Compulsion (Max Revere Novels)
By: Allison Brennan
Rating: 5 of 5
“Compulsion” is the second full length novel in the new Max (Maxine) Revere mysteries by Allison Brennan. There is also a short novella prequel, “Maximum Exposure” which focuses on how Max gets her television show about solving cold cases regarding people who have gone missing. Max is an investigative reporter who specializes in this type of cold case. She started her career by reporting on the disappearance of her college roommate and has now written four books on various cases and has a monthly cable television show with a similar focus.
In this book, Max is trying to solve the missing persons case of an older couple who have disappeared more than a year ago after a visit to New York City. While that mystery is being worked, complex stories of other cases which may or may not be related are woven into the story. Max’s relationships are picked apart – beginning with that of her missing wild-child mother through others to her new romantic relationship with Nick Santini (introduced in “Notorious”).
When I first starting reading this series, the characters were so fully drawn, I felt sure that there were prior books in the series. That is not the case; it is really that the author has a firm grasp on the main characters in this series and has provided a great back story for each of them and how they relate to Max. There is Ben, her late college roomate’s best friend, Marco FBI agent and her on-again off-again romantic interest of many years, David, her bodyguard and right hand and finally, Nick (a California cop) who is her latest romantic interest.
There are many disturbing scenes in this story which deal with abandonment, torture (physical and psychological), and mental illness, so be prepared. The plot is very well drawn and, while complex, is well tied up at the end. I was left feeling that the book was well-ended and no unintentional strings had been left. We get deeper and deeper into Max’s past with each story and, as a character, she becomes more and more real to me. I began to care about the child Maxine – what we now know happened to her and wondering what more will be uncovered in ensuing stories.
I look forward to more books in this series and recommend it to those who like a strong female lead in their mysteries.
I received a complimentary copy of this book via the publisher.
“Compulsion” is the second full length novel in the new Max (Maxine) Revere mysteries by Allison Brennan. There is also a short novella prequel, “Maximum Exposure” which focuses on how Max gets her television show about solving cold cases regarding people who have gone missing. Max is an investigative reporter who specializes in this type of cold case. She started her career by reporting on the disappearance of her college roommate and has now written four books on various cases and has a monthly cable television show with a similar focus.