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Leah Mason #1

A Girl Apart

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Investigative journalist Leah Mason has returned home to El Paso with her career in flames and her romantic life in tatters. Despondent over life's body blows, her prospects and her future change overnight with a phone call from a stranger that immerses her in a deadly international conspiracy, putting her on the dangerous trail of a brutal killer who will stop at nothing to keep the past buried.

291 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 2, 2017

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Russell Blake

126 books796 followers

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5 stars
114 (43%)
4 stars
90 (34%)
3 stars
45 (17%)
2 stars
7 (2%)
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5 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
Profile Image for Tulay.
1,202 reviews2 followers
March 8, 2017
Good read

Investigator reporter Leah is like cat with nine lives. She is after the missing girls in Mexico, but while going after this story takes her to more explosive story. Powerful narcotics-trafficking syndicate, murders, assaults, torture, arson, kidnapping and bribes.
Profile Image for Darcy.
15k reviews554 followers
May 10, 2018
This author is hit or miss for me. I really like his Jet series, but others didn't work out for me. Unfortunately this one fell into the later category for me. A big part of it was due to Leah. I didn't care for her, she had this huge chip on her shoulder and seemed like she thought she better than everyone else. After 20% I just couldn't keep reading about Leah. This one just wasn't for me.
74 reviews2 followers
May 19, 2017
Disappointing

This book is nowhere near the quality I have come to expect from Russell Blake. It doesn't have much meat in the delivery. There were way too many coincidental ,nick of time rescues. I didn't feel like I really got to know the two main characters. There was really no building of the personalities and little discoveries along the way that seemed as much an after thought as anything else. (Leah's vertigo was only brought to the surface as a sideline when she was on a roof.) The plot had too many holes. I really expected better from one of my favorite authors.
24 reviews
September 22, 2017
Good Plot But...

The story premise is very good but I found the characters a little flat. Leah is too earnest and many times I found it hard to believe someone would do what she did. The Mexican detective's obsession with charging Ana Maria with her father's death was a bit over the top. I will read book 2 to see if the characters become more meaty but I have read much better from this author
205 reviews1 follower
November 3, 2017
Reporter Leah Mason investigates the missing women of Juarez, and gets caught up personally in the story. An exciting adventure story from the Mexico-Texas borderlands. Recommended. As always in Blake's Mexico based books, there is a real authenticity when he writes about Mexico and the borderlands. This book is the first in a new series, and I salute Blake for featuring a female hero, and as mentioned the setting is very well done. The downside is that the plot is a little hurly-burly and seems to go sideways. Still it's an exciting story with likeable leads and authentic settings. I will read the next book in the series.
Profile Image for Denise.
1,771 reviews24 followers
November 13, 2017
'A Girl Apart' took me on quite the journey. I was pulled in from the beginning and it kept my attention until the last page. Which left me wanting more. The story line was action packed, full of twists, thrilling scenarios and some great characters. Leah is a great lead. Once she gets an inkling of a story she bulldozes through until she gets the whole story. I like her tenacity. Even when things got rough, she trudged ahead to pursue the truth. I look forward to reading the next book in this series. A great add to your tbr list. Recommended.
1,477 reviews27 followers
May 29, 2017
A Girl Apart. Russell Blake

Leah had never fit in. She was never part of any clique. She liked it that way. Her dreams were fulfilled when she became an investigative reporter in New York. Then it came crashing down. She's returned to her roots. El Paso Texas. Investigating missing girls, kidnapped. Now the cartel wants her dead...... This is a typical Russell Blake read. Non stop action, a believable story. An excellent read!!!
Profile Image for Bob Ely.
398 reviews4 followers
October 20, 2017
This book is about a reporter, who goes back home to a paper and tries to get her career off the ground again. She stumbles onto a story about missing girls in Mexico and tries to follow up on it. Through her investigating, she finds a different story which she starts in on and killers come after her. This is an entertaining book and one of this authors better ones.
Profile Image for Diane Tosney.
223 reviews2 followers
October 29, 2023
I stayed up way too late reading because I had to read one more chapter, again and again. I stumbled across this because of a few chapters at the end of one of the Jet books. Leah Mason is not at all like Jet but she has just as much drama and people hunting her down, because of her work as an investigative reporter. I am looking forward to her next story.
Profile Image for Michele.
1 review
March 17, 2017
Excellent fast paced plot with many twists. Leah is a very likable main character and I hope to read a sequel. I always enjoy Blake's books because of the smooth well thought out writing and this book certainly does not disappoint.
Profile Image for Elaine Emmerick.
137 reviews8 followers
June 21, 2017
FULL OF SUSPENSE!!

OMG! What an excellent read! I love the character Leah. She gets involved in an investigation that turns out to be more than she can handle. With Uriel's help, they get to the truth. It's full of suspense, it's an edge of your seat read!
Profile Image for Lynda Lock.
Author 21 books40 followers
March 5, 2017
Another awesome read by Russell Blake. Set in El Paso Texas and Juarez Mexico. Realistic characters and a timely plot.
1,818 reviews13 followers
March 10, 2017
A thrilling story of a reporter living in Texas who is investigating crime in Mexico. Excellently written. Exciting and a definite must read.
26 reviews
October 2, 2017
Good mystery

Not the normal books I read. But once I started I was deep into finding out what when and why.
12 reviews
January 19, 2018
Quick read and held my interest. However, the book fell short on character development. Will read the second book in this series.
Profile Image for Bill Thompson.
Author 25 books151 followers
August 14, 2018
Another winner!

Russell Blake’s characters hold the reader’s attention and keep you on your toes with every twist. This was another great one and I look forward to more Leah Mason!
Profile Image for Michael.
597 reviews8 followers
March 15, 2017
A new genre from Blake, with plenty of excitement to follow!

A female reporter is trying to start over and strikes some raw nerves of some very powerful and ruthless people. This book is the start of what will become another great series!
Profile Image for Nancy.
1,366 reviews
March 5, 2017
Intrepid Reporter

Crazy story with quite a twist. Pretty amazing the way Leah gets out of difficult situations. The main story she pursued for most of the book ends up on the back burner, possibly setting the stage for a sequel.
Profile Image for Kim Cano.
Author 10 books386 followers
March 2, 2017
A fast-paced novel about a young reporter looking to make her mark. While investigating a story in Mexico, she meets a handsome young man, and they get into a bunch of trouble together. Gritty, with a twist I didn’t see coming, A Girl Apart is another great Russell Blake book. Hoping it’s the start of a series as I’d like to go on another adventure with Leah.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews