Web of Evil

Ali Reynolds was being such a twit so many times in Web of Evil, that it was hard for me to bear listening to her. It's a good thing I've already listened to books one and three, or I wouldn't want to listen to another of her adventures again.

The opening murder is suspenseful and cruel. Our former reporter is once again suspected of murder and does not enjoy being tried by the media or disbelieved by the police. The police seem particularly suspicious of how nice Ali is being to her estranged husband's pregnant young mistress. There is plenty of suspense, but all too often it reminds me of my youth, when my sister and I watched slasher and horror movies on TV. We'd be yelling at a character not to go into the basement/barn/spooky old show more cabin, etc. Of course the character didn't have the self-preservation instincts of a house fly and went right in. Good-bye, character.

If Ali Reynolds were in a horror movie or novel instead of book two in a mysteries series, she wouldn't have come out alive.

Cat lovers, Samantha the rescue cat is back. She has a lot more sense than the woman fostering her. show less

When her husband misses his court date the day they are supposed to get divorced and his supposed wife-to-be files a missing persons report the following day, Ali Reynolds is automatically the prime suspect, especially when they find that his will is still the same as the day they last saw each other. Now, her husband's fiance has come to her for help with the funeral arrangements and the police are asking her questions every other day. Ali must find out the truth before it's too late for her innocence. A twisted plot of multiple murders, you never know who's going to leave the story when you turn the page. I really enjoyed the book and found that I had a hard time putting it down once I started it. A must read for crime fiction fans show more everywhere. The first book I have read by J.A. Jance and I will definitely be adding the rest of her collection to my wishlist. show less

I've been listening to the audio versions of a few of J.A. Jance's novels as they become available through our library. As a result I'm going through the Ali Reynolds series out of order. But each book reads well on its own and the author's done a great job of providing sufficient background information to understand the characters.

The book I heard this week was Web of Evil, a mystery in which a former news host, Ali Reynolds, becomes a suspect in a brutal murder. I find it interesting that Ali Reynolds is a blogger, because the books seem more about personal problems of the type that might show up on a blog than about the mysteries. Ali uses her blog to vent and in the process receives advice and support. Because there's a crime show more investigation taking place while Ali is keeping up her blog, she posts information that made me want to scream at her foolishness. But I kept listening.

While the mystery goes on in Web of Evil there is also a story unfolding of raising children in broken families. Ali Reynolds is a single mother. The father of her son, Chris, died years earlier. Ali remarried and, as this book begins, she's heading to California to sign divorce papers. She has a friend, Dave (a detective), who is also divorced. His ex has custody of their two children and has moved quite a distance away from his home in Sedona, Arizona. His daughter, Chrystal, has some serious problems which have caused her to act out in ways that could affect the rest of her life. And a third dysfunctional family appears in the story because the husband Ali is about to divorce has a fiance he's planned to marry the very next day. This young woman has a terrible relationship with her mother and an unwanted child on the way. J.A. Jance weaves these stories together to explore major issues families can experience. Although these issues are extreme, we live in an imperfect world and most readers can identify with aspects of these problems. This is Jance's greatest strength. The characters are extreme, but feel real.

Steve Lindahl – author of Motherless Soul and White Horse Regressions show less

Ali Reynolds head to Los Angeles to finalize her divorce. He soon-to-be ex-husband fails to show. The judge orders a new court date and warns Paul Grayson's attorney that if Paul goes thru with his scheduled remarriage the next day she will charge him with bigamy. Ali heads to the hotel to wait and shortly thereafter the cops are at the door her husband's body has been found in Palm Springs around the time she drove through the area, she is their prime suspect.

Ali with Dave Holman and Edie, her Mom begin a tandem investigation in order to clear Ali of a murder charge.

Gripping tale, loads of suspense and possibilities. Action, action, action I read it in one sitting as I couldn't put it down.

Reasonably well-paced and well-developed suspense novel. It is no great shakes, but it makes for entertaining reading.

This is Jance’s second Ali Reynolds thriller. The first, EDGE OF EVIL, hooked me on the series. This second has ended that relationship. The blogging part of the book was cool, but the character was a bit on the side of little good two-shoes for me to enjoy. The mystery in itself was good and I didn’t figure out until halfway through.

What can’t be taken away from the book’s quality was the fact the characters were well defined. This is an art form Jance has perfected. The plot was interesting enough; but then again, all of her plots are. Also another thing to add to her credit is she knows how to end a book. What brought down the rating were two things. One was parts of the story were too far-fetched. And the second, there were show more way too many dry spots. So many, in fact, it has turned me off reading more in this series. show less

Recently fired from her dream job as a glamorous LA anchorwoman simply because she is over 40, Ali Reynolds returns home to Secona, AZ. Before coming home, Ali also cuts loose her husband. Now she enjoys venting her feeling in the comfort of her pajamas everyday as the owner of a popular blog. But days before her divorce is finalized, her estranged husband is found dead. He leaves behind a large estate and a pregnant fiancee. Ali is the sole heir - and the prime suspect. It was OK - I didn't love the characters - the story was OK.