After a tough breakup with her boyfriend, Lucy Kincaid needs a different kind of break. So she heads west to join her brother, an ex-cop, for a long weekend of skiing in the mountains. At a picturesque lodge tucked high in the Sierra Nevada, Lucy finds just what she’s looking for: a peaceful retreat undisturbed by Internet, television, and cell phone distractions. She also finds an unexpected group of newlyweds seeking their own idyllic getaway.
But finding one of her fellow guests dead wasn’t in the brochure. And neither was the overnight snowstorm that leaves the lodge cut off from the outside world. When Lucy’s brother suspects the honeymooner’s death was foul play, he’s mysteriously stricken ill. Now, to keep him and herself alive, it’s up to aspiring FBI agent Lucy Kincaid to figure out which of the lovebirds trapped in the lodge is really a bird of prey.
BONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from Allison Brennan’s upcoming novel Kiss Me, Kill Me as well as an exclusive excerpt from an FBI interview with Lucy Kincaid!
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Allison Brennan believes that life is too short to be bored, so she had five children and writes three books a year.
In 2019, Allison relocated from Northern California to Arizona with her family and assorted pets. She loves baseball, hiking, family game night, and (of course) reading.
RT Book Reviews called Allison “a master of suspense” and her books “haunting,” “mesmerizing,” “pulse-pounding” and “emotionally complex.” She's been nominated for many awards, and is a three time winner of the Reviewer's Choice award winner for RT Book Reviews as well as the Daphne du Maurier award. Most recently, she was nominated for Best Paperback Original by International Thriller Writers.
With over 45 books and dozens of short stories, Allison is writing multiple series and the occasional stand alone thriller. Her most recent book out now is THE MISSING WITNESS, part of the Quinn & Costa series. In June Allison is launching a new Phoenix-set series about a family of private investigators starting with YOU'LL NEVER FIND ME.
You can reach Allison through Goodreads or her website.
It’s been a few years since we last heard from Lucy Kincaid, when she’d just graduated from high school and went through a horrible abduction. She’s now 24-years old and on a long weekend retreat at a lodge in the Sierra Nevada mountains with her brother, Patrick. He’s also recovered from being in a two year coma following a brain injury sustained while helping to rescue Lucy. Returning to the lodge after a day of skiing, they come upon the owner’s son, Steve, as he tumbled down the mountainside. After they assist him, they find out he’s been experiencing health issue but won’t take the time to deal with it as he struggles to keep the lodge afloat. But, there’s another bigger issue to contend with once they return as one of the guests is found dead in her room, the apparent result of a drug overdose.
I’m so glad our group decided to read the preceding trilogies before starting this series as that’s where we got Lucy’s (and Patrick’s) backstory. If you start here, you won’t learn much about her but having read those earlier stories, this was a good update on the direction her life is now taking. She and Patrick, a former e-crimes detective, take control of the room where the guest died and they soon realize things may not be what they first seem. This short story covers a lot of ground, quickly and thoroughly, as they follow investigative procedures while in the middle of a blizzard. They’re on their own until law enforcement can get there, which isn’t anytime soon.
This was an enjoyable story as Lucy shows she’s learned a lot in preparation for a career with the FBI. Not knowing who she could trust or anything about the guests, she had to rely on instincts and training to resolve the situation. It moves quickly but was interesting and engaging. You may not need to read the earlier stories before beginning this series to appreciate the story but it helped me better understand Lucy’s transition from a traumatized teen to a skilled investigator. Nice start to the series.
Lucy Kincaid and her brother Patrick are on a much-needed ski vacation in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. They are staying four nights at the DeLarosa Retreat, a mountain hideaway where three honeymooning couples are also staying. When bad weather strikes, Luck and Patrick put away their skis and start to drive back to the retreat, only to see one of the owners, Steve DeLarosa, tumble down the mountain and hit a tree. They help Steve back home but he refuses to see a doctor. He has too much to do to keep the DeLarosa Retreat from going under. When Lucy returns to her room she hears a scream. The body of one of the honeymooners has been found, an empty bottle of pills beside her. Due to the snowstorm, the police cannot get to them. Since Patrick is a former cop and Lucy has some training, they look into the death which is starting to look like murder.
We were first introduced to Lucy Kincaid when she was a high school graduate kidnapped from her own graduation ceremony. Since then she has decided to work in the law enforcement field and has applied to become an FBI agent. Lucy uses many of the things she has learned from her schooling to investigate the murder and preserve the body for forensic study. When Patrick becomes sick during their stay, she is sure it is connected to the murder.
I'm not a big fan of novella but I enjoyed this one. It certainly helped that I had read the author's previous books and knew both Lucy and Patrick from those stories. My rating: 4 Stars.
Wonderful, fast paced and absolutely perfect. Although, as a novella, this story was compact, it had everything a great mystery plot should have. This is a reintroduction to the Lucy Kincaid who is now mid twenties and about to apply to the FBI. I hope we see more of her brother Patrick in the series. He deserves his own HEA if any supporting character does.
Lucy and her ex-cop brother, Patrick, are on a long ski weekend. Lucy has a lot to sort out having just broken off a long time relationship and is about to take a new career path. As a freak Sierra blizzard moves in and strands them at their remote lodge, they are cut off from the outside world with three other couples and the lodge management team.
When a guest is discovered dead in her room, it looks like a suicide, but Lucy suspects something else happened. Patrick agrees and now they have a murder to solve and a captive group, one of whom is a murderer.
Lucy and her brother Patrick take a vacation to a lodge to do some skiing after Lucy breaks up with her boyfriend and end up dealing with a murder.
This short novella is the perfect start to the Lucy Kincaid series. Lucy is not yet an FBI agent, but it shows the reader how smart she is and determined to do right. She has pretty much recovered from her ordeal around her graduation, but still has some lingering trust issues. She does a great job piecing together the clues in this story and uncovering the killer. Patrick helped, but Lucy did most of the work. I really like how parts of the previous books are mentioned in this one. It brings back many feelings from the events that happened. I highly recommend reading all of Allison Brennan’s books up to the Lucy Kincaid series. You’ll meet many characters who make appearances elsewhere. It will also help the reader understand parts of this book.
This was a nice introduction to the Lucy Kincaid series but it isn't necessary in the grand scheme of things to read it prior to starting the series.
The Good, The Bad, and Whatever Else I want to Mention: Since this was the first of her series, Lucy is young and not as established as she was in the Max Revere book featuring her and Max. It really was nice to see Lucy as a young woman. Thankfully the issues I had, not necessarily with her but with the way her background was rehashed, in Shattered, were mostly absent from this book. It's been a few months since I read this book because I'm a little behind in my reviews but I recall a vague mention of her past but that was it which I'm grateful for because the constant rehashing that was done in Shattered diminished my enjoyment of that book.
As I mentioned earlier in the overall grand scheme of the series (which I've not yet read but am fairly confident in drawing my conclusions) this novella is a throwaway. For me, this means you could read it or you could skip it. Nothing really happened that would have a tremendous impact on Lucy's character in future books. It was a nice little mystery set in a snowed in ski lodge setting and Lucy and her brother were interesting characters but had I not read this book I would have been A-OK to just jump into book 1 of the Lucy Kincaid series. Also as a side note this was labeled Romantic Suspense but there is no romance in it at all. Lucy is fresh out of a breakup and there is no love interest in the works either.
In a Nutshell: If you have time and enjoy the Lucy Kincaid series I'd recommend you spend an hour or so reading this short novella. If you're looking for a mystery/thriller in the vein of Karin Slaughter or Lisa Gardner I'd skip this one.
Love Is Murder was a fast-paced read and a great introduction to the Lucy Kincaid series.
Looking for a break before she sends in her application to the FBI, Lucy Kincaid joins her brother for a long weekend of skiing in the Sierra Nevada mountains. But when another guest is found dead right as a snowstorm hits, Lucy realizes her weekend won't be one of relaxation. Suspecting foul play, Lucy and her ex-cop brother begin to investigate only for him to fall mysteriously ill. Now it's up to Lucy to get them through the weekend alive while on the lookout for a killer.
The mystery of how the guest Vanessa died was an interesting one. At first glance it appears to be suicide or an accidental overdose, but Lucy quickly realizes that there's more to the scene than it appears at first glance. Suspecting more may be going on, she's quick to secure the room and works the scene with her brother after the storm prevents the cops from getting to the lodge. Lucy is shown to be incredibly capable with great instincts, something I'm sure will serve her well in the future as an FBI agent. The author manages to offer up a few suspects which Lucy quickly works through. When the killer's identity is revealed, I thought it was well done and I found the motive to be plausible. The ending has a bit of action which I liked as the suspense kept things interesting.
Overall Love Is Murder was an enjoyable read and I'm looking forward to reading the first full-length installment in the series, Love Me to Death, soon.
This took place a year before Book 1 Love Me to Death and pre-Sean. Lucy and her brother Patrick are taking a skiing holidays when Lucy finds one of the other guests dead in her room. With the hotel cut off due to a blizzard, it's up to her and Patrick to figure out what happened...
This was a 74 page novella e-book. It was pleasant enough, with some suspense and action. Lucy Kincaid is a nice heroine, backed up by her older brother. One of the guests at the Delarosa has been killed, but no one knows why--at first. Treachery abounds.
Short novella, a prequel to the first book in Lucy Kincaid series. Sweet and readable, not a masterpiece in any sense but an hour's relative fun. Obvious killer and a bit larger than life but not the worst crime story I ever read either :)
This may only be 80 pages but it had all the right elements and just enough suspense to keep the reader turning pages. Though I must say I figured out the bad guy early on. I'm just suspicious that way.
REVIEW OF EBOOK; JUNE 14, 2014: 2 and a half stars
I started on the Lucy Kincaid series yesterday and, to be honest, wasn't expecting much because I'd read her Predator trilogy and didn't like them. Since I don't usually bother with series novellas, this rather so-so start to the series didn't put me off. I found this novella very confusing as far as where it fitted in the series. It's mainly the fault of the FBI interview that is included at the end of the novella. It threw me off completely since I'm coming to the series 100% new and clueless as to who's who and the events surrounding the characters.
For other newbies to the series, this might help:
Correct timeline (as I understand it): Love is Murder takes place a year before Book 1. As the blurb says - Twenty-four year-old Lucy is taking a vacation with her brother, Patrick. She's just broken off with her boyfriend, Cody, and will be submitting her application that summer to join the FBI. That process, in itself, will take up to a year. Meanwhile, Lucy is an intern at a DC medical examiner as well as volunteering at a victim’s rights group.
There is some mention in the novella of Lucy having suffered horribly from an abduction when she was 18, which resulted in Patrick being left in a coma following his injury after the rescue attempt of his kid sister. This abduction, if I'm not wrong, is covered in Fear No Evil, Book 3 of the No Evil series.
There is a rather ho-hum murder mystery woven in here and I'm left wondering what was the point of this novella. I'm going to assume it's to show Lucy's introduction to her first crime-solving experience as she figures out who the killer of Vanessa is and wraps it all up nice and neat.
....FBI Special Agent Lucy Kincaid here we come!
I could have done without this prequel and the FBI interview as it didn't add anything to the series but only served to confuse me. The interview takes place after Book 1, Love Me to Death because during the interview, Lucy tells her interviewers, "Sean and I haven’t been seeing each other for long. I filled out the initial application a year ago.". At the start of Book 1, Sean and Lucy haven't started dating yet. They only know each other casually because Sean works with Lucy's brother in their private security company, Rogan-Caruso-Kincaid. It is only at one-third through Love Me to Death that Sean kisses Lucy and when he takes her out on their first date.
This FBI interview would have been better if included in Book #1 rather than Book #0.5.
I'll never be a big fan of novellas but I was impressed at this tightly written little mystery. It felt like a theatre who dunnit and even though all the characters were new to me, I was able to get a general feel for Lucy Kincaid and her brother Patrick. Entertaining first read for this new to me author.
The only thing wrong is that it was too short (78 pages). But hey, it's only got me more interested in reading the rest of the books in this series. I really like Lucy.
'After being attacked and left for dead by an online predator, Lucy Kincaid survives and joins the FBI to help fight deadly cyber-crime alongside security expert and private investigator Sean Rogan.'
