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Tai Randolph Mysteries #6
Necessary Ends
Tai Randolph is no stranger to solving mysteries. With a taste for danger and a talent for amateur sleuthing, she has helped put an assortment of murderers behind bars, much to the displeasure of her lover, Trey Seaver. A former SWAT officer with the Atlanta police department before a car crash inflicted brain injuries forcing a retool of his life, Trey believes in letting the authorities handle complex matters of crime and punishment. He's easier with a world of black and white while Tai wrestles with too many shades of gray.
But then the Talbot case flares back to life.
It was the crime that rocked Atlanta - actress Jessica Talbot shot dead in her Buckhead mansion and her husband, movie producer Nick Talbot, accused of the murder. The case seemed open and shut...until a dirty cop's secret forced prosecutors to set Talbot free. Now, four years later, someone wants Talbot dead, and the evidence points to the man most convinced of Talbot's guilt - Trey.
Talbot offers an irresistible deal - he'll keep Trey's name off the suspect list if Trey agrees to a one-on-one interview. It's a chance for Trey to deploy his post-injury ability to read lies and determine once and for all if Talbot really is a killer, but it could also expose secrets in Trey's own past, confidential information he has sworn to protect. Caught between his drive for justice and his need for security, Trey does the unexpected - he asks Tai to help him investigate.
It's a situation fraught with drama and potential disaster, the kind of case Tai relishes. With Trey by her side - and in a killer's crosshairs - she vows to use every trick in her slightly sketchy playbook to stop a vigilante murderer from claiming a fresh victim. Can she and Trey keep themselves out of a killer's crosshairs long enough to crack open a new chapter in their lives?
Necessary Ends is the 6th in the Tai Randolph Mysteries rooted in Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia.
But then the Talbot case flares back to life.
It was the crime that rocked Atlanta - actress Jessica Talbot shot dead in her Buckhead mansion and her husband, movie producer Nick Talbot, accused of the murder. The case seemed open and shut...until a dirty cop's secret forced prosecutors to set Talbot free. Now, four years later, someone wants Talbot dead, and the evidence points to the man most convinced of Talbot's guilt - Trey.
Talbot offers an irresistible deal - he'll keep Trey's name off the suspect list if Trey agrees to a one-on-one interview. It's a chance for Trey to deploy his post-injury ability to read lies and determine once and for all if Talbot really is a killer, but it could also expose secrets in Trey's own past, confidential information he has sworn to protect. Caught between his drive for justice and his need for security, Trey does the unexpected - he asks Tai to help him investigate.
It's a situation fraught with drama and potential disaster, the kind of case Tai relishes. With Trey by her side - and in a killer's crosshairs - she vows to use every trick in her slightly sketchy playbook to stop a vigilante murderer from claiming a fresh victim. Can she and Trey keep themselves out of a killer's crosshairs long enough to crack open a new chapter in their lives?
Necessary Ends is the 6th in the Tai Randolph Mysteries rooted in Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia.
- GenresMysteryMystery Thriller
464 pages, Paperback
First published April 3, 2018
6 people are currently reading
52 people want to read
About the author
Tina Whittle
36 books86 followersTina Whittle’s Tai Randolph/Trey Seaver series — featuring intrepid gunshop owner Tai and her corporate security agent partner Trey — has garnered starred reviews in Kirkus, Publisher’s Weekly, Booklist, and Library Journal. Published by Poisoned Pen Press, this Atlanta-based series debuted with The Dangerous Edge of Things, followed by Darker Than Any Shadow (2012), Blood, Ash and Bone (2013), Deeper Than the Grave (2015), and Reckoning and Ruin (2017). The sixth book in the series — Necessary Ends — was released in April 2018.
A Derringer finalist and two-time nominee for Georgia Author of the Year, Whittle has published her short fiction in The Savannah Literary Journal, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, and Gulf Stream, which selected her story “Lost Causes and Other Reasons to Live” as the 2004 winner of their Mystery Fiction contest. When not writing or reading, she enjoys boxing, sushi, tarot reading, and spending time with her family (one husband, one daughter, and one neurotic Maltese).
A Derringer finalist and two-time nominee for Georgia Author of the Year, Whittle has published her short fiction in The Savannah Literary Journal, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, and Gulf Stream, which selected her story “Lost Causes and Other Reasons to Live” as the 2004 winner of their Mystery Fiction contest. When not writing or reading, she enjoys boxing, sushi, tarot reading, and spending time with her family (one husband, one daughter, and one neurotic Maltese).
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 5, 2018
I received NECESSARY ENDS directly from the publisher for review purposes. Please excuse any formatting issues in the following post.
