Publisher:
Date of publication: November 24th, 2023
Genre: Murder Mystery, Paranormal
Series: Hailey Arquette Murder Files
Perfect in Death—Book 1 (review here)
Deceptive Silence—Book 2 (review here)
Unlikely Justice—Book 3
Phantom Reunion—Book 4
Purchase Links: Kindle
Goodreads Synopsis:
Private investigator Hailey Arquette’s job to locate a woman’s fiancée is complicated when she succeeds. The problem—he is now a spirit who can’t identify his killer.
FBI agent Trenton Briner has his hands full. His long time psychic friend has taken on a mouthy sidekick, a teenager with no caution and no sense of vulnerability. He knows there’s more to both young women, but can’t define their unique abilities, until he catches the teen red-handed.
Hailey knows the crime scene evidence didn’t add up. Animal fur, a human and cougar’s tracks beside the victim, and a seemingly invisible killer open her psychic world to new and deadly possibilities.
Can the trio find common ground before the unseen assassin stalking them strikes one of their own?
First Line:
The soft ditty Clarence Burke hummed while heading to his car haled the chittering of two nearby squirrels that stopped to stare.
Unlikely Justice by Reily Garrett
Important things you need to know about the book:
Pace: The pace of Unlikely Justice goes between medium and fast.
POV: Unlikely Justice has a 3rd person POV (Haley, Casper, and Trenton).
Series: Unlikely Justice is the 3rd book in the Haley Arquette Murder Files. While you can read this as a standalone, I recommend reading the first two books to understand backstories.
Trigger/Content Warning: Unlikely Justice has trigger and content warnings. If any of these triggers you, I suggest not reading the book. They are:
- Rape (hinted at)
- Slut Shaming
- Cheating (recounted)
- Drugging
- Blood & Gore Depiction
- Dead Bodies & Body Parts
- Dismemberment
- Mutilation
- Needles
- Grief & Loss Depiction
- Murder & Attempted Murder
- Organized Crime
- Physical Assault
- Torture
- Animal Attack
Sexual Content: There is no sexual content in Unlikely Justice.
Language: There is mild to moderate swearing in Unlikely Justice.
Setting: Unlikely Justice is set in and around Hamchet, Texas.
Age Range: I recommend Unlikely Justice to anyone over 21.
Plot Synopsis (as spoiler-free as I can get):
Haley is surprised when an upstanding citizen in Hamchet goes missing. She is even more surprised when his ghost appears, asking her for help finding his killer. But there is a problem: Clarence (the spirit) cannot remember who his killer is or why he was killed. But the clues (animal fur, animal footprint with human footprints) don’t make sense. Haley needs to use her growing psychic powers and rely more on Casper and her unconventional family to help solve this case. But that involves keeping Casper’s abilities hidden from Trenton, her childhood friend, and the FBI agent determined to uncover Casper’s secrets.
Main Characters
- Haley—I liked her character in this book. Because Haley knew Clarence and his fiancee, so she was determined to help him the best she could. I liked that her psychic powers seemed to be growing. I loved her relationship with Casper. It was a big sister/little sister dynamic, and I liked that Haley knew better than to try and rein in Casper. As for Haley and Trenton, I saw what happened at the ending coming from book 1. I am surprised that it took the author until book 3 to make it happen.
- Casper—She is truly one of my favorite all-time characters. I loved her in The Guardians series. I like that the author showed that there was more to her than her psychic abilities. I loved that she acted like a teenager (well, one who can phase through things and talk to the dead). It was nice seeing that side of her. But I also appreciated the side of her that was badass.
- Trenton—I wasn’t expecting Trenton to make much of an appearance in this book (he was on the sidelines in the second book). I was pleasantly surprised that he was more involved with this case (even though Haley and Casper didn’t want him to be). I got a kick out of how easily Casper needled him. I also got why he wanted to know more about her. Trenton knew something different about her but couldn’t place his finger on it.
My review:
Reily Garrett is an auto purchase author for me. I love her books. So, I was super excited when she contacted me to read and review Unlikely Justice. This book more than lived up to my expectations.
The main plotline of Unlikely Justice revolves around Haley’s current case, Casper’s investigation into the school she attends, and Trenton trying to keep up with them both/trying to figure out Casper and her family. The storyline was well-written and well-fleshed out. I had a moment of wondering how Haley’s case and Casper’s investigation were connected. Then, boom, the author explained it.
I giggled at how off-balance Trenton was with Casper (as I mentioned above). She liked messing with him and took it to new heights in this book. Having Simon do his ghostly antics on an unknowing Trenton made me laugh out loud while reading. I also loved how Casper turned the direction of his questioning regarding her family. Trenton did come in handy during the last part of the book.
The mystery angle of the book was well-written. While I figured out one aspect of it (where the fur and footprints came from), I was surprised at who was behind everything. It was a huge twist, and I was left sitting with my mouth open. This person went to extreme lengths to hide their identity from everyone and almost got away with their revenge. This person is also tied to what was happening at Casper’s school. Oh, speaking of that, another twist involving Casper and another student took me by surprise. It also made me wonder what series that person came from or if this will be another series in this universe.
The end of Unlikely Justice was interesting. I can’t get into it because of spoilers, but I liked how the author revealed everything. The author also had a cliffhanger that involved Haley and Casper. I cannot wait to read Phantom Reunion!
Many thanks to Reily Garrett for allowing me to read and review Unlikely Justice. All opinions stated in this review are mine.
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