Rated: ♥ ♥ {2.00}
Action: 1.0 / Emotion: 0.0 / Romance: 0.0 / Sensuous: 0.0 / Suspense: 1.0 // Laughter: 0 / Tears: 0
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Setting: Washington, D.C.
Era: Present Day
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The only reason checked out Love Is Murder from the library was to read Rex McCready's "story." Disappointment is too mild a word to describe the let down after spending time hunting down this book just to read Brenda Novak's very short story, Blood In, Blood Out.
First off, this story was published in June 2012, eight months after Novak finished The Bulletproof Trilogy. Novak spent at least half of the seventeen pages which hold this story detailing events that were more explicitly portrayed in the first two books of the trilogy. It seems one would need to read them to get a grasp on what was truly happening here.
Second, the chronological timeline of this story places it smack dab between book one (Inside) and book two (In Seconds) of the trilogy. Anyone having read the trilogy already knows about the tempestuous on-again, off-again, relationship between Rex McCready and Laurel Hodges. And because Laurel's story (In Seconds) was written before this puff-piece, this portrayal of traumatic events was missing from her book -- somehow making the story line feel a bit fractured.
This kind of minuscule story just does not work for me! Having met and grown emotionally attached to Rex and Laurel while reading Inside and In Seconds, one would think it would be easy to become emotionally involved with them again as read this little "out-take" in the picture of their lives. But, alas, Novak did not have time to make the reader "feel" the sadness, the fear, or the desperation Laurel and Rex were projecting in this story.
The only good thing about this entire "piece" was that Novak explained how Horse, leader of The Crew (prison gang that Virgil and Rex once belonged to), found them even though they were in the Witness Protection Program. However, that is not enough to recommend Blood In, Blood Out to readers who enjoyed The Bulletproof Trilogy.
Perhaps, if one had read this short story before reading In Seconds, it would be easier to appreciate this brief view into the loving relationship Rex and Laurel shared. But Novak had already revealed that Rex and Laurel do not end up a couple, so this short, short story seems to detract rather than add to the overall picture Novak had painted regarding the events that happened to Virgil, Rex and Laurel.
--Vonda M. Reid (Monday, April 15, 2013 : 5:03 p.m.) [304]
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| # | Date | Title | Hero | Heroine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01. | 07-2011 | Inside | Virgil Skinner; wrongfully incarcerated | Peyton Adams; Chief Deputy Warden |
| 1/8 | 06-2012 | Blood In, Blood Out [1] | Rex "Pretty Boy" McCready; ex-con | Laurel Hodges, Virgil's sister |
| 02. | 09-2011 | In Seconds | Myles King; Pineview Sheriff | Laurel Hodges: aka Vivian Stewart; Virgil's sister |
| 03. | 11-2011 | In Close | Isaac Morgan; wildlife photogrpaher | Claire O'Toole; Pineview hairdresser |
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| Character | Description |
|---|---|
| Rex McCready | [Hero] in Witness Protection Program (WitSec) for 2 years (381) alias: Perry (382) loveless childhood led him into gang life and 8-year prison term (382) "Pretty Boy" (384) |
| Laurel Hodges | [Heroine] Virgil's sister; Rex's lover and girlfriend; in Witness Protection Program (WitSec) for 2 years (381) trust issues; ex-husband hit her (382) |
| . . . | . . . |
| Betty | bartender; cute blond; Southern accent (383) |
| Jake [Hodges] | Laurel's 7-y-o son (383) |
| Mia [Hodges] | Laurel's 5-y-o daughter (383) |
| Horse | in Los Angeles; owned illegal club; leader of The Crew; personal vendetta against Rex, Virgil (384) |
| Ink | The Crew member who came after Laurel in Colorado; killed U.S. Marshal (388) devilish tattoos covering his face (389) |
| Mose | man Horse sent to Washington, D.C. to find Rex, Virgil (384) heavily muscled man (385) shaved head; tattoos covering his forearms (386) 6'; 200 pounds; solidly built; dark eyes (391) |
| Brady [Skinner] | Virgil and Peyton's new baby (394) |
| Peyton [Skinner] | Virgil's wife; in Witness Protection Program (WitSec) for 2 years (381) |
| Virgil Skinner | Rex's best friend, former cell mate, current business partner; in Witness Protection Program (WitSec) for 2 years (381) joined violent prison gang in prison; exonerated for the murder of his stepfather (382) "Skin" (384) received $700,000 for wrongful imprisonment (283) |
| Location / Organization | Description |
|---|---|
| Bodyguards R Us | Rex and Virgil's business (381) |
| Hanley's Grocery | store where Laurel went grocery shopping (391) |
| Little Rock, Arkansas | where Rex, Laurel Virgil, Peyton ran to (397) |
| Los Angeles | where Horse lived (384) |
| The Crew | gang Rex and Virgil joined; violent prison gang (382) |
| Washington, D.C. | where WitSec placed Rex, Laurel, Virgil and Peyton (382) |
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| 383 | If they weren't having hot, sweaty, full-throttle sex, they were arguing with equal ferocity. There was no middle ground where Laurel was concerned, . . . |
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Links ..........
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♥ Disclaimer: I Borrowed This Book From The Library
♥ Very Subjective Rating
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