Collateral Damage continues the long-running series featuring Ali Reynolds, and honestly, I was not a huge fan of this book. While there was definitely an interesting story line buried somewhere in there, it got lost within the excessive amount of character description given for each character and I grew very frustrated with the reliance on Frigg to solve every problem. And the dialogue was supposed to be witty, but I found it excessively wordy and annoying.

Let's start with the large number of characters, shall we? Because the story swings across decades and states, there are a number of people involved of which to keep track. This is not inherently a problem except the author went to considerable pains to give the reader background information on each one of them, trying to draw sympathy for people who may have not made good choices in their lives as adults and are now living in difficult circumstances. There is only so much of this you can take before you start rolling your eyes, wondering what exactly is the purpose here. Honestly, if that was her point, going overboard like that, and leading the reader on in this way, is not necessarily the best way to about it. Subtlety works a lot better, in my opinion. And to make a character unpleasant without motivation also leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

The plot itself could have been great, but too many threads seemed to be flying all over the place with little explanation or follow-up. There were leaks that were not resolved, threads that were never explained, and the reliance on Frigg to solve everything drove me nuts. So, we've got this AI source, both inadmissible and unlikely to be caught, digging up information, while everyone else runs around on his instructions, conveniently overlooking some of the characters first introduced. And there is a clear delineation between those who are compassionate and those who are not. Personally, I like my stories, and my characters, to be somewhat more complicated than this.

Verdict
Collateral Damage had a good premise, but got lost in too many story lines and characters. The plot itself seemed to be a jumble of threads whereby the author only connected the ones that were convenient, but overlooked some important details that made me roll my eyes. I didn't feel any connection to the characters because the descriptions didn't allow me to, telling me they made poor choices as adults, rather than letting me feel how their choices affected them. And for the love of everything, please get rid of the A.I. and the reliance on Frigg to solve anything the main characters can't do easily. If you want to try a book by this author, I recommend one from the Joanne Brady series before venturing into this series. ( )

Funny how when your life is in a downward spiral you pick up a book and all your cares disappear. That's what happened with this book. J.A. Jance has written a wonderful Ali Reynolds book. Now she is not my favorite character of Jance's. Sorry - not sorry. I love JP Beaumont more but he's getting old and I fear Jance may soon kiil him off - but I digress.

Revenge is a particularly nasty emotion that comsumes those who are not able to control their anger. The hate builds to a fever pitched agony and nothing less than death or destruction will suffice.as we see with Frank Munoz. This book has a lot of great people I felt drawn to - caring police detectives, a parole officer and her undercover agent, and victims of violent domestic abuse including the children who bear witness to it all. ( )

B. Simpson, Ali Reynolds husband and head of High Noon cyber security company, is heading for the airport when another car seemingly intentionally pushes them off the road. Both he and the driver, an ex-cop named Hal Holden are injured. The question is which of the rwo men was the target. The detective investigating the case focuses on B. as the most likely target and Ali as the most likely suspect, But things are a lot more complicated than that.

A corrupt cop has just been released from prison after twenty years. He is hell bent on getting revenge against everyone who put him inside and he has a long list of targets - his exwife, mistress and the cop he holds responsible.

Collateral Damage is the17th entry in the Ali Reynolds series by J.A. Jance. It is, like other books in the series, a complex and twisty thriller with a fast pace and plenty of action. It grabbed my attention immediately and held it right up until the satisfying conclusion. Definitely a compelling and entertaining read.

Thanks to Edelweiss+ and the publishers for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review ( )

Collateral Damage by J. A. Jance is a highly recommended mystery/procedural and the seventeenth novel in the Ali Reynolds series.

After 20 years in prison former cop Frank Muñoz is being released on parole and revenge is on his mind. Targets include his wife, mistress, and the police detectives involved in his case. One of the former cops, Hal Holden, is now retired and works as a chauffeur. Ali Reynolds' husband, B. Simpson, founder of the cybersecurity company High Noon Enterprises, is heading to a conference on ransomware in London, England, and Hal is the one driving him to the airport.

On the way there is an accident that appears suspicious and both Hal and B. are seriously injured. B. insists that Ali represent High Noon at the conference and also that the accident was done purposefully. Ali attends but also becomes a suspect. She wonders who would be trying to stop B. from attending the conference or was Hal the target?

This is a fast-paced, complex plot with a whole lot of information and action going on. There are plots and subplots and so many pieces to this puzzle that you have to pay close attention to details to follow everything that is occurring. There are also a multitude of characters that require recognition throughout the plot. You may wish you had High Noon's AI helper, Frigg, to assist you, just as characters have to rely on in the narrative for information.

However, it is an engaging investigation that is action-packed and will hold your attention until the satisfying conclusion. The characters are all interesting and distinctive as individuals. It is very enjoyable, but, admittedly, this is my first Ali Reynolds novel and it would have helped if I was acquainted with the series and reoccurring characters before jumping into the seventeenth installment.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Simon & Schuster via NetGalley
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2023/03/collateral-damage.html ( )

As a long time friend and follower of Lindsey, I'm glad to say I've finally gotten around to finishing her first published work, Cursed With Power.
I read this book via a Nook app so the page numbers were different...etc., getting to the story.
I've watched Lindsey tell us about her characters via blog posts but I attest there is nothing like reading about these characters for oneself.
Celestial Hale is a teenager of indiscernible age who lives in Transylvania.
I wish the settings were explained in more detail, even for a YA novel - we should have some sense of where the characters are.
Celestria is met with her sisters death and moves to avenge her and protect her own status as one of the last remaining Dark Magicians. This is noble enough, I just wish we had a bit more background as to the girl herself, everything about her felt strange. As she displayed strength sometimes but a considerable weakness at others (ex. other characters saving her countless times) and that would have been fine if we had more background on the types of spells the Magicians used to cause these strengths/weaknesses.
Everything about the fights was rather vague - more depth on the subject of magic (after all it is the focal point of the story) would have really helped the readers understand what exactly was going on - we were left to make it up for ourselves most times.
As for the love interests, Alaire and Lèal were cool guys, I admit I liked Lèal a lot at first but he was there for all of a few pages before Alaire became the main guy. And I'm still confused on whether or not they (Alaire and Celestria) see each other as lovers or just friends.
But as for the plot and the main story, it was done pretty well. There was movement, things happened fairly fast, though I feel as though some parts could've been kept out altogether, but for the most part I wanted to keep reading, there was something about the novel that made me want to see what happened next and that alone made this a 4 star book for me.
I look forward to reading Shadows and Embers and have already downloaded a sample for kindle.
All in all Cursed With Power is a quick harmless read that teenagers will enjoy if looking for a protagonist that doesn't wear her heart on her sleeve and battles a world with (more or less) two hot guys at her side. ( )