Violent crimes and desperate criminals and homicide detectives, oh my! Lee Goldberg delivers an intriguing, fast-paced, satisfying novel in Gated Prey, the third installment in the Eve Ronin series.
Eve Ronin, and her lovable Ding Dong consuming partner/sensei Duncan Pavone, are leading a sting operation to catch the culprits of a string of violent robberies in high income neighborhoods. While their efforts are successful, the unexpected deadly outcome leaves a lot to be desired and is impossible for someone as doggedly relentless as Eve to call the case closed and let it go. As the investigation ensues and Ronin/Pavone catch another brutal case, Eve once again ignores the advice from her veteran partner and goes full bore in the close-minded pursuit of justice ahead of her own wellbeing, putting herself in the crosshairs of those she’s pursuing as well as those in the Sheriff’s department who want nothing more than to see her fail…or worse.
Gated Prey focuses on developing Eve as a homicide investigator with incredible determination and natural instincts. Which is a refreshing change of pace after the prior novel concentrated, too much in my opinion, on her family pushing her to explore Hollywood options to tell her story and cash in on her fame. While this book does continue to move the ball forward on the Hollywood angle, it’s done so as a smartly crafted and small sub-plot that fits nicely within the main story. This allows for a return for what made the first book in the series so enjoyable – following a strong, but inexperienced and flawed female protagonist kick ass and stop at nothing to get justice. Eve’s still a stubborn, hard-headed, single-minded pain in the ass whose methods pisses off just about everyone she encounters, but there’s no denying that she cares about the victims and gets results. And maybe there’s a tiny glimmer of hope for her to find balance in her life that will allow her to maintain her effectiveness and keep her from burning out.
This is a series to keep an eye on if you’re a fan of police procedurals, formidable female characters, and stories with great pacing. You can jump in on any book, though reading it from the beginning will add depth and understanding. There are a lot of directions Lee Goldberg can go with the characters and storylines after the events of Gated Prey, so I suspect we’ll enjoy following Eve’s career for a long time to come.
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Barrington Books
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