Review: Kill Devil by Mike Dellosso

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

Jed Patrick is convinced he’s doing all it takes to keep his family safe–new names, new location, new identity. But just when he thinks he finally has his life back, trained men claiming to be CIA agents break in and threaten his wife and daughter, proving once and for all his family will never truly be safe until he eliminates the agency dead set on hunting him down.Not knowing if Karen and Lilly are better off by his side or in hiding, Jed is determined to protect them while finding a way to use the classified information that he possesses to dismantle the Centralia Project. But he soon learns that eliminating Centralia may require compromising his own values. As danger escalates, Jed isn’t sure whether there’s anyone or anything he can trust–including his own senses.

Rating: 4-stars

Review:

Kill Devil by Mike Dellosso is a fascinating thriller. There was plenty of fast-paced action to keep the pages turning. I liked the main character, Jed a lot. He has tough choices with high risks involved. The plot has many ways it could have ended. I was intrigued and filled with suspense. This writer had my full-attention from the beginning. It reminded me of The Bourne Series with its dark and complicated scenes. There isn’t a moment where I felt bored. I was amazed at this writer’s talent. Overall, I recommend it to all  readers.

Review: Secret of the Stones by Olivia Swift

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

Katarina Jones’ sensible exterior and strong practical streak often masks her real feelings.

Ben Carruthers is terrified to ask Kat out but when he buys a piece of land, and enlists Kat’s help with his vision, it gives him the opportunity to spend some time with her.

When Ben has a load of landscaping stones delivered, Kat seemingly has a sixth sense about some of the stones. Will danger draw them together or pull them apart especially when Kat has trouble acknowledging that she has a sixth sense?

Their group of friends from Chestnut Hall join Kat and Ben in the search to solve the mystery of the stones.

Rating: 5-stars

Review:

The Secret of the Stones by Olivia Swift is an interesting mystery. A man is getting set to build and his stones have a dark history behind them. Kat senses this and together with their friends they find out the answers. There is a romantic interest happening between Kat and Ben. It was told in a way that excited me but still kept it clean. Kat is by far my favorite character. I loved her personality. It felt like I knew her for years. She has a knack for peaking my curiosity. Just when something is found, there’s more than beats the eyes. I enjoyed the suspense and intrigue. Overall, I would recommend this novel to all readers.

 

Review: The Prize by Geoffrey M. Cooper

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

Winner of National Indie Excellence Award for medical thrillers.
Silver Medal in Readers’ Favorite International Book Award Contest.

What does it take to win a Nobel Prize? Deceit, fraud, even murder? Set in the competitive world of cutting-edge medical research, The Prize is a science thriller in which jealousy over the discovery of a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease leads to fraud, betrayal and violence.

Pam Weller makes the discovery of a lifetime when she finds a drug with the potential for treating Alzheimer’s. But her success threatens the supremacy of Eric Prescott, a leading figure in Alzheimer’s research. Lusting relentlessly for the Nobel Prize, Prescott fears that Pam’s work will derail his ambitions. He seduces one of Pam’s research fellows and enlists her in a plot to brand Pam a fraud and steal her discovery. Leading Pam into a world where nothing is real, except threats to her career, her freedom and even her life.

Rating: 5-stars

Review:

The Prize by Geoffrey M. Cooper is an exciting medical thriller. One that brings the most exciting yet deadly game of all. A woman finds what could change her career only to have another one want to steal it. Even worse, kill her for the chance to win a prize over her discovery. This novel brought to life the sinister dark moments of medical discovery, drugs, and threats from people who should be lifting each other up…

I was deeply engaged. This plot was fast. Held my attention from the beginning to end. It also left me hoping a cure could someday be created or found. Overall, I would highly recommend this suspenseful novel to all readers.

Review: Consumed by J.R. Ward

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the popular Black Dagger Brotherhood series comes a brand-new novel about arson investigator, Anne Ashburn, who is consumed by her troubled past, her family’s scorched legacy, and her current case: chasing a deadly killer.

Anne Ashburn is a woman consumed…

By her bitter family legacy, by her scorched career as a firefighter, by her obsession with department bad-boy Danny McGuire, and by a new case that pits her against a fiery killer.

Strong-willed Anne was fearless and loved the thrill of fighting fires, pushing herself to be the best. But when one risky decision at a warehouse fire changes her life forever, Anne must reinvent not only her job, but her whole self.

Shattered and demoralized, Anne finds her new career as an arson investigator a pale substitute for the adrenaline-fueled life she left behind. She doesn’t believe she will ever feel that same all-consuming passion for her job again–until she encounters a string of suspicious fires setting her beloved city ablaze.

Danny McGuire is a premiere fireman, best in the county, but in the midst of a personal meltdown. Danny is taking risks like never before and seems to have a death wish until he teams up with Anne to find the fire starter. But Danny may be more than a distraction, and as Anne narrows in on her target, the arsonist begins to target her.

From the creator of the bestselling Black Dagger Brotherhood, get ready for a new band of brothers. And a firestorm.

Rating: 5-stars

Review:

Consumed by J.R. Ward is draws me in like a moth to a flame. Irresistible to the flame, I couldn’t stop reading this book. Emotionally gripping, hot, and full of risks, this writer captures my full attention. The plot moved quickly. Attitude, loss, grief, and romance fill these pages. I enjoy watching the two siblings give each other shit. It was funny. They obviously care about each other but show it differently than most. Then, there’s the attraction between two firefighters who have a knack for danger. Just as they go on a scene they end up in a situation neither thought they would be in…the reality comes and shakes their world. Sending it breaking into pieces. Their confidence shatters. But with time and a team that still cares, they might just survive…unless someone they trust tries killing them and succeeds. Overall, this book consumes. It takes me in deep and does not let go.

 

Review: Vox by Christina Dalcher

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

Set in an America where half the population has been silenced, VOX is the harrowing, unforgettable story of what one woman will do to protect herself and her daughter.

On the day the government decrees that women are no longer allowed more than 100 words daily, Dr. Jean McClellan is in denial–this can’t happen here. Not in America. Not to her.

This is just the beginning.

Soon women can no longer hold jobs. Girls are no longer taught to read or write. Females no longer have a voice. Before, the average person spoke sixteen thousand words a day, but now women only have one hundred to make themselves heard.

But this is not the end. 

For herself, her daughter, and every woman silenced, Jean will reclaim her voice.

Rating: 5-stars

Review:

Vox by Christina Dalcher is one of the saddest yet most intense novellas I have read. A quick read that kept me interested. Intriguing and dark, this book held my full attention. It started off with a woman and her young daughter are wearing devices. These devices count the number of words they say. Reach over 101 words, and they go through a shock system from the device. It was a hell hole that the women and young girls couldn’t control. A law went into act and they’re forced to being just housewifes. No voice. No opinion. I felt the tears that ran down my cheeks. The pages created a rage unlike anything I have felt. This story is one that must be read. The warning for women, is to never let your voice by controlled. Fight back!

Review: Face Off by Brenda Novak

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

Tortured and left for dead at sixteen, Evelyn Talbot turned her personal nightmare into her life’s work—studying the disturbing psychopathy of some of the world’s most vicious serial killers. Now a leading psychiatrist at Hanover House in a small Alaskan town, she tries to believe the past will never come back to haunt her—until a woman goes missing from a cabin nearby, and every clue points to the man who once brutalized her…

As her boyfriend, who is the area’s only police, begins to investigate—and finds not one but two bodies—Evelyn can’t forget that her would-be killer, Jasper Moore, was never caught. But there are no new faces in tiny Hilltop, no one who seems suspicious or potentially violent. In this twisted game of cat and mouse, Evelyn is certain of only one thing—Jasper must be hiding in plain sight. And if she can’t find him before he comes for her, she won’t be lucky enough to survive twice…

Rating: 5-stars

Review:

Face Off by Brenda Novak is another brilliant installment to this series. I was intrigued. The entire time, I was waiting for Evelyn’s past killer to attack her. Yet each moment never seemed like the right time for Jasper. Jasper like any other serial killer, ended up making many mistakes. He became careless and it took him spiraling out of control. Everything he worked for, was doomed. The intensity of the big moment, kept me on edge. I was expecting a dark, creepy, and deadly read.

Brenda Novak provided me with just that. The characters were funny, entertaining, and added to the flavor of this read. I had to roll my eyes and bite my tongue at the humiliation that Jasper put up with as he planned his future killings. He hated the men who told him what to do and when to do his work. It was interesting to watch as his temper was pushed and how he barely reined it all in…I kept expecting him to lose his patience at the facility every time. Yet, he surprised me. So many turns and twists…Even knowing the background, I was still kept in the dark as to what would happen. The ending was epic. I would have wanted a bit more darker satisfying end with Jasper. But I will have to wait for the next tale to see what happens next. Overall, I recommend this thriller to all.

Review: Cold Barrel Zero by Matthew Quirk

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

A CODE HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT. A BLACK OPS TEAM THAT WENT TOO FAR.

John Hayes is a Special Operations legend who went rogue on a deep-cover mission and betrayed his own soldiers. Disgraced and on the run, he returns to the United States to get back to his wife and daughter and take revenge on his accusers with a series of devastating attacks.

Only one man can stop him: Thomas Byrne. He once fought alongside Hayes as a combat medic, but he gave up the gun. Now a surgeon, he moves from town to town, trying to forget his past, until he is called upon by a high-ranking government official to help capture the man he once called a friend.

Hayes and Byrne were once as close as brothers, but with the fate of the nation hanging in the balance and nothing as it seems, both men must decide whom to trust–and whom to betray. In a final, explosive battle for justice, they face off along a rifle’s cold barrel.

Cold Barrel Zero brings together the blistering pace of Lee Child, the nonstop action of Brad Thor, and the richly drawn characters and moral stakes of Daniel Silva. An experienced reporter armed with deep behind-the-scenes research into America’s Special Operations Forces, Quirk takes the military thriller to a new level of suspense.

Rating: 4-stars

Review:

Cold Barrel Zero by Matthew Quirk is a suspenseful thriller. It displays the duty and actions of soldiers who risk their lives for their country. Sometimes, that country betrays them. This plot quickly spiraled from an innocent soldier doing his duty to him being hunted by his nation. Hiding away like a criminal, Hayes, a special ops agent is determined to go after those who betrayed him and his team. This novel has plenty of action, intrigue, and risks to keep me reading. I was entertained. It showed the gruesome reality of what happens that the public isn’t aware of…makes me rethink what really happens to our soldiers.

Review: Jagdlied by Dolly Gray Landon

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

This musically and graphically enriched chamber novel is an over-the-top black and blue comic extravaganza about the conspiratorial undoing of a teenage entitlement princess. The story throbs throughout with an undercurrent of apocalyptic motifs related to the extinction of art, fall of empire, and coming of the Antichrist. It is an epic farce that reads like an erotically supercharged psychological suspense thriller. The narrative takes the reader/audient on a veritable boomerang roller-coaster ride (with multiple inversions) through a reputational strip-and-whiptease of the novel’s malignantly artful (albeit ingenuously doe-eyed) protagonist: a wealthy young heiress and socialite who boasts an exclusive claim to her progenitors’ munificent estate. Her inheritance comprises an immense fortune amassed through shareholder investments in the world’s largest employment recruiter: the multi-national temp agency behemoth known as the Pleasant Peasant Corporation.

The character-driven narrative of Jagdlied explores themes of jilted love, misinterpreted motives, paranoid ideations, bombastic egos, ghoulish envy, smoldering jealousy, unconscionable revenge ploys, extravagant public humiliations, ruthless power games, insatiable greed, pernicious corruption, feigned moral outrage from all sides, and even (Heaven forfend!) coldblooded murder—all the type of stuff pre-calculated to magnetize your run-of-the-thrill-seeking bookworms and bibliophiles.

A rich repository of tongue-in-cheek nonce words, malapropisms, neologisms, archaisms, spoonerisms, slanguage, and whole swaths of unintelligible nonsense, the text of Jagdlied is also replete with irreverently lurid, salacious, and scatologic elements, which serve to set it in motion as a formidable contender for the distinctive cachet of being regarded (by cultivated aesthetes of omnifarious persuasions) as a momentously serious dirty book. It is targeted towards percipient readers and audients in possession of a well-seasoned sick and—dare it be said—cruel batch of funny bones inflected with a gallows-cum-smoking-room bent.

Whilst the plot of this story (grotesquely absurd as it will undoubtedly be esteemed) embraces reflexively cringeworthy sadomasochistic motifs, its author would hesitate to instyle it as porn, yet he would not be wholly disinclined to characterize it as a farcical parody thereof. And whilst at the same time its author is admittedly predisposed to eschew ascribing labels of any kind to this opus (especially seeing as what he has concocted is so rarefied in its formal structure that it cannot be facilely pigeonholed), it may not be altogether off the mark to view it as a form of literary neurotica (if, indeed, there is such a genre) as opposed to the more boilerplate literotica—or what in sex nazi circles is dysphemistically adverted to (in no uncertain squirms) as “filth.”

Whilst the text of Jagdlied may be read in silence as a novel in the traditional sense, it is ultimately written for the purpose of being recited by a skilled elocutionist to the accompaniment of extemporized music by ad hoc variable ensembles in relatively brief, self-contained or—depending on how one looks at it—semi self-contained episodes with the aid of a do-it-yourself improvisation kit provided in its appendix. This “kit” is likenable to a Baroque-style table of ornaments, albeit comprehending specific sets of chance operations for each and every participant involved in renditions of individual fascicles of this work. Aside from entailing a professional narrator and musical extemporizers, the score discretionarily calls for pantomime actors, dancers (hence choreographers), set designers, culinary artists, and even members of the audience itself.

Rating: 4-stars

Review:

Jagdlied by Dolly Gray Landon is a thriller novel unlike any other. Its words lead you on a journey that give a unique literary style I have not seen before. I was curious and lost within the pages immediately. The plot was complex. Dolly Gray Landon knows how to write in a way that peaks one’s interest and holds it until the end. The language was a bit bigger than my normal reads, yet it was still a good read. Due to the level of content and words, I highly recommend it for adults only. Although, I can see young adults grabbing this book and hiding away to read it. There was a combination of styles poured into this book. They add to the flavor. Reading this book takes time, but it has so much to offer. Overall, this is a rich, fun, and one epic read.

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

 

Review: Tear Me Apart by J.T. Ellison

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

The follow-up to her critically acclaimed Lie to Me, J.T. Ellison’s Tear Me Apart is the powerful story of a mother willing to do anything to protect her daughter even as their carefully constructed world unravels around them.

One moment will change their lives forever…

Competitive skier Mindy Wright is a superstar in the making until a spectacular downhill crash threatens not just her racing career but her life. During surgery, doctors discover she’s suffering from a severe form of leukemia, and a stem cell transplant is her only hope. But when her parents are tested, a frightening truth emerges. Mindy is not their daughter.

Who knows the answers?

The race to save Mindy’s life means unraveling years of lies. Was she accidentally switched at birth or is there something more sinister at play? The search for the truth will tear a family apart…and someone is going to deadly extremes to protect the family’s deepest secrets.

With vivid movement through time, Tear Me Apart examines the impact layer after layer of lies and betrayal has on two families, the secrets they guard, and the desperate fight to hide the darkness within.

Rating: 4-stars

Review:

Tear Me Apart by J.T. Ellison is another great tale. It has the mystery, intrigue, and dark edge to it like all of her previous books. However, the pacing was what almost stopped me from reading the book. It felt dragged. In the beginning there was no action or dialogue that made me want to dig in further. I felt myself wanting to quit until the middle of the book when the story finally gripped me. I should be hooked in from the beginning. But I was not. I love this writer’s work. Every book is unpredictable as to which way she writes. This one kept me wondering…until the clues came straight out which gave away too much in my opinion.

The story was about a family a family being torn apart by deception. The main characters is dying and relied on her parents to help save her. Only to find out, they are not her parents after all. Can you imagine being a family all those years only to discover that when it really counts, the truth come out…or sort of does. Mindy’s predicament is a tough one. Then there is someone wanting to keep things hidden. Only time will tell if Mindy survives and whether her family is completely destroyed. Overall, Tear Me Apart by J.T. Ellison was a good book. But not as great as her previous ones.

Review: When the Lights Go Out by Mary Kubica

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

A woman is forced to question her own identity in this riveting and emotionally charged thriller by the blockbuster bestselling author of The Good Girl, Mary Kubica. 

Jessie Sloane is on the path to rebuilding her life after years of caring for her ailing mother. She rents a new apartment and applies for college. But when the college informs her that her social security number has raised a red flag, Jessie discovers a shocking detail that causes her to doubt everything she’s ever known.

Finding herself suddenly at the center of a bizarre mystery, Jessie tumbles down a rabbit hole, which is only exacerbated by grief and a relentless lack of sleep. As days pass and the insomnia worsens, it plays with Jessie’s mind. Her judgment is blurred, her thoughts are hampered by fatigue. Jessie begins to see things until she can no longer tell the difference between what’s real and what she’s only imagined.

Meanwhile, twenty years earlier and two hundred and fifty miles away, another woman’s split-second decision may hold the key to Jessie’s secret past. Has Jessie’s whole life been a lie or have her delusions gotten the best of her?

Rating: 4-stars

Review:

When the Lights Go Out by Mary Kubica is a very depressing yet intense novel. Inside, I followed a young woman’s journey through nightmares. She has been in the hospital at her mom’s side and won’t sleep until her mom gets better or passes away. The doctor tried to tell Jessie to get some sleep, but she won’t listen. I felt her pain and her tiredness. Her confusion and pain about finding her father and her mom’s cancer was horrifying. Jessie could not tell apart reality from nightmare. I could not tell the difference until the ending…that’s when all became clear. Grief, loss, and secrets are explored in this novel. I cried a lot when I read this story. Jessie did want her mom to die from cancer. She kept hoping she would get better. Then, there was the fact that Jessie never knew her own father. Mary Kubica never revealed that secret. But the man that should have been her father became one to her while her mom was passing away from her cancer. The death was slow…and when the last moment came, it sped by quickly. My heart broke. Overall, this was intriguing, dark, and heartbreaking.

 

Review: The Ancient Nine by Ian Smith, M.D.

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

Spencer Collins thinks his life at Harvard will be all about basketball and pre-med; hard workouts and grinding work in class. The friends he’s made when he hits the storied ivy-clad campus from a very different life in urban Chicago are a happy bonus. But Spencer is about to be introduced to the most mysterious inner sanctum of the inner sanctum: to his surprise, he’s in the running to be “punched” for one of Harvard’s elite final clubs.

The Delphic Club is known as “the Gas” for its crest of three gas-lit flames, and as Spencer is considered for membership, he’s plunged not only into the secret world of male privilege that the Gas represents, but also into a century-old club mystery. Because at the heart of the Delphic, secured deep inside its guarded mansion club, is another secret society: a shadowy group of powerful men known as The Ancient Nine.

Who are The Ancient Nine? And why is Spencer—along with his best friend Dalton Winthrop—summoned to the deathbed of Dalton’s uncle just as Spencer is being punched for the club? What does the lore about a missing page from one of Harvard’s most historic books mean? And how does it connect to religion, murder, and to the King James Bible, if not to King James himself?

The Ancient Nine is both a coming of age novel and a swiftly plotted story that lets readers into the ultimate of closed worlds with all of its dark historical secrets and unyielding power.

Rating: 4-stars

Review:

The Ancient Nine by Ian Smith, M.D. is one very interesting mystery. A young man who appears to be the average guy, is soon chasing after clues to solve a disappearance. From there, it leads to a lot of intriguing connections like the Nazis and a college club society that leaves behind more questions than answers. Dark, edgy, and entertaining, I got lost within this novel. Ian Smith’s main protagonist was easy to relate to and felt real. The plot was steady. Overall, I recommend this book full of secrets to all readers.

Review: Dagger’s Edge by Lora Leigh

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

#1 bestselling author Lora Leigh is back–with a vengeance–in her latest novel of passion and intrigue, Dagger’s Edge, featuring the men of Brute Force. 

Ivan Resnova wants nothing more than to escape his hard, brutal past. Starting over is not so easy once you’ve been a powerful crime boss but now, instead of being punished for his alleged crimes, Ivan fears that the one woman he can’t forget is in danger of paying the price.

Crimsyn “Syn” Delaney thought the danger she’d faced was over, and that she could resume her life. She never imagined it would return with a vengeance and throw her back into Ivan’s world. But when an attempt is made on her life, she needs Ivan more than ever to keep her safe–even if she is in danger of falling deeply and dangerously in love. . .

Rating: 4.5-stars

Review:

Dagger’s Edge by Lora Leigh is one hell of a romantic suspense novel. Dark and intense like J.T. Ellison’s books yet hot and steamy like that of Lynsay Sand’s books. I could not tear my eyes away from this read. It was so intense, dark, and sexy. The characters were on edge constantly. Danger hung in the air on every page. One pair also had to battle their raw lust and love for each other until it exploded. Their lives were at risk and the depth to which they went to stay alive was amazing. Lora Leigh did not disappoint. Her words created vivid scenes and plenty of action to keep myself entertained. Overall, I highly recommend this epic romance to all.

Review: The Secret Book & Scone Society by Ellery Adams

 

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

From New York Times bestselling author Ellery Adams comes the first in an intriguing new series set within a quirky small-town club where the key to happiness, friendship—or solving a murder—can all be found within the pages of the right book . . .

Miracle Springs, North Carolina, is a place of healing. Strangers flock here hoping the natural hot springs, five-star cuisine, and renowned spa can cure their ills. If none of that works, they often find their way to Miracle Books, where, over a fresh-baked “comfort” scone from the Gingerbread House bakery, they exchange their stories with owner Nora Pennington in return for a carefully chosen book. That’s Nora’s special talent—prescribing the perfect novel to ease a person’s deepest pain and lighten their heaviest burden.

When a visiting businessman reaches out to Nora for guidance, she knows exactly which novels will help. But before he can keep their appointment at Miracle Books, he’s found dead on the train tracks.

Stunned, Nora forms the Secret, Book, and Scone Society, a group of damaged souls yearning to gain trust and earn redemption by helping others. To join the society, members must divulge their darkest secret—the terrible truth that brought each of them to Miracle Springs in the first place.

Determined to uncover the truth behind the businessman’s demise, the women meet in Nora’s cramped and cozy bookstore to share stories and trade support. And as they untangle a web of corruption, they also discover their own courage, purpose, and a sisterhood that will carry them through every challenge—proving it’s never too late to turn the page and start over . . .

Rating: 4-stars

Review:

The Book & Scone Society by Ellery Adams is a fun and interesting murder mystery. The characters were charming. I loved Nora. She is the lady to go to for a book recommendation. Her personality made her perfect for this novel. I also enjoyed her group members. The ladies were all supportive of each other. Nora was supposed to meet a man only for him to turn up dead. That’s when Nora took lead into investigating the murder. She ended up placing herself into grave danger and took high risks. Then, there was Jed. I really liked him. I want to read more about him and Nora. They scenes made me blush and sigh with content. Overall, Ellery Adams sure knew how to charm me into loving her new book. I would recommend this to all to fans of Agatha Frost and Angie Fox.

 

Review: Sister of Mine by Laurie Petrou

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

A debut novel of domestic suspense in the vein of Liane Moriarty, Shari Lapena and Claire Douglas about two sisters bound together by a murder

Penny and Hattie have always only had each other—their father left long ago and their mother died in a sudden tragic accident. Penny has always watched out for Hattie, even when she felt usurped by her younger, more vivacious sibling. When Penny’s marriage turns sour and her once-charming husband becomes controlling and abusive, who does she turn to for help but Hattie? An unguarded cigarette, helped along by a few conveniently lit matches and some sleeping pills, creates a deadly fire that frees Penny from an unimaginable life, but not without a cost. The weight of their secret binds the two sisters together, for better or worse. When a new man enters their lives, the twists deepen and the secrets compound. Meanwhile, incidents of arson begin to break out locally and the detective who investigated the death of Penny’s husband develops renewed interest in the case, threatening to unravel all their secrets.

Rating: 4-stars

Review:

Sister of Mine by Laurie Petrou is a haunting yet intense journey. Two sisters who are close end up with a deadly secret. One that can shatter their bond forever or keep it closer. The story consumed me. The emotional bond between Hattie and Penny made me cry. Penny suffered so much only to fall further away from everything. It felt terrible knowing that disaster was hanging over them constantly. Fear of their secret breaking out…then, to end up having their lives separated and utterly destroyed. It broke my heart to know how it ended for Penny. I had hoped for so much more for her. Penny was weak in the beginning yet became a strong woman in the end. Her life felt like it was over before it could even blossom. There’s nothing greater than two sisters who bond together…Overall, this mystery was good. I recommend it to others who love a dark and gripping story.

 

Review: Paper Ghosts by Julia Heaberlin

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

Carl Louis Feldman is an old man who was once a celebrated photographer. That was before he was tried for the murder of a young woman and acquitted. before his admission to a care home for dementia. Now his daughter has come to see him, to take him on a trip. Only she’s not his daughter and, if she has her way, he’s not coming back . . .

Because Carl’s past has finally caught up with him. The young woman driving the car is convinced her passenger is guilty, and that he’s killed, other young women. Including her sister Rachel. Now they’re following the trail of his photographs, his clues, his alleged crimes. To see if he remembers any of it. Confesses to any of it. To discover what really happened to Rachel. Has Carl truly forgotten what he did or is he just pretending? Perhaps he’s guilty of nothing and she’s the liar. Either way in driving him into the Texan wilderness she’s taking a terrible risk. For if Carl really is a serial killer, she’s alone in the most dangerous place of all . . .

Rating: 4-stars

Review:

Paper Ghosts by Julia Heaberlin is a frightening thriller. A young girl looses her sister to a murderer. But no one knows who killed her. The young girl girl, now a grown woman, is desperate to find answers. She believes an older man, a photographer with dementia, is the killer. Yet, nothing fits. She goes a long way out to set-up an adventure to help the old man remember details. The longer she’s with him, the more she’s not sure if he’s really forgetting or just playing her. Traveling a lone with a possible murderer is the craziest thing ever. However, Grace is willing to do it. The plot was steady. Sometimes slow. It felt like the who dun it was dragged out so much that finding the real killer was lost. I am still left questioning everything that I just read. The ending to me, was unsatisfactory. It left more things open than closed. I wanted to know all the answers. Only questions kept popping up instead. Overall, it was creepy and strange.

Review: The Hunger by Alma Katsu

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

Evil is invisible, and it is everywhere.

Tamsen Donner must be a witch. That is the only way to explain the series of misfortunes that have plagued the wagon train known as the Donner Party. Depleted rations, bitter quarrels, and the mysterious death of a little boy have driven the pioneers to the brink of madness. They cannot escape the feeling that someone–or something–is stalking them. Whether it was a curse from the beautiful Tamsen, the choice to follow a disastrous experimental route West, or just plain bad luck–the 90 men, women, and children of the Donner Party are at the brink of one of the deadliest and most disastrous western adventures in American history.

While the ill-fated group struggles to survive in the treacherous mountain conditions–searing heat that turns the sand into bubbling stew; snows that freeze the oxen where they stand–evil begins to grow around them, and within them. As members of the party begin to disappear, they must ask themselves “What if there is something waiting in the mountains? Something disturbing and diseased…and very hungry?”

Rating: 4-stars

Review:

The Hunger by Alma Katsu is an interesting yet dark journey. A moment in history known as the Donner Party has been relived and retold here. Survival is key. Each member of that doomed party went through hell. Back then, traveling was difficult if not impossible. Timing was not on the Donner Party’s side. Their hardships soon led to chaos, mistrust, and death. Alma Katsu made this historical fiction come alive with a suspenseful voice. A sadness clung to every page. The intensity of the plot grew and it was hard to let go of the book. I felt sorry for the characters and enjoyed following them on this trail. The plot was steady but packed with the right amount of details and action to keep the pages turned. Overall, I would recommend it to those looking for a scary yet entertaining tale.

Review: Formula of Deception by Carrie Stuart Parks

 

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

“I love Carrie Stuart Parks’s skill in writing characters with hysterical humor, unwitting courage and page-turning mystery. I hope my readers won’t abandon me completely when they learn about her!” —Terri Blackstock, USA TODAY bestselling author of If I Run, If I’m Found, and If I Live

An artist hiding from an escaped killer uncovers one of World War II’s most dangerous secrets—a secret that desperate men will do anything to keep hidden.

After the murder of her twin sister, Murphy Anderson changed her name and appearance and moved to Kodiak, Alaska, to avoid the press and publicity. But when local authorities discover she’s an artist and request her help in drawing a dying man’s memories, she unintentionally ends up in the limelight again—and back in the killer’s crosshairs.

The deathbed confessions of an Alaskan hunter have Murphy drawing the five bodies he discovered on remote Ruuwaq Island ten years ago. But what investigators find has them mystified. Evidence suggests that the bodies were deliberately destroyed, and what they uncover in an abandoned Quonset hut from World War II only brings more questions.

As one by one the investigators who were at the hut die, Murphy knows there is something much darker at stake. What happened on this island during the war? And who is willing to kill to keep its secrets buried?

Rating: 4.5-stars

Review:

Formula of Deception by Carrie Stuart Parks is definitely for fans of Heather Graham, J.T. Ellison, and Brenda Novak. Carrie Stuart Parks brings a lot of excitement and danger in this thrilling read. A crime investigation leads back to a historical secret that somebody is  willing to kill to keep buried. Yet, investigators are getting closer and their death hangs into the air. As new and old victims pile up, the intensity of the situation rises. This dark Alaskan murder mystery, kept giving me chills.

Inside Formula of Deception, I got to meet a twin of a dead woman. The twin, Murphy Anderson, goes into hiding. Staying away from a murderer, is the plan. However, Murphy is soon drawn out of hiding and back into danger. Murphy has a talent that is needed for an investigation. This now, puts her at high risk. The murderer is still killing people to keep the historical secret hidden. It’s only a matter of time, before everything escalates out of control. Overall, this one was phenomenal.

 

Review: Among the Red Stars by Gwen C. Katz

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

World War Two has shattered Valka’s homeland of Russia, and Valka is determined to help the effort. She knows her skills as a pilot rival the best of the men, so when an all-female aviation group forms, Valka is the first to sign up.

Flying has always meant freedom and exhilaration for Valka, but dropping bombs on German soldiers from a fragile canvas biplane is no joyride. The war is taking its toll on everyone, including the boy Valka grew up with, who is fighting for his life on the front lines.

As the war intensifies and those around her fall, Valka must decide how much she is willing to risk to defend the skies she once called home.

Inspired by the true story of the airwomen the Nazis called Night Witches, Gwen C. Katz weaves a tale of strength and sacrifice, learning to fight for yourself, and the perils of a world at war.

Rating: 4-stars

Review:

Among the Red Stars by Gwen C. Katz is a heart breaking tale. One of war, loss, and grief. But with that also comes hope, love, and strength. A young woman bravely goes into the air force knowing the risks. Her male friend is also fighting on the front lines. Danger, nightmares, and risks await them both. Their friendship never fades even as the war breaks out all around them. Hope keeps them both going.

Females are being allowed to fight in the war as pilots. Valka is one of them. She defies all the stereotypes that go against women during that time. Valka is brave, smart, and a good woman. I like her. Her personality makes this sad journey more enjoyable. I easily got lost within the pages. The relationship between both Valka and her male friend, Pasha, is heartfelt. Missing opportunities before the war, now have the chance to happen. But only if they both make it out alive. Overall, I would highly recommend this historical/women’s fiction novel to all.

 

Review: Farewell, Four Waters by Kate McCord

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

Day 14: It should have been the beginning . . .

All she needed were stamps and signatures. Marie and her translator stood in the government offices in Kabul, Afghanistan, to complete the paperwork for her new literacy project. The women in her home town, the northern village of Shehktan, would learn to read.

But a spattering of gun shots exploded and an aid worker crumpled. Executed. On the streets of Kabul. Just blocks from the guesthouse. Sending shockwaves through the community.

The foreign personnel assessed their options and some, including Marie’s closest friend, Carolyn, chose to leave the country. Marie and others faced the cost and elected to press forward. But the execution of the lone aid worker was just the beginning.

When she returned home to her Afghan friends in Shehktan to begin classes, she felt eyes watching her, piercing through her scarf as she walked the streets lined in mud brick walls.

And in the end . . . 

It took only 14 days for her project, her Afghan home, her community—all of it—to evaporate in an eruption of dust, grief, and loss. Betrayed by someone she trusted. Caught in a feud she knew nothing about, and having loved people on both sides, Marie struggled for the answer: How could God be present here, working here, in the soul of Afghanistan?

Rating: 3.5-stars

Review:

Farewell, Four Waters by Kate McCord seemed interesting enough. The fact that is was based on true events made it even more frightening. It only took a short time for everything to change. Disaster stroke and danger lied ahead. The main character was an Afghan woman who struggled to survive each passing day. The Afghan culture and belief were mentioned across the pages. Murder, chaos, and deception are themes that are explored here. It was definitely a dark read. The sense of a broken community was sad. Trust was hard to come by…the plot was slow. It felt dragged out.

Inside this novel, I followed Marie. Marie spent 14 days of hell. It was quite scary how an ordinary day can turn dark so fast. Everything was told from her point of view. I saw her community and journey through her eyes and ears. An aid worker is shot dead in the street. Everyone saw it. After that, the gates of hell broke lose. Marie questioned whether God was around or not. She felt like God had abandoned the community. War broke out…making it deadly for Marie to stay behind. This story told how she survived and made it back home. Overall, Farewell, Four Waters was a good read.

 

Review: Blythe of the Gates by Leah Erickson

 

 

 

 

Rating: 4.5-stars

Review:

Blythe of the Gates by Leah Erickson is a deep emotional story that pulled me in from the start. The main characters went through a life of hell before they got to where they were. A young baby boy left in blood at a nunnery, was then working on a farm where he was abused, and then left as an orphan. He soon worked in a carnival where he meet an older man. One that had magic. The magic drew him in unlike anything else. It held promise of a better, happier life. Yet, the things we want in life are not always what we need. The boy becomes the magician. He meets our lady protagonist. From there, she has lived in fear of her husband. A sadness swept over me  like an ice-cube going down my back. It was depressing. She ended up living a rich lifestyle but was abused by the magician. Her happiness sapped out of her. Until, Sean…a man as ordinary as her. He makes her happy but not perfectly happy. Things spiral out of control and our lady find herself in one chaotic mess after another.

