Wrong Alibi

When Wrong Alibi starts I feel like I am in a Stephen King novel and Alaska feels all too real and freakin' scary. I had just finished the prequel, Right Motive, of Christina Dodd's new series “Murder in Alaska” when I started this book. Dodd definitely creates a mood and a red herring (laugh). I was sucked into the storm immediately and could not put the book down.

You do not have to read the prequel first to understand Wrong Alibi. They are both standalone stories. Matter of fact reading the prequel gave me preconceptions for Wrong Alibi so I spent two-thirds of the book waiting for a connection to the first book when there is none. The Chief of Police is the same person at the end of the story, but he is barely in it. Thinking that these two stories were connected kept my mind off of the full story of the book.

Throw your concept of time away when you are reading Wrong Alibi. Our heroine Evie has a lot happen to her in her young life and it happens hard and fast. (Don't be like me and flip through pages to make sure your timeline is correct...just go with the flow. (laugh)) Evie is a fighter even when she does not want to be.

I think the relationships in the book confuse me the most. Ioana is like two different characters in the book. I am most confused by her and her relationship with Evie. She is very cold in the beginning of Evie's story. Ioana abandons her completely. Then when Evie shows up four years later it is with a completely different tune. It is like whiplash and Dodd's explanation just doesn't make sense to me. The same can almost be said for Evie's relationship with her sister.

Now the mystery is beyond good. It is diabolical and you get where the story is going in the book on the first drive. You just don't realize the full extent of the killer's agenda until it is too late...just like Evie. Gives me the creeps just remembering it.

I wish the later connections between Donald White and his future victim is explained better. Why them? Did he know? Did it satisfy the evil within? Was it deeper? So many questions.

There is a minor romantic storyline, but romance isn't the correct word. It is just sex, but somehow it ends up romantic a couple of chapters later. No buildup just an instant “I know this is going to be my person” connection. I think the later connection did not need to be added, it actually would have made more sense for Evie to end up with Hawley who stuck by her and helped her for eight years or even Jeen who made such a big impact on Evie's life.

Wrong Alibi is a mix of action, hold your breath moments, and drama. Evie's story is thrilling, horrifying, and enthralling. Dodd creates a memorable background for Evie. Evie is Wrong Alibi and she is a survivor. A heroine to root for and to read. Check out the vastness of Alaska and the killer's impact in Wrong Alibi.

I received an ARC of this book and I am writing a review without prejudice and voluntarily.

I really teetered with my rating for this one and am so sad to rate it a one. But by the end everything just unraveled and became so ridiculous I no longer cared about the ending. That coupled with all the other issues I had leaves me no choice but to give this a one star.

I do want to start by saying I think the author did a great job of setting up the premise, the setting and Evelyn as a character. I really enjoyed that and that part was well written.

I had a really big issue with the dialouge, however. It was so stilted and really made the plot tough to follow. Maybe its because its an arc and some of it will get cleaned up before the book releases. Some of the characters felt just so weak and one dimensional too and I just honestly did not get the point of them being there.

Finally, the weird inclusion of the super weird romantic subplot just threw me all the way off. Just, why? And the writing there was very dry. Almost like the author didn't even want to include it but was forced to by an editor or something. Just seemed unnecessary and very unbelievable.

I wish we had focused in more on Evelyn's background, how it related to her mom, and the mystery only and left it at that.

*I was provided a free ARC by the publisher

Solid Escapism. This is one of those books with enough twists and turns that it truly provides a great deal of effective escapism - even if you manage to put it down, you're going to be wondering what can possibly happen next. As a setup to a series... I'm interested to see where it goes from here, honestly. To me, it didn't really feel too “setup” ish and almost completely read like a true standalone book. There weren't any real threads left dangling here, so other than setting up the backstory of the primary character and a few key supporting characters.... like I said, not overly obvious what this series will entail. Which is unusual for a Book 1. Still, in and of itself this was an excellent twisty mystery/ action book, though the climax did feel a bit abrupt. Overall a fun read, and very much recommended.