Immoral

Jonathan Stride #1

by Brian Freeman

In a riveting debut thriller that has drawn comparisons to masters of the genre like Dennis Lehane and Michael Connelly, Brian Freeman weaves obsession, sex, and revenge into a story that grips the reader with vivid characters and shocking plot twists from the first page to the last.

Lieutenant Jonathan Stride is suffering from an ugly case of déjà vu. For the second time in a year, a beautiful teenage girl has disappeared off the streets of Duluth, Minnesota—gone without a trace, like a bitter gust off Lake Superior. The two victims couldn’t be more different.  First it was Kerry McGrath, bubbly, sweet sixteen.  And now Rachel Deese, strange, sexually charged, a wild child.  The media hounds Stride to catch a serial killer, and as the search carries him from the icy stillness of the northern woods to the erotic heat of Las Vegas, he must decide which facts are real and which are illusions.  And Stride finds his own life changed forever by the secrets he uncovers.  Secrets that stretch across time in a web of lies, death, and illicit desire.  Secrets that are chillingly…immoral.

 

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Crime, Audiobook, Suspense

743 pages, Hardcover

First published August 25, 2005

About the author

Brian Freeman is a New York Times bestselling author of psychological thrillers, including the Jonathan Stride and Frost Easton series. His books have been sold in 46 countries and 22 languages. He is widely acclaimed for his "you are there" settings and his complex, engaging characters and twist-filled plots. Brian was also selected as the official author to continue Robert Ludlum's Jason Bourne series, and his novel THE BOURNE EVOLUTION was named one of the Best Mysteries and Thrillers of 2020 by Kirkus.

Brian's seventh novel SPILLED BLOOD won the award for Best Hardcover Novel in the annual Thriller Awards given out by the International Thriller Writers organization, and his fifth novel THE BURYING PLACE was a finalist for the same award. His novel THE DEEP, DEEP SNOW was a finalist for the Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original.

His debut thriller, IMMORAL, won the Macavity Award for Best First Novel and was a nominee for the Edgar, Dagger, Anthony, and Barry Awards. IMMORAL was named an International Book of the Month, a distinction shared with authors such as Harlan Coben and Lisa Unger.

All of Brian's books are also available in audiobook editions. His novels THE BONE HOUSE and SEASON OF FEAR were both finalists for Best Audiobook of the Year in Thriller/Suspense.

For more information on Brian's books, visit his web site at bfreemanbooks.com or find him on Facebook at facebook.com/bfreemanfans or Twitter and Instagram (@bfreemanbooks).

Reviews

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this first book in the 'Jonathan Stride' series, the police detective is troubled by two cases of missing teenage girls. The mystery is chock-a-block with twists, so I'm going to be circumspect in my review to avoid spoilers.

*****

Lieutenant Jonathan Stride of Duluth, Minnesota is having a rough time.



He's still mourning the death of his beloved wife Cindy, who succumbed to cancer, and a 16-year-old girl named Kerry McGrath has been missing for over a year. Stride's investigation failed to turn up any trace of Kerry and now ANOTHER teenage girl, Rachel Deese, has disappeared.




Stride and his detective partner, a diminutive Chinese woman named Maggie Bei, investigate Rachel's disappearance.



Jonathan and Maggie soon learn that Rachel - though beautiful and charismatic - wasn't a ray of sunshine. Rachel was hateful and cruel to her mother; nasty to her stepfather; and regularly made passes at guys, including other girls' boyfriends. The descriptions of Rachel's behavior by her classmates and family reveal a very disturbed young lady.

Before long evidence is found that lead the police to believe Rachel is dead, and - though no body has been found - a suspect is arrested. This results in a jury trial, and there's an epic battle between the prosecution and the defense. The criminal defense lawyer is especially capable, and elicits some surprising testimony.



Skip ahead three years, and the action moves to Las Vegas, Nevada. A body is found near the trailer of a smelly ne'er do well who lives in a decrepit trailer and sells meat jerky.



The Las Vegas case falls to Detective Serena Dial - a tall blonde beauty, and her partner Cordy - an easygoing Latino.



Serena and Cordy interview people all over Las Vegas to try to identify the deceased. Once a name is discovered, the dead person is connected to Duluth, Minnesota....and Serena flies north to consult with Detective Jonathan Stride.

Jonathan and Serena become de facto partners, and proceed to resolve all the mysteries in the story.

I have several problems with this book.

First, the courtroom scenes are overly long and detailed. I felt like I was sitting through an actual lengthy trial. (This may be related to the fact that the author is a lawyer. 😊)

Second, the climax of the story comes out of left field, essentially a deus ex machina. This is unfair to mystery lovers who like to follow the clues and attempt to unravel the puzzle themselves.

Third, the story is filled with scenes that I call 'male fantasy writing.' Jonathan Stride must be one hot number because three women in this story find him irresistible, which leads to steamy sex scenes. As if that's not enough, Serena's partner Cordy mesmerizes a gorgeous exotic dancer (a witness no less)…..so more sex scenes. To put it bluntly, this isn't believable.

All that said, the author put together a compelling mystery, and I'd probably try another book in the Jonathan Stride-Serena Dial series.

You can follow my reviews at https://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot....

[Mª Carmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5 ⭐
Relectura.

Tenía ganas de releer este libro. Lo leí por primera vez cuando se publicó en España y lo recordaba como uno de los thrillers más adictivos de ese año. Ha envejecido bien. Me ha resultado ahora tan gratificante y entretenido como entonces.

Dice la sinopsis:
El teniente Jonathan Stride está sufriendo un desagradable episodio de déjà vu. Por segunda vez en un año, una guapa adolescente ha desaparecido de las calles de Duluth, una pequeña y apacible ciudad a orillas de un lago. Las víctimas no pueden ser más diferentes; primero fue la dulce Kerry McGrath y ahora se trata de Rachel Deese, una chica problemática y seductora. Los medios presionan a Stride para que capture a lo que consideran un asesino en serie, pero él, atormentado por la pérdida de su mujer y por su incapacidad para resolver el caso de Kerry, no cree que la solución sea tan sencilla. De hecho, según va desvelando los entresijos del caso de Rachel, advierte que se trata de algo mucho más complejo y maléfico.

Mis impresiones.

Con esta novela, Brian Freeman inició la serie protagonizada por el detective Jonathan Stride. Tras haber leído siete títulos más de la misma, sigo pensando, que esta primera fue la mejor con diferencia en una serie que, con el tiempo, fue de más a menos.

Está dividida en un prólogo y cuatro partes. Las tres primeras transcurren en Duluth y la cuarta, tres años después de los hechos, en Las Vegas. Es un thriller de trama inteligente y con todos los registros del género, ritmo vivo, intriga creciente de principio a fin, giros que sorprenden y un buen final. El argumento es original y no excesivamente truculento. Entretiene y engancha.

Los personajes son un valor añadido, más aún, si tenemos en cuenta el género en el que nos movemos. Jonathan Stride, el protagonista, es un detective del departamento de policía de Duluth. Procedente de la zona, ha tenido y tiene una vida normal. Viudo reciente afronta el duelo de la pérdida de su mujer mucho antes de lo esperado. Es carismático, agradable, tranquilo y se relaciona bien con compañeros y superiores. Serena Dial, es policía en Las Vegas. Ella sí arrastra un pasado traumático, que ha sabido dejar atrás y salir a flote.
Los dos secundarios, Maggie, la compañera de Jonathan y Cordy el de Serena, son a su vez dos buenos personajes.

El final, bueno. Reconozco que, si bien suponía algo de lo que fue en relación con Rachel, no vi venir para nada ni el quién ni el por qué.

En conclusión. Un thriller inteligente, original y bien desarrollado. Se mueve a muy buen ritmo, mantiene la intriga y engancha de principio a fin. Recomendable.

[Mary Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! I just loved this. It had suspense all the way through it. What a page turner, and the ending, I was not expecting that. There was no question or doubt in my rating. I would of given it more stars if I could. It definitely isn't for the faint of the heart. If you can handle Karin Slaughter you can handle this one. I cannot wait to read the rest of this series.

This is the first book in the Jonathan Stride Series. This is a legal thriller mystery. Jonathan and Serena get together hunting for two missing teenage girls.

[Eline Van Der Meulen · Rating 4 out of 5]

"De puzzelstukken vallen op het einde net iets te makkelijk in elkaar".
https://elinevandm.wordpress.com/2019...

[Esti Santos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una lectura que va de menos a más. El principio me ha resultado un poco plano, pero poco a poco va cogiendo ritmo y el desarrollo me ha gustado mucho. Todo lo que se cuenta tiene su miga, aunque sea algo que aparentemente pueda parecer irrelevante. Además, es una lectura directa y fácil, sin giros rebuscados, pero con información para el lector que está ahí, ingeniosamente escondida.
El inspector Jonathan Stride y su fiel compañera, la excéntrica sargento Maggie, se enfrentan a la desaparición de dos chicas, con una separación de un año. Con la primera desaparición están completamente perdidos, no hay nada. De la más reciente desaparición, tienen datos y pruebas confusas de un posible asesinato. Pero no hay cadáveres, sólo chicas desaparecidas. Tienen un acoso constante de la prensa y se ven presionados.
La investigación policial se alterna con datos de la vida privada de Stride. Ay Stride, qué peligro tiene!
Pero finalmente todo encaja.
El final no me lo esperaba para nada. Totalmente sorprendente!
Cuando he terminado de leer, me he dado cuenta de todo lo que se me ha escapado y que el autor ha dejado ahí como miguitas para seguir el rastro.
Seguiré con esta serie del inspector Stride.
👌👌 Siguiente de la serie: "Venganza".

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting suspense/thriller. Over the course of the book it seemed like three or four different stories. At times it was a mystery, others it was a legal drama, but it was always keeping me on my toes. It had enough unique twists to keep it feeling fresh and creative overall. I will likely try more from this author in this series.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, hard writing with this troubling novel of a serial raper and destroyer of lives. Much compassion for the victims and their families. 8 of 10 stars

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book 1 in Jonathan Stride series.

Rachel Deese, a 17 year old teenager has gone missing. For Lieutenant Stride this is definitely a bad situation because a year ago another teenage girl, Rachel's schoolmate Karey had gone missing too and was never heard of again.

The two girls are dissimilar in personality and Rachel has lots of family issues and she is a wild character. Everyone thinks she has run away, but Stride believes there is a serial killer out there, an immoral being who preys on young girls. Proving this theory, new clues are discovered and later remains! Is it Rachel or Karey or is it someone else's.

The mystery is good. The book is interesting, mildly disturbing and dark at times. However I'm giving it only 3 stars because of how the author tried to conveniently write off a character and also tried to make Stride look like a saint despite his mistakes. Also, I believe he is not good at conducting an investigation, as he forgets to check important information!

More information in the spoilers part!


**Spoilers**

Stride cheats on his wife - this makes Stride a dishonourable person. And we know that Andrea, his wife is not the lead in this series. So to write her off, she becomes a killer. This was totally avoidable. If it were someone else, there would have beem more credibility to the story. The plot twist makes the world really small. Secondly, to make up for Stride's affair, he forgives his wife and protects her from the law. She is a murderer and any honest policeman must abide by the law. I found this extremely irritating. How can he hide such an information. A crime is a crime.

3 stars.