Blythe of the Gates featured themes such as marriage, abuse, and moving forward. Luna and her husband were both lost souls looking for happiness. After reading this novel, I am still not sure if Luna will ever find it. Her husband managed to  find a temporary form of happiness but it still never gave him the full satisfaction that he desired. This story was epic. The pages were dark, engaging, and mysterious…I enjoyed reading it. Overall, I recommend this book to fans of Unfortunate Events. It has the same resemblance but better.

 

 

Review: Paradox by Catherine Coulter

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

With unparalleled suspense and her trademark explosive twists, #1 New York Times bestselling author Catherine Coulter delves into the terrifying mind of an escaped mental patient obsessed with revenge in this next installment of her riveting FBI series. When he fails to kidnap five-year-old Sean Savich, agents Sherlock and Savich know they’re in his crosshairs and must find him before he continues with his ‘kill’ list.

Chief Ty Christie of Willicott, Maryland, witnesses a murder at dawn from the deck of her cottage on Lake Massey. When dragging the lake, not only do the divers find the murder victim, they also discover dozens of bones. Even more shocking is the identification of a unique belt buckle found among the bones. Working together with Chief Christie, Savich and Sherlock soon discover a frightening connection between the bones and the escaped psychopath.

Paradox is a chilling mix of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, old secrets that refuse to stay buried, and ruthless greed that keep Savich and Sherlock and Chief Ty Christie working at high speed to uncover the truth before their own bones end up at the bottom on the lake.

Don’t miss Paradox, the twenty-second FBI thriller.

Rating: 5-stars

Review:

Paradox by Catherine Coulter is a thrilling race to catch a murderer before it’s too late. Two agents wake up to find their son being threatened by an unknown man in a mask. The man escapes from them. But his threat leaves behind a mass of fear and a start for a new investigation.  Little do they know his tie to a bigger and former case will be connected. Until then, they have to be faster and outsmart their enemy.

Catherine Coulter creates a suspenseful new tale in Paradox. Immediately, I connected with the agents. Their level of protection for their son was amazing. Being in their field of work, it is understandable to have such security and plans made. It worked. Their plans gave them the alert and saved their son’s life. Their young son is clever for his age. There was a hint of Winnie the Pooh bear somewhere in the boy’s room, which suggested he was still pretty young. But like his parents, he came to the conclusion of what really happened. His parents couldn’t lie to him. I liked that. It made the situation realistic. Then, there was the chase after the criminal and the procedures of starting an investigation. I felt like I was there watching and participating with the agents. The pacing of the plot was quick. I just kept on reading chapter after chapter. My attention was fully caught with this novel. A thriller with enough action and intrigue to keep me reading. Overall, I would recommend it to all fans of Laura Griffin, Heather Graham, and Criminal Minds.

 

Review: Eternity’s Account by both Julie Bryson and Catherine Sharpe

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis: 

Patterns. They are the material weaved to make the intricate fabric of the universe. The one guiding the threads is the one teaching the 12 chosen children to recognize the complex design within the fabric of time. Each stitch aliens the essential elements of the story, revealing the intended pattern to be followed. Owr, the master creator, has tucked the invisible into the hem of the visible, allowing the children to peek between the tightly drawn threads to study how the spiritual affects the physical.

The Eternity’s Account series continues – beyond the creation, the inception of evil, the fall of man, the division of kingdoms, and the fusion of dimensions. As the children tug on the seam of the cosmos, a new set of patterns is exposed. They prepare to witness the next stage in the saga; the rise of the rulers and the effects they will have upon the fate of the universe.

Rating: 4-stars

Review:

Eternity’s Account: Rulers by both Julie Bryson and Catherine Sharpe. This novel was different to many others in the way it was written. It combined fantasy with biblical elements. Intriguing and creative, this book hooked me. The themes in this tale such as evil versus good are clearly seen. The scenes were vivid. Characters were interesting. I found the entire book to be complex, entertaining, and diverse. Darker than most Christian reads yet more engaging. The characters pulled me into their fictional world. There was enough action to keep me turning the pages. Overall, I would recommend this to fantasy lovers.

 

Review: In Hitler’s House Book 2 by Jonathan Lane

 

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

In book two of In Hitler’s House, Willy Weber and Carlotta Krause descend into the depths of the espionage game as World War II rages around them. Working at once against Hitler and often at odds with one another, each fears getting an order to assassinate the other. Meanwhile, the allies dither over whether or not they should be assigned to assassinate Hitler.

Their love grows more intense and more desperate. Carlotta, with her hidden Jewish background, comes into ever greater danger of being sent to a concentration camp. Willy, who is now responsible for delivering certain essential war materials to the Reich, must play a dangerous game as he contrives to short the orders on instructions from his handler, master spy Paul Dukes. Hitler becomes increasingly suspicious that Willy is actually a spy and saboteur, but his love for him as the son he never had prevents him from acting on his suspicions…until it doesn’t.

As the war intensifies, the increasingly deranged Hitler makes more and more bizarre sexual demands on both Willy and Carlotta, to the point that they are forced to do things with him that will haunt them for the rest of their lives.

The battle within Hitler’s very secret innermost circle parallels the war unfolding beyond the peaceful Untersberg and Hitler’s mountain hideaway the Berghof, where intrigue abounds and danger hides in every shadow.

Jonathan White Lane is the pseudonym of a scholar of both 20th Century and classical history.

Rating: 4-stars

Review:

In Hitler’s House book 2 by Jonathan Lane, the plot becomes more dangerous. Those closest to Hitler are experiencing the fear that he creates. None of them know for sure, if they will kill each other or be killed. Then, there’s those that are closer to Hitler’s heart, that are now suffering the same kind of fear as those who work for his deadly fantasies. Hitler’s demands become unbearable and it is that which will destroy them all one by one. Doom is leering over the cast of characters as war is a constant battle. Hitler is getting more delusional by the second and that makes him the deadliest enemy alive.

History, espionage, and secrets come alive in this novel. Jonathan Lane knows how to entertain his readers. I was lost within his book. It was deeply engaging and fun to follow as the events played out…deception is both a miracle and a curse to those around Hitler. Even Hitler himself is causing his own destruction because of it. Overall, I would recommend this historical dark tale to readers everywhere.

 

Review: In Hitler’s House by Jonathan Lane

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

William Weber was on tour in Germany in the summer of 1931 when he chanced to meet a struggling politician, Adolf Hitler. Hitler soon discovered that Willy was a wealthy innocent and set out to exploit him in every way that he could. There follows a startlingly vivid exploration of inner life of this deeply evil man. In two volumes so richly detailed that they seem to have actually been created by somebody who lived through the events they depict, the private world of Adolf Hitler comes into focus in all its perversity and strangeness.

Willy soon realizes that Hitler is a monster and resolves to use his extraordinary position as his friend to try to derail his plans. In the process, he becomes a invaluable British intelligence asset and an extremely vulnerable spy in Hitler’s House. He also meets and falls in love with Hitler’s ultra-secret mistress, Carlotta Krause, a Berlin prostitute who is a year younger than Willy and has known Hitler since she was a child. As their secret love affair explodes into great passion, they both must play roles in the weird fantasy life that Hitler successfully hid from history.

In exploring the private life of Adolf Hitler, the story also by extension offers a warning to the world about such men, and a means of seeing beyond Hitler into the hidden lives and distorted psyches of many dictators and demagogues.

In Hitler’s House is the work of a pseudonymous history scholar, an expert on both modern European history and the history of the later Roman Empire.

Rating: 4.5-stars

Review:

In Hitler’s House by Jonathan Lane is an interesting historical insight into men like Hitler. The lives of such evil men leaves behind a lot of questions. What makes them into such devils, are they like that 24/7, or do they have more hidden secrets than we were aware of? This book dives deep into all this and even goes much further. I found it intriguing. A historical that goes back to a deadly terror and showed more betrayal, deception, and other sides not commonly known to many.

As a huge history fan, this caught my full-attention. Exploring into the lives of evil men and who they were really makes for an entertaining tale. One that can leave so many options. But it also opened up the lives of those close to Hitler himself. That’s where I got glued into this book. After reading some of it, I could not stop. I had to find out more. Overall, I would recommend this novel to all who love history, politics, and thrillers.

Review: Wonderblood by Julia Whicker

 

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

It’s 500 years in the future, and a mad cow-like disease called “Bent Head” has killed off most of the U.S. population. Those remaining turn to magic and sacrifice to cleanse the Earth.

Wonderblood is Julia Whicker’s fascinating literary debut, set in a barren United States, an apocalyptic wasteland where warring factions compete for control of the land in strange and dangerous carnivals. A mad cow-like disease called “Bent Head” has killed off millions. Those who remain worship the ruins of NASA’s space shuttles, and Cape Canaveral is their Mecca. Medicine and science have been rejected in favor of magic, prophecy, and blood sacrifice.

When traveling marauders led by the bloodthirsty Mr. Capulatio invade her camp, a young girl named Aurora is taken captive as his bride and forced to join his band on their journey to Cape Canaveral. As war nears, she must decide if she is willing to become her captor’s queen. But then other queens emerge, some grotesque and others aggrieved, and not all are pleased with the girl’s ascent. Politics and survival are at the centre of this ravishing novel.

Rating: 3-stars

Review:

Wonderblood by Julia Whicker is a frightening, gross, and devastating tale. Loss, grief, and chaos loomed ahead in this read. The world went from how we knew it to one unrecognizable to me. Death. blood, gore, and sacrifice were everywhere. The story was strange. It was worse than any apocalypse novel that I have ever read. I couldn’t tell if they were any heroes, or if they were all just a bunch of lost souls too damaged by the destruction of their world. I would recommend this book if one is into the weird and unforgettable darkness that consumes long time afterwards. Wonderblood was a very dark read.

Review: Before and Again by Barbara Delinsky

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

From Barbara Delinsky, the New York Times bestselling author of Blueprints and Sweet Salt Air, a brand-new novel about a woman in hiding finding the courage to face the world again.

Mackenzie Cooper took her eyes off the road for just a moment but the resulting collision was enough to rob her not only of her beloved daughter but ultimately of her marriage, family, and friends—and thanks to the nonstop media coverage, even her privacy. Now she lives in Vermont under the name Maggie Reid, in a small house with her cats and dog. She’s thankful for the new friends she’s made—though she can’t risk telling them too much. And she takes satisfaction in working as a makeup artist at the luxurious local spa, helping clients hide the visible outward signs of their weariness, illnesses, and injuries. Covering up scars is a skill she has mastered.

Her only goal is to stay under the radar and make it through her remaining probation. But she isn’t the only one in this peaceful town with secrets. When a friend’s teenage son is thrust into the national spotlight, accused of hacking a powerful man’s Twitter account, Maggie is torn between pulling away and protecting herself—or stepping into the glare to be at their side. As the stunning truth behind their case is slowly revealed, Maggie’s own carefully constructed story begins to unravel as well. She knows all too well that what we need from each other in this difficult world is comfort. But to provide it, sometimes we need to travel far outside our comfort zones.

From a multimillion-selling master of women’s fiction, Before and Again is a story of the relationships we find ourselves in—mothers and daughters, spouses and siblings, true companions and fair-weather friends—and what kind of sacrifices we are or aren’t willing to make to sustain them through good times and bad.

Rating: 4-stars

Review:

Before and Again by Barbara Delinsky is a fast paced plot. The story is about a family’s life that gets turned upside down when they loose their only daughter. A five-year-old girl, dead on impact of another car hitting them. The mother was driving the car. Since then, life has beennothing but hell for the parents. A divorce, separation, guilt, shame, and grief immediately consumed me. I felt an instant sympathy for the family, especially the mother. It was intense. Sad, horrifying, and just one big emotionally charged journey. What started out as a sad and dark road, soon proved to hold some hope and light for this couple. I loved how realistic and how I was shown what was happening.

