Fallen Star

The sixth book in the Eve Ronin police procedural and crime thriller series, Fallen Star, is suspenseful, full of suspects, and includes betrayal, corruption, and murder. It’s largely set in and around Calabasas, California. Los Angeles County Detectives Eve Ronin and her partner Duncan Pavone are called to the Malibu Lagoon when a drum is found with the body of Gene Dent in it.

Dent is a key person in a bribery scandal that affected several local politicians. Just as they begin their investigation, Sheriff Richard Lansing publicly reveals evidence linking the crime to Los Angeles’ mayor, Ward Keegan. Eve is agonizing over a moral dilemma when a helicopter crashes in the hillside below her Calabasas home. Among the dead passengers are connections to Eve’s past.

Eve is an energetic, ambitious, and compelling main character and someone you can root for. She is relentless, intuitive, and has a sense of responsibility to get justice for victims and their families. Her selfless concern for others comes through in each novel. However, she can also be reckless and impatient. She continues to be a flawed protagonist who has shown some growth. Many of her co-workers feel she didn’t earn the promotion to detective. Additionally, the way she challenges things and asks questions sets others on edge and affects them and her. Reading the first five novels in the series provides the reasons for this added drama. Duncan’s character continues to gain depth. He has a great sense of humor, loves food, and is a terrific counterbalance to Eve’s recklessness and inexperience. Several secondary characters from previous novels show up in various supporting or antagonistic capacities, along with several new ones to lend a freshness to the story. These include Sharpe and Walker from another series by this author.

The author’s note at the beginning of the novel states that there are spoilers for previous novels in this one. If you plan to read the whole series, I recommend starting with book one. Not only will you avoid the spoilers, but you will get important information on Eve’s background and growth, and you will see how relationships grow and change over time.

What an action-packed start to this crime novel! The author’s writing style continues to hook me quickly, and the story builds momentum that leads to an action-filled conclusion. The storyline is gripping and kept me engaged from start to finish. It’s suspenseful and there are twists and turns as the team works to discover the criminals responsible for the deaths. The novel shines a light on politics, law enforcement, corruption, greed, power, and much more. However, that ending got to me. I expected it would come eventually, but didn’t want it to happen. Where will the story go from here in the next novel?

Overall, this is a tense, entertaining, and engaging novel with wit, suspense, action, and some great twists as well as some violence. It is fast-paced and action-packed. Parts of the story feel so realistic they could be part of a headline today. If you enjoy excellent crime thrillers and police procedurals, then I recommend that you check out this one. I am looking forward to finding out what happens in the next novel.

Thomas and Mercer and Lee Goldberg provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own. The publication date is currently set for October 14, 2025.