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You Can Go Home Now
In this smart, relevant, unputdownable psychological thriller, a woman cop is on the hunt for a killer while battling violent secrets of her own.
“My name is Nina Karim. I am a single thirty-one-year-old woman who likes cats, Ryan Reynolds movies, beautiful sunsets, walking on a wintry beach holding hands with a tall, caring, lightly bearded third-wave feminist. Yeah, right.”
Nina is a tough Queens detective with a series of cold case homicides on her desk – men whose widows had the same alibi: they were living in Artemis, a battered women’s shelter, when their husbands were killed.
Nina goes undercover into Artemis. Though she is playing the victim, she’s anything but. Nina knows about violence and the bullies who rely on it because she’s experienced it in her own life.
In this heart-pounding thriller Nina confronts the violence of her own past in Artemis where she finds solidarity with a community of women who deal with abusive and lethal men in their own way.
For the women living in Artemis there is no absolute moral compass, there is the law and there is survival. And, for Nina, who became a cop so she could find the man who murdered her father, there is only revenge.
“My name is Nina Karim. I am a single thirty-one-year-old woman who likes cats, Ryan Reynolds movies, beautiful sunsets, walking on a wintry beach holding hands with a tall, caring, lightly bearded third-wave feminist. Yeah, right.”
Nina is a tough Queens detective with a series of cold case homicides on her desk – men whose widows had the same alibi: they were living in Artemis, a battered women’s shelter, when their husbands were killed.
Nina goes undercover into Artemis. Though she is playing the victim, she’s anything but. Nina knows about violence and the bullies who rely on it because she’s experienced it in her own life.
In this heart-pounding thriller Nina confronts the violence of her own past in Artemis where she finds solidarity with a community of women who deal with abusive and lethal men in their own way.
For the women living in Artemis there is no absolute moral compass, there is the law and there is survival. And, for Nina, who became a cop so she could find the man who murdered her father, there is only revenge.
259 pages, Hardcover
First published June 23, 2020
About the author
Michael Elias
8 books88 followersMICHAEL ELIAS was born and raised in upstate New York. He has worked in motion pictures, television and stage as an actor, writer, producer, and director in New York, Los Angeles, and London.
He was a member of The Living Theatre and acted in The Brig by Kenneth Brown in New York and London.
At WarnerBros he and Rich Eustis created and produced the award-winning series "Head of the Class" that ran for five seasons on ABC starring Howard Hesseman and Billy Connolly.
Elias wrote and directed the acclaimed jazz drama "Lush Life" starring Forest Whitaker, Jeff Goldblum, Don Cheadle, and Cathy Baker. Mr. Elias was nominated as Best Director in the Cable Ace Awards.
His produced screenplays include "The Jerk", "The Frisco Kid", "Serial", "Envoyez les Violons", and "Young Doctors in Love".
His play "The Catskill Sonata" about blacklisted artists premiered in Los Angeles directed by Paul Mazursky. The LA Weekly named it number one in its list of ten best plays of the year.
His new novel YOU CAN GO HOME NOW will be published by HarperCollins on June 23, 2020.
Elias is a member of Writer's Branch of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and serves on its Foreign Language Committee. He is also a member of the WGA, the DGA, and PEN.
He graduated from St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland with a degree in mathematics and philosophy.
Michael Elias lives in Los Angeles and Paris.
He was a member of The Living Theatre and acted in The Brig by Kenneth Brown in New York and London.
At WarnerBros he and Rich Eustis created and produced the award-winning series "Head of the Class" that ran for five seasons on ABC starring Howard Hesseman and Billy Connolly.
Elias wrote and directed the acclaimed jazz drama "Lush Life" starring Forest Whitaker, Jeff Goldblum, Don Cheadle, and Cathy Baker. Mr. Elias was nominated as Best Director in the Cable Ace Awards.
His produced screenplays include "The Jerk", "The Frisco Kid", "Serial", "Envoyez les Violons", and "Young Doctors in Love".
His play "The Catskill Sonata" about blacklisted artists premiered in Los Angeles directed by Paul Mazursky. The LA Weekly named it number one in its list of ten best plays of the year.
His new novel YOU CAN GO HOME NOW will be published by HarperCollins on June 23, 2020.
Elias is a member of Writer's Branch of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and serves on its Foreign Language Committee. He is also a member of the WGA, the DGA, and PEN.
He graduated from St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland with a degree in mathematics and philosophy.
Michael Elias lives in Los Angeles and Paris.
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July 15, 2023
Check out all my reviews at: https://www.avonnalovesgenres.com
YOU CAN GO HOME NOW by Michael Elias is an exciting new thriller with a female detective on the case of a killer of abusive spouses while simultaneously on her lifelong quest for her personal revenge against the killer of her father.
Homicide Detective Nina Karim is called out to the scene of a murder and finds the body of a man she was searching for who was reported missing by his parents. The parents accuse the wife of the murder. When Nina catches up with the wife, she claims innocence, but refuses to say where she was during the time of the murder.
While investigating the case, Nina discovers other cold cases of murdered spouses all tied to Artemis Shelter for Women. Nina goes undercover in Artemis and finds herself empathizing with the occupants and their stories, because she has a story of her own which fuels her need for revenge, not conventional justice.
This book starts with two chapters that while you do not know it at the time, set up the dual plotlines intertwined through this thriller. For me, Nina was an antihero. She became a cop and lived for revenge knowing she would cross the line when she finds her target. The resolution to her personal revenge plotline was not realistic or believable. Her romance is with a loan shark, Bobby B who dropped out of the police academy which they both attended at the same time. He was useful for pivotal plot points and sex scenes, but I never felt he was fully fleshed out.
Nina’s time in Artemis was the plotline that captured my complete attention. The stories of the women and children pull you in as they did Nina herself. Nina’s empathy for the women leaves her with an ethical dilemma; reveal Artemis’ true mission or not.
I found this to be a gritty, fast paced, revenge thriller story that is more escapism that realism, but it did entertain me.
YOU CAN GO HOME NOW by Michael Elias is an exciting new thriller with a female detective on the case of a killer of abusive spouses while simultaneously on her lifelong quest for her personal revenge against the killer of her father.
Homicide Detective Nina Karim is called out to the scene of a murder and finds the body of a man she was searching for who was reported missing by his parents. The parents accuse the wife of the murder. When Nina catches up with the wife, she claims innocence, but refuses to say where she was during the time of the murder.
While investigating the case, Nina discovers other cold cases of murdered spouses all tied to Artemis Shelter for Women. Nina goes undercover in Artemis and finds herself empathizing with the occupants and their stories, because she has a story of her own which fuels her need for revenge, not conventional justice.
This book starts with two chapters that while you do not know it at the time, set up the dual plotlines intertwined through this thriller. For me, Nina was an antihero. She became a cop and lived for revenge knowing she would cross the line when she finds her target. The resolution to her personal revenge plotline was not realistic or believable. Her romance is with a loan shark, Bobby B who dropped out of the police academy which they both attended at the same time. He was useful for pivotal plot points and sex scenes, but I never felt he was fully fleshed out.
Nina’s time in Artemis was the plotline that captured my complete attention. The stories of the women and children pull you in as they did Nina herself. Nina’s empathy for the women leaves her with an ethical dilemma; reveal Artemis’ true mission or not.
