Her Last Breath (Detective Kerri Blasco #2) by J. A. Schneider-a review

Her Last Breath

About the book: Release Date October 21, 2016

A chilling psychological thriller about a woman caught between two men…

Mari Gill wakes to horror in a strange apartment next to a murdered man, and can’t remember the night before. Accused of murder, she feels torn between her husband, a successful defense attorney, and a mysterious, kind man who wants to help. Can she trust either of them – or even her friends? Detective Kerri Blasco battles her police bosses believing Mari is innocent…but is she?

Review:
As the blurb says, Mari Gill wakes up in a strange bed next to a murdered man who is a complete stranger. She sees a knife that has been plunged into his chest and screams bloody murder (literally) as she stumbles out of the bed and attempts to run for her life. She slips and falls into broken glass cutting her hands terribly and promptly has a life threatening asthma attack. Not knowing where her purse is, she has no hope of finding her inhaler as she starts to black out knowing she is about to die. Just then, a stranger appears just in time and calls the police. Once the police and paramedics arrive, Mari knows she’s going to need help from the one person she does not want to call…her estranged husband, who just happens to be a high profile defense attorney.

As the police try to ascertain what happened, something does not sit well with Detective Kerri Blasco and her partner, Detective Alex Brand. The murdered man ends up being an in demand photographer and their captain is being pressured to get the case wrapped up and the murderer charged. When Kerri tells her captain she’s not convinced that Mari is the murderer, he knows she won’t stop until she has things figured out in her own time. He still gives her a timeframe and tells her to get it figured out. Kerri soon discovers that things are not quite as they seem. After speaking with Mari, she’s even more sure that she’s missing something…but what?

Mari doesn’t know who to trust. Her estranged husband is a master at handling the press and high profile cases, but she doesn’t want to rely too much on him. Once she meets the mysterious man who saved her life, she feels a connection with him, only to end up questioning his reasons. She has friends who seem to be a little too curious about what happened and seem to be a step ahead of her as she tries to figure things out. Mari’s life soon becomes so upended that she doesn’t know who she can trust. What follows is a story that will leave you guessing until almost the very end.

Her Last Breath is a nice addition to the Detective Kerri Blasco series. Schneider does a masterful job of weaving her suspense filled story in this one. The characters are relatable and the premise is a good one. I’ve liked Kerri and Alex since I first read about them in the Embryo series and love seeing them move forward in their lives and their careers. I also liked Mari. However, the one sticking point for me was the way the author wrote Mari’s thoughts. There were so many broken thoughts and fragmented sentences that it was almost like reading a screenplay where she was concerned. The supporting characters weren’t as developed as Schneider normally writes them, but they were relatable nonetheless. With all of that said, Her Last Breath was a good read. If you’re a fan of the suspense genres, you won’t go wrong with J.A. Schneider. I look forward to the next installment.

Click HERE for Vickie’s review of book one-FEAR DREAMS

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Vickie M