Second of All by Genevieve Dewey Review

Title: Second of All

Author: Genevieve Dewey

Publication date: December 31, 2012

Genre: Contemporary Drama with romance subplot

“…for there is nothing so perfect as a thing with no ending and no beginning such as a family of souls intertwined…”
This introspective sequel to First, I Love You takes you deeper into a tale of interwoven roles, divided loyalties, and personal conflicts. 
Detective Tommy Gates and Agent Ginny Sommers struggle to balance their growing personal relationship with their task of finding his father. Back home, Kiki Downey and James Hoffman are facing their own internal and external pressures. After Mary Gates is led on a different trail by Mickey's Irish kin, they are all given pieces of a puzzle that it will take the whole family to solve. Interlocked within the narrative are glimpses into how Mickey Downey became the man he is today. 
Throughout their journeys, past and present, they all must struggle with what loyalties and loves come first, and what comes... second of all.

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Genevieve Dewey is the author of The Downey Trilogy (First, I Love You & Second of All) and the short stories Bird Day Battalion & V-Day Aversion. She is a wife, mother, sister, friend and Anthropologist. She was raised mostly in Nebraska, partly in Arizona. She has a Master’s in Anthropology and worked as an Applied Anthropologist for years (even ran her own research company for a while) before deciding to be a stay at home mom. She loves passionate (rational) debates, reading, and libraries… oh, and Chicago and high-heels and chocolate and target practice and gangster flicks and anything with the FBI in it and run-on sentences. She lives in Nebraska with her three brilliantly diabolical children and one incredibly funny husband.

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***If you have not read First I Love You, you will need to go back and do so this is not a standalone and for your enjoyment of this series you must read the books in order to fully understand the characters and the plot***

Genevieve did not disappoint with the next installment of this series.  It pretty much picks up right where the last book left off, with everyone searching for Mickey Downey.  At this point he's just a person of interest but the FBI wants to bring him back in and cart him off to prison and Mickey appears to be on the run from prosecution.  I loved this aspect of the story because Mickey was sending different clues to different members of his family throughout the story.  This book was so much more than a romance novel I was intrigued throughout the story and trying to figure out what move Mickey would make next.  I also loved the occasional back and forth between the past and now it really helped to see what things were like in the past for Mickey and Mary and how it led to where Mickey is today.

Like the first book in this series you get to once again see the points of view of all the different main characters and it doesn't distract from the overall story but helps you see their points of view especially since Mickey was sending different clues to each one encouraging them to work together to solve the puzzle he was sending them and when it all came together I was like huh that actually worked and it just made me want to read the last book in the series even more.  Sometimes I find myself bored after the second book and not really looking forward to finishing the series, but when this book was done and it really set it up for the next drama to take place in their lives now I HAVE to read it because these characters really stay with you.  I finished this book a few days ago and these characters are so well thought out and developed that I am still thinking about them enough that even though I have read two more books since I read this one I can still give a complete and well thought out review on this book.  I look forward to reading what happens with Ginny and Tommy and how their relationship will turn out and if they actually make it to the end.  I look forward to seeing what happens next in the crazy love lives of James and Kiki and what is in store for them next.  But most of all I am looking forward to Mickey and Mary and seeing what happens with Theresa.  I can't tell you why her name has reappeared but I look forward to seeing where that ends up going.  Loved it, 4 stars!

***Copy given in exchange for an honest review***