Book 2 in the Ruthless People Trilogy.“One Secret. Multiple Casualties.”
Everything Melody Callahan has ever been told about her past is a lie. Her father lied. Her husband lied. But like all secrets…they come out. Not only is her mother, Aviela, alive but she won’t stop until she tears down everything Liam and Melody have spent the past year building.
With a new target on their back and the media now focused on their family as the Presidential election approaches, Liam and Melody must fight on two battlefronts. Melody is torn between being in love with Liam and wanting to kill him for lying to her. Being in love and showing love are two different things in her world. Liam wants to do anything to protect his family even if that means hurting the people he loves.
Family is everything… but what happens when they’re out for your blood? Everything they have been through is nothing compared to what is coming…
***Warning: This book contains adult language and subject matter including graphic violence and explict sex that may be disturbing for some readers. This book is not intended for readers under the age of 18.***
I was a Callahan. God help whoever stood in this family’s way.
The Callahans are back and they’re as crazy as ever. Ruthless People was one of my favorite books from last year, but it’s definitely a book that’s either for you…or not. There’s not really a middle here. Melody and Liam are borderline psychotic, violent, ruthless, and their volatile relationship pretty much mirrors that. If the first book wasn’t your cuppa, I don’t suggest you read this one. If you were like me and found the first book entertaining for exactly what it was, then you definitely need to read this one.
The Untouchables takes off immediately where Ruthless People ended; Liam finds out that Melody’s mother that everyone thought had died in the plane crash years ago is not only alive and well but is even more ruthless than her daughter and wants them all dead. He’s determined not to let Melody find out until he has more details, but Melody is just as determined to discover whatever it is that Liam is keeping from her.
-P.D. James
Of course nothing stays hidden long and when the queen B is pissed, heads start to roll. The truth about her mother turns out to be much more than her simply being alive and after Melody and her family. A long standing vendetta soon begins to become uncovered and the Callahans may be facing an enemy that is even more ruthless and dangerous than them.
When Melody’s life is threatened, Liam is determined to protect her at whatever cost…even if he has to kill his own family members to do it. This is not a man to be messed with. Liam is as Liam was, quick tempered, violently overprotective, and always horny.
While Melody and Liam may still fight like they want to kill each other, the passion between them is just as fiery.
She glared at me and I wanted her, she sneezed and I wanted her. She was everything…
There was a lot, and I mean A LOT that happens here. Truth be told, it was almost too much for my puny brain at times. I think that had I read Ruthless People right before this and had all those details fresh in my mind, I would have enjoyed this a lot more. As I began to get further into the story I began to realize that I had forgotten some very pivotal details and the author doesn’t really ease you into that information here, more throws you right into the deep end. Now that’s not necessarily bad, because it may get redundant to have all these things repeated, but it did impact my enjoyment since I did forget. It was the smallest details too, like Declan being Liam’s cousin and not brother. At first I thought it came completely out of left field, but when I went back to re-read parts of Ruthless People, I realized this was something that was revealed a while ago.
-Stephen King
All that being said, the biggest reason for my lower rating was the POVs. There were a lot of them. I’m talking everyone and their mother had one. Literally. You had Liam, Melody, Declan, Olivia, Sedric, Neal, Coraline, and even 2 side characters that were the hired muscle. This is something that will either work for you or it won’t. Unfortunately, I fall into the latter. my puny brain just couldn’t keep up. Between trying to remember all the details from book 1 and then wrapping my head around everything that was happening here, it was taking me forever to read. I kept having to go back and re-read many parts simply because I would find myself lost. Now again, perhaps if Ruthless People was still fresh in my memory, I wouldn’t have had this issue, so take what I’m saying with a grain of salt.
My one quibble aside, this was still entertaining as fuck. Filled with murder and betrayal, mystery and suspense, this was a non-stop action packed ride. The question of who is the game changer that is currently pulling the strings and looking to overthrow the Callahans is something that remains a mystery until the very end. Then JJ hits you with a motherfucker of a cliffhanger. Luckily the wait for book 3 isn’t long, so my reaction wasn’t quite as stabby as it could have been haha.
I can’t wait to see how it all resolves. The stakes are certainly high and it’s bound to be one epic conclusion.
READING ORDER
J. J. McAvoy first started working on Ruthless People during a Morality and Ethics lecture her freshman year of college. X number of years later, she is an insomniac who has changed her major three times, and is a master in the art of procrastination. If you ask her why she began writing, she will simply tell you “They wanted to get their story out.”
She is currently working on her next novel . . . so please bug her on Twitter @JJMcAvoy
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