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    ToxiCity: A Georgia Davis Thriller Prequel: The Georgia Davis PI Series, #3
    Unavailable
    ToxiCity: A Georgia Davis Thriller Prequel: The Georgia Davis PI Series, #3
    Unavailable
    ToxiCity: A Georgia Davis Thriller Prequel: The Georgia Davis PI Series, #3
    Ebook373 pages6 hours

    ToxiCity: A Georgia Davis Thriller Prequel: The Georgia Davis PI Series, #3

    By Libby Fischer Hellmann

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    There's an inventive killer at large in Chicago in this dark thriller and police procedural from best-selling crime writer Libby Fischer Hellmann.

    When three bodies turn up in rapid succession, all in landfills or waste disposal dumpsters, rookie cop Georgia Davis is drawn into the investigation. Teaming up with her detective boyfriend Matt and his friend Detective Sergeant John Stone, Georgia must work out who's responsible for the killings, but there's little evidence to go on. The case also tests the strength of Georgia's relationship with Matt—complicating the situation is the daughter of a real estate mogul, who also happens to have her eye on Matt.

    Who's behind these gruesome killings in this normally quiet neighborhood? Why are children developing cancer? And will Georgia's relationship withstand the demands of this particularly complex investigation?

    Fans of Libby Fischer Hellmann's gripping Georgia Davis PI series will enjoy getting to know a younger Georgia Davis in this thrilling prequel, which finds her ten years before Easy Innocence and Doubleback.

    Deftly weaving emotional pressure into an engaging plot centered on a tangled web of mystery and murder, ToxiCity is a must-read addition to the libraries of crime fiction enthusiasts the world over.

    Toxicity is as gritty as it is spellbinding. With fully-realized characters…Toxicity draws the reader inexorably into a web of deceit, heart-crushing loss, and righteous fury… A stunning and satisfying conclusion. J. Carson Black, Best-selling author of The Shop and Darkness on the Edge of Town

    Anybody that loves police procedurals written tautly, with grit and a healthy dose of noir, will love this one…her Georgia Davis series may just be one of the best crime thriller series being written today. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer

    Lovers of Hellmann's novel, Easy Innocence, will enjoy learning how heroine Georgia Davis survived her Chicago cop rookiehood. Chicago Tribune

    I was blown away once I began reading. The author's style is fast paced and exciting. I literally couldn't put the book down… Think CSI meets Erin Brockovich…F. Murrell

    Hellmann has written much more than a page-turner… writes with the economy and emotional punch of classic crime novelists like Lawrence Block. And she has created a perpetrator who is complex, realistic and completely unexpected… Peg Rorbarchek

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherThe Red Herrings Press
    Release dateSep 19, 2016
    ISBN9781938733147
    Unavailable
    ToxiCity: A Georgia Davis Thriller Prequel: The Georgia Davis PI Series, #3
    Author

    Libby Fischer Hellmann

    Libby Fischer Hellmann left a career in broadcast news in Washington, DC and moved to Chicago 35 years ago, where she, naturally, began to write gritty crime fiction. Twelve novels and twenty short stories later, she claims they’ll take her out of the Windy City feet first. She has been nominated for many awards in the mystery and crime writing community and has even won a few. With the addition of Jump Cut in 2016, her novels include the now five-volume Ellie Foreman series, which she describes as a cross between “Desperate Housewives” and “24;” the hard-boiled 4-volume Georgia Davis PI series, and three stand-alone historical thrillers that Libby calls her “Revolution Trilogy.” Last fall The Incidental Spy,  a historical novella set during the early years of the Manhattan Project at the U of Chicago was released. Her short stories have been published in a dozen anthologies, the Saturday Evening Post, and Ed Gorman’s “25 Criminally Good Short Stories” collection.  In 2005 Libby was the national president of Sisters In Crime, a 3500 member organization dedicated to the advancement of female crime fiction authors. More at http://libbyhellmann.com * She has been a finalist twice for the Anthony, three times for Foreword Magazines Book of the Year, the Agatha, the Shamus, the Daphne and has won the Lovey multiple times.

