Title: Dead Man’s Hand
Author: K.E. Radke
Published: 11/19/2015 by Kendra Radke (kindle edition)
Genre: Thriller, Mystery
Star Rating: 3.5 Content Rating: 7*
Synopsis: Everyone has been used before. For their body, money, position, family, and the list keeps going. If Brooke had known exactly what she was getting into from the start, she might have had second thoughts. Her idea of fun isn’t being kidnapped in the middle of the night, or guns jabbed at her head. She didn’t ask to be a stripper and dance around slimy guys or be manhandled. And never in a million years did she think someone would deliberately try to kill her. All she wanted was a job, and in a fit of desperation she’s gambling in a high stakes game with her life.
This has been on my kindle for awhile now and it was a great vacation read. It was intriguing and maybe a little slow at first. I thought that the characters weren’t very deep. I kept waiting for more. Wanting more. The main character Brooke is about to graduate. She is easy to relate to. She just wants to finish school and get a job so she can move out of her parents house. (been there before.. right?) Then she meets Alice and instinct tells her something is off but she isn’t sure and before you know it she is getting a job without even knowing what the job is. She takes it for the money and finds out that their little team also includes her ex-boyfriend who broke her heart 4 years ago. Chip is the leader of their team and they are like research reporters. They do all this undercover/detective work to find the facts and then sell the story to the highest bidder. I didn’t realize how dangerous that type of job can be. Brooke kinda gets stuck between how she feels about the guys, does she love them? Does she even like them? Can she get with the fact that her ex left her but now wants her back? Alice becomes a an amazing friend who looks out for her and teaches her the ropes.
Brooke has a friend -Tom that works at CheckBank. Her job is to work there and find out anything she can about the CEO. There has been some very shady stuff that has been happening but they aren’t sure what or who exactly, other than a man named “Poker” found and questioned some things and then went missing and it had something to do with the CEO – Arnold Matthews. Tom also told every one that Brooke was his girlfriend because his boss keeps trying to hook him up with his daughter, Cello. (also for other reasons but that part was a surprise for me so I’ll let you find that out on your own. wink wink)
Brooke gets some lessons with guns and training. I thought some of this was a little much. I kept wanting to tell her to stop being such a baby but if they kidnapped me and held a gun to my head (just to make sure they could trust me) and then took me to the gym to get in shape, I would probably be a pretty big cry baby too. They do some different things trying to get a lead. This part was all about getting to know the characters. You get to figure out their dynamics and roles. I think that as all this was happening I wanted it to be a little more intense. I’m new to the thriller/mystery genre. .. But I just wanted to be a little more surprised and little more into it.
They get an accidental lead when this old man named Sal comes to the CheckBank to protest. He claimed they took all his money. Brooke and Alice go and question him and find out some big info. That info puts them on the hit list and Brooke has to go into hiding. Now this is where I stop. Before I just get into details and plot and what is actually going on and the ending and the mafia and clues and and and and… haha. I will say that after I thought there wasn’t any major plot twists I was actually surprised in the end.
Overall a good read. It isn’t a huge book. Perfect for a vacation or a weekend read. Fun story. Interesting characters. Like I said it was slow at first for me but when I finished it I really did like the book. Happy reading everyone!
*I gave it a high content rating because there were some F bombs and sexual reference.
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