#BookReview: All In by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

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Synopsis

Three casinos. Three bodies. Three days.

After a string of brutal murders in Las Vegas, Cassie Hobbes and the Naturals are called in to investigate. But even with the teams unique profiling talents, these murders seem baffling: unlike many serial killers, this one uses different methods every time. All of the victims were killed in public, yet the killer does not show up on any tape. And each victim has a string of numbers tattooed on their wrist. Hidden in the numbers is a code—and the closer the Naturals come to unraveling the mystery, the more perilous the case becomes.

Meanwhile, Cassie is dealing with an equally dangerous and much more painful mystery. For the first time in years, theres been a break in her mothers case. As personal issues and tensions between the team mount, Cassie and the Naturals will be faced with impossible odds—and impossible choices.



My Thoughts

OMG! Im speechless. You dont know how much I pull off this review until I was able to say something about this book. I just started this series to continue the theme Im keeping this year reading YA thrillers, but I never thought this would become one of my favorite series of all the time. Every time I read a new book is like immersing me into another great story and I just cant have enough of The Naturals.

In All In, the Naturals dont do cold cases anymore, finally they have green light to consult in current cases, and now they travel to Las Vegas where three murders have been committed at three different hotels in the city. Las Vegas is the hometown of Sloane, and she is not happy about returning to it, expressing it with her own awkward and kleptomaniac way. Just because we need a deadly turn of events the murders hit too close to home and the Naturals will do anything to keep safe those their care about.

Ill start saying this because I couldnt say it in my previous review of Killer Instincts, or it would be a spoiler but Im sooooooo happy Cassie chose Dean. I love Michael pretty much but I always felt Cassie have more connection with Dean than Michael. The latter always reminds me to Hale from Heist Society but with more temper, though he deserve a great girl for him; I would always count with Lia on that, but I also have mixer feeling about that couple because they will always hurt each other, so I dont know.

Now on the review, I love that this book is all about Sloane and a little bit of Michael, a little bit of Lia, a little bit of Cassie, a little bit of Judd, in conclusion, a little bit of everyone. I like how each book is turning more personal whereas the series advance, I think is very important to expand the background and current problems of each characters because were able to connect with them in a more deep way than we were able in the previous two books. The characters are not perfect, but are very true to the humans emotions they want to share with the reader and the author show us a range of them while immerse is into all the issues they have to live with from past and present circumstances.

Ill keep saying a little bit more about Sloane because she have been one of my favorite since the first book, and I just love how weird she is, and the fact that she embrace that weirdness all the time, so it was shocked for me to find her now questioning her own values to the group. I felt for her so much, I just wanted to hug her because she is the strongest mentally but somehow here we see a softer side of her, the kind that could break her, beside she also had very rocking moments in this book that are no easy for anyone. But I like how she relate to Cassie for comfort and trust, they bonded so much during this book and Im so glad because they both needed it.

Speaking of Cassie, she had her own quota of drama during this book, and it not surprising because the story is about her featuring another amazing characters. But at the same time she was able to recognize that it was not her moment, that other people like Michael and Sloane, and even Lia, were facing more pressing issues and that she was needed to be there for them. I like that very much, I hate when a characters is so selfish that couldnt see what is there beyond his/her own suffering, so I list her into one of the best friends I even read.

So far, this is the craziest case the Naturals have ever faced, so Im happy that with each instalment everything become crazier, scarier, and bigger and even more mind blowing than before, but at the same time it keeps a quota of romance and humor. We see another sneak of Cassies fathers big Italian family and finally see Cassie interaction with her dad, not that really surprises me the grade of indifference since he was absent almost all her life and the five year shes been living with her Nonna, hes been abroad; I know its not his fault but they really dont have a proper father-daughter relationship. At the same time, I love Cassie with Dean (like I already said), its not like their relationship overcome the entire book but we see glimpses of it here and there, especially when she need someone to relate to.

OVERALL, this is one of a kind book, a fast-pace read that keep you over the edge and entertain during the whole thing. A very important aspect to address here is the fact that it not encourage murder or crimes, for the contrary, it lets very clear the fact that the kinds, even when they have a pretty rocking childhood with traumatic stuffs, are not comparable with the insanity of the killers. It also encourages helping kids out of the streets, giving them second chances and opportunities to reach their full and healthy potential. I absolutely enjoy this book so much, I cant say its my favorite because I really dont know which of the current three books of the series is, but I absolutely recommend it.

About the Author

Jennifer Lynn Barnes (who mostly goes by Jen) was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She has been, in turn, a competitive cheerleader, a volleyball player, a dancer, a debutante, a primate cognition researcher, a teen model, a comic book geek, and a lemur aficionado. Shes been writing for as long as she can remember, finished her first full book (which she now refers to as a "practice book" and which none of you will ever see) when she was still in high school, and then wrote Golden the summer after her freshman year in college, when she was nineteen.

Shes th author of The Squad, Tattoo and The Fixer duologies, The Raised by Wolves trilogy and The Naturals series.

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