WIDOW'S MIGHT

Author:  Sandra Brannan

Genre:  Mystery, Liv Bergen Series #3

Published:  2012

Personal Rating:  2.5/5 (eh)

Format:  Book

Yearly Count:  71

From the back cover of the ARC:

The third Liv Bergen mystery picks up right where the second one left off: the murder of Liv’s future sister-in-law has been solved, but an older rancher has been bludgeoned to death in a style eerily reminiscent of a long-inactive killer known only as the Crooked Man. FBI agent Streeter Pierce, still on assignment in Sturgis, South Dakota, must now turn his sights on tracking down the killer—his nemesis from ten years earlier. Pierce doesn’t complain, though; he’s falling in love with Liv and sets in motion an unconventional plan to recruit her for the FBI’s training camp in Quantico as they work the case together. But is Liv falling for the brilliant, exotic agent Jack Linwood instead?

Once again, Liv’s vast knowledge of the Black Hills of South Dakota—territory made famous by the gold rush that followed General George Custer’s expedition—and the novel folk who live there leads her to unearth critical clues about the Crooked Man. But are facts enough to safeguard Liv’s sister Elizabeth and her friend, an elderly woman battling cancer who was attacked just days after her husband was murdered? Will the frail yet feisty widow recover her strength in time to help Liv thwart the Crooked Man’s murderous plans and fatal blows?

Well, I'm hoping this was just a timing issue and that the next Liv Bergen mystery will be a better book for me, because I really struggled reading this one.  Liv literally goes from one case (last book) to the next (this book) in a matter of minutes.  That felt weird to me, but whatever.  I admit that I haven't been a huge fan of Liv or the FBI from the beginning (not realistic enough), but I still enjoyed the plots in the past two.  The plot in Widow's Might did not interest me with the history and repetition.  Then there's the Streeter vs Jack issue, and all that did was remind me of the Ranger vs Morelli friction (Stephanie Plum series), which made me roll my eyes.  Actually, the way things fall into place and/or just happened-to-be remind of Evanovich's books as well.  Hmmm.  For those that do like the Stephanie Plum series, but would like it to be a bit more serious should give the Liv Bergen series a try.  It might be a perfect fit.  

My thanks go to Marissa from JKS Communications for sending me the ARC.