Rich, Dangerous, and Slightly Forced: "Avarice" by Britt Lind Turns Up the Heat in Hollywood
- Kim Bartosch
- 8 minutes ago
- 6 min read
Hollywood is all smoke, mirrors, and murder in Britt Lind’s newest thriller, Avarice. If you're into high-stakes drama, suspiciously wealthy characters, and a romantic duo that can’t seem to catch a break (or a date night), this might just be your next weekend binge.
Thank you to the author for the book and my honest review. This book tour is brought to you by iRead Book Tours. Be sure to read my full review and enter the giveaway below!
In Avarice, we return to the world of Rosemaria Baker—a tough, no-nonsense ex-cop turned prosecutor whose idea of a vacation apparently includes dodging bullets. Her partner-in-danger (and love interest), Josh Sibley, a singer-songwriter with a murdery past (no big deal), is back as well. Together, they try to enjoy a getaway in sunny Pacific Beach. Spoiler alert: they don't. Instead, Rosemaria ends up the target of an attempted hit, lands in the hospital, and the entire tone shifts from beach-read to high-octane thriller real quick.
And you know what? It works—mostly.
🎯 The Stakes Are Higher (And So Are the Hills)
The book opens with the couple finally trying to take a break, but someone forgot to tell the gunmen. After an attack that lands Rosemaria in the hospital, Josh is ready to drop everything—including an upcoming European tour with a world-famous singer—to stay by her side. He’s dramatic in all the right ways, and it’s honestly kind of endearing.
With Josh temporarily out of the picture, Rosemaria ends up under the protection of her former partner Larry’s ultra-rich family in a mansion in Holmby Hills. Think Beverly Hills, but gated, guarded, and dripping in "you can’t sit with us" wealth. This setting shift injects a welcome layer of opulence and power dynamics into the already tangled web of crime and romance.
🧩 Mystery Meets Melodrama
The heart of Avarice is still a solid mystery. Rosemaria can’t help but investigate who wants her dead—even from her so-called "safe" gilded cage. The tension ratchets up as clues start pointing inwards, suggesting the threat may be someone close to her.
This is where the story really shines. The pacing is tight, the suspense keeps you guessing, and the Hollywood setting feels fresh rather than overdone. Britt Lind paints a world where power and corruption hold hands under designer sheets, and our heroine has no intention of being anyone’s victim.
There’s a certain cinematic quality to how Lind writes action—gritty without being grotesque, dramatic without being campy. If you love courtroom procedurals, detective grit, and a smattering of Hollywood sparkle, this one delivers.
💕 About That Romance…
Now, let’s talk about Rosemaria and Josh.
Their relationship has always had a love-it-or-raise-an-eyebrow quality, and Avarice doesn’t totally fix that. Sure, the emotional stakes are higher—Josh’s panic and protectiveness after the attack feel sincere—but the chemistry still doesn’t flow as naturally as it could.
It feels like Lind is trying to sell a soulmate romance while also juggling a gritty crime plot, and sometimes the two threads tangle instead of tie neatly together. The good news? The added pressure of life-or-death danger makes their bond feel a little more believable this time around. The bad news? Some moments still feel a touch too scripted, like Josh is auditioning for The Bachelor: Criminal Minds Edition.
That said, fans of the series will likely be satisfied with how their dynamic evolves—and hey, sometimes a little forced romance is better than no romance at all.
🌴 Hollywood Glitz Done Right
One of the unexpected delights of Avarice is its vivid sense of place. From sleazy back alleys to palatial Beverly Hills mansions, Lind nails the geography and vibe of a city that thrives on secrets. The setting adds both style and substance, creating a believable backdrop for all the noir-worthy drama unfolding.
And let's be honest: reading about Rosemaria navigating a criminal investigation while holed up in a literal fortress of wealth? That’s entertaining on multiple levels.
📝 Final Thoughts
Avarice might not be a flawless gem, but it’s certainly shiny. With its fast pace, escalating tension, and return of familiar characters, it delivers exactly what fans of the series want—danger, heart, and just enough chaos to keep things interesting.
