chazmo1431's review against another edition
4.0
I absolutely love Mr. Pinter's resilient tough as leather character Rachel Marin. I love strong female characters and she wholly embodies that description.
Rachel Marin (an alias) relocated to small town of Ashby Illinois after the gruesome murder of her husband. The investigative skills she'd exhibited in her pursuit of the mayor's killer (see HIDE AWAY) had impressed Ashby PD enough that, now, Rachel works for them as a freelance forensics consultant.
The criminals in this book are gruesome so be forewarned. There are many surprises on who is saving who and how far a parent will go to protect their children. You won't be disappointed if you like murder mysteries and some gruesome ways to die. I look forward to the the next book and this book wrapped me in its clutches from the start. A must read!!
Rachel Marin (an alias) relocated to small town of Ashby Illinois after the gruesome murder of her husband. The investigative skills she'd exhibited in her pursuit of the mayor's killer (see HIDE AWAY) had impressed Ashby PD enough that, now, Rachel works for them as a freelance forensics consultant.
The criminals in this book are gruesome so be forewarned. There are many surprises on who is saving who and how far a parent will go to protect their children. You won't be disappointed if you like murder mysteries and some gruesome ways to die. I look forward to the the next book and this book wrapped me in its clutches from the start. A must read!!
achoward's review against another edition
4.0
My usual disclaimer: this is the second book in the Rachel Marin series, and I have not read the first. However, I was able to read this as a standalone, with little to nothing lost or confusing.
The book opens with the musings of a teacher at the local high school on his ordinary, content life. There's something he knows, though, and he sends an email to the titular Rachel Marin, couching it in somewhat vague terms, and asking to meet her to discuss it. We can tell this will not end well for him, and it doesn't. When he answers to door and opens it for someone he appears to know, he is viciously beaten to death.
Rachel herself, and her two children, have settled into smallish town life in Ashby, Illinois. She's seeing a detective with the Ashby PD, John Serrano, and working as a consultant for the APD. This was one area where reading the first book probably would have helped, but I'm not going to ding the story for that reason.
Serrano gets a call about a house fire and heads out. Rachel isn't far behind. As it turns out, the house belongs to the (now dead) teacher, who happens to be one of Rachel's son's teachers. They find his body in his bed, and several hot points where accelerant has been used. But whoever set the fire has not bothered to try to hide the fact - meaning they are not concerned at all that anyone knows, and very likely want people to know.
The story moves from there into the whodunnit. We get a short intro (no names) to the bad guy's right hand man, who is instructed to get close to Eric. This is fortunate the next day as Eric is about to get beaten up by bully. But once he's under the wing of right hand man Ben Ruddock, who now has a name and who looks like a football linebacker, suddenly those types of issues go away. Ruddock invites Eric to join a fraternity of sorts - the description of it sounds like recruitment to some Dickensian group of misfits, with another man, Brice Bennett in the role of Uriah Heep.
As the investigation continues, Eric becomes more and more distant from his mother and sister, and the detectives are not having much luck finding anything as to who killed the poor teacher. Serrano interrupts at 1 AM meeting of the boys Ruddock has recruited, saving one of the boy from having his shoulder ripped out as Ruddock pins him.
Now the bad guys know they're in trouble, and things get murkier and more dangerous along the way, with Rachel herself being clocked in the head by someone with a gun as she's following Ruddock and Eric as Ruddock makes his rounds, handing out manila envelopes to various people.
In the middle of all this, someone from Rachel's past shows up, telling Rachel they should work together because they're on the same side, but Rachel doesn't see eye to eye with her on this.
Eventually, the hunt picks up speed, snowballing to a dramatic and action-filled resolution.
The writing was good, and while I'm generally not a fan of continued inner monologues from characters to tell us how they're feeling, I gave it some leeway this time for Rachel and Eric, as they're going through a tough time. The relationships between the characters was quite good, and while there is violence, it is crucial to the story and not overly gruesome except for the autopsy scene with the dead (and burned) teacher. I recommend you not skip that unless it's far too much for you. LGBTQ representation: Serrano's female partner Tally is married to another woman, and they have kids.
There were a couple of points that could probably have been trimmed just a hair, and the actual scheme Bennett was running seemed to be a tad overly complicated, but overall, it's quite a good read.
A solid four out of five stars.
Thanks to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for the review copy.
The book opens with the musings of a teacher at the local high school on his ordinary, content life. There's something he knows, though, and he sends an email to the titular Rachel Marin, couching it in somewhat vague terms, and asking to meet her to discuss it. We can tell this will not end well for him, and it doesn't. When he answers to door and opens it for someone he appears to know, he is viciously beaten to death.
Rachel herself, and her two children, have settled into smallish town life in Ashby, Illinois. She's seeing a detective with the Ashby PD, John Serrano, and working as a consultant for the APD. This was one area where reading the first book probably would have helped, but I'm not going to ding the story for that reason.
Serrano gets a call about a house fire and heads out. Rachel isn't far behind. As it turns out, the house belongs to the (now dead) teacher, who happens to be one of Rachel's son's teachers. They find his body in his bed, and several hot points where accelerant has been used. But whoever set the fire has not bothered to try to hide the fact - meaning they are not concerned at all that anyone knows, and very likely want people to know.
The story moves from there into the whodunnit. We get a short intro (no names) to the bad guy's right hand man, who is instructed to get close to Eric. This is fortunate the next day as Eric is about to get beaten up by bully. But once he's under the wing of right hand man Ben Ruddock, who now has a name and who looks like a football linebacker, suddenly those types of issues go away. Ruddock invites Eric to join a fraternity of sorts - the description of it sounds like recruitment to some Dickensian group of misfits, with another man, Brice Bennett in the role of Uriah Heep.
As the investigation continues, Eric becomes more and more distant from his mother and sister, and the detectives are not having much luck finding anything as to who killed the poor teacher. Serrano interrupts at 1 AM meeting of the boys Ruddock has recruited, saving one of the boy from having his shoulder ripped out as Ruddock pins him.
Now the bad guys know they're in trouble, and things get murkier and more dangerous along the way, with Rachel herself being clocked in the head by someone with a gun as she's following Ruddock and Eric as Ruddock makes his rounds, handing out manila envelopes to various people.
In the middle of all this, someone from Rachel's past shows up, telling Rachel they should work together because they're on the same side, but Rachel doesn't see eye to eye with her on this.
Eventually, the hunt picks up speed, snowballing to a dramatic and action-filled resolution.
The writing was good, and while I'm generally not a fan of continued inner monologues from characters to tell us how they're feeling, I gave it some leeway this time for Rachel and Eric, as they're going through a tough time. The relationships between the characters was quite good, and while there is violence, it is crucial to the story and not overly gruesome except for the autopsy scene with the dead (and burned) teacher. I recommend you not skip that unless it's far too much for you. LGBTQ representation: Serrano's female partner Tally is married to another woman, and they have kids.
There were a couple of points that could probably have been trimmed just a hair, and the actual scheme Bennett was running seemed to be a tad overly complicated, but overall, it's quite a good read.
A solid four out of five stars.
Thanks to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for the review copy.
nmichelle1984's review against another edition
3.0
It was okay...
This one was okay. It just seemed to keep going and going long after it should have ended. The author had Rachel acting more like a male who hated to follow orders rather than a mother looking out for her son. It was quite annoying at times.
This one was okay. It just seemed to keep going and going long after it should have ended. The author had Rachel acting more like a male who hated to follow orders rather than a mother looking out for her son. It was quite annoying at times.
lizslibrary0915's review against another edition
5.0
Book Review: A Stranger at the Door by Jason Pinter ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Another 5 star book in this series! I really wish I was as bad ass as Rachel Marin. People totally underestimate her awesomeness! This was a page turner for sure as I needed to know what happened next! I thought the ending was super sweet! I hope more books come out in this series because I am definitely going to get them!!
#bookworm #bookaddict #bookreview #bookrecommendation #bookrecommendations #booksofinstagram #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #readersofinstagram #bookishbounds #astrangeratthedoor #jasonpinter #thriller #crime #murder #thrillerbooks #thrillerbooksaddict #bookreader #booklover #booknerd #bookreviewer #currentlyreading #readingtime #readersofinsta #goodreads #goodreadschallenge2021 #bookshelf #booksbooksbooks #bibliophile #bookstagramcommunity @jasonpinter
Another 5 star book in this series! I really wish I was as bad ass as Rachel Marin. People totally underestimate her awesomeness! This was a page turner for sure as I needed to know what happened next! I thought the ending was super sweet! I hope more books come out in this series because I am definitely going to get them!!
#bookworm #bookaddict #bookreview #bookrecommendation #bookrecommendations #booksofinstagram #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #readersofinstagram #bookishbounds #astrangeratthedoor #jasonpinter #thriller #crime #murder #thrillerbooks #thrillerbooksaddict #bookreader #booklover #booknerd #bookreviewer #currentlyreading #readingtime #readersofinsta #goodreads #goodreadschallenge2021 #bookshelf #booksbooksbooks #bibliophile #bookstagramcommunity @jasonpinter
jen_baroness_mom's review against another edition
5.0
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.A Stranger at the Door by Jason Pinter is a fast-paced, thrilling adventure, which kept me on the seat of my chair.
I absolutely love Rachel. She has a quick wit and the right amount of snark. In this installment, we see another side of Rachel, the protective mother bear. However, when Rachel is in this mod, she isn't her normal prepared and stealthy self.
Some of her more recent past comes back to smack her in the face, or should I say in the back of the head. She comes face to face with Evie and finds out why she moved to Ashby. Rachel also cools down her relationship with Detective John Serano a bit. They have a difference of opinion regarding the law and how John should be doing his job.
There are a group of men exploiting teenage boys. However, they are doing it all within the law. It is scary to think about how this guy is using the boys, but since he does it all legally, there is nothing that law enforcement can do. One of the men isn't as bad as the other, but the enforcers are extreme. I think part of what really hurt Rachel was that her son was targeted because of her actions, but he accepted the deal because he was as damaged as the other boys.
A Stranger at the Door by Jason Pinter is on point, and Rachel stays true to herself under the constant pressure from the outside world. She truly is out to save the underdog. My rating is five stars. This is such a fabulous series. I highly recommend it to all you thriller readers out there.
Will Rachel figure out what is happening in Ashby before her son is involved?
Rachel Marin
I absolutely love Rachel. She has a quick wit and the right amount of snark. In this installment, we see another side of Rachel, the protective mother bear. However, when Rachel is in this mod, she isn't her normal prepared and stealthy self.
Some of her more recent past comes back to smack her in the face, or should I say in the back of the head. She comes face to face with Evie and finds out why she moved to Ashby. Rachel also cools down her relationship with Detective John Serano a bit. They have a difference of opinion regarding the law and how John should be doing his job.
The Mystery
There are a group of men exploiting teenage boys. However, they are doing it all within the law. It is scary to think about how this guy is using the boys, but since he does it all legally, there is nothing that law enforcement can do. One of the men isn't as bad as the other, but the enforcers are extreme. I think part of what really hurt Rachel was that her son was targeted because of her actions, but he accepted the deal because he was as damaged as the other boys.Five Stars
A Stranger at the Door by Jason Pinter is on point, and Rachel stays true to herself under the constant pressure from the outside world. She truly is out to save the underdog. My rating is five stars. This is such a fabulous series. I highly recommend it to all you thriller readers out there.
First Book in Series
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of A Stranger at the Door by Jason Pinter.
Until the next time,
This review was originally posted on Baroness' Book Trove
taylorjmorton's review
4.0
I Like This Author
I really am liking this author and his writing style, but I was not a fan of the main character, Rachel, in this book. I wasn’t crazy about her in the last book either, but this book was worse.
Rachel comes across as a know it all, and tends to think she is above the law and anything pertaining to it, all because the cops did her dirty in the murder of her husband. Her retaliation, and her going around the law to reach justice, is inspiring but at the same time the way she is portrayed is hard to deal with at times.
I can’t wait to read more books from this author.
I really am liking this author and his writing style, but I was not a fan of the main character, Rachel, in this book. I wasn’t crazy about her in the last book either, but this book was worse.
Rachel comes across as a know it all, and tends to think she is above the law and anything pertaining to it, all because the cops did her dirty in the murder of her husband. Her retaliation, and her going around the law to reach justice, is inspiring but at the same time the way she is portrayed is hard to deal with at times.
I can’t wait to read more books from this author.
thenextgenlibrarian's review
4.0
I really enjoyed the second book in the Rachel Marin saga and hope there are more to come. While I did enjoy the first book slightly more, it was great to revisit these characters and see their growth. Bringing Evie back was fun, as I liked her character in book 1. I would have chosen to parent her son waaaaay differently than Rachel did, but it worked in the end. Thanks Netgalley for this ARC. All opinions are my own.
momopeach's review against another edition
5.0
This book was an excellent read that would leave anyone frantically combing the pages for the next clue. It checked all my boxes: an interesting murder? Check! Someone who is unable to keep their nose out of a mystery? Check! A killer on the loose? CHECK! Even though this was the second book in a series that I am sure will continue to keep people up at night I never felt as if I was missing information that would require me to read the first book before this one. All in all an excellent read and I can't wait to see what comes next!
libbycrews's review
4.0
I loved the first Rachel Marin book and am always excited when there is a sequel to a book I loved. In this book, you get the expected drama and suspense, but you also get a deeper look into a family that has been shattered and put back together, and the cracks are increasingly visible. This is a book about greed and pure evil, but it’s even more about love and the ends we will go to protect those we love. It had my attention from the beginning and I didn’t want to put it down. I thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end!