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Tag: Suspense (Page 4 of 12)

Book Review: Never Let Go

January 17, 2019 / / 0 Comments

Never Let Go – Elizabeth Goddard – Uncommon Justice #1 – Revell – Published 5 February 2019

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Synopsis

As a forensic genealogist, Willow Anderson is following in her late grandfather’s footsteps in her quest for answers about a baby abducted from the hospital more than twenty years ago. The case may be cold, but things are about to heat up when someone makes an attempt on her life to keep her from discovering the truth.

Ex-FBI agent–and Willow’s ex-flame–Austin McKade readily offers his help to protect the woman he never should have let get away. Together they’ll follow where the clues lead them, even if it means Austin must face the past he’s spent much of his life trying to forget. And even if it puts Willow’s tender heart at risk.

My thoughts

Never Let Go is the first book in a new inspirational suspense series by new-to-me author Elizabeth Goddard. While the synopsis for Never Let Go was intriguing and the prologue had me hooked, I sadly lost interest in this story as it progressed. Introspection heavy, the characters spend a lot of time thinking and then rethinking things, making it hard for me to stay focused on the story. While I am sure some readers will love this book with its mix of tension, second-chance love story, and complex mystery, it wasn’t a book that held my attention.

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Book Review: Code of Valor

January 3, 2019 / / 0 Comments

Code of Valor – Lynette Eason – Blue Justice #3 – Revell – Published 1 January 2019

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Synopsis

What Detective Brady St. John really needs is a relaxing vacation. Unfortunately, just as the sun is setting on his second day at a friend’s cabin on Lake Henley, he hears a scream and races to rescue a woman from her would-be killer. When the killer escapes only to return to finish the job, Brady vows to utilize all of his many resources to keep her safe–and catch those who would see her dead.

Financial crimes investigator Emily Chastain doesn’t trust many people. And even though she let the detective who saved her life in on a few pertinent facts about why she was being attacked, there are some things you just don’t share with a stranger. Little does she suspect that the secret she is keeping just might get them both killed.

My thoughts

Code of Valor is the third book in the Blue Justice series which follows the St John family. Code of Valor has the same blend of action, suspense, romance and strong family dynamics as books one and two, giving readers plenty of thrills as the characters fight for their lives.

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Book Review: Mind Games

December 28, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Mind Games – Nancy Mehl – Kaely Quinn Profiler #1 – Bethany House Publishers – Published 4 December 2018

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Synopsis

Kaely Quinn’s talents as an FBI behavior analyst are impossible to ignore, no matter how unorthodox her methods. But when a reporter outs her as the daughter of an infamous serial killer, she’s demoted to field agent and transferred to St. Louis.

When the same reporter who ruined her career claims to have received an anonymous poem predicting a string of murders, ending with Kaely’s, the reporter’s ulterior motives bring his claim into question. But when a body is found that fits the poem’s predictions, the threat is undeniable, and the FBI sends Special Agent Noah Hunter to St. Louis.

Initially resentful of the assignment, Noah is surprised at how quickly his respect for Kaely grows, despite her oddities. But with a brazen serial killer who breaks all the normal patterns on the loose, Noah and Kaely are tested to their limits to catch the murderer before anyone else–including Kaely herself–is killed.

My thoughts

Mind Games is the first thrilling book in a new series that follows FBI profiler Kaely Quinn. Mind Games is a tantalising mix of suspense, solid detective work and a unique and interesting twist that Kaely’s individual talents bring to the story. I found the hunt for the serial killer intriguing but it was Kaely’s personal journey that kept me glued to the pages.

Kaely Quinn’s unique methods as a behaviour analyst and her past as the daughter of a serial killer has made her career with the FBI challenging. But despite a recent relocation and few friends within the Bureau, there is no doubting Kaely’s ability to close cases. When a letter is received hinting at the start of a killing spree that will end with Kaely’s death, it will take everything Kaely and her newly assigned partner, Special Agent Noah Hunter, have to stop the killer.

