Tag: suspense

Ribbons of Death (Stella Hunter Mystery Series: Peacetaker: Book 1) by Edita A. Petrick

Ribbons of Death (Peacetaker Series Book 1) by [Petrick, Edita A.]

Publisher: Edita A. Petrick

Date of Publication: May 23rd, 2017

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Action, Suspense, Fiction

Series: Stella Hunter Mystery Series: Peacetaker

Ribbons of Death—Book 1

The Harmony Scroll—Book 2 (review here)

The Byzantine Connection—Book 3 (review here)

Arachne’s Challenge—Book 4

Doomsday Hand—Book 5

Seals of Eternity—Book 6

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | AbeBooks | Indigo | Kobo

Goodreads Synopsis:

A career soldier who survived a deadly riot in Cairo, and a reclusive mythology expert from Montana, race against time to find the product of legends that’s cutting a bloody path across the continent.
***
One snowy evening, a stranger with a horribly scarred face stomps on the porch of Stella Hunter’s house, holding her latest book of myths and legends. He points to the bloody fingerprints of the book’s now deceased owner, marking a passage of the Peacetaker myth. When she asks how he came by the book, he tells her he took the controversial book from the lifeless hand of a traffic fatality in Cairo. And suddenly, Stella could swear that somewhere a clock started ticking down to doomsday. After all, the fate of humanity depends on whether she was right or wrong when she wrote her infamous book.

This book had a slow start. For the first few chapters, I didn’t know where the author would go with it. After the carnage of the demonstration and meeting Agent Carter, it more than delivered.

Carter was a mysterious person, and I learned about his background throughout the book.

Stella Hunter wasn’t mysterious. What you see is what you get with her. I love that she is ditzy, super smart, and not afraid to punch someone if needed.

The author also made no qualms about naming the bad guys in this book. She comes right out in the first two chapters and names them. The rest of the book is dedicated to finding The Peacemaker and his handler. And, of course, having Stella and Carter outwit the bad guy’s minions. Loved it!!

There was a slight romantic connection between Carter and Stella. No sex or anything but something deeper. I can’t wait to see if the author decides if they will be linked in the upcoming books!!

The ending was great, but it wasn’t what I expected. It did pave the way for the next book.

I would recommend Ribbons of Death to anyone over 16. There is language and violence, but no sex.

If you enjoyed reading Ribbons of Death, you will enjoy reading these books:

Her Survivor (Black Eagle Ops: Book 1) by Vonnie Davis

Her Survivor: A Black Eagle Ops Novel by [Davis, Vonnie]

Publisher: Loveswept

Date of publication: July 19th, 2016

Genre: Romance, Romantic Suspense, Contemporary Romance, War, Military Fiction, Military Romance, Contemporary, Disability, Fiction, Suspense

Series: Black Eagle Ops

Her Survivor—Book 1

Hers to Heal—Book 2 (review here)

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | Indigo | Kobo | Apple Books

Goodreads synopsis:

Vonnie Davis welcomes readers to Wounded Warrior Falls! In this sizzling contemporary series, broken heroes meet women worth fighting for—and discover the healing power of love.

Navy SEAL Dustin Frank can handle physical pain; it’s his soul that needs mending. After losing part of his leg in an explosion, the panic triggered by his PTSD nearly drives him over the edge. So Dustin retreats to the Eagle Ridge Ranch, a charming hideaway tucked into the Hill Country of Texas. There he finds solace in the arms of a shy beauty who reawakens desires he thought he’d lost forever—and who makes him want to lose control, just when he needs it most.

Kelcee Todd sees beyond Dustin’s scars to the real man beneath: fiercely protective, strong yet tender. She wants nothing more than to feel his battle-hardened hands on her body. However, Kelcee is not the ordinary small-town girl she appears to be. Her brother is a killer with ties to the Russian mob, and after her testimony put him in prison, he’s out and eager for revenge. Now Dustin is her best defense, even if it could cost him everything. Kelcee could never ask him to make that sacrifice . . . but she can’t stop him, either.

I am guilty of stereotyping a book, and I am sorry. When I first started reading this book, I thought, “Wounded Army vet meets spunky girl, and sparks fly. Yawn.” And I am here to say, “I am wrong” and “Not even close.”

Dustin’s character was well written, and his PTSD symptoms were point on. There were points in the book where I wanted to cry for him. I understand how his mental fog, anxiety, and depression affected his everyday life. So when ZQ offered him a place at the ranch, I wanted to cheer.

When I couldn’t get any more vested in the book, we met Kelcee and the rest of the town. Talk about a town that I would love to live in!!! What eccentric people. I loved it. From ZQ’s mom to Sugar Loaf/Silver Stud, they stick in your mind. I also could see Kelcee being one of my good friends. She was so real, and I giggled at some of her zingers and one-liners.

The sexual tension and sexual chemistry between Kelcee and Dustin were off the wall. The tension was there from the minute they met, even though they did not want it. And when they finally ended up in bed, it was so bittersweet that I wanted to cry.

The subplot about Kelcee being in the Witness Protection Program was kept under wrap. Translated: I didn’t pay attention to the blurb (was too busy staring at the cover and drooling). When it was revealed, it was surprising to me. The only thing I didn’t like about this was that Kelcee took forever to tell Dustin. Which, in my mind, was stupid because he could have ended that whole thing for her when she got hurt.

The ending was hilarious, in a way. Not giving anything away, but when Junebug freaks out, I laughed until I had tears running down my cheeks. It was that funny.

3 Things I liked about Her Survivor:

  1. Dustin and Kelcee’s romance
  2. Junebug (OMG, loved her)
  3. Nance

3 Things I disliked about Her Survivor:

  1. Kelcee’s brother
  2. Dustin’s PTSD
  3. Instalove

I would recommend Her Survivor to anyone over 21. There are graphic sex scenes, language, and violence.

If you enjoyed reading Her Survivor, you will enjoy reading these books:

Resthaven by Erik Therme

Resthaven by [Therme, Erik]

Publisher: Thecker Books

Date of publication: April 12th, 2016

Genre: Young Adult, Thriller, Horror, Suspense, Mystery, Fiction, Contemporary, Mystery Thriller

Purchase Links: Amazon | Audible | AbeBooks | Alibris | IndieBound | Indigo | BetterWorldBooks

Goodreads Synopsis:

The last thing fifteen-year-old Kaylee wants to do is participate in a childish scavenger hunt–especially inside the abandoned retirement home on the edge of town. When she finds a bruised, deaf boy hiding inside one of the rooms, she vows to lead him to safety . . . only to discover the front doors are now padlocked, and her friends are nowhere to be found. Kaylee is about to learn that not everything that goes “bump in the night” is imaginary, and sometimes there are worse things to fear than ghosts.

Have you ever read a book that is so creepy and unsettling that it stays with you afterward? A book that invades your dreams and gives you nightmares?

Well, this is that book.

It starts innocently. A sleepover at a new friend’s house. It turns sinister when the new friend throws a scavenger hunt in the nursing home.

The doors to the nursing home are mysteriously padlocked. Locking Kaylee, Sid, Anna, and Wren inside with an elderly man who is insane. When Kaylee found a 5-year-old abused deaf boy in a closet, my pulse level went through the roof!!!

I could not put this book down and read it in one sitting. Like I said above, it gets under your skin, and you wonder what will happen to the girls and the boy at the end.

Speaking of the end, I enjoyed it. Kaylee did the right thing. I

I would recommend Resthaven to anyone over 16. There is mild violence, mild language, and no sexual situations.

If you enjoyed reading Resthaven, you will enjoy reading these books

The Last Time She Saw Him (Julia Gooden Mystery: Book 1) by Jane Haseldine

The Last Time She Saw Him (A Julia Gooden Mystery Book 1) by [Haseldine, Jane]

Publisher: Kensington

Date of Publication: June 28, 2016

Genre: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Suspense, Mystery Thriller, Crime, Psychological Thriller, Adult Fiction, Contemporary,

Series: Julia Gooden Mystery

The Last Time She Saw Him—Book 1

Duplicity—Book 2 (review here)

Worth Killing For—Book 3

You Fit the Pattern—Book 4

Purchase Links: Amazon | Audible | AbeBooks | Alibris | Powells | Indigo | BetterWorldBooks

Goodreads Synopsis:

In Jane Haseldine’s gripping and brilliantly crafted debut, a reporter searching for her kidnapped son must untangle the connection to her brother’s long-ago disappearance.

Julia Gooden remembers nothing about the worst night of her life. Thirty years ago, her nine-year-old brother Ben—the person who promised he would always protect her—was abducted from the room they shared. Try as she might to recall any clue or detail, there is a black hole where Julia’s memories of that terrible event should be.

Now a crime reporter at a Detroit newspaper, Julia tries to give others the closure she’s never found. But guilt and grief over Ben’s disappearance have left her fearful that whoever took her brother is going to come back. Nowhere seems safe—not the city, not the suburbs, not even the secluded lake town where she plans to raise her children. And then, on the anniversary of Ben’s disappearance, Julia’s worst fears are realized when her two-year-old son, Will, is snatched from his bed.

Convinced that the crimes are related, Julia tries to piece together memories from her final day with Ben. Are the sudden reminders of her brother clues that will lead her to her son’s abductor, or merely coincidence? Julia knows she has hours at best to find Will alive, but the deeper she digs, the more personal and terrifying the battle becomes, and an undying promise may be her only hope of saving herself and her son.

My review:

If you are looking for a book that showcases the best and worst of people and has a dash of the supernatural in it, read this book.

Julia was not a character that was likable, and I love that the author wrote her that way. She suffers survivor’s guilt after her older brother was kidnapped out of their room when she was 7. That one event shaped her entire life. Julia tortures herself over his disappearance. This has affected all areas of her life, from her job and marriage to how she parents her children.

The story got going when her 2-year-old was kidnapped out of his room. The author did a great job writing that part of the book too. She captured Julia’s terror and her fight to get her child away from the kidnappers.

The book then became a mishmash of the present and past.  It was discovered that the same Indian head arrow was left under Will’s crib. Which was a connection to her brother’s disappearance.

But all is not what it seems. Clues were given by a pedophile pastor. A police detective was halfway in love with her. I didn’t know what direction the book was going in. And that was the best thing about it!!!

I didn’t know who the kidnappers were until the very end of the book. The author did a fantastic job of keeping that hidden. She threw out red herrings and created a couple of false leads that, when it was revealed, I  went, “Whaaaat??“

I would recommend The Last Time She Saw Him to anyone over 21. There is violence, language, and no sex. There are also graphic descriptions of sexually abused children.

If you enjoyed reading The Last Time She Saw Him; you will enjoy reading these books:

Need To Find You by Joseph Souza

Publisher: Kindle Press

Date of publication: March 15, 2016

Genre: Thriller, Suspense, Fiction, Mystery, Crime

Purchase Links: Amazon | Alibris | IndieBound | BetterWorldBooks

Goodreads Synopsis:

Yasmine ‘Yaz’ Weeks would prefer to forget her troubled past and the vile crimes committed against her, but when she discovers a hidden memoir in a kidnapped girl’s cell phone, Yaz finds herself on the run with an opportunity for retribution. She soon learns that the memoir has the potential to ruin both the reputation of its late great author, Robert Cornish, as well as the reputations of many influential people.
Whip Billings, an ex-cop, unwittingly becomes entangled in the mystery of the missing phone. Realizing that this newfound memoir could significantly hurt the sales of Cornish’s classic novel, Force of Will, he begins to search for Yaz. But why are the cops, and a mysterious drug kingpin known only as The Viking, also looking for her?
In his quest to find Yaz, Whip uncovers a vast network of political corruption, long hidden family secrets, and a series of reprehensible crimes. As the bodies in town begin to pile up, Whip knows that he must track down Yaz before she also turns up dead.

I liked this book. From the beginning,  when I met Yaz to the end, it was a rollercoaster ride of thrills. I didn’t know what I would get from one chapter to another. I liked that the author didn’t hide who the bad guys were. He did skirt the line on what characters were defined as bad or corrupt. He made me think about what I would do in certain situations and how I would have reacted. Would I have acted the same as these characters did? Would I make that choice that could send me down the wrong/right path? Very thought-provoking because of all the gray areas that were brought up in the book.

I liked Yaz’s character. She was badass (I mean, she’s a drummer in a band called The Kuntz”), but at the same time, she had a soft spot. She worked in a shelter for homeless teens. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time to get Mikiela’s cell phone. The flashbacks we get from her childhood are awful.

I liked Whip’s character, but I didn’t feel bad for him at all. I did at the beginning, I mean, he was attending a funeral for his mother, but after that, all sympathy went poof. He is an alcoholic. He had 1 year sober when he threw it all away to meet with an old contact to help locate his missing stepdaughter.

The other substories were blended beautifully into the book. Each ended towards the end of the book, and they were merged beautifully with the substory.

I loved the ending; finding out who The Viking was and what drove him to commit his crimes was great. I was very surprised to find out who he was, to be honest, but looking back, it made sense and fit perfectly into the story.

3 Things I liked about Need To Find You:

  1. Yaz
  2. Whip
  3. Storyline

3 Things I disliked about Need To Find You:

  1. Krell
  2. The Viking
  3. Haskins

I would recommend Need To Find You to anyone over 21. There is extreme violence, sexual situations, drug use, child abuse, and language.

If you enjoyed reading Need to Find You, you will enjoy reading these books:

The One Man by Andrew Gross

The One Man: The Riveting and Intense Bestselling WWII Thriller by [Gross, Andrew]

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Date of publication: August 23, 2016

Genre: Historical, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Thriller, War, World War II, Holocaust, Suspense

Purchase Links: Amazon | Audible | IndieBound | Indigo | Kobo | BetterWorldBooks

Goodreads Synopsis:

1944. Physics professor Alfred Mendl is separated from his family and sent to the men’s camp, where all of his belongings are tossed on a roaring fire. His books, his papers, his life’s work. The Nazis have no idea what they have just destroyed. And without that physical record, Alfred is one of only two people in the world with his particular knowledge. Knowledge that could start a war, or end it.

Nathan Blum works behind a desk at an intelligence office in Washington, DC, but he longs to contribute to the war effort in a more meaningful way, and he has a particular skill set the U.S. suddenly needs. Nathan is fluent in German and Polish, he is Semitic looking, and he proved his scrappiness at a young age when he escaped from the Polish ghetto. Now, the government wants him to take on the most dangerous assignment of his life: Nathan must sneak into Auschwitz, on a mission to find and escape with one man.

This historical thriller from New York Times bestseller Andrew Gross is a deeply affecting, unputdownable series of twists and turns through a landscape at times horrifyingly familiar but still completely compelling.

I am going to start this review with a dedication. I found out that Elie Wiesel died today at the age of 87. He dedicated his whole life to keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive. I read Night in 9th grade as part of an English assignment. So, to say I was (and still am) very interested in the Holocaust is an understatement. I read everything and anything about the Holocaust (from fiction to nonfiction) that I get my hands on. So RIP Elie Wiesel.

This was one of the best books that I have read to date. From the beginning, when an old man in a nursing home decides to open up to his daughter, it takes off. It is a whirlwind ride that left me breathless (and in tears) at the end of the book.

I was taken back to Nazi-occupied Germany and Roosevelt-era USA. The atrocities committed against the Jewish people in the book were vividly written. I had to put my book down at some points because I was crying so hard. Introduced in the book, in no particular order: Nathan Blum, Alfred Mendl, Leo Wolciek, and Greta Ackerman. All their lives become intertwined at Auschwitz.

This book is fast-paced, and I did not want to put it down in case I missed something. There are several twists to the plot, but the two biggest were saved for the end, and they took me by surprise.

3 things I liked about The One Man:

  1. Nathan Blum
  2. The storyline
  3. Leo Wolciek

3 Things I disliked about The One Man:

  1. Auschwitz
  2. Kurt Ackerman
  3. The scene right before the ending

I would recommend The One Man to anyone over 21. There is brutal violence, language, and sex.

If you enjoyed reading The One Man, you will enjoy reading these books:

Deception Island (The Legionnaires: Book 1) by Brynn Kelly

Publisher: HQN Books

Date of publication: May 31st, 2016

Genre: Romance, Suspense, Thriller, Mystery

Series: The Legionnaires

Deception Island—Book 1

Edge of Truth—Book 2

Forbidden River—Book 2.5

A Risk Worth Taking—Book 3

Purchase Links: Amazon | Audible | AbeBooks | Alibris | Powells | IndieBound | Indigo | BetterWorldBooks

Goodreads Synopsis:

A stolen boy 

A haunted soldier 

A cornered con woman… 

Rafe Angelito thought he was done with the demons from his past—until his son is kidnapped. Blackmailed into abducting an American heiress, the legionnaire soon finds himself trapped in paradise with a fiery, daring beauty who’s nothing he expects…and everything he desires. But when he uncovers her own dark secret, Rafe realizes he’s made a critical mistake—one that could cost him everything. 

Playing body double for a spoiled socialite was supposed to be Holly Ryan’s ticket to freedom. But when she’s snatched off her yacht by a tall, dark and dangerous stranger, the not-quite-reformed con artist will make a desperate play to turn her captor from enemy to ally, by any means necessary. 

Yet as scorching days melt into sultry nights, Holly is drawn to the mysterious capitaine, with his unexpected sense of honor and his searing touch. When they’re double-crossed, they’ll have to risk trusting each other in ways they never imagined…because in this deadly game of deception, it’s their lives—and hearts—on the line.

Oh my lord, this book was good. Everything about it felt like gold. From Rafe’s background as a child soldier, to Holly’s time in prison, to the circumstances that led to Rafe kidnapping her—I was completely hooked. I finished this book in one sitting because I genuinely could not stop reading.

Going into a Harlequin novel, I usually expect a pretty specific formula: an overconfident hero, a heroine who can’t see past her own issues, lukewarm sex scenes, and a plot that doesn’t dig too deep. That was not the case here. The twists and turns kept me guessing, the story never settled into something predictable, and the sex scenes were HOT, HOT, HOT—without ever taking away from the plot.

At its core, this story pulls you in emotionally. If you’re a parent, you already know—you’d do anything to get your child back. That’s exactly what Rafe does after discovering his son has been kidnapped by someone from his past. As more of his history is revealed, it’s impossible not to feel for him. His story is heartbreaking.

Holly’s story is just as tragic, though it unfolds more slowly. At first, all we know is that she’s an ex-con who’s been approached by a U.S. senator to impersonate his daughter on a sailing trip around the world. What the author reveals along the way explains so much about who Holly is and why—and it’s devastating in the best, most emotionally effective way.

I also appreciated the inclusion of child soldiers and human sex trafficking as subplots. Both are deeply disturbing realities, and the author handles them in a way that adds weight to the story without feeling exploitative. There are links at the end of the book for readers who want to learn more or help make a difference.

And then there’s the twist. A huge one. The kind that makes you put the book down and just say, “Whoa.” There wasn’t even a hint—it completely blindsided me, in the best way.

The ending was perfect. Honestly, if it had ended any other way, I would’ve been disappointed.

In The Clearing (Tracy Crosswhite: Book 3) by Robert Dugoni

In the Clearing (Tracy Crosswhite Book 3) by [Dugoni, Robert]

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer

Date of publication: May 17th, 2016

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Crime, Suspense, Contemporary, Detective, Adult

Series: Tracy Crosswhite Series

The Academy—Book 0.25

Third Watch—Book 0.5

My Sister’s Grave—Book 1

Her Final Breath—Book 2

In the Clearing—Book 3

The Trapped Girl—Book 4

Close to Home—Book 5

A Steep Price—Book 6

A Cold Trail—Book 7

In Her Tracks—Book 8

The Last Line—Book 8.5

What She Found—Book 9

Purchase Links: Amazon |Audible

Goodreads synopsis:

Detective Tracy Crosswhite has a skill, and a soft spot, for tackling unsolved crimes. Having lost her own sister to murder at a young age, Tracy has dedicated her career to bringing justice and closure to the families and friends of victims of crime.

So when Jenny, a former police academy classmate, and protégé, asks Tracy to help solve a cold case that involves the suspicious suicide of a Native American high school girl forty years earlier, Tracy agrees. Following up on evidence Jenny’s detective father collected when he was the investigating deputy, Tracy probes one small town’s memory and finds dark, well-concealed secrets hidden within the community’s fabric. Can Tracy uphold the promise she’s made to the dead girl’s family and deliver the truth of what happened to their daughter? Or will she become the next victim?

Want a book you can devour in one sitting? Then read In the Clearing. I was completely glued to this one and couldn’t put it down.

The main storyline and the subplot were both fantastic. The author does a great job of alternating between the cold case and the one Tracy is currently working on, seamlessly moving between past and present—and even between different perspectives. That’s something I usually struggle with in books like this, but here it absolutely worked. The way both cases come together in the end is chilling. I actually got goosebumps.

I did figure out who killed Kimi about halfway through the book—but not because it was obvious in a bad way. There were plenty of red herrings and apparent dead ends, so when everything was revealed, I was still shocked. And there’s a major twist I did not see coming.

What surprised me most is that even though this is part of a series, it works perfectly as a standalone. I usually avoid reading books out of order because characters and plots tend to bleed together. Not here. What happens in previous books stays in previous books.