Book Review: Shooting Star: (The Nikki Latrelle Mystery-Thriller Series) by Sasscer Hill 

BLURB: 

When Nikki’s ex-lover Will hires her to protect the horses used to film a movie at Santa Anita Racetrack, she learns evil is alive and well in Hollywood.

Keeping Thoroughbreds safe from a director who doesn’t know a horse from a hamster is tricky. More difficult are the unresolved feelings between her and Will, especially when sexy, young movie star, Jamie Jackson, sets his sights on Nikki.

But when a sniper’s bullet shatters the brain of a cameraman close enough that she can smell his blood, Nikki’s need to protect the film crew overrides everything. Her sleuthing unearths a trail of corruption and when she must lie to Will to protect his life, she’s on her own. Can she identify the evil behind the scenes before she and Will become the next victims?

Shooting Star is the fifth rocket-paced story in the award-winning Nikki Latrelle mystery series. If you like protagonists with heart and courage, unexpected twists, and a thrill ride to the finish, you’ll love Shooting Star.

Find out why this series has so many fans. Buy Shooting Star today!

MY REVIEW:

This is the first book by Sasscer Hill I’ve read and the first I’ve read in this series of 5 books.  I love horses (who doesn’t?) so I was looking forward to immersing myself in it. If you love racehorses, you’ll probably enjoy the first couple of chapters.  However, I thought there was  a lot of info dump that had nothing to do with the plot and really slowed down the pace of the story  I almost gave up, but I plowed my way through.  And I’m glad I did. 

I didn’t find Nikki relatable at the beginning, but by the middle, when the action really picked up, I was cheering her on.  Some of the supporting characters I liked were Catalina (I know, I know.  Not a nice person, but still I felt sorry for her.) and Gabriel (I love Frenchmen, what can I say.)  The one character, or horse, that I wanted to know about was London Fog.  Did he reinjure his knee.  Did he find a nice home?

As for the villain’s, Diamond and Necklace were perfect for the part.  Jamie (Dillon) went back and forth on this.  More spoiled kid but there is a line and I feel he crossed it several times.

All in all, once I really got into the story it whizzed by, I couldn’t wait to see what happened and I enjoyed it.  It fit all the troupes for a solid mystery / thriller story and I recommend it.