His latest is The Stolen Hours. We first met Joe and Lila in The Life We Bury. It's Lila who takes center stage in this latest. She almost has her law degree and just needs to put in her time working with a prosecutor in the Hennepin County Attorney's office. Faithful readers will know of Lila's struggles to get this far. But the past comes barreling at her with a prosecutor who is determined to derail her dreams. Even worse is a suspect that Lila thinks has ties to her own past.
Lila is such a great character. She's so likeable and real - wounded, determined, clever and more. Eskens does a great job portraying her inner thoughts, struggles, trauma and memories realistically. The reader will be one hundred percent behind her. Joe makes a cameo and I hope Eskens has more in store for him. The supporting cast were just as well drawn, with Detective Nikki Vang returning and introducing prosecutor Andie Fitch. I hope she too is included in future novels.
I love a good mystery and courtroom battle. Eskens is a former defense attorney and that inside knowledge adds much to his plotting. The 'bad guy' in this case? A malevolent man named Gavin. He's quite sure he is smarter than the cops, his lawyer and the prosecutors. After all, he's been at this for awhile and has a foolproof plan if he's ever arrested. He's given a (chilling) voice with his own chapters. And I have to say that I was completely fooled by Eskens as to the whodunit! I love being unable to predict the final pages.
Eskens' writing flows easily and makes for addictive reading - I devoured The Stolen Hours in a day. See for yourself - read an excerpt of The Stolen Hours.
Am making a note of this author as he is new to me. The book sounds very good.
ReplyDeleteStart with the first book if you can Mystica. I hope you enjoy his writing!
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