4.5 stars— I just finished “One Small Sacrifice” by Hillary Davidson, a Kindle first read that I have been meaning to read for quite awhile. I don’t know what I expected, but I really enjoyed it. Davidson is a very talented writer who kept me entertained from start to finish with a very well done plot with numerous storylines that tied up nicely in the end. The book tells the story of Alex Traynor whose girlfriend disappears under very suspicious circumstances. The detective who is assigned to t...

"Instinct's not a superpower. It's made of experience and memory and belief."Alex Traynor was a famous photojournalist known for capturing pictures of some of the world's most brutal and haunting scenes of conflict and unrest. But after he was kidnapped, he began suffering from PTSD and turned to drugs to help quell the visions he seemed to see whether his eyes were open or closed.At the end of his rope and high on drugs, he decided to kill himself. Yet at the end of the night, Cori Stanton—his

A promising start to a new series! ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ Sheryn Sterling is an NYPD detective, and she’s been monitoring Alex Traynor since a friend of his named Cori fell to her death. While it was ruled a suicide, Sheryn thinks Alex is guilty of murder. Alex is a war photojournalist diagnosed with PTSD from his time abroad. He is engaged to Emily, a well-loved doctor, when she goes missing. Sheryn thinks Alex is to blame…Sheryn is wrong about her original theory, but as she interviews the witnesses to C...

I saw Hilary Davidson at Bouchercon in 2011 when she was promoting her first novel. She had some interesting things to say so I made a mental note to get a copy. 8 years later I finally got around to reading her 5th novel.Hey, I’ve been busy!Alex Traynor went to a war zone as a photojournalist and came back to New York with a whopping case of PTSD that had him self-medicating with the help of his friend and drug dealer, Cori. Unfortunately, Cori died after falling off the roof Alex’s apartment u...

What a terrific novel One Small Sacrifice is. I picked this as my Kindle First Read book, but still worried I had made a wrong choice. I am so happy to report that I had nothing to worry about. One Small Sacrifice is mainly told from 2 different POVs: Alex Traynor and Detective Sterling. Alex, is a photojournalist and suffering from PTSD. He is also suffering from guilt over the suicide of his friend, Cori. Detective Sterling worked Cori's suicide case and believes Alex got away with murder - or...

Alex Traynor is a former war photojournalist, back home in New York City, and severely suffering from PTSD. His fiancee, Dr. Emily Teare, seems to be the only one who can keep his nightmares at bay. Emily volunteers with Doctors Without Borders ... and has gone missing.Detective Sheryn Sterling is absolutely convinced that Alex has had a hand in his fiancee's disappearance. She believes that he was responsible for the death of his friend, Cori. Although ruled a suicide, Sterling thinks Traynor h...

3.5 stars

One Small Sacrifice by Hilary Davidson *Alex Traynor had been a war photojournalist and worked in the world’s most dangerous environments. After being shot during one of his battlefield forays, he came home with a damaged leg, a case of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), a drug addiction, and a fiancé, Dr. Emily Teare, Emily operated on his wound in the field and gave him his single purpose he has to go on living. It wasn’t always so cut and dried, though. A year earlier, at a low point in h...

It was a tough choice for my Kindle First pick for May and I picked the wrong one for me, sadly. I stuck with it till 35% but I had lost interest by then. It jumps around a lot.....which doesn't usually bother me in the least if it's in clearly delineated time-zones, for example, but the way this one is laid out is just baffling.At one point Sheryn is explaining an idea to Rafael and asks him which theory he wanted to hear first. While she gave us one, she didn't offer up another one that I coul...

This was my Kindle first reads pick. It didn’t really grab me, probably partially because I didn’t have a lot of respect for any of the characters. I could see no logical reason for the actions of Emily and Alex, nor why they were even together.

I love the beginning of a new series - so much promise, so much intrigue and suspense about what the characters will do and where they will go! I really enjoyed this cat-and-mouse story of a cop trying to solve an old murder and a new disappearance.Hilary Davidson threw twist after twist into the story, really teasing out the plot in such an enjoyable way so I never knew how it would go or who the real bad person was. The pacing was quick, the characters likeable enough. The story is chock full

Thoroughly enjoyed reading. The characters become very real in the problems they are dealing with. You are allowed a personal look and they become more realistic. While dealing with particular problems, they are still trying to function in an every day world. Detective Sheryn and her new partner Rafael are professionals and yet they are also very human, which is demonstrated in various instances throughout this story. Don't forget to read the Epilogue.. a real treat to end with.. Read it! You wi...

‘The way Sheryn Sterling was feeling, it might not have been the best idea to put a knife in her hand.’Sheryn Sterling has a new working partner and an old grudge. The partner is Rafael Mendoza, the grudge Alex Traynor.Traynor is a photojournalist who is doing his best to cope with life on the civilian streets of New York. His previous work in a number of war zones has left him scarred. He’s suffering from PTSD and has struggled on and off with self-medication. Sterling’s beef with him is that s...

Wow from the beginning to the end! LOVED this book! Hilary Davidson, I'm going to go follow you next. Can't wait for your next book!

The premise of this novel is whether a man who is found innocent in the death of a female friend when she fell from the top of an apartment building the year before, is now suspected in the disappearance, and possible death of his fiancé. Alex, a well-known photographer who suffers with PTSD, is very much in love with Emily, a physician he met in a war zone of Syria. Now, they are back home in New York but good luck seems to be an elusive commodity for them. Emily disappears on a Friday night an...

