Justifiable Risk [Paperback]

Greer Ellis is a homicide detective. She loves her job, but is nursing heartbreak due to the death of her partner of ten years, two years earlier. Eva Saldana is a well known journalist. She arrives in town to try to prove that her brother's death was murder, not a drug overdose as the police had labelled it. Greer is given the task of re opening the case to see if anything had been missed in the initial investigation. Her fellow officers are not happy, less so when Greer uncovers evidence that seems to point in the direction of one of their own officers being directly involved in the previous and now the on-going investigation. Greer has to find a way to uncover the traitor's identity. Greer finds herself becoming more attracted to Eva as the investigation progresses. Thus conflicting her and leaving her feeling guilty for betraying her dead partner. Eva is battling her own attraction to Greer.. Will they both be able to take a justifiable risk and see where the attraction leads them?
A fast paced intriguing story with lots of twists to it. Detectives and romance, a great combination. Once started, I just couldn't put it down until I'd reached the last page. Really great.

Eva Saldana's brother died four months ago, the police label it overdose but this just doesn't sit right with Eva. She travels to the town of New Hope determined to get the police to reopen his case. Even before she steps into the police department, she butts heads with homicide detective Greer Ellis, who ultimately is tasked with looking over the case again. This causes problems for Greer with the other detectives, especially her mentor JJ, who don't take too kindly to being second guessed.

Eva and Greer are attracted to each other and this is a problem, as they're both battling ghosts from their past. For Greer it's the loss of her lover, she's spent the two years since it happened wrapped in a cloak of grief, holding everyone at arms length. Despite the issues each struggles with, the relationship moves forward, with a little help from Greer's Aunt Bessie. The mystery of what happened to Eva's brother progresses with a few twists, with danger seemingly around every corner.

I liked that the mystery element of the story kept me guessing, just when I thought I knew who it was, another character would suddenly appear to be guilty. There were a couple of moments where I wanted to yell at a character to do, or not to do something, but I didn't mind too much, as that just meant I was invested in what happened to them. All in all I spent several enjoyable hours reading Justifiable Risk and look forward to VK Powell's next book.

I attempted to read a VK Powell book a couple of years ago. I could not get past the unrealistic character interactions to even finish the book, if I recall correctly. Given her background, I suspect that with seasoning the author may be able to provide stories that pop due to their authentic details, but living it and being able to express it on the page are two different sets of skills, as we see every day when I feel authors fall short of realistically portraying human interactions.

This book wasn't horrible. Detective Greer Ellis works as a detective in her local police department, living with her aunt, and recovering emotionally from the death of her life partner some years ago. She keeps her head down, and works closely with her colleagues, avoiding personal entanglements. Eva Saldana blows into town looking to prove that her brother did not die of a drug overdose. They strike immediate sparks, and to her chagrin Greer is forced to help Eva review the case, something she feels breaches the blue line, and betrays her partnership with the original investigating officer: JJ.

The bones of the book are not very strong. If I can think of something that a character might do, then they should at least tell me why they aren't trying it. Characters would repeatedly make the most obvious assumptions first, then cling to them, ignoring obvious clues. It's a tough line to toe as a mystery writer, but if you're going to reveal possibilities early on, yet not have the protagonists realize they have significance, you risk damaging the relationship between the reader and characters, in my mind.

There were some twists. A red herring or two. Nothing really surprising, but they worked. Really, I look for some authenticity in emotions in my reading, whether fluff or not. I liked some of the exploration of the differences between intimacy and sex, but there was something about the flow and pacing of the book that had me struggling to maintain a connection. Perhaps because the characters did all of their thinking alone, rather than playing off one another? There was a surprising lack of real conversation or serious interactions that limited the emotional range of this novel.

Ultimately, I don't know if I'll try another of this author's books. Maybe I'll let another few go by and try again, like last time. The chemistry and sex between Eva and Greer were there, if that's what you're looking for. Too many character inconsistencies and not enough emotion just left this book flat for me. Instead of enjoying a sometimes tense journey through small town life, I was impatiently waiting for the characters to catch a clue, and the book to resolve. But it could be an easy read for someone else, particularly if the romance/detectives/mystery aspect appeals to you enough to overlook the flaws.

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