***

[Matt Schiariti · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow....this is about as compulsive a read as I've ever read.
At the core of the book we have Detective Stride. He's not perfect. He's not a macho super cop. He's got flaws and his own emotional baggage, but he's a good cop and he does the best that he can. In other words, he reads like a real person.

a year prior to the book's events, as they unfold, is the disappearance of a local girl named Kerry McGrath. Stride was lead detective on that case with his partner Maggie. That crime was never solved. As the book transpires, we have the disappearance of another girl, one Rachel Deese. She's the same age as Kerry was, went to the same school, lived in the same general area. Stride draws the case and throws himself headfirst into it, as if he's trying to make amends for never having solved the McGrath case.

As the pages fly by, we find Rachel to not be very likable. In fact I can guarantee that you will come to actively hate her as Freeman exposes more and more of her story. Nevertheless, I couldn't help but be intrigued by Rachel's story no matter how much I disliked her. We see how Rachel's disappearance and actions prior to that affected everyone she's ever come in contact with in a negative way from her mother, to her step father, to those she called 'friends'. In fact her influence is so far reaching that it's the driving force of the whole book. Rachel may be the victim of the case Stride and his partner are investigating but she's hardly innocent.

The story is intricate and compelling but never feels cumbersome or confused. It's tightly plotted, well paced and well written. There's a fantastic balance of character exposition as well as story revelation, something that oftentimes suffers in a 'whodunnit' type of book. Sometimes you'll get a great mystery with plastic characters you end up not caring about, or great characters with a cookie cutter type mystery. Immoral most definitely does NOT suffer from either of those things. Each character has their own voice and personality that makes them feel alive.

And there is a twist, and it's a BIG twist. It's the type of twist that makes your eyes open up wide like silver dollar pancakes! But it's not implausible or 'cheap' by any means. The trail of breadcrumbs was there the entire time which makes the book all the more satisfying. No smoke and mirrors, no trickery.

Brian Freeman is on my radar now. If you're a fan of a good mystery with great characters, dialogue, and keep-you-guessing moments, you need to check this one out.

[Tim The Enchanter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of my Dominican Vacation reads. As I read so many books this week, I will be doing a more compact review so I can catch up.

A Killer Debut - 4 Stars

The novel is set in the cold and quiet streets of Duluth, Minnesota. These are not the mean streets of Detroit and major crime is not an everyday occurrence. A year after the mysterious disappearance of a teenaged girl, the Detective Jonathan Stride is faced with another disappearance that is eerily similar. The investigation reveals secrets buried deep within his city with an investigation that begins in "wholesome" streets of Duluth to the "immoral" streets of Las Vegas.

The Good

Brian Freeman wrote a very impressive debut novel. Immoral was nominated for several prestigious award for best debut and rightly so. The story is sharply written with a wonderfully developed main character.

In my opinion, it is the wonderfully delicious development of the VICTIM that sets this novel apart. (I apologize if that sounds creepy but it is an apt description :) The second of missing girls and main victim is Rachel Deese. She is beautiful, intelligent, sexually promiscuous and all around devious. She relishes is playing with emotion and hurting those close to her. I cannot recall another novel where the victim was less likeable. As descriptions suggest, we are left guessing as to whether our victim has kidnapped and murdered or if she is playing a game. The novel resolves the questions but not in the way you expect. I found myself rooting against the victim and hoping she dead. Maybe this makes me a bad person or a psychological need for revenge against those "mean girls" from my high school days. While the novel may have exposed a need for a psychiatric evaluation, it was a thrilling and satisfying read.

The Bad

Sex was theme that woven throughout the novel. While there were several sexual encounters that were not graphic, the theme is pervasive. I found that usage was often unnecessary as it didn't take long to the get the point.

The major problem with the novel is that is seemingly has two lives. There is a shift in time (three years or so into the future) that occurs about 2/3 of the way into the book. The author builds characters and relationships and summarily destroys some of the them over the course of break in time. For me, it was a frustrating misuse of characters and I felt that it detracted from the story. As new relationships were added in the last third, the story lost a sense of cohesion that had been so tightly maintained. While the break in time makes sense for the story, the break in continuity turned a potential masterpiece of a first novel into a very good debut.


Overall, the story was excellent, the writing was clean and the pacing was fast. Jonathan Stride is a compelling and interesting character. The ending of novel poses some interesting questions for the character and leaves him to make some difficult decisions. So major changes could be in store for book 2 and I look forward to continuing this series.

[Pamela · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's very, very rare that I don't finish an audio book once I've started it. I did manage to finish this, but only just.

One of the more annoying things about it was the sex. It's not that there was sex in it that annoyed me, it was the way the writer described it. His sex scenes were very detailed--detailed in an almost clinical way that seemed to go on forever and ever.

There were other bodily functions that were described in far too much detail. BUT! The one thing he didn't explain is how he went about pulling the ending out of his butt.

I don't want to get into spoilers, but suffice it to say it was very unsatisfying. Oh, and something else that is a spoiler is that if you want to kill your ex-husband's girlfriend, first you need to seduce then marry a cop. Seems that gives you one huge get out of jail free card.

Will I be reading/listening to any more of Mr. Freeman's work. Don't think so.

[Sean Peters (A Good Thriller) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great read from Brian Freeman.

It is nice to read his first book, when you are introduces to three of his main characters, Jonathon Stride, Maggie and Serena.

Three great powerful and strong characters, as Brian let's you get to know their personalities throughout this powerful and gripping book.

One of the first books that has taken me through a serial killer/murderer, a court case to more even more story.

So many twists and turns, with for me no glues at all to how this was going to end, a complete surprise and shock.

This really was a breath taking page turner and to me has Brian Freeman as one of my favourite authors for pure gripping stories with so many twists.

A great author, and deserving of all the many awards it won.

Now reading my August Book Pal novel Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. Read so many different reviews.

[Brian Freeman]

This was my debut novel in 2004. It was selected as International Book of the Month and sold in 17 languages. The book won the Macavity Award and was a finalist for the Edgar, Dagger, Barry, and Anthony Awards for best first novel. Write to me at brian@bfreemanbooks.com or visit my web site (www.bfreemanbooks.com) or Facebook page.

[Repix Pix · Rating 4 out of 5]

Suspense hasta la última página. Muy bueno.

[Eva Garciandia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well told story, likeable characters, twists and turns. Very good book and I'll be reading more from this author!

[Chrystopher’s Archive · Rating 1 out of 5]

The 80s called, they want their Man Hating Predatory Lesbian stereotype back.

[Jeff Dickison · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent debut novel. Duluth, Minnesota detective and his lady partner investigate a disappearance (thought to be murder) of a young hellion who hates her mom and screws her dad. Story ends in Las Vegas with the detective in the arms of another lady detective. Be forewarned, some of the sex scenes are pretty vivid. The first Freeman I have read, but I will probably read more.

[Jaksen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Giving this book a four, mostly for complexity of plot, excellent writing, and the fact it kept me enthralled despite one major issue I had with it...

Yeah, I got one.

Jonathan Stride is a widower - tall, handsome in a craggy way - lives in a sort of craggy (like him) old house off a lake in Duluth, Minnesota.

And btw, you FEEL this book, too, which I've noted in a few of my reviews. The wind, the cold, the dank damp feel of things. I swear the setting here could be its own story and character.

Anyhow, Jonathan, or Jon, police detective with a small staff at his command, is called in to investigate the case of a missing seventeen-year old girl. The girl just up and left - few signs of what happened to her. To make everything more interesting - and juicy - the girl has no morals whatsoever, at all, in any possible way you can imagine. She likes sex and IMO is sort of a socipath, but at any rate...

(And most of this is evident from the very beginning, so no spoilers here.)

Stride, and working from a few small clues, hones in on what probably happened to the girl. The book is told from various points of view, but HE is the MC here.

My issue: this book is written from a fiercely masculine POV. This isn't bad - I rather like fiercely masculine types, but it's overboard. Almost every woman here is tall, statuesque and has great breasts. In fact, I do believe the word 'breast' is used just as often as the words 'the' and 'and.' And, the men are great breast aficianados. There is A LOT of sex in this book, and that's not a bad thing by itself either. I am no prude - uh huh, nope, not at all - but every sex scene is quite explicitly described and Jon gets his full share.

I told my husband: this reads like a book from the early 1960's, of which one of my male relatives had a lot of. The story is complex and you do want to keep reading to find out what's what, but the moment a tall - most the sexy women are tall - woman strides on stage, you know what the other 'Stride' is gonna do, or at least THINK about. A lot.

So, a good book for those who like a complicated mystery and a whole lot of sex. There's an audience for that, for sure.

Four stars

[LJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

IMMORAL (Police Procedural-Duluth, MN-Cont) – Ex
Freeman, Brian – 1st book
St. Martin’s Minotaur, 2005- Hardcover
Lt. Jonathan Stride, is investigating the second case of a girl who has disappeared without a trace. The first girl was sweet, well-liked and never found. Now a second girl has disappeared, but she’s hard, promiscuous, has a very adversarial relationship with her mother and there’s something not right about the relationship with the step father. Are the cases related? Are the girls dead or runaways?
*** Boy, what an amazing debut. Freeman has constructed a story with strong, interesting characters. Their strengths and shortcomings are all very real. Freeman’s sense of place and dialogue are strong and involving. His plot is tight, gripping and has more twists than Lombard Street all the way to the very end. I was never able to project where the story was going next. This is a captivating book and I highly recommend it.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, this story started off strong and I was hooked and totally loving it. I enjoyed the character Stride, who lost his wife to cancer, but was slowly thinking about dating again. His partner Maggie took awhile to grow on me. By the mid to end of the book I started liking her. She reminded me of Arnold Schwarzenegger's partner in Kindergarten Cop...but an Asian version.

When the book got to the "Three Years Later" chapter, I started disliking the turns it was taking. Stride, who seemed like a true blue solid cop with personal integrity, changed. I didn't like that at all. I also did not like how the events fit together at the end. It was hard to believe, especially when some of the people involved were random people who Stride met during his investigation. And don't get me started on Serena aka Barbed Wire. Apparently that wire was made out of whipped cream. My rating 2-1/2 stars. First half was a solid 4 star rating.

[Rodrigo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Es el tercer libro que leo de este autor y la verdad es que me han encantado todos sus libros. Genial tanto por la intriga como por el suspense así como por el buen final inesperado. Muy recomendable, es novela de suspense de calidad.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite 3 stars, but it's the first of a series & has possibilities. The murder mystery & the overall way it played out was excellent. The characters were very well drawn & believable, quite often adding to the story. Ditto with the love interests & the realism of the police work involved. I can't say that I have any great feelings for the main character. I didn't dislike him, but he didn't excite me the way some do.

The execution was a little rough. The book was long, although there were a lot of times, points of view, & intricate details. I didn't care for ALL the details. The descriptions were often too painstaking. Exactly how a drunk pisses just doesn't add to the story for me. I really didn't care about the color, how it spattered, or arced. It was almost sadistic on the part of the author.

The ending was excellent, but certainly could have been handled better. I felt one reveal was a cheap shot & didn't care for the point of view of another.

I'll read another by this author or in this series, but I'm not going to break my neck finding it.

[myreadingescapism · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was insanely long and drawn out. There was a time I thought I was almost done and it was only halfway through. I was honestly losing interest multiple times but as always, held on. It was a decent story, I just found the trial scenes to be too long and tedious and the sex scenes to be absolutely eye roll worthy.

[MikeR · Rating 4 out of 5]

Immoral by Brian Freeman
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ — Old-school grit, zero fluff, and a plot that dropkicks your moral compass.

🛒 Picture this…
You’re at one of those sprawling charity book sales—trestle tables groaning under the weight of “modern thrillers” by women, for women—every cover: grayscale mascara-smeared close-ups or blurry figures sprinting through foliage.

Inside? Traumatized but resilient heroines. Male characters with PhDs in gaslighting. Plots powered by missing babies, childhood diaries, and emotionally unavailable husbands named Greg.

You’re drowning in a sea—no, an ocean—of sad-eyed feminism and recycled trauma plots. Every twist feels like it’s been microwaved from last year’s bestseller. You start wondering if your favorite genre has been quietly taken out back and euthanized.

You're not just bored—you’re in mourning.
R.I.P. Crime Fiction.

And then—bam—a beacon:
Brian Freeman’s Immoral.
A book that slaps like it came from the golden age of grit, where authors became multi-multimillionaires because their novels were so appealing: Connelly, Patterson, Grisham, Crais, Deaver. No fluff. No filters. Just unflinching crime fiction with a backbone.

This is the real stuff.

🎙️ Plot Overview
A teenage girl goes missing in a frozen Midwestern town. The cops think she’s just another runaway. Detective Jonathan Stride suspects otherwise.

What unfolds is a brilliantly layered and genuinely disturbing mystery that peels back the town’s decency like a rotting onion, one secret at a time. You won’t find much comfort here. You will, however, find truths no one wants spoken aloud and the kind of slow-burn dread that good thrillers rarely manage anymore.

🧔 Jonathan Stride: Your New Gritty Obsession
Jonathan Stride isn’t here to play nice.
He’s here to dig up dirt, ruin reputations, and drag the truth into the daylight—no matter who it hurts, including himself. Sure, he’s got baggage—he’s still coming to terms with the loss of his wife—but it doesn’t define him. He doesn’t sit around journaling through grief or going on soul-searching retreats.

He’s a cop!
He’s here to serve and protect, find the killer, and close the damn case. Not wander off on a journey of self-healing. That’s not in the job description—and it’s sure as hell not what he’s paid for.

There’s an old-school grit to Stride. He’s not a tortured romantic lead, and he’s not your wisecracking buddy-cop sidekick. He’s a man who carries ghosts and guilt like loose change in a worn trench coat. And that’s exactly why he works.



👮‍♀️ Detective Maggie Bei
Takes no crap, gives even less, and sees through more people in a day than most therapists do in a decade. A second-generation Chinese-American with a steel spine and zero tolerance for nonsense, she’s the kind of cop who gets things done while everyone else is still arguing jurisdiction.

Where Stride broods, Maggie moves. She’s fiercely competent, quietly compassionate, and written like a real human being—not a trope, not a sidekick, and definitely not here to be rescued. She keeps her emotions locked down, and when she draws a line, you’d better pray you’re not standing on the wrong side of it.



🔥 Detective Serena Dial
Vegas cop. Latina. Smart enough to outthink you, fast enough to outrun you, and not here for your crap.

Serena Dial walks in like she owns the precinct—because in Vegas, she practically did. She’s tactical, sharp, and tough in a way that’s earned, not manufactured. She’s not there to flirt, pose, or moralize—she’s there to survive in a city built on lies, sex, and second chances. And maybe, just maybe, she sees something in Stride that reminds her of herself—flawed, angry, and still trying to save the world one mess at a time.

Dial is the kind of woman crime fiction usually gets wrong. Here, she’s written with heat, heart, and heavy armor—and it shows.



🧨 Why This Book Works
Psychological weight: Everyone’s damaged. Some hide it. Some weaponize it.

Narrative structure: Shifting POVs that actually serve the plot, not just for “twist’s sake.”

Tone: Cold. Clinical. Compassionate in all the wrong places.

This isn’t a popcorn mystery. It’s icy dread with bloodstains and the occasional moral gut-punch.

🧩 What failed... the ending
Yes, the resolution wraps up a little too cleanly for a story that traffics so hard in moral murk.
After all that emotional carnage, betrayal, and buried trauma, you half expect the final twist to hit like a freight train—not a Hallmark card. Instead, it goes the tidy route: justice, answers, handcuffs.

Is it satisfying? Kind of.
Is it realistic? Debatable.
Is it a missed chance to go full Seven or Primal Fear? Yeah… a little.


💥 Now for the Rebuttal Round: Goodreads Edition — aka “The Offended Olympics”



"Stereotypes galore! A Latin lover, a tiny Asian cop"

Yes, there’s a Latin detective...flirtatious? (her nickname is Barbed Wire) and a sharp, petite Asian detective... Yes they are cops too. They also happen to be… actual characters. Not archetypes. Not hashtags. Not walking diversity posters.
They have backstories, scars, agency—and spoiler alert—they’re more than their adjectives.

This isn’t a casting call for a PBS documentary. It’s a gritty crime novel where people are messy, flawed, and sometimes come with accents and personality. Imagine that.

"Too much sex! It’s clinical and goes on forever!"

It took you one minute to read. ONE. If that’s your definition of “forever,” our deepest sympathies.
Also—have you read modern thrillers lately? One minute of physical description beats ten pages of emotional spiraling about how someone once called the protagonist “intense” in Year 9 and now she can’t trust anyone. Freeman’s scenes aren’t there to titillate—they’re there to unsettle. And they succeed. If you’re offended, great. That’s what realism tastes like when it’s not sugar-coated and served with a side of trauma journaling.

"Misogynistic!" “Too Many Breasts!”
The book is called Immoral—and part of it is set in Las Vegas. You know, the global headquarters of objectification, where the cocktail dresses are measured in inches and cleavage is currency.

Yes, there are a lot of breasts. (No, that’s not a glitch—it’s a setting-appropriate reality check.)

Vegas isn’t subtle. It’s not supposed to be. It’s a neon carnival of sin where women absolutely use their looks to gain an edge—because in that world, it’s called survival, not sexism.
If the mention of a body part offends you more than what’s happening to the people attached to them, then you’re reading the wrong genre.

And honestly—too many breasts?
You’ve clearly never been to Vegas.



“The lesbian character is a cliché!”

You mean she’s rude, guarded, and tired of everyone’s nonsense? That’s not a cliché—that’s a Tuesday in any workplace.

"This book is repulsive!"

Perfect.
It’s called "Immoral"... not "Eat Pray Love." It’s not even "Gone Girl."
This is crime fiction that punches below the belt and aims for the soul.
If you’re calling it repulsive, then great—you noticed.


🧭 Final Verdict
Brian Freeman delivers the kind of thriller most modern writers are too scared to write. It’s unflinching, messy, and morally grey—the very things that make it unforgettable.

If you grew up on classic procedural grit and you're sick to death of twistless paperbacks where “emotional healing” is more important than solving the murder—this book is your salvation.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm conflicted in writing this review for this book. I like Brian Freeman books. He can write a great story with lots of twists and turns. I feel that is true with this book. It was a great story.

It is with some of the details in the story that have me arching my eyebrows. The main "detail" was the characters. I love the MC. He is flawed but strong. Personality wise, he is similar to other MC's in this genre. I guess the women come across as a stretch because they are all vying for his attention. Sometimes the women squabble over him. Sometimes they share. It is weird. I don't buy it. And his love interest at the end when she shares her personal story with the MC, it didn't feel like that would actually happen. It felt forced because it just comes out of the blue.

So three stars.

[Stephen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Deep blah.

[Thomas Stroemquist · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read the first two parts ofthis series, but that's it for me. Competently written, but I feel that there's so much better offerings in the genre. My main gripe is with the characters being so unbelievably good, beautiful, sexy, cool and much much more. Key word being unbelievably, distracts me from the story.

[CD {Boulder Blvd} · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were some good moments in this book, and I wavered between liking it and being annoyed with it. But the ending seemed so implausible that it felt more like a means for the main character to move on with a new woman versus solving a crime. The plot got convoluted versus interesting and by the time I finished it was a solid two star read.

[Abbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5
What a fun ride with such vibrant characters!