Review: Widow's Might (A Liv Bergen Mystery #3) by Sandra Brannan

Title: Widow's Might
Author: Sandra Brannan
Pages: 304
Published: August 7, 2012
Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group Press
Genre: Murder mystery
Review: Paperback won

The third Liv Bergen mystery picks up right where the second one left off: the murder of Liv’s sister-in-law has been solved, but an older rancher has been bludgeoned to death in a style eerily reminiscent of a long-inactive killer known only as the Crooked Man. FBI agent Streeter Pierce, still on assignment in Sturgis, South Dakota, must now turn his sights on tracking down the killer, who happens to be his nemesis from ten years earlier. Pierce doesn’t complain, though; he’s falling in love with Liv Bergen and sets in motion an unconventional way to recruit her for the FBI’s training camp in Quantico, Virginia, as they work the case together. But is Liv falling for the brilliant, exotic-looking agent Jack Linwood instead?
Once again, Liv’s vast knowledge of the Black Hills of South Dakota—the territory General Custer made famous—and the modern day ranchers and environmentalists who live there leads her to unearth critical clues about the Crooked Man. Aided by her elfin sister with rainbow-colored hair, a sad-eyed bloodhound, and a terminally ill Norwegian widow, Liv ultimately identifies the deranged killer. But will her barrage of questions be enough to fend off a fatal blow from the very cane he used to crush the skulls of thirteen other victims?

#PaperbackFriday

I won this book in a giveaway on a blog. What called to me was the cover and the title Widow's Might, it just sounds right up my alley. 

Honestly I would read the other two books in this series before you even read this one, and the reason I say this is because of the relationship between Liv and the FBI and who Liv is as a person. I believe that in the other books we would learn more on who she is and need to read the others in this series to get the full back story of everything. 

Now this book can be read as a stand alone being as the murders done by the Crooked Man seems to be its own mystery, and it is up to Liv and her buddies who are in the FBI and her bloodhound dog to solve the murders before more and more elderly and dying people are caught in the crossfires. I really enjoyed how we were never told who the murder was until almost the very end I kept thinking it was one certain character and then BAM! 

The past is all tied into the present and for the agents and Liv they need to look into the past of General Custer to know why killings are happening now.

I have to say my favorite quote in the book "You're killing people over diarrhea? Are you shitting me?" 

To understand that quote by Liv you have to read the book to find out, I found myself laughing and taking a picture to post on instagram as the best pun I have heard!!

Overall a good mystery book but I advise you to read the other two before this one so you don't feel like you started right in the middle of a story already being told! 

Sandra Brannan has created a heart-pounding mystery thriller series around Liv Bergen, a woman who embodies the spirit of South Dakota. Much like her character Liv Bergen, Brannan has spent her career in the mining business.
Working her way up from day laborer in the company her grandfather founded to a top executive in the family business wasn't easy, as Sandra often received threads from those opposed to mining. These life experiences gave her a first-person perspective into the high-stakes scenarios of which she writes.
In response to the overwhelming success of "In the Belly of Jonah" (2010), "Lot's Return to Sodom" (2011), "Widow's Might" (2012) and "Noah's Rainy Day" (2013), Brannan prioritizes her time first to the librarians and booksellers for nominating her to earn two ABA Indie Next List Notables, to book clubs and fans who have described Liv Bergen as the love child of Sue Grafton's Kinsey Milhone and Lee Child's Jack Reacher, and to teachers for all the gratitude she has for their role in her success. Her books have landed on the Denver Post best-seller list and reached the top 10 for e-book mysteries and top 5 for women's mysteries. She celebrates the launch of the fifth book in the series, "Solomon's Whisper," in September 2014.
Named one of the top 25 most fabulous women by Black Hills Magazine, Brannan lives in her hometown of Rapid City, South Dakota, with her husband. Their budding family consists of four boys and three grandchildren.
2010 In The Belly of Jonah
2011 Lot's Return to Sodom
2012 Widow's Might
2013 Noah's Rainy Day

If you'd like to know when Sandra will be in your area for a signing, interview or speaking event, please check her website or email sandra@sandrabrannan.com for appearances or book clubs.