I suspect that I would have appreciated this book a lot more if I had realized that it was the THIRD book in a series. I probably would not have a agreed to review it. The book works okay as a stand-alone novel, but it waaaay harder to get into the characters if they have already been long established. I suppose I would have understood the protagonist more if I had known all about her previous adventures in the first two books. I had a hard time really sympathizing with her way of thinking and the town of Garnett. Still I enjoyed it as much as I could as it examined whether nature or nurture make us who we are.

Annie was an interesting character. I wished I would have read the first one to fully enjoy this. However, I did enjoy the mystery and do recommend it!

Big thanks to St Martin’s Press, Samantha Jayne Allen and NetGalley for the opportunity.

Next of Kin
⭐️⭐️⭐️.75
Author: Samantha Jayne Allen

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press / Minotaur Books and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: At a gathering for her cousin’s wedding party, newly-licensed PI Annie McIntyre gets asked an age-old question, the answer to which will prove more consequential than she bargained Nature or nurture? Clint Marshall, an up-and-coming musician and an adoptee at a personal crossroads, wants to hire Annie to find his biological parents. Annie accepts his case, not knowing then that she, too, must decide if she really believes what she tells him that night—in essence, that people are in charge of their destinies. That people can change.

When Annie discovers her client's father is a bank robber who her granddad, Leroy, arrested back when he was sheriff, reverberations sound between the past and the present, igniting old flames and rivalries. When the brother of her client dies suddenly, his death ruled a suicide, Annie questions whether or not it was in fact homicide—and who in this family of outlaws would rather some secrets stay buried.

As Annie sets out to find who killed the brother—and stays out of sight lest she be next—she finds herself searching abandoned, overgrown fields, scouring pool halls and roadside motels, wondering if she will ever escape the sense that her world in Garnett, TX expands and contracts in off-kilter ways, growing smaller and yet still more confounding. Fearing that in a place where everyone knows everyone, your enemy is always closer than you think.

My Thoughts: This is the third book in the Annie McIntyre series, but can be read as a standalone. Annie is a young private investigator working for her grandfather’s agency. The grandfather used to be a sheriff and has a strong connection in the town. She is hired by Clint to help locate his biological parents, as he was adopted. Upon initial investigation, Annie realizes that Clint’s father was a bank robber who was arrested by her grandfather, when he was the sheriff. Then she locates his brother, whom dies under questionable circumstances. Annie takes the initiative to investigate Clint’s brother’s death. When everyone knows everyone in a small town, sometimes your enemies are closer than you think. Will Annie be able to help Clint solve the mystery without risking her own life?

The relationship between Annie and her grandfather is heartfelt and touching. In the first two books, Annie was more of an “intern” but now she is a full partner in the business. Annie has an investigator brain, even when Clint’s bother’s death was ruled a suicide, she “felt” something was array and that it should have been a homicide. The characters were developed well with depth, mystery, and were intriguing. The author’s writing style was complex, twisty, suspenseful, and engaging.

The author does a stellar job at setting an atmospheric scene in Texas with the appropriate amount of tension. She really is great with the descriptive terminology, the smells, the sights, the atmosphere, and the feel of this small town. She really nails the small town atmosphere where everyone literally knows what their neighbors are doing. The claustrophobia was present with Annie going from lead to lead. The characters were built up in a slow burn manner. The plot was developed in layers, in a dangerous cat and mouse whodunit game. The ending was good but I felt like it was done in a narrative fashion and not an action fashion, and even a bit rushed. There were some plot holes that were not resolved.

TW: Adoption. This is a debut series from this author. She is finding her footing in the mystery world and when she does, watch out because she will be a top runner in the mystery genre. Even with the plot holes and rushed ending, I thought this was a good book that I enjoyed reading. I would recommend to others.

Brilliant! Darker than the first two Annie McIntyre novels and all the stronger for it. A complex plot with a satisfying resolution. If you're a private eye in a small town, your past haunts you and can even provide clues to solving a case. An old case (bank robbery) that involved Annie's grandfather Leroy figures heavily as well. And of course, it's Texas, so if you're a Texan crime fiction fan, reading this is obligatory, y'all!

