Linda L. Richards

Dead West by Linda L. Richards
The Endings Series #3

I had trouble relating to the main character and it took a while to get into the story. I am not sure if coming into the series on the third book was the reason why I felt the disconnect or if the female assassin was so lacking in depth that it felt plodding, then again, perhaps she was plodding through life and that feeling is what was what the author was trying to achieve.

Katherine Eveline Ragsdill seems to have taken up killing for money after a traumatic event occurred in her life. The event was no doubt covered in previous books along with her decision to step into her new job description. I believe, from reading reviews and book synopses, that the previous two books might give more insight into Katherine and would have helped me know her better.

Anyway, this book has her sent out with a designated kill contracted for. Meeting the mark, finding out that he is a good person with high ideals, and feeling drawn to him are the first mistake she makes in being able to fulfill the contract. Then Walker is kidnapped, she feels the need to “save him”, and the plot thickens. Katherine has to contend with as the story progresses including truly evil men who use and abuse, a man she admires but can’t have, someone young that she feels connected to and helps in a big way, many she will not see again, and a new course to set at the end of the book. The final scene is of Katherine driving down the road with her dog toward…well…I’m not sure where she will end up.

I never really got to know the woman who is the main character. I don’t know if she has a moral compass or not. She has killed before and perhaps some of those killed were not evil. Perhaps she is growing and evolving and coming out of the stupor of grieving to find herself capable of moving on to something positive and she will end up somewhere better in the future. I might give the next book in the series a chance to see what happens next with her and the dog she is now traveling with.

Thank you to NetGalley and Oceanvies Publishing for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4 Stars… (más)

An assassin is dispatched to kill a rancher but when she meets him and the mustang horses he's trying to protect, she finds herself asking questions particularly when he disappears and then he changes his stance. It's complicated and messy and I honestly found myself putting it down easily, though that might have been partially down to the ereader and the PDF format. The end went quite quickly but the start took it's time to catch me. It's not a bad read but I felt that I wanted more.

Received from LibraryThing Early Reviewer.… (más)