Another great read about Lexi Winter. Really hard to put down.
Great writing and great characters (although I really hate Olivia). Hopefully there will be more Lexi books down the track particularly with more Dawny! She’s barely in this one.

Dnf at 72%
I really wanted to enjoy this. But I struggled to connect with any of the characters and I ended up not really caring for the story itself either.

4.5 stars, rounding up to 5. Endgame delivers a fantastic conclusion to the series. Lexi remains as sharp and sassy as ever while engaging in a deadly 'game' with her nemesis, Damon Vaughn. He sets her a chilling challenge: there will be five murders by the end of the month, and if she can identify and stop the fifth, he will surrender himself. Lexi and her team race against time to uncover the victims and prevent the murders.

Meanwhile, Lexi takes on a new role as a parental figure to Cait, a troubled teen, adding complexity to her life. As strange events unfold with Cait's so-called 'friends' and a string of deaths mount, an additional layer of mystery emerges.

This installment offers an excellent mix of police procedural and Lexi's trademark rule-breaking style. The camaraderie among Lexi and her colleagues at the station remains a highlight, showcasing a team that’s supportive and endearing. Finn continues to be a steady presence for Lexi, and the tension between Lexi and Olivia adds a fun dynamic—they might have been great friends under different circumstances. Additionally, we learn more about Lexi’s parents, deepening our understanding of her character.

This series is best read in order to fully appreciate Lexi's background and witness her remarkable growth over time.

Another ripper of a story by Sarah Barrie.
This time Damon Vaughn aka Spider is after Lexi herself and he makes her a deal. The game is on and it’s up to Lexi and the team to stop him once and for all.
I felt this storyline although violent and graphic, didn’t have the same darkness as the earlier books which I was happier about.
Totally kept my interest up all the way through till the end.
I feel that this one an be read as a stand alone but you’ll get so much more out of it if you know the characters and back story.
Sad to hear that this may be the last Lexi book but a fitting end.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy to read.

Endgame is another magnificent thrilling adventure by Sarah Barrie. This is the fourth in the Lexi Winter series and it still had this reader spellbound and totally captivated. Fast paced with a lot of complex characters and issues! What a great read.

Highly recommended read.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from Harlequin Australia HQ via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

#Endgame #NetGalley

Sarah Barrie has delivered a deliciously dark, edge of your seat and highly addictive thriller with Endgame. It was suspenseful and twisted and turned in ways you will not see coming.

Endgame, and the entire series was utterly brilliant. Lexi will always be my favourite vigilante.

This was Australian crime writing at it absolute finest and was the perfect conclusion to the Lexi Winter series! Bravo Barrie!

I've really enjoyed this gritty, fast-paced series, and this 4th (and final?) instalment is no exception. It is very dark, violent and action-packed - all the things that hooked me in at the start - but there were a couple of things about this story that didn't sit well with me. Firstly, the behaviour of the young men was repulsive. That's a strong word, but they were pretty extreme. The other thing was the whole concept of fandom or fanaticism that developed around the villain. I just didn't buy it, even in this social media age.

What I did like about the story, very much, was the continued character development of Lexi as she transitioned from police officer to detective, and also from lone wolf to parent. The ending wrapped up very nicely, so if this is farewell to Lexi & Co, we can all be content with the outcome, but I thought it was left sufficiently open for her to return in the future.

I have really enjoyed the Lexi Winter series and it is a pleasure to read the final instalment. The usual characters, Rachael, Finn and others are present along with a few picked up from the last book. Edge off the seat storyline and thrilling climax. Highly recommended!

The 4th book to feature Lexi Winter, a one-time escort, exotic dancer, paedophile victim and total badass. She has completely embraced her role in the police force and has the added responsibility of being carer for Caitlin.

This is expected to be the last book of the series and, consequently, we get a tense thriller that ties up some of the loose ends left during the course of the previous 3 books. The main loose end is Damon Vaughn who is a sick serial killer and peddler of kiddie porn.

He emerges from the shadows in which he’s been hiding since Lexi beat him in (book 1) to propose a “game” with Lexi. He explains to her that he plans to kill 5 people before the end of the month, culminating in killing Lexi herself. He has given her the chance to solve the crimes, work out the pattern and stop him from carrying out his plans. If she’s successful he promises to yield to her. Failure, obviously, means Lexi’s death.

Finn, Lexi’s colleague and subject of a “will they or won’t they” type of relationship, is now dating Olivia and Olivia is clearly displaying obvious signs of rampant jealousy. I’ve got to say at this point, for a high-performing psychologist, Olivia’s a bit of a headcase. Needless to say, the atmosphere in the office and out in the field is somewhat tense. In fact, Lexi specialises in putting her colleagues on notice with her intensity and straight ahead approach to policing. It’s what makes her a pleasure to follow.

