You Can Die (Laurel Snow 3) by Rebecca Zanetti-a review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date July 25, 2023

Set against the atmospheric snowy backdrop of rural Pacific Northwest, New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Zanetti’s thrilling suspense series follows FBI Special Agent Laurel Snow as she strives to navigate her complicated family life when the father Laurel never knew turns up dead as the latest victim in a series of murders targeting men in the area. But solving his murder and the rest of the killings might be harder than she antcipates if her sociopathic half-sister has any say in the matter. The Blacklist meets The Profiler meets Justified in this fast, page-turning thriller that will have readers guessing until the very end!

It’s an especially deadly winter in the Pacific Northwest, as rising star FBI profiler Laurel Snow hunts down a serial killer with a chillingly bitter M.O., in New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Zanetti’s edgy thriller . . .

Men are dying in the Pacific Northwest, their bodies found near churches, charities, and counseling centers–each with valentine candy hearts shoved down their throats. They’re good men with families and community ties–or so they seem until Laurel Snow and her team begin to investigate. Then the case takes a shockingly personal turn when the father she’s never met, a former pastor, turns up among the dead.

Now, besides solving her father’s murder, Laurel is on the hunt to discover the truth of his past. Complicating things is Laurel’s troubled half-sister, Abigail, a brilliant sociopath determined to prove that they’ve both inherited their father’s malignant narcissism.

Assisting Laurel is Washington Fish and Wildlife Captain Huck Rivers, a dangerous loner whose reliance on gut instinct puts him at odds with Laurel’s coolly analytic approach. But the choice may be moot when the killer hones in on Huck’s own dark secrets–putting him and Laurel squarely in the crosshairs.

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REVIEW:YOU CAN DIE is the third instalment in Rebecca Zanetti’s contemporary, adult LAUREL SNOW suspense thriller focusing on FBI Special Agent Laurel Snow. YOU CAN DIE can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty but I recommend reading the series in order for back story and cohesion as there is an ongoing plot line throughout.

WARNING: Due to the nature of the story line premise, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told from several omniscient third person perspectives including Laurel YOU CAN DIE follows FBI profiler Laurel Snow as she begins to investigate another possible serial killer, someone who is making the killings personal, leaving Valentine candy hearts in their wake but as Laurel begins to ferret out the clues, a connection to the past merges most if not all of the murder victims to a local attorney’s office. Meanwhile, Laurel Snow continues to suspect her half-sister Abigail is somehow involved in another string of murders, as her sister’s proclivities are questionable at best. As Laurel and her team, including Washington Fish and Wildlife Captain Huck Rivers, amass a list of potential suspects, sins of the past force Laurel to navigate a potential minefield of betrayal and madness.

While our heroine Laurel Snow appears to be on the autism spectrum, a woman with several degrees and doctorates who struggles with basic day to day interactions, her half-sister Dr. Abigail Cane’s degrees and doctorates hide a psychopathic and narcissistic personality, rife for manipulation and murder.

The relationship between Laurel and Captain Huck Rivers is both professional and personal. Captain Rivers is often involved in the murder investigations as the locations and sites are in his jurisdiction but after hours Huck and Laurel spend their time commiserating out the days’ events, and talking about a future together.

YOU CAN DIE is a story of dysfunctional family beliefs in opposition to Laurel’s sense of duty and honor; betrayal and vengeance, secrets and lies, and retribution for sins of the past. The premise is detailed, intriguing, dramatic and intense; the characters are dynamic, purposeful, questionable and lost.

Reading Order and Previous Reviews

You Can Run
You Can Hide

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Rebecca Zanetti has worked as an art curator, Senate aide, lawyer, college professor, and a hearing examiner – only to culminate it all in stories about Alpha males and the women who claim them. She writes contemporary romances, dark paranormal romances, and romantic suspense novels.
Growing up amid the glorious backdrops and winter wonderlands of the Pacific Northwest has given Rebecca fantastic scenery and adventures to weave into her stories. She resides in the wild north with her husband, children, and extended family who inspire her every day—or at the very least give her plenty of characters to write about.

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