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Tag: Crime (Page 2 of 10)

Book Review: Protecting Tanner Hollow

November 7, 2019 / / 0 Comments

Protecting Tanner Hollow – Lynette Eason – Tanner Hollow #1-4 – Revell – Published 5 November 2019

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Synopsis

Lethal Homecoming
Nolan Tanner never got over Kallie Ainsworth’s sudden, unexplained departure. Now when he comes to her rescue after an attempt on her life, all the old feelings come rushing back.

Lethal Conspiracy
When professional fundraiser Lillian Maloney sees her father’s campaign manager commit murder, she goes on the run from the men he hires to kill her. A close call brings firefighter Jason Tanner to the rescue, but the killer is closing in . . .

Lethal Secrets
Someone wants Honor McBride dead. When Eli Murphy helps her change a flat tire and discovers the danger Honor is in, he longs to help–but Eli has secrets of his own that could get them all killed.

Lethal Agenda
When Detective Derek St. John rescues a woman he’s met only once before–and has never been able to forget–he finds himself falling for her. But he’ll have to keep Claire Montgomery alive if they’re to have a future together.

My thoughts

Protecting Tanner Hollow is a collection of four novellas. Fast-paced and with plenty of romance, these four suspense novellas will have readers as eager to know who the bad guys are as they will be eager for a happy ever after ending.

The first story, Lethal Homecoming, follows Kallie Ainsworth as she returns home after six years away. After her mother remarried, Kallie faced physical and verbal abuse from her harsh step-father and only his death has her brave enough to return. But his death is not an innocent as it seems and before Kallie has even stepped foot inside her family home, someone is trying to kill her. With the help of an old flame, Detective Nolan Tanner vows to keep Kallie safe as they try to find the person behind it all. Simple story, unfortunately, this was my least favourite of the four novellas. So, if you too didn’t enjoy this first one, keep reading, as they all get significantly better.

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Book Review: The Athena Protocol

September 27, 2019 / / 0 Comments

The Athena Protocol – Shamim Sarif – HarperTeen – Published 8 October 2019

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Synopsis

Jessie Archer is a member of the Athena Protocol, an elite organization of female spies who enact vigilante justice around the world.

Athena operatives are never supposed to shoot to kill—so when Jessie can’t stop herself from pulling the trigger, she gets kicked out of the organization, right before a huge mission to take down a human trafficker in Belgrade.

Jessie needs to right her wrong and prove herself, so she starts her own investigation into the trafficking. But going rogue means she has no one to watch her back as she delves into the horrors she uncovers. Meanwhile, her former teammates have been ordered to bring her down. Jessie must face danger from all sides if she’s to complete her mission—and survive.

My thoughts

The Athena Protocol is a fantastic YA action thriller with a whole cast of strong and diverse women who are unafraid to take risks to bring the bad guys down. High action scenes, surveillance with cool tech, hand-to-hand combat and sniper shootouts all with a positive message about working together, family, belonging and righting the wrongs of the world. I seriously loved this book and can’t wait to see where the next book in the series leads.

Jessie is part of the Athena Protocol, a secret group of three highly-trained female operatives led by a group of powerful women. Jessie may only be young, but she has been trained by the best of the best in surveillance, combat, research, weapons, coding, and hacking. Which is why she and her team are surprised when, on their most recent mission, Jessie breaks orders and shoots their target. Suspended from the team, Jessie knows they will need her help as they go after a human trafficker with extensive resources. So, Jessie does her own research and fieldwork, but going rouge means she is without the support of her teammates and when things get really dangerous, she will have to watch her back.

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Book Review: Dark Ambitions

September 25, 2019 / / 0 Comments

Dark Ambitions – Irene Hannon – Code of Honor #3 – Revell – Published 1 October 2019

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Synopsis

Former Army Night Stalker Rick Jordan usually has his camp for foster children to himself during the winter months. But someone has visited recently–leaving a trail of blood. One of the two clues left behind tips Rick off to the identity of his visitor, who soon turns up dead. The police deem it an accident, but Rick isn’t convinced. With the help of private investigator Heather Shields, he sets out to decipher the remaining clue. Except someone doesn’t want them to succeed–and will stop at nothing to keep them from finding the truth.

With her trademark psychological suspense ratcheting up the tension on every page, bestselling and award-winning author Irene Hannon takes you on a search for a cold-blooded killer with an ambitious goal and deadly intent.

My thoughts

Dark Ambitions is the thrilling third book in the Code of Honor series. It is a fantastic book, with crossover characters from both the two prior books in the series and the Private Justice series. It has scintillating romance and a crime to solve with limited clues to go on and plenty of intriguing suspects.

Heather Shields is the newest member of the Phoenix Inc Private Investigator team. When former Army Night Stalker, Rick Johnson, asks for her help to locate a missing ex-team member, she never could have expected where the investigation would lead them, or the possibility of a blooming romance between herself and Rick.

