Wicked Fallout by Kelly Charron

Wicked Fallout by Kelly Charron

Published: July 17th 2017 by Dark Arts Publishing

Convicted of six murders when she was just fifteen, the notorious Ryann Wilkanson hasn’t been able to act on her darkest, deadliest urges for twelve years. She’s exhausted her appeals and has little hope of ever getting out of prison and back to hunting.

Until a media-hungry legal team mounts a campaign to do the impossible—get her immediately released with a commuted sentence.

Forensic psychiatrist Nancy Clafin has mere weeks to evaluate Ryann’s current mental state against her grisly past to determine if she’s changed. But under the shadow of her own questionable history, it’s not easy to separate her personal life from her professional duty.

At least that’s what Ryann is counting on.

Behind the cold steel doors of a Colorado maximum-security prison, will Nancy find a cold-blooded killer or a newly redeemed woman determined to right her past wrongs?

Note: I received a copy of this from the author. This in no way influences my opinion.

When I checked my inbox to see that this had landed in it – I was so excited! I absolutely LOVED Pretty Wicked and I was so stoked to read this. This is the sequel to Pretty Wicked, but it can also be read as a standalone without reading PW first. However, I have mixed opinions about this book. I enjoyed the second half more than I did the first.

This book is set 12 years after the events of Pretty Wicked and follows Ryann further as she tries to get a commuted sentence for her crimes. What I enjoyed about this book was that we got 2 POVs – Ryanns and that of the Forensic Psychiatrist (Nancy) who has to determine whether Ryann has rehabilitated or not. I enjoyed watching the way that Ryann thought and acted and what Nancy was also thinking and whether she was believing what Ryann was saying to her etc. I definitely feel that Ryann has changed some from PW (I don’t want to give too many spoilers out) and it is interesting to see her thoughts and the way that she does certain things.

I think a big issue I had with this book was the fact that I felt like the first half was just rehashing the events of PW. I don’t feel like enough happened outside of that and there were times were I was feeling a little bored because I already knew what had happened. I did enjoy watching Nancy’s reaction to the way that Ryann was describing the events and whether or not Nancy was believing her.

The second half of the book definitely had me more gripped. I HAD to know whether Ryann’s sentence was going to be commuted or not – especially with the way our characters were around each other. I enjoyed the way that the drama unfolded in the prison with Ryann and the other inmates and the way that things got more and more heated the closer they got to making a decision about Ryann’s sentencing.

I would have liked to have seen various aspects of Nancy’s past shown in a little bit more detail. I feel like the issues that she had regarding members of her family were resolved a little too easily and quickly, whilst the other mistake that she made in her past (and still struggles to deal with) wasn’t shown enough. I would have liked to have known more about the case and the person etc.

The ending was AMAZING! It is very unclear right up until the very end what decision Nancy is going to make! I also love the way that things were left off! I am not sure whether there will be another book in the series, but the ending is definitely open to the possibility, or the reader is able to decide what is going to happen next themselves! If there is going to be another book, I am so on it! I absolutely have to know what the author would have in store for our characters next!

I think my favourite thing about this book is the way that the psychology of Ryann’s actions and the way she does things. There are not very many books that focus on the killer themselves, and those that I have read have nothing on this book. The psychology is so easy to get sucked into, with the reader feeling conflicted because you know that what Ryann has done and is doing is wrong, but you just have to know the way that she thinks and acts. It’s fascinating…

All in all, I had mixed opinions about this book. I definitely enjoyed the second half more than the first and I am excited at the idea of another book in this series! I gave this book 4/5 stars.