The ghost of a teenage rape victim who committed suicide many years before appears to be haunting the local population. Her appearance occurs just before one of the five proposed victims. This game that Lexi has agreed to play quickly becomes a very weird and very tense affair.

The murder count builds up, Vaughn’s taunting continues at a very annoying rate, and we’re clearly heading towards a monumental showdown between the two main antagonists.

Endgame is the end of a strong police procedural series that manages to draw the reader in with a frank and clear descriptive narrative, well described characters and a devious criminal. There were times when the plot became slightly convoluted but this in no way detracted from the story which flies along at a brisk pace.

I’ve been there for all four of the Lexi Winter books and have enjoyed the development of all of the main characters. Personally, I think you’d be best to have read the preceding books to get the most out of Endgame or, at the very least, Unforgiven (book 1). This will provide a much clearer picture of the history between Lexi and Vaughn.

My thanks to HQ Fiction and NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC allowing me to read, enjoy and review this book.

EXCERPT: 'I've completely lost my faith in humanity! How did we drift so far from basic common sense? I'm speaking directly to the misguided contingent who sit quietly on their hands and say nothing while Vaughan brutally takes life after life and have the nerve to cry injustice at Constable Winter for holding him accountable! Can any of you please explain to me how the woman devoting every waking moment to protecting the public is the villain? Anyone who thinks Damon Vaughan is some sort of saviour to humanity or deserves a free pass on his vile crimes because of his psychoses needs to seek their own therapy! It seems that, to the more gullible among us, being compassionate, understanding and sympathetic towards these twisted perpetrators has taken precedence over protecting the innocent!'

ABOUT 'ENDGAME': Lexi Winter is studying for her detective exams but her nemesis Vaughn is out there somewhere and her concentration is fractured. Just as she's wondering if her hypervigilance is tipping over into madness, Vaughn resurfaces and issues a challenge. Five people will be dead by the end of the month. If Lexi can identify and save the last one before the deadline, he'll turn himself in.

As Lexi's colleagues scramble to untangle what it all means, Lexi is implicated deeper and deeper into the murders. On top of this, she begins to see a strange figure everywhere she goes. Branded as suffering from PTSD, Lexi's credibility is in tatters with her colleagues, but Lexi knows it isn't her mind that is the problem. A wicked game is afoot, and Lexi is just a chess piece in play - and she suspects that check mate will mean her death. There is only one thing that Lexi can do - play along, wait for the chance to strike back, and bring about the endgame...

MY THOUGHTS: WARNING - if you have heart issues, make sure you have your pills on hand when reading Endgame. You'll need them. I don't have heart issues, but at times my heart was beating so hard and so fast while I was reading, I thought it was going to jump right out of my chest! In fact, even writing this review is increasing my heart rate.

And another note - you do need to have read the previous three books in this series before Endgame, or you're not going to have Lexi's backstory or her history with Vaughan. Both are essential to reaping the full benefit from Endgame, which is apparently the 4th and final installment of this series.

Where to start? There is no pussyfooting around here. Endgame is blunt and brutal and honest. There is no PC bullshit here. Barrie tells it like it is. She puts into words what so many of us think.

Lexi has led an unconventional life, been places I certainly wouldn't have wanted to go, yet that's part of her appeal. That she has a wide range of experience is one way of putting it. She's street smart and sees herself as staunch, suppressing her emotions. But really, she's like a French baguette - hard and crusty on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside.

Endgame is full of action from beginning to end. It may not be entirely realistic, but it certainly is thrilling, dark and gritty. If this is indeed the end of the series, I'm going to miss Lexi.

⭐⭐⭐⭐.2

#Endgame #NetGalley

MEET THE AUTHOR: In a past life, Sarah worked as a teacher, a vet nurse, a horse trainer and a magazine editor, before deciding she wanted to write novels. About the only thing that has remained constant is her love of all things crime.
Her favourite place in the world is the family property, where she writes her stories overlooking mountains crisscrossed with farm­land, bordered by the beauty of the Australian bush, and where, at the end of the day, she can spend time with family, friends, a good Irish whiskey and a copy of her next favourite book. (Source: sarahbarrieauthor.net)

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Harlequin Australia, HQ & MIRA, via NetGalley for providing a digital ARC of Endgame by Sarah Barrie for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

"Wilfred Barrett Drive was bordered by tall trees and thick scrub. The sprawling suburban houses of Noraville sat to the north, with nothing but bush, beach, the cemetery and a couple of sports grounds to the south." If you've been following the Lexi Winter series, you're going to like Endgame, the fourth and final book in the series about this non-conventional NSW police officer. I liked that it was set on a road I have traveled many times. Lexi grew on me through the series, which I read in the wrong order.