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Book Review: Lost and Found

August 30, 2019 / / 0 Comments

Lost and Found – Orson Scott Card – Blackstone – Published 10 September 2019

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Synopsis

“Are you really a thief?”

That’s the question that has haunted fourteen-year-old Ezekiel Blast all his life. But he’s not a thief, he just has a talent for finding things. Not a superpower–a micropower. Because what good is finding lost bicycles and hair scrunchies, especially when you return them to their owners and everyone thinks you must have stolen them in the first place? If only there were some way to use Ezekiel’s micropower for good, to turn a curse into a blessing. His friend Beth thinks there must be, and so does a police detective investigating the disappearance of a little girl. When tragedy strikes, it’s up to Ezekiel to use his talent to find what matters most.

My thoughts

Orson Scott Card has a fantastic writing style that provides such a compelling and put-together story. Lost and Found had me hooked – I didn’t want to put it down and I just had to know what would happen next, all while loving every moment of this fun and unique story.

Ezekiel can find lost things. He’s not sure why he has this usual talent and it has certainly made his life hard, especially when everyone – from his classmates to the police- think he is a thief when he returns the lost items to their owners. His new friend Beth, a girl with her own reasons for staying away from other people, tries to convince him that his talent has the power to help people and encourages him to experiment with it. Then Ezekiel is approached by a police detective who thinks Ezekiel may be the key to solving a little girl’s kidnapping.

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Book Review: Deadly Intentions

August 7, 2019 / / 0 Comments

Deadly Intentions – Lisa Harris – Revell – Published 6 August 2019

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Synopsis

Research scientist Caitlyn Lindsey is convinced that someone is taking out her team one by one. First, a friend and research partner was killed in a home invasion. Three months ago, her boss died in a suspicious car accident. Four days ago, another partner supposedly committed suicide. And now Caitlyn herself has miraculously survived a hit-and-run. Afraid for her life with nowhere to turn, she reaches out to one of the victim’s husbands, Detective Josh Solomon.

Though initially skeptical about Caitlyn’s theory, Josh soon realizes that the attack that took his wife’s life was anything but random. Now the two of them must discover the truth about who is after Caitlyn’s team–and what their end game is–before it’s too late.

My thoughts

Deadly intentions by Lisa Harris is a fantastic thriller. It reads like one of my favourite TV crime shows, with just the right amount of action, intrigue, nail-biting they’re-not-going-to-get-out-of-this-alive tension, and just a touch of romance.

Caitlin knows something is wrong in the research science lab where she works. Three people have died in apparently unrelated ways, yet now, with the last death and the sharing of a secret, Caitlin suspects there is more to the deaths. But someone is following her and if she can’t discover who is behind the deaths, own life may be in danger. Unsure what else to do, Caitlin turns to Detective Josh Solomon, husband of the first victim. But if they are going to work together, she’ll have to convince him she’s right about her theories first.

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Book Review: Vow of Justice

August 5, 2019 / / 0 Comments

Vow of Justice – Lynette Eason – Blue Justice #4 – Revell – Published 6 August 2019

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Synopsis

When Allison Radcliffe is killed, FBI Special Agent Linc St. John goes after her killer with a vengeance until he discovers she’s been in hiding. He must put aside their unfinished business before she becomes the next victim.

My thoughts

Vow of Justice is the fourth instalment in Lynnette Eason’s Blue Justice series, which follows the crime-fighting St John family. Vow of Justice is FBI Agent Linc St John’s story and it is chock full of tension, buried secrets, dark pasts, evil bad guys and chemistry-charged romance.

When an undercover case involving the Russian Mafia goes wrong, Linc St John is devastated to learn his partner, Allie has been killed. Determined to hunt down her killer, he is shocked to find her alive and well. But Allie has been keeping secrets from her partner and they might be enough to get them both killed.

Vow of Justice is gripping from the very first pages. The crimes Allie and Linc are investigating are the work of the Russian Mafia, involving multiple assassinations and murders. But it is also personal. Allie’s past is entangled with the crimes and people she and Linc are investigating now and that makes everything so much more deadly and important to them both.

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Book Review: Fragments of Fear

July 11, 2019 / / 0 Comments

Fragments of Fear – Carrie Stuart Parks – Thomas Nelson – Published 23 July 2019

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Synopsis

Evelyn McTavish’s world came crashing down with the suicide of her fiancé. As she struggles to put her life back together and make a living from her art, she receives a call that her dog is about to be destroyed at the pound. Except she doesn’t own a dog. The shelter is adamant that the microchip embedded in the canine with her name and address makes it hers.

Evelyn recognizes the dog as one owned by archaeologist John Coyote because she was commissioned to draw the two of them. The simple solution is to return the dog to his owner—but she arrives only to discover John’s murdered body.

As Evelyn herself becomes a target, she crosses paths with undercover FBI agent Sawyer Price. The more he gets to know her, the more personally invested he becomes in keeping her safe. Together, they’re desperate to find the links between so many disparate pieces.

And the clock is ticking.

My thoughts

Fragments of Fear is a thrilling and intricately woven suspense novel. With endless twists and loads of action, it is a novel that continued to keep me guessing and marvelling at the unexpected strength of the main character. Fragments of Fear is the first novel I have read by Carrie Stuart Parks and I was impressed with her storytelling and mastery of the suspense details.

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Book Review: Hello Girls

July 9, 2019 / / 0 Comments

Hello Girls – Brittany Cavallaro and Emily Henry – Katherine Tegen Books – Published 6 August 2019

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Synopsis

Best friends are forged by fire. For Winona Olsen and Lucille Pryce, that fire happened the night they met outside the police station—both deciding whether to turn their families in.

Winona has been starving for life in the seemingly perfect home that she shares with her seemingly perfect father, celebrity weatherman Stormy Olsen. No one knows that he locks the pantry door to control her eating and leaves bruises where no one can see them.

Lucille has been suffocating beneath the needs of her mother and her drug-dealing brother, wondering if there’s more out there for her than disappearing waitress tips and generations of barely getting by.

One harrowing night, Winona and Lucille realize they can’t wait until graduation to start their new lives. They need out. Now. All they need is three grand, fast. And really, a stolen convertible to take them from Michigan to Las Vegas can’t hurt.

My thoughts

Hello Girls is an epic road trip novel slash crime novel slash ode to friendship slash feminist piece de resistance. With razor-sharp wit and punchy action, this book swings from hilarious to what the hell to hell yeah and back again.

To everyone else, Winona’s father is charming and kind. To her, he is both jailer and torturer. Lucille works hard to keep a roof over her mother’s head and her hard-earned savings away from the grubby hands of her drug-dealing brother. The only peace the two girls find is with stolen moments together in a run-down bar outside of town and dreams of starting over. One night, Winona leaves, steals her grandfather’s convertible and a hand full of valuables. Together, Winona and Lucille start off across the country. Towards what, they’re not sure but it can’t be worse than what they’re leaving behind.

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Book Review: The Killing Tide

July 7, 2019 / / 0 Comments

The Killing Tide – Dani Pettrey – Coastal Guardians #1 – Bethany House – Published 6 August 2019

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Synopsis

When one Coast Guard officer is found dead and another goes missing, Coast Guard Investigative Service special agent Finn Walker faces his most dangerous crime yet. His only clues are what little evidence remains aboard the dead officer’s boat, and the direction the clues point to will test Finn and the Guard to their limits.

When investigative reporter–and Finn’s boss’s sister–Gabby Rowley arrives, her unrelenting questions complicate an already volatile situation. Now that she’s back, the tug on Finn’s heart is strong, but with the risks she’s taking for her next big story, he fears she might not live through it.

Thrown together by the heinous crime, Finn and Gabby can’t ignore the sparks or judgments flying between them. But will they be able to see past their preconceptions long enough to track down an elusive killer, or will they become his next mark?

My thoughts

The Killing Tide follows in the way of Dani Pettrey’s previous titles with a strong mystery story, plenty of action and high-stakes suspense, and charming, faith-filled romance.

When investigative journalist, Gabby Rowley’s life is threatened by the drug lord she helped send to prison, her protective big brother, Noah, insists she return home with him to Wilmington, North Carolina, where he and his Coast Guard Investigative Service team can keep an eye on her. But when bodies begin to pile up, including one of their own, Gabby is drawn to the investigation, even if it means working alongside old flame and the man she left behind, Finn Walker.

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Book Review: Living Lies

April 25, 2019 / / 0 Comments

Living Lies – Natalie Walters – Harbored Secrets #1 – Revell – Published 21 May 2019

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Synopsis

In the little town of Walton, Georgia, everybody knows your name–but no one knows your secret. At least that’s what Lane Kent is counting on when she returns to her hometown with her five-year-old son. Dangerously depressed after the death of her husband, Lane is looking for hope. What she finds instead is a dead body.

Lane must work with Walton’s newest deputy, Charlie Lynch, to uncover the truth behind the murder. But when that truth hits too close to home, she’ll have to decide if saving the life of another is worth the cost of revealing her darkest secret.

My thoughts

Living Lies is the first book in the Harbored Secrets series by debut novelist, Natalie Walters. Walters has done a superb job of crafting a thrilling suspense, with threads of heart-pounding romance and important messages about acceptance and removing the stigma of mental health and depression. I truly enjoyed this exciting book and I look forward to reading the subsequent titles in the series.

Lane Kent knows heartbreak. She knows the guilt of her past mistakes. Returning to her home town with her young daughter was supposed to be a fresh start but sometimes the secrets and family expectations feel suffocating. When Lane finds a dead body in the woods, she and Deputy Charlie Woods team up to solve the case.

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