A Merciful Death (Mercy Kilpatrick #1) ~ By Kendra Elliot – 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, FBI, Mystery, Serial Killers, Survivalists, Suspense

Thanks to NetGalley and Montlake Romance for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: January 17th, 2016

352 Pages

Synopsis: FBI special agent Mercy Kilpatrick has been waiting her whole life for disaster to strike. A prepper since childhood, Mercy grew up living off the land–and off the grid–in rural Eagle’s Nest, Oregon. Until a shocking tragedy tore her family apart and forced her to leave home. Now a predator known as the cave man is targeting the survivalists in her hometown, murdering them in their homes, stealing huge numbers of weapons, and creating federal suspicion of a possible domestic terrorism event. But the crime scene details are eerily familiar to an unsolved mystery from Mercy’s past.

Sent by the FBI to assist local law enforcement, Mercy returns to Eagle’s Nest to face the family who shunned her while maintaining the facade of a law-abiding citizen. There, she meets police chief Truman Daly, whose uncle was the cave man’s latest victim. He sees the survivalist side of her she desperately tries to hide, but if she lets him get close enough to learn her secret, she might not survive the fallout…

While the plot of Merciful Death is enjoyable, what truly drives this book are it’s characters, particularly Mercy Kilpatrick, who is one of the most unique heroines I’ve come across. While unsurprisingly, given her occupation, she’s a kickass character and her prepper childhood has had a profound effect on her and adds to her complexity. She has so many layers and secrets, that I think there will be even more revealed in ensuing books. As for Truman, well, I have a new book crush. He’s also a strong personality, but there’s a vulnerability to him which comes from an incident which took place when he was a police officer in a large city. He’s instantly attracted to Mercy, but this is written in a realistic manner. His loyalty to her, and some of his admittedly stalker-like yet adorable behavior towards her in the middle of the investigation makes him that much more endearing. The chemistry between them steadily grows throughout the story, yet is light on actual romance, so I’m excited to see how things turn out for them in the rest of the series. The mystery itself made for a fun read and it kept me guessing as to who the killer was right up until the very end. I had to suspend belief at times regarding some of the events that take place, but it wasn’t that difficult to do. I highly recommend Merciful Death to fans of mystery and suspense, especially if you’re looking for a story with unusual characters. I’m very much looking forward to the next book in the series, Merciful Truth, which is coming out on June 6th. 

Pretty Wicked ~ By Kelly Charron – 5.0 Stars

Tags

Horror, Mystery, Serial Killers, Thriller, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Dark Arts Publishing for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: September 30th, 2016

300 Pages

Synopsis: The daughter of a local police detective, fifteen-year-old Ryann has spent most of her life studying how to pull off the most gruesome murders her small town of Colorado has ever seen. 

But killing is only part of it. Ryann enjoys being the reason the cops are frenzied. The one who makes her neighbors lock their doors and windows on a hot summer’s day. The one everyone fears but no one suspects. 

Carving out her own murderous legacy proves harder than she predicted. Mistakes start adding up. And with the police getting closer, and her own father becoming suspicious, Ryann has to prove once and for all that she’s smarter than everyone else–or she’ll pay the ultimate price.

Some people are called to certain things in their life. That’s what hunting is for me. An urge. A desire. The closest thing I have to a calling.

My name is Ryann Wilkanson. I’m fifteen years old.

And I’m a killer.

And with that chilling opening, you know this isn’t going to be your typical YA novel. Oh sure. Ryann may look all perky and polished.

You know. The cheerleader. The straight-A student. The girl everyone wants to be. But inside she is seriously twisted.

She’s been planning her first murder since she was nine-years-old and was helping her older sister babysit a neighbor’s annoying little girl. Studying up on serial killers by watching true crime specials, she idolizes the likes of John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy and Jack the Ripper. She dreams of the day when she can start her own reign of terror in her small Colorado town, and now she feels the time is right.

Starting with the little girl, who’s now twelve, she proceeds to cut a bloody swath through her town, reveling in each kill. But, as the body count rises and Ryann grows more and more confident, she starts making some pretty rudimentary mistakes, and she becomes desperate to turn suspicion away from herself.