The third book in this series does not disappoint! Annie is trying to juggle her cousin's wedding and the groom's missing brother, who had hired Annie to find his birth family. As it turns out, his birth father is in prison, and the families collide with past grievances that put both Annie and her grandfather in danger.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this book. This was my first read in this particular series. That being said it can be read as a stand alone but background would have been helpful. The story was fast paced and the characters were relatable.

I thought this was really well written and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future. I think it will find readers at our library, so we will definitely be purchasing for the collection.

This is a great series. It’s book three in the Annie McIntyre series, and, although they can be read as stand-alones, I think it’s better to read them in order. In Next of Kin, we see Annie maturing as a private investigator. She’s committed to her job, but also doing it in an ethical way. She’s also committed to her family and friends, and I think this series gets better and better as we learn more about Annie. I already can’t wait to see what she’s up to next.

Why does this author shake me back and forth? This book has a lot of characters who all seem exactly the same. I like the underlying story that comes out by the end is good but the journey is weird and comes together very quickly. The motivations are a little bit of a stretch. I feel like the author had a lot of options and went for the quick and easy.

Thank you St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books for allowing me to read and review Next of Kin on NetGalley.

Published: 04/23/24

Stars: 2.5

Meh.

This is the third book in the series, I didn't know that when I placed the request to read. One-half to possibly a full star is the difference between debut and third.

This is a typical mainstream series with a female PI. She is finding her footing and taking on a complicated case in her own small town. Why? This was not billed nor is it a cozy mystery; however, take the profanity out (again I ask why put it in?) and stay simple. I went in with a debut mindset. I was okay that it was slow. I was concerned with the adoption angle -- poorly written that can hurt. I liked that she was hired quietly so as not to cause pain.

Things quickly deteriorated. I will jump right to the ending that was too much, too busy, and too complicated. Clues and facts needed to be written into the story.

All-in-all I was disappointed, once I saw this was the third book and looked again at the cover (I like), I was hoping for a clean mystery series that I could recommend to young readers moving into adult books and/or take to nursing home residents. Three stars is generous.

As good as this entire series has been, this one easily takes the cake. The tension is incredibly high, and the way it handles its narrative around family born and made makes for an excellent mystery with great characters.

This is the third story in the series I have read and has with the other two this is just as great. The author pulls you in and never let you go till the end. If you enjoy mysteries and suspense and small town camaraderie you will enjoy this story.


I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review

When Clint asks P. I. Annie to find his birth parents, what she finds sets of a chain of events, her family may not recover from. The Annie McIntyre series is one of the best mystery series around. Atmospheric with small town Texas setting, you will be swept in. I did not want to stop reading.

This is a PI based mystery, which made me think a little bit of the TV show Veronica Mars. Annie is tenacious and has an innate need to know the truth and to get to the bottom of things. There are a lot of characters in this book, and I think if you start from the beginning of the series you'd have a better understanding than jumping in like I did. I wish I had a bit more of Annie's background/personality, as it can be hard to believe her need to really get to the bottom of really dangerous situations other than just her tenacity. This was a quick read, breezed right through and if you like a police-procedural-like book without police, you may enjoy this. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to provide my honest review.

This book was hard for me to personally get into. Annie is an okay character. She is strong, is dedicated to figuring out the mystery. I just didn’t get into this story as much as I wanted to. I am not sure if it was the writing style or that there were too many characters and moving pieces. In the end everything is wrapped up nicely and while this book is part of a series, I didn’t feel like I had to have read the past books to picks this one up. While this book may not have been my cup of tea, that doesn’t mean it might not fit someone else’s, so it will be a book I keep in mind for recommendations in the future.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books, and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book.

Next of Kin is book 3 in the phenomenal Annie McIntyre Series by Samantha Jayne Allen.
My goodness I have enjoyed this series since book one! And was eager to jump into the third one.
Completely gripping… An absolutely sensational read which had me hooked from page one. It had me guessing throughout… unputdownable and addictive! I completely devoured it.

