SAY NO MORE
Hank Phillippi Ryan
2016
Forge
When I open a new book by Hank Phillippi Ryan, I know I’m in for a good read. I also think to myself there is no way this no one can be as great as the last one. And every damn time she proves me wrong. I’m just a fly caught in the web of Hank’s words. I forget to eat, I ignore sleep and showering goes on hold.
SAY NO MORE is another adventure with Jane Ryland, a reporter in Boston and the station she works at has her working with a new crew doing documentaries. Jane is working on a story about sexual assaults and it goes without saying it’s a tough assignment. Jane has a victim ready to go on camera to talk about her assault but then threats start coming, starting with a note that says “Say no more”. Jane has also witnessed a hit and run which is more than it seems. Her fiancé’ Jake Brogan, a homicide detective, is working a case that is giving him fits as the community in which it happened is tightly knit, a little too tightly. Both Jan and Jake want to learn the truth, but the truth isn’t always what it seems and doesn’t always want to be seen.
Ryan has such a wonderful flow to her writing that it makes it very hard to stop reading. It draws you in and before you know it time has flown by and you are so engrossed in the story everything else disappears. I also really love her characters. They seem so real to me it feels as though she is actually just sharing a story that happened to some friends. My favorite thing about Ryan’s work, and in particular this book is the way when weaves this tale and draws you in so smoothly that when twists and turns start taking place you are genuinely surprised.
Hank Phillippi Ryan gets a lot of buzz for her books and with good reason. She is a master of suspenseful storytelling and I honestly can’t wait for the nest one. SAY NO MORE is one of my favorite books of the year.
Jon Jordan
