Newspaper reporter, Leah Nash has had a busy year after finding her sister's killer. With a new boss, a new boyfriend and a new book deal, she's been swamped - but when she meets Isabel Whiting, her plea to prove her father didn't commit suicide sparks a need to help.

The second book in the Leah Nash series is a decent read. In some ways this was much better than the first one. In other ways I hated it. Mostly it was the romance. Somehow the first book failed to mention that Leah is divorced. Like seriously? I feel that was kind of relevant in the whole getting to know you part but sure. There was no romance in the first book and frankly that was how I liked it. I don't know what the hell the whole Leah/Coop thing is but I'd rather they stick with that than whatever the hell Nick (the ex husband) is. He just irritated me.

As far as the plot goes it was good. The mystery was complex and the characters were interesting. I felt this was a bit more rounded out than the first book. Leah is a hard character to like. She can be judgey and pushy and full on. Once she gets an idea in her head she refuses to consider other options. Which would be fine if she's always right - but she's really not. That said, I felt this one struck a better balance with admitting she was wrong and accepting the consequences of her actions.

I'm not sure how I feel about the ending. I kind of liked the whole 'hot damn, convicted of the one crime you didn't actually do'. So Leah actually turning over the evidence to exonerate Isabel kind of irritated me. But it was okay. It wasn't a dealbreaker. I did love her response when she found out that Garrett had committed suicide. She was so bummed that Ross was right and it was hilarious.

Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy shit. Isabel hadn’t committed the only crime she was arrested for. She really didn’t kill Garrett. He killed himself. Charlie Ross had been right all along.

Hunter, Susan. Dangerous Mistakes (Leah Nash Mysteries Book 2) (p. 348). Severn River Publishing. Kindle Edition. I also adored how Leah outsmarted Isabel.

After I listened, we came right over. And saw you trying to stab Isabel.”
“I could have. I thought the Klonopin she tried to give me would never kick in. I switched the cups when I knocked over the flowers, and she drank the whole thing, but she didn’t go down easy.”

Hunter, Susan. Dangerous Mistakes (Leah Nash Mysteries Book 2) (p. 336). Severn River Publishing. Kindle Edition.

Pure genius that bit was.

I was loving the whole Leah/Ross bonding thing going on at the end. That was funny. I was amused at them both admitting wrong doing. And how much it hurt them both. Honestly, I'm not entirely sure why they do hate each other so much. It would be a stronger story if they had a school rivalry or something. I could get behind them having a relationship. It certainly couldn't be worse than her weird thing with Nick.

Overall a much better mystery than the first book even if the main character is still a bit unlikeable. 3.5 stars. ( )

This book and the series reminds me of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series, in that we have a cast of colorful characters and family drama to offset the murder and misery. Throughout the story, there are fun, comedic exchanges, along with heartfelt moments with emotional depth.

Leah is a tenacious investigative journalist, which is sadly lacking now in most real-life news sources. The author’s own experience in this field lends authenticity to the story, so that it feels like the events could all play out exactly as written. I love that we get to investigate along with Leah, putting the pieces together as the case grows in complexity.

Pacing builds as the story moves along. We readers, along with Leah, are kept slightly off balance throughout. Just when you think you’ve figured out the whodunit, a new tidbit is tossed into the mix and you begin to question everything all over again.

This is the second Leah Nash Mystery, but it does work well as a stand-alone. The author does a great job of weaving in enough backstory from the first book for new readers to understand the history, while also not overloading us with so much detail that we feel like we’re rereading the first book. As with most series, though, I do think it’s always better to start at the beginning if possible. That way you get all the subtleties of relationships and personalities. Plus, Dangerous Habits, book 1, is really good!

*I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.* ( )

I struggled to find that connection with the characters. This led to me connecting with the story as well. In fact, I thought the first third of the story moved slowly. It did pick up some about midway. Although, I still couldn't keep my focus on the story. A few times I had to re-read passages. Yet, Leah did have some charm about her that I liked. I would like to get to know her better.

Don't get me wrong about this book. It is a nice one. For me it just didn't grab me and keep my attention as I wanted. Although, if all of the other elements I had commented on previously had all come together for me, I would have been into this book so much more. ( )