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The Darby Shaw Chronicles #3
Capitulation
Surviving a kidnapping is not for the faint of heart, as Darby Shaw knows all too well. Two months after being rescued, she’s starting to get things back to a new normal. She’s making changes, subtle though they may be, doing what she can to move on.
Her latest case is just the thing Darby needs to keep her mind off the recent past: Justin Kendrick, paraplegic, is dead. Being poisoned, strangled, and stabbed through the heart seems like overkill. Together with her partner, Detective Mark Herman, and colleague, Sergeant Trent Oliver, Darby must track down Justin’s killer.
But after the resuscitation, all hell breaks loose, and Darby is unprepared for the consequences of her powers...
Or how they will affect her...
Her latest case is just the thing Darby needs to keep her mind off the recent past: Justin Kendrick, paraplegic, is dead. Being poisoned, strangled, and stabbed through the heart seems like overkill. Together with her partner, Detective Mark Herman, and colleague, Sergeant Trent Oliver, Darby must track down Justin’s killer.
But after the resuscitation, all hell breaks loose, and Darby is unprepared for the consequences of her powers...
Or how they will affect her...
210 pages, ebook
First published March 19, 2015
8 people are currently reading
12 people want to read
About the author
Liberty Speidel
14 books55 followersLiberty Speidel thought she found herself years ago. But she recently discovered she's not the person she believed. Always striving for more understanding of self, Liberty writes tales of people discovering themselves—and others. A native Kansan, Liberty lives with her muggle teenage daughter, hobbit preteen son, and their menagerie of pets.
(And, yes, her name really is Liberty.)
Find out more about her at her website and catch her hamming it up on The Lasers Dragons And Keyboards Podcast.
To join Liberty's newsletter where you can learn about new releases, get exclusive short stories, and find out what she's up to, click here: Fans of Darby Shaw Chronicles.
(And, yes, her name really is Liberty.)
Find out more about her at her website and catch her hamming it up on The Lasers Dragons And Keyboards Podcast.
To join Liberty's newsletter where you can learn about new releases, get exclusive short stories, and find out what she's up to, click here: Fans of Darby Shaw Chronicles.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 25, 2015
Things really ramp up in this third installment of the Darby Shaw Chronicles. This book finds Darby and Mark on the trail of the killer of a disabled but abusive husband. After performing a resuscitation, another shock revelation comes out regarding her powers.
This book continues the expand the mythology of Darby's abilities. The book also has a lot of powerful emotion. Characters and developed and the relationships between them become complicated. Darby has to deal with a friend who is dying, and lots of confusions in her romantic life.
The best story in the series yet.
This book continues the expand the mythology of Darby's abilities. The book also has a lot of powerful emotion. Characters and developed and the relationships between them become complicated. Darby has to deal with a friend who is dying, and lots of confusions in her romantic life.
The best story in the series yet.
June 15, 2018
I didn't enjoy Darby as much in this one as I hoped to. There's a creepy case Darby and Mark get assigned to, where the male victim is killed in three different ways, in detail. As they are investigating they find a couple having sex. Darby is accused of being a prude because she won't have sex with her boyfriend. And as it turns out, despite the bond between her and Mark, her boyfriend is another officer in this book. I did a double-take when learning that. Wasn't pleased with that.
Priscilla, Darby's best friend, is sick with cancer and expected to die. The scenes with Pris were precious though somewhat sad.
Darby gets her first kiss with Mark, but it was confusing to both of them. Then she debates what's going on with her boyfriend versus what's going on with Mark throughout most of the book. That didn't make sense to me. This is a very intelligent woman who deals with difficult homicide cases in her career that she excels in, but she can't figure out her feelings for her boyfriend compared to her feelings to her partner. I understand she has to process this as well as do her job, but it just went on and on.
There is even more profanity in this book, but it made more sense to me than Darby's confusion with her love life. One of the ugliest scenes is when Darby sits down with a revived victim and the way he speaks to her is vulgar.
There's a twist at the end of the book that was disturbing to me more than the rest of these elements. Darby's boyfriend is painted into a hero despite the crime he commits and then desperately awaits Darby's forgiveness. I was frowning the entire time. Darby also goes behind her partner's back to resolve why there's chemistry between them, again that had me frowning.
It was great seeing that Darby is literally surrounded by people who care about her in every unexpected twist. Her best friend is very understanding of her busy and chaotic life. Her father, Simon, is one of my favorite characters, how he loves Darby yet is firm when needed. Darby's boss, the Lieutenant, is very supportive of her and her powers. And Mark has a sit down talk with her after sharing kisses and trying to see where their relationship is. I didn't like Darby's boyfriend at all, but couldn't believe the stunt he pulls at the end. It's a really good series, but I will be stopping here.
Priscilla, Darby's best friend, is sick with cancer and expected to die. The scenes with Pris were precious though somewhat sad.
Darby gets her first kiss with Mark, but it was confusing to both of them. Then she debates what's going on with her boyfriend versus what's going on with Mark throughout most of the book. That didn't make sense to me. This is a very intelligent woman who deals with difficult homicide cases in her career that she excels in, but she can't figure out her feelings for her boyfriend compared to her feelings to her partner. I understand she has to process this as well as do her job, but it just went on and on.
There is even more profanity in this book, but it made more sense to me than Darby's confusion with her love life. One of the ugliest scenes is when Darby sits down with a revived victim and the way he speaks to her is vulgar.
There's a twist at the end of the book that was disturbing to me more than the rest of these elements. Darby's boyfriend is painted into a hero despite the crime he commits and then desperately awaits Darby's forgiveness. I was frowning the entire time. Darby also goes behind her partner's back to resolve why there's chemistry between them, again that had me frowning.
It was great seeing that Darby is literally surrounded by people who care about her in every unexpected twist. Her best friend is very understanding of her busy and chaotic life. Her father, Simon, is one of my favorite characters, how he loves Darby yet is firm when needed. Darby's boss, the Lieutenant, is very supportive of her and her powers. And Mark has a sit down talk with her after sharing kisses and trying to see where their relationship is. I didn't like Darby's boyfriend at all, but couldn't believe the stunt he pulls at the end. It's a really good series, but I will be stopping here.
March 21, 2015
I really enjoyed reading this one. There’s just a ton of good, meaty stuff in here. One thing Speidel is especially good at is taking full advantage of her premise. I won't give anything away, but what she pulls off in that respect in this book is truly great. At one point late in the book, the thought passed through my mind, "Oh, you know what *should* happen?!" No need to say how thrilled I was when, a second later, that's exactly what happened!
Other things I enjoyed were
* The burgeoning romance between Darby and Mark is great. Their first kiss? Yowzers!
* The scene with Mark returning from dentist is hilarious. It had me laughing out loud. It could easily have turned into something silly, but Speidel pulled it off nicely.
Good read!
Other things I enjoyed were
* The burgeoning romance between Darby and Mark is great. Their first kiss? Yowzers!
* The scene with Mark returning from dentist is hilarious. It had me laughing out loud. It could easily have turned into something silly, but Speidel pulled it off nicely.
Good read!
October 10, 2024
(4.5 Stars)
"Capitulation" is a wild roller coaster ride from start to finish. Trent's cousin and Darby's best friend Priscilla has discovered that she is not responding to the pancreatic cancer treatments. She is not looking good and Darby is at a loss as to how she can help her friend.
Meanwhile, Mark kissed Darby and she is shocked. Not because she is offended but because there is electricity between them. She is worried that he may be a super and doesn't know it. So, she takes his used gum and goes to the ME to have it analyze. The ME warns her that if the DNA comes back positive for Superhuman they will have to inform the bureau and her name will be revealed as a person harboring a unlicensed superhuman.
Mark allows Darby to take the lead on a case involving the murder of a man in his wheelchair. Apparently, he was a rather nasty and vile husband who took delight in verbally abusing his wife whenever possible. The problem is the wife was seen leaving the day before and no one has seen her since. Both Darby and Mark are now looking for her.
If this is not enough, Trent, advises Darby that he previously applied to transfer to Phoenix PD where he will be closer to his parents. He has a week to make his decision and he wants Darby to go with him. They have only been dating for a few weeks and while Darby has know him most of her life, she loves him in a way, she is not really sure she loves him in the way that matters.
This read has so much going on and I cannot mention much more without spoiling the plot. I will say that what is happening is gut wrenching and Darby will be pushed to her ultimate limits. I am really enjoying this series and highly recommend it anyone who wants to fast paced read with endearing characters. I especially like the supernatural aspect to it as well.
"Capitulation" is a wild roller coaster ride from start to finish. Trent's cousin and Darby's best friend Priscilla has discovered that she is not responding to the pancreatic cancer treatments. She is not looking good and Darby is at a loss as to how she can help her friend.
Meanwhile, Mark kissed Darby and she is shocked. Not because she is offended but because there is electricity between them. She is worried that he may be a super and doesn't know it. So, she takes his used gum and goes to the ME to have it analyze. The ME warns her that if the DNA comes back positive for Superhuman they will have to inform the bureau and her name will be revealed as a person harboring a unlicensed superhuman.
Mark allows Darby to take the lead on a case involving the murder of a man in his wheelchair. Apparently, he was a rather nasty and vile husband who took delight in verbally abusing his wife whenever possible. The problem is the wife was seen leaving the day before and no one has seen her since. Both Darby and Mark are now looking for her.
If this is not enough, Trent, advises Darby that he previously applied to transfer to Phoenix PD where he will be closer to his parents. He has a week to make his decision and he wants Darby to go with him. They have only been dating for a few weeks and while Darby has know him most of her life, she loves him in a way, she is not really sure she loves him in the way that matters.
This read has so much going on and I cannot mention much more without spoiling the plot. I will say that what is happening is gut wrenching and Darby will be pushed to her ultimate limits. I am really enjoying this series and highly recommend it anyone who wants to fast paced read with endearing characters. I especially like the supernatural aspect to it as well.
January 6, 2024
I enjoyed it
March 23, 2015
I read most of this while I was sitting in the Emergency Room with one of my sons (he's fine, but the doctors kept saying ZOMG POLICY!!!1!!!) and it's a good story. I had not read the previous two books in the series, but Speidel is adept at backfilling any information you need to have without overburdening you with the details of the previous stories. So if you haven't read this series yet, don't let that stop you. You'll be fine.
Darby is a police detective with superhuman abilities in a world where it seems both cops and superhumans aren't entirely trusted. She and her partner are investigating a murder, but it's not just a police procedural because Darby also has an intense and involved personal life as well, and Speidel intermixes the two very well.
I went to four stars because after the story's midpoint, the plot took a turn away from some of the main questions driving it at the beginning (and left one important one unanswered) but that's an authorial choice and most people probably wouldn't have a problem with it. The writing is solid and it moves quickly enough, so go ahead and enjoy the book. And if you haven't read the previous two, you can start here and then do what I'm going to do and read the beginning of the series.
Although I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review, I did already have a copy of the first book, so I'd have read it anyhow. :-)
Darby is a police detective with superhuman abilities in a world where it seems both cops and superhumans aren't entirely trusted. She and her partner are investigating a murder, but it's not just a police procedural because Darby also has an intense and involved personal life as well, and Speidel intermixes the two very well.
I went to four stars because after the story's midpoint, the plot took a turn away from some of the main questions driving it at the beginning (and left one important one unanswered) but that's an authorial choice and most people probably wouldn't have a problem with it. The writing is solid and it moves quickly enough, so go ahead and enjoy the book. And if you haven't read the previous two, you can start here and then do what I'm going to do and read the beginning of the series.
Although I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review, I did already have a copy of the first book, so I'd have read it anyhow. :-)
March 23, 2015
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I hadn't read the other books in the series, so I was a little lost at first. Fortunately the book fills you in on the major events of the previous books--Darby's powers to resurrect murder victims at the cost of the life force of the killer, for example. Now, because I like lists, here's my personal pros and cons:
Pros:
Lots of fun action
Cops doing cop stuff
Interesting changes to the legal system to account for super powers--such as resurrected victims. The police procedure around homicide victims and when they're raised is especially interesting.
Hawt love triangle
Cons:
Sometimes character actions seemed unbelievable
The police actions seemed more like something from TV
More emphasis on romantic stuff than the mystery, which I thought could have been much more twisty.
Not enough "future tech" in the setting.
Mind you, all this is my personal tastes--I'm more of a mystery reader than a romance reader. If your tastes lean more toward romance, you're going to totally enjoy this book.
I hadn't read the other books in the series, so I was a little lost at first. Fortunately the book fills you in on the major events of the previous books--Darby's powers to resurrect murder victims at the cost of the life force of the killer, for example. Now, because I like lists, here's my personal pros and cons:
Pros:
Lots of fun action
Cops doing cop stuff
Interesting changes to the legal system to account for super powers--such as resurrected victims. The police procedure around homicide victims and when they're raised is especially interesting.
Hawt love triangle
Cons:
Sometimes character actions seemed unbelievable
The police actions seemed more like something from TV
More emphasis on romantic stuff than the mystery, which I thought could have been much more twisty.
Not enough "future tech" in the setting.
Mind you, all this is my personal tastes--I'm more of a mystery reader than a romance reader. If your tastes lean more toward romance, you're going to totally enjoy this book.
March 20, 2015
A true page turner once you start you won't want to stop till you have turned that last page. This book deals with some deep issues regarding Darby's powers and the ethics of reviving people yet still has humor and enough romance to make this hopeless romantic happy. A wonderful new installment from Liberty Speidel.
June 20, 2015
This is a great addition to an excellent series. On the hunt for a vicious killer and a tragedy in her personal life puts Darby in the most difficult spot of her life. Mark is with her the entire way and discovers something new about his partner that will, well you'll have to read it to find out. You won't regret it.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews