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I picked up Poisonous by Allison Brennan for reasons that feel obvious; at least to me. Allison Brennan is to my romantic suspense/thriller as Kristan Higgins is to my contemporary romance. In short? I’m a fangirl. It also helps that Notorious was an awesome start to a new series. I look forward to the release of each new book and mourn the waiting time.

Allison Brennan tackled a pretty current issue in Poisonous: cyber-bullying. Ivy Lake was a pretty horrible young adult but she never got the chance to mature or redeem herself. Most of the plot focused on Max trying to solve Ivy’s 14 month cold case. There wasn’t much focus on Max’s personal life. We did get a peek into Daivd Kane’s personal life. I can’t believe what he has to live with. It makes me sad to be honest.

While the core characters were the same, there were new additional characters related to the new case being solved. Austin Lake was the cliched angry teen but he had been through some hard shit in his young life. He had a right to that anger. Max treated Tommy Lake (a family member and suspect) with such care and respect. It was a high point of the book for me. I work in an accounting firm who handles the finances for intellectually disabled individuals in group homes. I may only work with the numbers and not the direct care but it has opened my eyes. I have heard the stories. Tommy has an intellectual disability. Brennan wrote him with respect. I enjoyed his character and role in Poisonous.

Brennan kept me guessing the whole time. I’d think I’d have my thoughts pegged just to realize it’s what she wanted me to think. I can’t wait for the next one!