Thank You NetGalley and Minotaur Books for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Next of Kin, the third book in the Annie McIntyre Mysteries series by Samantha Jayne Allen, is all about family. Set in small town Texas, Annie is hired to track down the parents of a local client who is an up and coming country musician. Annie finds information that leads her to discover the father in question is a dying man, soon to be released from jail, after serving time for a bank robbery. Annie also learns her grandfather, Leroy, a beer slinging 85 year old who was forced into an early retirement from the local sheriff's department, was responsible for the arrest. Leroy is the character readers of the series will become attached to for his unassuming nature as Annie gets caught in a web of two different families and the bank robbery that her grandfather investigated. Book three can be read as a stand-alone novel, but fans will want to go back and start with the first in the series.

Next of Kin, by Samantha Jayne Allen, is the third installment in the author's Annie McIntyre Mysteries series. It has been a year since Annie McIntyre became part of the McIntyre Investigations as a private investigator with her senior partner Mary Pat Zimmerman with a bit of help from her grandfather Leroy McIntyre, a former Sheriff of Garnett, Texas.

At a gathering for her cousin’s wedding party, Annie gets asked an age-old question: what really makes us who we are, nature or nurture? Clint Marshall, an up-and-coming musician and an adoptee at a personal crossroads, wants to hire Annie to find his biological parents, and that question is on his mind. Adoptive parents don’t always want to be known or found and old wounds can be deep.

Annie accepts his case, not knowing then that she, too, must decide if she really believes what she tells him that night—in essence, that people are in charge of their destinies. That people can change. She also takes it upon herself to find Clint's family including a brother who doesn't live that far away. When his brother dies under mysterious circumstances and it's ruled a suicide by the local Sheriff, that doesn't sit well with Annie.

Annie questions whether or not it was in fact homicide—and who in this family of outlaws would rather some secrets stay buried. When Annie discovers her client's father is a bank robber whom her granddad, Leroy, arrested back when he was sheriff, reverberations sound between the past and the present, igniting old flames and rivalries. Annie also stumbles on another broken and wounded family.

A teen went missing years ago, and her mother is still angry, broken, and blaming a certain retired Sheriff for not doing enough to find her daughter. She truly believes that if someone had listened to her years before, her daughter would have been found alive. To make matters even more disturbing, Clint vanishes leaving a message behind that says he's going to Nashville to become a country music star and breaking up with his girlfriend who seems to be neither concerned nor worried.

And, let's not forget that Annie has a very dangerous enemy. Eli Wallace is a local drug dealer who knows that Annie is talking to the DEA about his operation. When Cody dies, Eli takes it very personally and puts Annie on notice that he's not done with her yet. Eli considered Cody to be kin, and when you mess with Eli's kin, Eli seeks vengeance on those responsible.

*Thoughts* Even though Eli's storyline is a carryover from a previous installment, this story can be read as a standalone. There is a mystery that turns into a twisted family saga you really have to pay attention to the clues so that when the real villains stand up, you won't be surprised. I liked that Annie can rely on Leroy when she gets stuck with situations that she may or may not be able to get out of herself. I also like the relationship between Annie and her parents who seem supportive no matter what she does.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, "Annie McIntyre is really growing on me." This third mystery set in Garnett, Texas is a gritty showdown of Nature vs. Nurture. An up and coming country singer asks Annie to track down his birth parents. Little does she know that request is setting her up to tangle with his kin while finding her way in the McIntyre "hero" legacy. It's complicated. It's messy. She does A LOT of driving all over the Texas panhandle in her silver bullet. Annie will find herself on a road trip all the way up to Lubbock with her grandfather Leroy where the book comes to an epic showdown. And fortunately boyfriend Wyatt and their cat Tate are in her corner. If you are a fan of Julia Heaberlin or Megan Miranda, you should check out this series.

Thank you to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the third book in a series. I didn’t realize that, oops! This was too hard to follow after not reading the previous two books.