I found this to be a gritty, fast paced, revenge thriller story that is more escapism that realism, but it did entertain me.
Read
December 10, 2020Be sure to check for my review, first posted on Mystery and Suspense, as well as a number of other insightful comments by other reviewers.
https://www.mysteryandsuspense.com/re...
There is something chilling about Michael Elias’ latest thriller, You Can Go Home Now, that is sure to pique the interest of the reader. A single cop working a handful of cold cases with one of her own that has been simmering for decades. Nina Karim knows how to follow the rules and when to break them. She’ll need a little of both if she has any hope of setting things straight. A strong story is sure to keep the attentive reader begging for more!
Nina Karim know what she wants and how to get it. Having risen through the ranks of the Long Island City PD, she knows that her single status and being a woman makes it hard for her colleagues to take her seriously, though she has long since stopped caring. She’s handling some of the ‘lighter fare’ in the department and is trying to track down a missing couple whose domestic bliss is long past its due date.
After a body is discovered, it turns out to be the missing husband, an abusive man with a long reputation for using his fists before any common sense. Being a former cop, the Blue Wall seems to have protected him for a long while, as his wife has turned out to be a punching bag. Detective Karim locates the wife who has been staying at a women’s shelter. She promises that she is not involved, but cannot say that she is sorry to see him dead.
Karim expands her search parameters and discovers a number of other cold cases with abuse as an underlying circumstance. It would seem that this particular women’s shelter is housing a number of the victims’ significant others. Could there be a massive coincidence or is this a lead that could yield a killer? Karim must find out and so she poses as an abused woman, putting out feelings to see if she can use an abused victim story to churn out a ‘hit’.
While all this is taking place, Karim has been wrestling with the murder of her father years ago. Killed by a sniper in the kitchen, likely for his willingness to perform abortions on women who sought them, Karim is sure that the killer is part of a pro-life movement that made New York anything but safe back in the day. She has a few leads of her own and will stop at nothing to avenge the death of an innocent man. But, will the end result prove more troubling than the sense of relief that comes from locating a killer?
Michael Elias writes is new to my reading experience, but he writes in such a way that one cannot help but feel a sense of connection quickly. The story is strong and the narrative flows well, keeping the reader on their toes and wanting to know more as the pages turn.
Nina Karim may not be a cop whose story is entirely unique, but she has a wonderful way of approaching life. She has her own missions, both personal and professional, as well as a strong sense of dedication to the task at hand. Her backstory is littered with peaks and valleys, though she is never one to dwell on them. While her father’s death haunts her, she has a plan to avenge him, even if it takes her to hell and back. With some grit and determination, Karim will face anyone that stands in her way and finds herself to be an advocate for those who need it most, namely herself.
Elias keeps the story strong with a full cast of supporting characters. He tells a few of the strong subplots with a vast array of people from all walks of life. Things are never dull and the reader can almost feel as though they are at the centre of the action, with realistic dialogue and banter. I could almost picture myself watching some of the interactions as I read this book, they were depicted that well.
The story’s premise was strong, tacking abuse and retribution through the eyes of the victim. At times somewhat disturbing, but in a way that is sobering to the reader who has not experienced it, the story takes on a great deal and tries to put some sense into it. Elias has a way with words and lets his narrative flow well as things keep gaining momentum. With short chapters, the reader is pushed into forging ahead and trying to solve the case in a single sitting. Elias knows what he’s doing here and while abuse is no laughing matter, there is a sense of happiness as some semblance of retribution takes place within the pages of this well-crafted novel.
Kudos, Mr. Elias, for an insightful piece. I am eager to see what else you have in store for you fans, and will have to look into some of your previous publications.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
https://www.mysteryandsuspense.com/re...
There is something chilling about Michael Elias’ latest thriller, You Can Go Home Now, that is sure to pique the interest of the reader. A single cop working a handful of cold cases with one of her own that has been simmering for decades. Nina Karim knows how to follow the rules and when to break them. She’ll need a little of both if she has any hope of setting things straight. A strong story is sure to keep the attentive reader begging for more!
Nina Karim know what she wants and how to get it. Having risen through the ranks of the Long Island City PD, she knows that her single status and being a woman makes it hard for her colleagues to take her seriously, though she has long since stopped caring. She’s handling some of the ‘lighter fare’ in the department and is trying to track down a missing couple whose domestic bliss is long past its due date.
After a body is discovered, it turns out to be the missing husband, an abusive man with a long reputation for using his fists before any common sense. Being a former cop, the Blue Wall seems to have protected him for a long while, as his wife has turned out to be a punching bag. Detective Karim locates the wife who has been staying at a women’s shelter. She promises that she is not involved, but cannot say that she is sorry to see him dead.
Karim expands her search parameters and discovers a number of other cold cases with abuse as an underlying circumstance. It would seem that this particular women’s shelter is housing a number of the victims’ significant others. Could there be a massive coincidence or is this a lead that could yield a killer? Karim must find out and so she poses as an abused woman, putting out feelings to see if she can use an abused victim story to churn out a ‘hit’.
While all this is taking place, Karim has been wrestling with the murder of her father years ago. Killed by a sniper in the kitchen, likely for his willingness to perform abortions on women who sought them, Karim is sure that the killer is part of a pro-life movement that made New York anything but safe back in the day. She has a few leads of her own and will stop at nothing to avenge the death of an innocent man. But, will the end result prove more troubling than the sense of relief that comes from locating a killer?
Michael Elias writes is new to my reading experience, but he writes in such a way that one cannot help but feel a sense of connection quickly. The story is strong and the narrative flows well, keeping the reader on their toes and wanting to know more as the pages turn.
Nina Karim may not be a cop whose story is entirely unique, but she has a wonderful way of approaching life. She has her own missions, both personal and professional, as well as a strong sense of dedication to the task at hand. Her backstory is littered with peaks and valleys, though she is never one to dwell on them. While her father’s death haunts her, she has a plan to avenge him, even if it takes her to hell and back. With some grit and determination, Karim will face anyone that stands in her way and finds herself to be an advocate for those who need it most, namely herself.
Elias keeps the story strong with a full cast of supporting characters. He tells a few of the strong subplots with a vast array of people from all walks of life. Things are never dull and the reader can almost feel as though they are at the centre of the action, with realistic dialogue and banter. I could almost picture myself watching some of the interactions as I read this book, they were depicted that well.
The story’s premise was strong, tacking abuse and retribution through the eyes of the victim. At times somewhat disturbing, but in a way that is sobering to the reader who has not experienced it, the story takes on a great deal and tries to put some sense into it. Elias has a way with words and lets his narrative flow well as things keep gaining momentum. With short chapters, the reader is pushed into forging ahead and trying to solve the case in a single sitting. Elias knows what he’s doing here and while abuse is no laughing matter, there is a sense of happiness as some semblance of retribution takes place within the pages of this well-crafted novel.
Kudos, Mr. Elias, for an insightful piece. I am eager to see what else you have in store for you fans, and will have to look into some of your previous publications.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
September 19, 2020
Michael Elias'
You Can Go Home Now
delivers some interesting twists. It's not quite a police procedural, not quite a thriller, but it's a fascinating read.
Nina Karim is a tough, no-BS cop in Queens. She’s overcome a lot in her life but it drives her, fuels her to move forward.
Among the cases she's investigating is the disappearance and subsequent murder of a man, an ex-cop. Nina discovers that he used to abuse his wife and she spent time in a shelter called Artemis. And now he’s dead. But it’s more than that—Nina starts to find other cases in which those who abused their significant others are winding up dead, and all of their victims spent time at the same shelter.
To investigate what’s going on, she goes undercover at Artemis as a woman abused by her husband. As she gets to know the women and hear their stories, she has to figure out whether someone within the shelter is playing a role in killing the women’s abusers. If so, is that really a bad thing?
Meanwhile, when her past comes back to confront her, she must make a complicated decision: does she take on the demons that have haunted her for so long, or would doing so even haunt her more?
I thought this was a really good read and it had some interesting twists on the typical thriller/crime novel. I also liked how Elias looked at domestic violence and showed that it's not just perpetrated by men, and also examined some cultural issues relative to this type of abuse.
The book isn't always fast-moving, but Elias definitely threw in a few twists here and there. I found Nina to be a really fascinating, complex, flawed character, and I'd love to see her return in a future book. I’ll definitely keep watch on what comes in the future for Elias’ career!
Check out my list of the best books I read in 2019 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2019.html.
Check out my list of the best books of the decade at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2020/01/my-favorite-books-of-decade.html.
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.
Follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/the.bookishworld.of.yrralh/.
Nina Karim is a tough, no-BS cop in Queens. She’s overcome a lot in her life but it drives her, fuels her to move forward.
Among the cases she's investigating is the disappearance and subsequent murder of a man, an ex-cop. Nina discovers that he used to abuse his wife and she spent time in a shelter called Artemis. And now he’s dead. But it’s more than that—Nina starts to find other cases in which those who abused their significant others are winding up dead, and all of their victims spent time at the same shelter.
To investigate what’s going on, she goes undercover at Artemis as a woman abused by her husband. As she gets to know the women and hear their stories, she has to figure out whether someone within the shelter is playing a role in killing the women’s abusers. If so, is that really a bad thing?
Meanwhile, when her past comes back to confront her, she must make a complicated decision: does she take on the demons that have haunted her for so long, or would doing so even haunt her more?
I thought this was a really good read and it had some interesting twists on the typical thriller/crime novel. I also liked how Elias looked at domestic violence and showed that it's not just perpetrated by men, and also examined some cultural issues relative to this type of abuse.
The book isn't always fast-moving, but Elias definitely threw in a few twists here and there. I found Nina to be a really fascinating, complex, flawed character, and I'd love to see her return in a future book. I’ll definitely keep watch on what comes in the future for Elias’ career!
Check out my list of the best books I read in 2019 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2019.html.
Check out my list of the best books of the decade at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2020/01/my-favorite-books-of-decade.html.
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.
Follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/the.bookishworld.of.yrralh/.
July 9, 2020
You Can Go Home Again is unlike any book I've read. It is crime fiction meets The Boondock Saints from a female protagonist perspective and what a great character she is! I was conflicted about the vigilante justice but, on the other hand, I found myself saying "YES!" a few times as well. The fact is that once I started reading this book, I couldn't stop. The narrative never allows you to take a breath, come up for air or pause until the very last page. I loved it! I want more!!
June 26, 2020
Originally published on The Nerd Daily | Review by Marla Warren
A smart, and very relevant, mystery by a prolific writer of stage and screen, Michael Elias’s You Can Go Home Now will take you on an intense rollercoaster ride alongside Detective Nina Karim, a homicide investigator in Queens, New York.
Read the FULL REVIEW on The Nerd Daily
A smart, and very relevant, mystery by a prolific writer of stage and screen, Michael Elias’s You Can Go Home Now will take you on an intense rollercoaster ride alongside Detective Nina Karim, a homicide investigator in Queens, New York.
Read the FULL REVIEW on The Nerd Daily
July 8, 2020
Read to 40%, then skipped to 80% and read to the end.
I absolutely loved the idea of this book and was quite disappointed at the execution.
Nina is an interesting character. She’s all about revenge for her father’s murder and finding the person who did it is her motivation in life. Logically, I know a vigilante cop is not something I want in real life, but I could get behind it fictionally.
Plot wise, it was all over the place. There’s loads of memories and inner monologue and it all streams together without any sort of differentiating...and that is my main problem with this story. Nothing settled into any sort of rhythm and I couldn’t keep things straight. After a while, it became more trouble than it was worth.
Overall, the last few chapters I read were intriguing, but not enough to make me go back and get to the section I skipped.
FYI: talk of physical abuse and rape
**Huge thanks to Harper for providing the arc free of charge**
I absolutely loved the idea of this book and was quite disappointed at the execution.
Nina is an interesting character. She’s all about revenge for her father’s murder and finding the person who did it is her motivation in life. Logically, I know a vigilante cop is not something I want in real life, but I could get behind it fictionally.
Plot wise, it was all over the place. There’s loads of memories and inner monologue and it all streams together without any sort of differentiating...and that is my main problem with this story. Nothing settled into any sort of rhythm and I couldn’t keep things straight. After a while, it became more trouble than it was worth.
Overall, the last few chapters I read were intriguing, but not enough to make me go back and get to the section I skipped.
FYI: talk of physical abuse and rape
**Huge thanks to Harper for providing the arc free of charge**
June 23, 2020
*View my reviews at www.drinkreadrepeat.com*
When I was pregnant with my second son, I spent several months on modified bedrest.
I could have spent this time doing something productive — writing the next great American novel, reading through a backlog of classics, heck, even knitting some baby clothes.
But, I didn’t.
Instead, I watched every single episode of Law & Order: SVU. There were — at the time — 450 episodes. At 45 minutes each (without commercials) that’s 20,250 minutes, which is 337.5 hours, which is 14 full 24-hour days!
So, basically, I know everything there is to know about being a cop.
Or at least about playing one on TV.
The steely looks.
The subtle intimidation tactics.
The gratuitous one-liners.
The thing is, though, while I am — apparently — totally content to watch a fucking fortnight of cop-centric TV, I have never been one for police procedural reads.
So, imagine my surprise when I found myself falling in love with this novel, the protagonist of which is a police woman — who is, for the record, way tougher than Olivia Benson.
If cop-centric TV and novels are to be believed, everyone who becomes a cop has some serious baggage. And Nina Karim is no exception.
Long before becoming a homicide detective in Queens, Nina lived in upstate New York. Her youth was relatively idyllic. Until the day when, while sitting at the dinner table with her brother, Sammy, she witnessed her father take a sniper’s bullet to the brain.
It wasn’t just her father that died on that day, it was also the comforting sense of normalcy that had typified her childhood.
Now bent on ensuring that justice is served for everyone — and, most specifically, for the “cowardly bastard” who shot her father, a man for whom she still searches — Nina immerses herself fully in her work. So logically when, while going through cold case files and discovering what may very well be a murderous trend, she digs deeper.
With her instincts finely tuned, Nina notices what no one else noticed: a pattern in the seemingly patternless pile. With some minor digging, she finds that a number of the murder victims in these long-gone-cold cases had a history of inflicting abuse on their romantic partners. And their battered significant others all sought shelter at a well-hidden, closely guarded sanctuary called Artemis.
Could it be, Nina wonders, that someone in Artemis is just as set on vengeance as she is?
There is only one way to know, she decides.
She has to go in.
Almost as completely as Nina immersed herself in the mysterious — and intercessory — world of Artemis, I immersed myself in this novel.
I would say that this book was a deep well into which I tumbled and became trapped, but the negative connotation makes that not the most apt description. Because, unlike a dark and dank well from which I can only assume I would want to make a hasty escape, I didn’t want to get out. I wanted to stay, immersed in the gritty, rough, real world of this book.
I wanted to buddy up to Nina and help her find the cowardly bastard who had so completely derailed her life.
Even though I’m not someone who is normally bent on revenge, I would have delighted in riding shotgun on her journey, because I felt her quest was so important.
So warranted.
So necessary.
Becoming invested in this book wasn’t hard, because Nina — despite all of her brashness and rule-bending — was so easy to love.
It was enigmatic, really. The odd mixture of total confidence and complete uncertainty. On the outside, Nina looked like a tough-as-nails — albeit physically diminutive — female cop who you would be ill-advised to cross. But, on the inside, Nina was still the little girl who had seen her father transform from a healthy man washing dishes to a bloodied corpse crumpled on the kitchen floor.
Damaged characters are always more engaging, but I found Nina to be even more captivating than usual. This is probably due to the fact that Nina’s baggage was significant and life-altering.
Unlike some purportedly “troubled” protagonists, she wasn’t still harboring upset regarding a marriage that ended in divorce or struggling with self-worth issues because she couldn’t lose that last 10 pounds.
No, Nina had been through some serious shit.
And because I knew that what she had been through would realistically leave a lasting mark on even the strongest of person, I didn’t tire of Nina remaining mired in this past trauma.
Another thing that enhanced her likability was the fact that, while she couldn’t let go of the events of her past, she was actively working to do something about it — namely, end the life of the man who had stolen her father from her and, in doing so, had tossed a proverbial hand grenade into her life.
Another factor that influenced my absolute absorption into this book was the quality of the writing.
It was so clean and crisp and sparkly.
With his tidy narration and precisely portioned description, Michael Elias absolutely captures his readers.
And this was not necessarily something that I was expecting.
Very often, I find writing in thrillers to be a bit spartan. It’s utilitarian and purposeful and effective, but it hardly jumps off the page. That was absolutely not the case here.
The prose bordered on lyrical, mesmerizing this reader — and, presumably, all readers — and more effectively pulling me into the world of the novel.
My one regret is that Elias doesn’t have a larger back catalog of reads to devour, because You Can Go Home Now certainly earned him a spot on my list of authors to watch.
Nearly without fault, this novel earns a glowing 5 out of 5 cocktails.
When I was pregnant with my second son, I spent several months on modified bedrest.
I could have spent this time doing something productive — writing the next great American novel, reading through a backlog of classics, heck, even knitting some baby clothes.
But, I didn’t.
Instead, I watched every single episode of Law & Order: SVU. There were — at the time — 450 episodes. At 45 minutes each (without commercials) that’s 20,250 minutes, which is 337.5 hours, which is 14 full 24-hour days!
So, basically, I know everything there is to know about being a cop.
Or at least about playing one on TV.
The steely looks.
The subtle intimidation tactics.
The gratuitous one-liners.
The thing is, though, while I am — apparently — totally content to watch a fucking fortnight of cop-centric TV, I have never been one for police procedural reads.
So, imagine my surprise when I found myself falling in love with this novel, the protagonist of which is a police woman — who is, for the record, way tougher than Olivia Benson.
If cop-centric TV and novels are to be believed, everyone who becomes a cop has some serious baggage. And Nina Karim is no exception.
Long before becoming a homicide detective in Queens, Nina lived in upstate New York. Her youth was relatively idyllic. Until the day when, while sitting at the dinner table with her brother, Sammy, she witnessed her father take a sniper’s bullet to the brain.
It wasn’t just her father that died on that day, it was also the comforting sense of normalcy that had typified her childhood.
Now bent on ensuring that justice is served for everyone — and, most specifically, for the “cowardly bastard” who shot her father, a man for whom she still searches — Nina immerses herself fully in her work. So logically when, while going through cold case files and discovering what may very well be a murderous trend, she digs deeper.
With her instincts finely tuned, Nina notices what no one else noticed: a pattern in the seemingly patternless pile. With some minor digging, she finds that a number of the murder victims in these long-gone-cold cases had a history of inflicting abuse on their romantic partners. And their battered significant others all sought shelter at a well-hidden, closely guarded sanctuary called Artemis.
Could it be, Nina wonders, that someone in Artemis is just as set on vengeance as she is?
There is only one way to know, she decides.
She has to go in.
Almost as completely as Nina immersed herself in the mysterious — and intercessory — world of Artemis, I immersed myself in this novel.
I would say that this book was a deep well into which I tumbled and became trapped, but the negative connotation makes that not the most apt description. Because, unlike a dark and dank well from which I can only assume I would want to make a hasty escape, I didn’t want to get out. I wanted to stay, immersed in the gritty, rough, real world of this book.
I wanted to buddy up to Nina and help her find the cowardly bastard who had so completely derailed her life.
Even though I’m not someone who is normally bent on revenge, I would have delighted in riding shotgun on her journey, because I felt her quest was so important.
So warranted.
So necessary.
Becoming invested in this book wasn’t hard, because Nina — despite all of her brashness and rule-bending — was so easy to love.
It was enigmatic, really. The odd mixture of total confidence and complete uncertainty. On the outside, Nina looked like a tough-as-nails — albeit physically diminutive — female cop who you would be ill-advised to cross. But, on the inside, Nina was still the little girl who had seen her father transform from a healthy man washing dishes to a bloodied corpse crumpled on the kitchen floor.
Damaged characters are always more engaging, but I found Nina to be even more captivating than usual. This is probably due to the fact that Nina’s baggage was significant and life-altering.
Unlike some purportedly “troubled” protagonists, she wasn’t still harboring upset regarding a marriage that ended in divorce or struggling with self-worth issues because she couldn’t lose that last 10 pounds.
No, Nina had been through some serious shit.
And because I knew that what she had been through would realistically leave a lasting mark on even the strongest of person, I didn’t tire of Nina remaining mired in this past trauma.
Another thing that enhanced her likability was the fact that, while she couldn’t let go of the events of her past, she was actively working to do something about it — namely, end the life of the man who had stolen her father from her and, in doing so, had tossed a proverbial hand grenade into her life.
Another factor that influenced my absolute absorption into this book was the quality of the writing.
It was so clean and crisp and sparkly.
With his tidy narration and precisely portioned description, Michael Elias absolutely captures his readers.
And this was not necessarily something that I was expecting.
Very often, I find writing in thrillers to be a bit spartan. It’s utilitarian and purposeful and effective, but it hardly jumps off the page. That was absolutely not the case here.
The prose bordered on lyrical, mesmerizing this reader — and, presumably, all readers — and more effectively pulling me into the world of the novel.
My one regret is that Elias doesn’t have a larger back catalog of reads to devour, because You Can Go Home Now certainly earned him a spot on my list of authors to watch.
