By day, Jonah St. John is a criminal analyst for the Georgia Bureau of Investigations. By night, he produces Sinister in Savannah, an investigative podcast, with his two best friends. Jonah’s life revolves around three principles: a man’s word is his oath, friendships are priceless gifts, and love is for other people.
When the Sinister in Savannah team delves into the thirty-eight-year-old murder of a drag queen, they quickly discover that the story doesn’t end with the alleged killer’s confession in 1995. Continuing the investigation could have fatal consequences for Jonah and everyone he holds dear, including his irresistible intern.
To love is to lose: a lesson Jonah has learned the hard way. For a decade, he has embraced solitude as his penance for a past mistake. Then came Avery Bradford, a man whose warmth and sunshine infuses Jonah’s battered soul and challenges his resistance. Over the past eight months, Jonah has soared closer and closer to Avery’s flame until the thing he’s feared the most becomes the one he can’t live without.
The chill of danger merges with the heat of desire, forming a deadly superstorm. Will Jonah seek shelter or ride the lightning?
Reviewer: Annika
It’s been so long since I sat down to actually read a book. My reading habits have been strictly audios for some time now, but this reminded me I need to go back to the written word some more. The experience just isn’t the same. Both are great ways to experience a story, but there’s just that feeling when you sit down and read.
Ride the Lightning takes us to Savannah to meet Jonah St. John, a military vet turned criminal analyst for the Georgia Bureau of Investigations. At least by day, by night he and a couple of friends have started an investigative podcast. Something his boss is less than thrilled about, then again he’s not particularly fond of Jonah at all and the two are like oil and water. Their animosity has the entire office betting on when the explosion between them will occur. It makes for a stressful working environment to say the least. Then add in a hot intern he longs for and his workplace is anything but peaceful.
This is my kind of book, a great mystery and greater friendships and dented characters. Jonah’s neighbour and friend Marla might just be my favourite character in this story. I loved her sass, her determination to never give up and live life to the fullest each and every day. In fact it all started with Marla and her need to find justice for an old friend who was murdered back in the 80’s. A man confessed to the crime and was executed, but Marla never believed he did it, so she asks Jonah to look into it. It’s not long until Jonah too is convinced the wrong man was punished and he vows to right the wrongs no matter what.
I really enjoyed the mystery, it was well crafted and kept me engaged from the start. There are a lot of threads to tug on, and pieces to make fit. It made you angry at the system, frustrated that an innocent man was so horribly treated and sad that it could never be undone. The scary thing is that this might be fiction, but somewhere out there are real people with similar stories. It’s heartbreaking. Hopefully there are also people like Jonah, Avery, Felix and Rocky trying to set things right no matter the costs.
Jonah, Felix and Rocky might have been friends for a long time before starting the podcast, which is still a relatively new thing when we meet them. Which is why I appreciated that running it together wasn’t smooth sailing from the start, there were growing pains in learning to work together. Life isn’t easy or without complications and I appreciate when books does reflect that. It doesn’t have to be some major drama or blowout, in fact I prefer it not to be. Here it was just right, it created some tension a bit of grumbling to show that there is a learning curve to everything – even working with your best friends.
Speaking of tension, the sexual tension between Jonah and Avery, his intern, was off the charts. So many longing glances, the need to touch and to be near. They had chemistry to say the least. But Jonah is reluctant to start something. He’s carrying a lot of guilt from his time in the military and it’s keeping him from forming connections. So it takes some time for them to finally get on the same page, but when they do its full speed ahead and the steam is coming off the pages, something I know many readers will love.
Ride the Lightning was a great start to a new series and I can’t wait for the rest of the series to be published and see what adventures await us next. Recommended!
A copy of this book was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
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