No More Fear

Brandy, PI #1

by J.D. Wilde

GIRL JUMPS TO HER DEATH. OR WAS SHE PUSHED?Things are tough for Brandy Francine Baker. Yes, she did manage to leave her abusive husband Jasper, but life as a single mother of two is no bed of roses. She can only afford to live in New York City’s dumpy housing projects, and she hates her job selling timeshares. An old lady in Brandy’s building approaches her, asking if she can look into her grandchild Luisa’s recent suicide. She believes Luisa was actually murdered. The lady heard through the grapevine that Brandy once worked as a criminal investigator before Jasper swept her off her feet and made her quit. She offers Brandy $10,000 for her efforts. Brandy accepts but worries she will just waste the lady’s savings. The NYPD deemed the fall a suicide. Why would she come up with anything else? It soon looks like the lady is right. To unravel the truth, Brandy must face her own demons as well as murderous thugs. And that's easier said than done.

249 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 6, 2020

Reviews

[Lise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Luisa's grandmother ambushes Brandy Baker, asking her to look into her granddaughter's suicide. The old lady believes it was murder. Brandy's not convinced, but the money offered as pay is too good a deal to turn down. As she takes a closer look, Luisa's death becomes more and more suspicious.

This is a good story, but plot holes and a lack of editing let it down. The credibility of Brandy as an investigator was sorely stretched and her methods of detection were clumsy. In addition, her mother's attitude towards her daughter's divorce belongs to the 1950s. The specifics of my bones of contention would spoil the plot - please do not look under the cover if you haven't finished the book.


1. Brandy did not have the business acumen to off-load timeshares, yet she planned to run a detective agency. In addition, it was not mentioned whether or not she had an actual P.I. licence, which is required in New York. (I suspect that she does not have one.)
2. Brandy talked to many people about her investigation and then wondered how the killer knew her plans. She singled out a couple of suspects without hard evidence and only managed to identify the true villain by sheer luck.
3. Brandy took her stalker at his word that he was a decent human being after many days/weeks of living in fear. Her about-face came as the result of a single phone call.
4. Brandy was physically and mentally abused by her husband, yet her mother felt Brandy had a duty to remain with him. If the story was set in a much earlier time, this could have been believable but Brandy's mother would have been born in an era when women were coming into their own.
5. Brandy was shot twice, almost died on the operating table and was up and roaming the streets without a twinge only a few days later. Her mother who had very negative opinions about Brandy's new career, allowed her grandchildren to return to New York unattended. These were the same children who had been sent away for their safety.
6. In the "Boy, did that escalate quickly category", Brandy and her daughter felt there was nothing to fear from the people who had, in essence, kidnapped Brandy to get her to drop the case. The same people then loaded a weapon and shot her twice. Brandy's judgement is now suspect.

[roxanne mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Cozy mystery

This book was pretty good on figuring out who did the murdering so it was a little bit suspenseful and intriguing. I liked it but I like more action thriller books.i would definitely recommend it to anyone that wants to read this charming book with a good glass of wine

[Randall · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt like a lot of the book could've used one more rewrite. There's a few logic holes here that could've been fixed. The beginning of the story is pretty slow. I was beginning to think I should give up on it. Things start to pick up around the 40% mark. The ending is rather quick and abrupt.

Like the story, Brandy Baker's character could've used just a bit more rounding out as well. She is way too quick to jump to conclusions, which almost makes sense for her not being a true P.I. (she's an amateur detective for all intents and purposes here). But the story repeatedly reminds us she did in fact do some investigations before. Making her an abused wife (or formerly abused) is probably the quickest way to create sympathy points for a female protagonist, but it does actually influence her character here. Besides Brandy, almost every character felt very flat, though this is very much her story. In fact, I don't think there's a single second of the book she's not a character. This could have easily been written in first-person from her perspective (an observation, not a critique). She isn't likely to become one of my favorite characters I've ever read, but she's fine as the story's protagonist.

It does become pretty obvious at one point who the culprit is, though the book also notes Brandy should've seen this (no spoilers, it will make sense if you've read it though). As it is, it's a decent mystery, worth a read if you like the genre.

[bex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Low 3

I am definitely not a fan of the whole start book with a high suspense scene from near the end. It was okay otherwise, but I'm not sure it maintained enough suspense on its own. Also she was quick to jump to conclusions without really having the pieces to do so.

[paulette sarelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good thriller

This story kept you guessing until the end. It was a good twist who the killer ended up being. Loved the main character Brandy. Can't wait to see what happens to her career in the next book.

[David Peck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable Mystery

I really enjoyed the book. It was a quick and fun read. It had me guessing but at some point I figured it out. I wasn’t sure until the end. Look forward to the rest of the series