Thoughts: Desperate Girls - Ani's Book Abyss

Desperate Girls

by Laura Griffin
Book 1 of Wolfe Security

Defense attorney Brynn Holloran is right at home among cops, criminals, and tough-as-nails prosecutors. With her sharp wit and pointed words, she has a tendency to intimidate, and she likes it that way. She’s a force to be reckoned with in the courtroom, but in her personal life, she’s a mess.

When a vicious murderer she once helped prosecute resurfaces and starts a killing spree to wipeout those who put him behind bars, one thing becomes clear: Brynn needs to run for her life.

When the police come up empty-handed, Brynn turns to a private security firm for protection. But when she defies advice and gets involved in the investigation, even the former Secret Service agent assigned to protect her may not be able to keep her safe. With every new clue she discovers, Brynn is pulled back into the vortex of a disturbing case from her past.

As the clock ticks down on a manhunt, Brynn’s desperate search for the truth unearths long-buried secrets and reignites a killer’s fury.

Nothing like a romantic suspense by Laura Griffin to really get you into a book. I started out reading this book in the wee hours of the night, thinking I'd just start with the first couple chapters, go to sleep and then continue the next day. The next thing I knew, I was 70% into the book and wanting to keep going.

That has to count for something, in my opinion.

It's not like this crime thriller was any different than Griffin's usual, gritty, fast-paced Tracers novels, but it certainly kept me riveted.

I like the story itself and I like the premise of this series. There's a lot of potential, and as Laura Griffin is wont to do, she also introduces key players who will definitely be showing up as the main characters in future books. She gives them enough background and personality for you to be interested--so that you look forward to the next book. So aside from our main couple, Brynn and Erik, you get a slight taste of others like police detective Lindsay Leary, or even some of the other Wolfe Sec members: Jeremy, Trent, Hayes, Skyler...

Yeah, I'm definitely looking forward to the next book already.

As for our main couple... I liked them. They made a pretty good team, and aside from their fun banters, I loved seeing Brynn in action as a defense attorney. I also have a thing for bodyguard plots as well, and especially love when the person being protected comes to the realization that she needs to take this seriously. Because, at first, I was thinking that I'd end up being frustrated with Brynn and her resistance to having a bodyguard--a team of bodyguards, even--and was being difficult on principle. I was worried that this was going to be ongoing, and when she did a few stupid things that could have caused more trouble for her security team than should have been necessary, I got frustrated with her.

But I really appreciated that things started to change, and she realizes the urgency of the situation early enough to start working with her security detail rather than being a stubborn TSTL. That doesn't mean that she didn't still do a few stupid things to compromise her safety, but I'm not sure it was totally intentional on her part.

That was definitely a nice change of pace from other bodyguard plot devices where your heroine is usually stubborn to the point where she starts putting other people's lives in danger.

The security/bodyguard aspect of the story could have been cleaned up a little bit, truth be told. I feel like there were more times when both Brynn and Ross were left more vulnerable than was appropriate, for two people being under security protection from a top security firm. I feel like we probably should have spent more time on the security aspects of the book than Brynn's current, ongoing trial--though I also sort of enjoyed the trial, at the same time.

Erik didn't really stand out much, if I want to be honest. He was a great character... but that was pretty much it. I'm not sure what more I would have wanted. He and Brynn had excellent companionship and chemistry... but I have little to say about him. We didn't spend enough time delving into his personality or even character background for him to have mattered much to me, so that's kind of a shame.

Meanwhile, the main crime thriller conflict was just constant and non-stop. It was fast-paced, it was intriguing, and the twist nearing the end was a nice one, even if not what I'd been expecting. I was expecting some sort of twist, but I like the direction it ended up going... as vague as that sounds... but I don't want to give too much away.

Overall, this was an extremely entertaining read that made me remember why I always auto-buy Laura Griffin books.

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