Tracking the Truth
The first two books in Kylie Logan’s Jazz Ramsey series have made my favorite books of the year list, so I was looking forward to A Trail of Lies, the third in the series. I wasn’t disappointed.
Jazz Ramsey is back on with her boyfriend, Nick, and the last few months have been wonderful. However, he is away now on a top secret and dangerous assignment for the police. Which is why Kim, Nick’s mother, calls Jazz in the middle of the night. Kim has spent her entire life as an alcoholic, and Jazz tries to have as little to do with her as possible. However, Kim is upset, claiming that she’s killed a man in her backyard.
Naturally, Jazz rushes over, only to find that there is no body. Jazz brings in a couple of the cadaver dogs she works with and gets mixed results on whether there has ever been a dead body in the backyard. Then a dead body does appear in a park, and Kim suddenly stops talking. With Nick in and out, Jazz needs to figure out what is going on with Kim. Can she cut through the lies and Kim’s drunken haze to figure out what is really going on?
Before I started this series, I knew Kylie Logan for her fun cozies. This series is more of a traditional series. While the violence is still kept to a minimum, there are a handful of foul words. Most importantly, the tone is more serious than her cozies. On the other hand, since Jazz’s hobby is training dogs, there is still plenty of animal cuteness. And her job working at a Catholic all girl’s school helps keep the tone from getting too dark.
Kim’s alcoholism is a perfect example of what I’m talking about. It is treated realistically. We see it from Jazz’s point of view, who is only dealing with Kim because of her relationship with Nick, but as the book progresses, we get to know Kim better, and we see how it has impacted Nick over the years. It’s ironic that Nick gets so much character development here since this is probably the least amount of time he’s had in a book in the series to date. And yet it works wonderfully. But again, this isn’t a dark, depressing book. How can it be when Jazz has a new puppy she is training to make us smile regularly.
The characters are wonderful. Jazz is a realistic main character who I love spending time with. You can’t help but root for her to figure out what is happening. She’s surrounded by family and friends who help round out her character and get brief moments to shine themselves.
And the mystery is strong. Kim’s drunken haze makes us wonder what exactly she saw from the very beginning, and as Jazz investigates, the questions only grow. Yet things come together for a logical climax.
A Trail of Lies is another excellent novel from Kylie Logan. The rich characters and compelling mystery will keep you turning pages and leave you anxious to visit Jazz again as soon as possible.
NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.
I desperately need to read this series! I have the first book but never got it it and now somehow the 3rd book is out!
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