Tell Me by Lisa Jackson

In Tell Me, Blondell, who was convicted twenty years ago of murdering her own daughter, Amity, and shooting two others, is about to be released. The prosecution surmised that Blondell wanted to be with her lover rather than her children. Now, the killing has started again. Was Blondell wrongly convicted? What really happened the night that Amity was killed? That's what reporter, Nikki Gillette, is determined to find out.

I enjoyed this book. It was an interesting mystery with plenty of suspense. I wish I had read the previous books in the series, though. They probably would have given me some background information on the major characters. I didn't think that Jackson did a particularly good job of introducing them in this book.

Speaking of the main characters, I liked both Nikki Gillette and Detective Pierce Reed. Their relationship felt a little odd to me, though. Perhaps I really should have read the previous books to find out more about it. I was confused by some of Nikki's behaviour, particularly when she wanted Reed to share what he knew about the case, but she didn't see it necessary to reciprocate when she found out something he wasn't likely to know.

The book made me realize how hard reporters work to get a story. On one hand I gained a new respect for the leg work that they have to do to get a story. Without them, we wouldn't know what was going on in the world. In this story, Nikki had lots of running around to do and she needed to be quick on her feet. She wasn't always welcomed where she went. On the other hand, though, it felt like Nikki was being too pushy at times, especially with those who already said they didn't want to talk. It felt like she was invading their privacy. There are just some things the public doesn't have the right to know.

I had two other problems with the book. First, the sex scenes felt gratuitous and didn't really add anything to the story. Second, while the "interview" chapters were fascinating, they felt disconnected from the rest of the story.

Recommended. Even though I had a couple of problems with the book, I still enjoyed it and will definitely read another book by Jackson.

For more information about this book, please visit the Kensington Books website.

For more information about the author and her other books, please visit Lisa Jackson's website.

Thanks to those nice people from Kensington Books for this review copy.

Tell Me by Lisa Jackson, Kensington Books, ©2013. ISBN 9780758256566(Trade Paperback), 328p.