Notorious by Allison Brennan
Synopsis:
Maxine (Max) Revere is a renown cold-case investigator with a popular television show & a haunted past. Abandoned by her mother and left to be raised by her wealthy and well-to-do grandmother, Max always went against the grain of the Revere family.
When Max was a senior in high school, one of her best friends, Lindy, was murdered and the other, Kevin, was accused of the crime. Max alone stood by her friend, testifying that could not have killed Lindy and infuriating her family and neighbors. After finding out Kevin lied about his alibi, their relationship quickly fell apart.
After years of drug abused, Kevin committed suicide and Max has come home to attend his funeral and to investigate his death at the request of his sister. As soon as her flight lands, however, an elderly couple approach her to investigate their grandson’s murder- whose body was found in the exact same place Lindy’s was – at Max’s high school.
Max must dig deep into the secrets of high and low society and uncover who really killed Lindy, what are they hiding, and did they kill again?
My take away:
3 / 5
I would call this book a “beach read”. It’s not difficult to keep up with, but it is not a literary masterpiece. I enjoyed the high suspense and the investigative nature that was prevalent from start to finish.
However, there were so many little stories that, as the book came to a close, dangled as loose ends. The culprit is found out, but we never see it progress past that. (We never even hear a real confession of guilt). There is also the untold story of Max’s college roommate who is murdered prior to the beginning of Notorious. It is brought up multiple times, but is never a part of the story.
I did rush through this book, not wanting to put it down due to the high suspense, but the ending left me wanting for more closure.
