WINTER HAWK (Evidence Series Book 9) by Rachel Grant is a
fast-paced holiday romantic suspense novella. The Evidence world features the
men and women of Raptor and all the books can be read as standalone romantic
suspense reads, but there is some character crossover.
Raptor operative and former Green Beret Nate “Hawk”
Sifuentes finds himself doing a favor for his brother on his first day of
winter vacation. He fills in as a contract driver picking up a fired military contractor
at the gates of the Navy Yard when she is escorted off the base by MPs.
Leah Ellis has no idea how she lost everything. The military
fired her from her AI work on drones and her home company has taken everything
away until an investigation is complete. She is being led off base on the first
night of Hanukkah with no home, no car and no money. The mysterious driver
picking her up does not look like any driver she has ever seen before and she
wonders if he has been sent after her technical military knowledge. She does
not know who to trust.
As Nate is driving Leah, he realizes they are being followed.
When an attempt is made to run Leah down, Nate’s protective instincts kick in
and the two escape to a fellow Raptor’s holiday cabin to hide out and figure who
is out to hurt Leah and why the beautiful and intelligent AI engineer is being
targeted.
This romantic suspense is a treat packed with everything in a small number of pages. The suspense plot is very interesting and intense with all the information on commercial and military drones and AI programming. It was woven into the romantic suspense plot so that it was never an info dump or boring. The romance between Nate and Leah was immediate and intense. I was glad that Ms. Grant revisited the character of Nate Sifuentes and gave him a strong, intelligent and older heroine to aid. Nate and Leah fit together well. The sex scenes are intense and graphic, but not gratuitous. They are two mature characters in a mature relationship.
If you like your holiday read to have plenty of action,
suspense and smokin’ hot sex scenes then this is definitely the novella for
you!
Today I am very excited to share my Feature Post and Book Review for Loreth Anne White’s IN THE DARK. This is a fantastic mystery with a romantic suspense subplot that I hope will turn into many more books with the two main characters. Save a block of time to read this one because I just could not put it down!
Below you will find a Q&A with the author, an excerpt from the book, my book review, a book summary, the author’s bio and social media links and a Rafflecopter giveaway. You have to read this book! As always, good luck on the Rafflecopter giveaway.
***
Q&A: Author Loreth Anne White
1. You are very well known for your romantic suspense tales,
but your new title, IN THE DARK, is all about mystery — a real whodunit! Tell
us a bit about the story.
I like to think there is still a strong echo of my earlier romantic suspense
books that ripples through IN THE DARK. Yes, it’s a locked-room
mystery/thriller — wilderness style, but the mystery narrative is
wrapped inside a romantic suspense-style narrative that follows a budding
friendship between Detective Mason Deniaud and Search & Rescue manager
Callie Sutton who must not only piece together what happened as they hunt for
survivors, but also must race against time to save who might be left. The story
leaves off with a promise of more ahead in the relationship between Callie and
Mason, so my roots are still showing, I hope.
2. Your story definitely has shades of Agatha Christie as well as a nod or
two to Stephen King. Did these authors act as inspirations for this book?
IN THE DARK is not only a homage to Agatha Christie’s AND THEN THERE WERE NONE,
but Christie’s story becomes a plot device, a psychological tool that the
villain uses to instill fear in the victims trapped in the lodge because the
victims know what transpired in the book, and they anticipate the same will
happen to them.
And yes, a teensy nod to master of atmosphere and horror,
Stephen King’s THE SHINING where characters are trapped in a remote and
snowbound hotel and become mercy to the psychological horror that descends on
them.
3. A rural, isolated lodge is always a great place to start a suspenseful
novel. How exactly did your characters all come to be at Forest Shadow Lodge?
The characters are invited for an all-expenses stay at the brand new, high-end,
fly-in wilderness lodge and spa. They are lured by an offer to enjoy a ‘soft
opening’, so to speak, where they can assess the accommodation and potentially
negotiate lucrative contracts with the new lodge owners. Each guest runs a
business that would be suitable for such an establishment. Each is excited by a
possible lucrative contract. But not all is quite what meets the eye, of
course.
4. Your story is told from multiple points-of-view as you take deep dives
into the characters’ lives and histories. Does everyone have something to hide?
Don’t we all have something to hide? My characters in this book certainly do.
Some of their secrets are more powerful than others.
5. Mason and Callie are two of the law enforcement responders that are
trying to piece together exactly what happened at The Lodge. Tell us more about
these characters and what makes them so good at what they do.
Mason Deniaud was a top homicide detective before relocating to the remote
north for personal reasons. He lost a young son and a wife and he’s searching
for a way to live, or exist, if not heal. Callie Sutton is a young mother who
is single, but also isn’t because her husband lies in hospital and is brain
dead. Her husband is there, but he also isn’t there for Callie and her young
son. Like Mason, she’s in limbo, a place where she can’t move forward, or back.
It’s through this they find a bond. And the search for the missing lodge party
pushes them together.
