Publisher's Blurb: 

 

Private Investigator Jim Bean is a straightforward, to-the-point man. When his latest client, Sophie Evers, asks him to find her brother Daniel, Jim has no idea how complicated his life is about to become.

Daniel is not Sophie's brother. He is her most coveted prey. Clinging to the belief that they belong together, Sophie kills Daniel's real sister to manipulate Jim into flushing Daniel out of hiding. She will create the "perfect life" for the only man she's ever loved, no matter how many people she must kill along the way.

When Jim discovers the truth about Sophie, he's driven to set things right before her delusional plan claims even more souls.

 

My Review:  When I read the synopsis of 19 Souls I was immediately drawn in thinking this is really something I could sink my teeth into.  As I began to read the first page an image of an old classic PI scenario flooded my mind.  A cluttered, small office, dust bunnies and papers scattered everywhere.  At the desk sits a chain smoking, rugged PI who looks as if he's had too many benders.  In walks a beautiful woman with bright red lipstick and impeccably dressed looking to hire a PI to follow her cheating husband.  

 

This is where my excitement comes to a halt.  I had a difficult time reading this book.  The author did a great job with characterization.  The way each character was described made it easy to visualize them and each part they played in the story.  My favorite character was a sub character.  The scenes were also expressed in great detail and the plot of the story was stimulating, which kept me wanting more.    However, the pace of the story was too slow.  The beginning of the story began with intensity, but once the killer was revealed too early in the story the flow considerably dropped.  

 

 

J.D. Allen's 19 Souls is Book 1 in the Sin City Investigation series.  

 

Thank you NetGalley and Midnight Ink for this ARC.