I think to really get the most out of this book, you need to read the preceding three in order. It will help you understand Lexi's parenting messages: "And you never, ever let any fu**wit's emotional state manipulate you into being their physical doormat." You'll expect her to be blunt: "At the time I could have happily proved her right and strangled the b*tch". You'll also find it easier to understand the complexity of the crime(s) which span a ghost story being repeated, child sexual offences, drug trafficking, urban legends, child abuse, a new street drug called 'Flakka', and vigilantism. It's a lot, but somehow it all fits together into a convoluted search for a killer (or two, or three). Is Endgame realistic? Probably not, but somehow it's not grating. Lexi's a bit extra, and it seems fitting that the criminal that is fixated on her is a bit extra too.

As we watch the rise of Trump and his supporters, it makes sense to examine ideas like "appealing to those who lack critical thinking skills". I felt like some of the action from was drawn from the way Trump inspired his supporters to raid Capitol Hill, while looking like he wasn't trying to do just that. It's a pretty good book for the post-truth era: "Killing is easy. Convincing other people to do it.... that's an art."

This series continues to be an absolute winner for me. I’ve always loved the edgey nature of Lexi and her ‘eff you’ attitude, even though in the more recent books she become a little more conformist. I’ve enjoyed the cat and mouse with the old enemy in this book, and have enjoyed the additional depth of character Lexi has delved into with her being Cait’s guardian. I still think there’s places to go with Lexi, and was less interested in the romance aspect of this book than the crime related plot. It was an added bonus but definitely not necessary (no spoilers since there’s multiple suitors for Lexi in this book).

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC of this book. I’ll need a paper copy for my shelves.

Endgame by Sarah Barrie is the fourth in the series featuring Lexi Winter - victim turned prostitute / hacker / vigilante turned cop. I really love this series and Barrie has offered up consistently good books with strong vibrant characters and action-packed investigations. It's interesting she's not garnered more accolades for her work (and I enjoyed her earlier novels as well). This would be great on the screen and I'd love to see it optioned as it's got everything one could possibly want in a TV series!

I'd not remembered that Lexi had taken in a teenage girl from her previous case and it has to be said that Cait is as much of a delight as Lexi. Prickly, cynical and quick to anger but generous-hearted with a strong sense of right/wrong.

The book opens with the death of a young male, a suicide but there are questions around his motivation and some misdeeds that had taken place earlier, possibly also resulting in the suicide of a teenage girl. Witnesses are talking about seeing the ghost of a young woman who reportedly killed five men who raped and beat her to death (or more specifically, she led them to their deaths) years before.

But dwarfing that case (though there is ultimately a link) is the fact that convicted paedophile Damon Vaughn has returned and playing a public game of 'catch me if you can' with Lexie and her colleagues. Here Vaughn uses social media to try to claim that he's innocent of the charges he was jailed 15 years for committing and we're reminded of the power of falsehoods and misinformation shared publicly and left unchecked by the media and the public.

I've loved this whole series, particularly the second book, Retribution, giving it 4.5 stars and I enjoyed this as much, if not more. It offers so much more than the investigations as we come full circle in many ways to Lexi and the assumptions she's made about herself and the life she expects she will live. Barrie throws in so much weighty content here, from boss and mentor Rachael's fear for Lexi's life, Lexi's complicated relationship with colleague Finn, and then there's Lexi confronting her past as old secrets are revealed, along with significant guilt as Vaughn comes after those she loves, blaming herself for taunting him.

There was a sense of finality here... of wrapping up and I think I saw something referencing this as the end of Lexi's story but I have to confess I'd be devastated if that's the case. I've loved this (dare I say?!) journey, or better... adventure Barrie's taken her on as well as those around her... including we fortunate readers.

This is the final book in the Lexi Winters series, and what a way to end it!

We have seen so much growth in Lexi throughout this series, and I am going to miss her.

If you have read the whole series (and why haven't you if you are coming in late to the series), you will know that things have been ramping up.

And boy, we have a dark, thrilling story that will have your heart racing.

This is the final book in the Lexi Winters series, and what a way to end it!

We have seen so much growth in Lexi throughout this series, and I am going to miss her.

If you have read the whole series (and why haven't you if you are coming in late to the series), you will know that things have been ramping up.

And boy, we have a dark, thrilling story that will have your heart racing.

