The Other Girl, by Erica Spindler ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Mystery, Psychological Thrillers, Romantic Suspense

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: Available Now

352 Pages

Synopsis: Office Miranda Rader of Hammond PD in Louisiana is known for her honesty, integrity, and steady hand in a crisis–but that wasn’t always so. Miranda comes from Jasper, just south of Hammond, a place about the size of a good spit on a hot day, and her side of the tracks was the wrong one. She’s worked hard to leave the girl she used to be behind and earn respect in her position as an officer.

However, when Miranda and her partner are called to investigate the murder of one of the town’s most beloved college professors, they’re unprepared for the gruesomeness of the scene. This murder is unlike any they’ve ever investigated, and just when Miranda thinks she’s seen the worst of it, she finds a piece of evidence that chills her to the core: a faded newspaper clipping about a terrible night from her long-buried past. Then another man turns up dead, this one a retired cop, and not just any cop–Clint Wheeler, the cop who took her statement that night. Two murders, two very different men, two killings that on the surface had nothing in common–except Miranda, 14 years ago.

And when her fingerprints turn up at the scene of the first murder, Miranda once again finds herself under the microscope, her honesty and integrity doubted, her motivations questioned. Alone again, the trust of her colleagues shattered, Miranda must try to trust the instincts she’s pushed down for so long, and decide what’s right–before it’s too late.

I’ve been a fan of Erica Spindler for several years, and have always been able to count on her for a good suspense/thriller with interesting characters. With The Other Girl, The prolific author has once again proven why she’s one of the most well-known authors in this genre.

The story grabbed me from the very first page. Miranda and her partner Jake Billings are fantastic characters, and I was thoroughly invested in the two of them. Miranda, a former wild child, is someone that readers will root for. She’s worked so hard to pull herself up and become a well respected homicide detective, and she’s done so without stepping on anyone else. And this makes it especially heartbreaking when Miranda finds that her past has come back to haunt her and threatens to undo everything she’s accomplished.

Although it was almost immediately obvious who the murderer was, there are still enough twists that prevent this story from being predictable. It’s very fast-paced and I wound up finishing it in two sittings. When real life had the nerve to interrupt my reading, I was reluctant to put this down. The ending with its epilogue is perfect, and left me completely satisfied.

Long-time fans of Erica Spindler won’t be disappointed in The Other Girl, and for anyone who is new to her writing, this is a great book to start with. There are so many thrillers that are currently out there, with strong female leads, but in my opinion, this truly stands out from the rest and I can’t highly recommend it enough!

 

 

The Obsession ~ By Nora Roberts – 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Family Relationships, Romantic Suspense, Serial Killers

Thank you Penguin First To Read for providing an e-Arc in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: April, 12th, 2016

Synopsis: Naomi Bowes lost her innocence the night she followed her father into the woods. In freeing the girl trapped in the root cellar, Naomi revealed the horrible extent of her father’s crimes and made him infamous.

Now a successful photographer living under the name Naomi Carson, she has found a place that calls to her, thousands of miles away from everything she’s ever known. Naomi wants to embrace the solitude, but the residents of Sunrise Cove keep forcing her to open up–especially the determined Xander Keaton.

Naomi can feel her defenses falling, and knows that the connection her new life offers is something she’s always secretly craved. But as she’s learned time and again, her past is never more than a nightmare away.

I’ve been a fan of Nora Roberts for thirty-some-odd years, and with each book I read it continually amazes me that the quality of writing of this prolific author always is of the highest standard, even though she’s now coming out with several books a year: usually one romantic-suspense standalone, a paperback trilogy, and two in her In Death series under her pseudonym J.D. Robb. She also usually contributes at least a couple of short stories or novellas to various anthologies. I’m happy to say that in my humble opinion Obsession is a shining example of why Nora Roberts is a bestselling author. 

The story immediately kicks into high gear, when an almost 12-year old Naomi discovers what her strict and controlling father has been doing in the root cellar. The plucky preteen shows more courage and determination than many adults would if faced with similar circumstances. She’s forced to grow up very quickly after her father’s crimes are brought to light, but she and her younger brother Mason are loved, cared for, and protected by their uncle and his husband. Sadly, their mother never truly recovers, and in many respects young Naomi becomes her caretaker. 

When the plot moves to 17 years later, Naomi is a successful photographer who after years of being on the move, surprisingly finds herself buying a house, adopting a dog, and settling into the community of Sunrise Cove. It’s there she meets Xander: business owner, mechanic, singer, and book collector. Yep. A true renaissance man. Like all her male protagonists, Xander is definitely has an alpha-type personality, but that’s okay because so does Naomi. They both believe in telling it like it is, although Naomi is reluctant to share her family background for obvious reasons. Their romance and the way it develops is mesmerizing and utterly believable. They’re both the type of people you’d like to have as friends in real life. 

Another reason why I love Nora Roberts is the way she fleshes out her secondary characters which usually makes me as emotionally invested in them as I am in her main characters. I found this to be the same case here, especially with Naomi’s brother Mason. While he doesn’t play as big a part in the story as Naomi, he’s intriguing enough that I’m hoping he gets his own story.

The actual mystery doesn’t really come into play until halfway through the book, and it wasn’t hard to guess the identity of the killer, which is why I’ve given this only 4 1/2 stars. But honestly, the characters are so engaging that it doesn’t really matter. Naomi’s backstory and how she’s trying to come to terms with what happened, while for the first time in her adult life she’s lowering her barriers and letting people in, makes for some pretty compelling reading itself.

Overall, Obsession is a fantastic read which should appeal to longtime fans of the author as well as readers who haven’t tried her before and are looking for a solid romantic-suspense novel. I always think it’s the sign of a great book when I’m still thinking about it several days after I’ve finished it and that’s turned out to be the case here. Obsession is full of the beautiful detail and compelling characters which are hallmarks of Nora Roberts and will pull you right into the story and not let go until you’ve reached the end. It’s a must read for any fan of this genre!

Vulnerable (Morgans of Nashville) ~ By Mary Burton – 3.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Forensic Technology, Murder Mysteries, Nashville, Romantic Suspense

Thank you NetGalley and Pinnacle for providing an e-Arc in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: March 29th, 2016

Synopsis: 

The Smallest Mistake.

Three went in; one came out. For five years, no trace has been found of two high-school friends who went hiking in the woods near Nashville. The third teen, Amber Ryder, was discovered at the bottom of a ravine with a broken arm, head trauma–And zero memory of the horror that put her there.

Will Put You There.

What started as a cold case has become a fresh hell for forensic technician Georgia Morgan. Another woman’s body is found in the woods, and it leads to the missing teens’ remains. But while Georgia works with Amber to try and reawaken her memories, her gut tells her the worst is yet to come. 

At A Killer’s Mercy.

Homicide Detective Jake Bishop can’t be sure whether Amber is an expert manipulator or the killer’s next target. Either way, he’s determined to protect Georgia. Because the deeper she digs into the past, the deadlier the secrets that emerge, and a nightmare years in the making is about to come to a bloody, terrifying end…

Vulnerable is a book that’s described as being romantic suspense, but sadly there’s little of either. Instead there’s wooden characters and a predictable, formulaic plot that held few surprises. As much as I tried I could not connect to either Georgia or Jake. Both are likable enough, but there’s little chemistry between them, and I actually thought they were completely mismatched. This made the two sexual scenes toward the end seem almost like an afterthought. The villains are pretty one-dimensional also. I love it when an author creates an antagonist where I feel as though I’m pulled right into their sick twisted minds. But like Georgia and Jake, I never got a true sense of who they were in this story, and what made them tick. The mystery is pretty predictable and I had already figured out the who, and why by the halfway point. I will say though, I found the descriptions of the forensic procedures used by Georgia really interesting and the story itself flowed smoothly. I also liked the bar scenes where Georgia moonlights singing because I actually felt as though I was in a honky-tonk bar in Nashville. The story itself flowed smoothly and was fast paced which made it a quick read. I know it’s hard to believe, but I usually like Mary Burton. I’ve read several of her past novels and have enjoyed them immensely. This is the fourth book in a series, but it works fine as a standalone. I’m wondering though if the fact that I haven’t read the previous books contributed to my disconnect, but I don’t think so. I recently read and reviewed Amanda Steven’s The Visitor which is also the fourth book in a series in which I hadn’t read the previous books. I enjoyed that so much I’ve ordered the first three books. Unfortunately after reading Vulnerable I’m  just not interested enough to go back and read the other books in the Morgans of Nashville series. Overall it’s not a bad book. For me it just doesn’t really have anyone or anything in it that distinguishes itself from the multitude of other books in this genre. I do want to point out that it has received plenty of good ratings on Goodreads. Actually, if you want to get another opinion, check out Carrie’s excellent review at: http://carriesbookreviews.wordpress.com