by Stacy Green
Series: Lucy Kendall #1
Genres: Thriller
Source: Author
Purchase*: Amazon *affiliate
Lucy Kendall lived her life in a strange mixture of carefully calculated moves and impulse decisions. Cracking the skull of the man who molested her sister and attacking her was impulse. Spending half her teenage years drinking and acting out were calculated cries for attention from her narcissistic mother followed by impulsive rages at her lack of concern. The decade spent working in Child Protective Services before becoming a private investigator taught her two truths. One, CPS failed miserably in protecting children. Two, Lucy was more than willing to do it for them, meting out her brand of dark justice in spite of her own fear of death. But Lucy's crusade is compromised when a self-proclaimed sociopath offers to help-and leaves her no choice but to accept it. When eight-year old Kailey Richardson is abducted, it sets off a chain of events linked to Justin Beckett, a suspect in a life-changing case in Lucy's past. The path she's chosen since dealing with Beckett has been dark and terrifying-but she has no idea just how deep she will go or where the twisted road will take her. She's about to find out.
All Good Deeds, is the first in a new series starring kick-ass heroine Lucy Kendall. Discouraged by the constraints of law enforcement and bureaucracy, former child social worker Lucy Kendall is now a private investigator with a secret. Intense and well-crafted All Good Deeds will have you flipping the pages as we hunt for a child abductor in the sleazy underbelly of the city.
All Good Deeds has an urban fantasy vibe, minus the paranormal aspect. Lucy Kendall is a complicated, fearless and disgusted by the loopholes that allow scum to walk the streets. A vigilante with her own set of rules; she is the judge, jury and executioner. A child is abducted, and it all links back to a case involving Justin Beckett, a child killer who changed the path of Lucy’s life. Lucyis determined to save the child, and seek justice but things get complicated when a man proclaiming to be a sociopath reveals he knows her secrets. The tale that unfolds is tightly woven, with twists and turns that kept me lost within its pages.
Lucy has baggage, but she is smart, ruthless and has her own moral code. I loved this tenacious kick-ass female despite her flaws. Green has given her a strong background that allowed me to connect with her. She is jaded and fearless, and yet she retains a compassionate side. Green allowed her to grow, question herself and open up to others. Green has left room for development and I look forward to witnessing it. The head detective on the case is linked to her past, and the number one suspect. I found their interactions engaging and realistic. Todd is a competent detective, and quite clever. I am hoping she continues to interact with him throughout the series. Chris Hale, the self-proclaiming sociopath was an interesting character, and we slowly learn details. All of the characters from the suspects to the victims were developed with enough secrets allowing the reader to become immersed.
All Good Deeds takes place in Philadelphia, a territory I am familiar with notching up my enjoyment. One of the things I love about following an author is seeing the growth that takes place as they hone their skills. I thoroughly enjoyed the Delta Crossroads trilogy, but for me this first book in the Lucy Kendall series raised the bar. It is tighter, more fleshed out and filled with delicious twists. She took several characters and threads weaving them into a suspenseful thriller. The tale deals with pedophiles, and touches on issues from registry, to rehabilitation while allowing the reader to piecing together clues with Lucy at the helm. The tale grabs you from page one and is laced with climatic scenes, red herrings and a fully developed ending. All Good Deeds was well researched from police procedure to crime making this an exciting start with a heroine who intrigues me.
About Kimberly
Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. BlueSky | Facebook | Instagram
Lauren
Wow Lucy sounds absolutely badass! I love that this has a UF vibe despite not being paranormal. I really need to check this out! Thanks for your lovely review 🙂
kimbacaffeinate
I liked her Lauren, and look forward to continuing this series
Red Iza
It may sound weird, but I may have taken a kind of liking to sociopaths, recently 🙂 It seems there are plenty good ingredients in this novel, I’ll make sure to read it, thanks for sharing !
kimbacaffeinate
LOL, not at all I love getting inside their head
Christy
Oooo I think Lucy and I will get along perfectly!
kimbacaffeinate
Totally agree on:)
Lily B
Oh my, Lucy sounds like a very interesting character. I do like a good thriller once in a while.
kimbacaffeinate
Me too Lily and yep Lucy was cool
Angela Adams
“All Good Deeds takes place in Philadelphia” — this book will definitely go on my TBR list. I love reading books set in my hometown. Thanks for the post!
kimbacaffeinate
It’s always fun when you are familiar with the setting
Stacy Green
Kimberly, thank you so much for the wonderful review. I absolutely loved it when you said Lucy raised the bar, because that was my goal. So happy you enjoyed the book, and I’m sorry it took so long to comment. Long day!
kimbacaffeinate
You are welcome. Looking forward to the next one 🙂
Brandi Breathes Books
Smart and ruthless is a heroine I can get behind
kimbacaffeinate
Right. It is always nice to see a strong heroine.
Sarah
Yikes 😮 It seems there are a lot of “vigilante killer” type books coming out these days. I am morbidly curious. This one sounds good!
kimbacaffeinate
Lucy Kendall is very cool my friend
Mark Murata
It’s a curiosity that we mostly have to go to novels for private investigators nowadays. Most of the detectives on TV are part of the police or government agencies, and therefore have government resources at their fingertips.
kimbacaffeinate
I enjoy a good PI story Mark and you are right. Have you tried the Charlie Parker series by John Connolly? I accidentally listened to book 12 Wolf in Winter, but the main character is a PI and it was quite good.
blodeuedd
I am saying meh
kindlemom1
Okay I love everything about this already Kim and I so want to read it now! It really is this very fine line between justice and what is right and what actually happens sometimes and gets done.
Gah, I am looking this up on Amazon now. 😉
Great review!
kimbacaffeinate
Sweet, I cannot wait to see what you think Ali
Trish
Love the sound of this, I’m intrigued by the character already just from the synopsis and your review. I think this one would have you thinking a lot about ethics. I want it!
kimbacaffeinate
Yeah, I am anxious to spend more time with Lucy.
Candace
This sounds pretty good! I like that it has the urban fantasy vibe too. I like that style a lot even if there’s no ‘fantasy’ aspects.
kimbacaffeinate
This will work well for the mystery kick you have been on Candace:)
Stormi
This is right up my alley, it is going on my wishlist pile. 🙂 Thanks for the review!
kimbacaffeinate
Sweet, cannot wait to hear what you think
Maja (The Nocturnal Library)
I wonder how the urban fantasy vibe minus the paranormal elements really works. I’m a huge fan of the genre, so if this resembles it at all, I’ll definitely be reading it.
kimbacaffeinate
Lucy has the feel of a UF heroine and she is in a urban setting running her own little offline network..yep total UF vibe.
Silvia
You know I don’t read many thrillers, but how can I ignore one that even without the paranormal aspect has an urban fantasy vibe? Sounds terribly captivating!
kimbacaffeinate
Yep, kick-ass heroine, vigilante, urban setting..I hope you give it a go
Debbie Haupt
OMG Kim this is one of those train wrecks that are hard to look at but you just can’t help yourself. I’m in, you’ve convinced me, again.
xo
kimbacaffeinate
hehe..I hope you try it Debbie:)
Rita
Ooh sounds good! Going on my list right now. I read the first Delta Crossroads and enjoyed it. This one sounds even better though. Thanks for pointing it out– I’m psyched for it.
kimbacaffeinate
Wahoo, glad to see another Green fan, I hope you love it
Laurel-Rain Snow
You had me at “former child social worker” and thriller/vigilante/kick-ass heroine. Love the sound of this one, and even better: it’s the first in a series. I love when that happens!
Thanks for sharing!
kimbacaffeinate
Right. All good qualities for sure. Lucy is an interesting character:)
Nick
Creepy cover! I like the sound of this. I’m especially curious about the book having an urban fantasy vibe without the paranormal aspects. Very interesting!
Lucy sounds like a well-developed character. I’m glad you enjoyed this so much, Kim!
Lovely review.
kimbacaffeinate
It reads like one and I liked it Nick. Thanks and stay warm!
Melliane
Oh I love your review! I think this one could be totally for me! I’m adding it to my wishlist! thank you!
kimbacaffeinate
Would love to hear what you think Melliane and thank you 🙂
alreem
wow, sound like kick-ass book, i love it when the heroin is so strong .. after all we are living in a world where women should stand by them self 😀
awesome review 🙂
kimbacaffeinate
I agree Alreem, and while she is not perfect I love these strong types of female characters
Berls
Lucy sounds like my kind of character! And you know I love my urban fantasy, so why not without the paranormal, right? I know what you mean about seeing authors’ improve – its so exciting to see and promises great stuff moving forward!
kimbacaffeinate
Agreed on all counts Berls. I am looking forward to the next book