Toxic Blonde is a brilliant followup to Auburn Ride. Another great mystery/thriller, with tons of action but enough intrigue and character development to keep the reader grounded. Let me explain.
I love thrillers because they are easy reads that speed by. They are real page turners with constant action and nonstop plots, but not a lot of subtle puzzle solving opportunities. Like old school crime noir, Toxic Blonde takes its time building characters and subplots while events move the story along at a good pace.
Full of dark corners and undercover disguises, David Stevers brilliant series will take you back to the feeling of Agatha Christie in a modern day setting. Just imagine what Hercule Poirot could do with an iPhone and GPS tracking.
I’m specifically impressed to be so invested in a male/female relationship that isn’t essentially romantic. While there is a hint of attraction between Katie and Delarosa and Katie have more of a mentor/mentee bond, with Katie helping to push the “set in his ways” detective to be better. So interesting and wonderfully different.
Bill Lord once again shines as a narrator. I have a little issue with his performance of female characters. This could be just me, but I feel like men can often make female characters sound less intelligent through their voice inflections. I think they are attempting to make their voices take on a more feminine quality, but end up sounding a little flighty or clueless. This is only occasionally, and overall, the performance is great. I forgot I was listening to an audiobook.
All mystery lovers should give this series a chance. I have no idea where this is going in the future, but I know I’m going along for the ride.