Love Is Murder is the Book #0.5 in the Lucy Kincaid series by Allison Brennan. It is made up of 25 books that all bring a gripping blend of suspense, action, and emotional depth that had me on the edge of my seat, avidly reading just so I could find out how everything would play out in the end. Lucy Kincaid is a survivor of a harrowing attack, but who manages to transform her trauma into strength, joining the FBI to combat dangerous threats. Her journey is both inspiring and heart-wrenching, as Ms. Brennan explores themes of resilience, justice, and the complexities of human relationships. Lucy’s partnership with Sean Rogan, a private investigator, adds another intriguing layer, tension, and dynamic to the series. These are fast-paced stories, with twists that kept me guessing. As Ms. Brennan’s ability to balance intense action with deeply personal moments made the stories feel both thrilling and yet still relatable. Each installment delves into new challenging cases/investigations, from escaped prisoners to dark conspiracies, ensuring the series never loses its momentum. With a compelling MC, intricately woven plots, and lots of action- I definitely enjoyed binge-reading this series. Well worth the read. Happy Reading…
A novella that takes place before the first novel of the series, manages to behave as a flashback for Lucy Kincaid while on a mini vacation with her older brother, Patrick. Still grappling with her trauma from six years earlier, Lucy has a strong sense for when things are wrong. While on vacation, one person gets injured, another dies, and a few other come down with suspicious dizzy spells and hallucinations. Something isn't right, and Lucy is the only one who can figure out what it is. But what if the person responsible finds out that Lucy is onto them? While trying to stay out of trouble, Lucy finds herself face-to-face with the problem, and with no one she can trust – at first.
Intending to spend a three-day weekend at a mountain resort—where Patrick Kincaid is determined to teach his young sister, Lucy, to ski—their skiing weekend is terminated by a raging blizzard and a murder. A young newly married bride is found dead under suspicious circumstances, and since Patrick is drugged and deathly sick, it is up to young Lucy to follow her instincts and search for clues to discover the murderer and who has been drugging the males at the resort. An interesting short story that introduces the special brother/sister relationship of Patrick and Lucy Kincaid.
Love is Murder is a very will written novella which is the induction to the Lucy Kincaid series. The characters are interesting and well developed. The story line takes place in a mountain lodge during a snow storm with an excellent conclusion. I would recommend this novella too anyone who enjoys will written mysteries. Enjoy reading 2016
Lucy and her brother Patrick go on a skiing trip. Of course is, to me, the beginning of learning about Lucy Kincaid and one of her brothers. This gives you a little information about Lucy and her boyfriend, Cody, that she broke up with.
But a mystery/murder has happened at the lodge where she and her brother are staying.
Grabbed this because I love crime books, wanted a light and quick read, and was interested on maybe starting the series.
It was pretty predictable-- which I mean in the best way possible. Everything else I'm reading right now (and that's been going on in the world) is so chaotic and heavy, so this is a good endeavor for me.
I didn't get hooked until about 25% through but then I enjoyed the story. Overall I tend to struggle with novellas because there's not enough time to develop an intricate plot or see character development. But since this is the start of a series, I will definitely give the first full length novel a shot!
An intense murder mystery novella that sets up the Lucy Kincaid series. It's essentially an English Manor Murder Mystery but set at a fancy lodge in the Sierra Nevadas. I will continue with the series, but hope it's on audio because audiobooks fit my lifestyle much better than ebooks.
Although it was a little predictable, it was interesting and held my interest right through. It was also just the right length to read the whole thing on a rainy afternoon. I really liked Lucy and her brother and look forward to reading more in the series.
This was an one hundred page short novel that Brennan threw in a the end of another novel. Thought it was entertaining enough for a short story and will give it half book so 8.5 Siesta Key Beach reads and of course free from the local public library.
I love murder mysteries and this one was good. It kept my interest. Read it in a couple of hours. I enjoyed it enough to read the next book in the series.
Lucy investigates the poisoning of the wife in this group she is vacationing with, but her investigation brings more to the light than anyone expects. Can she find the killer, and keep the people closest to her alive? You'll want to keep reading.