Accused: A Review

After an officer-involved shooting, Carly Edwards is stuck in the juvenile division doing desk work.  When a former gang member who knows Carly’s mother through church asks for help when he’s wrongfully accused for the mayor’s death, Carly begins to unravel a conspiracy that reaches the top of the community.  Unsure who to trust, Carly finds herself in the killer’s hands.

The good: Janice Cantore is a retired cop, and her experience and knowledge is visible throughout the book. The book is action-packed and is a fast read. I enjoyed the characters too. Carly got on my nerves a little at the beginning, but she grew on me. I think Nick was actually my favorite character even though he was a “jerk” at the beginning of the story. I enjoyed seeing him develop throughout the book, and I especially loved how the author didn't have Carly just run back into his arms.

The bad: the writing, especially the dialogue, was a little off at the beginning of the book. It felt stilted. As the drama intensified, it wasn’t as noticeable, but that could be because the storyline kept my attention instead of the writing.

The Ugly: Since I used the good and the bad, I have to have an ugly. J Random observation: the author gave very few details describing Carly’s physical traits at the beginning of the book. I wondered if it was intentional.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. Although I figured out who was involved, there were a few twists that caught me off guard and the ride to the end was worth the bumpy start.