Witness Betrayed
A Will Novak Novel #3
by Linda Ladd
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Pub Date: 10/2/18
No Friends
Mardi Gras whips New Orleans’ French Quarter into a whirlpool of excess, color, booze, noise, motion. So the woman in the sights of Will Novak’s binoculars stands out. She’s bruised, barefoot, wearing a man’s raincoat. And she’s looking right at him.
No Faith
In a moment she’s fleeing into the crowd, but Novak knows she’s not gone for good. When she comes back, it’s with a gun to his head—and a story about crony politics, a crooked judge, a kidnapped whistleblower, and children in deadly danger. Novak can’t let this one slide.
No Fury
Through the grit of Houston’s underbelly to the grime below Beverly Hills’ glamor, a trickle of rot connects the powerful to the desperate and corrupts the men and women who are supposed to stand against it. Deceit is everywhere. If he’s going to do right, Novak is going to have to do it alone . . .
The third book in the series is Witness Betrayed. Again, I question how Novak finds himself in these situations, though this is because of an old friend. This third book is fast-paced with Novak delving into human trafficking, police corruption, judicial corruption, and drugs. You know, all those great real-world issues ← not sarcasm. This is definitely a hidden issue in our society and the author sets Novak up to be the hero needed. But, as with the previous books, this isn’t an easy issue to tackle, nor an easy issue to overcome but Novak is up to the challenge.
I’d definitely recommend reading this series in the appropriate order for full enjoyment, and reading the Claire Morgan series before this one. This series is full of action, like something you’d expect to see in a movie. It keeps you engaged in the story as you’re along for the ride with Novak. There are twists and turns in the story, and you don’t always know who you should or shouldn’t trust, just like Novak.
The author had really worked to build the world Novak lives in, though it could be the world built in the previous series, so check that out just to make sure ;) It did take a while for me to get into the author’s writing, only because it could be a little repetitious. Because it’s such an action packed series, I didn’t have the time for repetition, I just wanted to move forward. I’m impatient that way. If actions are your thing, you definitely need to check out this series and author!
Rating: 3.5 stars
Say Your Goodbyes
A Will Novak Novel #2
SAY YOU’RE DREAMING
When a scream wakes Will Novak in the middle of the night, at first he puts it down to the nightmares. He's alone on a sailboat in the Caribbean, miles from land. And his demons never leave him.
SAY YOUR PRAYERS
The screams are real, though, coming from another boat just a rifle’s night scope away. It only takes seconds for Novak to witness one murder and stop another. But with the killer on the run and a beautiful stranger dripping on his deck, Novak has gotten himself into a new kind of deep water.
BUT DON’T SAY YOUR NAME
The young woman he saved says she doesn't know who she is. But someone does, and they're burning fuel and cash to chase Novak and his new acquaintance from one island to the next, across dangerous seas and right into the wilds of the Yucatan jungle. If either of them is going to live, Novak is going to need answers, fast—and he's guessing he won't like what he finds out . . .
When a scream wakes Will Novak in the middle of the night, at first he puts it down to the nightmares. He's alone on a sailboat in the Caribbean, miles from land. And his demons never leave him.
SAY YOUR PRAYERS
The screams are real, though, coming from another boat just a rifle’s night scope away. It only takes seconds for Novak to witness one murder and stop another. But with the killer on the run and a beautiful stranger dripping on his deck, Novak has gotten himself into a new kind of deep water.
BUT DON’T SAY YOUR NAME
The young woman he saved says she doesn't know who she is. But someone does, and they're burning fuel and cash to chase Novak and his new acquaintance from one island to the next, across dangerous seas and right into the wilds of the Yucatan jungle. If either of them is going to live, Novak is going to need answers, fast—and he's guessing he won't like what he finds out . . .
The second book in the series, Say Your Goodbyes is very similar to the first book. Honestly, I spent a lot of my time wondering how Novak found himself in this ridiculous situation of this book. Novak again comes out of his comfort zone and saves the damsel in distress. But, just like on the first book, the damsel is not what she first appears to be and Novak finds himself in crazy situations trying to save her. Once again, he’s the hero and able to get himself out of any situation he’s put into, but not without some assistance in this story. He has a lot of lies to unravel and isn’t very good at it. He doesn’t trust people but he really does go along with obvious lies way too easily which puts him into bad situations.
I can’t say that I liked Novak anymore than I did in the first book, but he keeps trying. He has a strong need to save the day, so he can’t ignore a situation that ended up causing him a lot of pain. Though he doesn’t want to be the hero rushing to save the day, he does.
