Life Without Parole
MY RATING :
⭐⭐⭐ / 5
This novel follows Kate Conway, a lonely widow who is a freelance TV producer which intrigued me because I've always been interested in some kind of journalistic communication job. She starts off the novel producing for a home flipping show, which to her is very dull and boring. I am a huge HGTV and the way Kate describes it makes me hope it doesn't really play out like the behind the scenes.
So. when she's not working, she's usually at home, watching TV and eating take out. I mean, her husband died 8 months ago. I was around the 2-3rd chapter when I was realizing that something felt off to me and when I looked it up, I realized that this is actually book 2 of the "Kate Conway Mystery" series. It was never told how her husband passed, but I assume it was revealed in the 1st book. It's also told that in the 1st book, Kate's husband, Frank, has a affair for the last months of his life, and leaves her for his GF, Vera. Soon after he moves in with her, he dies. So, I'm going to have to find the 1st book and catch up on what happened.
One night when she's getting ready for bed, she gets a call from a company she usually works for and gets asked to do a documentary on 2 inmates serving life sentences for murder in Illinois. One inmate is named Brick, the other Tim. She accepts because she is ready to stop producing the dull decorating show. She shows up on her 1st day with her usual camera and sound guy, Victor and Andres. She interviews Brick and has to come back to interview Tim. She goes back to the prison several times and kind of builds a weird friendship with these men. Very strange, it all adds up later.
A couple of days after she starts this documentary series, she gets a call from the Business Channel, offering her a reality show of a new restaurant opening up. At first, she's reluctant to produce it, but when they offer her 25% more than her going rate, she accepts. She shows up on her 1st day, and guess who is a investor in the restaurant? VERA! Apparently, Vera is a wealthy heiress and a romantic. She's dating Doug who got her into investing in the restuarnt. Vera is also who presudaed the Business Channel into going after Kate. Vera strangely loves and trusts Kate and thinks and wants them to be friends.
Anyways, Kate is going back and forth between both shows when all of a sudden, one of the restaurant owners, Erik gets killed. Vera finds him, stabbed to death in the kitchen of the construction site of the restaurant and 1st thing she does is call Kate, not 911, but Kate. Now Kate knows that Vera didn't kill Erik, but it sure doesn't seem like she does. Now, Kate is in the middle, trying to get the detective to not think that Vera is the killer and its all just a big mess.
SPOILERS BELOW!!!
If you haven't read this book and still want to......STOP READING. I'm going to share my thoughts on the ending.
So, Tim befriends Kate, tries to get her trust and then tells Kate that he has info on ways to get her friend Vera to have all suspesions dropped against her. Brick hears the rumors around the prison and calls Kate and tells her to get rid of the throw away phone that she uses to talks to anyone at the prison.
Theres so many twist and turns and so many people involed in this restutarnt that it kind of made my head spin a little bit. In the end, it was one of the investor who killed him and to be honest, there wasn't really a very clear motive. I don't know. Maybe I was just getting tired when I finshed the book, but it wasn't a very good ending for me. Tim gets killed in the prison, and its implied that Brick arranged it because he's very protective of single women. Women like Kate, who I said before, formed a bit of a friendship.
All in all, its a good read, but I think I would go back and read the 1st novel and see how I really feel about this one. What do you think? Have you read this novel? Tell me you thoughts!
Next book:
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
PS: Since I just started this book club, I've decided that for now I'll try and put out 2 posts every week on Wednesday and Sunday. I do work full time so if I don’t get both up, please don’t hate me! This is my goal as of now.
This novel follows Kate Conway, a lonely widow who is a freelance TV producer which intrigued me because I've always been interested in some kind of journalistic communication job. She starts off the novel producing for a home flipping show, which to her is very dull and boring. I am a huge HGTV and the way Kate describes it makes me hope it doesn't really play out like the behind the scenes.
So. when she's not working, she's usually at home, watching TV and eating take out. I mean, her husband died 8 months ago. I was around the 2-3rd chapter when I was realizing that something felt off to me and when I looked it up, I realized that this is actually book 2 of the "Kate Conway Mystery" series. It was never told how her husband passed, but I assume it was revealed in the 1st book. It's also told that in the 1st book, Kate's husband, Frank, has a affair for the last months of his life, and leaves her for his GF, Vera. Soon after he moves in with her, he dies. So, I'm going to have to find the 1st book and catch up on what happened.
One night when she's getting ready for bed, she gets a call from a company she usually works for and gets asked to do a documentary on 2 inmates serving life sentences for murder in Illinois. One inmate is named Brick, the other Tim. She accepts because she is ready to stop producing the dull decorating show. She shows up on her 1st day with her usual camera and sound guy, Victor and Andres. She interviews Brick and has to come back to interview Tim. She goes back to the prison several times and kind of builds a weird friendship with these men. Very strange, it all adds up later.
A couple of days after she starts this documentary series, she gets a call from the Business Channel, offering her a reality show of a new restaurant opening up. At first, she's reluctant to produce it, but when they offer her 25% more than her going rate, she accepts. She shows up on her 1st day, and guess who is a investor in the restaurant? VERA! Apparently, Vera is a wealthy heiress and a romantic. She's dating Doug who got her into investing in the restuarnt. Vera is also who presudaed the Business Channel into going after Kate. Vera strangely loves and trusts Kate and thinks and wants them to be friends.
Anyways, Kate is going back and forth between both shows when all of a sudden, one of the restaurant owners, Erik gets killed. Vera finds him, stabbed to death in the kitchen of the construction site of the restaurant and 1st thing she does is call Kate, not 911, but Kate. Now Kate knows that Vera didn't kill Erik, but it sure doesn't seem like she does. Now, Kate is in the middle, trying to get the detective to not think that Vera is the killer and its all just a big mess.
SPOILERS BELOW!!!
If you haven't read this book and still want to......STOP READING. I'm going to share my thoughts on the ending.
So, Tim befriends Kate, tries to get her trust and then tells Kate that he has info on ways to get her friend Vera to have all suspesions dropped against her. Brick hears the rumors around the prison and calls Kate and tells her to get rid of the throw away phone that she uses to talks to anyone at the prison.
Theres so many twist and turns and so many people involed in this restutarnt that it kind of made my head spin a little bit. In the end, it was one of the investor who killed him and to be honest, there wasn't really a very clear motive. I don't know. Maybe I was just getting tired when I finshed the book, but it wasn't a very good ending for me. Tim gets killed in the prison, and its implied that Brick arranged it because he's very protective of single women. Women like Kate, who I said before, formed a bit of a friendship.
All in all, its a good read, but I think I would go back and read the 1st novel and see how I really feel about this one. What do you think? Have you read this novel? Tell me you thoughts!
Next book:
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
PS: Since I just started this book club, I've decided that for now I'll try and put out 2 posts every week on Wednesday and Sunday. I do work full time so if I don’t get both up, please don’t hate me! This is my goal as of now.
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