Audiobook Review: Kill Without Shame by Alexandra Ivy

Series:	ARES Security #2
Pub. Date:	Feb. 27, 2018
Publisher:	Recorded Books
Narrator:	Jim Frangione
Length:	9 hrs 44 min
Source:	RBDigital

Kill Without Shame is the second book in the ARES Security series featuring five soldiers who were bound together in horror when they were taken prisoner by the Taliban. These protective alpha males have returned stateside and maintained their closeness to include starting a security firm together - ARES Security. Now each one will exercise those protective instincts to save a damsel and bring her into the fold.

Our hero in this installment is Lucas St. Clair, the charmer of the group. Lucas came from power and privilege, and probably surprised and angered his family with his decision to go into the military. When an old acquaintance is killed holding a picture of Lucas' high school sweetheart, he hightails it back to Louisiana to save the day. My connection with Lucas was not as strong as I felt with Rafe in Kill Without Mercy. I admired his determination to save Mia and bring her back into his life, but I wish we had more character development for him. He didn't come off as a tortured hero despite his time as a prisoner of war, and I didn't feel he was bonded to his Ares brothers quite as strongly as some of the other guys. 

Mia Ramon was the daughter of the St. Clair family's landscaper, and viewed as wholly inappropriate for the golden boy, Lucas. Despite running her own successful landscaping business, Mia lives with a chip on her shoulder from Lucas' desertion so long ago. But Mia had no choice but to accept Lucas' help when it becomes apparent that someone is out to kill her. I liked that Mia has somewhat dragged herself from the poverty of the Louisiana swamp and built a life for herself. 

The mystery was laid out well in this one. I liked who was picked to be the villain, the murder plot, and the investigating detectives. But I also felt that all of our characters were slow on the uptake. I thought their suspicions should have been raised sooner, and even common sense deduction seemed to point at our culprit. 

Probably my favorite part of the series is still the brotherhood between the Ares men. As I wasn't connecting totally with Lucas, I liked that Max and Teagan were around to capture some of my attention. I still think Teagan will be my favorite of the group, so I hope that his book comes around soon.

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