If you're okay with a romance that occasionally feels like it’s trying a bit too hard (but still makes you root for them anyway), you'll have a great time. The glitz of Hollywood meets the grit of crime fiction, and the result is a satisfying, twisty ride.
Would I recommend it? Sure—especially if you're already invested in Rosemaria’s journey or you're looking for a crime thriller that doesn't shy away from melodrama or mansions.
Just don’t expect a quiet vacation read. Rosemaria doesn’t do quiet.
⭐ Final Rating: ⭐⭐⭐✨ (3.5/5 stars]
About the book:
Publisher: Bublish
Release Date: September 2025
Synopsis:
"An awesome read that should be made into a film!” --Readers’ Favorite
Rosemaria Baker loved being a cop even though at times she had to chase down pimps, drug dealers, and killers who inhabited the sleazy dark world and back alleys of Hollywood. She decided to become a prosecutor because she enjoys putting the bad guys away even more than arresting them.
When she met Josh Sibley, a down and out singer songwriter, she had no intention of falling in love with a man with whom she had nothing in common and, even worse, he was a murder suspect in a case she was investigating. But life had other ideas and after a few ups and downs, most of them involving dangerous criminals, they discovered they were soulmates, and their differences became the reason why they fell in love.
Taking a long-awaited holiday in Pacific Beach, California, Rosemaria and Josh are enjoying the sun and each other, anticipating a few days of focusing on the good things in life. Josh is also looking forward to touring Europe with Joell, who is a world-famous singer, as well as being Josh’s friend and mentor. But rain clouds blow in from the ocean and bring a raging storm and an attempt on Rosemaria’s life. She escapes the two gunmen who come after her but is injured in the attack and hospitalized. Josh is adamant that he will not leave for Europe until the shooters are caught. Fortunately, Rosemaria’s former partner, Larry Coleman, whose parents are obscenely wealthy, comes to the rescue.
After much persuasion, Josh agrees that Rosemaria will stay with Larry’s parents in their heavily guarded mansion in Holmby Hills, the most exclusive area in the city, until he returns. Rosemaria, of course, cannot be convinced by her friends to stay out of the investigation. She gets deeply involved in the case from the safety of her gilded cage in the mansion and later, after Josh comes back, amongst the wealthy denizens of Beverly Hills.
Working with her ex-homicide-detective father, and her former partners, she helps track down the suspects as they flee California while all her instincts tell her that the person who wants her dead is much closer to home.
Meet the author:
Britt found out she had a passion for acting, singing, and writing as early as grade school. While attending junior college in Monterey she was discovered by Clint Eastwood when she was playing the lead in a dinner theatre play in Carmel and was cast in Clint's first directorial effort Play Misty for Me. A few years later, Britt headed for L.A. to attend UCLA and to start her acting career. She obtained featured roles in dramatic series and worked her way up to guest starring roles in shows like Vegas, Columbo, Crazy Like a Fox, the miniseries How the West Was Won and worked on the daytime dramas General Hospital, Days of Our Lives and The Young and the Restless. She moved to New York where she sang with a gospel group in venues such as Lincoln Center, Madison Square Garden, Town Hall, and Carnegie Hall. Family matters forced her to head back to her hometown of Seattle for what she thought was a temporary move and there was cast in an independent movie Family Hayes. She was also featured in a Showtime movie shot in Seattle, Nowheresville, played the lead in two Equity plays, Someone's Knocking, and The Good Doctor, and worked in Vancouver, BC on U.S. Productions, Sliders and For Hope. Her memoir Learning How to Fly recounts her journey from Norway to Hollywood and from animal lover to animal activist and anti-vivisectionist. She has written four Hollywood Mysteries: Deception, Malevolence, A Fate Worse Than Death, and Avarice.
Britt is president of the non-profit group Kindness and Science in Action. She can be reached at britt@kindnessandscience.org For animal lovers, Britt asks that you check out www.kindnessandscience.org and sign up for the mailing list. Her website is brittlind.com
Giveaway:
