peachani's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
When reading the first book, I had no idea Ziba was Persian. Then, in this one, all of a sudden, her ethnicity is front and center. That makes it feel tacked on and insincere. Maybe Ziba is a common Persian name or instantly recognizable as Persian to someone from London. In that case, it's my own ignorance. Anyway, the novel really picks up around the 50% mark. At over 100 chapters, I think it could've been trimmed down a bit. Still, I have high hopes that the third book in the series will satisfyingly settle the mystery of what happened to Ziba's husband.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Gun violence, Violence, and Death
Minor: Ableism, Eating disorder, Stalking, War, Alcoholism, Blood, Child death, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Racism, Grief, and Medical content
melkirkman's review against another edition
3.0
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in return for an honest review.
I enjoyed this book and its twists and turns and also the two seperate stories that were intertwined. However, the blurb led me to believe something else was coming in the book and I was a little confused and kept waiting for this.
3 stars for me :)
I enjoyed this book and its twists and turns and also the two seperate stories that were intertwined. However, the blurb led me to believe something else was coming in the book and I was a little confused and kept waiting for this.
3 stars for me :)
yvo_about_books's review against another edition
4.0
Finished reading: January 3rd 2020
“Serial murderers always make the headlines. It's the rubbernecker phenomenon: evil fascinates us. But when it's on our doorstep all that changes.”
Spoiler
I decided to pick up the Ziba Mackenzie sequel almost immediately after finishing the first book so I'd have one less series to catch up with in 2020. While I thought the first book wasn't nearly as strong as the third, I was really curious to see how book two would connect the two and how certain character developments and events were explained. And I have to admit that while book three is still my favorite of the series, I had a great time reading Nothing To Lose and managed to finish it in less than a day. If you like your thrillers fast, action-packed and filled with suspenseful moments, this series is definitely for you! That said, Ziba did once again bother me considerably in this sequel. Her arrogance and constant need to prove and repeat just how tough and badass she is really started to get on my nerves. It made her character a lot harder to like and also distracted from the plot... Although I'm happy that I at least didn't have the same feeling when I read the third book last month. The plot of Nothing To Lose is without doubt an exciting one, and even evolves around two completely different cases: the active murder investigation of a new serial killer Ziba is assigned to and the mystery around the death of her husband Duncan two years ago. It might have been a bit much to handle, but there is also no doubt that as a consequence you won't find a boring minute in Nothing To Lose and the suspense is high. This is definitely one of those series that keeps improving its quality with each book! I was surprised not to find any mention of one of the prominent characters (Dr Vernon Sange) of book three in this sequel though...
P.S. Find more of my reviews here.
kelseyrae15's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
neiljostenn's review against another edition
4.0
Ok I really liked this book. Big improvement on the first one and it might even be a 4.5 stars.
Not too sure why, I liked Ziba more, I liked Jack's slightly bigger role in the story and I think this one felt like higher stakes?? Plus, I way preferred how this one ended, the first one felt a bit anti-climatic, this did not.
If you aren't sure whether to continue this series because the first one was only on the good end of average - do it because this one is better.
Not too sure why, I liked Ziba more, I liked Jack's slightly bigger role in the story and I think this one felt like higher stakes?? Plus, I way preferred how this one ended, the first one felt a bit anti-climatic, this did not.
If you aren't sure whether to continue this series because the first one was only on the good end of average - do it because this one is better.
mistymist15's review against another edition
4.0
This is the second book in the series and by the author. Ziba Mackenzie is a profiler who specializes in serial killings. Even it’s a part of the series, one can read it as a standalone book.
There have been two murders in 5 days and the Scotland yard has yet to solve the case before the killer strikes again. And Ziba is still looking into clues for Duncan’s murder.
This book is good. But if I have to compare with the previous book, this is better. There are a few parts that make it better. Like, Ziba goes to the hospital (for some turn of events in the book) and she’s reminded of Duncan (can't describe it as part of the mystery comes out. That entire part is written beautifully.
This time the author has interwoven 2 stories. And they both have a good conclusion. In fact, both the stories are unrelated author worked well to give them a good ending.
Moving onto the characters, most of them remain the same as the first book, except for the victims and the related characters. Ziba’s character didn’t change from the previous book. She does imprudent things at the face of a crisis. I can imagine the author has written the characters with flaws but it kept nagging.
Victoria Selman has again done a brilliant job in writing a page-turner.
My Rating is 4 stars for the book.
Thank you, NetGalley and Amazon Publishing for the giving the ARC in exchange for an honest review,
There have been two murders in 5 days and the Scotland yard has yet to solve the case before the killer strikes again. And Ziba is still looking into clues for Duncan’s murder.
This book is good. But if I have to compare with the previous book, this is better. There are a few parts that make it better. Like, Ziba goes to the hospital (for some turn of events in the book) and she’s reminded of Duncan (can't describe it as part of the mystery comes out. That entire part is written beautifully.
This time the author has interwoven 2 stories. And they both have a good conclusion. In fact, both the stories are unrelated author worked well to give them a good ending.
Moving onto the characters, most of them remain the same as the first book, except for the victims and the related characters. Ziba’s character didn’t change from the previous book. She does imprudent things at the face of a crisis. I can imagine the author has written the characters with flaws but it kept nagging.
Victoria Selman has again done a brilliant job in writing a page-turner.
My Rating is 4 stars for the book.
Thank you, NetGalley and Amazon Publishing for the giving the ARC in exchange for an honest review,
petra_reads's review against another edition
2.0
After finishing the second book in the Ziba MacKenzie series, it’s time for me to say farewell to Ziba. Ziba is meant to be a highly trained, super intelligent ex-special forces profiler, but time and time again, she fails to see the obvious, and time and time again, she does the most stupid things. Her character just doesn’t make sense to me. The plot here was interesting, but once again the Wikipedia-like psychology lectures were too much. And listening to the audio, I wanted to scream at Ziba to stop using “Aye” all the time. Overall, just a bad case of book character and reader/listener mismatch. I’m sure others will enjoy this more than I did.
barbtrek's review against another edition
5.0
This wasn’t perfect but I liked it enough to give it a 5. The British phrases were a little distracting but also gave me a chuckle. Ziba isn’t perfect. She catches lots of little things then misses some big ones. Even things that become obvious to the reader. I’ll let that go though because it made me feel smart! Haha. I’ve seen reviews that complained about the romantic sub-plot & honestly I don’t understand the complaints. You can be a strong woman & still want to have people in your life. Wanting a man doesn’t make a woman weak! It’d annoy me more if she was oblivious & determined to stay alone to honor her husband’s memory. That’s not noble. That’s pretty much self abuse. I’m looking forward to more books in this series. Meanwhile I’ll go clean my bang stick. Yikes!
nietzschesghost's review
4.0
Nothing to Lose is the second book in the superb freelance criminal profiler Ziba Mackenzie series, based on the mean streets of London town; I have to say I loved this instalment even more than the opener as it takes you hostage for a very entertaining and thoroughly gripping few hours. These thrillers remind me of Criminal Minds in book form, a programme that has long ranked among my all-time favourites. I find the building of the unsubs profile absolutely fascinating and that transferred into huge page-turning potential here. Boy did I turn those pages till late into the night, or early into the morning depending on which way you look at it, but there was no chance of sleep until I had found out exactly how it ended.
There are two compelling strands to the plot; both are credible and interesting enough to engage with any problem for the duration of the story, and although I predicted quite a lot of what happened ahead of time it was so well written with a cast of such stellar characters that it did not put me off wanting to read it in its entirety. I'm pleased I did as there were still a few surprises in store for me. I'm looking forward to seeing if I warm to Ziba a little more in future books and hope we see a softer, more human side to her personality as right now she's rather snarky and spiky but clearly intelligent and dogged in her pursuit of those who are to face the full force of the law.
Many thanks to Thomas & Mercer for an ARC.
There are two compelling strands to the plot; both are credible and interesting enough to engage with any problem for the duration of the story, and although I predicted quite a lot of what happened ahead of time it was so well written with a cast of such stellar characters that it did not put me off wanting to read it in its entirety. I'm pleased I did as there were still a few surprises in store for me. I'm looking forward to seeing if I warm to Ziba a little more in future books and hope we see a softer, more human side to her personality as right now she's rather snarky and spiky but clearly intelligent and dogged in her pursuit of those who are to face the full force of the law.
Many thanks to Thomas & Mercer for an ARC.
neiljostenn's review
4.0
Ok I really liked this book. Big improvement on the first one and it might even be a 4.5 stars.
Not too sure why, I liked Ziba more, I liked Jack's slightly bigger role in the story and I think this one felt like higher stakes?? Plus, I way preferred how this one ended, the first one felt a bit anti-climatic, this did not.
If you aren't sure whether to continue this series because the first one was only on the good end of average - do it because this one is better.
Not too sure why, I liked Ziba more, I liked Jack's slightly bigger role in the story and I think this one felt like higher stakes?? Plus, I way preferred how this one ended, the first one felt a bit anti-climatic, this did not.
If you aren't sure whether to continue this series because the first one was only on the good end of average - do it because this one is better.
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