Killing Johnny Miracle

by

J.K. Franko

Complex and clever, and I didn't want to put this book down!

Johnny Miracle thinks he’s got it all… and he’s in love, just not with his wife, Mary. He wants a divorce and he’s got leverage. Johnny knows her deepest, darkest secret. He’s going to use that to take everything: her vineyard, her money, and her priceless family heirloom. He’ll do whatever it takes to get it all.

But, as Grandma Nellie used to say, “No man, no matter how smart or strong, can compete with a motivated woman.” Mary is a motivated woman, she’s got her own agenda, and it doesn’t include losing. She’s going to kill Johnny. To get away with it, she needs a plan and an alibi. And she thinks she has both.

Killing Johnny Miracle is the new complex and clever crime thriller by native Texas author J.K. Franko; one that, had I had the time and stamina, I would read entirely in one sitting – it was that good! Great characters, family secrets, murder, infidelity, mobsters, and a stolen Monet painting all have a hand in making this such a wonderfully robust tale. 

The author uses multiple points of view, multiple timelines, and two distinct and seemingly unconnected storylines to tell the story of why Johnny Miracle needs killing. This sounds like a lot to juggle, but the author nails it. Twists and turns in both stories kept the pace hopping and me riveted to the pages, wondering what would happen next and how this was all related. I literally gasped aloud at one reveal, one that I felt I should have figured out long before I had to be told! I was completely absorbed in this book, and yet I never dreamed how everything would finally and gloriously come together. 

I loved Mary Miracle and her relationship with her grandmother, and knew Johnny was up to no good from the start, from the title alone. (Justified.) Abby is a great "ride or die," and Ruby Yi and Kong were definitely favorites of mine. 

I loved the Hill Country setting outside Fredericksburg and will forgive the author for saying the Four Seasons was in the "town" of Las Colinas, which is a common mistake. (It's in Irving, and Las Colinas isn't a town; it's just a nice subdivision.) I'll assume the street name change of Byron Nelson Way to Bryson Nelson was a choice for some reason. Thanks for choosing my hometown as a setting. 

With its mesmerizing plot, I recommend KILLING JOHNNY MIRACLE to readers of crime fiction and Texas-set tales and those who enjoy clever stories, great dialogue, and characters who need killin'. 

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author through Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours.