Customer Reviews

Snow Blind (PI Julie Collins series #4)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
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Lori G. Armstrong weaves a tale of elder abuse seemlessly with the dangerous world of the Hombres in this fourth and sadly final tale in the Julie Collins Series. Well written and plotted the ever fearless Julie faces mortality and the mine field that is her relatiosnhip with Hombres El Presidente Tony Martinez head on. She continues her pursuit of the truth, with her now recognizable bravado that is sure to have mystery fans cheering her and her ever present cast of secondary characters on as they uncover the truth, whatever the cost.

SNOW BLIND is a page turning and somewhat eye opening tale of mystery, deceit and is proof that even the most clever and cunning of PI's can be lead astray by a pretty face.

A fitting end to an exceptional series. Bravo Ms. Armstrong, Julie Collins and SNOW BLIND are a perect 10!

As usual, Lori Armstrong has written yet another "page turner" to keep you on the edge of your seat. The language is a bit rough at times, but that is keeping with the "Julie" character. Armstrong never fails to entertain and carry you through each investigation she persues. Due to this story, my eyes have been opened to how frequently the innocent are taken advantage. Hats off to our hometown-girl. Great read! When is the next one coming out?

This latest installment actually felt like three books wrapped in one. There was so much going on but it was a real page turner. ****POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT***The book summary makes it seem like the time she was with her father was a large part of the book, but it really wasn't. I was actually dreading that part, based on her past history with her father, but it wasn't a large part of the book at all.***END SPOILER ALERT*** All in all this was such a jam packed book with so many twists and turns that it kept me reading well into the night. I hope this isn't the last installment in the series, there are still so many directions for Julie and Kevin. I highly recommend this book and the other installments also.

Can Julie Collins survive a brutal Bear Butte County winter? What's going to happen with her dangerous boyfriend? Do Not Miss This One!!

I read a lot of mystery series and this one has everything I look for in a series that I absolutely love. Each in the series are big, fat books with multiple plot lines and a smart-mouthed intrepid detective. They are in first person, which is by far my preference. If you like just a little romance running through your mysteries sometimes, the bits of plot running through all four of these novels with the biker gang head honcho guy...was HOT. And funny! When Julie shot up Tony's Toyoto, I laughed until my stomach hurt. Delightful moments like that in fiction are rare, and I sure savored the hell out of that one.

The third book I started at a bad time. It was close to 1 AM on a work night and I couldn't get to sleep. I was just going to read for a few pages until I got sleepy. I was still reading at 7 AM. I won't tell you what I did at work that morning since it could be incriminating, but I finished the book at lunchtime. I was like a meth-head. Nothing was going to keep me from sucking down that next sentence.

This fourth book seems to have made the series come to an end, and I hate that. I will miss crazy Julie and getting to know her more.

Snow Blind, the fourth and perhaps final Julie Collins mystery, is every bit as satisfying as the first three.

Julie Collins is not always a likable character. In fact, all of the central characters in the Armstrong series are flawed, some very much so. Julie is no exception, smoking and drinking, outwardly defiant to cover the wounds of abuse and rape in her past. Her relationship with Tony Martinez is still on shaky ground, her partner is acting completely unlike himself, and Julie must come to grips for once and for all with her father, stepmother, and step sister as she struggles to find the internal strength to match her external toughness.

The weather is the unifying factor in Snow Blind, the bitter cold of a South Dakota winter overshadowing all and moving the pieces around the game. Armstrong's evocative writing made me feel the crunch and creak of snow underfoot on a deeply cold night.

I won't give away any of the plot but I highly recommend Snow Blind and the rest of this series. Buy them. All of them. They will be on your keeper shelf.

In Bear Butte County South Dakota, private investigator partners Julie "Jules" Collins and Kevin Wells know the winter months are extremely slow. So when Amery Grayson hires Wells/Collins Investigations to investigate the Prairie Gardens Assisted Living Facility where her grandfather Vernon Sloane lives, the pair jumps at the case. They quickly find the facility has almost no security system in place and unlicensed and unskilled staff dispensing health care. Even the elderly volunteer program looks suspicious though the sleuths know they must dig deeper to confirm their theory.

Soon after their initial evaluation, Julie is stuck on her family's ranch sharing a cattle shelter with her estranged father while a blizzard unmercifully strikes. As the snow reminds her of her unhappy past, a ranch hand is found dead. As more bodies are found, Julie investigates the serial killings as much as she looks back to her past while her relationship with Tony Martinez falters. At the same time, Kevin continues to work the assisted living case, but breaks a PI taboo of becoming involved with the all leg and all blond client.

The latest Bear Butte County private investigative tale is an enjoyable entry though not quite as powerful as the previous novels (see HOLLOWED GROUND, SHALLOW GRAVE and BLOOD TIES) that goes down two prime paths. First there is the assisted living case with Wells crossing taboo lines as Jules has done in the past as Tony's "Blondie". Second there is Collins stuck with her father and a murder mystery on the ranch. With Hombres business seemingly interfering with Jules' relationship with Tony, readers will wonder what next is going to happen in South Dakota.

Harriet Klausner