**Disclaimer: I have received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.**
Sentencing Sapphire is the third novel from the Sapphire Dubois Mystery series written by Swedish-born Mia Thompson. (Note that I have not read the first two books at the time of writing this review.)
Twenty-something Sapphire is not your typical gal: not only is she a Beverly Hills heiress, but she is also a serial catcher, i.e. she hunts serial killers as a hobby (I prefer reading myself) before handing them over to the local police force. In this third instalment, we follow Sapphire as she has fled to Paris after her latest adventures, where she has shed her rich persona and lives as the infamous "Serial Catcher." When Beverly Hills police detective Aston Ridder tracks her down, Sapphire returns to the US to find her home town in chaos: a new vigilante has taken over her old job and will stop at nothing to get her predecessor out of the way.
I must admit that I was expecting a cotton candy chick-lit after reading the official blurb for this book. However, I could not have been more wrong! Despite the fact that the series would indeed be targeted towards a female audience, the adventures of Sapphire Dubois are so much more than chick lit and pink fluffy romance.
Yes, there is romance between the two main characters, Sapphire and Aston, but it is subtle enough that it is not constantly thrown in your face and does not take over the narrative. More than that, there is a real gripping plot with gruesome murders, serial killers carrying syringes filled with nasty things and a villain vigilante trying to get rid of the heroine. This alone should satisfy fans of crime fiction.
But what really clinched it for me was the exaggerated portraits of spoilt, super-rich Beverly Hills people and the omnipresent humour: airhead socialite Chrissy Kraft fires employees faster than her own shadow (even when they are not her own employees) and is totally deluded about the world she lives in. Likewise, there is great banter between the two leading men, detective Aston Ridder and officer Barry Harry, which is reminiscent of that between Jake Peralta and Charles Boyle in the American TV series "Brooklyn Nine Nine."
What of Sapphire Dubois herself, you might ask. Well, her thirst for hunting serial killers is motivated by her inner demons and personal history (which I will not divulge here). I cannot speak for how she is portrayed in the two previous books in the series but, in this latest instalment, she is racked with guilt and doubt, unsure who she really is, thereby making her a more believable character than the MMA fighter/serial catcher/Beverly Hills heiress she is.
The Bibliovore's verdict ⋆⋆⋆⋆
All in all, a very good surprise for me. I actually bought the first two books on Amazon as soon as the words "The End" appeared on my Kindle. Definitely an author to watch for me!
I must admit that I was expecting a cotton candy chick-lit after reading the official blurb for this book. However, I could not have been more wrong! Despite the fact that the series would indeed be targeted towards a female audience, the adventures of Sapphire Dubois are so much more than chick lit and pink fluffy romance.
Yes, there is romance between the two main characters, Sapphire and Aston, but it is subtle enough that it is not constantly thrown in your face and does not take over the narrative. More than that, there is a real gripping plot with gruesome murders, serial killers carrying syringes filled with nasty things and a villain vigilante trying to get rid of the heroine. This alone should satisfy fans of crime fiction.
But what really clinched it for me was the exaggerated portraits of spoilt, super-rich Beverly Hills people and the omnipresent humour: airhead socialite Chrissy Kraft fires employees faster than her own shadow (even when they are not her own employees) and is totally deluded about the world she lives in. Likewise, there is great banter between the two leading men, detective Aston Ridder and officer Barry Harry, which is reminiscent of that between Jake Peralta and Charles Boyle in the American TV series "Brooklyn Nine Nine."
What of Sapphire Dubois herself, you might ask. Well, her thirst for hunting serial killers is motivated by her inner demons and personal history (which I will not divulge here). I cannot speak for how she is portrayed in the two previous books in the series but, in this latest instalment, she is racked with guilt and doubt, unsure who she really is, thereby making her a more believable character than the MMA fighter/serial catcher/Beverly Hills heiress she is.
The Bibliovore's verdict ⋆⋆⋆⋆
All in all, a very good surprise for me. I actually bought the first two books on Amazon as soon as the words "The End" appeared on my Kindle. Definitely an author to watch for me!
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