Kristin Wright

The Darkest Web by Kristin Wright is second in the Allison Barton series but reads quite well as a stand-alone. Jane Knudsen, an exceptional beauty, is a lawyer working for a legal firm which values billable hours over the staff’s wellbeing. Her looks have always been a disadvantage because most people do not look at the person beneath the exterior. When her boss is murdered in his office, Jane is soon charged with his murder. Because she will need expert legal representation, she goes to Allison Barton, her roommate for their first year of law school. The two women have not seen each other since school a decade ago and are feeling unsure how the relationship will work. It will be up to Allison to determine who could have been responsible for the murder and there are many possibilities. Jane will need to overcome the memories of her horrible childhood which has cast a pall over her entire life. The book alternates between chapters by each woman, which works extremely well for the reader to get to know Jane and Allison. The Darkest Web is a tense and taut legal drama and the characters are realistically flawed. I look forward to reading more books by Kristin Wright. Thank you to Thomas & Mercer, NetGalley and the author for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.… (meer)

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

I found this very readable and I enjoyed the style, although I preferred the first in this series. Here Allison represents Jane, an old roommate from law school, on the charge of murdering her boss. Jane seems to be in hiding, yet she also works hard as a lawyer. She tells no one about her past, and Allison comes to realize she never really knew anything about her while they were students ether. After a few chapters of this, Jane's past starts to be revealed, and it is a very distressing one. I felt the author returned to details of what had happened to her more frequently than was necessary. The final chapter struck me as unnecessary and left a bad taste in my mouth - was it supposed to make us feel better for Jane? The important points which had been made about how women are treated throughout the novel were somewhat muddied for me.

The Emmett and Libby scene at the end was adorable. I hope there are more in this series.… (meer)

The Darkest Flower by Kristin Wright is a 2021 Thomas & Mercer publication.

When Kira Grant, a PTA president, is accused of trying to poison one of the other mothers, she hires Allison Barton to defend her.

Kira has always lived a life of privilege and has no earthly idea what it is like to struggle. Be that as it may, she’s convinced her husband is having an affair, is in denial about her daughter’s dyslexia, and truly believes she is right about everything.

Then Kira is accused of murder- and faces some true adversity in her life for a change- but she’s so sure of herself and so convinced she knows better than Allison, she tries to micro- manage, manipulate and control the entire investigation. She gives Allison fits – but Allison is far more formidable than she’s been credited with.

The problem is, the deeper Allison digs the more suspects she turns up- and the possible motives are beyond twisted!! But the fact remains:
Someone tried to commit murder-right there in front of a bunch of school children, any of whom could have been an accidental casualty in the plot, and Allison will stop at nothing to discover the truth…

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I love legal thrillers, but I seldom find one anymore that combines much courtroom action with the investigation angles. This book not only balanced the two, but gave the genre a big quirky breath of fresh air.

This book was pure entertainment. It’s easy to read, fast-paced, though some of the characterizations are nearly cartoonish at times- except for Allison- who plays a more stereotypical role-but is our true protagonist- despite Kira’s flamboyant personality nearly drowning her out much of the time.

While the book has a few mixed reviews, I thought it was unique, perhaps a bit satirical- or darkly humorous, though I wasn’t quite sure that was what the author intended.

If you don’t take it too seriously, you might be able to enjoy it just for the pure fun of it. There’s a nice little twist at the end, too. Others have claimed to have seen it coming a mile off- but as jaded as I am- I didn’t figure it all the way out. Then, once the truth was revealed, I realized the story was maybe a bit darker than I’d give it credit for.

This is yet another book I’ve read this past month that was a little out the box- and it is another book that might not be suited for everyone- but I enjoyed it well enough.

3.5 stars… (meer)

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

This was very enjoyable; a mixture of a mystery, courtroom drama, and romance. It centres on the committee of an elementary school PTA where one committee member is charged with the poisoning of another by means of a smoothie served at the Grade 5 'graduation'. There are chapters from the perspective of Kira, the accused mother, and Allison her lawyer. Kira was initially very amusing, although she became less so as the plot developed, and I really liked Allison, so I am glad this looks as if it is only the first in a series.… (meer)