Hallowed Ground (Julie Collins Series #2)

I'm glad I read this novel. I read it several months ago, and I'm still glad, so that's a good review from me right there. I didn't read the first novel in this series, but that didn't hurt my enjoyment of Hallowed Ground. Great pace, great characters, satisfying ending, and the writing shone throughout. The main character, Julie, is an interesting blend of traits and a complex balance of hard and soft. I thought it would be difficult to keep her consistent for the entire novel, especially with all she was dealing with, but the author pulled it off.

No kidding, this book kept me sitting in a chair all day and into the night. I've been waiting for the sequel to Blood Ties and I wasn't disappointed. It was a great read! I can't wait for the next book.

I had been awaiting Ms. Armstrong's second book in the Julie series, and I wasn't disappointed!! "On Hallowed Ground" is filled with excitement and action with every turn of the page -- I had a difficult time putting it down. I loved it. How soon is book #3 coming out???

I read Blood Ties months ago and couldn't wait for HALLOWED GROUND to come out. Boy was it worth the wait! The relationship between Julie and Tony totally made the book for me, but the action and adventure kept me glued to the book when I should have been feeding my kids. The mystery had me guessing right until the very end, which is how it should be. This was a fantastically exciting read and I can't wait for the next book in the series!

In Bear Butte County, South Dakota, Julie "Jules" Collins worries about her private investigator partner and mentor Kevin Wells as he is oo preoccupied with the imminent death from cancer of his beloved Lilly to train her at the moment. when Tony Martinez, owner of a couple of bars and other questionable dealings, wants to hire her for a sizable fee, Jules has to decide on her own. She thinks they could use the money so agrees to find the missing five years old niece Chloe Back Dog of Tony's friend and number one man Harvey. Jules assumes that Chloe's father Donovan kept the child instead of returning her to her mother, his ex-wife Rondelle Eagle Trail. She easily tracks down Donovan at a Brush Creek Construction Company site, which makes her wonder why Martinez could not have done this. Donovan and Jules talk at remote Bear Butte where her brother died years ago. He denies having kidnapped his daughter, telling her to talk to Rondelle and the Smart Start School just before someone shoots Donovan. As the truth begins to surface involving the Carlucci gang, Native American casinos, and the safety of a little girl, a killer targets Jules. This exciting private investigative tale stars a likable rookie struggling with a case that seemed simple but with each new revelation spins further out of control. Jules is a strong protagonist who holds the tale together whether it is a sleuthing subplot or her attraction to Martinez, who reciprocates as he wants "Blondie". Readers will enjoy this superb thriller in which the politics of casinos are right out of Abramoff headlines. Harriet Klausner