Review: Lethal Legacy by Irene Hannon

2013/March by Marji Laine 2 Comments

It wasn’t that big a deal. Just a mug of white chocolate mocha at her new favorite coffee shop, The Perfect Blend. So how did she end up in the emergency room?

Lethal Legacy by Irene Hannon tells the suspenseful story of Kelly Warren and her pursuit of truth and justice for her late-father’s honor.

I confess, I felt it started out a little slow. A prologue about the vengeance of a released convict and a couple of chapters of set-up revealed the true plot, the mystery side of it at least, but gave me no fear or reason to press through the reading. I put the book down at the end of chapter 2 and didn’t pick it back up again for a couple of months.

Word to the Wise – DON’T stop reading at chapter 2. Halfway through Chapter 3, things start hopping and they don’t stop from there to the end. This became a thrilling story. You should have seen me trying to finish it while riding in a van full of teenagers. I really should have set it aside and engaged in their chatting, but I couldn’t. Riveted, I kept turning pages until I finished.

(Then I chatted.)

Here is the author’s summary:

The police say her father’s death was suicide. But Kelly Warren says it was murder–and she has new evidence that she believes proves it. Detective Cole Taylor doesn’t put much credence in her claim, and nothing in his case review suggests foul play. But when Kelly ends up in the emergency room with a suspicious life-threatening medical condition, the incident strikes him as more than just coincidence. Digging deeper, he discovers she’s linked to a long-ago crime. Is history repeating itself? And who wants Kelly silenced?

I didn’t know it at the time I purchased it, but this is the third and final book in the Guardians of Justice series. I accidentally did that with Ronie Kendig’s Firethorn, the final book of her Discarded Heroes series. But Lethal Legacy, like Firethorn, stands on its own. There are certainly references to the other stories, and likely many of the characters I met are well-loved from earlier books, but nothing confused me or left me hanging in any way. And a big plus is that I came away from the third book without having a clue about the 2nd book, except that I’ll know who didn’t end up in jail or dead at the end of it.

An enthusiastic 5 stars for Lethal Legacy. Had I read it before Tidewater Inn by Colleen Coble , my new all-time favorite, it would share the top spot with Shattered. It’s that good. But Tidewater Inn reset the bar. Still, anyone enjoying romance and suspense, blended together, will call this read delicious!

Your turn: What’s your favorite all-time book? How many times have you read it?