Why did you read this book? I really liked this guy’s first book, Bad Things Happen. I didn’t like his follow-up so much, but still decided to give this a go.

Has Beckie read it? No, she’s not into crime stuff so much unless it’s Kate Atkinson or car reading.

42 word review: Guy’s girlfriend gets murdered. Turns out she was investigating another murder herself for university’s Innocence Project, and of course everything ends up connected. Twisty plot with more good twists than bad — but some are bad — and good-humored, better-than-pulp-but-not-that-much-better writing.

Selected quotes:

• He glared at me. “You’ve dodged a bullet. Stop trying to get back in front of it.”
• She put it back on the shelf and took down the empty pill bottle.
  “Ambien,” she said. “Is this another clue?”
  “It might be. It’s a kind of sleeping pill, isn’t it?”
  She nodded. “A strong one. It can cause sleepwalking. Blackouts. Memory loss. It’s nothing you want to mess around with.”

Overall rating: 3 discarded popsicle sticks (out of 5)