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Ruthless
Samantha and her sister, Lori, are considered royalty in this suburb of Cleveland, as their grandfather has been mayor for 50 years, their uncle is the Chief of Police, and their aunt manages the city bank.
Everyone understands that the family can do no wrong.
But when Lori dies in a bizarre boating accident with a young man no one in her family had met, only Samantha wonders how she ended up dead in Lake Erie in the middle of the night.
The family worries more about political scandal than about their dead loved one. Even her father, a cop, assumes Lori was up to no good.
When Francine, a plucky reporter, digs into the story, the clues she discovers lead her down a path of death and mayhem. She and Samantha uncover sexual predators and a criminal conspiracy that is more than they can handle.
By working with the father of the young man who died with Lori in the boat, they draw the ire of the quiet suburb’s police force. The three of them must fight together to discover the truth.
But the truth takes them over the thin blue line into a battle for their lives.
Everyone understands that the family can do no wrong.
But when Lori dies in a bizarre boating accident with a young man no one in her family had met, only Samantha wonders how she ended up dead in Lake Erie in the middle of the night.
The family worries more about political scandal than about their dead loved one. Even her father, a cop, assumes Lori was up to no good.
When Francine, a plucky reporter, digs into the story, the clues she discovers lead her down a path of death and mayhem. She and Samantha uncover sexual predators and a criminal conspiracy that is more than they can handle.
By working with the father of the young man who died with Lori in the boat, they draw the ire of the quiet suburb’s police force. The three of them must fight together to discover the truth.
But the truth takes them over the thin blue line into a battle for their lives.
365 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2021
8 people want to read
About the author
Mickey Hadick
18 books14 followersHe Is Mickey Hadick
Writes thrillers and satire. Loves telling stories. Drinks coffee a lot. Plays ukulele often, occasionally plays well. All opinions are his own.
Reading and Writing
He fell in love with writing because he fell in love with reading first. Early on, he had a thing for Russian classics, and worked his way through Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, and Chekhov ( that took a while). Then it was American classics, especially the short stories. Then he went thoroughly modern and has been trying to catch up with this century, but with a focus on comedy and crime fiction.
Domesticity
He lives with his wife, cats, a dog or two, and adult children who come and go as they please.
Writes thrillers and satire. Loves telling stories. Drinks coffee a lot. Plays ukulele often, occasionally plays well. All opinions are his own.
Reading and Writing
He fell in love with writing because he fell in love with reading first. Early on, he had a thing for Russian classics, and worked his way through Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, and Chekhov ( that took a while). Then it was American classics, especially the short stories. Then he went thoroughly modern and has been trying to catch up with this century, but with a focus on comedy and crime fiction.
Domesticity
He lives with his wife, cats, a dog or two, and adult children who come and go as they please.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 18, 2022
Bailed at 10%. Too much focus on the race of each character (even minor ones) that appear in the narrative. Just show me who the characters ate as people please.
April 12, 2022
Review of eBook
In 1979, in a suburb of Cleveland, Samantha Sykora bikers with her older sister, Lori; shortly thereafter, Lori leaves, heading to her friend Rebecca’s house.
By the next morning, Lori and an unidentified young man are dead, victims of a tragic boating accident.
Samantha is stunned; heartbroken. She wants to know why Lori was in a boat on Lake Erie in the middle of the night. But everyone in her family . . . her grandfather, the mayor, her uncle, the chief of police, her father, a police officer, her aunt, the manager of the only bank in town . . . seems nonplussed. They say they’re sad, but they all believe Lori was at fault, doing something she shouldn’t have done.
When a local reporter, Francine Tennyson, starts asking questions, she soon finds herself mired in a criminal conspiracy. Along with Samantha and Aaron, the father of the young man who died with Lori, she sets out to uncover the truth. But there are those who care less about Lori’s death than about their own political power within the town.
Can they find the truth or will they fall victim to those with secrets they must keep unrevealed at all costs?
=========
This story, often grim and brutal, is action-packed, mysterious, and, at times, political. Unexpected plot twists take the story in surprising directions; readers will find themselves rooting for Samantha, Francine, and Aaron to succeed. Throughout the narrative, an undercurrent of apprehension creates an unrelenting uneasiness for the reader; the mystery of the deaths keeps the pages turning and readers may find it difficult to set this one aside.
From the outset, it is clear that there are secrets in the Village and that Samantha’s quest to find the truth about her sister’s death is a threat to someone. It isn’t until late in the story that many things become clear.
As the story reaches its denouement, the most important questions are resolved. However, the story has a “left hanging” feeling about it that is sure to frustrate readers.
There are some extremely disturbing elements in the telling of this tale, but they are consistent with behaviors and attitudes held by a segment of the populace some forty-three years ago. Yes, they are troubling; yes, they are difficult to read, but they aren’t included simply for the sake of salaciousness. Sadly, they reflect the behaviors of some in that time. However, the story delivers for readers who enjoy thrillers and whodunits.
Recommended.
In 1979, in a suburb of Cleveland, Samantha Sykora bikers with her older sister, Lori; shortly thereafter, Lori leaves, heading to her friend Rebecca’s house.
By the next morning, Lori and an unidentified young man are dead, victims of a tragic boating accident.
Samantha is stunned; heartbroken. She wants to know why Lori was in a boat on Lake Erie in the middle of the night. But everyone in her family . . . her grandfather, the mayor, her uncle, the chief of police, her father, a police officer, her aunt, the manager of the only bank in town . . . seems nonplussed. They say they’re sad, but they all believe Lori was at fault, doing something she shouldn’t have done.
When a local reporter, Francine Tennyson, starts asking questions, she soon finds herself mired in a criminal conspiracy. Along with Samantha and Aaron, the father of the young man who died with Lori, she sets out to uncover the truth. But there are those who care less about Lori’s death than about their own political power within the town.
Can they find the truth or will they fall victim to those with secrets they must keep unrevealed at all costs?
=========
This story, often grim and brutal, is action-packed, mysterious, and, at times, political. Unexpected plot twists take the story in surprising directions; readers will find themselves rooting for Samantha, Francine, and Aaron to succeed. Throughout the narrative, an undercurrent of apprehension creates an unrelenting uneasiness for the reader; the mystery of the deaths keeps the pages turning and readers may find it difficult to set this one aside.
From the outset, it is clear that there are secrets in the Village and that Samantha’s quest to find the truth about her sister’s death is a threat to someone. It isn’t until late in the story that many things become clear.
As the story reaches its denouement, the most important questions are resolved. However, the story has a “left hanging” feeling about it that is sure to frustrate readers.
There are some extremely disturbing elements in the telling of this tale, but they are consistent with behaviors and attitudes held by a segment of the populace some forty-three years ago. Yes, they are troubling; yes, they are difficult to read, but they aren’t included simply for the sake of salaciousness. Sadly, they reflect the behaviors of some in that time. However, the story delivers for readers who enjoy thrillers and whodunits.
Recommended.
March 1, 2022
This book is ruthlessly unrealistic, has too many loose ends, is full of brutality, and does not make sense. A young woman and a man die, among others, there is crime and corruption, another girl, a reporter and her friend try to uncover the truth, there are some violent characters, drugs and guns… And there is an open ending, which makes the whole work appear unfinished (it’s not a cliff hanger, it seems). Since this is supposed to be a thriller, I guess, I don’t want to spoil it, but honestly: I’m not sure, whether this is the best genre the author should pick. I will try and read one of the other books, he has written, though.
December 26, 2021
It may be a suburb, but it has a small town feel as the leaders/family close ranks and hide secrets that are exposed little by little when the death of one of their own and another occur. A grieving sister and a fledgling newspaper reporter know that things aren’t as they appear to be, but they want answers.I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher and voluntarily provided an honest review.
January 4, 2022
A story that started off as a pretty simple whodoneit turned into an action-packed rollercoaster ride filled with all manner of twists and turns amplified by a city and characters fueled by nepotism and underhanded dealing. To say I was entertained while reading this book is an understatement. Once I got started, I found it near impossible to put down because I had to know why Lori and Michael were killed. I received a review copy through StoryOrigin and chose to provide this review.
January 1, 2022
A mix of strong characters all searching for the truth.
It has both mysterious and political twists, though the psychopathic nature of some of the characters is what makes the chill run down your back.
It is one of those novels that drags you in and keeps on delivering.
Regardless of what you may normally read this will entertain you.
It has both mysterious and political twists, though the psychopathic nature of some of the characters is what makes the chill run down your back.
It is one of those novels that drags you in and keeps on delivering.
Regardless of what you may normally read this will entertain you.
Read
July 3, 2022At first, I thought this was a crime thriller (it still is). Then, I thought it was a psycho-thriller like Harvest Home or The Stepford Wives (it still is). Last, I realized it could be horror (it would be if it were happening to you).
The author did a great job in building up the heat.
I would read more by this author.
The author did a great job in building up the heat.
I would read more by this author.
March 8, 2022
Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the copy of Ruthless. I liked the beginning of the book, and the story seemed like it was going to be good. Even though it was set in 1979, reading about a Black man being brutalized was unneeded, as we read enough of that in the news today. I’m really disappointed that there were other racially insensitive incidents too. If the book is edited to remove those incidents and also makes the Black father more than a just a prop, the book would be vastly improved.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews