Kiss Shot by Carolyn Elizabeth, narrated by Amy Deuchler

Lucy “Lucky” Sorin is a former homeless teen turned police detective, thanks to the support of a woman who is now her captain. When an informant gets killed by a bikers gang, the captain takes advantage of Lucky’s hot-headedness to pretend-fire her so she can go undercover. Lucky’s pool hustling skills help her get close to the gang, and the leader’s lover, Mira Allen.

Lucky cares a lot and for a cop, that can be dangerous. She also has this self-centredness and single-mindedness of those who see themselves as saviours but only on their own terms. Just as dangerous, if not more. Good intentions, Hell, and all. Allies, learn from this, that’s not how you help or support anyone.

In Lucky’s case, however, it makes her annoying and relatable at once. It’s fiction. Anyone acting this way IRL wouldn’t stay around me for long. Yet in the context of the story, it shows the character’s flaws and allows for growth.

It may not be obvious from everything I wrote above but I enjoyed this book a lot. I always enjoy this author’s books, to be honest. It’s not my favourite narration by Amy Deuchler (she was awesome in The Other Side of Forrestlands Lake by the same author), but she got the job done.

There’s a lot of adrenaline and action in this story, and it’s gritty as they come. Lucky is pretty much out of control all the time, not listening much and certainly not thinking for long before jumping, but it seems to work for her most of the time. If you put aside the repeated beatings she has to endure over the course of the book. The interactions with Mira are a lot of fun, whether they’re flirting or Mira wants to kill Lucky for whatever reckless things she’s done again.