What ultimately shocked me the most about this story, is that in some incredibly bizarre way, I kind of liked Ryann. I actually found myself rooting for her at times. Oh God! I know! That’s just so wrong! Most of the book is told from her perspective so you really get an inside look at what makes her tick. Okay, yes she’s a complete psychopath, but she realizes exactly what she is and is completely comfortable with it. She knows precisely how to play people and also has this wickedly black sense of humor which had me laughing out loud a couple of times, especially when she’s fangirling over famous serial killers. I know how demented that sounds, but trust me. If you decide to read this, you’ll know exactly what I mean. I also felt a little sorry for her. The youngest daughter of a respected police detective, she just can’t seem to step out from under her sister’s shadow. Nothing she does seems good enough, and it’s obvious how this plays into her psychosis. Surprisingly, for all the carnage that unfolds, there’s very little blood and gore, and best of all, no adorable pets are killed. So, if you’re an animal lover like me you can heave a sigh of relief. There’s also a secondary mystery involving a secret admirer who knows exactly what Ryann has been up to, which adds an additional intriguing layer to an already mesmerizing story. As Ryann became more and more sloppy in choosing her victims and covering up her kills, I knew she was going to eventually get caught, although I was half expecting her to pull a rabbit out of her hat and charm herself out of the corner she had painted herself into. I couldn’t tear myself away until the exciting conclusion. I began reading around 8:00 p.m and stayed up until the wee hours of the morning because I just had to know how everything turned out.

In the end, while Ryann may be down, you just know she’s definitely not out. Thankfully there’s going to be a sequel, Wicked Fallout, which hopefully will be out next year. Pretty Wicked is going on my short list of favorite books of 2016. I highly recommend this for older teens and adults who are in the mood for a dark read with an anti hero you’ll find yourself becoming reluctantly enthralled with. I guarantee Ryann won’t be a character you’ll forget anytime soon!

Ink and Bone ~ By Lisa Unger – 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Horror, Mystery, Paranormal Fiction, Serial Killers, Suspense

Thank you NetGalley and Touchstone for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: June 7th, 2016

Synopsis: Twenty-year-old Finley Montgomery is rarely alone. Visited by people whom others can’t see and haunted by prophetic dreams, she has never been able to control or understand the things that happen to her. When Finley’s abilities start to become too strong for her to handle–and even the roar of her motorcycle or another dazzling tattoo can’t drown out the voices–she turns to the only person she knows who can help her: her grandmother Eloise Montgomery, a renowned psychic living in The Hollows, New York.

Merri Gleason is a woman at the end of her tether after a ten-month-long search for her missing daughter Abbey. With almost every hope exhausted, she resorts to hiring Jones Cooper, a detective who sometimes works with Eloise Montgomery. Merri’s not a believer, but she’s just desperate enough to go down that road, praying she’s not to late. Time, she knows, is running out. 

As a harsh white winter moves into The Hollow, Finley and Eloise are drawn into the investigation, which proves to have much more at stake than even the fate of a missing girl. As Finley digs deeper into the town and its endless layers, she is forced to examine the past, even as she tries to look into the future. Only one thing is clear: The Hollows gets what it wants, no matter what.

Ink and Bone is the first full length novel set in The Hollows following three short stories collected under the title The Whispering Hollows. You needn’t have read the previous stories in order to enjoy this, but if you do try Ink and Bone, you’re probably going to want to go back and get caught up. This is one of those suspense/thrillers where the tension begins on the very first page and never lets up. Finley is an interesting character even without her cool motorcycle, pink hair and many tattoos, taken into consideration. She’s conflicted about her psychic abilities thanks to her mother who denied her daughter’s gift while she was a child. Although Finley has always had the support of her grandmother, Eloise, she tends to indulge in some self-destructive behavior. Her tattoo addiction is actually tied to her psychic dreams, as she feels compelled to have the images from her visions inked on to her skin. She’s a strong heroine, yet also fragile in many respects. I also really liked her ex-boyfriend Rainer. He’s one of the reasons why she left Seattle to begin her voyage of self-discovery. She feels they bring out the worst in each other, yet you can’t help but be a little charmed by him despite his past philandering and addictions. He is so in love with Finley that he follows her to The Hollows and starts his own business. I know this sounds a bit stalkerish, but it’s really not. He’s determined to clean up his act and prove himself to Finley, and is extremely supportive and protective of her. If there are future books in the works, I hope these two stay together because I think they’re soul mates. The book is told from multiple viewpoints so in addition to Finley, you also hear from Merri and Wolf, the parents of the missing girl, and others. With so much action going on, having the story formatted in this way could have been confusing but wasn’t because each character has their own distinctive voice. By the time I finished, I felt that that the story couldn’t have been told as successfully without seeing things unfold from different perspectives. It’s also focuses on the psychological makeup of each character and their relationships which adds another interesting layer without slowing the pace down. The only criticism I have is that while the book is filled with exciting twists and turns, near the end I felt things got a little too frantic and over-the-top. Overall though Ink and Bone is a top-notch thriller perfect for fans who enjoy suspense, the paranormal, and horror.

