Murder Makes a Vlog

Amazing Follow-up. I wrote last year of the first book in this series that Bratt could spend the rest of her career in this world, and that I would not be disappointed. Here, she comes back to the world ostensibly to give best friend Maggie her story... that Quinn plays an even larger part in than Maggie played in Quinn's own story (where Maggie was present enough to be the obvious target of a direct sequel, but otherwise truly a secondary character). Bratt does a solid job of juggling both ladies, it just seems at times here that too much is being condensed into one book. To me, the tale here could have been told over three, maybe four, books rather than one and been more on par with the overall pacing and impact of True To Me. Going into specifics might get a bit too much into spoiler territory, so I'll simply say that to me, the division is this: Quinn gets a dedicated sequel. Maggie's story here gets its own dedicated book where Quinn becomes more of a secondary character rather than the co-lead she is here, and Maggie's own story is then broken up into effectively the first and second halves of the story here.

I know, I know. I've complained in other reviews about books being cut in half in almost blatantly obvious cash grabs, but I don't think Bratt would have done that in the above scenario. I think more time in each of these situations would have brought out much more of the depth of emotion that True To Me had, vs the constant “swinging for the fences” here.

But do not get me wrong: This is still truly an excellent book, one I am very proud to have read, and again, I want to come back to this world many, many more times. This is just me expressing my quibbles over pacing of a truly excellent book that to my mind just missed the “I can't stop crying and my mind is blown” level of amazement that True To Me brought. Truly a great book, and very much recommended.

No Place Too Far is actually the first of Kay Bratt's books that I've read. Apparently the story starts with True to Me, so if you're new to Ms. Bratt's work, start with that one, but I was able to follow the story well enough without having read True to Me.

Quinn and Maggie are best friends. They're both living on the Hawaiian island of Maui, where Quinn is starting her own business independent of her birth family, and Maggie is trying to build a life for herself and her son Charlie after a horrible experience with a stalker.

Maggie has just landed a job as a vet tech when weird things start happening. She learns that her stalker is no longer incarcerated, and he knows where she is. She will do whatever she must to protect Charlie and herself. She's not running this time.

Part of the time, I really wanted to smack Maggie. She struggles with accepting help, even when she really should. She thinks she can do everything on her own, and she doesn't want to drag her brothers or Quinn or anyone into the situation when her stalker reappears. Thankfully, her friends are persistent. From Juniper, her blue-haired, nose-ring-wearing new co-worker and friend, to Woodrow, the most awesome service dog ever, Maggie has support and help fighting this battle.

We also see Quinn dealing with a difficult situation. A sleazy reporter has revealed her true identity, and she thinks she's going to have to leave to protect her family. Is there any other solution, or will she have to leave the life she's been working to build?

This was a really enjoyable read. I had a hard time putting it down, and now I've got to go back and read True to Me. I think I'll be adding Ms. Bratt to my “read everything she writes” list!

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. All opinions here are mine, and I don't say nice things about books I don't like.