Book Review: A Piece of You
Book three in the Sami Rizzo series gets off to a fast and suspenseful start in A Piece of You. Released September 7th, 2015, Detective Rizzo faces still another serial murderer, but this one isn’t as predictable. Except perhaps for one thing: He seems intent on killing members of the same family.
So the investigation begins, with Sami and her partner seeking answers. Yet the family members seem unhelpful and rather detached. If a killer is targeting a family, one of them must know why. You will be wondering how many have to die before the truth comes out. Because the person behind it is still planning, no matter what the cost.
Then Sami starts receiving little notes containing poems. Each one grows more threatening. Is she being targeted now too?
The story weaves a complicated path between the police departments, the investigation, and the marriage Sami and her husband are trying to rebuild. It would seem that in every area of her life, solutions won’t be as easy as you would wish. There are several subplots within the main plot of this one. Conflict in the marriage isn’t the only issue. Multiple police departments vie for control with reasons that may go beyond territorial. It may go deep into the justice department.
My Thoughts
I liked the book. It was well written, with appropriate dialogue. Sami is a character we can relate to and enjoy. Married with growing children who are needing her less, a husband–also a police detective–who loves her, issues in their marriage that may or may not resolve. The average wife and mother who just happens to go after serial killers.
The story an easy one to read, light in some ways considering it contained a serial killer. While there was violence, it was neatly done. The mysteries may not have been overly complex, but the story getting there was very entertaining.
This is the first book I’ve read by Mr. Annechino, though the third in the series. You might prefer to read the books in order so you know Sami’s background in more detail, but it isn’t essential. This is a stand alone novel, though there are possibilities left open that we may see in book four. I will look forward to it if so.
The Virtual Tour
We received a copy of this book as part of the virtual book tour currently underway for Mr. Annechino. The tour runs for the months of December 2015 and January 2016 and includes all three of the series. You will want to drop by to check out more reviews, interviews and articles from the author here at iRead Book Tours.
The Books
Book #3 – Book Description for A Piece of You
Different from Sami’s past experiences, this fanatic is like no other. His methods of killing defy everything profilers think they know about serial killers. As an intense investigation begins and bits and pieces of evidence emerge, no one can understand his motivation. He’s merciful, yet brutal. And just to make things even more confusing, all of his victims are blood-related. Is he settling a vendetta? Did he randomly pick a name out of the phone book and begin a rampage? Or is there a deeper story?
Based on very little evidence and a lot of gut instincts, Detective Rizzo pieces together a complex puzzle and narrows the field of possible suspects. She learns that the killings may connect in some way to powerful people within the judicial system and doesn’t know who to trust. Ultimately, she comes face to face with the killer for a battle of brain and brawn. Can she outwit the shrewd killer, or will she be his next victim?
Buy the book: Amazon
Book # 2 – Book description for Resuscitation
In a final act of depravity, he scatters their mutilated bodies throughout San Diego County. Feeling a sense of duty and obligation, Sami Rizzo appeals to the police chief and mayor, and they reinstate her as a homicide investigator. As the body count grows and the killer’s experiments become more and more brutal, Sami follows one dead-end lead after another, while trying to deal with a sickly mother and a turbulent relationship with her lover. But then the killer makes a crucial mistake: one of his victims survives. Sami does everything to protect the barely alive victim, but the killer has a different plan.
Buy the book: Amazon
Book # 1 – Book Description for They Never Die Quietly
Driven by warped religious beliefs and guided by his dead mother, very much alive in his subconscious, Simon abducts “chosen ones” and holds them captive in a Room of Redemption. There, the victims helplessly await their crucifixion. Detective Rizzo urgently yearns to solve the case and gain the respect of her male colleagues, but her obsession to apprehend the killer on her own clouds her thinking. When Simon outsmarts Rizzo and captures her, determined to make her his next victim, she must employ all her resources—both physical and intellectual—to outwit the villain at his own game.
Buy the book: Amazon
Author’s Bio:
Daniel M. Annechino, a former book editor specializing in full-length fiction, wrote his first book, How to Buy the Most Car for the Least Money, in 1992 while working as a General Manager in the automobile business. But his passion had always been fiction, particularly thrillers. He spent two years researching serial killers before finally penning his gripping and memorable debut novel They Never Die Quietly.
His second book, Resuscitation (Thomas & Mercer 2011), a follow-up to his first novel, hit #1 in Kindle sales in the UK and reached #26 in the USA. He is also the author of I Do Solemnly Swear (Thomas & Mercer 2012) and Hypocrisy. A Piece of You is his fifth novel, the third in the Detective Sami Rizzo series. A native of New York, Annechino now lives in San Diego with his wife, Jennifer. He loves to cook, enjoys a glass of vintage wine, and spends lots of leisure time on the warm beaches of Southern California.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
