Book Review: Going to the Bad by Nora McFarland (Lilly Hawkins #3)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Great characters and intriging mystery you can't put down

Cons: None that I could find

The Bottom Line: 

Real characters in

Very gripping mystery

Can't put it down book

Lilly Hawkins Becomes the News

Last summer, I discovered the adventures of Lilly Hawkins, a TV shooter at a local station in Bakersfield.  I've really enjoyed the previous two in the series, and Going to the Bad is the strongest one yet.

It's Christmas Eve and a light news day at KJAY.  Lilly is in charge of the news room since her boss is on vacation, and things are pretty much under control.  The only real news story is an accident that led to a spill that should be cleaned up by afternoon.

Then over the police scanner, they hear about a shooting - at Lilly's house.  Concerned it is her boyfriend Rod, she rushes home only to find it is her uncle Bud.  What was Bud doing there?  And who shot him?

The plot started quickly and never really stopped.  The pacing was awesome with some twist or some predicament that Lilly had to face coming with regularity.  I really appreciated how the story tied in supporting characters from the previous two books in the series.  I guessed a few pieces of the puzzle early, but the ending came as a surprise to me.

While the tone of the main story was on the serious side, there were a couple of sub-plots that helped lighten the mood.  In fact, I had to laugh as how one in particular played out.

The characters were very strong as well.  Lilly is a very real, flawed character, but the growth we've seen over the previous two books continued here, and I liked what I saw.  The rest of the supporting cast was also great, and the new characters were equally strong.  Even some characters that just had walk on parts came across as real even in their brief page or two appearances.

The writing was also very sharp, allowing me to get lost in the story.

Every time I was reading this book, I didn't want to put it down.  When I did have to stop, I was still thinking about the characters and story and hoping I could get back to it soon.

Obviously, I loved Going to the Bad.  I can't wait to see what comes next from the pen of author Nora McFarland.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.