You can Die

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

Another stellar mystery from a talented author, if you haven't read her before, this is an excellent novel.

FBI Special Agent Laurel Snow is once again tracking a serial killer. But the plot is more complicated this time because she is also dealing with the sudden reappearance of her felon-committing father and the antics of her sociopathic, not-to-be-trusted half sister Abigail. The characters are all relatable if somewhat flawed. Laurel’s biggest flaw is being a super genius which means she doesn’t relate well with people, but that is also an endearing characteristic which makes her more likable. The latest serial killer she is pursuing is stabbing men and leaving them in a tent with Valentine’s Day hearts stuffed into their mouths. Ugh! Some of the crime scenes are a little graphically displayed but not so gory that they turned my stomach. I enjoyed the mystery and trying to discover whodunit along with Laurel and Huck Rivers, her lover and the Fish and Wildlife Warden who helps her with her cases and also keeps her emotionally attached and centered. I am not a big fan of Abigail because she is so underhanded and deceitful, but she is well developed and believable. I enjoyed following the many clues and once the big reveal was done, I was able to look back and see clearly the red herrings that had masterfully led me astray. The writing is sharp in this cleverly written page-turner and although this book is the third in the series, it can easily be read and enjoyed as a standalone.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guidelines Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

Writing: 5/5
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 5/5
Enjoyment: 5/5

Themes: Crime, Thriller

You Can Die is a continuation of FBI Special Agent Laurel Snow solving serial killer casses and trying to navigate her new life in the Washington wilderness. I really love this series and the different characters throughout the series. Each case their team goes through is intriguing and you can follow the bread crumbs if you pay attention to the correct clues. There seemed to be more than a few times where the same characters got hurt or attacked over and over again that made me wonder how they were still alive. I also love how protective Huck was and of course I loved his dog. Can’t wait for the next book in the series.

I received an arc and am leaving an honest review.

So, some advice: I didn't realize from the Netgalley listing that this is book three in a series. If you have not read books one and two in this series, I'd recommend doing that becauseI was a bit lost.

The opening was a bit confusing. For a minute I thought I was in a YA book.The main character has an evil sister - clearly there is some backstory there!

People clearly seem to love this series so I think I need to find the time to read books one and two and then go back to this! When I have time to do that I will come back and edit this!

Men are dying near churches with valentine candy hearts shoved in their mouths and multiple stab wounds. This crime thriller with a bit of romance features FBI Special Agent Laurel Snow in the third book in the series. The victims appear to be family men with community ties. Is there a link between them or are they randomly picked? Laurel’s brilliant half-sister, Dr. Abigail Caine, continues to play a large role in this story. She plays mind games with others in the story, including Laurel. Washington Fish and Wildlife Captain Huck Rivers and his team assist Laurel and her team. This seems to be a case of opposites attract.

The characterization is excellent. As the protagonist, Laurel is reasonably strong, honest, and brilliant, but she also has some vulnerabilities. She has an eidetic memory and started college when she was 11. With multiple degrees, she has been successful in her career, but sometimes misses underlying signals from others in social situations. She has dedicated herself to taking criminals off the street. Captain Huck Rivers is something of a loner, is charming and nice, but has trust issues. He likes rules and routines and likes to be in control of situations. Their attraction to each other is only a small part of the story. Abigail is intelligent and a manipulator. The other characters had depth; especially the members of Laurel’s team and Ena, a fish and wildlife officer.

Most of the story is from Laurel’s point of view and is set in and around Genesis Valley, Washington. From her unusual background, to her atypical reflections as she tries to figure out what game the killer is playing with them, to her relentless pursuit of justice for the victims, readers will root for her success.

The well-written story has a clever and deeply involved plot with enough twists and red herrings to keep a reader guessing. The pacing and dialogue are great. As they evolved, the plot facts were intriguing and occasionally unexpected. The suspense builds steadily throughout the story. The physical world-building was vivid and I could feel the cold, sleet, and snow pelting the characters. I wanted a little more closure of one of the threads weaved into the story. However, that may be resolved in the next book. Other themes in the story include friendship, family, romance, desire to learn, and much more.

Overall, this was a riveting story with intense scenes as well as compelling and complex characters that kept me fully engaged. It’s skillfully written and will appeal to readers who enjoy psychological thrillers and police procedurals involving serial killers. The intricacy of the plot plus attention to detail in the world-building made this a definite winner for me. I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

Kensington Books - Zebra and Rebecca Zanetti provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via Net Galley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. Publication date is currently set for July 25 2023. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.

You Can Die is the third book in Rebecca Zanetti’s mystery/thriller series featuring Laurel Snow, a brilliant profiler for the FBI. When I say Laurel is brilliant I mean it—she is a literal genius who went to college at 11 and has perfect recall along with numerous degree covering a multitude of disciplines. She is also socially awkward, a bit of a loner, and has trouble reading people. At the start of the series, Laurel returned to her hometown of Genesis Valley, WA to solve a series of murders and ultimately decided to put together and lead a new FBI violent crimes unit covering the Pacific Northwest that would allow her to stay. Over the course of the series Laurel has made some real connections (including with the broody but handsome fish and wildlife officer Huck Rivers) and put together a scrappy team of her own. In You Can Die, Laurel and her team are tasked with investigating a series of ritualistic murders including that of her friend/office manager’s dead beat ex-husband. Although she and Huck are growing closer, other family matters/drama continue to cross into her investigations further complicating her hectic life and potentially putting her in the line of fire.

I continue to thoroughly enjoy the series! Laurel Snow is a complex and interesting protagonist and it’s been wonderful to watch her grow over the course of the three books. While this isn’t really romantic suspense (more mystery/thriller with romantic elements), as a romance reader I eat up all of the Huck/Laurel dynamics and how they are navigating their evolving relationship. They are very different people with different approaches to work and relationships and the personal and professional interactions make for some great reading. I was thrilled that Laurel’s father finally made an appearance in this one but there is still so much to learn about who he is and what he’s been up to—we only scratched the surface in You Can Die. For some reason I thought this was the last Laurel Snow book but given how many open questions there still are when it comes to Lauren and her various family members (among other things), I can only assume there is more to come. I can’t wait to see how Laurel finally resolves things!

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington for the complimentary ARC—all thoughts and opinions are my own.

You Can Die is the 3rd book in the Laurel Snow series by Rebecca Zanetti. Laurel Snow is not like any other character in a book I have ever read. She is super intelligent but has a problem understanding emotion and facial expressions. She is a work in progress.

Washington Fish and Wildlife Captain Huck Rivers is perfect as her love interest. His character has progressed and he is very supportive of her letting her be herself with all her quirks.

A showdown with her sister, Abigail the genius sociopath is coming. I expect this to coincide with their father having a bigger role in a book. After missing for a while, he shows up and is attacked by the murderer in this book. He is not a nice person even though he is a pastor and his congregation loves him.

The murders are horrific and pull you into the story at the very beginning. Laurel’s secretary, Kate’s ex-husband is murdered. He is found by their daughter in a purple tent with candy hearts in his mouth. This starts the murder spree that must be solved.

I love this series and can’t wait for the next one especially after the little surprise at the end.

I received this ARC for my honest review.

You Can Die
Rebecca Zanetti
July 25, 2023

Laurel Snow is back in upstate Washington as she has finished a DC project with the bureau. It is great for her to be back with her team and continuing her budding relationship with Captain Huck Rivers. She’s not in Washington long when a bizarre case is called in by the victim’s teenage daughter. Viv finds her dad in a purple tent stabbed to death with valentine candy pushed down his throat. She had been out looking for him as he had been unfaithful to her mom, Kate. She had planned to give him what for about their family relationship. Instead she and a good friend from school found Victor Vuittron bludgeoned. This start of her 3rd Laurel Snow thriller gives the reader a gruesome view of You Can Die and things to come.
You Can Die will be published on July 25, 2023 by Zebra Books of Kensington Books. I was able to read and review the ARC via NetGalley. I appreciate their allowing me to read Zanetti’s latest Laurel Snow novel. From the start she had me hooked wondering how many more people would suffer the effects of the Valentine Heart Killer. Along with the investigation we find Laurel back with Huck furthering their romance. Although this could be the last of Agent Snow’s adventures I would truly enjoy more of Ms. Zanetti’s suspense and excitement in the northwest. Most of her readers have read the first two adventures - this one is full of surprises - do not miss it! Enjoy!!

This is a voluntary review of an advanced copy.

Wow, I can't imagine having an evil sister then add in an evil father! Abigail is at it again, as there are new murders to solve and Laurel just can't seem to get anything to put her sister away for her crimes.

There is so much going on in this book and so many secrets revealed that I don't want to spoil anything and give away the plot but I will say that I did not see the ending coming - it was a total shock to me!

I could not put this book down and although it was hard for me, I did not read the ending to see whodunit - and that is saying a lot about how intriguing the book was that I couldn't stop reading - in order!

Pulse pounding intrigue and drama from start to finish! The third book in Rebecca Zanetti's Laurel Snow series is filled with mystery and equal amounts of strife as a crime spree keeps them on their toes in town and Laurel's wayward recently found family continue to pull at her sanity. I really hope we have more to come in this series because there is so much still to uncover.

Laurel continues to be an intense investigator with lots of heart and warmth with those she cares about. I can't wait to see what is in store for her and Huck in the future and what comes of her crazy fam.

I highly recommend this book as well as the entire series to anyone that enjoys a high impact serial killer drama with lots of emotion and heart backing up the characters.

Rebecca Zanetti's You Can Die is the third novel in her Laurel Snow series, and unfortunately, it's the the first book in the series I've read, which left me floundering at first, but the author did provide enough backstory information so I didn't feel totally lost. However, in this reader's opinion, as thrillers go, this novel was rather short on thrills, which was unfortunate since Laurel was on the trail of the sadistic Broken Hearts serial killer, which is why the best I can do is give this novel a 3-star rating.

I found the first half of the novel to be somewhat dull and more of a criminal procedure novel than the thriller it was billed as. Apparently in the two previous novels in this series, Laurel, and FBI agent, successfully pursued and caught two other serial killers. The serial killer in this novel is stabbing his male victims multiple times and leaving them in purple tents with Valentine heart candies stuffed down their throats and scattered about their heads. Laurel initially is betting that her absentee father, Zeke Caine, a former church pastor, who abused her mother before she escaped his clutches, and whom Laurel has never actually met, but who has been off the radar for the past 5 years, is the serial killer, especially when in the latter half of this novel, he reappears in the small town where this novel is set.

Laurel also has an older, lookalike sister, Abigail, who, in Laurel's opinion may just be the serial killer she's seeking. Abigail has certainly got more than her fair share of psychopathic and narcissistic tendencies, and it's strongly suggested that in her profession as a psychotherapist, she drugged and convinced Jason Abbott, now in jail awaiting trial, to go on a murder spree.

In addition, there are plenty of additional suspects, including a smarmy politician, a jilted lover, cheating lawyers, and more, so as a whodunit, this novel worked, as I had no idea who was guilty of these bizarre murders until the denouement. However, at no point did I find myself caring for any of these characters, and I don't know if it's due to the fact that I hadn't read the first books in the series, or that they weren't sufficiently fleshed out in this novel. There's also quite a bit of a romance brewing in Laurel's life as well, and I assume that will see further development in upcoming novels in this seriesl, yet once again, the male interest in this novel, simply wasn't interesting enough for this reader.

If you've been following this series, you'll probably find it more to your liking than I did, but for this reader, it was just an okay read.

I voluntarily read an advance reader coopy of this novel. The opinion stated are my own.

It looks like FBI Special Agent Laurel Snow has to find another serial killer. Their first victim is the ex-husband of Kate, Laurel's friend and co-worker. The crime is brutal and shows signs of rituality. The fact that the victim was difficult to like and made dubious life choices doesn't help narrow down the number of suspects. Another victim soon appears. Also, there are further turmoil in Laurel's private life. And of course, Laurel's half-sister Abigail is trying to mess things up as usual.

As in the previous books, the complicated relationships between the townspeople and between them and the main character Laurel play an important role in the story. And I don’t feel there are forced or that these connections between all the characters are somehow strange or peculiar. On the contrary, it only gives some people more motives for committing crimes. And Laurel's half-sister Abigail seems to be at the center of it all.

The pace of the story is quite fast and the plot is interesting. In addition to the main serial killer case, Laurel also solves other mysteries that may or may not be related to the main case. And there's no shortage of suspects around her. Even her good friend Kate may be suspected of killing her ex-husband.

I've read all the previous books in this series, but I don't think it's necessary. Though I think you have much more fun if you already know all the characters. It also makes it much easier for you to understand the dynamics of the relationships between them, although I think the author did a pretty good job of making it easy for first time readers to understand as well. I also recommend this book to people who are looking for a relationship between the main characters, but no explicit sex scenes on the pages.

Overall, it’s a good addition to the series and a fine book to read on its own.

You Can Die by R. Zanetti, published by Kensington Books, is book three in the Laurel Snow Series. This is not a stand-alone. I recommnd to read the books in order.
Laurel Snow graduated from college at age 16 and now she's with the FBI as Agent. Her boyfrind Huck Rivers is with an institution too.
And there's her equal genius sister Abigail who's convived the perfect crime exists and she can pull it off.
So Laurel has her hands full.
An intriguing read, excellent written, beautifully told, and the suspense !! The author had me there.

Laurel & Huck definitely caught my attention & kept me guessing & wondering who it can be. I enjoyed Laurel's character & how she navigates emotions. Huck is incredibly wonderful in letting her be her. The case was interesting & the continued mystery hooks you in. Excellent read! A true review of my ARC.

You Can Die is the third book of the Laurel Snow series, and I feel I made a mistake of not reading books one and two (it is on my TBR). It qualifies as a stand-alone, as Zanetti gives you enough breadcrumbs to connect the dots. One of the biggest wins for this book is how concise and clean the writing is. Rebecca Zanetti and her team have done a fantastic job of four murder cases with a common link. As a character, Laurel Snow is intriguing, brave and committed to her job as an FBI agent and being with Huck Rivers. The moments of vulnerability and romance between the key protagonists are passionate and well-written. The cat-and-mouse game between Laurel and Abigail (her step-sister) hooked me. In terms of the element of whodunit? I could connect the dots almost at the halfway mark. But how the puzzle pieces came together kept me on the edge of my seat. The ending was endearing, and I can't wait for the next book. Till then, I'm backtracking to books one and two. If you wish to understand the characters comprehensively, I strongly suggest following the order of the series.

Thank you, NetGalley & Kensington Books, for giving me this e-ARC. This honest review is left voluntarily.

YOU CAN DIE BY REBECCA ZANETTI
REVIEW
My favorite part of this book was the romance between Laurel and Huck, they were so cute, and I can't wait to read more about them. I loved Laurel's smartness and her quirks, I learned a lot of new words thanks to her.
For the mystery, I didn't really feel it. There was no clue, and the suspect just literally revealed himself/herself, so I was disappointed. Laurel didn't really have any suspects. I was also disappointed in her sister, Abigail, and her father, Zeke Caine's cases, I thought they'd be solved and punished, but it was an unfinished business.
However, I still liked this book, and I was able to finish the book easily. I'd love to read other books in the series

Another brilliant book in this series though I do think this tend to read as a continuation of book 2 just with a different murderer and a different group of victims Males this time. FBI agent Laurel Snow and her boyfriend Fish and Wildlife Captain Huck Rivers are soon knee deep in the investigation Laurel suspects her sister but with her been just as brilliants as Laurel it will be hard to pin the murders on her The dialogue between these two is the making of this book. Throw in the return off an absent father and there is a lot to unravel in this story but like normal you will be deeply drawn into the story line

Love this series. Laurel is slowly starting to unwind and make friends, it's cool to watch her grow. Huck is growing as well and it's enlightening to watch them develop together. Abagail, is oh so very evil, but Laurel just can't prove it ... yet! Also really like the growth of Walter as well. This author is a master at leading you on a wild goose chase. Tidbits revealed just at the right time and the culprit is only revealed at the very, very end. Totally took me by surprise, I was thinking it was someone else and it was a 180 turn to see the gun pointed when it was. Highly recommend.

I voluntarily reviewed this book.

What a roller coaster ride this book was!! I seriously had no idea how this was ending with the introduction of a new key character!!

Laurel is caught up in another serial murder mystery and also dealing with her sister's maniacal manipulations.
Abigail is an evil mastermind and Laurel is determined to put her away behind bars.
Rachel, the reporter, continues to be a thorn in Laurel’s side, but I have a feeling about her and curious to see where Rebecca takes this character.

Huck is hunkalicious as always.
He and Laurel make a great team, and fans are going to love the developments that happen with this couple.

Already anticipating the next book in the series to see what happens next!!

Ok, this one took me a while to review because this was the 3rd book in the series. I knew this going in, but figured like with most books in this genre that I’d pick it up as I went along. However, the book very quickly had me both hooked and lamenting that I didn’t know the backstory. So I put it down, purchased and read the first 2 books in the series and then picked it back up and read it over a rainy Sunday. While it can probably be read as a stand alone, I’m so glad I went back and started at the beginning. The characters are very engaging and (mostly) likeable but the relationship between Laurel and her new-found sister and their cat and mouse interactions has me seriously hooked. I love that there is both a mystery per book but that there are overarching tendrils that connect the stories all together. I’m now left in the annoying position of having to wait until the next book is released and both wanting the story all resolved and yet wanting more books so for it to be dragged out a little. I highly recommend this series, and advise starting with book 1, you won’t be sorry! I know Ms Zanetti writes engaging fantasy romance books, but I think I personally prefer her thriller books more. Prior to this I was on the fence, now I’m firmly in the thriller, with a touch of slow burn romance, camp. Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. 6/5 stars!!