Anything For You Review

Title:  Anything For You
Series:  Valerie Hart #3
Author:  Saul Black
Publisher:  St. Martin's Press
Purchase Link:  Amazon


My Rating: 3 Graphic Hearts


*With special thanks to the publisher for an arc of this book.




Synopsis:
Critically acclaimed author Saul Black returns with a heart-racing thriller in which a brutal murder forces one woman to reckon with her own past--and her future.

On a hot summer night, a watchful neighbor locks eyes with an intruder and unwittingly alerts the police to a vicious crime scene next door: a lavish master bedroom where a man lies dead. His wife is bleeding out onto the hardwood floor, clinging to life.

The victim, Adam Grant, was a well-known San Francisco prosecutor--a man whose connection to Homicide detective Valerie Hart brings her face-to-face with a life she's long since left behind. Adam's career made him an easy target, and forensic evidence points towards an ex-con he put behind bars years ago. But while Adam's wife and daughter grapple with their tragic loss, Valerie uncovers devastating clues that point in a more ominous direction. Lurking in the shadows of the Grants' pristine life is a mysterious blonde who holds the key to a dangerous past.

As Valerie struggles to forge a new path for herself, the investigation forces her to confront the question: can we ever really leave our pasts behind?

Review:
SFPD Homicide Detective Valerie Hart returns in Anything For You, book 3 in the Valerie Hart series.  This is the first book I've read by this author and since I'm a read-in-order reader, I was hesitate to begin with the 3rd book.  However, the author does a great job interspersing background information into the story as it progresses, and I had no issue following the story. Det. Hart is called to a murder scene when prosecutor Adam Grant's body is discovered along side his wife who's near death from stab wounds.  Valerie's thrown off-kilter by the scene as seeing Grant brings back a dark past Valerie buried long ago.  It's evident early on through words and actions that Valerie struggles with ghosts of her nightmarish past.  While I admired her grit and perseverance, her unnecessarily crude and vulgar language and actions left the impression of a character more in line with a lewd alpha anti-hero than the smart, strong cop heroine that she's supposed to be.  As the story unfolds, I found it increasingly difficult to connect with her and have the empathy I needed to care for her character.

Anything For You is a good police procedural story with some great plot points that I think many crime thriller fans will enjoy.  Told from two strong points of view, readers are privy to both characters' thoughts which worked great in this book. The story includes several twists and turns, ending with a great lead-in to the next book. However for me, the story went awry by going overboard with the overly graphic portrayal of violence and in-your-face blatant sexuality - especially from the "heroine".  It was jarring, causing me to lose focus.  While I enjoy a dark, damaged heroine/hero, Valerie Hart didn't ring true to me and some of her actions were actually quite offensive.  As a result, it's unlikely I'll be continuing with the series.

My Rating:  3 Graphic Hearts ...

Cross My Heart . . . xxx

♥Sandra♥