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Preston Andrews Mystery #1
Hard Press'd
Preston Andrews, Senior Homicide Detective for the Virginia Beach Police Department, is tall, dark and handsome--and wealthy beyond belief.
The son of U.S. Senator William Andrews and his lovely wife, Rosemary, lives in the mansion he'd bought from his parents a few years ago. He'd grown up in the Virginia Beach "summer home" of his parents and loves it more than anyplace he's ever been.
Along with the house came the skinny, prim and proper Lizzie, their housekeeper for the last 30 years of his life--and second mother to the two children of the Andrews family.
The third part of the acquisition was ex-Marine, Special Ops, ex-bodyguard to the family and long-time friend, Palmer. Now days Palmer spends his time acting as butler, driver and dog sitter for the 180 pound Mastiff--and God alone knew what other huge species--named Jones.
Jones had just failed his 4th attempt at obedience training. He wasn't a threat to anyone--at least those who knew him recognized this. But, there were the pesky habits of greeting people at the door by putting his catcher mitt sized paws on their shoulders and slurping their faces with a tongue the size of a hand towel, said linen commonly requested afterwards.
Press, as his friends call him, also has a sister--his "baby" sister, as he insists of thinking of her. She is upset with him when we meet her. He deserves it and he knows it. She is currently punishing him for his last act of brotherly love, which caused her some embarrassment in front of her peers.
When we meet Preston, his personal life--a mess, his professional life--with several definite challenges at present, and murder collide.
132 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 2008
52 people are currently reading
227 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
October 14, 2011
Before I began reading the first Preston Andrews mystery, I feared there would be too much love and not enough crime for my taste, but actually there are murders aplenty. The story begins when young Macy Roberts is in trouble and arranges to meet someone she believes she can trust. Instead she is shot down brutally. And later we learn that several young women have disappeared without a trace.
Apart from crime and drama, we do get a bit of romance and also some humorous relief e.g. when we meet Preston´s dog Jones which is "part slobbery Mastiff and .... part mammoth".
A fine and promising first volume which has left me wanting more!
October 30, 2021
“Hard Press'd” doesn't make a good first impression. The writing is stilted/awkward, and it doesn't flow well – and then there is this description of our hero, Det. Preston Andrews:
“The dark complexion was a stark contrast to the eyes of icy blue, surrounded by thick black lashes. They could stop a woman’s heart at fifty paces or pierce a suspect’s nerve across an interrogation table.”
Or, presumably stop the heart of a female suspect :)
That's not all of it, we also learn about his height, weight, Armani clothing, enormous ability as a crime solver, his importance in high society, wealth etc., etc.
At almost the halfway point in this short novel the murder he is supposed to be investigating has advanced at a glacial pace to the point of telling the dead woman's family and a few others about it.
The descriptions of people generally are cringe inducing: - “Her wit and interest in a wide variety of topics made her very popular with her colleagues. As a person, she was loved and admired by everyone who knew her, and her outrageous sense of humor was easily provoked.”
Provoked? And “everyone”? - I dislike her just from the description.
And Linda Rae Blair seems to like the word “do-dad” - it's a mystery to me!
There is one very true statement from Det. Andrews - “I feel so damned cliché!” Got it in one, every page, every time!
“Hard Press'd” has good intentions but it is not well done. The writing is pretty awful, the characters are flat, and the plot development is uneven.
It does get better towards the end but the damage was done as far as I was concerned.
1.5 Stars, rounded down because it was so disappointing.
“The dark complexion was a stark contrast to the eyes of icy blue, surrounded by thick black lashes. They could stop a woman’s heart at fifty paces or pierce a suspect’s nerve across an interrogation table.”
Or, presumably stop the heart of a female suspect :)
That's not all of it, we also learn about his height, weight, Armani clothing, enormous ability as a crime solver, his importance in high society, wealth etc., etc.
At almost the halfway point in this short novel the murder he is supposed to be investigating has advanced at a glacial pace to the point of telling the dead woman's family and a few others about it.
The descriptions of people generally are cringe inducing: - “Her wit and interest in a wide variety of topics made her very popular with her colleagues. As a person, she was loved and admired by everyone who knew her, and her outrageous sense of humor was easily provoked.”
Provoked? And “everyone”? - I dislike her just from the description.
And Linda Rae Blair seems to like the word “do-dad” - it's a mystery to me!
There is one very true statement from Det. Andrews - “I feel so damned cliché!” Got it in one, every page, every time!
“Hard Press'd” has good intentions but it is not well done. The writing is pretty awful, the characters are flat, and the plot development is uneven.
It does get better towards the end but the damage was done as far as I was concerned.
1.5 Stars, rounded down because it was so disappointing.
January 7, 2018
Hard hitting with romance and a twist of who killed who.
September 28, 2012
I received a free download of "Hard Press'd", by Linda Rae Blair through the Goodreads Giveaway, to read on my Kindle.This is a detective crime novel with some romance and humour.
The story begins when young Macy Roberts is in trouble and arranges to meet someone she believes she can trust. Instead she received two lethal wounds, at close range, one bullet to the throat and one bullet to the head.Her death was quick and unexpected.The position of the body was just like she had lay down to take a nap.The victim was well off, but nothing was taken.There were no witnesses. And later we learn that several young women have disappeared without a trace.
A 911 call was placed immediately after the shooting, by a retired navy man hearing and recognizing the shots as gunshots.Detective Preston Andrews (Press),a homicide cop, received the early morning wakeup call.Press was the best detective in the state of Virginia.He teamed up with his new rooky partner, Trace Evans (Trace).Press was the son of a US senator, whose dad had wanted him to go into politics, but he wanted to do his own thing...and be a cop.Press bought his parent's summer home, a mansion, and lived with Lizzie, the housekeeper, Palmer, the butler and Jones his 180 pound DOG.Jones is a riot, and bought alot of humour into the novel. It reminds me of my two Labs and all the trouble they get into.
The killer was making very certain that there had been no mistakes made.It was up to Press and Trace along with the FBI to solve this case.
This was a very easy read crime detective novel, and I enjoyed it very much.I will definately read some of her other novels.
The story begins when young Macy Roberts is in trouble and arranges to meet someone she believes she can trust. Instead she received two lethal wounds, at close range, one bullet to the throat and one bullet to the head.Her death was quick and unexpected.The position of the body was just like she had lay down to take a nap.The victim was well off, but nothing was taken.There were no witnesses. And later we learn that several young women have disappeared without a trace.
A 911 call was placed immediately after the shooting, by a retired navy man hearing and recognizing the shots as gunshots.Detective Preston Andrews (Press),a homicide cop, received the early morning wakeup call.Press was the best detective in the state of Virginia.He teamed up with his new rooky partner, Trace Evans (Trace).Press was the son of a US senator, whose dad had wanted him to go into politics, but he wanted to do his own thing...and be a cop.Press bought his parent's summer home, a mansion, and lived with Lizzie, the housekeeper, Palmer, the butler and Jones his 180 pound DOG.Jones is a riot, and bought alot of humour into the novel. It reminds me of my two Labs and all the trouble they get into.
The killer was making very certain that there had been no mistakes made.It was up to Press and Trace along with the FBI to solve this case.
This was a very easy read crime detective novel, and I enjoyed it very much.I will definately read some of her other novels.
January 12, 2013
I was very pleasantly surprised by this. I have found in the past when a female writer has a strong male character that the language and sexual content gets slightly out of hand. That was true in this story and I was grateful.
Preston Andrews is a Senior Homicide Detective. His choice of career didn't set very well with his senator father. Preston is very comfortable with being around the wealthy set of Virginia Beach, which comes in handy when a young woman is murdered. This young lady was a friend of Preston's younger sister,which puts even more pressure on him to solve this case.
I really liked the character development of Preston Andrews. I liked the fact that he had a huge dog that had behavior issues. The relationship between Preston and his new partner will be interesting to watch how it develops. I was kind of disappointed with the love interest that develops, but changed my mind when this story line didn't overshadow the main plot.
I will be very curious to see how the author develops the characters in the other stories.
Preston Andrews is a Senior Homicide Detective. His choice of career didn't set very well with his senator father. Preston is very comfortable with being around the wealthy set of Virginia Beach, which comes in handy when a young woman is murdered. This young lady was a friend of Preston's younger sister,which puts even more pressure on him to solve this case.
I really liked the character development of Preston Andrews. I liked the fact that he had a huge dog that had behavior issues. The relationship between Preston and his new partner will be interesting to watch how it develops. I was kind of disappointed with the love interest that develops, but changed my mind when this story line didn't overshadow the main plot.
I will be very curious to see how the author develops the characters in the other stories.
April 8, 2012
This is a review of the kindle edition, however, this is the same as the paperback edition I am sure. In this book we are introduced to Detective Preston Andrews. known as Press and his partner Trace. This is the first in a series of what is currently 5 books, and I was so impressed I have downloaded the other 4. Press, is dark and brooding and obvioulsy has a past, but he is a highly thought of, Top Notch, detective. He is called out in the middle of the night to the murder of a young woman who turns out to be the best friend of Press's sister. This is the start of what proves to be an excellent and highly entertaining murder mystery. It is part murder, part romance with moments of pure comedy. The focus is in the mystery elemant and the other storylines just enhnace the main one. I would highly recommend this boo. I finished it last night and I am already reading the next one in the series. Don't wait before you buy it, you'll be glad you did
September 28, 2013
Detective Press Andrews, comes from a wealthy family, has a huge dog and prefers working for the Virginia Beach police than the FBI. When a young wealthy women is killed in Virginia beach it is up to Press Andrews and his new partner to uncover the truth and learn who the killer is. When the FBI takes an interest in his case, he has a new woman, Rachel in his life. She is different from any other woman and has to keep secrets because of her job. As Detective Andrews and the FBI unravels the involvement of George Roberts, Moira Roberts, Macy Roberts and David Olivette, the Navy's NCIS and JAG also becomes involve in his case. This is a fun story. Press Andrews is likable, the story flows well and the secondary characters are interesting. Worth the read.
June 27, 2011
While murder mysteries are not generally my genre of choice, I enjoyed this installment of Preston Andrews, detective of the Virginia Beach PD; what guy wouldn't be jealous of him, and what girl wouldn't want him???
When it comes to murder-mysteries (and the few that I have read), I don't like long, drawn-out investigations. I like a fast pace and likeable characters with lots of intensity...who knew that you could get that in 192 pages...well worth the 99c. Happy reading :)
When it comes to murder-mysteries (and the few that I have read), I don't like long, drawn-out investigations. I like a fast pace and likeable characters with lots of intensity...who knew that you could get that in 192 pages...well worth the 99c. Happy reading :)
December 8, 2013
I met Linda Rae Blair through some Facebook groups and developed a friendship with this kind, giving person. I wanted to read some of her books and picked this one to start with. I was not disappointed with my choice.
Linda's writing style is just right for me. I like to read at night and prefer non-complicated, entertaining books to help me relax and unwind. The fast-paced story keep me up past my bedtime but it was worth it. I highly recommend this book to everyone.
February 16, 2012
I really liked the book and read it relatively fast, however even thought the character is likable enough the plot was lacking a bit of depth and the ending seemed a bit anticlimactic for my taste. There weren't any significant twists to this crime story and the style with the dates and times before the chapters truly reminded me of the old TV series JAG. Nonetheless a very entertaining read.
October 25, 2015
There are some weak points about this book that had my first instincts to be to rate this "didn't like" but, I liked it enough that "didn't like" would be a disservice. Since at the end of the book I was enjoying the warm glow of a book well read and a story that I enjoyed, I cannot in honesty rate it lower than "I liked it."
February 12, 2013
I liked the book, but I found the ending a bit light. The other thing is that it was predictable. The investigator is a hunk, and works with this beautiful woman. The bad guy is an a**hole and is so mean...
May 24, 2013
This book started out really well and I was soon engrossed in the story. And then...it ended. It seemed like the author got tired of writing the book and ended it abruptly in ten pages just to get it done. So what should have been a five star book really fell flat.
December 4, 2012
Starts off as a promising crime thriller with a good plot, but sadly fizzles out later, as if the writer was rushing to finish it
November 9, 2011
Predictable plot. Preston Andrews was too perfect and his love interest staged and silly. Started off promising but quickly went downhill.
January 5, 2012
A real page turner
March 30, 2012
This was a good mystery. I liked the time/date format at each chapter. This reminded me of older type mysteries like Columbo. Especially with the old car. Very good.
February 25, 2012
Two-haiku review:
Young woman murdered
Rich detective, new partner
Immature writing
Annoying format
Grammar mistakes, simplistic
Struggle to finish
Young woman murdered
Rich detective, new partner
Immature writing
Annoying format
Grammar mistakes, simplistic
Struggle to finish
March 20, 2012
Free Kindle book
January 28, 2013
I pad freebie. Was OK
July 18, 2014
Great series! I got this one because it was free and now I've read all but one. There's romance, suspense and humour!
April 13, 2015
I'm press ed
A great read. The characters were interesting and the story moved along at a good pace, I could hardly put it down.
I look forward to reading more from this author.
A great read. The characters were interesting and the story moved along at a good pace, I could hardly put it down.
I look forward to reading more from this author.
August 17, 2015
Could have been longer; a little simplistic. Nice easy relaxing read; great for the beach.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews