Good, but not as strong as I'd hoped

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The Girl in Cell 49B

I first met Emily Calby in “The Hiding Girl” so it was good to get the opportunity to read the sequel “The Girl in Cell 49B” from Bookishfirst in exchange for an honest review.
Emily definitely found her guardian angel in Lucas in book one, she comes searching for a fake id. Lucas is a master in forgery. Although he does make an occasional appearance in the sequel, I found it not nearly enough. Despite the three years that’s passed, Emily is still hot tempered and acts without thinking. It comes as no surprise when she is arrested and sent to a juvenile facility to await trial for murder. The strong characterization of Lucas and Emily was sorely missing in the teenage characters she meets inside. They could be any juvenile offender and any institution. To me, they did not stand out.
Many of the situations didn’t live up to the magnitude of Emily’s character. Having fought off a rapist at twelve years old, she managed to track down and kill the two men who murdered her family. And yet, I’m to believe because some boy in math class showed her a simple courtesy, she fell in love? They have nothing in common. He doesn’t deserve or appreciate the lengths she’ll go to prove her devotion.
The relationship with her cellmate, Rebecca produced a more believable soft side of Emily since her little sister had the same name. Paula, her public defender, gave no good reason why she would neglect her health to the point she nearly died in the courtroom.
The law aspects of this story were the strong points in Cell 49B. It was fascinating as Emily represented herself in the court room. The ending was satisfying. I feel the strongest hook is the emotional ties and witty banter between Lucas, aka former hitman, document specialist, and all around hero to Emily, a witness to murder, survivor of unthinkable violence, and highly trained assassin. These two characters are anything but normal. It’s best not to pretend otherwise.