Review: Revolver Road by Christi Daugherty

Revolver Road (Harper McClain, Book #3)

by Christi Daugherty

Release Date: March 10th 2020

2020 Minotaur Books

Hardcover Edition; 293 Pages

ISBN: 978-1250235886

ASIN: B07S8K7QNG

Genre: Fiction / Mystery

Source: Review copy from publsiher

3.5 / 5 Stars

Summary

Even in the chill of February, no place touches Harper McClain’s heart like Savannah. She should be walking beneath the historic city’s towering oaks, surrounded by graceful mansions. Instead, she’s hiding miles away on Tybee Island after a mysterious voice on the phone warned her that someone wanted her dead. The call was too specific to ignore. The caller knew everything about her. But that was months ago, and she’s getting tired of being scared.

Her only escape is her work at the newspaper, where the hottest story in town is the disappearance of Xavier Rayne. The singer had a hit album on his hands, and was about to go on tour, but then he walked out of his beachfront home and vanished. The police believe he drowned, but Harper suspects his disappearance may be more ominous than that. Something doesn’t feel right about it.

His bandmates and actress girlfriend say he’s run away before. They expect him to come home. Until a body washes up with two bullet holes in it. Now everyone in Rayne’s life is a suspect. As Harper digs deeper into the case, though, the threats against her own life return. The phone call she received was very real. A killer from her past is coming for her.

Now she must solve two murders, or end up dying on Revolver Road… 

 

My Thoughts

Revolver Road is the third book in the Harper McClain series and I enjoyed it quite a bit.  I haven't read the first two books in this series, but I didn't feel like I was missing too much as the author gave a credible job at fleshing the important background information needed for the reader without giving away any plot points from previous books.  And while the actual mystery was flimsy, at best, I did enjoy Harper's personality and her interactions with a variety of unique and interesting characters which made the read fun.  

I really enjoyed Harper as a main character and liked her spunky personality.  A lot of the story revolves around her personal life and the choices she has made, and while I didn't fully understand the relationship she had with a couple of people simply because I had not read the previous books, the complexity of Harper's decisions and choices she has to make were clear.  

There were actually two mysteries going on simultaneously in this book, a current one featuring the death of a musician and one reaching way back into Harper's past.  I think sometimes an author chews off more than they should when there are multiple story lines as one almost becomes an annoyance, as in the case of the musician which was a rather weak and boring story line.  I couldn't figure out why exactly the other band members would trust Harper when they wouldn't even speak to any other journalist.  What made her so trustworthy?  No reasons given, just that she was there first.  Very flimsy, and no, the reader just won't always accept that it happens.  I thought it was weak so I am sure others would too. And it was quite easy to figure out who did what as well.

The other story line featuring her mom was way more interesting and the ending was quite fun to read.  I would have preferred the whole book to be about that mystery.  I think if the author had focused on one or the other, there may have been a lot more meat to the story lines and I definitely preferred this one over the other. 

The author's writing style is very descriptive, and having visited the area, I could definitely picture the setting in my mind.  The author easily draws the reader into the story and sets up a very atmospheric story.  

Verdict

Revolver Road is a quick, interesting read and I enjoyed the main character very much.  I did think one of the story lines was a bit flimsy, but I definitely liked the descriptive writing style and enjoyed the secondary characters.  If you are looking for a quick, easy read, then this one is for you.