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Book Review: Say You’re Sorry by Melinda Leigh

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

I am so excited that Melinda Leigh is writing a spin-off of her wonderful Scarlet Falls trilogy. SAY YOU”RE SORRY (Morgan Dane #1) takes me back to one of my favorite fictional cities.

Morgan Dane returns home to Scarlet Falls with her three young daughters after the death of her military husband in the Middle East. Living with her grandfather and a teenager rescued in a previous Scarlet Falls book, two years has passed and Morgan decides to return to work as an ADA. She wants to start moving forward at least professionally with her life.

Lance Kruger was an SFPD officer, but is currently training to be a private investigator while recovering from a gunshot wound. His mentor, Lincoln Sharp started his own P.I. agency after retiring from the SFPD. Lincoln is more than just the ex-detective who worked Lance’s missing father’s case, he has been a father figure and an enormous help with Lance’s mother.

When Morgan’s sometimes babysitter, Tessa is found raped and violently murdered, the blame falls on her boyfriend, Nick. Nick is Morgan’s young neighbor who plays chess with her grandfather and reads to her girls. Even though the evidence is strong, Morgan just cannot believe Nick is guilty. Morgan turns down her ADA job and decides to not only defend Nick against false charges, but to find the real killer with the help of Lance and Lincoln.

This book takes off and keeps a fast pace throughout. With multiple suspects there are many unexpected twists and turns in the plot. As you turn the pages to find justice for Tessa, many other small town secrets become unearthed. You also follow the story through both Morgan’s and Lance’s points-of-views, with some internal insights from the killer and Nick’s time in lock-up. I loved the multiple views because they pull you into the head and intense emotions of each character in every situation.

I was happy to learn from the author that there are at least four more proposed books for this series and Morgan will continue being the main character. This book has the beginnings of a new romance for Morgan with Lance and I am looking forward to its progression. I love a series that not only gives me great thrills and/or mysteries, but I get to follow a couple that I want to succeed in love.

I am looking forward to the next book and a return to all of these great characters!

Thank you very much to Montlake Romance, Melinda Leigh and Net Galley for allowing me to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: Breaking The Honor Code by Stanalei Fletcher

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

BREAKING THE HONOR CODE (Northstar Security #4) by Stanalei Fletcher is another entertaining addition to her romantic suspense series. This series gives you stories that are well written and always deliver an action packed page turner.

Allison Richards has been dubbed “the cyborg queen” of the Northstar computer labs. All work and no personal interactions. When she leaves to takes a vacation and go home to Idaho to babysit her nephew, the hacker that has been plaguing Northstar strikes again.

Sloan Cartland is Northstar’s profiler. Viewed as a rich playboy, he doesn’t try to fight that misconception. When the hacker strikes Northstar again and more damage is done to the company’s reputation and cases, his boss sends Sloan to retrieve Allison and bring her back.

Trapped by a blizzard, Allison and Sloan begin to see each other beyond their work personas and sparks begin to fly. But when communications are restored, Sloan is ordered to get Allison to L.A. The evidence is pointing to Allison as the hacker. Sloan now questions all of his feelings for Allison and their attraction, while Allison has to use all of her skills to save herself, her nephew and her reputation.

I really enjoy this series and all of the characters. The books are easy to read with fast paced action and romance. This book has the beginnings of a romance which was sweetly written without any sex scenes. The themes of trust and honor are woven throughout all the characters and storyline. An enjoyable read that can standalone, but the whole series is well worth the read!

Written for and posted first on The Romance Reviews.com.

Book Review: Dead Souls by Angela Marsons

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

Most times you read a series because you love the characters and the author gives you interesting, intriguing and/or entertaining plots that keep the characters fresh and growing. Sometimes there may be a book that doesn’t move you as much as the others, but you continue to read the series because the characters are like family.

Occasionally you get a book in a series that is a so well done that you know it will live on in your memory because it makes you question basic humanity. No matter the first or the tenth book in the series, you will recommend it to everyone, whether they have read the whole series or not. DEAD SOULS (Detective Kim Stone #6) by Angela Marsons is that book!

During a routine archaeological dig, human bones are unearthed. As Dr. A evaluates the grave site, both Kim and Tom Travis show up to the scene and once again battle over control of the investigation. Ms. Marsons shakes up this book in the series by separating Kim from her regular team. She has been ordered to work alongside Tom, who she has had a troubled past with.

Bryant, Dawson and Stacy are left to work on a series of brutal attacks and work out their own interpersonal relationships without Kim as a boss and referee. The investigations all start to tie together into one connected hate crime conspiracy. When one of the team does some investigating on their own, it leads to dire consequences that start the clock ticking on solving both cases and saving one of their own.

This addition to the series is definitely my favorite to date even with the uncomfortable look into prejudice and hate crimes. Ms. Marsons handled the subject perfectly. It is especially poignant considering the current climate in society today. In addition to the author bringing together two mysteries separated by over twenty years, this story is rich on character development and backstory. It also could not have had a better title that covers people both literally and figuratively. I give this author and series, especially this book, my highest recommendation!

Thank you very much to Bookouture and Net Galley for allowing me to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review. It was definitely my pleasure!

Book Review: The Girl Who Was Taken by Charlie Donlea

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

I have seriously been blown away by this book. I enjoyed Summit Lake by this author, but this story was even better.

THE GIRL WHO WAS TAKEN by Charlie Donlea had me tangled up in plot twists and turns that left me completely surprised at the climax of the plot. I knew the answer, no I didn’t. I knew the answer, no I didn’t. I could NOT put this book down!

The majority of the story is told in the present with Livia Cutty, a fellow in forensic pathology wondering if her missing sister will ever appear on her autopsy table and Megan McDonald, the girl who got away, when both Megan and Nicole Cutty disappeared one summer night. Both are searching for the truth of the girls’ disappearance for differing reasons. Their search is intertwined with flashbacks to the months and days before the abduction and the story of Megan and Nicole’s summer after their senior year in high school.

These characters where all realistic and unforgettable. Livia is an intelligent and driven character. Her career is as important to her as her drive to find out what happened to her sister. She does not throw it away, but uses it in her search. I loved her use of kickboxing for stress relief. Megan was not the same girl she was before her abduction and she still doesn’t remember everything from the two weeks she was gone. Mr. Donlea did a great job of showing her before and after and the psychological changes. Nicole was a teen in rebellion and it took so little to tip her over into even darker things. Someone who she thought understood her, changed her whole world in one night.

This was a well written suspense with a plot that keeps you on your toes. This book will definitely be a recommendation read to all my suspense loving friends.

Thanks so much to Kensington Books and Net Galley for allowing me to read this eARC in exchange for and honest review. I loved it!

Book Review: The Thing Speaks For Itself by A.S.A. Durphy

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

THE THING SPEAKS FOR ITSELF by A.S.A. Durphy is a unique thriller, gritty detective mystery and a psychological journey all rolled into one page-turning unstoppable read. Serious, violent and comedic all intertwined with characters that stick with you.

Gracie Stratis has moved on from the mayor’s office to training for the Diplomatic Security Service to fulfill her need to travel the world. When her current diplomatic security detail gets attacked, Gracie is seriously wounded and almost dies. She returns to her home in Oakland for months of rehab and recovery. Gracie believes in just pushing through and while this may help with her physical recovery, it leads to some interesting moments in her mental recovery.

Gracie’s family consists of her younger brother and three of his friends. They all grew up together and are all happy that even under the terrible circumstances that Gracie is home. When one of their group goes missing, Gracie is determined to find him.

As Gracie digs deeper into the disappearance, she discovers deception from those she trusted. She is pitted against a corrupt corporation, bribery of government officials and a security team willing to do anything for money. All she has is her skills, with a recovering and still untrustworthy mind and body, a private detective hired by the missing friend’s parents and her ragtag group of a family.

I love a strong female lead. Gracie just doesn’t investigate, she throws in a figurative grenade to see what happens and moves forward from there, no matter the devastation to herself. All of the characters are fully fleshed out and make the story come alive. This story is written in a fast paced format that has each family member narrating at different times throughout the story. This style is a little different, but the story and action pull you in and make the narration changes interesting rather than annoying. I am definitely looking forward to reading more about Gracie and her future adventures.

Book Review: Summit Lake by Charlie Donlea

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

SUMMIT LAKE by Charlie Donlea is a debut mystery that keeps you turning the pages.

The setting is a small town in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. The story is told by two narrators; Kelsey Castle, a true crime journalist, in the present investigating the savage murder and rape of Becca Eckersley and with Becca, a first year law student, telling her own story before her death threaded in between. Both women have secrets that become revealed in bits and pieces throughout the story in tantalizing increments and there are plenty of twists and turns that surprise.

I found all of the characters to be interesting and well fleshed out. The pace of the story is fast and has several twists and surprises. I did have a small problem with the lack of law enforcement involvement and the way Kelsey obtained some of her information just would not realistically happen. The reveal of the killer was truly unexpected and made for a big surprise.

Well worth the read and I will be looking for more from this author.

***

About the Author

Charlie Donlea is the #1 internationally bestselling author of Summit Lake, The Girl Who Was Taken, Don’t Believe It, Some Choose Darkness, The Suicide House, Twenty Years Later, and Those Empty Eyes. Praised for his “soaring pace, teasing plot twists” (BookPage) and talent for writing an ending that “makes your jaw drop” (The New York Times Book Review), Donlea has been called a “bold new writer…on his way to becoming a major figure in the world of suspense” (Publishers Weekly). A late bloomer, he was twenty years old when he read his first novel––THE FIRM by John Grisham––and knew he would someday write thrillers. His books have now been translated into twenty languages across nearly forty countries.

He was born and raised in Chicago, where he continues to live with his wife and two children. Visit him online at CharlieDonlea.com.