Shattered (Max Revere, #4) by: Allison Brennan

You want the truth. I understand that drive. I really do. I am always seeking the truth-but more than that, I am looking for answers. I am driven by a much darker force than truth. I need justice, I need to know that killers will be caught, that they will be punished.

Max Revere is on a case for a her show that solves cold cases. It is the most compelling as it deals with human behavior and finding the truth. Her old college friend has called for help. His wife is on trial for the murder of their little boy that was taken and then found several miles from his home. Is this senseless murder connected to a cold case from twenty years ago? Where a killer buried the victims in a place where they played. Three cases that have similarities in the span of 20 years.

Max knows she needs to start with the first victim of Justin Stanton and they only way she can get answers is to have Lucy Kincaid FBI agent partner alongside her. Lucy is also related to the victim and specializes in profiling the serial killers. Where there is tension, character development is prevalent and it is between Lucy and Max. They both want the truth but they need each other to get to the killer. A killer that has methodically killed little boys and left families shattered.

This is the best one that I have read of these series. I loved how the relationship between Lucy and Max became one of respect where there was caution. These two characters were different in many aspects but their strength and weakness brought them together to solve the crime. It also dealt with what makes a mind want to kill children. The why of the crime is what made this such a compelling thriller. I loved it.

A Special Thank You to St. Martins Press and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to provide an honest review.

Where I lost Her by: T. Greenwood

Where I Lost Her by T. Greenwood
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have lost, those irretrievable things? It seems that everything I lose remains lost. For years now, I have had to resign myself to forfeiture. I am always, always, relinquishing things. Whether stupidly squandered or foolishly misplaced, whether abandoned or stolen, so much of what I have loved and wanted.

This is my second novel of Greenwood and I am always captivated with her characters and prose. She writes to make you feel something. Jess and Jake have taken leave of the fast paced life and come back to Jess hometown. Right away there is tension, a past and a marriage crumbling. In the haze of it all, Jess encounters a little girl that is hurt and in the middle of highway. She stops to help her and when she comes distracted, the little girl disappears. This occurrence takes her back to another time and place as she desperately looks to the authorities for help but they do not believe her. She begins to doubt herself and her marriage crumbles even more.

It is a compelling prose as you discover the past that has left Jess vulnerable and her marriage crushed. As she searches for the little girl, she is also in search of redemption. A desire to right what has been wrong.

A Special Thank You to Kensington and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

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After She’s Gone by: Lisa Jackson

After She’s Gone by Lisa Jackson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Rating 3.5 Stars

A mystery thriller that takes sister competition to a whole another level. Cassie Kramer and her younger sister, Allie have the average love/hate relationship. Their mother made her fame in the movies until a vicious attack on her and her youngest daughter sent her packing out of LA to the quiet of Washington state. Her daughters have followed in her footsteps in the movie business. Allie a popular actress making a un upcoming thriller and her oldest daughter a screenwriter. When the movie takes a tragedy and Allie goes missing, does it become a publicity stunt or something more sinister. Cassie has her own demons with a broken marriage and checking herself into “head” hospital, she becomes frantic for her missing sister. Checking herself out of the hospital, she does a little detective work on her own to find out what happened. In searching for her sister, several crew members of the movie become fatal victims of a vicious attack that link her sister and her mother to the murders.

The book starts in pretty intense but then the intensity kind of dies out until the very end. I felt like at times I was going in circles with the plot instead of forward. The intensity was the descriptive narrative of the perp and the frame of mind. Intensity was good; going in circles not so good.

A Special Thank You to Kensington Books and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

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Find Her (Detective DD Warren #8) by: Lisa Gardner

Find Her by Lisa Gardner
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Humans are interesting, however. Our ability to adapt is truly impressive. Our rage against our own suffering. Our relentless need to find a way out, to do something, anything, to advance our lot in life.

The adrenaline rush on this read is why I read. I can only imagine it is liken to jumping out of an airplane and realizing my chord is not working and falling a free fall with a safe landing only hundreds of feet left. That is what I felt and my heart is still going crazy. It is character study of survival. Flora Dane is a survivor. Or is she a loco? Or is she a vigilante? She is not a victim.

Flora Dane was your average college student. On spring break she was taken by Jacob Ness who had broken her down and rebuilt Flora in 472 days. First by putting her in a coffin, abusing her; changing her name and having her call him by her father’s name. It is brutal. But getting Flora back to her family was more devastation than the actual abduction. It was because getting her back was realizing that her family lost her after all. Flora is still surviving. She is on the hunt for other lost women that have disappeared. She is on a mission to balance the scale.

Agent DD Warren is called to a crime scene where Dane 5 years later has killed a man that has taken her just like Ness, but this time she fought back. Is this the man who has taken other missing women in Boston? Warren is mystified on Dane’s story and what her real story is. Warren realizes that Dane is not the normal distraught victim and it is troubling.

The narration starts with Dane’s abduction and how she gets in the zone to survive. Long ago I learned to separate my mind from my body, my emotions from my pain… This descriptive narrative is gripping as Dane’s fight for survival is all to real. The narration goes back in forth in time from when Dane’s abduction occurred, the relationship between Dane and Jacob, her freedom from Ness and finally her obsession to find other missing women. The narration also includes Warren’s investigation as she discovers the truth about Dane and about herself.

This can be a stand alone and does well as one however; I am under the assumption that in previous books, Warren had a shift of her job as a private detective and because of that she has had a loss of self. The two women find themselves and their sense of identity as they come together to find the high profile missing women.

I am a fan!

A Special Thank You to Penguin Group Dutton and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

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Summit Lake by: Charlie Donlea

Summit Lake by Charlie Donlea
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

As she stared down from the bluff, Kelsey felt connected to the town. It had a story to tell her. And even though Penn Courtney sent her here to slowly get her swagger back, to ease her gently back into the occupations she once ruled. Kelsey had no intention of taking it easy

I.Loved Loved. Loved . This…

Enough said.

I am tempted not to write a review in case I turn anyone off. But I have to tell you, this drew me in. No correction, I was reeled in.

So descriptive in many accounts. The setting in the Blue Ridge Mountains that is so peaceful, so beautiful. So how can a horrific crime occur that is so ugly and so violent. Becca Eckersley, a first-year law student, who had everything going for her, brutally murdered. Was it a murder of hate or of love?

Investigative reporter Kelsey Castle, is assigned to Summit Lake to find the story. It was an assignment to give her time off to recoup and regain confidence after she was brutally attacked and left for dead. Becca’s story became Kelsey story – the only difference is Kelsey survived.

I was reeled into this story on page 1…you meet Becca as the attack occurs. It is descriptive in that you are her! She knows her attacker and she knows why.

The narration is told by Becca that goes back 2 years back to how it all started to when the crime occurred. You come into Becca’s world of college and her 3 close friends. The dynamics of those friendships draws you into her world as well. Becca stress of upcoming tests and the lengths she will take to be in her father’s good graces.

The narration is also told by Kelsey as she takes the case and what she discovers. The cover-up of the family and the friends she makes while discovering the identity of Becca’s friends and who may have wanted to kill her.

Was it a surprise? Yes! and no. The yes keeps you going and the no keeps you intrigued. The social issues of (view spoiler)[Becca’s friendship with men and how they took her friendship for more. I think some women do not know the line that they cross over when it comes to friendship with men. (hide spoiler)]

Needless to say, I am looking forward to more of Charlie Donlea.

A Special Thank You to Kensington Books and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

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Now That She’s Gone (Waterman & Stark, #2) by: Gregg Olsen

Now That She’s Gone by Gregg Olsen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

She did see the great value she could bring to the justice system. She could see the sad appreciation on the faces of those who wanted to know the why behind the unthinkable. Sometimes, she knew, the why wouldn’t be enough.

Forensic pathologist Birdy Waterman and sheriff’s detective Kendall Stark work well together as they bring justice to their little town in Washington State. Kendall has compassion and no patience for those of the Narcissistic kind. Her compassion comes from her Autistic son and her lack of patience from seeing justice denied. Her lack of patience is about to be tested when she is required by her boss to do a reality show on a cold case involving the disappearance of a local girl. It becomes personal when the cold case and the escape of Brenda Nevins collide.

Narcissism is the key word for this thriller and it comes in all kinds using everything in its power to make itself known. That being said, this is a free for all when it comes to anything goes. Kendall’s character brings it home in pursuit of righting a wrong and having faith that it can be right.

A real page turner with twists and turns and cliff hanger! Looking forward to the next installment!

