Review: Front Page News

Tuesday 6 October 2020 No comments


Front Page News by Jade C Jamison (Nicki Sosebee #13)

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've come out of my reviewing hiatus for Nicki Sosebee and all I can say is....

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Well, we’re here, the last book in the sensational Nicki Sosebee series. It’s always sad to reach the conclusion of a long-running series and this one will be especially poignant for me.

After my rather *sorry* vocal disappointment of the preceding instalment, Wake Up, I decided to woman-up and re-read it in preparation for Front Page News, but this time, I managed to do it with an open perspective, just!

So, “the thing” happened in Wake Up, it was a big thing and it floored me but upon re-reading the story I actually managed to once again become involved in the mystery and suspense of the Nicki Sosebee series and to put aside my frustration.

The ongoing saga of whether Nicki will bring Winchester’s own crime lord and his many minions down has been the main focus of this series and her love interests have almost become a side-part of what makes Nicki, Nicki. I think I allowed myself to become too invested in wanting to see Nicki’s heart protected and somehow I lost my way with the slow burn of Nicki’s biggest story to date as it was developing. That, however, was soon corrected in Front Page News.

The start of Front Page News carries on immediately from the end of Wake Up so a re-read may be necessary if you can’t remember what lead to the cliff-hanger at the end of Wake Up. By contrast to the preceding instalment, Front Page News is all about the drama and how suddenly all the pieces of Nicki’s Winchester jigsaw are finally coming together. Nicki, and rightly so by this point in her investigations, is now highly paranoid of who she can and can’t trust but with Jesse at her side, she decides to step-up her investigations especially into “the thing” that happened in Wake Up and the story suddenly takes on an almost frantic feel to it as Nicki, and us as her devoted readers, desperately race with her towards the finish line in order to see if she manages to bring the “King” to his knees and to find out who, exactly, the mysterious “Blackie” really is.

The story hit a number of high notes for me. The suspense was riveting and hypnotic, the mystery became almost tangible as the story reached its conclusion and when it did, I was left reeling and with a smug sense of satisfaction. Now, whilst the story hit all the high notes with the mystery and suspense it did have a twist to its tail, quite literally, but for me, and I hate to say it, but it felt too staged (I’m sorry Jade). Yes, I wanted the mystery around “the thing” to be resolved and yes it was but the conclusion of the story felt rushed. I missed the warm tingly feeling I always felt around Nicki and her love interests and yet I was still pleased that my many questions were answered. Personally, I thought the ending was going in another direction which is possibly why I was thrown for a loop, again, but still, the story ended on a positive with all of my many questions answered. I would have liked to have read more about the downfall of the “King” but sadly this was glossed over. I would have also liked to have witnessed how other key players were brought down in order to revel in Nicki’s glory but the story jumped ahead in time and ended with the final nail being hammered into the King’s metaphorical coffin and Nicki’s Winchester crown sitting pretty atop her head.

One thing that really confused me was why were there so many Nathan’s in this book (Wright, Carpenter and Jr.!). Can you tell that I’ve become slightly too invested in this series? I have loved spending time with Nicki and I am so sad to see her story end (although I’m sure Jade is glad to see the back of her and all of the blood, sweat and tears she unwittingly set herself up for after creating such an amazing character).

To Jade C Jamison, I say “thank you” from the bottom of my heart for giving us Nicki Sosebee. I have loved her and I will miss her and I will be eternally grateful that you saw this series through to its conclusion and for giving Nicki’s fans a very happy finale to what was a fascinating series.

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