Don't Look Down

Shadows of New York, Book 2

By: Hilary Davidson

Narrated by: Carly Robins, Will Damron, Scott Merriman, Shari Peele

Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

From the Amazon Charts best-selling author of One Small Sacrifice, a gripping mystery about a sinister murder that everyone wants to stay buried - except one dogged NYPD detective.

Jo Greaver is a model of success. Young and ambitious, she’s built a thriving beauty business from nothing. But she has secrets she’ll do anything to keep buried. When her blackmailer offers to meet, Jo expects to pay him off - but gets a bullet instead. Bleeding and in shock, Jo flees with no one to turn to.

When NYPD detective Sheryn Sterling and her partner, Rafael Mendoza, find Andray Baxter murdered in his own home - shot through the heart - everything points to Jo as the killer. Her blood is at the scene, and so are disturbing photos of her taken as a young teen. But Sheryn has doubts. Was the kindhearted Andray really a criminal? Why did he repeatedly report finding spyware in his apartment? Was there something shady about Jo’s sister dying a year earlier?

Something’s not right, and it’s up to Sheryn to piece together the sinister puzzle, no matter the cost.

©2020 Hilary Davidson (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“Davidson’s (One Small Sacrifice) wildly intense murder mystery grabs the listener from the beginning and holds on to the very end. The many characters are well written and have complex back stories that enhance the tale. The cast of veteran narrators, Carly Robins, Will Damron, Scott Merriman, and Shari Peele, are simply excellent. Their emotions and nuances are especially well done. Recommended for fans of the first book or police procedurals in general.” (Library Journal, starred review)

“A blackmail plot produces complications upon complications in a story of sex trafficking, class wars, and stolen identities. [A] satisfying page-turner.” (Kirkus Reviews)

“Davidson keeps the reader guessing to the satisfying conclusion. Crime fiction fans will welcome this tale of family, secrets, resilience, and revenge.” (Publishers Weekly)

Really enjoyable

This is more of a police procedural and one of the best one's I've listened to so far this year.
My first time reading Hilary Davidson,  this is actually the 2nd book in her Shadows of New York series & I'm eagerly looking forward to reading the first.

Engaging plot. The beginning of the book started out fast, slowed down and faltered a bit with repetitiveness in the middle.  While I can't say it kept me guessing,  there was a plot twist right at the end that I didn't see coming.

I loved the fact that one of the main characters Sheryn, a smart, witty police detective was a black woman.  Davidson fleshed out this character and allowed us to experience detective Sheryn Sterlings personal life as a loving wife and mother. 

Sometimes the problem with audio books is that the wrong narrator can really deter the listener from continuing, even if the writer is good.  That wasn't the case with Don't Look Down.  It was written with multiple POV's and the 3 different narrator's were excellent.
Overall,  good book. Not a 5 star but I enjoyed it.

Highly Suspenseful and Intriguing!

The plot required my best sleuth skills to follow along - so many twists along the way! The depth of characters also kept me guessing.
The only reason I gave four stars for performance was because there were a couple of different narrators who covered the same characters in different chapters. It was a little confusing.
Overall, though, it was well worth my time.

This is a great read

I thought this was a great story. I really like Sharon & Rafael. They make a great team. I also knew right away that Rafael's cane was going to be handy at some point. I was left wondering the whole way what direction the story was going to take. Great job from the the Narrators as well. It also had a surprise ending as well which I love. I hope there are more books to follow. Definite thumbs up.

Good Twists

This book definitely surpasses the first one in all areas. The story was intriguing and the twists were great. The pace kept me wanting to listen and I felt connected to the characters.

Narration was really good!

Good Murder Mystery

A good feel good drama. Not too much blood and guts, real current social issues discussed, and a logical resolution. Characters well developed.

Excellent Audible and a Good Mystery

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this. The characters of the main detectives are believable and relatable. After reading the first book, I feel like I'm getting to know them and enjoyed learning just a bit about their lives outside of the job. Glad there wasn't so much of that to distract from the story, but just enough to see how it impacts their jobs and actions as detectives. I was happy to see some examples of how our culture affects our perception of race, sex, class, etc. Without being hit over the head with a preachy agenda. This was subtle as it affects the story.

This was told through the four main characters ' points of view. The four narrators are well-chosen and easy to distinguish. It helps to make the story both clearer and deepens the mystery, if that makes sense. I particularly enjoyed the voice of the female detective.

I'm avoiding too much information here, because this book is just too good to spoil. If you enjoy police, detective, or mystery stories, you'll like this. The ending is satisfying but realistic. I recommend both books in the series so far. I think this one is a little better than the first because we know more about the detectives. It's on kindle unlimited but worth the price of credit if you don't have that. I shouldn't have waited so long to download and recommend you don't wait.