Review: Random Road by Thomas Kies

Title: Random Road

Author: Thomas Kies

Series: Geneva Chase, #1

Published: April 2021, Poisoned Pen Press

Format: Paperback, 384 pages

Source: Publisher

Summary:
Some vices are deadlier than others…Veteran reporter Geneva Chase is at the end of her professional rope. Battling alcoholism and bad choices, she’s lost every major news job she’s had; working at her hometown newspaper is her last chance to redeem herself–and now the paper’s future is in doubt.

And then she lands the story of a lifetime: Six nude bodies are found hacked to pieces in a Queen Anne mansion on the coast of Long Island Sound. The sensational headline is picked up by the metro papers, and Geneva is back in the game, using her reporter’s nose to sniff out the secrets of Sheffield’s rich and entitled citizens. As her investigation leads her deeper into dangerous waters, her toxic affair with a married man and her inability to get sober threaten to undo everything she has worked so hard to achieve–and not everyone is thrilled to have a reporter digging up secrets that might be better left buried…

My thoughts:  I am so glad this landed on my doorstop because I am always on the lookout for a new series to sink my teeth into and this one definitely has potential for me to be a longtime fan! I ended up devouring this in just a few sittings…it’s that good!

I’m such a fan of flawed characters and the main protagonist in this series, Geneva Chase definitely has her demons. She’s battling alcoholism and trying to make good choices, but that doesn’t always seem to happen. Due to her drinking, she seems to have burned a few bridges and winds up working at her hometown paper, not her first choice, but a job is a job and at least she’s still working in the same field as her career. But even that isn’t going too well as her bosses aren’t exactly thrilled with her most days.

I loved Geneva, or Genie as she goes by! She is one hot mess and I just could not get enough of her. The only time things seem to go somewhat her way is when she is in pursuit of a story. And then her determination shines through. I think this book really lays the foundation for what I hope is going to be a really good series. We meet some of the people that are in her life, and there are some romantic angles explored here and I’m curious to see where these developments go next.

This is definitely a series I plan to continue. A combination of crime with a little romance thrown in – definitely my type of read!

Books in this series:

1. Random Road
2. Darkness Lane
3. Graveyard Bay
4. Shadow Hill – will be published soon