This story was even less believable than the first, but again, fiction. If you like your books true to life and believable, this may not be the series for you. But, if you watch action movies and can convince yourself that it could happen, then you should check out this series! This author’s books are full of action, with the good guy winning. Winning? Maybe the wrong word, but he definitely comes out of the book alive, so that’s probably a win in his life! If you like pirates, murder, and violence this is the book for you! There were a lot of twists in the story and trying to figure out the real story behind the damsel in distress will keep you engaged.
Bad Road to Nowhere
A Will Novak Novel #1
BAD MEMORIES
Not many people know their way through the bayous well enough to find Will Novak’s crumbling mansion outside New Orleans. Not that Novak wants to talk to anyone. He keeps his guns close and his guard always up.
BAD SISTER
Mariah Murray is one selfish, reckless, manipulative woman, the kind Novak would never want to get tangled up with. But he can’t say no to his dead’s wife sister.
BAD VIBES
When Mariah tells him she wants to rescue a childhood friend, another Aussie girl gone conveniently missing in north Georgia, Novak can’t turn her down. She’s hiding something. But the pretty little town she’s targeted screams trouble, too. Novak knows there’s a trap waiting. But until he springs it, there’s no telling who to trust . . .
Not many people know their way through the bayous well enough to find Will Novak’s crumbling mansion outside New Orleans. Not that Novak wants to talk to anyone. He keeps his guns close and his guard always up.
BAD SISTER
Mariah Murray is one selfish, reckless, manipulative woman, the kind Novak would never want to get tangled up with. But he can’t say no to his dead’s wife sister.
BAD VIBES
When Mariah tells him she wants to rescue a childhood friend, another Aussie girl gone conveniently missing in north Georgia, Novak can’t turn her down. She’s hiding something. But the pretty little town she’s targeted screams trouble, too. Novak knows there’s a trap waiting. But until he springs it, there’s no telling who to trust . . .
**Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie for my reading pleasure in hopes of an unbiased opinion, a review was not a requirement.**
The Will Novak series by Linda Ladd is a first for me by this author. At this time there are three books in the series: Bad Road to Nowhere, Say Your Goodbyes and Witness Betrayed. All three books involve the main character Will Novak. Novak has quite the history. He was born in America, raised in Australia and now living in New Orleans. He was in the Army, then the Navy, something I didn’t even know was a possibility and I spent too much time looking online to see if this could actually happen. Not easily was what I learned. He worked for the NYPD. He was married with children, now he’s not. He has lots of trauma in his past that makes him not friendly or sociable. After reading all three books in the series I’m not sure that I understand this character. I will say he’s a bad judge of character, and tends to trust females who come across as sweet and really aren’t and doesn’t trust people he should. That trust puts him and others around him in danger, every time.
In Bad Road to Nowhere, we learn a lot of information about Novak and his history. I didn’t think he was a very likable character and he definitely had trust issues, not that it was a bad thing necessarily but he certain trusted the wrong person. Though the plot moved a little slow in this story because of all the drama between Novak and his sister-in-law, once the action part of the story happened, it was non-stop. It wasn’t believable though, but this is fiction and do we really need to read fiction that’s believable? In this story, Novak is the hero. He’s not perfect, he makes mistakes, he trusts the wrong people, he’s not friendly, but he does have some hidden compassion and he has a need to help the underdog. Unfortunately, Novak tries his hardest but he’s not able to save everyone, every time.
This series seems to be a spin-off from the author’s Claire Morgan series. This made me feel better to find out (after I’d read the series) because I really felt like I was joining the series in the middle. This is probably just something I’d feel because I’m a stickler for reading a series in the appropriate order. I felt like I was dropped into the middle of a series at times, like I should have already known some of these characters. So, if you’re a stickler like I am, you should probably start with the Claire Morgan series and then move onto this one, for the most pleasure in your reading.
Rating: 3.5 stars
Linda Ladd is the bestselling author of over a dozen novels, including the Claire Morgan thrillers. She makes her home in Missouri, where she lives with her husband and old beagle named Banjo. She loves traveling and spending time with her two adult children,two grandsons, and granddaughter. In addition to writing, Linda enjoys target shooting and is a good markswoman with a Glock 19 similar to her fictional detectives. She loves to read good books, play tennis and board games, and watch fast-paced action movies. She is currently at work on her next novel.
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Thank you for sharing the review, this is a new to me author so it’s enlightening to me. :)
ReplyDeletesounds like a great read
ReplyDeleteThank you for the review. Sounds like intriguing reads.
ReplyDeleteI loved the covers and I think Witness Betrayed sounds really interesting.
ReplyDelete