The situations were not easy but I could easily see all of this happening in real life. It’s difficult to lose a loved one, especially one that was so young and in the mother’s care at the time…the physical and emotional trauma would be hard. Yet Barbara Delinsky showed that there is always a light at the end of the long dark tunnel. We may lose ourselves but not all is lost. There is hope for a future…overall, I would recommend this to readers everywhere.

 

Cover Reveal: The Booksplash Horror Story by Cassia Brightmore

 

 

The Book Splash Horror Story by: Cassia Brightmore Author

Genre: Dark Romance

Release Date: January 22, 2018

Cover Design: Just Write Creations

 

 

Vacationing with a splash of blood…

 

Rennie Laval was about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime. A virgin cruiser, what better way to pop her cherry than onboard the luxurious Norwegian. Set to sail to the sunny Caribbean on a week long vacation, her only expectation was to soak up the warm sun, and spectacular sights, all while consuming frothy umbrella drinks.

 

Travelling solo didn’t faze her, not when she would be a part of a group of cruisers, known fondly as “Book Splashers.” A unique author signing event at sea, getting the chance to attend was a dream come true for an avid reader like Rennie. The large group of more than three hundred authors, readers, photographers, models had welcomed her with open arms. The hosts, Harper Sloan and Felicia Lynn, reassuring her she’d never be left on her own.

 

Duke Kincaid was fed up with life. After catching his fiancee in bed with his best friend, he spontaneously booked himself on a cruise, needing to get away from their betrayal. A Caribbean vacation was just the escape he needed. Colliding with another solo traveller while boarding, a beautiful brunette, seemed like fate. A little fling on the open waters would definitely go a long way to wiping out unwanted memories.

 

While he and Rennie grow closer on and off board the ship, they’re both flung headfirst into a nightmare when members of the Book Splash start showing up dead. The first tragic death seemed like an accident, but when the body count rises higher than imaginable, and the deaths become more gruesome, it’s clear that a sinister force is stalking the ship, focused on the members of their group.

 

Trapped in the middle of the ocean.

Ensnared in a deadly game of kill or be killed.

What would you do in order to ensure your own survival?

 

For Rennie, Duke and the Book Splashers, their dream vacation may be their last.

 

 

Cassia Brightmore is a Canadian dark romance author. She loves writing dark stories with twisted characters that she hopes will thrill the reader as well as make them fall in love.

 

She loves hockey, video games and online shopping. If she’s not writing or editing, you can usually find her doing one of these things. Writing is her passion and publishing her first book as an indie author is truly a dream come true.

 

Her titles include:

 

The Darkness Series

Book One: Malevolent

Book Two: Evanesce

Book Three: Denouement

Book Four: Repentance

 

The Trauma Series

Book One: Lincoln Hospital

Book Two: Flatline

Book Three: Resuscitation

 

Standalones

Unworthy

 

FACEBOOK     WEBSITE     EMAIL     INSTAGRAM

 

 

 

Cover Reveal: Resuscitation by Cassia Brightmore

 

                                      Resuscitation (The Trauma Series #3) by Cassia Brightmore Author

                                                                       Genre: Dark Romance

                                                             Release Date: October 2nd, 2017

                                                                 Cover Model: Lance Jones

                                                               Photography by: Dave Kelley

                                  Cover Design: Concierge Literary Designs & Photography

 

 

 

Trust. No. One.

 

A mantra that Dr. Cian O’Reilly has lived by; never allowing any new insiders to pierce his inner circle. Until her. Dr. Athena Payne was his game changer, the woman he wanted to bring into his cloak of darkness; to share in his malicious desires of torture and terror as the executioner of all who escaped justice. But when faced with an alleged betrayal of that trust, how far will he go to seek his vengeance?

 

Love. Conquers. All.

 

Three words that Athena Payne has always believed whole-heartedly. In her determination to become a brilliant heart surgeon, her thirst for knowledge tossed her headlong into a hidden conspiracy, a deadly game of death intertwined with the complications of love. Trusting and loving Cian may very well be the last things she ever does as she’s faced with paying the ultimate price for allowing him into her heart.

 

Save a life. Take a life.

 

Will the hardest kill Cian’s ever faced be his last? As others circle closer to learning his true identity, interns and attendings alike face the possibility of losing everything they’ve fought so hard to gain.

 

Trust no one. Let love conquer all. And prepare for a shocking ending that you won’t see coming in this third installment of the Trauma Series.

 

Lincoln Hospital, where the cure can be your worst nightmare.

 

Warning: Contains violent and graphic situations not suitable for readers under the age of eighteen. This is the third book in the “Dexter” meets “Grey’s Anatomy” series and ends on a cliffhanger. All books must be read in order to follow the series.

 

 

 

 

 

On the twenty-third day—he hunts, bringing the scum of the earth to justice; his justice. Ending up as a patient on Dr. O’Reilly’s table could either save your life or end it in the most horrific way.

 

New York City. The infamous city that never sleeps; the place where dreams either shine brightly or shatter into razor sharp pieces of metal. For Dr. Cian O’Reilly, it’s the perfect city to disguise his dark alter ego. As a top surgeon at Lincoln Hospital, he has access to resources far beyond the reach of the average person; the ideal cover for his double life. By day, he’s the epitome of professionalism. By night, the facade is stripped away and his true depraved self is revealed.

 

When Dr. Athena Payne joins the roster as a new surgical intern, Cian’s carefully constructed life is thrown into turmoil. With her sunny smile and wide-eyed innocence, she threatens to break through his iron-like exterior, exposing the man beneath. Following her dream of becoming a cardiovascular surgeon, her internship at Lincoln Hospital is the first step in achieving her goals. Something about the dark air of mystery that surrounds her new boss, Dr. Cian O’Reilly, leaves Athena questioning just what it is that the good doctor is hiding.

 

A killer on the loose. A doctor wielding a deadly blade. An intern caught in the midst of first love and a lethal web of murder.

 

Lincoln Hospital. Where the cure can be your worst nightmare.

 

Warning: Contains violence and graphic situations not suitable for readers under the age of eighteen.

 

                   AMAZON US   AMAZON CA   AMAZON UK   AMAZON AUS   iBOOKS   NOOK    KOBO

 

 

Murder.

Deceit.

Revenge.

 

Within the walls of the prestigious Lincoln Hospital in New York City, a hunter awaits. A man with a thirst for blood and an appetite for vengeance. Dr. Cian O’Reilly, the city’s most respected cardiovascular surgeon, is living a double life, one bathed in torture and mayhem as he delivers final justice to the city’s most heinous criminals.

 

When a new influx of physicians joins the rotation, the struggle for anonymity intensifies as a nosy reporter inches closer to the truth about Cian’s true identity. In a dangerous game of kill or be killed, no one is safe and everyone is a potential victim.

 

A romance blossoming on the premise of murder. An escaped killer on the loose. A traitor in the midst intent on bringing them all down.

 

Lincoln Hospital. Where the cure can be your worst nightmare.

 

Warning: Contains violence and graphic situations not suitable for readers under the age of eighteen. This is the second book in the “Dexter” meets “Grey’s Anatomy” series and ends on a cliffhanger. All books must be read in order to follow the series.

 

                      AMAZON US   AMAZON CA   AMAZON UK   AMAZON AUS   iBOOKS   NOOK    KOBO

 

 

 

 

Cassia Brightmore is a Canadian dark romance author. She loves writing dark stories with twisted characters that she hopes will thrill the reader as well as make them fall in love.

 

She loves hockey, video games and online shopping. If she’s not writing or editing, you can usually find her doing one of these things. Writing is her passion and publishing her first book as an indie author is truly a dream come true.

 

Her titles include:

 

The Darkness Series

Book One: Malevolent

Book Two: Evanesce

Book Three: Denouement

Book Four: Repentance

 

The Trauma Series

Book One: Lincoln Hospital

Book Two: Flatline

 

Standalones

Unworthy

 

                                                      FACEBOOK     WEBSITE     EMAIL     INSTAGRAM

 

 

 

Cover Reveal: Flatline by Cassia Brightmore

 

 

Flatline by Cassia Brightmore

Genre: Dark Romance

Release Date: September 13th, 2016

Cover Design: Concierge Literary Designs

 

 

Murder.

Deceit.

Revenge.

 

Within the walls of the prestigious Lincoln Hospital in New York City, a hunter awaits. A man with a thirst for blood and an appetite for vengeance. Dr. Cian O’Reilly, the city’s most respected cardiovascular surgeon, is living a double life, one bathed in torture and mayhem as he delivers final justice to the city’s most heinous criminals.

 

When a new influx of physicians joins the rotation, the struggle for anonymity intensifies as a nosy reporter inches closer to the truth about Cian’s true identity. In a dangerous game of kill or be killed, no one is safe and everyone is a potential victim.

 

A romance blossoming on the premise of murder. An escaped killer on the loose. A traitor in the midst intent on bringing them all down.

 

Lincoln Hospital. Where the cure can be your worst nightmare.

 

Warning:Contains violence and graphic situations not suitable for readers under the age of eighteen. This is the second book in the “Dexter” meets “Grey’s Anatomy” series and ends on a cliffhanger. All books must be read in order to follow the series.

 

 

AMAZON US     AMAZON CA     AMAZON AUS     iBOOKS     KOBO     B&N

 

 

 

 

Cassia Brightmore is a dark romance author. She loves writing dark stories with twisted characters that she hopes will thrill the reader as well as make them fall in love.

 

She loves hockey, video games and online shopping. If she’s not writing or editing, you can usually find her doing one of these things. Writing is her passion and publishing her first book as an indie author is truly a dream come true.

 

Cassia lives in Ontario, Canada with her two furbabies; Molly and Harley.

 

Her titles include:

 

The Darkness Series

Book One: Malevolent

Book Two: Evanesce

Book Three: Denouement

Book Four: Repentance

 

The Trauma Series

Book One: Lincoln Hospital

 

To look for in 2016:

Unworthy

Mercenary

The Laird

 

 

Cover Reveal: Laird by Cassia Brightmore

 

 

Laird by: Cassia Brightmore

Genre: Historical Dark Romance

Release Date: June 23, 2018

Cover Design: Simply Defined Art

Model: Lance Jones

Photographer: LJ Photography

 

 

Sold.

Traded into the hands of a vicious man as a pawn in war.

Blair Cowan might have been brave, but nothing terrified her more than the dark soulless eyes of the Laird that owned her.

Fearing for her life or not, if he thought she would ever bend to his will; he was about to embark on the greatest battle of his life.

 

Grown men feared his wrath.

The fiercest warriors ran from his sword.

Battlefields stained in blood spoke of his victories; while vast lands sang of his savage need to possess everything in his path.

And yet, one slip of a girl dared to defy him.

Laird Duncan MuCullogh was not a man to be underestimated. Blair’s fate was his alone to decide. Breaking her would be his greatest accomplishment.

 

Ensnared in a deadly battle between clans, betrayal ran deep and death knocked often. Amidst the struggle to rise, two powerful Lairds would stop at nothing to be the last man standing. No matter the devious acts they needed to commit to get there.

 

Conquer. Annihilate. Defeat.

The Highlands of Scotland will never be the same.

 

 

 

Head on over to Cassia’s Author Page on Facebook to enter an exclusive giveaway!

 

 

 

 

Cassia Brightmore is a Canadian dark romance author. She loves writing dark stories with twisted characters that she hopes will thrill the reader as well as make them fall in love.

 

She loves hockey, video games and online shopping. If she’s not writing or editing, you can usually find her doing one of these things. Writing is her passion and publishing her first book as an indie author is truly a dream come true.

 

Her titles include:

 

The Darkness Series

Book One: Malevolent

Book Two: Evanesce

Book Three: Denouement

Book Four: Repentance

 

The Trauma Series

Book One: Lincoln Hospital

Book Two: Flatline

Book Three: Resuscitation

 

Standalones

Unworthy

The Book Splash Horror Story

 

FACEBOOK     WEBSITE     EMAIL     INSTAGRAM

 

 

Review: The Angel Makers by Tessa Harris

 

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

In Victorian England, flower seller Constance Piper goes searching for the truth behind a new rash of murders in London’s East End . . .

In November 1888, the specter of Jack the Ripper instills fear in every woman who makes her living on the streets of London. But there are other monsters at large, those who shun fame and secretly claim their victims from among the city’s most vulnerable . . .

Options are few for unmarried mothers in Victorian England. To avoid stigma, many find lodging with “baby farmers”–women who agree to care for the infant, or find an adoptive family, in exchange for a fee. Constance Piper, a flower seller gifted with clairvoyance, has become aware of one such baby farmer, Mother Delaney, who promises to help desperate young mothers and place their babies in loving homes. She suspects the truth is infinitely darker.

Guided by the spirit of her late friend, Emily Tindall, Constance gathers evidence about what really goes on behind the walls of Mother Delaney’s Poplar house. It’s not only innocent children who are at risk. A young prostitute’s body is found in mysterious circumstances. With the aid of Detective Constable Hawkins, newly promoted thanks to Constance’s help with his last case, Constance links the death to Mother Delaney’s vile trade. But the horror is edging closer to home, and even the hangman’s noose may not be enough to put this evil to rest . . .

Rating: 4-stars

Review:

The Angel Makers by Tessa Harris is a story with a dark and most intriguing plot. Women who are helpless, desperate, and single with children…are being picked off. Until, the main protagonist, Constance Piper, works with the police to discover how, who, and why. The danger escalates and the intensity of the situation feels so real. It was like I was actually there in Constance’s shoes.

The characterization was well-done. I immediately took to both Constance Piper and her friend Detective Constable Hawkins. They made a great team in unraveling the clues. However, it is due to Constance’s special gift that the investigations get solved.

There was plenty of action and mystery to enjoy. Tessa Harris swept me into her book and caught my full attention. I did not read the previous novel, in this series, and I was able to follow along just fine. The time period was fun and realistic. I love historical reads with some dark and hidden thing to unravel. In this case, the death of the women and the mastermind behind it all. Overall, I loved reading this mystery and recommend it to other readers.

 

Review: Gone on a Sunday by Tower Lowe

 

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

Polio disabled Cotton Lee’s leg, but not her sexuality, not her mind, and not her ability to connect the murder of her friend Little Mary in 1972 to that of Bead Baker in 1932. Gone on Sunday follows the lives of the Baker family, their black servants, and the townspeople they knew in Homeville, Virginia. Alternating between 1972 and 1932, Cotton Lee’s investigation into the murder of Bead Baker brings out secrets kept for decades. With suspects ranging from a housewife, to a cook, and even a rumored witch, Cotton Lee needs to find the solution to the first murder in order to know the history of the second.

Rating: 5-stars

Review:

Gone on Sunday by Tower Lowe is a an interesting murder mystery full of twists and turns. Tower Lowe kept me guessing on what was happening now and back in time. There was a connection between the two murders. But how much of a connection and why? Secrets come out and more questions pop up…the further I read, the more I could not stop reading. I had to know what, who, when, and why.

The characterization was amazing. Cotton Lee is the strongest female character I have read about and yet she has been suffering from Polio. It does not stop her. It’s like a birthmark to her. Cotton Lee lives her life fully and never shied away from solving the murders. The variety of cast makes this even more entertaining and exciting to follow. Engaging, suspenseful, dark, and well-written…Gone on a Sunday is a recommended read for all. How one woman digs through both present and past to solve not one but two murder investigations…is indeed a journey to pick up.

Review: The Boy at the Door by Alex Dahl

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

This riveting psychological suspense debut by Alex Dahl asks the question, “how far would you go to hold on to what you have?”

Cecilia Wilborg has it all–a loving husband, two beautiful daughters, and a gorgeous home in an affluent Norwegian suburb. And she works hard to keep it all together. Too hard…

There is no room for mistakes in her life. Even taking home a little boy whose parents forgot to pick him up at the pool can put a crimp in Cecilia’s carefully planned schedule. Especially when she arrives at the address she was given
and finds an empty, abandoned house…

There’s nothing for Cecilia to do but to take the boy home with her, never realizing that soon his quiet presence and knowing eyes will trigger unwelcome memories from her past–and unravel her meticulously crafted life…

Rating: 3.5-stars

Review:

The Boy at the Door by Alex Dahl is a psychological mystery more so than a thriller. Yes, it’s dark. But it has more psychological issues than frightening tones. I found this novel to be more filled with suspense. Every page kept me guessing. I couldn’t figure it out…and I am still left guessing what really happened. Two women have their lives completely tangled and brought upside down…their families have gone through secrets, lies, and deceptions. Cecilia is a tightly controlled woman who breaks apart when her perfect life breaks apart. Who knew picking up a child, would be the start to a hellish nightmare. I did not feel any fear with this tale. It swept me up deeper into the inner turmoils of each woman. Annika is a woman whose life was the darkest and most intense. She was like a shadow lurking on every page. Their stories are so sad. I felt their pain as if it were my own. The emotional journey was well-done.

Review: No Cure for the Dead by Christine Trent

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

When a young nurse dies on her watch, Florence Nightingale must uncover the deep-hidden secrets someone will kill to keep buried.

It is 1853. Lady of the Lamp Florence Nightingale has just accepted the position of Superintendent of the Establishment for Gentlewomen During Temporary Illness in London. She has hardly had time to learn the names of the nurses in her charge when she suddenly finds one of them hanging in the Establishment’s library. Her name was Nurse Bellamy.

Florence’s mettle is tested by the dual goals of preserving what little reputation her hospital has and bringing Nurse Bellamy’s killer to justice. Her efforts are met with upturned noses and wayward glances except for her close friend and advocate inside the House of Commons, Sidney Herbert. As Florence digs deeper, however, her attention turns to one of the hospital investors and suddenly, Sidney becomes reluctant to help.

With no one but herself to count on, Florence must now puzzle out what the death of an unknown, nondescript young nurse has to do with conspiracies lurking about at the highest levels of government before she’s silenced too.

For fans of Anne Perry and Laurie R. King comes No Cure for the Dead, the rich and enthralling series debut from Christine Trent.

Rating: 4.5-stars

Review:

No Cure for the Dead by Christine Tent is an interesting yet deadly read. A young nurse is recruited as head of a hospital. What she finds once there, is more than any nurse should ever see. A suicide that bears the marks of a murder, nurses who are cruel and scheming, and several affairs going on in a secret room. One murder may turn t multiple murders. But head nurse, Florence, makes sure no one else dies under her care. Danger, risks, and trouble are brewing on these pages. Florence is a smart and well-educated no nonsense kind of woman. She takes full responsibility and does not turn away from hardships. I liked her a lot. It was easy to fall into the novel’s plot. It was thick with mystery, mayhem, and death. I enjoyed following nurse Florence as she went about fixing the sad state of the hospital and finding the real murder before it got way worse. Some of the characters are left with scars but will survive. Overall, I highly recommend this murder medical mystery to all.

Review: How Not to Let Go by Emily Foster

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

From the author of How Not to Fall comes an electrifying, powerful new story about love, trust, and emotional surrender.

Once upon a time, med student Annie Coffey set out to have a purely physical fling with Charles Douglas, a gorgeous British doctor in her lab. It didn’t quite work out that way. Instead, secrets—and desires—were bared, hearts were broken, and Annie knew she had to leave this complicated, compelling man who remains convinced he can never give her what she needs.

Walking away is one thing. Staying away is another. Annie and Charles reunite at a London conference, rekindling a friendship they struggle to protect from their intense physical connection. Little by little, Annie gets a glimpse into Charles’s dark past and his wealthy, dysfunctional family. Soon, she’s discovering what it means to have someone claim her, body and soul. And she’s learning that once in a lifetime you find a love that can make you do anything…except let go.

Rating: 3-stars

Review:

How Not to Let Go by Emily Foster is by far not the best novel I have read. It has the strong emotional attachment. Yay! But the characters…what in the world s going on? They find they are attracted as hel, to each other but one of them cannot accept the fact that love is indeed a thing. This male character believes he will lose the best thing that has happened to him and that being is the main character, Annie. Annie and Charles mostly have this weird as hell sex relationship. It feels like a tug and pull situation. Okay, have sex but afterwards go away from me kind of feeling. This situation keeps happening repeatedly throughout the book. I was confused as I haven’t read the first novel in this series. However, based on what I have read, I am happy I did not read the first novel. While I would love to give this book 4-stars for the sad yet intense emotional ride, I just can’t. The story was more a bad sex scene where the man manipulated his female girlfriend in both physical and emotional ways. For those reasons, I cannot connect to either character or feel for them. The entire time, I keep asking why is she interested in him, move forward, lady! The characters felt like two losers who were stuck on some form of attachment to each other and ended up bearing all abuse and emotions that they caused each other. It was just insane. A mad house, actually. I believe the author could have written a better book. It could have been epic. Yet, it was just intense, insane, and fluff. Overall, I would not recommend this book to anyone.

 

Review: The Crooked Staircase

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

“I could be dead tomorrow. Or something worse than dead.”

Jane Hawk knows she may be living on borrowed time. But as long as she’s breathing, she’ll never cease her one-woman war against the terrifying conspiracy that threatens the freedom–and free will–of millions. Battling the strange epidemic of murder-suicides that claimed Jane’s husband, and is escalating across the country, has made the rogue FBI agent a wanted fugitive, relentlessly hunted not only by the government but by the secret cabal behind the plot. Deploying every resource their malign nexus of power and technology commands, Jane’s enemies are determined to see her dead . . . or make her wish she was.

Jane’s ruthless pursuers can’t stop her from drawing a bead on her prey: a cunning man with connections in high places, a twisted soul of unspeakable depths with an army of professional killers on call. Propelled by her righteous fury and implacable insistence on justice, Jane will make her way from southern California to the snow-swept slopes of Lake Tahoe to confront head-on the lethal forces arrayed against her. But nothing can prepare her for the chilling truth that awaits when she descends the crooked staircase to the dark and dreadful place where her long nightmare was born.

Rating: 3.5-stars

Review:

The Crooked Staircase by Dean Koontz is by far the darkest thriller I’ve read in awhile. That’s a good thing…however, there was not a ray of sunshine in this book. I felt like any hope for the main protagonist and her son were none to slim. There should have been a feeling of a fifty-fifty chance that Hope was possible for them. The bad guys were looming over them like giants. It felt as though they had already lost way before I got too deep into the plot.

The protagonist, Jane, has potential as being well-liked. I liked her personality and determination to win even if there was not any chance of coming out alive. She made me want to believe that there was a rainbow at the end…yet, I got more danger than I bargained for instead. Dark, intense, and deadly…just one wrong move and it felt that the whole book could have ended a lot sooner than it did.

The suspense was great. Dean Koontz definitely knew how to wield power of intrigue and fear into his readers. I was frightened enough that I wouldn’t want to read this novel twice. But it was good. Those who are always searching for that darker, more powerful thriller…this is it!

Review: The Clarity by Keith Thomas

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

Dr. Matilda Deacon is a psychologist researching how memories are made and stored when she meets a strange eleven-year-old girl named Ashanique. Ashanique claims to harbor the memories of the last soldier killed in World War I and Matilda is at first very interested but skeptical. However, when Ashanique starts talking about being chased by the Night Doctors—a term also used by an unstable patient who was later found dead—Matilda can’t deny that the girl might be telling the truth.

Matilda learns that Ashanique and her mother have been on the run their whole lives from a monstrous assassin named Rade. Rade is after a secret contained solely in memories and has left a bloody trail throughout the world in search of it. Matilda soon realizes Ashanique is in unimaginable danger and that her unique ability comes with a deadly price.

Rating: 3.5-stars

Review:

The Clarity by Keith Thomas is an interesting read combining fictional elements and nonfictional information together. The frightening parts about experimental portions were based on some real experiences that did really happen to people. The characters were okay. But no emotional attachment that made me want to really connect with them. I thought they were fine but but not were Inwould be talking bout how great they were. The plot was gruesome, dark, and intense as was expected with some of the things mentioned. There was a lot of action in this novel. I would have been happier if there was more to the characters. There needed to be more on the interaction and backstory between/of the characters. It just felt felt flat to me.

The novel did hold a promising tale…Dr. Matilda is by far the worst character. She is a doctor interested in the whole journey of memory and past lives. Yet she wasn’t what I expected and didn’t meet the expectations for her role in this story. There were other characters that I did really like and thought that Keith Thomas did a fine job in creating. Characters like Kojo and Brandon were believable and enjoyable to follow.

The Clarity was fast-paced, action packed, and full of government misuse. Like the medical experiments that still bring a chill down my back. A lot of conspiracy themes are found inside the book. Overall, it was good and suspenseful.

 

Review: Betrayed by Nick Haskins

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

Sixteen years ago, William Majors Sr. made his young son, Billy, a promise that he would always take care of him after his mother died. He vowed to raise his son into a man he would someday be proud of. William also vowed not to take another wife until Billy was all grown up, so he opted to live as a single man. That all changed the day Jennifer Payne walked into his life. Her seductive body and stunning beauty instantaneously captures William . . . and Billy. When Billy secretly deceives William – seemingly overnight – Jennifer finds herself trapped in a dangerous love trio with both Father and son. When she chooses one over the other, a deadly line of betrayal will be crossed that will shake The Majors’ forever . . .

Rating: 4-stars

Review:

Betrayed by Nick Haskins is an interesting drama. One small family lost their loved one.  Now many years later, a father is ready to love again. Yet this new character may just rip them apart. The plot was intense, dark, and sad. I felt sympathy for the father and son. Some things are easy to steer away from while other temptations are not. Jennifer Payne was exactly that. She ended up destroying what mattered most.  Watching the destruction of a father and son relationship was hard. It was an huge emotional  mess.

Nick Haskins is a creative writer. His novel was entertaining and deeply engaging. Themes of love, lies, and betrayal are found here. Family, loss, and grief are the other remaining themes readers will find. The father was my favorite character. He had the best intentions and was trying to do well by his son. For that reason, it was easy to connect with William. Overall, the plot was promising but a bit slow due to the telling instead of showing. I recommend this drama action filled story to all readers.

Review: Exhibit Alexandra

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

He thought he knew everything about her until she went missing.

Before she disappeared, Alexandra Southwood lived an average, happy life: devoted to her wonderful husband, Marc, and caring for her two beautiful daughters. But now, held in a room against her will, Alexandra is forced to think about all she’s lost, and imagine how Marc and her daughters are coping in the wake of her disappearance. She’s shown news clips of Marc, desperately appealing to the public for information on her whereabouts. She tortures herself with visions of her family’s devastated new reality. And as she envisions Marc’s distress, she can’t help but remember their courtship, their marriage–all that he saved her from and all that they’ve built together.

Marc’s pain is visceral. He thinks of nothing but her. Even when the police discover Alexandra’s bloody belongings by the river, turning their missing-persons case into a murder investigation, he cannot accept that she is lost to him. He shifts from total despair to frantic action, embarking on his own journey through the dark maze of secrets she kept and passions he never understood. Following a trail that leads him to find answers to questions he never meant to ask, he’s forced to confront how frighteningly little he’s grasped about the woman he loves.

EXHIBIT ALEXANDRA is a shocking psychological portrait, an original and unrelenting thriller that ultimately proves how unknowable even those closest to us can be.

Rating: 4.5-stars

Review:

Exhibit Alexandra by Natasha Bell is a fascinating thriller. So many twists and turns to keep readers, like myself, intrigued for hours. Alex is a character that was a puzzle within a puzzle. From the synopsis, I had so many questions. As the plot dug deeper, I felt her husband’ Spain and surprise at what was discovered. Marc is the loving husband who goes to very deep depths just to find his missing wife. I applaud a man who is that deeply attached to his wife. A love that shocked me. The story flowed easily. It was a bit strange but well-told.

Review: Shattered Mirror by Iris Johansen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author comes Shattered Mirror, a new explosive thriller featuring forensic sculptor Eve Duncan.

Forensic sculptor Eve Duncan is once again thrown into a deadly game of intrigue when she receives a cryptic package containing a skull and a two sided mirror. Eve is determined to reconstruct the skull and uncover the mystery of the person’s identity, and when she does, the face of a beautiful woman begins to emerge. But who is she?

As Eve gets closer and closer to finding the answer, she becomes swept up in a lethal chase that spans continents and threatens to destroy the family that she has worked so hard to bring together. Eve and her team must work quickly to discover who is behind the murder – and maybe even prevent more loss of life. But how do you fight a killer who is willing to destroy anyone as a means to an end?

No one is safe in #1 New York Times bestselling author Iris Johansen’s next explosive, high-stakes thriller that will keep readers on the edge of their seat through every heart-pounding chapter.

Rating: 4.5-stars

Review:

Once more, I am lured deep into Eve Duncan’s deadly world. The dead Speak to,her in terms of their bones. Eve Duncan can take bones and reconstruct them in a way that shows who or what they were before they ended up dead. I love that about Eve. Now, Eve is a mother and a wife. She’s being targeted by a killer. The killer doesn’t like Eve and the way she’s handling everything. It bothers the killer until the killer feels only rage and hatred. Because Eve is upsetting the killer, her little boy becomes the target. From there her world spins out of control.

Iris Johansen’s latest novel, Shattered Mirror, is the most intriguing mystery I’ve read. The suspense builds up into an intense atmosphere. There was plenty of action to keep me guessing and keep me hooked. Mystery, murder, and chaos are found in this new thriller. I absolutely loved it. Overall, I highly recommend this Eve Duncan novel.

 

Review: Then She Was Gone

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

“More than a whiff of The Lovely Bones wafts through this haunting domestic noir from bestseller Jewell…Skillfully told by several narrators (some of them ghostly), Jewell’s gripping novel is an emotionally resonant story of loss, grief, and renewal.” —Publishers Weekly

Ten years after her teenage daughter goes missing, a woman connects with a charming single father, but she is still haunted by her child’s disappearance in this “deeply emotional and incredibly clever” (Mail Online) thriller from the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of I Found You.

Ellie Mack was the perfect daughter. She was fifteen, the youngest of three. She was beloved by her parents, friends, and teachers. She and her boyfriend made a teenaged golden couple. She was days away from an idyllic post-exams summer vacation, with her whole life ahead of her.

And then she was gone.

Now, her mother Laurel Mack is trying to put her life back together. It’s been ten years since her daughter disappeared, seven years since her marriage ended, and only months since the last clue in Ellie’s case was unearthed. So when she meets an unexpectedly charming man in a café, no one is more surprised than Laurel at how quickly their flirtation develops into something deeper. Before she knows it, she’s meeting Floyd’s daughters—and his youngest, Poppy, takes Laurel’s breath away.

Because looking at Poppy is like looking at Ellie. And now, the unanswered questions she’s tried so hard to put to rest begin to haunt Laurel anew. Where did Ellie go? Did she really run away from home, as the police have long suspected, or was there a more sinister reason for her disappearance? Who is Floyd, really? And why does his daughter remind Laurel so viscerally of her own missing girl?

Rating: 4-stars

Review:

Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell is an intriguing yet dark thriller. The suspense killed me. It started off okay but then I was not as surprised anymore. This book is a journey of a mother who lost her young daughter. Now, after so much time has passed, she meets someone who has a daughter that looks like the duplicate of her lost daughter. From there things get darker fast…and the emotional rollercoaster will be crazy. Overall, it was a good read.

Review: After Anna by Lisa Scottoline

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

Nobody cuts deeper than family…

Dr. Noah Alderman, a widower and single father, has remarried a wonderful woman, Maggie Ippolitti, and for the first time in a long time, he and his young son are happy. Despite her longing for the daughter she hasn’t seen since she was a baby, Maggie is happy too, and she’s even more overjoyed when she unexpectedly gets another chance to be a mother to the child she thought she’d lost forever, her only daughter Anna.

Maggie and Noah know that having Anna around will change their lives, but they would never have guessed that everything would go wrong, and so quickly. Anna turns out to be a gorgeous seventeen-year-old who balks at living under their rules, though Maggie, ecstatic to have her daughter back, ignores the red flags that hint at the trouble brewing in a once-perfect marriage and home.

Events take a heartbreaking turn when Anna is murdered and Noah is accused and tried for the heinous crime. Maggie must face not only the devastation of losing her daughter, but the realization that Anna’s murder may have been at the hands of a husband she loves. In the wake of this tragedy, new information drives Maggie to search for the truth, leading her to discover something darker than she could have ever imagined.

Riveting and disquieting, After Anna is a groundbreaking domestic thriller, as well as a novel of emotional justice and legal intrigue. And New York Times bestselling author Lisa Scottoline will keep readers on their toes until the final shocking page.

 

 

Praise for Lisa Scottoline:

“Scottoline keeps the pace relentless as she drops a looming threat into the heart of an idyllic suburban community, causing readers to hold their breath in anticipation.” —Booklist on One Perfect Lie

“Readers can be assured that the author nails the high school milieu, from athletic rivalries to sexting…they’re in for one thrilling ride.” —Kirkus on One Perfect Lie

“Entertaining…This fast-paced read culminates in a daring chase that would play well on the big screen.” —Publishers Weekly

 

 

Rating: 4.5-stars

Review:

After Anna by Lisa Scottoline is an intense thriller. A deadly journey where people have died and other may still die. A father wrongly accused of murdering his wife’s daughter. He never killed anyone and the dead girl isn’t who they originally thought she was. This family was torn apart and ruined. Only to be bounded together again once more. However, getting back together, will depend on timing. If they’re too late the husband dies and so does the real daughter. But if timed right, they may just end of saving both. The FBI are involved after a therapist finds out that the young girl isn’t the one matching in the newspaper. This whole time, the innocent have been trapped and tortured. I was filled with intrigue. This book kept me guessing. I was afraid of what the outcome would be. Lisa Scottoline has once again, written a title worthy of reading. Dramatic, frightening, and emotional…After Anna is a journey of survival and hope in a world of darkness. Overall, I recommend it to readers everywhere.

 

Review: Sirens by Joseph Knox

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

 

 

“Razor-sharp urban noir…very special indeed.” — Lee Child 

 

The breathtakingly propulsive and stunningly assured debut thriller, perfect for readers of Tana French, Don Winslow and Dennis Lehane

The mission is suicide.

Infiltrating the inner circle of enigmatic criminal Zain Carver is dangerous enough. Pulling it off while also rescuing Isabelle Rossiter, a runaway politician’s daughter, from Zain’s influence? Impossible. That’s why Aidan Waits is the perfect man for the job. Disgraced, emotionally damaged, and despised by his superiors. In other words, completely expendable.

But Aidan is a born survivor. And as he works his way deep into Zain’s shadowy world, he finds that nothing is as it seems. Zain is a mesmerizing, Gatsby-esque figure who lures young women into his orbit–women who have a bad habit of turning up dead. But is Zain really responsible? And will Isabelle be next?

Before long, Aidan finds himself in over his head, cut loose by his superiors, and dangerously attracted to the wrong woman.

How can he save the girl if he can’t even save himself?

Rating: 4-stars

Review:

Sirens by Joseph Knox is a dark web that left my adrenaline spiking. Fast-paced with tons of action, this novel is a must read. Aidan is the main protagonist who is taken into a world he hardly knows and is alone to continuing where he left off…criminals, murder, and not enough clues left Aidan helpless. He kept digging and finding himself in situations that made me hold me breath. I was not sure what Aidan was going to find but only knew that it would get bigger and more intense as the plot flew by. The pages were engaging. Aidan is recruited into helping a young woman from being the next victim. Whether or not he accomplished this, is for me no to tell. But I will say, that is was fun to read.

Review: Severed by VL Towler

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

The Louisiana parish of Nakadee, a typical town of Creoles, Cajuns, Blacks, and Whites, is more interested in its annual Hot Sauce Festival than in the lives of two eccentric celebrity writers living in the “Hollykook” house. Dr. Lula Logan, a Northerner teaching forensic anthropology at the local university—and researching the stories buried in the graves of local slaves—is reluctantly drawn into an investigation by her ex-boyfriend, a detective, regarding a severed finger left at the Police Department. As the investigation expands, she is caught up in a romantic tug-of-war with an enigmatic U.S. Congressman who turns her liberal worldview upside down. She is also thrust into the lives of the town’s colorful suspects, including a head-turning Confederate-sympathizing college student, a precocious wanna-be- rapper, and a scholarly handyman.

Everybody is connected in Nakadee, which leads to intriguing alliances among the rich, not so rich, and those on their way to being important. When the crimes become a murder investigation, Lula discovers that small towns like Nakadee are not always what they seem, and sometimes hide very big secrets.

Rating: 4-stars

Review:

Severed by VL Towler is  the perfect book to reading during this month (March). This novel features a black educated woman who is plunged into a big murder investigation. From politics to the crazy locals, Dr. Lula and her ex-boyfriend will have their hands full. The cultural aspects of the different characters inside this fictional town was fun to read. Louisiana is the best place for this kind of chaos and murder to happen. It felt real. A lot of racial issues were brought into this story. Blacks versus whites etc. and the danger is enough to cause a sense of fear… chills running down my back. Here, unlike most stories a black person is behind the danger…and Dr. Lula will find her life in danger. Survival, forensics, and chasing after a killer kept me entertained. I cannot wait to see what happens next. Overall, the plot was good (3.5-stars), the intrigue and suspense (4-stars each), the characterization is spot on (5-stars).

Review: The Scent of Rain

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

Rose Madsen will do anything to keep from being married off to one of the men in her Fundamentalist Mormon (FLDS) community, even endure the continued beatings and abuse of her mother. But when her mentally handicapped baby sister is forced to strangle the bird she loves at the behest of the Prophet, Rose frees the bird and runs away.

Adan Reyes will do anything to escape the abusive foster care system in Phoenix, even leaving his good friends and successful high school athletic career behind him. Ill-prepared for surviving the desert, Adan hits the road only to suffer heat stroke. Found by a local handyman, he catches a glimpse of a mysterious girl–Rose–running through town, and follows her into the mountains where they are both tracked and discovered by the men of the FLDS community.

With their fates now intertwined, can Rose and Adan escape the systems locking them into lives of abuse? Will Rose be forced to marry the Prophet, a man her father’s age, and be one of dozens of wives, perpetually pregnant, with no hope for an education? Will Adan be returned to the foster home where bullying and cruelty are common? Is everyone they meet determined to keep them right where they belong or are some adults worthy of their trust?

Rating: 4-stars

Review:

The Scent of Rain by Anne Montgomery is an intriguing novel about Mormons and their cults. Young girls are expected to marry older men with dozens of wives. This is sexual abuse and outrageous. Inside this story is about one young woman with dreams of her own who escapes that life and runs for it. Animal cruelty is also found here, as well. I felt outraged. It was both sad, frustrating and frightening to read. This kind of stuff still happens, today. The writer has done her research into these topics that are covered in her novel. It is both an eye opener and a nightmare. The plot itself was engaging. I was hooked on following Rose, the main protagonist and her new found friend, Adian. Together, they both are running away from their lives. Escaping from things they should not have to worry about but do. Overall, this book was a good read. I recommend it to readers everywhere.

Review: The House of Binding Thorns

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

The multi-award-winning author of The House of Shattered Wings continues her Dominion of the Fallen saga as Paris endures the aftermath of a devastating arcane war….

As the city rebuilds from the onslaught of sorcery that nearly destroyed it, the great Houses of Paris, ruled by Fallen angels, still contest one another for control over the capital.

House Silverspires was once the most powerful, but just as it sought to rise again, an ancient evil brought it low. Phillippe, an immortal who escaped the carnage, has a singular goal—to resurrect someone he lost. But the cost of such magic might be more than he can bear.

In House Hawthorn, Madeleine the alchemist has had her addiction to angel essence savagely broken. Struggling to live on, she is forced on a perilous diplomatic mission to the underwater dragon kingdom—and finds herself in the midst of intrigues that have already caused one previous emissary to mysteriously disappear….

As the Houses seek a peace more devastating than war, those caught between new fears and old hatreds must find strength—or fall prey to a magic that seeks to bind all to its will.

Rating: 3-stars

Review:

The House of Binding Thorns by Aliette De Bodard is a fallen angel story. Fallen angels among others are fighting to own Paris. But after a war, they are struggling to make the city strong again. Still fighting over ownership, two houses are trying to combine power of ownership. Yet destruction still hangs in the air…ready to strike once more. Power, fear, and loyalties are tested within these pages. The plot felt slow to me. I felt like I was dragged through the book, in the slowest way possible. I did not feel connected to the characters. It was like they did whatever they felt like doing for their own goals. This book held potential to be more than what it presented. However, it fell short of those expectations.

 

Review: Dead Until Dark (book 1)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

Sookie Stackhouse is just a small-time cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana. Until the vampire of her dreams walks into her life-and one of her coworkers checks out…. Maybe having a vampire for a boyfriend isn’t such a bright idea.

Rating: 4-stars

Review:

Funny, quirky, and intriguing…

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris is the first novel in the Sookie Stackhouse series. I found it bizarre, quirky, and entertaining. Murder, mayhem, and paranormal characters all in one great read. Sookie is a good looking blonde human being who can read minds and see vampires who glow. She fascinates Bill. Bill is a vampire, who has just moved to Sookie’s town to settle down. Both fascinate each other. Soon, their friendship becomes more. Sookie is appalled by the other vampires and feels distant with Sam. It was interesting to follow these characters as their problems escalated and their relationship developed. The plot was steady. The characters felt real. Overall, it was a good paranormal romance.

 

Review: Crooked Principles

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

Elijah Warren was a workaholic for the FBI, but during his hunt for the vicious “Poetic Murderer,” he fell in love with Aurelia Blanc—a beautiful and erudite forensic pathologist—and they barely escaped with their lives. They’ve since left the FBI for slower days and a mountain cabin, but a desperate call from remote Alaska leaves them not a choice.

Grizzly is a town of less than a hundred people, and for twelve straight years one of them has been killed. No one talks about the murders, like long- ignored secrets. In fact, it seems no one talks at all. But there’s a sick change in the pattern of death, and a mournful mother wants answers after her five- year-old son is stabbed and bludgeoned to death.

Something is very wrong in the diffident town of Grizzly, and stranded by the winter, Elijah and Aurelia face the killer daily, with paranoia as real as the icy air of Alaska. This is nothing like they’ve faced before.

Whose dark past will reveal Grizzly’s secrets?

Rating: 4.5-stars

Review:

Crooked Principles by Kevin Cady is the second novel in this exciting series. I was hooked. There was enough danger, risks, and mystery to keep my interest. My eyes were glued to every word. The plot was engaging. The pages seemed to fly by quickly. Fear, death, and a dark game from a killer is chilling to read. Suspenseful, edgy, and thrilling…I recommend this mystery/thriller to readers everywhere.

Review: The Cabin Sessions

Synopsis:

The Cabin Sessions is a confronting, hard-hitting, dark psychological thriller told with acid wit. Themes of abuse are explored through minds distorted by fear and corrupted by hatred and delusion; this is a tale in which redemption is gained in unexpected ways.

It’s Christmas Eve when hapless musician Adam Banks stands on the bridge over the river that cleaves the isolated village of Burton. A storm is rolling into the narrow mountain pass. He thinks of turning back. Instead, he resolves to fulfil his obligation to perform the guest spot at The Cabin Sessions. He should be looking forward to it, but fear stirs when he opens the door on the Cabin’s incense-choked air.

Philip Stone is already there, brooding. He observes with a ruthless eye the regulars, from sleazy barmaid Hannah Fisher, to old crone Cynthia Morgan.

Meanwhile, Philip’s sister, Eva, prepares to take a bath. It¿s a ritual – she’s a breath holder. At twenty-eight, Eva has returned to Burton to finish the business of her past, as memories begin to surface concerning one fateful day by the river and the innocence of her beloved brother…

Rating: 4-stars

Review:

The Cabin Sessions by Isobel Blackthorn is a dark edgy read. There’s an a lot hatred, anger, and fear represented in this thriller/mystery. The tale is built upon the motions of the characters. Their emotions cause for reactions that may cause them more problems. The internal war inside of the characters felt like a heavy dark blanket that simply would not lift away. The plot was interesting. It kept me wondering how it would explode and when. There were a few grammatical errors that made some lines confusing, other than that it was easy to read. Complex, intriguing, and a bit sinister…yet entertaining. The cast of characters was different from my usual reading kind but they added more to this book. Overall, it was good read.

Review: Ghost Moon (book 3)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

Reclusive collector Cutter Merlin is seldom seen in Key West lately, not at all. Officer Liam Beckett visits Merlin’s curious house and discovers the gentleman in his study. In his death grip: a volume of occult lore and a reliquary. His eyes are wide with fright, his mouth a horrified rictus where spiders now dwell.

Kelsey Donovan returns to the old house to catalog her estranged grandfather’s collection of artifacts and antiquities, vowing to see his treasures divested properly. But she cannot ignore the sense that she’s being watched, the reports of malevolent black figures, the pervasive smell of death.
Is the Merlin house haunted, even cursed? Liam knows well that some ghost stories are true and he swears to protect Kelsey. But there are forces at work for whom one more life is a pittance to pay for their deepest desire.

Rating: 4.5-stars

Review:

Ghost Moon by Heather Graham is full of spook. Chills, ghosts, and hauntings are found here. I was hooked. The mystery in this last part of the series was really evil. A man once known to a family ends up killing them all for a power in some object. But what he does not know is that the surviving member is friends with a cop who can also see and hear a ghost. A friendly ghost who helps the protagonists with their ongoing investigation. An old house full of creepy objects that would give anyone nightmares. Rumors of devil worship and black magic fill the pages. Only there is an evil human behind it all. And there’s another ghost wanting to destroy the human. The ending was bittersweet. I will miss Bartholomew. His personality and help were a major part of the attraction to this series. I cannot believe the series has finally come to an end…I loved all the protagonists and ghosts alike. Overall, I recommend this suspenseful yet dark read to all.