A Means to an End by Lissa Marie Redmond

A Means to An End by Lissa Marie Redmond

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A Means to an End (Cold Case Investigation #3) by Lissa Marie Redmond

September 2019
fiction, suspense, book series
Midnight Ink
Rating: 4/5

I received this digital arc from NetGalley and Midnight Ink in exchange for an unbiased review.

I was excited to read this new installation of the series since I was able to preview the first two books!

I wouldn’t recommend reading these books as a “stand alone” in order to fully understand the cast of characters and their relevance.

The murder isn’t over until the killer stops deriving pleasure from the crime.

Lauren Riley is a cold case detective working with her partner Shane Reese. Divorced with two adult daughters, she takes on cases as a private investigator on the side. She has a complicated relationship with her ex-husband Mark who is an accomplished attorney.

In the first book, she agrees to take on a PI case for attorney Frank Violanti, with whom she has been adversaries on many cases. She is annoyed to discover that Joe Wheeler, a former fiancé, is involved with this high profile case. Lauren ends up seeking assistance from unlikely sources to assist her investigation. Ultimately, she is left frustrated and dissatisfied with the results of acquittal in the Katherine Vine murder trial.

Next, a year later, Lauren is stabbed in the back while working late at the Precinct. Her partner Shane Reese had just left the office and returned to retrieve his baseball hat when he finds her bloody body on the floor. It seems pretty obvious that the crime was an “inside job” since the cold case files were kept in a secure location.

Why would anyone want to steal the Cold Case Murder Book? It seems there is a “mole” leaking information regarding investigations. Being a victim doesn’t stop Lauren from investigating her own case. She won’t stop until the person is apprehended unfortunately cases aren’t as cut and dry as Lauren would like. This book ends with another question mark regarding the involvement of a former client who was acquitted in his murder trial. Why does he continue to taunt Lauren? What is his end game?

In this latest installation to the Cold Case series, it is 4 months later on a cold March day in New York when Lauren and Shane arrive at a crime scene. Apparently, two hunters found the gruesome corpse of a woman in two pieces. It seems that Brianna McIntyre, a 22 year old, went missing last May after telling friends she was meeting a man she met online in a coffee shop. Manny Perez, the state police senior investigator, had consulted Lauren and Shane since he noted that Amber Anderson’s body was found in the same spot 2 years ago and murder case remains unsolved. There are no coincidences when it comes to crime and they fear they have a serial killer on the loose. Unfortunately, Lauren is certain she knows who is responsible and will do anything to see justice finally served.

Although this book ties up all the loose ends from the prior books, the characters are well developed and I could easily see this evolving into other books.

Book 1: Cold Case Investigation
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Book 2: The Murder Book https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...



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