{"id":3784,"date":"2025-08-08T14:30:47","date_gmt":"2025-08-08T14:30:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=3784"},"modified":"2025-08-08T14:30:47","modified_gmt":"2025-08-08T14:30:47","slug":"book-review-unwrapped-by-phyllis-picasso","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=3784","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: Unwrapped by Phyllis Picasso"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Unwrapped<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

by Phyllis Picasso<\/p>\n

Genre:<\/strong> Mystery, Thriller & Suspense \/ Police Procedural<\/p>\n

ISBN: <\/strong>9798891327115<\/p>\n

Print Length:<\/strong> 280 pages<\/p>\n

Publisher:<\/strong> Atmosphere Press<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Reviewed by Peggy Kurkowski<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>The holidays take a dark turn following two shocking murders.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Christmas season is anything but jolly for Jordan Runnell. She\u2019s struggling with a difficult pregnancy, the return of her husband\u2019s ex, and two disturbing murders at the shopping mall that implicate people close to her.<\/p>\n

It is late November, and Jordan and her husband Joe are busy with work and social gatherings. Jordan can barely keep down food and finds only more of an upset stomach when she realizes her new boss is Cheryl Kingston, Joe\u2019s ex-fianc\u00e9e. Both women acknowledge the awkwardness and move forward with a strict \u201cwork only\u201d policy, despite the best efforts of a meddlesome coworker, Brianna Lisle, who is \u201clike a shark waiting for the slightest droplet of blood\u201d<\/strong> when it comes to spreading gossip.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, at the Hedgewood Mall, several upscale business and restaurant owners are eager to recoup the profits lost during the recent pandemic. But when a shopper is found strangled in an unlit section of the parking lot, fears of a killer on the loose threaten to tank the season. The case falls to Detective Bob Drake, whose \u201cability to find a kidnapped child last year had put him at the top of his game,\u201d<\/strong> which he knows was only possible with the help of his psychic friend (and true love), Mila. As they draw closer over Thanksgiving and Detective Drake bounces ideas off Mila, another victim is found stabbed to death a week later inside the mall. Drake soon discovers that the two victims were once part of a social clique that included Cheryl.<\/p>\n

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The town buzzes with news of the murders, and Jordan begins to piece together the connections between the victims and Cheryl. Adding to her concern are Joe\u2019s recent late nights, which increasingly leave her home alone. Is she Joe\u2019s second choice in marriage?<\/p>\n

When she receives a chilling note on her car warning that \u201cyou are next,\u201d<\/strong> she rushes to Detective Drake, who leans on Mila\u2019s insights to help him follow the scattered breadcrumbs of clues. Will the investigation\u2014a laborious process of questioning everyone in the mall and within the social circle of former friends\u2014yield answers before the threat becomes reality?<\/p>\n

Unwrapped<\/em> is a colorful character-driven thriller with more procedure than action. The love triangles from the past (and present) serve up complications for Jordan\u2019s sense of security, both for her marriage and for her pregnancy. The numerous relationships and past associations can be hard to follow at times, but Jordan\u2019s increasing sense of isolation and feeling of terror provide compelling reasons to turn the pages. Some scenes may lean a bit heavier on telling rather than showing, but it\u2019s still all satisfyingly cozy in the end.<\/p>\n

\u201cHad the house always enjoyed the number of different sounds she now heard? It wasn\u2019t only the noises that frightened her, it was the thought that her fear was irrational and she was giving in to it.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

The book reads like it could be part of a series\u2014Drake\u2019s backstory with Mila and the kidnapping case, for example\u2014but it stands on its own merits too. It thrives under its engaging character development and a realistic redemption arc.<\/p>\n

Unwrapped<\/em> is a cleverly constructed story with great characters and a stocking stuffer of misdirection that fans of women\u2019s crime fiction will appreciate.<\/p>\n

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Thank you for reading Peggy Kurkowski\u2019s book review of Unwrapped <\/em>by Phyllis Picasso! If you liked what you read, please spend some more time with us at the links below.<\/p>\n

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The post Book Review: Unwrapped by Phyllis Picasso<\/a> appeared first on Independent Book Review<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Unwrapped by Phyllis Picasso Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense \/ Police Procedural ISBN: 9798891327115 Print Length: 280 pages Publisher: Atmosphere Press Amazon Bookshop Reviewed by Peggy Kurkowski The holidays take a dark turn following two shocking murders. The Christmas season is anything but jolly for Jordan Runnell. She\u2019s struggling with a difficult pregnancy, the return […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":3785,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bookreviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3784"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3784"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3784\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3785"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}