Another case of feeling the scenery is a co-star in the read and might deserve a cut of the royalties. This time it's set in a place I've been! So I felt even more connected to the locales.

Another situation where I wonder how the bloody hell the woman got there...how is a twenty-four-year-old going to get an investigative journalist's position in a city she's not from, and barely speaks the language? And what journalist's boss would chastise her for pestering people for story ideas? That is the literal definition of her job.

Well, no matter, I wasn't asked to fact-check the MS so I let it go.

I totally bought that Lucy, knowing she's dealing with a dreadful underworld figure, would go to the police the second her visiting gal-pal vanishes and her apartment gets ransacked; I also totally bought that the police, knowing what they are bound to know of the criminal in question, basically shrugged and said "come back after forty-eight hours, kthxbye" because the young visitor will either arrive back confused from being lost or in Ziploc baggies piece by piece to scare Lucy away from being a journalist investigator. Either way the police don't really need to do much.

A little harder to buy is Lucy teaming up with Alain Michel (Alan Michael, the author didn't spend much time researching names), the proverbial P.I. with a Past; of course he Knows Stuff. It's a pearl-clutcher, this level of suspense. I will say that the author makes a serious effort to add some physical danger to this entry (largely theoretical last time), but most does this with details of the aftermath of violence and that doesn't have the same effect long-term.

But as I thought these dismissive thoughts I realized I was more than half-way through the read. What?! How did that happen? It happened because the prose is direct, well-formed, and the plot is familiar enough to make few demands and still involving enough to require that I finish the read. I enjoyed the sentimental journey to Paris, I liked the resolution of the plot, and found myself exactly the right read for a sloppy Sunday in this series.

Not read book 1. I didn’t realise this was part of a series, oops.

The story itself was good, the pace was fine.
The main character got on my nerves though and seemed quite naive in some respects.

I’ve read previous books by this author but I didn’t find this one very strong

Finally I'm catching up with this series. Book 2 in the Lucy Hall series.

Investigative reporter Lucy Hall is living in Paris. This is her first summer in the city. Her Friend Nina has come to stay with. What they haven't realised is they are about to become caught up in the not so nice underworld of Paris.
When Lucy arrives home after an odd meeting with someone, her apartment has been trashed. Well and truly. Yet it doesn't seem anything is missing. Is this someone telling her something or are they looking for something specific.
Lucy is about to go on a rollercoaster of a ride. This book was gripping, it felt original easy reading. I read this book in no time, because I wanted and needed to know what happened. I needed to know where Lucy was going to end up. I love learning about characters as they are built up over the series and i'm liking Lucy up to now.

This was an enjoyable read with an interesting plot. I like the character of Lucy and enjoyed riding along on her adventure. There were twists and turns to keep me engaged.
Many thanks to Thomas & Mercer and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I have been sorting out my books and found that I had overlooked leaving a review for this novel, having read it some while ago.

Having had a quick glance through the book to refresh my memory, I recall that I enjoyed this book, which kept me turning the pages. Loved the story, which was well written and nicely paced. Hope to read more by this author.

We first met Lucy in Seychelles when she and her family vacationed. Now Lucy is in Paris and the whole story is written in the background of this beautiful city.
The book was well written and was very entertaining.

I received a free copy if this book in exchange for my honest review. However, I couldn't get past the opening chapter. It was so vile & repugnant that I had to stop reading for fear of nightmares. I don't read graphic murder & horror, so I cannot finish, or recommend this book.