Reeling from the death of a loved one at Alex's hand, Jack is caught in a web of hunting Alex down before she kills everyone Jack loves. Dangerous cat and mouse game with McGlade & Phin backing her up, Jack must make a life or death decision. Thrilling page turner with Jack matching wits with psycho Alex, humor from McGlade and his new pet, and Phin's friendship all round out an excellent installment of this series. ( )

Wow! The sixth book took off like a rocket!

A small backstory:

Jack ended up dealing with a tragedy in the last book "Fuzzy Navel" so this book opens up right on the heels of the last book as she has to deal with an emotional upheaval along with tracking down Alex Kork as things went awry in the last book.

Alex goes on another killing spree and Jack has to get help from her friends Harry and Phin to track down Alex before she kills again, but Jack is in hot water with her job so she has to go out on her own and break some laws to track down Alex.

Alex has lots of tricks up her sleeves and lots of weapons to do whatever she needs to do to make Jack suffer. Alex keeps slipping out of Jack's reach while all the time trying to kill off people that mean something to Jack. There is quite a bit of a cat and mouse game within this storyline as the closer that Jack seems to get to Alex the further away she slips.

Thoughts:

This book was different as well as the author had every other chapter for the villain Alex and her criminal activities. The chapters go back and forth like that through the whole book.

This book had lots of the humorous banter once again and I found myself laughing a lot with this story. There was lots of action along with a fast paced storyline that kept me guessing and the author threw some twists in there as well. Giving this one five "Vindictive Villain" stars.

For more thoughts on this review, please see my blog:
https://booknookretreat.blogspot.com/2021/08/cherry-bomb-jack-daniels-mystery-6-... ( )

So who was that Alex Kord killed last. Unfortunately it will not be the last loved one of Jack that she will go after. Will Alex win, can Jack and her friends win or will Jack be the last one standing against Alex.
An enjoyable thriller. ( )

Cherry Bomb
3 Stars

In the aftermath of the attack on her home and the death of a loved one, Lieutenant Jack Daniels must confront the darkest side of her soul and decide whether vengeance against the maniacal Alex Kork is worth the price of her badge and her honor.

Not up to Konrath's usual standards.

The characterization takes a weird and irritating turn. Who is the whiny woman who has taken over Jack Daniels' body? Since when did Phin become so smarmy? How could Harry McGlade possibly get even more grotesque? Why can't Alex Kork just die? And where the hell is Mr. Friskers?

The cat vs. mouse storyline between Jack and Alex Kork has gone on for far too long and the descriptions of Alex's sadism and violence are excessive and completely unnecessary. They do nothing to ratchet up the tension, and it is impossible to care about any of the victims as they are completely underdeveloped stereotypical placeholders rather than actual characters.

While this series has been enjoyable over all, Cherry Bomb is a lackluster installment and the time has come for me to take a break from Jack for the time being or lose interest for good.
( )

In this novel, the sixth book of the eight book Lt Jack Daniels series,
Jack returns with all of her pals, including Herb, her partner who is
apparently the size of a sumo wrestler, Phinn, the pool hall hustler who
is dying of cancer, Harry, the former cop turned private eye who can't
help being obnoxious, and, most importantly, Alex, the female serial
killer who has escaped from prison and more than anything wants
revenge on Jack. The story consists of alternating chapters telling the
tale from both Jack and Alex's point of views. it is a fastpaced, easy-
reading tale. The chase is on when Jack receives a call from Alex at
Latham's funeral and it is nonstop action to the end. On the way, the
road is littered with blood and bodies and destruction. This also may
prove to be the end of Jack's career with the police force. ( )