Little Loose Ends

Hudson Valley Series, Book 2

By: Bonnie Traymore

Narrated by: Robin McAlpine

A standalone sequel to Killer Motives: A Hudson Valley Mystery.

After a year that turned her world upside down, Victoria Mancusio’s seemingly perfect life is back intact—except for one looming loose end. And Victoria doesn’t like loose ends. All Victoria wants is for her life to go back to normal. In the aftermath of her husband’s infidelity, his lover’s murder, and the harrowing moments when her life flashed before her eyes, she just wants to focus on her perfect baby daughter, Lila, and live a simple, peaceful life.

But given her family’s wealth and notoriety, a simple life has never really been possible for Victoria. And with a sensational murder case and their names splashed all over the media last year, a threat from her past has resurfaced. Are the taunting text messages he’s sending a genuine threat, or is it just his way of playing with her head? She takes it upon herself to find out, determined to protect herself and her daughter. But the more she uncovers, the more the fabric of her life begins to unravel, and Victoria soon realizes he’ll stop at nothing to get back at her. But not if she can get him first....

©2022 Bonnie Traymore (P)2023 Bonnie Traymore

Should have read book 1

The narration was really good; and while yes, you CAN listen to/read this story separately from the first book in the series, I honestly think I was a bit lost with the way the beginning of this book was written and definitely felt like I was missing information and had been dropped into the middle of an already-going story. I actually re-started the audiobook twice to make sure I hadn't somehow missed content before I realized that I'd just missed the entire story from the previous book. Therefore it took me a lot of investment to get interested in the story/characters, but it IS well-written and I really did enjoy the story. I'll definitely read the first book even though I basically know it now.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Great follow up to Book 1

The saga continues, with familiar and novel characters. This was a tense thriller with a great twist that I didn't see coming. I would advise reading or listening to them in order to get the full picture of the characters and the region. Robin McAlpine did an outstanding job once again on the narration.

Vacation from life for 7hrs & 15mins of listening

I got exactly what I wanted from listening to the Hudson Valley Series, a mini vacation from everything happening in the world. I found the characters and story compelling and was engaged and curious until the end. I look forward to more books by this Author.

Risky Independence

Little Loose Ends, book 2 in the Hudson Valley Series focuses on Victoria Mancusio a year after the traumatic events that involved her husband Nick’s betrayal, his arrest for murder, and her near-death experience. The events made front-page headlines for weeks. The press found the mix of murder, money, and mystery irresistible. The publicity threatens the pair in ways no one could foresee.

Victoria and Nick are trying to pull their marriage together and put the past in the rearview mirror. They buy a new house safely secluded and plan to open a new art gallery. They want to be the best possible parents for their precious daughter and recapture the trust needed for their relationship. When veiled threats begin invading her peaceful life as a successful art dealer, Victoria decides to handle it alone.

Ms. Traymore takes the leading characters and masterfully adds realistic dimensions highlighted in the winding journey to expose the truth. Victoria’s hopes, fears, convictions, and resolutions are intertwined in the threads of the mystery. Finding out who is threatening her daughter is all-consuming. Victoria travels to the Southwest to meet with local authorities to share the evidence she uncovered. Her determination to prove that someone from her past is behind the threatening texts could ruin everything.

Like the excellent Killer Motives, the first book in the series, this story is excellently narrated by Robin McAlpine, who brings the thriller to life. The timing and delivery were perfect, with no errors in the audio quality of the delivery. The consistency of the voices matched the prior book in the series. Fans of psychological thrillers will enjoy the ride with the edge of tension, pulling readers and listeners further until the unexpected ending.

Even better than the first!

Traymore is a fantastic storyteller. Loved this sequel! As much as I’d like some peace for Victoria, I’d also welcome a third book in this series! 😆

Info Dumps and More Bad Things

I did not like this book. First, although it's a rather long book, it had multiple info dumps from various characters. A significant part of the book's first part was just a series of these. When will authors understand that readers (or listeners) do not like this? Show, don’t tell. Reveal when it makes sense. We don’t have to know all of everyone’s backstory right away. (And if we do, that’s a flaw of your storytelling technique.) I also could not relate remotely to one of the female characters. She just had a poor attitude and didn't appreciate what she had. And I hate it when authors promote character self-loathing because of their physical appearance. Aren't we beyond that in 2023? There are scads of psychological thrillers out there, and I recommend choosing a better one.