Ciao, amici! I have a treat for you today. Friend and fellow author Joan Hall has just released the final book in her Driscoll Lake series, Unclear Purposes. I had the pleasure of helping with her cover reveal tour. Today, I’m sharing my review of her work. And Thursday, I’ll be hosting her so she can share an excerpt from her novel.
But enough about past and future posts. Let’s get to the good stuff. My review of Unclear Purposes. Unfortunately, you can’t read it on Amazon because they hate me and won’t let me review her work. You can find it on BookBub, though. And Goodreads. Or just read on.
★★★★★ A Compelling End to a Captivating Series
I’m both happy and sad about Joan Hall’s UNCLEAR PURPOSES. Happy because I got to visit with old friends while getting another wonderful Driscoll Lake story; sad because it’s the end of the series. And as far as endings go, the author gave this reader everything she could possibly ask for.
UNCLEAR PURPOSES tells the story of former FBI agent (turned private investigator) Vince Green and Driscoll Lake’s most infamous widow, Christine Lawrence. Their relationship almost started in an earlier book in the series, but it was put on hold. Christine had a lot of history to get over, and Vince left town for a while. You’d think his return would enable them to pick up where they left off, but he had secrets and she had trust issues—not a great combination. Watching the two of them overcome the obstacles to their relationship was a sheer pleasure. But that’s only one small piece of this novel’s wonderful puzzle.
This is by and large a romantic suspense novel, not solely a romance, and the suspense element is perhaps the best of the three novels in the series. There are so many plot threads you think they can’t possibly be resolved, yet the author weaves them all together seamlessly. The end result is a surprise I believe few will see coming.
The character arcs are well-developed and so satisfying. The plot proceeds at a brisk pace without getting out of control. The setting and returning characters are comfortable and welcome.
I’ve read many series that faltered at the end. This one, I’m happy to say, is of equal quality to the start. In fact, I’d say it’s the best of the trilogy, but I honestly can’t say which of the three books is my favorite. What I can say is this is a fitting end to a fabulous series, and fans of the genre will really enjoy it.
I hope you come back Thursday to see what Joan has decided to share with us. In the meantime, how about you share this with your friends and maybe wish her good luck?
Wonderful review, Staci, and congratulations, Joan! I have Book 1 of this series in my Kindle TBR folder and am looking forward to getting started on it. (Will do my best to follow along on the book tour, too, though I’m way behind.) Sell a million, Joan!! 😀
Staci, when I was getting shut out of WordPress, even my own blog, it turned out to be that it hated Internet Explorer. Once I started using Chrome (which I don’t particularly like, but have adapted to), my problems disappeared at once. Maybe that is your WP issue, at least. Good luck. 🙂
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You’ll enjoy it, Marcia. I think this series is right up your alley.
I wish that was my WP problem, but it isn’t. I’ve tried on several browsers and it’s always the same. (I hate IE, so that’s definitely not the issue.) I’m glad you managed to get back on your site. That had to have been so desperately frustrating!
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It really was, so I guess I’m lucky changing to Chrome fixed it. So far. 😉
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Fabulous review, Staci! The Driscoll Lake series is on my list, and I suspect I will enjoy it! Good luck, Joan!
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It’s a joy to read. The whole series was wonderful. Thanks, Julie.
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Thank you so much, Julie. I do hope you enjoy it!
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Pingback: #BookExcerpt from UNCLEAR PURPOSES, a #RomanticSuspense #NewRelease by Joan Hall – Staci Troilo
I love it when series end strong. Sounds like a great read, Staci. 🙂 Congrats to Joan.
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She did a terrific job, Diana. Readers will really enjoy it.
Thanks for visiting. 🙂
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Thanks for the warm wishes, Diana!
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Congratulations Joan – you should be well pleased with yourself! Looks like a series I’ll have to catch up on 🙂
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Thank you, Jessica. I enjoyed writing this series. As Staci pointed out in her review, it’s a bit sad to leave these characters behind. On the other thand, I’m ready to move on to other things. Thanks for stopping by today.
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I totally get that. I’ve done a fanfiction trilogy and I loved my characters so much I hated to leave them… luckily, with a few tweaks I can rewrite the series for mainstream audiences and publish it, so I don’t really have to say goodbye 😊
Congratulations again Joan!
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I have a “feeling” one or two of my characters will show up in a new series. 🙂
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If you like romantic suspense, you’ll really enjoy this series, Jess.
And how cool that you might tweak a fanfic trilogy!
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🤗
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Fabulous review, Staci! Mega congrats to Joan on the new release, wishing her the best of luck!
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Thank you so much, Jacquie!
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Thanks, Jacquie. I really enjoyed this one.
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Fantastic review, Staci – congrats to Joan!
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Thank you, Teri! Staci does wonderful reviews.
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Thanks, Teri.
And that’s very kind of you to say, Joan.
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Good review, especially your comment about some series faltering at the end. I’m still frowning over the ending of Game of Thrones. Sigh.
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Thanks for commenting, Jacqui! I have never watched Game of Thrones (I know I’m in a minority) but I’ve heard lots of talk about the ending.
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That seems to be a popular sentiment, Jacqui. I’m glad to say that isn’t the case with Joan’s book/series. Readers will be happy from beginning to end.
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You make it sound marvelous, Staci. Thanks for the review.
I’ve been trying to visit everyone… but WordPress won’t let me “like” or comment on most blogs (it’s weirdly random), but maybe I can get around that via the Reader. Yet another WordPress pain in the rear…
Have a good week. Hugs!
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Teagan, thanks for leaving a comment. Loved Staci’s review.
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WP often won’t let me like, either. And it keeps logging me out. Weird. I hope you get your problem sorted out quickly, though.
Thanks for stopping by!
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Happy book birthday to Joan, and congratulations on that fabulous review! I’m halfway through my current read and Unclear Purposes is next.
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I love book birthdays. Thanks for sharing in Joan’s celebration, Mae.
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Thank you, Mae! I’m excited about this one!
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Good review Staci. Thanks. Congrats Joan.
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Thank you, John.
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😀
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Thank you so much, John!
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😀
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Staci, thank you so much for the wonderful review! I really appreciate it!
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My pleasure. I loved the story. I just wish Amazon would let me share my thoughts.
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I know. They do weird stuff sometimes.
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Excellent review, Staci. I got a copy and can’t wait to read the ending to the series.
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Thanks, Michele! I hope you enjoy the book. Sad in a way to wrap up this series, but ready to move on to something else.
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I know you’ll enjoy it, Michele.
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Thanks for sharing your review, Staci. It looks like a great book. I’ve just bought my copy of Unclear Purposes and can’t wait to get reading it. 🙂
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Thank you, Harmony! I hope you enjoy the book. It was a long time coming , but I’m excited the release date is here!
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You’ll love it, Harmony. Joan did a great job, with both the story and the series.
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