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Book Review: In Too Deep

November 9, 2018 / / 0 Comments

In Too Deep – Lynn H. Blackburn – Dive Team Investigations #2 – Revell- Published 6 November 2018

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Synopsis

When the dive team is called in to recover a body from a submerged car, they aren’t prepared to find an encrypted laptop–or an unsettling connection between investigator Adam Campbell and the dead accountant.

Adam turns to his friend Dr. Sabrina Fleming–a professor at the local university with unparalleled computer security and forensics skills–to recover the files from the laptop. But the deeper they dig, the deadlier the investigation becomes. When evidence uncovers a human trafficking ring and implicates members of Adam’s own family, he and Sabrina will have to risk everything to solve the case.

The truth could set hundreds free–but someone is willing to do whatever it takes to silence anyone who threatens to reveal their secrets. Award-winning author Lynn H. Blackburn invites readers back to Carrington, North Carolina, where everything is not as it seems and sinister elements lurk behind the idyllic façade.

My thoughts

In Too Deep is the thrilling second instalment in the Dive Team Investigations series. I think, if it’s possible, I loved this book even more than the first one. The writing style is so easy to sink into – perfectly balanced between details and dialog. The characters are a wonderful team of friends that I love hanging out with. The mystery totally hooked me and the ending was a big surprise. And the romance is utterly charming. In Too Deep had everything I look for in a romantic suspense novel and I can very highly recommend it.

When Adam Campbell and his fellow dive team investigators help recover a submersed car and the body found within, they are shocked to find a message that seems to tie the case to Adam himself. Adam calls on computer forensic analyst Dr Sabrina Fleming to decrypt the dead woman’s computer and help piece together the clues of the case. But someone is willing to do anything to keep their secrets safe, and Adam and Sabrina and the rest of the dive team soon find themselves in a killer’s crosshairs.

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Book Review: Wait For Me

October 30, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Wait For Me – Susan May Warren – Montana Rescue #6 – Revell – Published 6 November 2018

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Synopsis

Pete Brooks can’t believe he’s waited an entire year for Jess Tagg to return to Montana, only to have her break his heart by getting engaged to her ex-fiancé. Worse, a series of mistakes on the job have cost lives, and Pete isn’t sure he wants to continue to work in Search and Rescue. Maybe if he can just get over Jess, he can figure out how to move forward.

EMT Jess Tagg has returned to Montana to finally give her heart to Pete, but it seems he’s no longer interested. When a terrible fight between them sparks an impulsive decision, she finds herself crashed on the side of a highway along with Esme Shaw. And just when she thinks things couldn’t get any worse, she and Esme are taken captive and into the untamed Montana wilderness—with murderous intent.

Now Pete and the other PEAK Rescue Team members are in a race against time, the elements, and the actions of a vengeful man. Pete will have to use everything he’s learned to find Jess and Esme—and pray that his past mistakes don’t cost him the life of the woman he can’t stop loving.

My thoughts

With Wait For Me, Susan May Warren brings her stunning romantic suspense series Montana Rescue to a close. Wait For Me is the sixth and final book in a series that has given readers so many tense life-and-death situations, challenges, and stories of resilience, survival, faith, second chances and, of course, love. Bringing the series full circle, Wait For Me finally gives readers the long-awaited story of Pete and Jess – characters whose complicated relationship has been spread throughout the series – as well as a conclusion to the mystery surrounding the disappearance and recent return of Esme Shaw. It is thrilling, romantic, deeply layered and everything I have come to expect from Warren.

Pete Brooks promised Jess Tagg, aka Selene Taggert, that he would wait for her. But after a year of silence, broken promises to return and news that she is engaged to someone else, Pete knows that it might be time to move on. When Jess makes a surprise return to Montana neither she nor Pete know how to deal with their complicated emotions and tangled story. But when Jess, Esme Shaw and Esme’s date Ned Marshall are run off the road and kidnapped, Pete will stop at nothing to rescue Jess- no matter what the future holds for them.

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Book Review: Little White Lies

October 21, 2018 / / 7 Comments

Little White Lies – Jennifer Lynn Barnes – Freeform – Published 6 November 2018

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Synopsis

Eighteen-year-old auto mechanic Sawyer Taft did not expect her estranged grandmother to show up at her apartment door and offer her a six-figure contract to participate in debutante season. And she definitely never imagined she would accept. But when she realizes that immersing herself in her grandmother’s “society” might mean discovering the answer to the biggest mystery of her life-her father’s identity-she signs on the dotted line and braces herself for a year of makeovers, big dresses, bigger egos, and a whole lot of bless your heart. The one thing she doesn’t expect to find is friendship, but as she’s drawn into a group of debutantes with scandalous, dangerous secrets of their own, Sawyer quickly discovers that her family isn’t the only mainstay of high society with skeletons in their closet. There are people in her grandmother’s glittering world who are not what they appear, and no one wants Sawyer poking her nose into the past. As she navigates the twisted relationships between her new friends and their powerful parents, Sawyer’s search for the truth about her own origins is just the beginning.

My thoughts

I would usually steer away from books about Debutante balls and the drama that might accompany such events, but Little White Lies is written by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, so instead it became one of my most anticipated reads of 2018. And it did not disappoint. Only Barnes could create such a setting and accompany it with breathless tension and mystery, expertly combined with humour and good old insult-laden compliments.

Sawyer Taft has never known who her father is – her mother refused to speak of him or the life she left behind. But when Sawyer’s maternal grandmother makes a sudden appearance, she promises both answers and a whole lot of money if Sawyer will agree to live with her for nine months and become a Debutante. While trying to find her own answers about her mother’s past and her unknown father, Sawyer becomes entangled in another mystery, all while juggling brunch, dress fittings, and the special kind of horror that is a spa day.

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Book Review: The Perfect Candidate

October 17, 2018 / / 0 Comments

The Perfect Candidate – Peter Stone – Simon & Schuster – Published 2 October 2018

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Synopsis

When recent high school graduate Cameron Carter lands an internship with Congressman Billy Beck in Washington, DC, he thinks it is his ticket out of small town captivity. When he lacks connections and Beltway polish he makes up in smarts, and he soon finds a friend and mentor in fellow staffer Ariel Lancaster.

That is, until she winds up dead.

As rumors and accusations about her death fly around Capitol Hill, Cameron’s low profile makes him the perfect candidate for an FBI investigation that he wants no part of. Before he knows it—and with his family’s future at stake—he discovers DC’s darkest secrets as he races to expose a deadly conspiracy.

If it doesn’t get him killed first.

My thoughts

I am always on the lookout for new YA thrillers and The Perfect Candidate was, quite literally, the perfect candidate. In his debut, Peter Stone has created a thrilling and thoroughly enjoyable novel, with twists, tension, high-stakes investigations, humour and a touch of romance.

Cameron Carter has worked hard to land a top summer internship in Washington DC with up and coming Congressman Billy Beck. But when a fellow staff member dies, Cameron is drawn into the mystery surrounding her death. When an FBI agent recruits Cameron to do a bit of quiet digging in the office, Cameron puts himself, as well as his family’s future, in the line of fire. With some help from his roommates and fellow interns and (slightly more useful help) from his new girlfriend who happens to be the Mexican Ambassador’s daughter, this summer internship is proving to be far more interesting and dangerous than Cameron ever expected.

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Book Review: Hidden Peril

October 15, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Hidden Peril – Irene Hannon – Code of Honor #2 – Revell – Published 2 October 2018

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Synopsis

As teenagers, Kristin Dane and her two best friends took a vow to make the world a better place. Twenty years later, she’s fulfilling that pledge through her fair trade shop that features products from around the world. All is well until, one by one, people connected to the shop begin dying.

Detective Luke Carter, new to the St. Louis PD, wants to know why. Before he can answer that question, however, the FBI weighs in and Kristin suddenly finds herself in the middle of international intrigue–and in the sights of the ruthless mastermind behind an ingenious and deadly, scheme. Can this cold-blooded killer be stopped before more people die . . . including Kristin?

My thoughts

Irene Hannon has created another thriller with Hidden Peril. Captivating characters, intense romance and a race against the clock to stop a terrorist plot, Hidden Peril has everything to keep you glued to the pages.

Finding her shop assistant dead behind the counter of her fair trade shop was a terrible shock to owner Kristin Dane. She opened the shop to make a positive impact on the world and is heartbroken by the loss and eager to help the police with their inquiries. Detective Luke Carter can find few leads in the murder investigation, until further deaths are linked back to the same shop. When the FBI become involved, Luke and Kristin find themselves in the middle of an investigation that could have serious implications – both at home and around the world.

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Book Review: Delayed Justice

September 30, 2018 / / 0 Comments

Delayed Justice – Cara C. Putman – Hidden Justice #3 – Thomas Nelson – Published 16 October 2018

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Synopsis

Jaime Nichols went to law school to find the voice she never had as a child, and her determination to protect girls and women in the path of harm drives her in ways both spoken and unspoken. As Jaime, now a criminal defense attorney, prepares to press charges against someone who wronged her long ago, she must face not only her demons but also the unimaginable forces that protect the powerful man who tore her childhood apart.

Chandler Bolton, a retired veteran, is tasked with helping a young victim who must testify in court—and along with his therapy dog, Aslan, he’s up for the task. When he first meets Jaime, all brains, beauty, and brashness, he can’t help but be intrigued. As Chandler works to break through the wall Jaime has built around herself, the two of them discover that they may have more to offer one another than they ever could have guessed—and that together, they may be able to help this endangered child.

My thoughts

Delayed Justice is the thrilling third book in the legal suspense series, Hidden Justice. Like the first two books in the series, Delayed Justice offers a riveting mix of legal drama, romance, strong friendship, faith, personal discovery and suspense. Delayed Justice is particularly stirring and tender as the characters face horrific cases – personal, past and present.

Jamie Nichols works tirelessly as a criminal defence attorney to give a voice to those who don’t have one, fighting against the powerlessness she faced in her own childhood. Now in her adulthood she has decided to press charges against her abuser, but she knows it might bring about fierce retaliation. When she is asked to assist a young girl facing the same horrors she herself faced, Jamie knows she can’t refuse. Even if it means working closely with retired veteran, Chandler Bolton and his Golden Retriever therapy dog.

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Book Review: A Secret To Die For

September 5, 2018 / / 0 Comments

A Secret To Die For – Lisa Harris – Revell – Published 18 September 2018

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Synopsis

Psychologist Grace Callahan has no idea that she has a secret–one worth killing for. But when she finds out one of her clients has been murdered, she quickly realizes that the computer security specialist wasn’t simply suffering from paranoia.

Detective Nate Quinn has just been cleared for active duty after a bombing killed eighteen people, including his partner, and left him dealing with PTSD. His first case back on the job involves the murder of Stephen Shaw, and his only lead turns out to be an old friend, Grace Callahan–and her life is in grave danger. Someone believes Shaw gave his psychologist information before he died. Information they are willing to kill for.

My thoughts

A Secret To Die For plunges readers straight into the tension and thrills of a race to foil a terrorism plot. With sweet romance and limitless action, Lisa Harris weaves together a story of second chances and overcoming grief and tragedy.

When psychologist Grace Callahan’s home is broken into and her life threatened, it’s not long before the case is tied to the murder of one of her clients. It’s the first day back on the job for Detective Nate Quinn after a bombing left him sidelined and dealing with PTSD after the death of his partner. Reuniting with an old college friend, Grace, and facing a murder investigation with ties to a larger criminal plot, Nate must work to keep his feelings from overshadowing the investigation. Nate and Grace join together to solve the case and stop the people who plan to threaten millions of lives – starting with Grace’s.

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