Nearly without fault, this novel earns a glowing 5 out of 5 cocktails.
January 19, 2022
YOU CAN GO HOME NOW
Michael Elias
A female detective, Nina Karim is a Queens PD detective who works cold case homicides when she notes a pattern that several unsolved murders of men took place while their abused and battered wives were staying at the Artemis House. The Artemis House is a safe house for women who are victims of domestic violence. Usually, the address of these locations is known to the police, but in this story, it was not.
To get information, Nina goes undercover as the wife of a police officer (yes, a profession known for DV) and admits that she is also a police officer or was at least. Nina is no stranger to violence, both at work and in her personal life. Her father was killed when she was 16, he was shot in the family's kitchen by a sniper while Nina and her brother were eating.
While at the Artemis House Nina finds that she is more compassionate to the idea of women taking back power from domestic violence. But what she finds there is probably more than she expected and certainly more than she thought she would.
The book was actually fairly good, in fact, I enjoyed it a great deal. The plotlines were really clean and direct and were more than enough to create some tension and thrill. I am impressed with Elias' writing style and guess that I will be back for more.
4 stars
Happy Reading!
Michael Elias
A female detective, Nina Karim is a Queens PD detective who works cold case homicides when she notes a pattern that several unsolved murders of men took place while their abused and battered wives were staying at the Artemis House. The Artemis House is a safe house for women who are victims of domestic violence. Usually, the address of these locations is known to the police, but in this story, it was not.
To get information, Nina goes undercover as the wife of a police officer (yes, a profession known for DV) and admits that she is also a police officer or was at least. Nina is no stranger to violence, both at work and in her personal life. Her father was killed when she was 16, he was shot in the family's kitchen by a sniper while Nina and her brother were eating.
While at the Artemis House Nina finds that she is more compassionate to the idea of women taking back power from domestic violence. But what she finds there is probably more than she expected and certainly more than she thought she would.
The book was actually fairly good, in fact, I enjoyed it a great deal. The plotlines were really clean and direct and were more than enough to create some tension and thrill. I am impressed with Elias' writing style and guess that I will be back for more.
4 stars
Happy Reading!
June 21, 2020
WOW!!What a perfect book to escape into! Michael Elias, Author of “You Can Go Home Now” has written an intense, captivating, intriguing, and suspenseful thriller. The genres for this book are Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Mystery, and Fiction. The timeline for this story is set in the present and goes to the past when it pertains to the characters and events. The author describes his dramatic characters as complex, and complicated. There are betrayals, danger, threats, and death.
Nina Karim, the protagonist in this story is a Queens detective, dealing with several cold murder cases. Nina does have her own agenda. For the moment she is looking into the homicides of several men. Their widows share one thing, they each were at a special home for battered women called Artemis. All of the women have their own alibis. There are twists and turns.
Nina decides that she has to go undercover to get a feel for what is going on. What will Nina discover? Will she come out of this alive? This is a chilling thriller, that is extremely edgy and intense. I highly recommend this novel as an excellent means of escape for the reader.
Nina Karim, the protagonist in this story is a Queens detective, dealing with several cold murder cases. Nina does have her own agenda. For the moment she is looking into the homicides of several men. Their widows share one thing, they each were at a special home for battered women called Artemis. All of the women have their own alibis. There are twists and turns.
Nina decides that she has to go undercover to get a feel for what is going on. What will Nina discover? Will she come out of this alive? This is a chilling thriller, that is extremely edgy and intense. I highly recommend this novel as an excellent means of escape for the reader.
March 28, 2020
Nina Karim is a 31 yo single cop in Queens, NY. She is tough and fierce and good at her job. But, her reasons for being a cop are not so noble. She became a cop solely for one reason – so she could avenge the murder of her father and the subsequent suicide of her little brother. Nina tells her story in a casual almost stream of consciousness manor but there is nothing casual about what happens as Nina tries to find her father’s killer and also goes undercover at Artemis, an abused women’s shelter. She pretends to be abused herself because she thinks someone connected to the shelter is killing abusive men. Nina is the heart and soul of this riveting thriller and you will not be able to put it down until you find out what Nina decides to do about her desire for revenge, her love of her job, and her desire to not betray the women of Artemis and also if she survives once her decisions are made.
June 24, 2020
Nina Karim is a homicide detective for Long Island City police force. At thirty-one she doesn't regret her decision to become a cop. At one time, she may have had other dreams, but that all changed after her father was killed by a sniper at his kitchen window. Not only did her father die that day, but her younger brother and mother eventually became victims of that horrific act, too .
Because her father worked at an abortion clinic at the time of his death, Nina know that her father's killer must have been part of an extremist anti-abortion group who were responsible for bombings and other deaths. Nina has never lost her rage and her life's goal is to get revenge and kill the coward who killed her father.
Author Michael Elias has written a psychological thriller that is several notches above that ever growing genre. There is plenty of action and suspense, but more importantly is the well drawn character of Nina. Not all male authors can capture the true spirit of female protagonists, but this author has done an amazing job. It is gratifying to see more tough women characters in thrillers and mysteries that were once mainly dominated by men.
There are plenty of twists and turns in this wonderful novel. The ending was truly a "gotcha" one for me. I love that feeling.
Michael Elias was a new to me author, but in reading his bio I realized I was familiar with much of his past work in movies and TV, most notably the movie "The Jerk" with Steve Martin.
For a story that is both engaging and thought provoking, you will want to pick up a copy of You Can Go Home Again. Thanks to Harper Collins and the author for giving me a chance to read and review this riveting book.
Because her father worked at an abortion clinic at the time of his death, Nina know that her father's killer must have been part of an extremist anti-abortion group who were responsible for bombings and other deaths. Nina has never lost her rage and her life's goal is to get revenge and kill the coward who killed her father.
Author Michael Elias has written a psychological thriller that is several notches above that ever growing genre. There is plenty of action and suspense, but more importantly is the well drawn character of Nina. Not all male authors can capture the true spirit of female protagonists, but this author has done an amazing job. It is gratifying to see more tough women characters in thrillers and mysteries that were once mainly dominated by men.
There are plenty of twists and turns in this wonderful novel. The ending was truly a "gotcha" one for me. I love that feeling.
Michael Elias was a new to me author, but in reading his bio I realized I was familiar with much of his past work in movies and TV, most notably the movie "The Jerk" with Steve Martin.
For a story that is both engaging and thought provoking, you will want to pick up a copy of You Can Go Home Again. Thanks to Harper Collins and the author for giving me a chance to read and review this riveting book.
Read
May 22, 2020Karim has no idea of the rollercoaster journey she has just begun, of the shocks and revelations that will turn her life inside out. How far is too far? In a novel filled with twists, suspense, and unforgettable characters, she is about to find out.
Read our full review and an interview with the author here:
https://booktrib.com/2020/05/you-can-...
Read our full review and an interview with the author here:
https://booktrib.com/2020/05/you-can-...
June 23, 2020
You Can Go Home Now by Michael Elias is not your average police procedural, crime novel. Nina Karim, homicide detective with the Long Island City police department, is not your average detective, either. When Nina was seventeen, her father was murdered. She didn't become a police officer because she believed in justice. She became a police officer because she believed in revenge. Her job provided the background she needed to find out who had assassinated her father and mete out her own justice. In the course of avenging her father's death she finds herself undercover at Artemis, a discreet shelter for battered women. The only problem is that some of these battered women's husbands end up dead with no witnesses or evidence left behind. Is Artemis behind these deaths or is luck finally on the side of battered women. Will Nina get the revenge she seeks?
This book left me with conflicting emotions. In a perfect world you want your public servants on the right side of the law. But what is the right side when your father is murdered or your husband who has beat you senseless many times, could end up killing your or your children? A few times, I felt that the story jumped around too much or a scene was oddly portrayed. The r-rated material seemed forced and unnecessary. I enjoyed the twist at the end and felt that the story was wrapped up nicely. Trigger warnings: abortion and domestic abuse.
This book left me with conflicting emotions. In a perfect world you want your public servants on the right side of the law. But what is the right side when your father is murdered or your husband who has beat you senseless many times, could end up killing your or your children? A few times, I felt that the story jumped around too much or a scene was oddly portrayed. The r-rated material seemed forced and unnecessary. I enjoyed the twist at the end and felt that the story was wrapped up nicely. Trigger warnings: abortion and domestic abuse.
May 13, 2020
Definitely handles some dark subjects, but does so in a way that's both gritty and sensitive.
June 15, 2020
Nina has made a vow. She will find and kill the sniper that ended the life of her beloved father. A doctor working in a planned parenthood clinic. Shot as he did the dishes and looked out the window, with both children near by. Now a detective she is investigating the death of a fellow officer , who abused his wife often, and was protected by said officers. It is during this investigation that a women’s shelter cones to light as very under the radar, whose firmer occupants refuse to disclose where or how they came to this place of comfort and care in a very difficult moment in their lives. The stories are hard to read but the resilience is incredible. Interestingly what you think is the end of the story both for Nina the detective and Nina the vigilante turns upside down.
May 3, 2020
This book hooked me on page one. It is a fairly fast-paced mystery that keeps you guessing until the end However, I felt the end was a bit too “rushed” in wrapping up all the loose ends. Otherwise, I loved it.
May 24, 2021
This one is really giving me pause. The plot was compelling and the main character felt very genuine although she was a bit hard for me to care for at first. She doesn’t sugar-coat her feelings and I wasn’t sure I’d stick with it. But she definitely grew on me.
The plot involves cold cases, revenge murders and violence toward women. I couldn’t predict how events would unfold.
This book could lead to some very interesting discussion. 4.25
The plot involves cold cases, revenge murders and violence toward women. I couldn’t predict how events would unfold.
This book could lead to some very interesting discussion. 4.25
September 6, 2020
Queens detective Nina Karim was 16 years old when her father was murdered. He was a rural doctor who took a job with Planned Parenthood. Someone shot him through their window at home. Nina became a police officer so she would have access to official databases.
Nina finds several cases where an abusive partner is killed while the women are living in a women's shelter. She needs to find a way to infiltrate undercover.
Nina is obsessed with finding the cowardly bastard who killed her father. Remember these 2 words - cowardly bastard. You will read them over and over.
I tried to connect with Nina but I couldn't as much as I wanted to. Some of the paragraphs jump around in time unexpectedly. The way one of the deaths was presented seemed really rushed and not real to me. The stories of abuse are sickening. The ending seemed fitting. It made me feel better overall about the book.
Nina finds several cases where an abusive partner is killed while the women are living in a women's shelter. She needs to find a way to infiltrate undercover.
Nina is obsessed with finding the cowardly bastard who killed her father. Remember these 2 words - cowardly bastard. You will read them over and over.
I tried to connect with Nina but I couldn't as much as I wanted to. Some of the paragraphs jump around in time unexpectedly. The way one of the deaths was presented seemed really rushed and not real to me. The stories of abuse are sickening. The ending seemed fitting. It made me feel better overall about the book.
June 21, 2020
You Can Go Home Now by Michael Elias is a so-so violent, dark, gritty procedural.
Nina Karim is a detective who has a series of cold case homicides on her desk and only anger and revenge in her heart. The cold cases all involve men who were killed when their widows were living in Artemis, a battered women's shelter. Nina decides to go undercover and enters Artemis, searching for any connection to the cold case murders. Nina is doing her job, but her real and only true goal as a police officer is to find sniper who killed her father when she was a teen in 1999 and take out her wrath and find revenge on him. Her father was a doctor at an abortion clinic and was targeted by a group that called itself the Army of God.
This isn't probably a great time to have a book out where a police officer is only full of anger and the drive to take revenge on someone no matter the cost. Especially the fact that she says she only joined the force to extract punishment and revenge. Nina is a mess. She's unlikable, unethical, and seems to be missing a few vital brain cells. Her boyfriend is an unbelievable character. I didn't care for the connection to a shelter for abused women. I didn't like the exception, the pass Nina is given for working in a gray ethical arena just because her personal vendetta is just and ended up feeling like I was being pandered to as a woman. Oh please.
You Can Go Home Now is a hot mess. Everything seemed way-too-coincidental and the narrative jumped around too much. It was a struggle to finish reading and I kept telling myself to make it a DNF and go on to better things. Two stars because I managed to finish it.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of HarperCollins.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2020/0...
Nina Karim is a detective who has a series of cold case homicides on her desk and only anger and revenge in her heart. The cold cases all involve men who were killed when their widows were living in Artemis, a battered women's shelter. Nina decides to go undercover and enters Artemis, searching for any connection to the cold case murders. Nina is doing her job, but her real and only true goal as a police officer is to find sniper who killed her father when she was a teen in 1999 and take out her wrath and find revenge on him. Her father was a doctor at an abortion clinic and was targeted by a group that called itself the Army of God.
This isn't probably a great time to have a book out where a police officer is only full of anger and the drive to take revenge on someone no matter the cost. Especially the fact that she says she only joined the force to extract punishment and revenge. Nina is a mess. She's unlikable, unethical, and seems to be missing a few vital brain cells. Her boyfriend is an unbelievable character. I didn't care for the connection to a shelter for abused women. I didn't like the exception, the pass Nina is given for working in a gray ethical arena just because her personal vendetta is just and ended up feeling like I was being pandered to as a woman. Oh please.
You Can Go Home Now is a hot mess. Everything seemed way-too-coincidental and the narrative jumped around too much. It was a struggle to finish reading and I kept telling myself to make it a DNF and go on to better things. Two stars because I managed to finish it.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of HarperCollins.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2020/0...
September 19, 2021
I don’t know if it’s just my brain is scrambled or there’s blurred lines when transitioning into a different scene. One minute we’re in a holding cell another we’re in the past.
Too many stories.
However, i enjoyed the last 20% of it. The climax is good and the twists fits.
Too many stories.
However, i enjoyed the last 20% of it. The climax is good and the twists fits.
April 5, 2020
Viscous but good!
May 4, 2020
This book was wackkkkk, it's at most 2.5 stars. Everything was too coincidental and it was messy. I'm very sorry but this ain't for me.
Nina was a whole mess but it's understandable why she would be. Her father was assassinated in front of her eyes, then she watched her brother decline until he killed himself, then she watch her mother slowly decline and die too. She's the only one left in her family and she has no one so it's understandable why she would be angry and revengeful (who wouldn't?). Meeting Bobby must've been a god-send and either she's extremely lucky (aka too coincidental) or Bobby is a weirdo and they have a unhealthy relationship.
Bobby is a real fucking nice loan shark and not even the least bit believable. He must be real lucky at getting good customers if they all pay him back because he gives them a little time and support. He was nice with helping Nina think of a alibi and also agreeing to be the "abusive husband" but out of everything, why a sex tape? Like you guys just happen to tape it on that day, the day that the christian gun-loving weirdo died?
Brian, what the fuck (just like what she said). Is he psycotic? What was the point of him in the book. And Nina is dumb as hell. Throw the fucking weird confessing guy in jail for gun possession for a few months and maybe someone wll beat his head right. He confesses to crimes he didn't commit and crimes that he think he will commit in the future, which makes him A-1 weird and annoying. If you don't throw this dumbass in jail, he's gonna go waste some other person's time and maybe really do something violent in the future.
Next, Nina. The main character. The main, fucking CLOWN. So the gun seller just fucking hAPPNES TO HAVE the DNA of the man who bought the sniper gun from him YEARS AGO, FUCKING YEARS! This shit dead got me hella tight because it was YEARS! Who keeps that junk in their car and actually remembers. Okay, maybe he has a whole collection of DNA from the people who bought gun from him, fine. But, one buyer out of possible hundreds and he remembers him. Unless he got no arms or 3 fucking eyes, then why the hell would you remember a normal ass country basic white boy (aka probably 95% of your customer basE).
Then Nina goes up to the man and shoots him without even 100% confirmation that he was the guy. So the gun seller confirms that it was him and the DNA matches but whose to say the seller that is literally about to die in like less than a month, tells you the truth about the DNA and the guy. Maybe he was a current buyer and he was just saying anything to get his oceanview death. Then she goes home and wallow in grief like HER DUMBASS deserves.
Then, don't even let me start with the Sharon. She goes to the shelter and wants to kill Nina but then she spends a whole hour explaining and talking to her. Like slit her fucking throat and yeehaw out of here.
Amanda was cute and all but she just happens to go to the basement the day Sharon decides to kill Nina? Like you never went there before, and now you go there in the middle of the night.
Then the whole thing with Phyllis was cool. I understand why Nina did what she did with telling Phyllis that she was undercover and was planning on catching her and her accomplices in killing the abusive husbands.
The whole thing with Nina taking over Phyllis' job in the end didn't really make a lot of sense because if she gonna continue doing hat Phyllis started, then the cops will eventually catch on. Like Hagen and people who knew about the operation obviously think there is something suspicious and if another abused woman's husband died while they are hiding out at the shelter, then obviously it has something to do with them.
One thing I don't get is why the biker chick took a picture of Nina even before she went to the shelter. Nina was following the wife but then she shouldn't really seem suspicious because she literally just went and got food instead of sitting around watching the wife.
Honestly, there are a whole lot of things that I really enjoy about this book. The whole killing the planned parenthood guy was not a very good motive but I guess it is relevant because it's something that could (or already has) happened. Anyways, I just didn't really enjoy this book. Not for me, I'm sorry. Hopefully I will be ready more (and better) thriller and mystery books soon. Semester's almost over (YAY!!) and summer's almost here so I'll need some good books to cheer myself up. I'll see you guys soon. BYE!!!
Nina was a whole mess but it's understandable why she would be. Her father was assassinated in front of her eyes, then she watched her brother decline until he killed himself, then she watch her mother slowly decline and die too. She's the only one left in her family and she has no one so it's understandable why she would be angry and revengeful (who wouldn't?). Meeting Bobby must've been a god-send and either she's extremely lucky (aka too coincidental) or Bobby is a weirdo and they have a unhealthy relationship.
Bobby is a real fucking nice loan shark and not even the least bit believable. He must be real lucky at getting good customers if they all pay him back because he gives them a little time and support. He was nice with helping Nina think of a alibi and also agreeing to be the "abusive husband" but out of everything, why a sex tape? Like you guys just happen to tape it on that day, the day that the christian gun-loving weirdo died?
Brian, what the fuck (just like what she said). Is he psycotic? What was the point of him in the book. And Nina is dumb as hell. Throw the fucking weird confessing guy in jail for gun possession for a few months and maybe someone wll beat his head right. He confesses to crimes he didn't commit and crimes that he think he will commit in the future, which makes him A-1 weird and annoying. If you don't throw this dumbass in jail, he's gonna go waste some other person's time and maybe really do something violent in the future.
Next, Nina. The main character. The main, fucking CLOWN. So the gun seller just fucking hAPPNES TO HAVE the DNA of the man who bought the sniper gun from him YEARS AGO, FUCKING YEARS! This shit dead got me hella tight because it was YEARS! Who keeps that junk in their car and actually remembers. Okay, maybe he has a whole collection of DNA from the people who bought gun from him, fine. But, one buyer out of possible hundreds and he remembers him. Unless he got no arms or 3 fucking eyes, then why the hell would you remember a normal ass country basic white boy (aka probably 95% of your customer basE).
Then Nina goes up to the man and shoots him without even 100% confirmation that he was the guy. So the gun seller confirms that it was him and the DNA matches but whose to say the seller that is literally about to die in like less than a month, tells you the truth about the DNA and the guy. Maybe he was a current buyer and he was just saying anything to get his oceanview death. Then she goes home and wallow in grief like HER DUMBASS deserves.
Then, don't even let me start with the Sharon. She goes to the shelter and wants to kill Nina but then she spends a whole hour explaining and talking to her. Like slit her fucking throat and yeehaw out of here.
Amanda was cute and all but she just happens to go to the basement the day Sharon decides to kill Nina? Like you never went there before, and now you go there in the middle of the night.
Then the whole thing with Phyllis was cool. I understand why Nina did what she did with telling Phyllis that she was undercover and was planning on catching her and her accomplices in killing the abusive husbands.
The whole thing with Nina taking over Phyllis' job in the end didn't really make a lot of sense because if she gonna continue doing hat Phyllis started, then the cops will eventually catch on. Like Hagen and people who knew about the operation obviously think there is something suspicious and if another abused woman's husband died while they are hiding out at the shelter, then obviously it has something to do with them.
One thing I don't get is why the biker chick took a picture of Nina even before she went to the shelter. Nina was following the wife but then she shouldn't really seem suspicious because she literally just went and got food instead of sitting around watching the wife.
Honestly, there are a whole lot of things that I really enjoy about this book. The whole killing the planned parenthood guy was not a very good motive but I guess it is relevant because it's something that could (or already has) happened. Anyways, I just didn't really enjoy this book. Not for me, I'm sorry. Hopefully I will be ready more (and better) thriller and mystery books soon. Semester's almost over (YAY!!) and summer's almost here so I'll need some good books to cheer myself up. I'll see you guys soon. BYE!!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 6, 2021
Michael Elias has written one of my absolute favorite thrillers from 2020. I was absolutely enthralled by this and devoured it in two sittings.
If you don't know, Elias is a long time comedy, film, and television writer. Among his many credits, he worked with Steve Martin on The Jerk, he wrote Young Doctors in Love, and he created the television program Head of the Class. But You Can Go Home Now is his first foray into the book writing world.
You can feel his years working in visual and physical storytelling on every page.
