He Will Be My Ruin [Book Review]

Hello there!

Title: He Will Be My Ruin

Author: K.A. Tucker

Publisher: Atria Books

Published Date: 2^nd February 2016

Rating: 4 stars

*Thank you to the publisher for the review copy*

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Synopsis: A woman who almost had it all . . .

On the surface, Celine Gonzalez had everything a twenty-eight-year-old woman could want: a one-bedroom apartment on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, a job that (mostly) paid the bills, and an acceptance letter to the prestigious Hollingsworth Institute of Art, where she would finally live out her dream of becoming an antiques appraiser for a major auction house. All she had worked so hard to achieve was finally within her reach. So why would she kill herself?

A man who was supposed to be her salvation . . .

Maggie Sparkes arrives in New York City to pack up what’s left of her best friend’s belongings after a suicide that has left everyone stunned. The police have deemed the evidence conclusive: Celine got into bed, downed a lethal cocktail of pills and vodka, and never woke up. But when Maggie discovers a scandalous photograph in a lock box hidden in Celine’s apartment, she begins asking questions. Questions about the man Celine fell in love with. The man she never told anyone about, not even Maggie. The man Celine believed would change her life.

Until he became her ruin. 

On the hunt for evidence that will force the police to reopen the case, Maggie uncovers more than she bargained for about Celine’s private life—and inadvertently puts herself on the radar of a killer. A killer who will stop at nothing to keep his crimes undiscovered. 

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Review: If I was Maggie Sparkes in this novel, I think I probably would’ve done a lot of the same things she had done.

K.A. Tucker is an author who I have heard a lot about. It has been on my TBR for a while that I should try one of her novels. I was so happy to receive a review copy of this one to celebrate its paperback release! And boy was this one really good murder mystery.

In this novel a best friend has died, and Maggie is sure it wasn’t an accident. What I liked most about this novel is how in depth we get to the main characters. I was sure by the end of the novel I was not going to know much about Celine’s (the one who gets murdered) history, but more so about what happened to her in the last moments of her life. But Tucker insists that we get to know her. First, we get to know her as Maggie knows her. But as we go through the novel we learn that there was a lot more to her than even Maggie knew. It must be hard to find out your best friend’s thoughts and actions are slightly different than you would have ever expected.

Maggie is also working with a private detective. I don’t know how, but a combination of the prologue and the clues had me second guessing everything. At first, I was pretty certain I had been able to predict who the killer was and their reason for it. But the detective, Maggie and the clues all lead me to believe it had to be someone else, then someone else, until I had no idea and I began second guessing everyone. I think that’s something which shows it was a good murder novel.

I also quite liked Maggie as a main character. She’s someone who has a lot of money, but in the novel I gradually grew to like her because she also has passions which drive her. Maggie’s particular passion is helping those in need with her money. Celine’s was antiques. I like how the author gave them both something they were incredibly passionate about. I don’t know why I really enjoy reading from points of view of driven characters, but they seem more realistic to me, and more enchanting.

The writing style was lovely. From the very beginning I was pretty much hooked because of the way this author writes. I practically drank in her words and wanted more until I didn’t do anything but read the novel. I just had to know how it ended. The suspense slowly built up, and there was quite a bit of action at the end as well.

For some reason I had the misconception that K.A. Tucker was a YA writer. As I mostly review YA on Olivia’s Catastrophe, I feel like it is worth mentioning that she is not. There are some explicit scenes in this novel, especially when it comes to sex. It’s never in a lot of detail but there is enough for me to let YA readers know there are some mature moments ^.^

I really enjoyed reading this first novel by K.A. Tucker and cannot wait to pick up another one of her novels in the future now.

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Gif Summary:

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Links: Goodreads and Amazon!

Olivia’s Question: How trusting are you of people you’ve just met?

Olivia-Savannah x