The Envelope Please…
Tai Randolph can’t resist a mystery. She may be an amateur sleuth, but she's a professional badass. One who happens to know a lot about guns. What she claims not to know is stuffed in an envelope under the register of her Kennesaw gun shop and has to do with Beauregard Forrest Boone, a ghost from her past. Trey Seaver, Tai's lover extraordinaire, is a former SWAT officer with the Atlanta PD. He’s precise but careful, calm but intimidating. Hot as Georgia asphalt in July, Trey has his own ghosts. Oh, and he can detect a lie as soon as it hits air. Or can he?
NECESSARY ENDS, the 6th book in Tina Whittle’s atmospheric Southern series, begins with a bang. With Tai still suffering with her Savannah nightmares of being bound, gagged and tagged for alligator bait in the back of a trunk, she isn’t at all excited to see PI Finn Hudson walk through the front door of her shop. Finn looks like a pixie and can be trusted about as much. She relays to both Tai and Trey the explosive news that she’s been hired by Talbot Creative Group to investigate “discreetly” who made an attempt on Atlantawood former producer Nick Talbot’s life. Here’s the bang: Trey is the number one suspect.
The last thing Trey wants to do is to reopen the unsolved murder of model/actress Jessica Talbot. He has his reasons. One of which concerns his faulty memory caused by the deadly car accident that claimed the life of his mother just after the murder. The other is because Trey is certain that Nick Talbot, Jessica’s husband, killed her and staged the scene to look like a robbery. Nick was never charged, however, because the court tossed the evidence, which they felt had been compromised by a dirty cop. Now four years later, someone wants Nick dead, and the evidence points to Trey, the man most convinced that he not only killed his wife but got away with it. In order to keep off the suspect list, Trey must grant Nick an interview. It’s a chance for Trey to use his post-accident superpower skill of lie detecting to determine once and for all if Nick really killed Jessica, but by doing this, Trey risks exposing the secrets in his past.
Chasing the truth is never easy especially when dealing with actors who are trained to lie for a living, and Tai and Trey have their hands full with the cast of Moonshine when they begin their own investigation into the Jessica Talbot murder. With a little undercover work, and a donkey—yes a donkey, the stubborn truth is finally revealed, but not without at least one tragic, high-speed consequence.
Whittle crafts her characters like a fine albeit heavy-handed cocktail, sometimes stirred, often shaken, and Tai and Trey’s relationship has only become stronger with each pour. They are a perfect combination of “ghost peppers and Vidalia onion jam.” Sweet, spicy, and just a touch haunted.
NECESSARY ENDS is a character-driven Southern crime mystery with a tight plot and the perfect blend of ingredients: lies, lust, betrayal, humor, secrets, romance, revenge, and a gun or two. A recipe the South wouldn’t be—couldn’t be the South without. It’s what keeps us Whittle fans coming back for more.
Now about that envelope…
The Envelope Please…
Tai Randolph can’t resist a mystery. She may be an amateur sleuth, but she's a professional badass. One who happens to know a lot about guns. What she claims not to know is stuffed in an envelope under the register of her Kennesaw gun shop and has to do with Beauregard Forrest Boone, a ghost from her past. Trey Seaver, Tai's lover extraordinaire, is a former SWAT officer with the Atlanta PD. He’s precise but careful, calm but intimidating. Hot as Georgia asphalt in July, Trey has his own ghosts. Oh, and he can detect a lie as soon as it hits air. Or can he?
NECESSARY ENDS, the 6th book in Tina Whittle’s atmospheric Southern series, begins with a bang. With Tai still suffering with her Savannah nightmares of being bound, gagged and tagged for alligator bait in the back of a trunk, she isn’t at all excited to see PI Finn Hudson walk through the front door of her shop. Finn looks like a pixie and can be trusted about as much. She relays to both Tai and Trey the explosive news that she’s been hired by Talbot Creative Group to investigate “discreetly” who made an attempt on Atlantawood former producer Nick Talbot’s life. Here’s the bang: Trey is the number one suspect.
The last thing Trey wants to do is to reopen the unsolved murder of model/actress Jessica Talbot. He has his reasons. One of which concerns his faulty memory caused by the deadly car accident that claimed the life of his mother just after the murder. The other is because Trey is certain that Nick Talbot, Jessica’s husband, killed her and staged the scene to look like a robbery. Nick was never charged, however, because the court tossed the evidence, which they felt had been compromised by a dirty cop. Now four years later, someone wants Nick dead, and the evidence points to Trey, the man most convinced that he not only killed his wife but got away with it. In order to keep off the suspect list, Trey must grant Nick an interview. It’s a chance for Trey to use his post-accident superpower skill of lie detecting to determine once and for all if Nick really killed Jessica, but by doing this, Trey risks exposing the secrets in his past.
Chasing the truth is never easy especially when dealing with actors who are trained to lie for a living, and Tai and Trey have their hands full with the cast of Moonshine when they begin their own investigation into the Jessica Talbot murder. With a little undercover work, and a donkey—yes a donkey, the stubborn truth is finally revealed, but not without at least one tragic, high-speed consequence.
Whittle crafts her characters like a fine albeit heavy-handed cocktail, sometimes stirred, often shaken, and Tai and Trey’s relationship has only become stronger with each pour. They are a perfect combination of “ghost peppers and Vidalia onion jam.” Sweet, spicy, and just a touch haunted.
NECESSARY ENDS is a character-driven Southern crime mystery with a tight plot and the perfect blend of ingredients: lies, lust, betrayal, humor, secrets, romance, revenge, and a gun or two. A recipe the South wouldn’t be—couldn’t be the South without. It’s what keeps us Whittle fans coming back for more.
Now about that envelope…
May 26, 2018
Although I've been hooked on the Tai Randolph-Trey Seavor series since Book #1, NECESSARY ENDS, is my favorite so far. The plots of the previous books were more directly tied to Southern culture, but NECESSARY ENDS, while still in Georgia, is pretty much all "Hollywood." A popular tv series is filmed on location and the plot is focussed on cast, crew,the money guys, and an old murder. Tina Whittle has a firm grasp of how Hollywood works and it shows. There are intersecting plotlines of the mystery at hand and Tai and Trey's resolution of past issues. The dialogue is believable and flows easily. The characters change without maudlin episodes. This book can be read as a stand-alone, but if you've read the previous 5, you will appreviate the deftly added cross-connections.
Unlike so many series with returning characters who are revitalized in dramatic soap opera style shifts, Tai and Trey develop in each new telling. The plots are unique, the characters eccentric but believable, and the rich, humid Georgia background is filled with historical background. It helps to explain why the Civil War is still waged today and why the Confederate Flag still waves. It examines the motivations inside and out of KKK supporters, while at the same day, delving deep into psychology and brain trauma research.
Tai and Trey, the main characters, are very well drawn by Whittle. They are complex and believable in an uber sort of way. My shallow side wallows in the danger and allure of the unpredictable and possible lethal killing machine, that is Trey. Tai is (hopefully) the new face of a white Southern Superwoman who is smart, strong, and non-racist. Both Tai and Trey are characters who are seeking their own redemption. Each book explores their inner quests as they search to discover who they really are. While this sounds like an old and boring French film, the series is extremely well-plotted with surprising twists and turns that do not come from left field. Perhaps Netflix will scoop this superb series up.
Unlike so many series with returning characters who are revitalized in dramatic soap opera style shifts, Tai and Trey develop in each new telling. The plots are unique, the characters eccentric but believable, and the rich, humid Georgia background is filled with historical background. It helps to explain why the Civil War is still waged today and why the Confederate Flag still waves. It examines the motivations inside and out of KKK supporters, while at the same day, delving deep into psychology and brain trauma research.
Tai and Trey, the main characters, are very well drawn by Whittle. They are complex and believable in an uber sort of way. My shallow side wallows in the danger and allure of the unpredictable and possible lethal killing machine, that is Trey. Tai is (hopefully) the new face of a white Southern Superwoman who is smart, strong, and non-racist. Both Tai and Trey are characters who are seeking their own redemption. Each book explores their inner quests as they search to discover who they really are. While this sounds like an old and boring French film, the series is extremely well-plotted with surprising twists and turns that do not come from left field. Perhaps Netflix will scoop this superb series up.
April 4, 2018
The sixth novel in the Tai Randolph series, this one set in Atlanta, GA, digs deep into her lover’s past. Trey Seaver was a former SWAT member of the Atlanta police department before traumatic brain injury forced him to reinvent himself. Every ex-cop has one case they regret, that they want a do-over, that haunts them. For Trey it is the Talbot case.
Four years later, the main suspect, ex-movie producer Nick Talbot, contacts Trey, reopening old animosities and wounds that suck Tai and Trey into the labyrinth of lies and deceits surrounding the case. When Tai and Trey emerge from the maze, they are both changed in significant ways. To say more would be to give away too much.
This is another fine addition to the series. Already I’m anxious to read the next in the series.
I purchased the previous five novels in the series and would gladly have purchased this one as well, but I was lucky enough to receive an Advanced Reader Copy of Necessary Ends.