    Read more from Libby Fischer Hellmann

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    Reviews for ToxiCity

    4/5

    11 ratings3 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Note: While this is labeled as Book #3 of the series, it really is set before Book #1 and can be read as a stand alone novel.This is a clever serial killer mystery. The Feldman development site seems to be central to the story, but us readers know a little more than the detectives. The story has flashbacks to when houses were just going up on the Feldman site, showing us how families put their dreams into being home owners. At first the bodies don’t seem to be connected, but as Georgia and Detective Matt Singer dig into each one, similarities become apparent.Singer and his partner Detective Sargent John Stone make a good team. But Matt has some personal issues. First, he’s in a relationship with Georgia, which is against department regulations. That double standard rears it’s ugly head and Georgia pays the price. Then he’s helping out a potential victim of the serial killer, Vicky Feldman (daughter of the Feldman who created the housing complex).While I really enjoyed the plot, the characters fell a little flat for me. Matt is a wishwashy guy who can’t decide what he wants in a relationship. Georgia is drowning in self-pity and alcohol. Stone is interesting but we get so little of him. Ricky starts off as a capable business woman but later huffs off in anger, putting several people in danger.The ending is full of suspense and action. The story revealed the motivations of the killer in such a way that I did sympathize with them in many ways. It was an excellent wrap up of the murder mystery. I did want a bit more from Georgia, showing us clearly how she went from being that drunken sorry sot to the competent PI we know and love. 4/5 starsThe Narration: Beth Richmond and Derek Shetterly tag team this book. I’ve gotten used to Richmond narrating the first 2 books solo, so I feel she could have pulled this entire book off. Again, I like her voice for Georgia. She also tackles several Jewish words with ease. Shetterly was OK. I often had trouble differentiating his voice for Stone and his voice for Singer, so I sometimes lost track of what each guy was doing. Over all, the pacing was good and there were no tech issues with the recording. 4/5 stars.I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Libby Fischer Hellmann. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.
    • 5/5
      ToxiCity is another top-notch entry into Libby Fischer Hellman’s library of police procedurals and thrillers. Even though it is the third book in the Georgia Davis PI mystery series, it is in fact a prequel to Easy Innocence and Doubleback. It takes place ten years earlier, back when Georgia was a rookie cop in the Chicago suburbs. It answers the questions, “What really happened with Matt?” and “Why did Georgia leave the police force and become a private investigator?” Georgia’s story is bittersweet. As the story opens she is young, determined, idealistic and tough, but maybe not tough up to stand up against all the Chicago crime and politics and Matt’s sudden interest in the Jewish daughter of a real estate mogul connected to the murders. We witness some of the pain she endured and it helps us to understand how she became the woman she is.The story opens with a death, so right away you know what is happening, but not who is doing it. And it’s not easy to figure out who it could be. There are a lot of suspects for the murders and many reasons – money, power, greed, love, hate . . . . It’s a complex mystery. Children are sick and dying. Bodies are showing up in landfills and dumpsters. Even though people are doing very bad things, they didn’t always start out as very bad people. So many lives are touched and changed forever.Libby Fischer Hellman has written another outstanding thriller. It’s fast-paced and keeps you guessing. She captures the look and feel of Chicago as perfectly as ever as well as the impact of current political and environmental issues. The look into Georgia’s struggles explains a lot and makes her a more real, complete character to us.I received a copy of ToxiCity from the author. Although fast-paced and complex, the plot and characters are well developed and believable and make for an easy to follow, exciting story. I highly recommend ToxiCity and anything else Libby Fischer Hellman writes.
    • 5/5
      A AudioBook Review
      Story – 5
      Narration - 4
      Overall 5

      In what she calls the prequel to her Georgia Davis mysteries, Hellmann again leads us through a chilling mystery that is grounded in past and present, impeccably researched and characters that are well defined and wholly human.

      This story centers on a series of puzzling murders, toxic waste sites, cancer clusters and revenge. With a good dose of homegrown separatist groups and the paranoia that is their genesis, detailing of the frustrations inherent in police work and several clues that are detailed for the reader, the masses of information are provided in simple pieces that don’t feel overwhelming.

      Relationships are all prominently on display here as well, both current and in flashback: from a rather one-sided romance between Georgia and Singer, the overload of guilt that Singer is subjected to as his family cannot embrace Georgia fully since she is not Jewish, to Singer’s undeniable “grass is greener” attraction to Riki, the interpersonal details and inclusions are spectacular. Their inclusion helps to flush out the story and provide needed background information that enhances your understanding of the characters and fixes them in your brain.

      My only complaint with the audiobook version was in the narration. Sadly, Robin Rowan worked to make distinct voices and accents for each character, that were often more distracting than had she simply made minor changes in pitch and pace. The inclusion of varying accents, which were then detailed in the character’s words, provided a dissonance that was noticeable and occasionally broke the flow of what was being said.

      I should, at this point make note that when I had agreed to review this AudioBook, I did not realize that I had purchased a kindle copy of this particular title nearly six months ago. A fortuitous discovery, as I was also able to test out the “whispersync” feature. Whispersync allows you to purchase the audio book at a discounted price if you have the kindle version, and you can use this handy and clever application to alternate between reading and listening, with both versions integrating seamlessly.

      I did receive the AudioBook version of this book from the author for purpose of honest review for the Heard Word promotion at I am, Indeed. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.