When Constable Lexi Winter was contacted by her old nemesis, the brutal murderer, Damon Vaughn, telling her to play a "game" with him, where she had to find the fifth victim before they died, and Vaughn would turn himself in, her superiors were against her agreeing. But agree she did as she was determined to put this person behind bars forever. The Central Coast of NSW was where Lexi and her team operated from, and with Vaughn once again back in the area, it meant all eyes were on the lookout for him. But when teens began hallucinating, seeing things they believed to be there, Lexi and her team knew things had escalated in a frightening way.

Desperation dogged the team, with the media hot on their heels; a website Vaughn had started gaining thousands of followers and hate mail followed. Lexi was bombarded by delusional people who believed the police were in the wrong, and Vaughn was being harassed. Little did they know. Worse was to come and the race was on, with only days remaining until the endgame. What would be the outcome for all involved?

Endgame is the 4th and final episode in the Lexi Winter series by Aussie author Sarah Barrie and was an absolutely phenomenal ending to a brilliant series! I've loved the characters, especially Lexi in all her forms, along with colleagues, Finn, Linc, Cass and Rachael, plus Cait and Lexi's bikie mate Zander. I'll miss this series but I'm sure that Ms Barrie has something else up her sleeve, which I'm keen to read. Highly recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley & HQ Fiction for my digital ARC to read and review.

Lexi Winter is my heroine! She is a good cop fighting for justice. Lexi has a hard exterior with a soft interior. The book had me racing through to get to the outcome. It's a gritty detailed thriller with drama and non stop suspense.

‘I’m ready. Bring it on!’

Once, Lexi Winter was an abuse survivor turned vigilante tracking down child abusers on the dark web. Lexi is now a respected NSW police officer, stationed at the Gosford Police Station and is six months into studying to be a detective. She is also providing a home to Cait, a teenager she befriended while working undercover.

But just when things are looking good, Lexi’s old nemesis Damon Vaughn resurfaces. A dangerous psychopath, Vaughn challenges Lexi to a deadly game. Vaughn intends to kill several people before the end of the month, but if Lexi can stop him before the fifth person is killed, he will turn himself in. Vaughn is not to be underestimated. He is highly intelligent, narcissistic, and carries a grudge against Lexi. Additionally, Lexi is concerned about some of Cait’s new friends. One died in an apparent suicide but there seems to be more to the story.

Can Lexi get one step ahead of Vaughn?

This is the fourth and final novel in the Lexi Winter series. I strongly recommend reading the novels in order: Lexi’s backstory and character development are important, as are several characters who appear in earlier novels.
Dark, gripping and with plenty of twists. A fitting finale!

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Australia for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Endgame is book four in the Lexi Winter series by Sarah Barrie. Lexi Winter never thought she would join the police force, and she never minded studying to be a detective and guardian of a young girl, Cait. However, that is what happened. During her team's investigation into a series of murders, Lexi receives a threat from a past enemy, Vaughn, who wants to play a game with Lexi. Will Lexi join the game? The readers of Endgame will continue to follow Lexi to discover what happens.

Sarah Barrie did it again with her latest book, Endgame. In it, she took her readers on another adventure with Lexi Winter and the other characters. I am sad that Endgame is the last book in this excellent series. I enjoy Sarah Barrie's writing style and how she intertwines her different plots throughout the book, which helped me engage with her stories and characters. I engage with the story and the characters from the first page to the end. I love Sarah Barrie's portrayal of her characters and how they interact with each other. I like Sarah Barrie's description of the settings of Endgame, which allowed me to imagine being part of the book's plot.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my ARC copy in exchange for an honest review. I recommend this book.

I can’t believe that this is the 4th and final Lexi Winter book 🥲 I have loved all of them but I really think that this might be my favourite of all. The ending was just perfect. It is a dark and thrilling finale that I am sure fans of the series will be happy with.

Lexi’s sworn enemy, Vaughn is back and lays down a challenge for her - 5 people dead by the end of the month and if she can stop the last one he will give himself up. This is one sick and twisted serial killer, amongst other things, he really is a vile human being. He really plays with our favourite vigilante turned police officer. She really does struggle in this one, thankfully she has a great team around her.

I don’t advise that this be read as a stand-alone story. You really need to read these books in order to get a real understanding of Lexi and why she is the way she is. She has a heart of gold and will do anything for anybody, regardless of the danger it puts herself into. We have watched her grow so much through the 4 books and I am sad that it is over now. Hopefully Sarah Barrie will bring her back one day in some for,.

Thanks so much to Harlequin Australia for my advanced reading copy of Endgame. Out on October 30th.