Four years later, the main suspect, ex-movie producer Nick Talbot, contacts Trey, reopening old animosities and wounds that suck Tai and Trey into the labyrinth of lies and deceits surrounding the case. When Tai and Trey emerge from the maze, they are both changed in significant ways. To say more would be to give away too much.
This is another fine addition to the series. Already I’m anxious to read the next in the series.
I purchased the previous five novels in the series and would gladly have purchased this one as well, but I was lucky enough to receive an Advanced Reader Copy of Necessary Ends.
April 7, 2018
This series just keeps getting better! I've thoroughly enjoyed watching Tai and Trey come into themselves not only as individuals but as partners in every way. Necessary Ends begins with Trey and Tai coming face-to-face with issues from their past. A case the has been unsolved for years comes back to light leaving Trey having to trust a person that he has felt to be guilty for the past 4 years. Tai is still recovering from learning that the person that she has believed to be her uncle may actually be her father. Throughout the novel, Whittle shows how these two characters are able to work through these problems as a team. In the end, this novel left the reader experiencing the ending of one chapter in Trey and Tai's lives and the beginning of a whole new one.
April 1, 2018
I'd not read this series before and I'm regretting it. Whittle has created a very intriguing set of characters, especially in Tai and Trey. Trey, who was forced to leave the police force because of a brain injury, is still bothered by the murder of Jessica Talbot. He was convinced it was her husband Nick and NOW Nick is accusing Trey. Tai, who apparently has a long history of investigating on her own, of course steps in to exonerate those who should be and find the real culprit. The plot is fairly straightforward, there aren't a lot of twists, and the dialogue, in particular is well written. Thanks to Edelweiss for the ARC.
April 4, 2018
I liked Necessary Ends a lot. Tina Whittle is a very competent writer who delivers a good story with a cast of characters who are a little quirky and unpredictable and therefore fun to follow. Tai Randolph and Trey Seaver are well developed and compelling protagonists. I've been a fan from their beginning. They are dynamic characters who have grown and changed through the series, so the reader is drawn into their world.
The opening had me hooked immediately. Though I struggled a bit to hold onto the array of characters, I think the story is solid and the reveal was well crafted and satisfying.
The author provided an ARC to this reader.
The opening had me hooked immediately. Though I struggled a bit to hold onto the array of characters, I think the story is solid and the reveal was well crafted and satisfying.
The author provided an ARC to this reader.
April 5, 2018
Necessary Read
So sad to get to the last page! I love this series! Tina Whittle creates characters you really want to keep up with, exciting cases that are always solved but with overwhelming obstacles to overcome, plus a growing, tender relationship between Trey, recovering from a horrible accident, & Tai, fighting her way through emotional insecurities. Start at the beginning of this series so the impact of Tai & Trey ' s attraction to each other & it's healing strength for both of them is felt. I just discovered a prelude book about Tai, Trouble Like a Freight Train Coming, so it's my next read then I'm thinking of re-reading this series! It's that good!
So sad to get to the last page! I love this series! Tina Whittle creates characters you really want to keep up with, exciting cases that are always solved but with overwhelming obstacles to overcome, plus a growing, tender relationship between Trey, recovering from a horrible accident, & Tai, fighting her way through emotional insecurities. Start at the beginning of this series so the impact of Tai & Trey ' s attraction to each other & it's healing strength for both of them is felt. I just discovered a prelude book about Tai, Trouble Like a Freight Train Coming, so it's my next read then I'm thinking of re-reading this series! It's that good!
December 30, 2018
Whittle is true to her well-developed characters, and the plot is gripping as always. I would note, though, that this is clearly a transitional book as she sets up changes to come. Will be interesting to see where the characters go from here.
September 25, 2018
Up until 4am reading this excellent mystery
August 2, 2021
I need more of Tai and Trey!
March 29, 2018
Former Atlanta SWAT officer Trey Seaver has been haunted by the cold case murder of Jessica Talbot. Trey is convinced movie producer Nick Talbot killed Jessica even though tainted police evidence by Trey's partner resulted in Nick ended up going free. But when a new threat to Nick’s life makes Trey a potential suspect, he is blackmailed to look into the case with the help of his lover and partner Tai Randolph. Tai and Trey go undercover on the local Atlanta set of the hit TV show Moonshine where Nick is working.
Necessary Ends is another strong entry and the sixth book in the Tai Randolph and Trey Seaver mystery series.
I received an eARC via Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book and provided this review.
Necessary Ends is another strong entry and the sixth book in the Tai Randolph and Trey Seaver mystery series.
I received an eARC via Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book and provided this review.
October 17, 2021
Really enjoy this series. Hoping new on will soon be here.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews