Connie Dial

Sometimes it’s the tiniest detail, the little words yes or no, the almost-nothing that totally changes the world. LAPD Captain Josie Corsino’s world is set to change in Connie Dial’s latest entry to this series, a change that surprises in its suddenness, but makes perfect sense and leads to logical conclusions. Meanwhile the world of a cop who’s been dismissed for failing in his job will surely change. The civilian member of the board that dismissed him is murdered—the biggest change of all. And the scene is set to chase a serial killer, a potential cop killer, or both. Opinions of characters—who can be trusted, who’s out for themselves, who will help and who’s in the way—all are set to be transformed as well in this fast-moving, fast-changing novel.

More than a police procedural, Warning Shots focusses on Josie’s viewpoint, her strength of character, and her faith in those she cares for as they help her study the clues. It’s a faith well-placed in some cases, maybe less so in others. It’s a faith that the tiniest detail, when discovered, will shatter or strengthen. In Warning Shots, the reader can follow those warning signs to their natural ends.

There are no simply good and bad characters in Connie Dial’s writing; her creations have the depth and flaws of real people; they grow through events that shape them, just as the Josie Corsino novels grow into a picture of time and place and people. Real problems fill these pages and haunt the reader, burning the barrier between imagination and hope. Josie Corsino will surely win through, but there’s mystery, betrayal and politics on the way—problems that may well find resolution in the warning shots of detail.

Disclosure: I was given a preview edition and I loved it. There again, I love the series.… (mais)

The many loves, of man and wife, father and child, brother and friend, come together in Connie Dial’s heart-breaking tale of Los Angeles and The Third Hell. Streets and scenery are vividly real, characters are achingly human, and dialog is pitch-perfect as broken marriage, missing child, and hidden crimes combine. Meanwhile good and evil’s black and white becomes shaded and shrouded in gray. There’s a Haven where broken children learn to survive or die. There’s a sacred place where the unbroken break. There’s a broken girl hiding secrets and a boy on the run. And there’s a father, imperfect, with an (almost literally) broken heart. Together they tread the paths of a complex story and the sins of fallen angels. Together they seek after love. And together, they just might be redeemed.

The Third Hell is an absorbing tale blending murder mystery, social commentary, romance, family drama and police procedural into something enormously greater than all its parts. Incisive, powerfully convincing, deeply sympathetic and beautifully told, it’s the story of a man in search of lost love, living under the banner of lost hope, and seeking more than he knows. Readers will find far more than they expect, and the balance of life’s joy and sorrow will stay with them long after the final page is turned. It’s a breathtaking ride.

Disclosure: I was given a preview edition and I voluntarily offer my review. I love it.… (mais)

After a cop shoots another cop in a burglary sting, Josie Corsino must find out if it was a honest shoot or if there is more to the story.

I couldn't connect with the characters or the story until the very end. It seemed to me that the author 'told' me what was going on and who the characters were instead of letting the story open up and tell me. I finally started to get into the story and then the book was over. Her personal side was distracting too. It seemed like it was added on for filler and didn't add to the story at all.… (mais)