High Crimes: A Georgia Davis Novel of Suspense

The Georgia Davis PI Series, Book 5

By: Libby Fischer Hellmann

Narrated by: Eva Kaminsky

Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

"High Crimes is the P.I. novel for our moment, not just because of its backdrop of political tension but because of the resilient strength of its characters. Georgia Davis is a terrific lead, and Libby Fischer Hellmann calls on her own journalism background to add layers of realism to this all-too plausible plot." (Michael Koryta, New York Times best-selling author of How It Happened)

“In this ripped from the headlines and rocket-paced thriller, Libby Fischer Hellmann is at the top of her game. You won’t stop turning the pages, gripped by every twist and turn. And the tough, smart Georgia Davis is sure to take her place among the top female PIs in crime fiction.” (Lisa Unger, New York Times best-selling author of Under My Skin)

“Entertaining...(Georgia is) a shrewd investigator...for readers who watch the nightly news with dismay, the novel offers a satisfying alternate reality.” (Publishers Weekly)

How do you solve a murder when there are 42,000 suspects?

That’s the task facing Chicago PI Georgia Davis, hired to hunt down those behind the assassination of resistance leader Dena Baldwin at a demonstration 14 months after the 2016 election. The gunman, on a nearby hotel rooftop, dies within minutes of the shooting. As Georgia sifts through Dena’s 42,000 Facebook followers, she discovers that unknown enemies hiding behind fake profiles have infiltrated the group. She finds others who will do whatever it takes - including murder - to shield right-wing, wealthy elites. 

Threats and bruises have never frightened Georgia, but she’s sideswiped by the sudden reappearance of her mother, who abandoned her when she was a child. Can she survive a family crisis at the same time she pursues killers whose only goal is to protect themselves?

©2018 Libby Fischer Hellmann (P)2018 Libby Fischer Hellmann

Too political

I enjoy mystery’s and suspense books. I don’t enjoy politics in my reading either left or right. I will not be buying any more Hellmann’s books.
Trudy Snider.

Ugh...

Overall, this story was pretty decent... that is, if you could get past the author shoving their political view so far down your throat that you end up choking on it.. 👎 Don’t get me wrong, Im 100% all for everyone having and expressing their opinion, yet when I’m in knee deep in a series that is completely made up, I’d really rather not be subject to one sided political views, especially when one feels they’ve been personally wronged by the way the American people voted...

Georgia On My Miiiind...

Great modern detective story by a great author, Libby Fischer Hellmann.
Beautifully narrated by Eva Kaminsky, I really enjoyed this one!

It's the first in the series I've listened to, but I'm definitely a fan and will be reading or listening to all of them!
I love a good mystery, and this is one of the better ones I've listened to!
Lots of twists and turns and all sorts of fun and intrigue along the way :)

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
Please take a moment to click the "YES" ("Helpful") button below if you found this review helpful :) Thank you!

An Awesome Listen

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, and found it very intriguing. At a political demonstration where the leader of a resistance party is killed along with several others is blamed Domestic Terrorism. PI Georgia Davis is hired by the family to find out what really happened. Georgia, an ex cop uses her brain and intuition to find the truth. Likable characters along with suspense and action will keep you listening to this very enjoyable book where fiction mirrors today's headlines. Well worth the listen.

Excellent political thriller!

I usually am not a fan of politics however this murder mystery was really good. Faced with the Trump administration a local activist makes it her mission to bring him down. When she is assassinated at a rally a local PI is hired to dig in. Georgia, the PI, starts to unravel a sorted history of the political activist movement and conspiracies. From Chicago to DC and back the author really knows her cities. A really good suspenseful story that is phenomenally narrated. Looking forward to others in the Georgia PI series. I received a free review copy of this book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Georgia on my mind!

Not the song, but Chicago PI Georgia Davis in Libby Hellmann's High Crimes, the latest in her five book series. This time after a rally organizer is murdered and her assassin dies under mysterious circumstances, Georgia is drawn into a web of lies, secrets, and government cover-ups at the worst possible time: just when her estranged mother and her teenage drug addicted sister move in with a new baby. In High Crimes, Libby does as good a job as the producers of Law and Order at ripping a story straight from the headlines. Anyone who loves thrillers, needs an escape from the current political turmoil, and/or wants to start a new mystery series with a savvy PI will love High Crimes. If you want to read them in order: ToxiCity, Easy Innocence, Doubleback (Georgia and Ellie Foreman team up. Single mom/filmmaker Ellie stars in another mysteries series that Libby writes), and Nobody's Child. High Crimes is a great read especially if you're couped up inside--like me--because of the snow! If Libby is taking requests: I would like #6 to be another Georgia/Ellie mystery! Love both of your series!! PS I started with the book, then decided to finish with audible. The reader was okay, but I liked the book better!

High Crimes

I have read other books in this series and happen to like the characters. Georgia Davis is a PI who has recently gained a half-sister she never knew about and a nephew she has grown to love. The three are trying their best to get along in a small apartment meant for one person while Vanna, the sister, attends school and Georgia tries to continue her relationship with Jimmy Sacaredes, the police chief of a nearby community.

However, I have to say that this book did not engage me as much as the previous ones in the series. For one thing, there is a lot of jumping around between characters and time frames. I find this especially hard to follow in an audiobook since you can't turn back to the beginning of the chapter and see whose perspective and what time frame is involved.

Second, even though the blurb for the book states that it is "ripped from the headlines", I did not expect quite so much vitriol against the current President as this book contained. I realize that the author was writing about a resistance group whose sole focus was against the President, but I did get a little tired of the preaching tone regarding this issue. As another reviewer stated, I read to escape from the real world and this book was often like watching the evening news or reading it on the Internet.

That being said, the story did have its moments. Georgia does her usual amazing job of tracking down leads in order to solve a case that others, including the FBI, seem to have given up on. I have to say that the victim in this case is truly unlikeable, no matter your political leanings, and I was much more involved in the perpetrator's story than I was in the victim's.

The twists and turns in this book made me feel like I needed a score card to keep track of who was double-crossing who. The book often reminded me of a spy or espionage thriller more than a PI story. But, that is just in keeping with the Washington politics of the book, I guess.

The addition of Vanna and Charlie, Georgia's nephew, and the additional storyline of the reappearance of Jo Beth, Georgia and Vanna's mother, was a welcome relief to the political machinations of the book. The narrator did a great job and kept my interest throughout the book. Her voice inflections/accents were wonderful and added a lot to the story.

If you are an admirer of the current President, I suggest that you pass on this book. The other books in the series are great and I feel that the politics in this one just detract too much from the enjoyment of reading.

Well Written Intriguing Story

I received this book for free. I am voluntarily leaving this review and all opinions expressed herein are my own.

This is the fifth book in the Georgia Davis PI series. I have not read any of the prior books in this series. I found that this was a standalone book and I did not feel lost or suffer from a lack of understanding regarding the story or characters. Having said that [or written it], I really liked the MC Georgia and wish that I had read the prior books so I was involved with her character development to date but certainly not necessary to enjoy this book.

Here, the story is set in more or less present day. Dena Baldwin is the leader of a resistance group against President Trump. During a rally, she is shot and killed. Another member of the group is injured by the shooter. The shooter then blows himself up. When the shooter is identified, he is a veteran of Afghanistan and had no real political affiliations. Dena's parents hire Georgia to try to get to the bottom of why this individual would shoot Dena. While investigating Georgia also has family issues to conquer, Georgia's nephew becomes ill and her absentee mother shows up.

As I said, I really liked Georgia and her manner of investigating. She is smart, charismatic but certainly not perfect. She tries her best with her family - but sometimes wounds are too deep and her attempts to deal with it don't always show her best colors. The mystery is interesting and has a few red herrings. I liked that it was set in modern day, as the plot is completely believable in these times of political division. Overall, this is a really well written story which moves along at a good pace and has well developed characters. This is a series that I will continue to follow and pick up the prior books in the series.
The narrator, Eve Kaminsky, did a very good job. She was clear and had a good tone for this story.

brilliant

such a wonderful book to listen to I enjoyed it very much that book had everything in it it was fascinating breathtaking and everything you can think about I loved it quite much the narrator was fantastic is well
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review

great book, interested in more

I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

I'll start off this review with a caveat; I started this series with this book. That being said, I think this book stands alone pretty well. I never really felt like I didn't know what was going on. I didn't catch a couple obvious references to previous books, but that didn't detract much from my listening experience. I thought this was a very solid political thriller/detective story. The narration is well done and fit really well with the story. All in all, I enjoyed this enough that I'm tempted to go back and give the other books in this series a listen.

Exciting political thriller

Another great exciting Georgia Davis novel this time investigating an assassination of the leader of a protest group shortly after the 2016 election. As Georgia puts her life and freedom on the line to investigate the group will she get to the bottom of who by and why Dena Baldwin was killed? Alongside the investigation she also has to deal with the sudden reappearance of her mother who had abandoned her as a child.

Topical politics and social media mystery

A very topical and relevant book in today’s world. Good rounded characters and enough twists to keep you interested in this mystery. Look forward to hearing more about Georgia’s cases

Murder, politics and vested interests. Riveting.

High Crimes opens with an anti-government political rally- and a shooting. The story is then told partly in flashback and partly in the present.
Georgia is hired to investigate by the family of one of the victims, when the official investigation seems to have stalled. They have their killer but there are so many unanswered questions.
As she lifts the lid on family, friends and the politics of lobbying, she is also still working out her relationships in her personal life and grappling with her past.
I felt that Georgia and Vanna are particularly well characterised, but that some of the others are a bit cliched and not as multi-dimensional as they could be.
Having said that this was well paced, with short chapters that helps increase the sense of time passing, and this is a good listen, well narrated.

Those bastions of truth, justice and the American

Following the shock election of a President thought by many to be systematically undermining the values of America as well as destroying the country's credibility, Dena, a spoilt, rich but charismatic young woman starts a Facebook group to oppose him, called Resistance USA. Membership grows rapidly, reaching almost 42,000, when Dena calls for a rally at which she will speak. Instead, the assembly of approximately 200,000 see her shot dead by a sniper together with two others and numerous injuries a!so occurred. The shooter, an Afghanistan vet, blew himself up.
Several weeks later, Georgia is contacted by Dena's mother. She had received a strange e-mail and she wanted it investigated

So begins this exciting and fascinating thri!ler which delves at least in part, into the murkier side of the Washington DC political world. Well written and frighteningly p!ausible , a real underbelly of everyday corruption emerges with present time activities interspersed with a few recent flashback scenes. This part of the story merits five stars. Unfortunately, the.also running story of Claudia's home life with her half sister and baby just seems too emotionally fraught to ring true for this reader, turning a good thriller into an uncomfortable cozy. More of the darker side of Washington and the investigation would have been prefered. Nevertheless, a very good look at the aspects of political life not so frequently exposed and well worth reading with good, clear narration.
And, apparently, there really is a Resistance Facebook group.