Lies to Die For

Todd M. Thiede

Average Rating 9/10 (1 Review)

Max Larkin Detective Series - Book 2

Max Larkin and Jesse Fairlane are the top two detectives in Rockton Illinois. In Lies to Die for, the second book in the Max Larkin Detective series, they are in pursuit of a killer that is branding letters into the victim’s bodies. Is it someone the victims know or is it just a random person taking out frustrations on the small community of Rockton? Max is fresh coming off of his one month suspension for hiding things from his captain while Jesse has been holding down the fort during his absence. There hasn’t been much crime in Rockton since the Time Killer killings but Captain Perry knows he’s going to need his whole team working together to catch the person that killed a local college professor and his girlfriend. Just as the clues start to come together there’s another murder. Max and Jesse find themselves disagreeing a lot as to who done it and why. This partnership is on the rocks and the town needs them now more than ever.

Review by Paul Lappen (010123) Rating (9/10)

Review by Paul Lappen
Book Source: Not Known
Rating 9/10
This present-day murder mystery is about a small town being menaced by a serial killer, soon after putting another serial killer in jail.

Detective Max Larkin of the Rockton Police Department has just returned to work after taking a mandated psychological leave. Larkin and Jesse, his partner, are investigating a double homicide. After a third murder, suspicion falls on Liam, the hot-headed estranged husband of one of the victims. The circumstantial evidence is pretty strong, but it's not enough to force a confession. Larkin, whose instincts about a person's guilt or innocence are usually very good, is convinced that Liam is innocent. Jesse is just as convinced of his guilt.

After Liam goes to jail, there is another dead body. Suspicion points in a totally different direction, toward someone a lot closer to Max and Jesse. After that possibility is no longer a possibility, another person is found dead. Can Max and Jesse stop the killer before Max becomes the next victim?

This one is really good. It feels realistic, and it has lots of twists and turns. The reader will be kept guessing until the last few pages. It is very much worth reading.
Paul Lappen (1st January 2023)