6. IN THE DARK is a pivotal novel in your career. What does it have in
common with your previous writing and how is it different? How does this inform
your next steps as a writer?
Pivotal sounds cool. I’ll take it! Thank you. But yes IN THE DARK is a bit of a
departure from my previous romantic suspense books. If readers enjoy it,
however, and if my publisher remains happy, I’d like to keep growing in this
direction. But I do think my crime stories will always revolve around strong
women, or women who might be victims to start with, but who find agency and
take back their lives and become strong and survive through the arc of a story.
(As with my forthcoming work IN THE DEEP). I do love to include a relationship
element in my crime novels, but bonding with a potential love interest comes
out of the personal growth of the protagonist. I like to tell—and read—stories
of women who find ways to rescue themselves.
***
Excerpt:
“The
gas stove and the gas water heaters work,” Nathan said. “And there’s plumbing.”
He turned his back on them and busied himself taking mugs out of the cupboard
in an exaggerated fashion. His heart hammered in his chest. Sweat prickled
across his lip.
“And there’s tea, coffee, tins of tuna, and
soup,” Steven said as he hurriedly opened more cupboards.
Bart frowned. “Well, at least we won’t go
hungry.” He made for the living area, paused. “I found a path. It looks like it
leads around to the other bay, but it was getting too dark to follow without a
flashlight.”
“Do you think it might lead to the real lodge?”
Steven asked.
Nathan blinked. It was like the doctor was
reaching for straws by asking—as if hoping, still, that their pilot had just
made some terrible screwup with the GPS coordinates.
Bart said, “We can check again in the morning
to see if—”
“There is no real lodge.” Jackie appeared in the doorway that led from the
great room into the kitchen.
They all turned to look at the solid woman with
intense eyes.
“This is no mistake,” she said curtly. “This is
a con, some sick game.”
“What do you mean?” Bart asked.
“Did you guys not see the plaque outside, next
to the front door? This place is called Forest Shadow Lodge. As in Forest Shadow Wilderness Resort
& Spa. Here, look at this.” She pulled a brochure from her pocket and
smoothed it out on the kitchen island.
“I printed it off the website before I left
home.” She jabbed a photo of the luxury lodge. “It’s fake. It’s photoshopped,
because it’s using the same location. See this bay here? And the shape of this
one here? This mountain? This is how the terrain looked from the air. It’s this spot, but someone has photoshopped the spa into the
location. They’ve erased parts of the forest, added cabins and trails, plus
interior shots from some other spa and lodges.” She met their gazes. “This
whole thing was faked from the get-go. We were lured here. All of us. And now
we’re trapped.”
A sinister cold seemed to enter the kitchen. A
shutter banged upstairs, and wind whistled. Mist, cloying and wet, pressed up
against the windows. It grew darker inside.
“Why?” Bart asked, still holding his wood.
“God knows.” Jackie dragged her hand over her
hair. “But right now, we’re stuck. We’ve been baited and lured into some weird
kind of wilderness prison.”
“We are not trapped.” Stella entered the
kitchen. “We have a plane. And you guys have a pilot—me. We have fuel. We—”
“We have no bloody radio!” Jackie snapped,
whirling round to face Stella, her eyes furious.
“What?” said Steven.
“That’s right,” Jackie said. “Go on, tell them,
Stella.”
Stella’s gray eyes flashed, shooting daggers at
Jackie.
“Go on. Tell them. The radio is broken.
Sabotaged, wires cut.”
“But I heard you speaking to your dispatch on
the radio,” Nathan said.
“But it wasn’t working, was it, Stella?” Jackie
said. “Your dispatch couldn’t hear you, could they? No one even knows where we
are, do they?”
Stella’s features went tight.
“So when were you going to tell us this,
Stella?” Steven asked.
“I didn’t want to say right away. Fear, worry,
is not a good thing when—”
“When what? Jesus. Who are you to decide what’s right and wrong for us to know?” Steven barked.
“You’re just the pilot, not the boss of our lives, for Chrissakes.”
“There’s a chance I could fix it in the morning.
If I can—if it’s an easy fix—you’d never have to have known about it.”
“So you thought you’d play God?” Steven
snapped. “Because we would all panic.” He wagged jazz hands at the sides of his face.
“And you’re not panicking?” she said.
Silence swelled in the kitchen. It felt for a
bizarre moment as though the house was listening. Alive. Hostile. Nathan felt
hairs rise along his arms. He was sensitive to these things. He could feel
trees in the forest watching and listening to him.
***
My Book Review:
RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars
IN THE DARK by Loreth Anne White is her new book
which is a mystery with a romantic suspense subplot that is now one of my favorite
mystery books of 2019. You should set aside time to read this one because you
will not want to put it down.
The promise of a luxury spa vacation and the chance to
secure a lucrative contract for their companies has eight lucky guests coming
together for two weeks in a remote location in British Columbia.
What they don’t realize is each is tied together by one tragic
incident. They all have secrets to hide.
As they fly into the remote location, it is not what they
were expecting. A storm keeps them trapped at the old hunting lodge and as they
inspect the inside, they realize it is not a vacation, but a trap. Suddenly,
everyone is suspect and no one can be trusted. They are all pawns in a game
that must be played out until there is “one”.
When a seaplane is discovered by hunters, RCMP officer Mason
Deniaud and SAR expert Callie Sutton come together to retrieve it and discover
a dead body strapped inside. They learn of the other missing people and set out
to find them.
The clock is ticking. Will Mason and Callie be able to find
the missing people before there are none?
This is a GREAT read! It is a fast-paced page turner that
grabs you by the throat, pulls you into the perfectly paced plot and surprises
you at the end. The mystery is a cross between Agatha Christie’s “And Then There
Were None” and the game show “Survivor”. The malicious and deadly wilderness is
a whole other dark and gritty character in this story which adds to the
atmosphere of dread. While this is a standalone, I am hoping Ms. White will
continue writing more stories featuring Mason and Callie. They are wonderfully
flawed characters that fit together well.
I highly recommend this book! I have loved all of Ms. White’s
books to date, but this one is very special.
***
About the Book:
Title: In The Dark
Author: Loreth Anne White
Release Date: December 1, 2019
Publisher: Montlake
Summary:
The promise of a luxury vacation at a secluded wilderness
spa has brought together eight lucky guests. But nothing is what they were led
to believe. As a fierce storm barrels down and all contact with the outside is
cut off, the guests fear that it’s not a getaway. It’s a trap.
Each one has a secret. Each one has something to hide. And now, as darkness
closes in, they all have something to fear—including one another.
Alerted to the vanished party of strangers, homicide cop Mason Deniaud and search and rescue expert Callie Sutton must brave the brutal elements of the mountains to find them. But even Mason and Callie have no idea how precious time is. Because the clock is ticking, and one by one, the guests of Forest Shadow Lodge are being hunted. For them, surviving becomes part of a diabolical game.
***
Author Biography:
Loreth Anne White is a bestselling author of thrillers,
mysteries, and romantic suspense. A three-time RITA finalist, she is also the
recipient of the Overall 2017 Daphne du Maurier Award, the Romantic Times
Reviewers’ Choice Award, the National Readers’ Choice Award, and the Romantic
Crown for Best Romantic Suspense and Best Book Overall. In addition, she’s a
Booksellers’ Best finalist and a multiple CataRomance Reviewers’ Choice Award
winner. A former journalist who has worked in both South Africa and Canada, she
now resides in the Pacific Northwest with her family. When Loreth isn’t
writing, you will find her skiing, biking, or hiking the trails with her dog
(a.k.a. the Black Beast) or open-water swimming. She calls this work, because
that’s when the best ideas come. Visit her at www.lorethannewhite.com.
I am very excited to once again be a part of a Release Blitz for a new Freya Barker book! TRACKING TAHLULA (Police and Fire: Operation Alpha Series, On Call #3) is another GREAT romantic suspense addition to the series!
Below you will find a description of the book, my book review and the author’s info and social media links. Enjoy!
As author Tahlula Rae has discovered; success is a double-edged sword. Leading a quiet and anonymous life, she isn’t prepared for the hateful backlash when her latest book hit the lists, propelling her into the limelight. No longer feeling safe in Denver, she takes her laptop and dog, Luke, and moves to the mountains around Durango, where her peaceful solitude is disrupted when a red-bearded man knocks on her door.
While one of the fire department’s finest, Evan Biel, is relatively content with his life, he can’t escape the sense something’s missing. When on fire-safety housecalls, he finds himself staring into a pair of soulful, copper-colored eyes sparking a deep interest. Discovering the exotic-looking woman may be in more trouble than he can handle, he tries—yet fails—to keep his distance.
When Tahlula offers San Antonio firefighters, Moose and Penelope Jacobs, temporary lodging, as they help fight seasonal wildfires, Evan’s relieved she’s no longer alone on the mountain. Yet when her troubles become outright threats on her life, his focus has to be keeping Tahlula safe.
TRACKING TAHLULA (Police and Fire: Operation Alpha Series, On Call #3) by Freya Barker is a GREAT romantic suspense addition to this series! Ms. Barker always gives me realistic characters that I would love to be friends with out of her books. This book can be read as a standalone, but there are several crossover characters from previous books in this series and Susan Stoker’s Operation Alpha world.
Tahlula Rae is a successful romantic suspense author who is
finding herself in a real-life suspense plot. As soon as she hit the NY Times
bestseller list and had to do live publicity, she seems to be the target of a
stalker for an unknown reason. After a break-in, she moves to Durango from
Denver with her rescue dog, Luke to be closer to her brother and hopefully get
away from any danger.
Evan Biel, Durango firefighter and paramedic is out making fire-safety
house calls. As he rings the bell for a remote home in the hills, he is
surprised by the exotic beauty with the soulful copper eyes who answers the door.
Evan finds he cannot get the feisty, independent, pregnant woman off his mind.
As their relationship grows, Tahlula and Evan work to
balance her independent streak vs. his protective nature. At the same time, the
summer wildfire season threatens the city as the personal dangers to Tahlula
increase. Can Evan and his friends keep Tahlula safe?
I always LOVE Ms. Barker’s characters! They are mature,
realistic, smart and likable. The romantic suspense plots keep you turning the
pages, but it is always the characters that make Ms. Barker’s books a “must buy”
for me. I am happy when I find an author who writes about older characters
finding their HEAs and Ms. Barker does it so well.
I recommend this romantic suspense and the whole series for
great characters and stories. I highly recommend Freya Barker for realistic
mature HEAs.
***
About Freya:
Freya Barker loves writing about ordinary people with extraordinary stories.
Driven to make her books about ‘real’ people; with characters who are perhaps less than perfect, but just as deserving of romance, thrills and chills, and their own slice of happy.
A recipient of the RomCon “Reader’s Choice” Award for best first book, “Slim To None”, and Finalist for the Kindle Book Award with “From Dust”, Freya has not slowed down.
She continues to add to her rapidly growing collection of published novels as she spins story after story with an endless supply of bruised and dented characters, vying for attention!
I am very excited to be sharing this Feature Post and Book Review for Mary Burton’s new release I SEE YOU (Criminal Profiler Book 2). I highly recommend this romantic suspense, which can be easily read as a standalone.
Below you will find a guest post from the author, an excerpt from the book, my book review, a book summary, the author’s bio and social media links and a Rafflecopter giveaway. Enjoy and as always, good luck on the Rafflecopter giveaway!
***
An Affair (and
a Murder) To Remember with Author Mary Burton
I SEE YOU, my latest romantic suspense, features
two of my very favorite characters: Homicide Detective William Vaughan and FBI
Special Agent Zoe Spencer.
Zoe Spencer is a member of an FBI criminal profiling team dedicated to finding
the most violent and prolific killers. Zoe, a talented artist and agent,
specializes in forensic reconstruction. She skillfully merges her interview
skills with pencil and paper to create stunning likenesses. And when only bones
remain, she molds clay over bone to recreate the faces of the lost.
Zoe’s work generates a high case-closure rate, which draws the attention of the
law enforcement community. Her lectures at the FBI headquarters at Quantico are
often standing room only. Among those interested in her work is Homicide Detective
William Vaughan.
Detective Vaughan, divorced and raising a college bound teenager, is a man of few words and when he does comment, his observations are always thoughtful and insightful. He not only hears what is said and but sees what is communicated via body language.
The more time Vaughan spends with Zoe, the greater his desire to breach her cool demeanor. He draws upon all his powers of observation, practiced detective skills and his somewhat rusty charm to win her. Though they begin an affair, she still remains elusive.
When a charred skull is found in Vaughan’s jurisdiction of Alexandria, Virginia, he turns to Zoe. Zoe recreates a stunning clay bust that leads to the identification of a girl who has been missing for fifteen years.
As Vaughan and Zoe dig deeper, the cold case heats up when several more women,
similar to their victim, are discovered brutally murdered. This killer, who has
avoided capture for so many years, is still hunting women. It becomes a race
against time to catch a madman who shifts his sights to his next victim: Zoe
Spencer.
I hope you enjoy I SEE YOU and this magnetic couple who I’ve pitted against one of my most chilling villains so far.
***
Excerpt
The
instant Vaughan woke, he knew she was gone. He should not have been surprised.
She never stayed long, but he’d thought last night would be different.
He swung his legs over the side of the bed and
instantly spotted the note on the mirror. It was written on the back of the
fast-food receipt in fluid and graceful handwriting.
Called a car. Didn’t want to wake you.
Spencer. He knew how to make that woman’s body
tighten with desire and how to make her moan in a way that told him she was
fully attuned to his body. But beyond that, she was still a complete stranger.
He flicked the edge of the note, surprised he
had not awoken. Since he had become a cop and father, he had turned into a
light sleeper. Both incarnations, like a doctor on call, were summoned at all
times of the day and night. His ability to shake off sleep in seconds and then
think clearly was well honed. But yesterday had been long, even for him.
He laid the note on his dresser as he glanced
at the pillow that still held the impression of her head. It was not like him
to be sentimental, but he was sorry he likely would not see her for a while.
He showered, and fifteen minutes later he was
dressed, his badge and sidearm on his belt. As the coffee brewed, he scrambled
five eggs before he realized Nate was gone. He toasted a bagel and ate alone at
the kitchen table.
He filled a travel mug with more coffee and was
on the road by six o’clock. Moonlight mingled with the lights looming over
I-395 as he looped around the beltway and headed north toward his exit. The
traffic was already building, and soon it would slow to a snail’s pace.
With luck, the first wave of files from the
Prince case would be in his office. He had been warned that there were a dozen
file boxes, but he did not care. He also had the autopsy of the Jane Doe
stabbed to death in the motel room to attend. It was going to be another long
day.
Fifteen minutes later, he had parked and was in
the break room, refilling his coffee. When he flipped on the lights of his
office, there were six file boxes stacked in front of his desk. A green sticky
note read More to come.
It was too early to call the medical examiner
about his Jane Doe from the motel room, so he set his cup down and flipped
through the first set of files.
He spent the next hour and a half reading
through the detectives’ notes. At the time of Marsha’s disappearance, the
detectives had exhausted every lead and tip that had come into the station, but
in the end came up with nothing.
***
My Book Review
RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars
I SEE YOU (Criminal Profiler Book 2) by Mary Burton
is the second romantic suspense in the Criminal Profiler series. This book focuses
on two suspense plots, a cold case and a present day serial killer case while
still managing to give you a believable romance intertwined with the
investigations.
FBI Special Agent Zoe Spencer is a profiler and a forensic
artist who can use skeletal remains or eye- witness testimony to build or draw a
visual representation for law enforcement. As she works on the reconstruction
of a recently found skull, she brings back the face of a missing teenage girl from
19 years ago.
Alexandria homicide detective William Vaughan has been
called to the scene of a brutally murdered teenage sex worker. Just as he
begins investigating, he gets a call to assist on Zoe’s cold case. He is
interested in the case and is happy to once again work with his on-again,
off-again lover.
As William and Zoe reconnect with the sister of the cold
case victim, they are shocked to get a call that the sister’s husband has been
stabbed and the sister and her daughter have been abducted. There are deep
secrets in this family and as the investigation heats up, more bodies are being
found. Can William and Zoe find out who and what connects the past with the present
and if they are connected stop the killing spree?
I love all the layers in these suspense plots from the past
and present and how they were tied together. Ms. Burton kept me guessing and
changing my mind on who was guilty with an ending that satisfies, but also
leaves a scary question mark for the future. William is a steady, strong hero
who does not overshadow Zoe, who is a very strong heroine on her own. The
romance was believable because they were both at a point in their lives where
they were both ready to move on. The sex scenes are steamy and intimate, but
not gratuitous.
I highly recommend this romantic suspense and author. Ms.
Burton always gives me intriguing cases to solve, strong and intelligent heroes
and heroines and a romantic HEA.
***
About the Book
Title: I See You
Author: Mary Burton
Release Date: October 8, 2019
Publisher: Montlake
Summary
FBI special agent Zoe Spencer uses skeletal remains to recreate
the faces of murder victims through sculpture. Though highly scientific, the
process is also sensitive and intimate; she becomes attached to the individuals
she identifies, desperate to find justice for each.
As Zoe examines old remains, she sees a teenage girl looking back at her—the
victim in a cold case from over a decade ago. Zoe wants nothing more than to
tell this young woman’s story and to bring her killer to justice.
Zoe’s case leads her to the victim’s hometown and to homicide detective William
Vaughan, Zoe’s on-again, off-again lover. As the two become more involved in
the case, they quickly realize that it isn’t as cold as they first believed:
someone’s still out there hunting women. And with more women gone missing,
time’s running out. Can they work together and stop this madman before he kills
again?
***
Author Biography
New York Times and USA Today bestselling
novelist Mary Burton is the popular author of thirty-five romance and suspense
novels as well as five novellas. She currently lives in Virginia with her
husband and three miniature dachshunds. Visit her at www.maryburton.com.
DON’T GAME ME (The Game Lords Book 2) by Zoe Forward
is the second romantic suspense in The Game Lords series. I have been anxiously
waiting to see what Symphis would do next to try to destroy NJ Legacy and its
owners and I was not disappointed. The characters are all involved in the world
of video gaming, creating and programming video games and I am not, but the
romance and suspense plot are the focus of the story and kept me intrigued and turning
the pages.
Becca Harrison is a brilliant programmer. She took a job in
California to separate herself from her brother, Noah and his best friend, Jake
who created NJ Legacy together and made it one of the premier gaming companies.
When Becca becomes involved with an illegal gaming consortium, they blackmail
her into using her new spy program to steal financial information from her
brother’s company.
Becca is to return home to attend Noah and Tori’s wedding
and Symphis has demanded she do anything necessary to get close to her brother’s
business partner, Jake to get the financial information she needs to destroy NJ
Legacy. Becca has always secretly wanted Jake, but if she does what Symphis
wants she knows she will only have one night with Jake.
Jake Allen has a reputation. He is a rich, brilliant
businessman, but he only does one-night stands with beautiful women. When Becca
returns home and asks Jake to be her wedding hook-up, he does not know what to
do. He has secretly always wanted Becca, but he has been afraid of his past and
of losing his best friend and the rest of the Harrison family if he crossed the
line with Becca.
Becca and Jake have an attraction that neither can ignore,
but Becca’s plans to protect her family leave no room for a future with Jake.
I enjoyed this second story in the series as much as the first. I felt the threat level was heightened even more in this book and the surprise twist involving Symphis in the end made me even more anxious for the next book in the series. Becca and Jake’s romance is hot and intense as they learn to trust in each other and reveal their secrets and fears. The sex scenes were explicit and yet tender as Jake was especially responsive to Becca’s insecurities. I did feel a bit irritated at times when Becca held too much back from Jake (and the reader) in regards to her actual actions and plans with the NSA and FBI and they were only revealed after the fact. It was great to reconnect with the characters from book 1 and it is best to read the books in order to follow the overall story arc that ties them all together.
