Three casinos.
Three bodies.
Three days.
After a string of brutal murders in Las
Vegas, Cassie Hobbes and the Naturals are called in to investigate. But even
with the team’s unique profiling talents, these murders seem baffling: unlike
many serial killers, this one uses different methods every time. All of the
victims were killed in public, yet the killer does not show up on any tape. And
each victim has a string of numbers tattooed on their wrist. Hidden in the
numbers is a code—and the closer the Naturals come to unraveling the mystery,
the more perilous the case becomes.
Meanwhile, Cassie is dealing with an
equally dangerous and much more painful mystery. For the first time in years,
there’s been a break in her mother’s case. As personal issues and tension between
the team mount, Cassie and the Naturals will be faced with impossible odds—and impossible
choices.
My
first thought when finishing this book was that this series (but I used an
expletive or two in place of that word) just got real. I’ve read a lot of Jennifer Lynn Barnes’ books, so I’ve
noticed the trend of rising thrill and kill. All In is quite similar in plot-twist-thrill level to her book The Fixer. There was a lot of plot
twists, reveals and unveils in the first two books of The Naturals series, but this one far exceeded them. The more that
Barnes rights crazy, twisty plots, the better she gets at it.
But
do too crazy and too twisty of plots come at a price? A.K.A. the heavy price of
losing the believability of the book? Luckily, All In, was still believable, though this is a problem some books
pay. I think that’s one of the perks of having a long-running series, because
you can initiate the plot twists in the first book, and then escalate them the
further and further into the series. I guess in this way, Barnes is a bit like
a serial killer.
By
the end of the book, I quickly deemed in my favorite Naturals book to date. I cannot imagine how insane The Long Game will be if Barnes keeps up
her escalating the thrill trend in her Fixer
series. There were a few things that All
In lacked, however, and those are the things that I’ll go into next.
When
I first saw the cover and title of this book forever ago, I just knew that
Barnes was going to delve into Sloane’s character and background more. I was
excited and not entirely let down. So
far, Sloane’s character has been incredibly analytical and unknown. She’s an
open book with an unorthodox love for caffeine and numbers. This book brought
her back to her roots, and I really expected to see interactions between her
and her father. However, we saw a relationship blossom between her and the
brother who never knew who she was.
While
I was fine with the introduction of that new relationship, I still wish there’d
been more with her father (though then the book might have been too similar to Killer Instinct). I certainly hope more
of Sloane’s father comes up later on in the series. The main problem I had was
that there wasn’t enough emphasis on Sloane’s story. It was still entirely
Cassie’s story, and in a way that saddened me. Every new reveal led right back
to Cassie, which is superb plot writing but I also thing it might be too much.
Too coincidental.
This
leads me back to the believability issue that arises in books laden with thrill
and twists. Do many links between twists and the main character can sometimes
lead to someone thinking the story is too coincidental which flaws the
believability. I think Barnes is treading a thin line with all the links and,
if not careful, she could hinder the story’s believability. I’m still a
believer, but the final twist Cassie’s mother might be too far for me. Now of
course, I believe in making everything personal for the protagonist, but the
link with the mother and the potential link to Lia are almost too close.
I
loved all the twists and turns, but I hope it doesn’t get too linky and end up
wrapping together like a nice, pretty present. I like things put together
perfectly, but that could end up far too coincidental for even me.
The
characters were great, though the interpersonal relations weren’t the best that
I’ve read from the series thus far. I understand that Cassie has chosen Dean,
but her relationship with Michael seemed so different than usual. On top of
that, I not too fond of the Cassie and Dean show. It seemed to level this book,
and if there needs to be interpersonal tension it should be between them.
Cassie should not have told Dean her secret before everyone else. She should
have told Sloane since Sloane confided in Cassie, and left Dean to find out
during the game like Michael. That would have been good.
I’m
incredibly excited for the next book in the series. Things are getting quite
intense, and I’m ready to see where Barnes takes the series now. I was let down
by Killer Instinct, but the series
has definitely stepped it up. Although, I’m getting really creeped out by this
Fibonacci sequence. It keeps showing up in my books!
XOXO Tia
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