 

 

 

 

The Darkest Corners ~ By Kara Thomas – 4.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Mystery, Psychological Thrillers, Serial Killers, YA Fiction

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

Synopsis: There are ghosts around every corner in Fayette, Pennsylvania. Tessa left when she was nine and has been trying ever since not to think about it after what happened there that last summer. Memories of things so dark will burn themselves into your mind if you let them. 

Callie never left. She moved to another house, so she doesn’t have to walk those same halls, but then Callie always was the stronger one. She can handle staring into the faces of her demons–and if she parties hard enough, maybe one day they’ll disappear for good.

Tessa and Callie have never talked about what they saw that night. After the trial, Callie drifted and Tessa moved, and childhood friends just have a way of losing touch. 

But ever since she left, Tessa has had questions. Things have never quite added up. And now she has to go back to Fayette–to Wyatt Stokes, sitting on death row; to Lori Cawley, Callie’s dead cousin; and to the one other person who may be hiding the truth.

Only the closer Tessa gets to the truth, the closer she gets to a killer–and this time, it won’t be so easy to run away. 

The Darkest Corners is a taut psychological thriller that will leave readers guessing right up to the very end. The suspense builds slowly, but the story never drags. Tessa and Callie are both flawed characters because of what happened to them ten years previously. While they each handled their trauma as best they could when the story begins they’re completely estranged. Despite them having to deal with even more unimaginable events, one of the pleasures of this book is seeing the two of them become close again. There is a lot of drama packed into this book including: prostitution, drug and alcohol abuse, and serial killers. Somehow Kara Thomas manages for the most part to make it all work. There’s a couple of things I thought could have used a little more development like the mystery involving Tessa’s sister and mother, but given everything that was going on this wasn’t a major annoyance. There’s not a lot of action that happens until the second half, but once it starts it never lets up. I have to warn you there are plot twists and red herrings aplenty, so every time you think you have things figured out, guess again! The ending wraps everything up perfectly so that there are no loose ends. The Darkest Corners is technically a YA novel, but I highly recommend it to adults as well who are looking for a thrilling mystery with lots of twists and turns.

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!

After She’s Gone ~ By Lisa Jackson – 3.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Family Relationships, Hollywood, Mental Illness, Mystery, Serial Killers, Suspense

I received this e-Arc from NetGalley and Kensington in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: December 29th, 2015

Synopsis: Cassie Kramer and her younger sister Allie, learned the hazards of fame long ago. Together, they’d survived the horror of a crazed fan who nearly killed their mother, former Hollywood actress Jenna Hughes. Still, Cassie moved to L.A. urging Allie to follow. As a team, they’d take the town by storm. But Allie, finally free of small-town Oregon, and just that little bit more beautiful, also proved to be more talented–and driven. Where Cassie got bit parts, Allie rose to stardom. But now her body double has been shot on the set of her latest movie–And Allie is missing. 

Police discover that the last call to Allie’s phone came from Cassie, though she has no recollection of making it. Instead of looking like a concerned relative, Cassie is starting to look like a suspect–the jealous sister who finally grew sick of playing a supporting role. As the tabloids go into a frenzy, Cassie ends up on a Portland psych ward. Is she just imagining the sinister figure who comes to her bedside, whispering about Allie–a visitor of whom there is no record? Is someone trying to help–or drive her mad?

Convinced she is the only one who can find Allie, Cassie checks herself out of the hospital. But a sudden slew of macabre murders–each victim masked with a likeness of a member of Cassie’s family–makes Cassie fear for her safety and her sanity. The only way to end the nightmare is to find out what really happened to Allie. And with each new discovery, Cassie realizes that no one can be trusted to keep her safe–least of all herself.

The good news is that although After She’s Gone is a sequel of sorts to Lisa Jackson’s Deep Freeze (2005), this can easily be read on it’s own. The bad news is that while the mystery is interesting enough, the characters are one-dimensional, unlikable, and to be perfectly frank, completely unbelievable.

The heroine of the story is Cassie, and while at the beginning of the story I had a modicum of sympathy for her, it fast disappeared. She scurries from Oregon, to L.A. and back to Oregon in increasingly desperate attempts to find her sister Allie who by all accounts is a despicable person who hates Cassie and has done everything in her power to break up Cassie’s marriage to the dishy cowboy Trent. As past fights between the two sisters are revealed through Cassie’s memories, it becomes clear that no matter how much she dislikes Allie, she keeps going back for more abuse, yet she treats Trent, who has done nothing but love and support her, like dirt. While I understand the bond between the sisters, especially having survived such a horrible childhood trauma, this just strained credibility. Cassie does become more empowered in the latter half of the book, but by that time I just didn’t care.

The mystery surrounding the missing Allie, and an increasing body count made up of people associated with the sisters’ last film Dead Heat, will keep you guessing, although by the time I had reached the midway point I had guessed the why if not the who. While the main mystery is solved, there’s a little surprise at the end that leaves the possibility for a third book about the Kramer family.

I vascillated between giving this 2.5 – 3.0 stars, before finally settling on the higher rating.  While it’s received mixed reviews on Goodreads, there’s quite a few readers who enjoyed this. I think if you’re already a Lisa Jackson fan, you should try it. If you’re new, I recommend you go back and read some of her earlier books before tackling this one.

 

Wonderland ~ By Jennifer Hillier – 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Fairs and Carnivals, Family Relationships, Horror, Pacific Northwest, Pedophiles, Serial Killers

 I received this ebook from NetGalley and Pocket Star in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis: “Welcome to Wonderland”. By day, it’s a magical place boasting a certain retro charm. Excited children, hands sticky with cotton candy, run frenetically from the Giant Octopus ride to the Spinning Sombrero, while the tinkling carnival music of the giant Wonder Wheel–the oldest Ferris wheel in the Pacific Northwest–fills the air. But before daybreak, an eerie feeling descends. Maybe it’s the Clown Museum, home to creepy wax replicas of movie stars and a massive collection of antique porcelain dolls. Or maybe it’s the terrifyingly real House of Horrors. Or…maybe it’s the dead, decaying body left in the midway for all the Wonder Workers to see.

Vanessa Castro’s first day as deputy police chief of Seaside, Washington, is off to a bang. The unidentifiable homeless man rotting inside the tiny town’s main tourist attraction is strange enough, but now a teenage employee–whose defiant picture at the top of the Wonder Wheel went viral that same morning–is missing. As the clues in those seemingly disparate crimes lead her down a mysterious shared path of missing persons that go back decades, she suspects the seedy rumors surrounding the amusement park’s dark history might just be true. She moved to Seaside to escape her own scandalous past, but has she brought her family to the center of an insidious killer’s twisted game? 

While I love reading horror anytime of the year, there’s something about October that lends another layer of darkness, and if I stumble across a particularly good piece of horror fiction, well I’m a happy camper. When I saw Wonderland offered on NetGalley, it was the cover design that originally caught my attention. I mean look at it–it’s brilliant! There’s the creepy clown face and inside it’s cavernous mouth are the equally creepy rollercoaster and Ferris wheel set beneath an ominous sulfuric looking sky. How awesome is that?! While I have been known to pick a book strictly by it’s cover, in this case, there was something more that appealed to me. Every October, the tiny town of Topsfield MA is home to the oldest agricultural fair in the U.S., The Topfield Fair. Despite living one town over I don’t go as frequently as I used to, but I have many fond memories of it, except for the year I was 8 years old and became separated from my family. I wandered around completely lost and terrified out of my wits for about a half hour, before a kindly carnival worker reunited me with my very relieved parents. Ever since, while I still enjoyed the fair, it also held a vaguely sinister air for me. So, being the twisted and masochistic person that I am, when I saw this gorgeous cover and read the synopsis, of course I just had to read it! And I’m so glad I did because the story definitely lived up to the cover.

For those of you who like me have Coulrophobia, aka fear of clowns, (yes I googled it) you’ll be happy to know there are no killer clowns. But, given that it does have a scary attraction called the Clown Museum, I couldn’t resist the oopportunity to include these fun little gifs:

 

My favorite killer clown, Pennywise

Supernatural’s Sam Winchester, confronting his childhood fears.

And this one from Zombieland because, well–it just gives me the giggles.

No, Wonderland doesn’t have any supernatural killers, but that doesn’t make it’s all too human villains any less scary. And yes, there’s more than one here in this Disney-like carnival whose original owner was using for less than savory purposes. After his well deserved fiery demise, Wonderland was bought by one of his previous victims and successfully transformed into a popular tourist attraction. 

Enter Vanessa Castro and her young son and teenage daughter. Desperate to give her children a fresh start after the tragic death of their father, she’s also running from a scandal that’s derailed her police career in Seattle. Picturesque Seaside looks like a dream come true, until the first body shows up, and a disgruntled Wonderland employee goes missing. She discovers that there have been quite a few young teens, all boys with similar physical features, that have mysteriously disappeared over the past eight years. The only connection being that they all worked at Wonderland. With her dream fast turning into a nightmare, Vanessa soon realizes she can’t trust anyone except for an old friend from Seattle. 

For the most part, I really liked the character of Vanessa. She’s not only dealing with a complicated past, but she’s trying to fix what’s become a very strained relationship with her fourteen-year-old daughter. In addition to trying to catch a killer, she has to battle the politics which are always involved when a small town is solely reliant on one company. The only thing I didn’t care for is that near the end, one of the many surprises involves her husband’s death. The problem is it’s dropped in briefly and shockingly, and just as quickly the story moves on and what happened is never brought up again. I actually had to go back and re-read that section because I wanted to make sure I hadn’t imagined it. 

All the characters in this are interesting, including the villains, but I think my favorite is Vanessa’s daughter Ava. In some ways she’s your stereotypical teenage girl– all snarky attitude, and crushing on a boy who’s too old for her– but there’s a lot more under the surface which comes to light in the latter half of the book. I’m not going to include any spoilers, but let’s just say it starts with her job at the Clown Museum. Remember when I said there were no killer clowns? Well there are plenty of these:

 

No, they don’t actually come to life but that doesn’t make them any less terrifying!

Despite Wonderland only being 312 pages, Jennifer Hillier packs a lot into it’s relatively short length. With characters such as a menacing janitor, a female CEO who has a penchant for her cute, blonde 18-year-old male employees, and a security guard who hasn’t been seen since the latest disappearance of a young teen–well, let me just say good luck figuring out whodunnit! In less skilled hands there would have been far too many characters and too many things going on, to successfully hold your attention, but Hillier somehow manages to successfully juggle all these details and drop bombshell, after bombshell. 

Wonderland is the first book I’ve read by this author, but it certainly won’t be my last. Now I have to just find the time to read some of her previous novels. If you’re looking for a good scary read for Halloween, that you can pretty much finish in one sitting I highly recommend this. And if you go to a local fair anytime soon, make sure you have plenty of company! 

Swerve ~ by Vicki Pettersson – 5.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Horror, Mystery, Serial Killers, Thrillers

 I received this e-Arc from NetGalley and Gallery Books in exchange for an honest review. Release Date: July 7, 2015 Synopsis ~ It’s high summer in the Mojave Desert, and Kristine Rush and her fiance, Daniel, are en route from Las Vegas to Lake Arrowead, California, for the July Fourth holiday weekend. But when Daniel is abducted from a desolate rest stop, Kristine is forced to choose: return home unharmed, but never see her fiance again, or plunge forward into the searing desert to find him…where a killer lies in wait.

I’m a fan of Vicki Pettersson’s urban fantasy Zodiac series, so when I saw this thriller by her offered on NetGalley, well, let’s just say I was intrigued. I started it at 8:00 in the evening, and stayed up until 2:30 in the morning to finish it. Yes it’s THAT good! At some point my poor husband tried to get me to put down my kindle but he quickly backed off, because I think I may have looked like this:

The action starts immediately as Kristine, who’s a physician’s assistant, and Daniel, a surgeon are on their way to his snobbish mother’s for the holiday. After a mishap involving spilled coffee, they pull into a deserted rest stop so Kristine can change clothes. As she’s doing so, she’s attacked by a mysterious assailant and knocked out. Once she regains consciousness, she staggers outside to their car to find that Daniel has disappeared leaving only his phone behind. Within minutes it rings and the psychopath who calls himself Malthus, tells her if she wants to see Daniel again, she’ll have to follow his instructions. And so begins the scavenger hunt from hell.

The first half of the book focuses on the cat-and-mouse game between Malthus and Kristine as she scurries to do his bidding. The situations he puts her in are humiliating and gruesome. Even worse, he’s has no issue killing anyone she comes in contact with and as the body count rises, he manages to make everything point to her as the murderer. About halfway in the true identity of Malthus is revealed and although I had my suspicions, I was still left reeling.

The second half of the book focuses on Kristine’s desperate attempts to survive, as she tries to save not only herself, but the person she loves most in the world.