Briefly, the story focuses on Nina, a "tough Queens detective with a series of cold case homicides on her desk – men whose widows had the same alibi: they were living in Artemis, a battered women’s shelter, when their husbands were killed. Nina goes undercover into Artemis. Though she is playing the victim, she’s anything but. Nina knows about violence and the bullies who rely on it because she’s experienced it in her own life."
He's crafted a beautiful, hard, gritty world, and he moves you through it at breakneck speed (although I never felt short-changed). And, much like Nina, the events and clues are coming at you so quickly that you never feel as though you're on solid ground.
If you're looking for a fun, tight thriller, get this book now.
You can listen to my interview with Michael on Episode 81 of The Downtown Writers Jam.
If you don't know, Elias is a long time comedy, film, and television writer. Among his many credits, he worked with Steve Martin on The Jerk, he wrote Young Doctors in Love, and he created the television program Head of the Class. But You Can Go Home Now is his first foray into the book writing world.
You can feel his years working in visual and physical storytelling on every page.
Briefly, the story focuses on Nina, a "tough Queens detective with a series of cold case homicides on her desk – men whose widows had the same alibi: they were living in Artemis, a battered women’s shelter, when their husbands were killed. Nina goes undercover into Artemis. Though she is playing the victim, she’s anything but. Nina knows about violence and the bullies who rely on it because she’s experienced it in her own life."
He's crafted a beautiful, hard, gritty world, and he moves you through it at breakneck speed (although I never felt short-changed). And, much like Nina, the events and clues are coming at you so quickly that you never feel as though you're on solid ground.
If you're looking for a fun, tight thriller, get this book now.
You can listen to my interview with Michael on Episode 81 of The Downtown Writers Jam.
June 4, 2020
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.You Can Go Home Now by Michael Elias is a fast-paced mystery filled with deceit, revenge, and thrills.
Will Nina avenge her family? And if she does, will she lose herself?
Nina Karim
Nina is our main character and point of view. She is out for revenge. Nina has become a police detective to find the man that killed her father. This rage that is inside of her will only be settled when that person has been eliminated. But will it? Are this anger and that incident what defines her as a person?
I loved Nina's compassion and outrage at what she does in her chosen profession. However, even though she wears a badge, she does what she wants. Nina has friends in some extraordinary places, but they all suit her personality. Perhaps the whole vigilante scenario fits her.
The Mysteries
Yes, there is more than one mystery. The first and closest to Nina's heart is the person who murdered her father when she was a teenager. She has been looking for this person for years. The problem is even as a police detective; she doesn't have access to all of the information needed to crack the case.
The second case is the murder of a man that threatened to kill his wife. The wife has a solid, albeit as she was in a shelter for abused women at the time of the death. Nina, while investigating this case, finds two others where a similar scenario happened with the same shelter. Coincidence, Nina thinks not. So, she goes undercover to figure it out.
Then we have Mr. McDermott, who shows up and confesses to crimes that he didn't commit. He is quite different. Yet, Nina is nice and, for some reason, listens to what he has to say.
I also like the tie in for the title, You Can Go Home Now. I won't tell you what it is, but believe me, you won't miss it.
Five Stars
I love this book. I will admit at first look at the title and cover I wasn't sure, but once I got into Nina's psyche, I was hooked. Mr. Elias does a fantastic job walking us through how Nina's father's murder affected her family and her individually. It makes you wonder about all the transparency around public employees and how other people commit murder and justify it as righteous because the person they murdered doesn't live the life the murderer thinks they should.
Anyway, You Can Go Home Now by Michael Elias is definitely five stars. I highly recommend this book to everyone who likes thrillers. Perhaps it will even open your eyes to other things.
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of You Can Go Home Now by Michael Elias.
Until the next time,
This Guest Review is for Baroness' Book Trove.
This review was originally posted on Baroness' Book Trove
Will Nina avenge her family? And if she does, will she lose herself?
Nina Karim
Nina is our main character and point of view. She is out for revenge. Nina has become a police detective to find the man that killed her father. This rage that is inside of her will only be settled when that person has been eliminated. But will it? Are this anger and that incident what defines her as a person?
I loved Nina's compassion and outrage at what she does in her chosen profession. However, even though she wears a badge, she does what she wants. Nina has friends in some extraordinary places, but they all suit her personality. Perhaps the whole vigilante scenario fits her.
The Mysteries
Yes, there is more than one mystery. The first and closest to Nina's heart is the person who murdered her father when she was a teenager. She has been looking for this person for years. The problem is even as a police detective; she doesn't have access to all of the information needed to crack the case.
The second case is the murder of a man that threatened to kill his wife. The wife has a solid, albeit as she was in a shelter for abused women at the time of the death. Nina, while investigating this case, finds two others where a similar scenario happened with the same shelter. Coincidence, Nina thinks not. So, she goes undercover to figure it out.
Then we have Mr. McDermott, who shows up and confesses to crimes that he didn't commit. He is quite different. Yet, Nina is nice and, for some reason, listens to what he has to say. I also like the tie in for the title, You Can Go Home Now. I won't tell you what it is, but believe me, you won't miss it.
Five Stars
I love this book. I will admit at first look at the title and cover I wasn't sure, but once I got into Nina's psyche, I was hooked. Mr. Elias does a fantastic job walking us through how Nina's father's murder affected her family and her individually. It makes you wonder about all the transparency around public employees and how other people commit murder and justify it as righteous because the person they murdered doesn't live the life the murderer thinks they should.
Anyway, You Can Go Home Now by Michael Elias is definitely five stars. I highly recommend this book to everyone who likes thrillers. Perhaps it will even open your eyes to other things.
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of You Can Go Home Now by Michael Elias.
Until the next time,
This Guest Review is for Baroness' Book Trove.
This review was originally posted on Baroness' Book Trove
August 9, 2020
I went into this not knowing what to think. I'm not always a fan of the gritty detective novel, but this one looked like it had a feminist bent which intrigued me. I am so glad I gave it a chance - I ended up loving it! It definitely had a feminist twist and the main character was more of an anti-heroine than a play-by-the-rules cop. She had a darkness to her that gave her a depth I didn't expect, and yet the story wasn't fully heavy. It had humor to it that only added to the thrill of the plot. If you enjoy murder mysteries with a female investigator or just like rooting for the villain, I suggest giving this book a try. And as an added plus, I discovered the author worked closely with Steve Martin in his early days which explains his adeptness at adding humor to a story.
August 11, 2023
This was a good paced read that was almost two stories in one. A cop is trying to find her father's murderer(he was killed when she was a kid) while going undercover in a women's shelter where people are suspected of killing their abusive husbands. It was quite anride with a couple twists I didn't see coming.
November 25, 2020
Liked it and kept me reading. Not the best or worst thing I have ever read.
November 24, 2021
3.4 stars. Very interesting book. Nothing BAM outstanding but still kept me interested.
July 23, 2021
Nina Kurim became a cop to gain information about the murder of her father, a doctor who worked for Planned Parenthood, and to wreak revenge on the murderer. Elias's novel is powerful and complex.
June 25, 2020
I really enjoyed this book!!
Read my full review: https://booksteahealthyme.home.blog/2...
Read my full review: https://booksteahealthyme.home.blog/2...
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