If I Should Die by Allison Brennan
Lucy Kincaid, Book 3
Ballantine Books
Contemporary, Suspense, Mystery
ISBN: 978-0-345-52041-8
Reviewed by Miranda




Aspiring FBI Agent Lucy Kincaid and her boyfriend Sean Rogan are taking a vacation…kind of.  Sean has promised to use his private investigation skills to help his friend find out who has been vandalizing his property.  Sean’s friend is planning on turning the property into a resort but evidently someone isn’t happy about that.  When fire is set to the property Sean pursues the arsonist and finds himself in a bit of trouble.  Lucy comes to the rescue but she finds a dead body along with her boyfriend.  Lucy and Sean’s much needed vacation turns into an intense investigation that could have fatal consequences for those involved.  Follow the clues with Lucy and Sean as they attempt to find the mastermind behind the madness in If I Should Die.

Prepare yourself the adrenaline will be pumping as you read Allison Brennan’s If I Should Die.  Lucy is back better than ever and Sean is a long for the ride in a major way.  From the very beginning things are dark and dangerous piquing the curiosity of the reader.  It is so exciting Lucy and Sean are happy on vacation thinking things should be nice and simple and then they get thrown into this immense plot.  What I love is that Ms. Brennan makes this seem totally plausible.  It’s not like let’s throw our favorite investigator into a different locale for the hell of it, this actually works perfectly.  The transitions are great and the suspicious players in this small town make the story a stand out.  I cannot think of one thing that I didn’t like about If I Should Die.

Normally I prefer tons of romance and for that to be the star of a book, however, sometimes with suspense and mystery novels romance takes a backseat.  When you have a series you can almost guarantee that romance will take a backseat after a couple of books.  This is one area where Ms. Brennan excels! She has the ability to combine the romance with suspense and mystery seamlessly.  You don’t feel that either is out of place throughout the growing story.

Ms. Brennan has managed to keep Lucy and Sean’s relationship fresh and evolving with more emotion.  While the mystery is the star here and totally thrills me when I think about it I get more enamored with Lucy and Sean as this series progresses.  They have been together for a few months and are moving onto a more serious stage and this is explored in If I Should Die.  I love that this relationship is progressing naturally and they have real problems.  I love that these characters have real insecurities.  I definitely feel that I could meet Ms. Brennan’s characters on the street.

If I Should Die takes you on a wickedly good jaunt through a secretive sinister town.  If I Should Die is a spine-tingling chiller that will wrap you up in its mystery and take you on a heart-pounding race to the breathtaking finale!  As I finished the last page, I had to take a moment to take a deep breath to calm myself after that killer ending!