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Welcome to Read This Book, a weekly newsletter where I recommend one book that I think you absolutely must read. The books will vary across genre and age category to include new releases, backlist titles, and classics. If you’re ready to explode your TBR, buckle up!
This week’s pick is one of my favorite mysteries starring a bisexual PI, The Last Place You Look by Kristen Lepionka!
Content warning: kidnapping, talk of rape, some violence
Roxane Weary is a bisexual PI grieving her cop dad’s death. She’s broke, she drinks too much, and she is way too dependent on her dad’s former partner. When a woman asks Roxane to look into her brother’s case one last time before his scheduled execution, Roxane agrees reluctantly. She needs the money, but she doesn’t believe there is anything more to dig up on a ten-year-old murder case. But as she slowly emerges from her haze of grief to examine the facts of the case, Roxane realizes that certain things may have been overlooked, and she starts getting pushback on very simple questions. She begins to suspect that there might be something weird going on–and her father’s department might be covering up the truth.
This is a fantastic start to great mystery series (four books and counting) about a tough and sarcastic PI with a great heart. Roxane is a good detective with great instincts, and her connections to the police allow her to make good traction while working slightly outside of the law. This first novel is a whopper of a case–you have an old murder mystery, a Black man who is charged with the crime because of his proximity to the victims, and the growing suspicion that there’s a lot more to this case than first appears. The action is excellent, and it builds to one really explosive ending.
Roxane isn’t at a great place at the start of the series, but she really grows and develops as the series progresses. What I also appreciate about these mysteries is that each one has some really excellent subplots–usually another smaller mystery, some family drama, and relationship woes. Roxane dates both men and women, but her character subverts a lot of tropes, and she’s just so capable and sardonic that you can’t help but want more. Read the books in order, because I promise you’ll care just as much about Roxane’s life as you will about the mysteries she solves. Start with The Last Place You Look, and follow it up with What You Want to See, The Stories You Tell, and Once You Go This Far.
Bonus: The first three books are out now, and the fourth hits shelves next month! Read them now and get caught up in time for the new release!
Happy reading,
Tirzah
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