Overall, this is another fast-paced, suspense filled romance
in The Game Lords series and I will be waiting to see if Michael is the next
Harrison pulled into Symphis’ nefarious plan.
Today I am excited to share this Feature Post and Book Review for Catherine Bybee’s new book SAY IT AGAIN (First Wives Club Book 5). I am very excited that Ms. Bybee gave the mysterious Sasha a feature story and it is a page-turner!
Below you will find a Q&A with the author, an excerpt from the book, my book review, a book summary, the author’s bio and social media links and a Rafflecopter giveaway. I read the entire book in one sitting and I could not put it down. As always, good luck on the Rafflecopter giveaway!
***
Author Interview: Catherine Bybee
1) Sasha, from your newest novel Say it Again,
is unlike any character that most readers will have encountered. Can you give
us a rundown of your heroine?
Sasha is a female James Bond with all the skills that kick ass and the sexy
that opens doors. She’s a master of disguises, speaks more languages than
anyone should…and has a razor-sharp mind that doesn’t sleep. In all her
badassery, (pretty sure I just made up that word) Sasha has a soft spot—a
vulnerability that makes her want to protect the innocent. She’s a true to life
superhero who walks the fence between right and wrong. She really doesn’t have
any issues breaking laws to get what she wants. And that’s what makes her so
fun to read, and for me to write.
2) Fans have been following Sasha throughout your First Wives series. Did
you always know you wanted to write her story?
No! Not at all. The first four books in the series were going to be it.
However, Sasha commanded attention the first moment she walked on the page and
I couldn’t get enough of her once I dreamed her up. I was almost finished
writing the first book when I decided that Sasha was
not going to be a bad guy. Yes, I’m a pantser, and have no real outline before
I sit down to write. I think the fact that I didn’t know she was one of the
good guys made her all that more believable. I don’t even think she knew she
was going to be on the side of right and justice until the end of Fool
Me Once.
3) While many of your novels have a mystery or suspense element, you dive
head first into action and spy-games in this book. How easy was this transition
for you?
It was super easy and tons of fun. In fact… I think I may have a spin off of a
spin off rolling in my head with all the fun characters I played with while
writing this book. Neil was one of my very first book boyfriends from the
Weekday Brides. And having him come back in this book just reminded me how much
fun it is to write all the action and intrigue. I hope my fans love it enough
for me to continue the theme with new books.
4) When AJ is first introduced he seems pretty average—just a guy looking
for answers about his sister’s death. But in reality, there is nothing average
about AJ. How would you describe him?
The best picture in my mine that I can describe with all clarity is Brian
O’Connor, Paul Walker (RIP), from Fast and Furious. Innocent until
he isn’t.
I would say that AJ is exactly what Sasha needed to open up and accept that she
too can be loved. I wanted AJ to come off as average until he wasn’t. Sasha is
such a strong character that she needed someone who wasn’t going to try and
overpower or overshadow her badassery (love that word). AJ does that. Yet he
has some badass moments himself and that is what makes her fall for him even
more. He is in no way perfect and neither is she.
5) AJ and Sasha have something in common—they are both characters with lots and
lots of secrets. What makes them open up to each other? What else do they have
in common?
Trust through time. That’s the best way for me to describe how they evolved in
my head. There is a common respect the moment they “acquire” the other’s phone.
A moment where they take notice and begin to respect the other. Honor among
thieves as they say. I think the common ground that isn’t apparent until the
story evolves is how they want the love of a family. AJ is much more open to it
than Sasha, but they both have to fight for it in the end.
6) While you have written books with scenes in foreign countries, this story
takes place internationally. Have you visited the same places as your
characters? Where do you hope to take readers around the world in the future?
Yes, I have been to all the places I have written about. I was in Berlin a
couple of years ago at a book signing and managed to get their by taking the
train from London, through Amsterdam etc. So yes, I’m blessed to have visited
these places which makes the story that much richer in my opinion. Richter, the
school in the story, is from my imagination. I did some fact checking and
learned that post Hitler’s Germany, military boarding schools were not welcome
in the country. So I made one up and made it as great and awful as I could
while still making it believable.
I have placed most of my travels, or experiences from them, in my books. And as
I travel the world, I will bring my readers along…eventually.
7) Say it Again wraps up your First Wives series. What have you
learned while writing these books? Will these lessons affect your writing in
the future?
On a personal level, I will say that I’ve leaned to write with a great deal of
personal turmoil. There have been times I’ve doubted my process and this final
book in the series has told me to never do that again. I would like to always
keep the door open for more books because of characters like Sasha. I love
writing fast moving romantic suspense and intrigue and can see Claire, Cooper
and the whole of Neil’s team as a great setting for future books. Yeah… I’m
liking that idea more and more. I hope my readers do, too.
***
Excerpt
AJ was being
stood up.
It was half past noon and Sasha wasn’t there.
The Brandenburg Gate was one of the busiest tourist
attractions in Berlin. The square was filled with families and walking tours
led by someone holding a colored flag on a stick and talking into a microphone while
a line of dazed, zombie-like visitors followed behind. Aside from those in the
square learning about the history of the place, there were a dozen police
officers and security guards moving around. Considering the American, British,
and French embassies were all within a stone’s throw of each other, AJ was
surprised there wasn’t a stronger military presence.
AJ kept scanning the crowd in search of Sex on
a Stick in black leather pants and a bad attitude.
Nothing.
Left without options, AJ dialed his phone
number on her phone and waited. It rang twice.
Behind him, the riff of “Bad to the Bone,” his
ringtone, shot through him. He dropped his hand from his ear and saw a blonde
standing three feet away, her back to him.
Slowly she turned.
“Whoa.”
Sasha stared back at him, wearing white capri
pants and a bright floral top. The blonde wig overdid it but completely
camouflaged her in broad daylight. She took a step closer, reached out her hand
holding his cell. “Hello, AJ.”
They switched phones. “How long have you been
standing there?”
“Half an hour, give or take.”
He looked her up and down. She looked like a
typical American housewife, minus the kid in the stroller. “Impressive.”
“I wanted to make sure you were alone.”
AJ glanced around at the passing tourists. “Is
there a reason behind the cloak-and-dagger?”
She moved closer, lowered her voice. “You’ve
come here to look for your sister’s killer. You think there is some connection
to Richter. Went so far as to go there asking questions. You’re stalking the
local pub and hitting on, not to mention stealing from, the patrons . . .”
Sasha waved her phone in the air before tucking it into her back pocket.
“I’m calling pot to kettle on that last
accusation.” Although all the rest she pointed out was spot-on.
“I like to go unnoticed. If someone followed me
here, they lost me the second I made the city limits and went clothes
shopping.”
“What if someone followed me?”
“Then I would have seen them watching in the
thirty minutes you’ve been standing around looking like a lost child without a
parent.” She turned and started walking toward the gate.
AJ had no choice but to follow.
“What makes you think anyone is following
either of us?”
She smiled, didn’t answer his question. “I used
to help your sister on her agility training,” she told him.
The mention of his sister brought his attention
back to what he should be focused on. “She wasn’t the most athletic woman.”
Amelia took after their mother, who didn’t grow more than five feet five inches
tall and had a sweet tooth that always kept her rounder than she’d liked. At
least that’s what she’d blame when she went on one of her many diets.
“No. But she held her own most of the time. Everyone
at Richter was pushed to do at least that.”
“Her coworkers said she had recently started
taking morning walks before work,” AJ said.
“Which explains the police report about her
being murdered in the park and tossed in the river.”
AJ stopped walking. “You looked her up.”
“Only because I knew her.”
He jumped in front of her, stopped her from
moving. “Then you’ll help me.”
“There is nothing to suggest that Amelia’s
death is at all linked to Richter.”
AJ looked over Sasha’s shoulder and noticed a
man eating an ice cream cone and staring at Sasha. The middle-aged guy turned
his attention away and took a few steps in the opposite direction.
“Maybe she . . .”
AJ felt eyes, turned to his left.
No one.
“What is it?” Sasha asked.
“The guy with the ice cream, over your left
shoulder.”
She grinned, cocked her head to the side. “We
did this last night.”
“Yeah, only I’m not asking you to lay a lip
lock on me. Tempting as that might be.” Truth was, he’d thought about that kiss
more times than he wanted to admit. “If how you’re dressed is any indication,
you’re the expert on all things undercover. You tell me if you feel the weight
of someone’s stare.”
Sasha paused, then looked over her shoulder.
“That him?” she asked, thumbing toward the guy with the ice cream.
“Yeah.”
She grabbed AJ’s hand and walked directly
toward the guy he thought for sure was watching them.
“What are you doing?”
She didn’t answer. “Excuse me?” Her voice rose
a full octave, her smile was sickeningly sweet. Any accent he’d detected from
her voice was gone . . . or changed.
The man with the cone turned toward them.
“Yes?”
“Are you American? You look American.”
“I’m, ah . . . yeah.” The guy looked directly
at AJ.
Sasha kept going. “Good. Would you mind taking
our picture? I can’t get the gate behind us with a selfie.”
Again the guy offered AJ unblinking eyes. “Ah,
sure.” He reached for the phone Sasha was handing him.
Next thing AJ realized, he was standing beside
Sasha, her arm slipped around his waist, and he was smiling like all of the
other tourists surrounding them while the man he thought was spying on them
took their picture.
The stranger holding Sasha’s phone, while
trying to balance his ice cream cone, looked completely out of place.
“Take a second one, just in case.” Sasha
giggled.
The sound of her voice didn’t suit her. The
hand on his waist, however, suited him just fine. The feel of her there, the
warmth, the softness he knew she would hate if he pointed it out, felt a little
too right.
“Thank you so much.”
The stranger handed her phone back with a nod.
“Have fun.”
She waved. “We will . . . thanks.”
And he was gone.
AJ watched the man slip away as Sasha removed
herself from AJ’s side.
He missed her warmth, instantly.
“Any self-preserving spy wouldn’t have made
contact,” Sasha told him.
The two of them walked toward the center of the
square. “Okay,” AJ started. “Maybe I’m a little paranoid.”
“You’re a lot paranoid.”
AJ paused in the middle of the plaza and stared
at the massive horses that sat atop the gate. The image of his sister at
Christmas the previous year surfaced. It was the last time he’d seen her alive.
“I know Amelia’s death wasn’t random, Sasha. I feel it with every breath I
take.”
She sighed. “I know you do.”
He looked at her. “You don’t believe me.”
“I believe you believe.”
He lowered his head, studied the
salt-and-pepper colored stones beneath his feet. “You’re not going to help.”
Damn it . . . he was back to ground zero.
Another heavy sigh from the woman at his side.
“I will help you.”
AJ snapped his head up. “What?”
She placed a hand in the air as in warning.
“Not because I think you have anything other than grief inside you. The not
knowing, or never accepting the facts, can eat you alive.”
Not ground zero. He wanted to kiss her. Not
that she would be receptive to that kind of thing. “Why are you doing this?”
There wasn’t anything in it for her. Sasha turned away from him and focused her
attention on the Brandenburg Gate.
“Because I’m not bored.”
***
My Book Review
RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars
SAY IT AGAIN (First Wives Club Book 5) by Catherine Bybee
is the last romantic suspense in this series and features the mysterious Sasha,
who has made intriguing appearances since book 1. This is a well written series
of books that have unique suspense and relationship plots that can be read as
standalones, but the relationships between all of the “First Wives” evolve and
change, so in my opinion it is best to read the series in order.
Sasha Budanov has grown up learning to only ever depend on
herself. She was raised and hidden in a boarding school in Germany. Richter is
bastion of secrets. From a young age the students are trained in languages, stealth,
firearms and militarized survival through high school and college. When she
finds herself discontent and not knowing what direction to take in her life,
she decides to return to her old school.
AJ Hofmann has travelled all the way from Florida to Germany
searching for answers. His sister was killed and he believes when he discovers
her roommate from Richter was also killed that the answers to the murders lie
in her old boarding school. He wants answers and he needs Sasha’s help.
Sasha always works alone, but something about AJ just keeps
pulling her to help and keep him close. As the two work to uncover secrets the
danger escalates and they become the hunted. It will take all the training
Sasha has and the help of some old friends to unmask a killer.
I love that Ms. Bybee gave Sasha a full story. She has
always been so mysterious and isolated. AJ is not the type of character I would
have thought could bring out Sasha’s softer side, but he did and it worked. The
dialogue between Sasha and AJ was entertaining and at times very emotional. The
romance builds right along with the suspense. I was surprised by the climax,
which followed a page-turning read. I read this book in one sitting and it was
worth the time spent. The sex scenes are explicit, but not gratuitous.
There is a wrap up with all the couples from the previous
books at a Christmas get together which ends the series nicely. This is an
exciting read and another great addition to this series.
***
About the Book
Title: Say it Again
Author: Catherine Bybee
Release Date: September 24, 2019
Publisher: Montlake
Summary
Protector-for-hire Sasha Budanov is accustomed
to life as a loner. Always on the move, she’s now reached a crossroad. Looking
for answers about her shadowy youth, she’s returned to the strict boarding
school in Germany where she was raised. It’s also where she was trained in the
stealthy, militarized art of survival. But behind its gleaming gates, Richter
is a fortress of secrets, including those buried in Sasha’s mysterious past. To
uncover them, she’s clinging to her first rule of defense: stay guarded.
If anyone can challenge Sasha’s rules, it’s devilishly sexy stranger AJ
Hofmann. He wants answers, too. And he needs Sasha’s help. The recent deaths of
several of Richter’s former students—including AJ’s own sister—have aroused his
suspicions. He’s arousing something more in Sasha. Never one to surrender to
her emotions, she senses something tempting in AJ. She trusts him. He’s
fearless. And he kisses like a demon. Sasha’s found her match.
But treading Richter’s dark halls—and following their hearts—has its risks. As the decades-old secrets of the past are mined, Sasha and AJ are falling deeper in love . . . and into danger.
***
Author Biography
New York Times, #1 Wall Street Journal,
and USA Today bestselling author Catherine Bybee has written thirty
books that collectively have sold more than five million copies and been
translated into more than eighteen languages. Raised in Washington State, Bybee
moved to Southern California in the hope of becoming a movie star. After
growing bored with waiting tables, she returned to school and became a
registered nurse, spending most of her career in urban emergency rooms. She now
writes full-time and has penned the Not Quite Series, the Weekday Brides Series,
the Most Likely To Series, and the First Wives Series. For more information,
visit www.catherinebybee.com.
