A Desperate Place

A Desperate Place: A McKenna and Riggs Novel
By: Jennifer Greer

I see potential in this series. I do like Tess Gerritsen's Rizzoli and Isles series and that's what drew me to try this out. It is a bit gruesome in medical detail (not violence). Google images of 'teratomas' and if you can handle those, then you'll be fine reading this. If not, you may want to pass on this or you can just skim over those pages.

I liked the relationship between Whit (reporter) and Riggs (medical examiner). We follow crimes from two different perspectives and ways of investigating. I wouldn't necessarily describe it as a 'non-stop thrill ride' as annotated on the cover, but it was a compelling journey to find the truth and the added reality of the teratomas was disgustingly interesting.

There were a few things I thought could have been different- the fact that Whit had two daughters was not very ingratiated in the story. I kept forgetting. I don't know if it was just because they weren't involved much or if it was a lack in character portrayal by the author in shaping how we viewed her as a person. I just didn't really see her as a mom and her daily routine didn't leave much room for family. Seeing as this is the beginning of a series, I can see how this is the set-up for future books and that we'll probably see more of her daughters later on. The author will have more space for deepening character visibility and development.

The second thing I thought was lacking was the 'solving' at the end. I think we got all the answers and explanations but some of them weren't very robust. The ‘who’ was clear and part of the ‘why,’ but the 'how' was a bit vague, and the jump between the killer/s 'vision' and the killing of all of the victims wasn't solidly laid out. I would have liked more information about that woven into the story (and not just added to the 'confessional' wrap-up as sometimes is done).

The last thing I'm wondering about is the title- I'm not sure exactly where this comes from. After reading it, I'm not sure what the desperate place is or who is in a desperate place. The photo indicates maybe they're referring to Whit's PTSD regarding forests but that's just a character detail not part of the plot or storyline. I think I would have come up with a different title. But that's just a personal preference. *shrug*

Oh, wait, another teeny tiny little thing that doesn't really matter but I need to point out... She named a company that does stem cell research 'Human Resources' and later abbreviates it as HR in references. But considering virtually every company in existence has a human resources department, that's an odd and confusing choice for a company name right?? So you could say, 'I work in human resources at Human Resources.' I think we all see it...

ANYWAY, I think it's accurate to say that if you like Gerritsen, then you'll probably like this!

**I received an ARC via NetGalley**

Pin this to Pinterest!