Publisher's Weekly Review
In bestseller Goldberg's wobbly fifth Eve Ronin thriller (after 2022's Movieland), the youngest homicide detective in the history of Los Angeles County investigates the robbery and murder of Kitty Winslow, star of the Kardashians-like reality series Life with the Winslows. The home invasion jolts Hidden Hills, a gated enclave whose wealthy, conservative residents are leery of the recent influx of new money, which they see as a threat to the neighborhood's old-fashioned values. When human remains are found in a nearby public park shortly after Kitty's murder, Ronin and her investigators come to believe they've discovered a gang burial ground. Additional intel from Hidden Hills' sheriff leads Ronin's team to believe that the Winslows may have been targeted by a Chilean gang. While Ronin struggles to establish a link between the Chileans and the Winslows, she must also endure the psychological vertigo of seeing her previous cases turned into fodder for a TV procedural directed by her estranged father. Goldberg is on autopilot here, failing to make much of some chewy contemporary ingredients, but even a phoned-in Goldberg plot still has its share of slick pleasures. Surprises are in short supply, but series fans will enjoy themselves. (Jan.)
Kirkus Review
A pair of reality-based TV programs spell trouble for Det. Eve Ronin, rising star of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Life With the Winslows, a series hatched by retired former Western star Caleb Winslow's camera-hungry second wife, Brandy, abruptly morphs into Death With the Winslows when one of Caleb's daughters, singer and model Kitty Winslow, is shot to death during a home invasion of the family compound in Hidden Hills. Det. Eve Ronin, already taxed with identifying the human remains discovered by a dog walker nearby, has to deal with a houseful of prima donnas and Deputy Amos Tatum, the longtime Hidden Hills marshal who's determined to keep her as far from the Winslows' gated community as he can. The only thing that could possibly make things worse is the eruption of Ronin, the TV show based on Eve's earlier cases, into her life. Director Vince Nyby, the father who abandoned her family long ago, fawns over Eve in the hope of helming more episodes, and Jen Ronin, Eve's actress mother, does her best to get Eve to make nice to her hated father in the hope of pumping up her own part in the series. Meanwhile, everyone in the Lost Hills office of LASD--except for her partner, Det. Duncan "Donuts" Pavone--takes turns hating Eve for the ways the show is turning her into a plaster saint and disrupting their routines. No wonder she can't help reflecting that "her own life…was sort of like Life With the Winslows in reverse." Old bones, paparazzi, rappers, sex tapes, the whole nine yards--topped off with a surprisingly Big Reveal. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Library Journal Review
At 26, Eve Ronin became the youngest homicide detective in the history of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The sheriff and her boss always send her and her partner, Duncan "Donuts" Pavone, to high-profile murder investigations. In their latest case, the bodies found in Ahmanson Preserve don't qualify as high profile. Eve and Duncan have been called to a family compound in the exclusive Hidden Hills neighborhood. Kitty Winslow, star of a hit reality show, was shot and killed during a home invasion soon after showing off her flashy engagement ring on social media. Her family grieves her loss and the possible premature end to her TV show. Deputy Amos Tatum, assigned as security in the neighborhood, insists that the killers must have been Chilean crime tourists--robbers who fly in, spend several weeks robbing the wealthy, then fly home again. But Eve suspects that Kitty's killers are a little closer to home. Eve's boyfriend, forensic anthropologist Dr. Daniel Brooks, offers insights that help with the case VERDICT Fans of fast-paced police procedurals will enjoy Goldberg's trademark humor and his insight into the entertainment world in his latest Eve Ronin novel (following Movieland).--Lesa Holstine
