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Jane Blake Series #1
JANE BLAKE: True sinner
Jane Blake is a mystery/thriller series full of unexpected twists and turns. The first novel of the series, Jane Blake: True Sinner, will immerse you in the world of an extraordinary con artist tricked into working with the police.
Jane, a con artist with a difficult past, has managed to solve some tough criminal cases while working as a thief in Los Angeles. Her dark history has made her deceitful and cunning. She doesn’t trust anyone and has always worked alone.
Ryan Gray, a hacker for the police, is impressed with her abilities. He tracks her down and successfully blackmails her into helping solve his mother’s murder. But that’s not all he wants—he wants her to work with his team.
As she settles into life as a Homicide consultant, Jane decides it’s finally time for her to collect the pieces of the puzzle of her past. With a team behind her back for the first time, she’s ready to uncover the truth—why a man tried to kidnap her as a child, and who saved her from that horrible fate. That incident shaped every part of her life. But her search will lead even deeper, uncovering the secrets of her family, her true origin, and a criminal conspiracy that stretches far beyond L.A.
Jane, a con artist with a difficult past, has managed to solve some tough criminal cases while working as a thief in Los Angeles. Her dark history has made her deceitful and cunning. She doesn’t trust anyone and has always worked alone.
Ryan Gray, a hacker for the police, is impressed with her abilities. He tracks her down and successfully blackmails her into helping solve his mother’s murder. But that’s not all he wants—he wants her to work with his team.
As she settles into life as a Homicide consultant, Jane decides it’s finally time for her to collect the pieces of the puzzle of her past. With a team behind her back for the first time, she’s ready to uncover the truth—why a man tried to kidnap her as a child, and who saved her from that horrible fate. That incident shaped every part of her life. But her search will lead even deeper, uncovering the secrets of her family, her true origin, and a criminal conspiracy that stretches far beyond L.A.
441 pages, ebook
Published October 1, 2018
38 people are currently reading
8 people want to read
About the author
Kelly Shade
13 books19 followers"A life without mystery is just a schedule on repeat."
- Kelly Shade
Kelly Shade is a mystery and fantasy writer, an entrepreneur, and all arts enthusiast.
Kelly thrives on bringing stories to life - twisty mystery thrillers and noir-tinged mystery-fantasies, both with cinematic reveals and morally gray hearts.
For Kelly, all forms of art are highly needed for survival. She also loves music, acting, and dancing.
- Kelly Shade
Kelly Shade is a mystery and fantasy writer, an entrepreneur, and all arts enthusiast.
Kelly thrives on bringing stories to life - twisty mystery thrillers and noir-tinged mystery-fantasies, both with cinematic reveals and morally gray hearts.
For Kelly, all forms of art are highly needed for survival. She also loves music, acting, and dancing.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 12, 2021
‘Jane Blake – True Sinner’ is the debut novel of Kelly Shade, a new author to me. I came across an ad on social media for the second book in the series and was sufficiently intrigued to buy it, and this one, to see how the main character developed. Writer Shade has a comfortable style with words that will carry the reader along in this first novel, and is sufficient so that the continual fast pace with no respite does not become too repetitive a rhythm.
The story structure is unusual for a crime thriller of this type, reminding me more of a television series where we are presented with the case-of-the-week against a background of a continuing story arc that directly affects the protagonist, in this case her search for her real parents. The central character, Jane Blake, is an expert con artist with a wide range of skills that give her an edge over her victims, yet she often takes on jobs that take the form of payback for some ill deed done to a third party. This is a strong setup for her transition to a consulting role with an elite Los Angeles Police Homicide Department. The tale explores both her and her new team’s mutual trust issues where the individual murder cases they are assigned are used as a vehicle for them to come to a compromise.
A promising first novel from this author. If you are a fan of good crime fiction with strong female protagonists, this is the one for you. Recommended.
The story structure is unusual for a crime thriller of this type, reminding me more of a television series where we are presented with the case-of-the-week against a background of a continuing story arc that directly affects the protagonist, in this case her search for her real parents. The central character, Jane Blake, is an expert con artist with a wide range of skills that give her an edge over her victims, yet she often takes on jobs that take the form of payback for some ill deed done to a third party. This is a strong setup for her transition to a consulting role with an elite Los Angeles Police Homicide Department. The tale explores both her and her new team’s mutual trust issues where the individual murder cases they are assigned are used as a vehicle for them to come to a compromise.
A promising first novel from this author. If you are a fan of good crime fiction with strong female protagonists, this is the one for you. Recommended.
March 6, 2019
Incredibly intriguing, compelling and a total page turner. I couldn’t put this book down. I love the cover and I loved the story. She will keep you glued to each page. Time will slip away and before you know it, you’re done. This is one talented author and I know I’m not alone in my desire to read much more from Kelly Shade. Bravo, Kelly!!
November 20, 2020
Jane Blake: True Sinner (Book #1 of the Jane Blake Series) is one amazing novel! Mystery is one of my favorite genres and usually, I have high expectations when it comes to reading a mystery book - Jane Blake exceeded them!
The plot is complex and thrilling - the ex-con artist Jane is tricked into working with the hacker Ryan in the police but this is not all. Ryan makes her solve his mother's murder and in exchange, he's helping her dig into her own past. And what a past she has - Jane is adopted, at a young age, someone tries to kidnap her and before she was saved this person tells her that her real parents are looking for her. From then on, Jane tries to find who they are, but guess what, she finds a relative but he is not what she expected so she ended up hunting him down with her team. I'm not going to give any more spoilers - you have to read it!
The novel is fast-paced and full of twists and turns, complicated situations, and wit. The characters are well-developed and interesting. While the main plot is running and each chapter gives us clues, other cases are worked on by the team. These small cases are also well thought and interesting.
There is a love story as a subplot but it is just starting, so I'm guessing it will be developed more in the next books.
Jane is one amazing woman with many talents - she has amazing detective skills, she is cunning, she has trust issues, she is a loner... but she doesn't really want to be alone anymore... I enjoyed the strong female lead. Ryan is the calmer but yet strong in his own way, with a talent that lacks in Jane - hacking and good with tech along with his detective skills. Hunt is the old school cop with his own tragedy, Valdez is the career type of guy, Carter is the ex sniper with a sense of humor and no luck with women... What can I say - I loved the characters! I can keep going but I don't want to give spoilers and to ruin your fun. Just read the book.
I highly recommend this book and I can't wait to read the second!
Christian
BooksShelf Reviewer
The plot is complex and thrilling - the ex-con artist Jane is tricked into working with the hacker Ryan in the police but this is not all. Ryan makes her solve his mother's murder and in exchange, he's helping her dig into her own past. And what a past she has - Jane is adopted, at a young age, someone tries to kidnap her and before she was saved this person tells her that her real parents are looking for her. From then on, Jane tries to find who they are, but guess what, she finds a relative but he is not what she expected so she ended up hunting him down with her team. I'm not going to give any more spoilers - you have to read it!
The novel is fast-paced and full of twists and turns, complicated situations, and wit. The characters are well-developed and interesting. While the main plot is running and each chapter gives us clues, other cases are worked on by the team. These small cases are also well thought and interesting.
There is a love story as a subplot but it is just starting, so I'm guessing it will be developed more in the next books.
Jane is one amazing woman with many talents - she has amazing detective skills, she is cunning, she has trust issues, she is a loner... but she doesn't really want to be alone anymore... I enjoyed the strong female lead. Ryan is the calmer but yet strong in his own way, with a talent that lacks in Jane - hacking and good with tech along with his detective skills. Hunt is the old school cop with his own tragedy, Valdez is the career type of guy, Carter is the ex sniper with a sense of humor and no luck with women... What can I say - I loved the characters! I can keep going but I don't want to give spoilers and to ruin your fun. Just read the book.
I highly recommend this book and I can't wait to read the second!
Christian
BooksShelf Reviewer
September 15, 2020
Nancy Drew on speed. I got the feeling that the author had written lots of crime scenarios on notecards and then tried to put them all in one book. The plot was not very realistic....she is a con artist that decides to join the police department where a bunch of experienced male police officers immediately decide that she is their hero and they will die for her. She gets test results immediately and there is a coroner available to do an autopsy immediately after a murder. No thanks.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 6, 2023
Very intriguing
Characters were developed good and lots of twists and turns.. Trust is learned and friendships developed.. It's a really good story hard to stop reading.. I will be getting the next book..
Characters were developed good and lots of twists and turns.. Trust is learned and friendships developed.. It's a really good story hard to stop reading.. I will be getting the next book..
May 25, 2024
Jane Blake. Jane Blake mystery
First book to keep my interest in a while. Leaves you wonder in. Ready for the next book. Jane Blake is a good writer..If your interested in crime cook this is a start
First book to keep my interest in a while. Leaves you wonder in. Ready for the next book. Jane Blake is a good writer..If your interested in crime cook this is a start
January 15, 2019
Nice read.
November 4, 2021
Really interesting and intriguing crime novel! A story with many twist and tension, great characters - just read it in one breath! New author for me and I'm already a fan!
November 5, 2021
I've just added another book to my 'favorite books' list! Impressive book - the characters are great, the author's writing style is beautiful! Absolutely recommend it!
May 25, 2022
An exquisite read!
Reading the second book now and no spoilers but... it's even better!
Reading the second book now and no spoilers but... it's even better!
August 22, 2025
Fun and exhilarating book! I recommend this series!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews