Lost Legacy: A Tale of Murder, mystery and self-discovery

I received a free copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for my review. This is my personal and true opinion.



Lost Legacy by Annette Dashofy is a second novel in the Zoe Chambers series. I have not read the first book and did not feel I was handicapped in understanding the story in any way. As a paramedic, Zoe responds to a call at a local farm. There she and her partner discover a farmer hanging from a beam in the barn. What at first appears to be a suicide is soon questioned as a possible homicide. Zoe remembers that some 40+ years ago another body had been found in this barn, part of a murder/suicide of two brothers. With a link to her family, she tries to ask her mother and step-father what they remember of the incident. Their side-stepping and irritability when questioned, leads Zoe to question what else is going on. A note left by the dead farmer, opens the possibility that her own father, killed in a car crash 20+ years earlier, may still be alive. With all these open questions, Zoe is on the hunt for the truth about all these events, and, an understanding of how they are related.

As Zoe searches deeper and deeper, Police Chief Pete Adams, struggles with his personal feelings for Zoe, and his fear that the truth will bring more pain and disappointment for Zoe. After two more citizens are killed, they realize that the killer is still at work. Zoe has a difficult relationship with her mother, and as Zoe begins to question what role her mother and/or step-father may have played in this tangled web, their relationship only deteriorates more.

This is an excellent book, with well sculpted characters, and complicated, gripping plot, and an assortment of small town characters that provide some comic relief. An excellent novel! I will definitely be waiting for the next book in the series!

The Competition by Marcia Clark: A "keep-you-guess-until-the-very-end" book

I received a free e-book copy from NetGalley in exchange for a review of the book. This review is my free and honest opinion.




This is the fourth book in the Rachael Knight series. I had not read any of the previous books, but I plan to now. I admit, I didn't read any of Marcia Clark's books because I thought she had done a very poor job of handling the OJ case. But her writing skills are very good, and she uses her legal knowledge to create excellent stories! I am now a fan.

Rachael Knight is an LA special trials prosecutor. She teams with her best friend, Bailey Keller, an LAPD detective, when a Columbine-style shooting takes place at a high school in a San Fernando Valley. This is a study in stereotyping, troubled youth, and what makes kids kill.

Very quickly Rachael and Bailey believe they have the suspects. In their search for them, and for hard evidence, things do not add up. Just when I thought they finally had a handle on the case, another twist would rear it's ugly head.

I could not put the book down. This is a great team of tough, intelligent women who struggle through trying to have close relationships, a fulfilling life, and a harder than nails career. If you like police and legal procedurals, you will love The Competition.