I absolutely adored Kristine. She’s a tough, intelligent woman who finds herself pulled into a nightmare. She’s loyal to a fault and will do anything to protect her loved ones.  As the story unfolds, it becomes clear that Kristine has had practice at surviving, as she reflects upon her traumatic childhood. Several times I found myself wanting to scream: “Can someone please give this poor woman a break?!”  Not once does she indulge in self-pity though. She stays focused on her mission and is determined to beat Malthus at his own game. All I can say about Malthus is that he’s bat-shit crazy. Please forgive my language. Honestly though, this is someone who has absolutely NO redeeming qualities. By the end of the book I was hoping for the most painful death possible for him. And I swear, I’m not a violent person! The ending was perfect, and left no loose ends which I appreciated.

Swerve is an adrenaline-fueled rollercoaster ride which will leave you emotionally exhausted, in a good way! In my humble opinion Vicki Pettersson has joined the ranks of Dean Koontz, Gillian Flynn, and even my beloved Stephen King. So, will I be recommending this to everyone I know? Heck yeah!

 

 

 

 

Ask The Dark ~ By Henry Turner – 4.0 Stars

Tags

Coming of Age Stories, Horror, Mysteries, Poverty, Serial Killers, Suspense, YA Fiction

 I received this e-Arc from NetGalley and Clarion Books in exchange for an honest review. Release Date: 4/7/15 14-year-old Billy Zeets has the reputation for being a troublemaker in his small town.

When he stumbles across the body of a boy he knows, and another turns up dead, Billy decides to solve the murders himself, and will do whatever it takes to bring the killer to justice and collect the reward.

“Ask The Dark” is a very quick read at 250 pages. Surprisingly, I found Billy to be quite likeable, and he actually reminded me of Huck Finn. He’s had a rough life and I couldn’t help but emphasize with him. His mother died two years previously, and now because of unpaid medical bills, and his own bad health, Billy’ s father is in danger of losing their house unless he can come up with $48,000. Because of his nightly wanderings and familiarity with the town and it’s inhabitants, Billy is in a unique position to investigate the serial killer responsible for the disappearances and murders. Despite his reputation as a juvenile delinquent, Billy is as heroic as he is tough and street smart. While his investigation is initially prompted by the reward being offered, it ultimately turns into something far more. The events that transpire are related in the first person by Billy as he lies recovering in the hospital and as he recounts his role, he insists, “I ain’t no hero, and I aim to prove it.” From there, the plot builds slowly, and I found myself wishing at times that Billy would figure things out a little faster. Also, when he finally comes face to face with the killer, some of his actions weren’t entirely in keeping with his previously common sense attitude. I found Billy’ s narrative and dialect added to the raw emotion of the story, but some readers might be turned off by it. Because of the subject matter and graphic scenes, I definitely would not recommend this to anyone under the age of fourteen, but other than that, I think a wide audience would enjoy this imaginative novel. 

Spell Blind ~ David Coe – 4.5 Stars

Tags

Arizona, Mystery, Private Detectives, Serial Killers, Thriller, Urban Fantasy

 This book was provided to me by NetGalley and Baen Books in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Justus Fearsson is a weremyst, someone who has magical powers that rely on using the elements. He and others like him pay a heavy price for using their talents. For three days during every full moon they lose their mental faculties. This gets worse as they get older and the majority of weremysts go permanently insane. There is a medication that helps alleviate these symptoms, but it also suppresses their magical powers, and most weremysts won’t use it. This includes Justis even though he’s seen what having magical talent did to his father, and he himself lost his position as a Phoenix police officer. Now working as a private detective Justis is contacted by his old partner regarding an unsolved case. It seems as though the killer is at work again and his powers far surpass those of Justis. Now he’s in a race to stop this magical adversary before the body count gets any higher.

I absolutely LOVED this book! When I first started reading it I thought it was going to be a clone of the Harry Dresden books by Jim Butcher. I was wrong. Justis Fearsson is a wonderful character who has an appealing mix of strength and vulnerability. Told in the first person, David Coe manages to draw the reader directly into the mind of Justis. The action is non-stop which makes it difficult to put the book down. The descriptions of the desert around Phoenix are breathtaking, and made me want to add Arizona to my places I want to visit if I ever won the lottery. The only negative thing I found was the love interest. I really disliked her and did not understand why Justis would be attracted to her. Is it wrong to hope that the author kills her off in the next book? Spell Blind is a perfect read for anyone who loves urban fantasy, mysteries, and thrillers. I can’t wait for the second book in this new series!