars that have little relevance, other than continuing to bring him on the journey. It does seem as if P.J. Tracy is ramping up to something with Sam’s story, but for this book I felt it detracted from the storyline.

Unlike the first two books, The Devil You Know, lacked growth for our characters that I have become accustomed too while reading the series. The first two books focus so much on the stories of Sam and Nolan, that to have lack of that in this book was a little jarring. Nolan, this go around felt stale and uninteresting. Sam’s role felt unclear and bogged down the story at times.

The actual police procedural part of the story is fine – there are some twists, it’s well written, and it will keep you guessing. But I did find this one a bit harder to follow. There are quite a few additional subplots that I felt bogged down the main storyline, and overall, I felt something was missing. Ultimately, I didn’t love this book and felt a bit too disinterested in what was going on. I might read a 4th, but this one wasn’t at all what I was hoping it would be.


The Devil You Know comes out January 17, 2023. Huge thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Minotaur Books for my ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. If you liked this review, please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my instagram @speakingof.books.

Thank you to NetGalley + Dreamscape Media for the ALC in exchange for my honest review!

This story follows LAPD detective Margaret Nolan as she investigates her newest case - the death of a hotshot celebrity, Evan Hobbes, days after a faked video of him leaked and all but ruined his career. While interviewing those closest to him, including his agent (whose own brother-in-law has also turned up dead) it's up to Detective Nolan to uncover if Hobbes' death was an accident, suicide or murder.

This story is the third in the Detective Margaret Nolan universe, and for the most part stands alone as its own book. I haven't read the first two, so there were a few references/details surrounding Nolan's personal life that I wasn't caught up on - with that said, the plot of this novel can be fully understood without background from the first couple of books. I thought it read like a very standard crime drama, with the details buttoned up at the end. I could easily see this being an episode of Law & Order. It was pretty straightforward, with a few small twists thrown in there. I thought the audio version was well done!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I did not realize this book was part of a series when I began it, but I think it worked well as a standalone. The mystery was multi-layered and had me guessing throughout. The only issue was there seemed to be some side characters who had POV chapters that did not do anything to add to the overall story which was confusing. Overall the book was an okay book.

This review was originally posted on Books of My Heart


Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The series has settled into being the Detective Margaret Nolan series written by the daughter from the mother-daughter writing team. Detective Nolan, along with her partner, is sort of a main character, with supporting characters in her friends, family and love interests. But Sam Easton is equally important, along with the people in his life.

In The Devil You Know, Nolan is more central to the story. She is adjusting to a relationship with someone else from her work. She is enjoying it but is not used to having anyone in her life so much. Margaret lost her brother recently; he was in the military. The case involves several high profile Hollywood people who are narcissists, used to getting their way and not being questioned.

Sam's role here is like a sub-plot which never goes anywhere. He was also in the military, having lost much of his team and suffering physical injuries. Sam started out as a suspect or at the least a witness, when his wife is murdered in the first book. We see him getting back into life and taking a long time friendship into more.

There were all kinds of characters with rough emotional situations and high monetary stakes. Then people start dying. There are plenty of suspects and motives. We get the development of those characters and even some of their points of view.

I appreciated both the personal and professional growth in the "series regulars" along with quite a bit of development of the characters in this case. I always enjoy a police procedural with a mystery or multiple mysteries intertwined. I'm enjoying the glitzy light of Hollywood contrasted with the dark side of murder.

Narration:
Abby Craden has been narrating this series. It took me a bit to settle into her performance but it fits for me now. Her voice is low for a female which makes the character voices a bit unusual. I listened comfortably at my normal 1.5x speed.

Oh my gosh this audiobook was amazing! It hooked me from the very first chapter and kept me on my toes!

After starting the book, I found myself confused and then realized by googling that the book is actually the 3rd in a series. Had I known that, I wouldn't have requested it until I had read the other 3. I feel like the description on NetGalley should say that it is the 3rd book so as not to confuse reviewers. I have stopped reading and will have to continue after reading the first two. Then I can provide an accurate review.

This is the third book in a series of Margaret Nolan's detective career. I personally felt like there were too many characters that were important and that I could not keep up with who was who. Very fast paced and it switched back and firth between who was being investigated and then someone else becoming a bigger part of the story. I think I would have been able to keep up better if it was a hard copy or ebook instead of the audiobook. I was not expecting the twist at the end.

Thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

3rd installment in the detective Nolan series, a series with a ton of characters so it’s best if read in order. Despite the many characters they are mostly well developed and the settings are perfectly descriptive.

This book was my least favourite of the 3 but it was still a solid read - fast paced and threw some really good twists in there. I would have preferred reading this book as opposed to listening to it though as there is just a lot going on and you really don’t want to miss any details!