I’ve read a couple of Gerri Hill’s on-line stories and completely enjoyed them. But I was still pleasantly surprised by Hunter’s Way. Tori Hunter, the volatile and angry homicide detective, goes through partners at an alarming rate; most of them not coming out of it well and some not making it out at all. Samantha Kennedy is her last chance before she’s likely put on desk duty or some other unpleasant task. They immediately rub each other the wrong way.
From the beginning, there’s tension between the two. Samantha is a bit uptight and plays by the rules, while Tori is a rogue who makes up her own. In addition to Samantha dealing with a new, difficult partner and a move from the assault division to homicide, she also has to put up with her proper and demanding attorney boyfriend, Robert. No one is really happy with this situation. But when the partners are caught up in the investigation of a serial killer, Tori and Sam (“It’s Samantha.”) find out just how well they complement each other.
I found the mystery well done and nicely graphic – I like that but others may find some of it a bit much. It was really not much more than you’d see during an episode of prime time television, well, maybe a bit more but not much. While it’s not tough to figure some parts out, there were enough twists to keep my interest. My favorite part of the book was the funny and playful banter between the new partners. That eases considerably toward the middle of the book but by then I was pretty well involved in the mystery and growing relationship.
I do enjoy Gerri Hill’s writing style. She has a way with drawing the characters so that I can easily relate to them and understand why they make the choices they make, whether I agree with them or not. I’ve already started the sequel “In The Name of the Father.”
I finished "In the Name of the Father" and "Partners" and wanted to share my thoughts about them but didn't think it necessary to create a separate review for each. So here goes…
I very much enjoyed In the Name of the Father, even if I thought a few times that the Catholic priests seem to really take a beating. I mean, you can bet that when a priest shows up in a novel, it's usually not for something good.
But there were lots of twists and, I thought, a satisfying ending. The book really didn't focus on romance or relationships and I found that a refreshing change.
Partners, on the hand, wasn't much about the case but about the new relationship between Casey and her new partner. Sound familiar? Yes, I thought so, too. I still enjoyed Hill's writing style but it was just too much for me to believe that out of a department of 6 people, plus one that no longer works there but is still involved in the story, that 4 of them are lesbians? I mean, yes, I'm sure there are a higher percentage of lesbians on the police force than say maybe flight attendants, but still… And the whole "straight" woman coming to grips with her repressed lesbianism as soon as she lays eyes on the hot butch partner? Come on. There were differences in the situations and personalities, mostly, but it was not enough to keep me from thinking that this was simply a retelling of Tori and Sam.
I think the relationship aspect of the story would have been made worth it if the case they were working on had been better done. And, hopefully, not to give too much away but I had to turn the page a few times at the end to make sure I hadn't missed a page or five somewhere.
Hunter's Way, very good; In the Name of the Father, pretty darn good; Partner's, I could have skipped it and been just fine with ending the series after the second book.
What do you think?