Pixie Twinkle Toes made my night by gifting me this awesome book. It sounds so good, I can't wait to read, thanks so much!!

This is a 4.5 ❤️ book. I was trying to guess who did it until it was revealed. The book has an “I did not see this coming” ending. This is a Mystery/Thriller at is best. Hilary Davidson masterminded a fantastic plot and created awesome characters. This is the first book in this new series called Shadow of New York. I am looking forward to reading the next book.A big thank you to Thomas Allen and Son for sending me a copy of this thrilling book. One Small Sacrifice by Hilary Davidson will be avai...

I’ve been meaning to read Hilary Davidson’s works for a couple years but something always seemed to jump ahead of her in my to-be-read stack. That mistake won’t happen again. I’ll leave it to other viewers to detail the plot. But, I must say that if you like crime fiction, give this book a shot. There’s an excellent mix of interesting characters, a really crisp story without a lot of fluff, and excellent pacing throughout. 4 stars.

I’m not sure how this book has received so many great reviews. Have reader expectations really sunk so low that this barely average book has become a five-star novel?Don’t get me wrong, the writing was grammatically correct (which should never be a selling point but in this day and age it is), and the overall concept of the storyline was fine, but the execution was average at best. I’ll be nice and start off with the positives:I continued to turn pages until the end. There was enough of a story

Alex Traynor is a war photojournalist who suffers from PTSD. His fiancée, Emily Teare, a doctor who volunteers with Doctors Without Borders, is missing and NYPD Detective Sheryn Sterling is convinced Alex had something to do with it. Traynor has been on her radar ever since Cori Stanton, a troubled woman and Traynor’s drug dealer, plummeted to her death from the roof of Traynor’s apartment building one year ago. He was with Cori when it happened but was too high to remember anything. The story i...

I made it halfway. I may or may not finish. Don't really care. The cops are a dumb and dumber team. It must be maddening to be in the legal profession and read this. It's totally unrealistic. I'm a photographer and I call b.s. on the advice about being a great photographer. Seriously, he's saying that photojournalism is all about sneaking into places you shouldn't be. I told my photojournalist husband some of the quotes and he laughed. Books like this do the world a disservice. All you have to d...

Great Procedural (TW suicide/ PTSD)This was so good I listened to the audiobook–a great ensemble cast–in one day.The mystery is basically this: there’s a war photographer with PTSD who has been on an NYPD detective’s radar since a woman’s death. Now, with his girlfriend missing, the detective is here to finally nail his ass to the wall. But this was a great procedural so it’s not going to be that easy. I really liked the way the multiple points of view were used, that the detective has a new par...

Thank you so much Goodreads and Amazon publishing for the giveaway win!

Intricately plotted, like Russian nesting dolls. I couldn't guess the outcome as I was reading, which is a good thing. The book presented a broad array of strong characters. My particular favorite was the oily, nasty Will Sipher. I imagined him played by Philip Seymour Hoffman when he was still a character actor, circa "The Talented Mr. Ripley." The lead detective, Sterling, is certainly worthy of another book too should Hilary Davidson be so inclined.

Try to put this book down... I dare you!Wow! I could not turn the pages fast enough. There are so many facets of this thriller, and it’s told from multiple perspectives which keeps the reader in suspense, begging to know more. I really like how Davidson leads the reader down multiple paths of the story’s maze so that it doesn’t disappoint or feel too easily solved. I‘m so glad I chose this for my free Amazon Prime First Read this month! You should too, while you still can!

When I saw how many positive reviews One Small Sacrifice received, naturally, I was suspicious.And my suspicions were confirmed. * Minor spoilers ahead * When photojournalist Alex Traynor's doctor girlfriend, Emily, goes missing, NYPD Detective Sterling makes the snap judgment that Alex has something to do with it, namely because a friend of his, Cori, plummeted to her death several years ago.To make matters worse, Alex suffers from PTSD, a result from his time spent in war zones, so he's an...

Not bad by any means, but it didn't really grip meIt kept me reading to the end, but not really a thriller. Stylistically I think it would have been better told from just one point of view; the chapters from Emily's point of view in particular didn't help the flow and were unnecessary.

4.5 STARS - 4.5 STARS - I came across Hilary Davidson back in 2014 with her book, Blood Always Tells which was an amazing, non-stop suspense read about revenge, murder and deceit. The Suspense novel trifecta. Now, Davidson is back with the first book in her new series which continues to combine a well-paced, twisty suspense read with an engaging main character in NYPD Detective Sheryn Sterling. Sterling is a strong protagonist (I kept picturing actress Viola Davis) who shares narrator duties wit...

I thoroughly enjoyed this book from beginning to end. There were no lulls or frustrating aspects and it didn't get bogged down in too many details. It's been awhile since I've run into a whodunit that hasn't and I was completely satisfied with the ending, though it does leave a thread of uncertainty.Hilary Davidson created a compelling story that deals with mental illness and drug use wrapped around two mysteries, a missing woman and a year old death. These are heavy issues and though I felt

3.75 stars.I have to say, it's been a little while since I've been surprised by a mystery. I think that it's because the perp has been, in recent reads, a peripheral character, someone whom I'd completely forgotten by the end of the book since s/he only appeared once or twice. That is not the case with this story. While the mystery in this book is plenty interesting, it's not the most mysterious (sorry, I really can't think of a better word right now) that I've ever read. However Hilary Davidson...