A Special Thank You to Kensington Books and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

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The Lost Codex (OPSIG Team Black #3) by Alan Jacobson

The Lost Codex by Alan Jacobson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Herein lies the problem. The two-state solution is a western construct, a foreign concept to the Middle Eastern culture

A political thriller that brings 4 agents together, FBI profiler Karen Vail, Special Forces veteran Hector DeSantos, and FBI terrorism expert Aaron Uziel, and Palastininan Fahad. After attacks in DC, their mission starts to find the cells and prevent another attack. However, in their pursuit, they discover the real mission of the terrorist Humat lies in the Codex text. (view spoiler)[The Codex text debunks Christianity (hide spoiler)] In essence the text will becomes a weapon that will force a two-state solution. The mission changes for the 4 to find the text and to determine who is faithful to own the ancient text.

This was fast read taking actual tensions and making sense of the Middle East Crisis. Is it believable? For me yes and no. Yes the crisis is real and no view spoiler. I enjoyed the banter between the agents and Vail’s commentary (the talking to herself). The tension becomes about who can you trust and can you trust their motivation. From fellow agents to the President of the United States does peace become possible. Is it a fight that is realistic?

A Special Thank You to Open Road Integrated Media and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

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The Girls She Left Behind (Lizzie Snow #2) by: Sarah Graves

The Girls She Left Behind by Sarah Graves
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Secrets are like acid; they can eat through you. If you keep them, they eat right through your soul.

My husband and I are big fans of the reality show the North Woods that is set in Maine. Watching the show gives me a great visual of Lizzie Snow and the work she does in law enforcement. Looking for her niece that was taken from her sister that was murdered, is the driving force behind Lizzie Snows move from Boston to Maine. The second of the series also deals with the victimization of children. Tara Wylie has disappeared. She has before, but her mother claims that this is different, but she is hiding some secret. Lizzie soon discovers escapee Henry Gemerle—a kidnapper and rapist who once held three girls prisoner may be in the area. Has he taken Tara?

The narration in part is told from a victim of Gemerle; Jane Crimmins who survived the abduction but is hiding a terrible secret. It is thriller that all comes together that a monster of a terrible crime creates another monster that is more disturbing than the first. Where secrets collide but is it time to save Tara?

I enjoy the Lizzie Snow series – the backdrop of her search for her niece, chemistry between her old partner and the hold that he has on Lizzie. She cannot completely let him go. The tension mounts on each book.

A Special Thank You to Random House Publishing Group, Ballantine, Bantam. and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

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No Good Deed (Lucy Kincaid #10) by: Allison Brennan

No Good Deed by Allison Brennan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Rules sometimes got in the way of justice, and she was willing to risk her job when necessary.

TENSION is one word to describe this fast paced thriller! I somewhat came late in the game as this is the 10th of a series of Lucy Kincaid. It left me wanting me more and I was thankful that I was not to lost picking up the 10th book. The life of Lucy Kincaid as a federal agent in the drug trafficking world is anything but boring. When fellow agent Nicole Rollins is arrested and charged for working for the cartel, Lucy begins to doubt herself for not seeing the real Nicole. The previous books I assume deal with putting Nicole behind bars and No Good Deed deals with Nicole making her escape and recovering the 23 million that the Federal government took from her Drug Cartel family. Lucy is determined to find out who the real Nicole is and that means going back to when she became an agent. She uncovers inconsistencies of her past and a cover up that only leads to more questions. Lucy recently engaged to Sean who helped bring Nicole down now fears that Sean will be a target. Will they discover in time who Nicole really is. What motivates her sinister plans. With who can you trust, makes it a great thriller that can be hard to put down.

A Special Thank You to Minotaur Books/St Martins Press and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

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Shadow Fall (Tracers, #9) by: Laura Griffin

Shadow Fall by Laura Griffin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Intense romance and intense thriller all in one. Special Agent Tara Rushing has been called to a horrific murder of an up-coming politician. Agent Rushing a complex character, a loner, a fighter, and a relationship mishap, finds herself attracted to the number 1 suspect Liam Wolfe who is owner/operator of a high end security operation. All roads point to Wolfe’s operation, however, Wolfe is adamant that his operation is clean and his people are above approach. When other victims are found, the heat is turned up in finding the killer before he strikes again. The perb’s mo is articulate and intentional. Will Rushing and Wolfe’s chemistry become a liability or an asset?

Fast paced with a surprise reveal at the end.

A Special Thank You to Pocket Books and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

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