I love thrillers especially those that give me a run for my money. This is no exception to that. Its not really a fast paced book from beginning to end but once it picks up momentum I just couldn't stop reading the last few chapters.
I was a bit frustrated and annoyed in part with the main character Jessica Yardley, here we have this well established, smart Prosecuting attorney and there are moments in this book that she really does some questionable things on the borderline of "is this ethical for her, as a prosecutor to do"? I won't spoil it for anyone as I am positive when you read this you should come to the same conclusion. There are also moments if she was a real person I might want to shake her and yell "don't be so stupid" LOL, that's how frustrated she got me. However eventually the book caught up to what I somewhat predicted and gave me me what I didn't expect or predict which of course was great.
This is a perfect thriller to read if you enjoy crime fiction with some predictability and a lot of WTF moments! Characters will draw you in and have you upset or happy but overall keep you enthralled.

4 stars because yes while I very much enjoyed this, I also didn't enjoy some of the character choices and I will leave it at that so I don't spoil things. ( )

Crimson Lake Road by Victor Methos is a combination of police procedural, serial murder mystery and legal drama. In Las Vegas, a woman is brutally murdered and her body is left displayed to replicate a famous and disturbing painting. Jessica Yardley, a prosecutor, is getting ready to move from Las Vegas to start a new career elsewhere. But, with encouragement from an FBI agent and a local cop, she remains to help solve this crime and prosecute the killer when a second woman is found on Crimson Lake Road, unconscious and left for dead. She is in a house on the same road as the previous victim and she is displayed to replicate a second painting from the same series. The problem is that there are two more paintings in the series: will there be two more victims and who will they be? This is a well-paced mystery with plenty of red herrings and a flawed yet engaging and dedicated lead character. There is a warning about this book: the violence is graphic and quite gruesome at times. But the story moves along with intrigue and suspense and nothing is revealed till the very end. Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys psychological thrillers. Thank you to Thomas & Mercer, NetGalley and the author for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Guys, I love a thriller. Legal thrillers? Yes, even more love for those. This is my first Methos book and when I started it, I didn’t realize it was number two in a series. I wish I’d known that before beginning because I enjoy reading a series in order. That said, it did okay as a standalone; although, some things make more sense now knowing there was a book before this one.

Jessica Yardley is a federal prosecutor who gets involved in one last case before retiring and moving far, far away. Her past has earned her the right to choose a much different kind of life and she’s ready for it. When this last case comes to her attention, she wants to help prepare her replacement before boarding her plane to a new life, but in doing so, gets pulled into a serial murder investigation.

Yardley is smart woman and I like the way she handles herself. However, and because of her intelligence and integrity, I found it difficult to believe she would befriend a victim in the case she’s putting together for prosecution. This is a major plot point that didn’t work for me. I just didn’t believe it would happen. Don’t get me wrong–I am well aware of professionals that cross-lines on a daily basis. Unethical practices are overlooked all too often. I just didn’t want her to be one who would participate. She says there are no legal rules against being friends with a victim, but I think it’s still out of character for her to put herself in that position. Yeah, she’s lonely. I get it. But she’s also getting ready to move and start a new life. It doesn’t fit.

Tara, Yardley’s daughter is a bold character. Without giving away too much of the plot, she’s a mix of highly-intelligent and immature. She’s a savant and could, in later books, be an integral part of an investigative team with her knowledge and skills. Right now, though, she’s making some ridiculous choices. Not only that, but Yardley doesn’t step in when she should and that bothered me.

Overall, the story is good. I can’t help but think that it’s a second or third draft that an editor isn’t quite done with. For example, in the first chapter a sheriff and FBI agent are at a crime scene. Methos writes, “That he barely glanced at the body was no surprise–Baldwin had long known Garrett, a former army drill instructor and now a veteran homicide detective with the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, to be unresponsive to horrific crime scenes.” Okay, not bad, but this is the kind of sentence an editor would break down and make clearer. Also, these two characters are introduced in the first two paragraphs of the book with their names and titles and it was a bit “listy” for me; it was as if Methos were checking off his list of characters, which is an amateur move.

There are other issues such as the line, “Some kids came in, probably no more than thirteen.” Thirteen kids? Or kids who are no older than thirteen? There were stereotypical lines in dialogue like the line, “Them models is screwed up something fierce” said by a guy who lives in a trailer park. Methos also talks about OCD, which seemed a bit like a crutch.

The person I wanted to follow the most was the defense attorney, Dylan Aster. As soon as he appeared in the book, the momentum changed. His style, dialogue, and storyline are much more compelling to me than the other characters. In my opinion, Methos has much more fun writing Aster than Yardley. There’s an ease in the writing that isn’t there when he’s writing Yardley. In fact, the biggest problem I had with the book was the plot line. For me, Aster’s chapters would have been a stronger starting point. The way the story reads, Aster doesn’t come in until halfway through the book and it made it seem like a separate story. It was almost as if the first half was a long preface. Again, this is something an editor should spot and help rework.

Perhaps if I’d read the first book in the series some of these issues would be resolved. I would give this book two stars if it weren’t for the second part of the book. Aster makes it worth it for me, so I’ll give it three. ( )