Category: Suspense

Fiction/Science Fiction · Mystery/Crime · Suspense · Thriller/Horror

Dead woman walking – Sharon Bolton

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33602123| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ |

Goodreads synopsis: In Dead Woman Walking, from master of suspense Sharon Bolton, the sole survivor of a hot-air balloon crash witnesses a murder as the balloon is falling.

Just before dawn in the hills near the Scottish border, a man murders a young woman. At the same time, a hot-air balloon crashes out of the sky. There’s just one survivor. She’s seen the killer’s face – but he’s also seen hers. And he won’t rest until he’s eliminated the only witness to his crime. Alone, scared, trusting no one, she’s running to where she feels safe – but it could be the most dangerous place of all…

Untitled

My thoughts: This book was hard to rate and i´m gonna tell you why. At first I thought this was a book by Sharon Sala. But when I started reading something was off so I looked it up and found out that this is no Sala book. It is a Bolton. I just confused the names. And no worries because I actually like Bolton more than Sala. I have read her Lacy Flint series and really liked it. Funny that I could detect that this was not a Sala book. Anyway, when that misunderstanding was out of the way I could really start reading. And i did. And did. And my god, the book is so slow. I mean, turtle on a snail, slow.

Then after 50% it started to pick up but it is still slow. Nothing really makes sense and it feels like you as a reader are missing several important clues. I even reread some pages because I was certain that I was missing something.

Then at 70% it really started to pick up and the rest was just one curve ball after another. One twist after another and the truth is finally making some sense. It even made me gasp and say “NO WAY” out loud so Mr M thought I had company in the living room. (In one way I did but not the way he thought.)

So the book went from a two star rating to a five star rating. But, and here is the but! It was to slow and now when I´m done I feel that Bolton did leave out to much so now after, I can see how much holes there is in the story. The writing was also a little bit off. But overall it is a great book and a great story as long as you are a patient reader and it deserves a four star rating by me.

And one last thing. I´m glad this one is not a series becalms i don’t know if I could take one more book like this. I hope not her other books are like this. Her Flint series was not.

Contemporary · Romance · Suspense

Mackenzie´s Mountain – Linda Howard

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662323| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ |

Goodreads synopsis: A small Wyoming town is about to learn a few lessons from a new schoolteacher with the courage to win the heart of a man who swore he had nothing to give….

Mary Elizabeth Potter is a self-appointed spinster with no illusions about love. But she is a good teacher and she wants Wolf Mackenzie’s son back in school. And after one heated confrontation with the boy’s father, she knows father and son have changed her life forever.

Still paying for a crime he didn’t commit, Wolf Mackenzie has a chip on his shoulder the size of Wyoming. But prim-and-proper Mary Elizabeth Potter doesn’t see Wolf as the dangerous half-breed the town has branded him. Somehow she sees him as a good, decent, honest man. A man who could love…

Wolf’s not sure he or the town of Ruth, Wyoming is ready for the taming of Wolf Mackenzie.

Untitled

My thoughts: I’m so disappointed. I did not have any high hopes for this book but I generally like Howards books even if it is almost as old as me. But here it just did not go all the way. The book it self is predictable and the characters not that great. Wolf and his son is like the same character with the same voice. And it frustrating me like hell that they keep talking about that they are Indian and half breed and the racism. I understand that, i do, but it is the same thing through out the book and nothing with it is an eye opener or that could help me as an reader and non Indian understand how it actually really is. It dose not explain anything. It is just words and excuses for them to not do anything about there situation. They feel sorry for them self and the excuses just poring out.

The book is also kind of boring and riddled with cliches that makes me cringe. No. This was not a great book and not a book I would recommend. I give it a 2 in rating just for the humor in the book and that the first 40 % of it actually was really good.

DNF · Romance · Suspense · War/Military

DNF – Renegade by Catherine Mann

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6587714| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: X|

Goodreads synopsis: Untamed and Undercover: Third in the Dark Ops series.

Tech Sergeant Mason “Smooth” Randolph lives to push boundaries. But he never anticipated how far outside the box he would land when an in- flight accident sends him parachuting into Nevada’s notorious Area 51- and into the handcuffs of sexy security cop Jill Walczak.

Untitled

My thoughts:
Nope, nix, nada, never! I did not finish this book. Reason? Well it is boring. There is really nothing that keeps me going. The characters is stereotypical with no depth. The whole serial killer story is just not as center of attention which it should be when four/five is dead. The whole “in the killers mind” is just childish and not wherry believable and I think most of it is because of poor writing skills.

Sorry Catherine but I just don’t think your books is anything for me. This was the third book. I was not that excited after the first two but when I´m not even able to finish this one, I just feel that i have tried my best and it is time to devote my reading time to something that i would enjoy.

Romance · Suspense

Exposed – Suzanne Ferrell

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26164240.jpg| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ |

Goodreads synopsis: U.S. Marshal Frank Castello is on medical leave and feeling restless. While at his friends’ wedding he finds himself attracted to Sydney Peele. Problem was, the cute, sassy blonde is the photographer for the weeding. Frank hates photographers. They’re a hazard to his profession, especially when he’s on witness protection duty.

Sydney Peele enjoys teasing the grumpy Marshal at her friend’s wedding, even when the big, sexy man begrudgingly offers to take her home afterwards. Her pleasure is short lived when her home and life is literally going up in flames. Her brother had been staying at her home and there is no sign of him anywhere.

When Sydney goes into a state of frozen shock, finely honed instinct has Castello rushing her from the scene to safety at his home. A visit to the fire scene the next day confirms his suspicions when the firemen on the sight show them not only was it an arson case, but someone had guaranteed her home would be destroyed by adding in a bomb.

As Frank and Sydney search for answers about who might’ve started the blaze, questions arise about her brother, also a photographer. Was he responsible for the fire? Or has he exposed his sister to something far more sinister?

Untitled

My thoughts: This is the fifth book in the series about the Edgars family and this last book is about Frank Castello. You meet Frank in the second book about Katie who is in the witness protection program. Frank is her handler and after that book he becomes one in the family but still is a little on the outside. So it was really nice to finally be able to read the book about him.

Frank is an grumpy man of few words. He loves his job and do it well, but he is kind of lonely (in my opinion). On a wedding in the family he meets Sydney. She is the wedding photographer and Frank heats photographers. When Sydneys home goes up in flames and her brother is missing, Frank can´t let his personal opinion to stand in the way to help a fellow human being. And then there is just full speed trough out the book.

And it is really good. I love Sydney who is a great character and she brings out more of Frank and the book is really funny sometimes. The book would have been a clear five star if it was not for the loose ends and questions I had in the end. No cliffhangers but it was just some small thinks that made the story unfinished. According to Ferrells answers on Goodreads, she will write more about the Edgars family in the future, but it may be some changes to series and what nots. So i´m really excited about that.

Mystery/Crime · Romance · Suspense · Thriller/Horror

The Dollmaker – Mary Burton

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30168629| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ |

Goodreads synopsis: Dr. Tessa McGowan had never seen anything quite like it. But the mutilated bodies on her exam table tell a stunningly macabre tale: someone with a twisted mind is kidnapping women and altering their faces to resemble real, life-size dolls. As a forensic pathologist, it’s her job to aid the agent leading the case—even if that agent is her estranged husband.

Twelve years ago an unspeakable tragedy destroyed Dakota Sharp’s world. Haunted by the ghosts of his past, he’s devoted himself to capturing killers. His only regret is that it cost him Tessa. Now, as the Dollmaker case brings them together—and raises his suspicions that he’s crossed paths with this deranged psychopath before—they may just have their second chance. But it seems Dakota’s not the only one who wants to make Tessa his own…

She may be the Dollmaker’s next target, but Tessa has no intention of winding up as another toy on his shelf. Can she and Dakota stop this ghastly killer before his next deadly playdate?

My thoughts: If I remember correctly I did like (not love) the first book in the forgotten files series. But this one, who have a more exciting story, do not even get as far up as to like it. It is an average book. It did not bore me to death, but it also did not do that much for me. It´s kind of blaha for me. And that´s to bad. A book with that high rating and reviews should fall in my taste more than this one did.

The books story about the Dollmaker is actually kind of good. It is gross and makes you cringe. That however is the only ting. The killers story in the book makes no sense and how it all hangs together feels a little far fetched. There is no suspense in the hunt for the killer, Dakota feels real and human but Tessa does nothing for me. She is kind of gray and mellow. Not very exciting. And to bad that the book is to predictable. It could have been so much better.

Adult fiction/Erotica · Fiction/Science Fiction · Romance · Suspense · Thriller/Horror

The Chemist – Stephenie Meyer

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31188235| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ |

Goodreads synopsis: In this gripping page-turner, an ex-agent on the run from her former employers must take one more case to clear her name and save her life.

She used to work for the U.S. government, but very few people ever knew that. An expert in her field, she was one of the darkest secrets of an agency so clandestine it doesn’t even have a name. And when they decided she was a liability, they came for her without warning.

Now, she rarely stays in the same place or uses the same name for long. They’ve killed the only other person she trusted, but something she knows still poses a threat. They want her dead, and soon.

When her former handler offers her a way out, she realizes it’s her only chance to erase the giant target on her back. But it means taking one last job for her ex-employers. To her horror, the information she acquires only makes her situation more dangerous.

Resolving to meet the threat head-on, she prepares for the toughest fight of her life but finds herself falling for a man who can only complicate her likelihood of survival. As she sees her choices being rapidly whittled down, she must apply her unique talents in ways she never dreamed of.

My thoughts: Surprisingly good. A real page turner. I must say that I was skeptical at first. I loved the twilight series until the movies came and totally destroyed it all for me. I was not interested to read anything more from her again. So to read something new from this author was me, trying to have an open mind. And i´m so glad that I did because this book is really great.

The characters are strong and interesting and I really like the female main character. She is smart, witty, resourceful, strong and insanely brave. I liked the twists Meyers throw in the story and one in the end really surprised me and got me really mad. Until I remembered how it really was and then I was so happy instead. Good job. An emotional roller coaster and that she also trow in some dogs (i´m an insane dog lover) in the story as well had me on the edge of the seat until the last page was turned.

Great work. Great book. Have you read it?

Adult fiction/Erotica · Contemporary · Romance · Suspense

Dissent – Jessica Gadziala

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26088307| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ |

Goodreads synopsis: I lost my virginity when I was twenty-five years old
to a hooker my sister hired because she felt
bad for me. That was six years ago and it’s probably
the least shocking fact about my life.

That is, until I met Darcy Monroe, and
“shocking” took on a whole new meaning…

—

Six years after escaping his cloistered, abusive, fundamentally religious upbringing, ISAIAH finds himself still dealing with the demons of his past, detached from society as a whole, and wholly unable to connect with, or trust, women. He engages in constant, meaningless sport sex with women, trying to numb the feeling of inadequacy inside.
Then he sets his sights on his new neighbor…

DARCY is strong, capable, outspoken, and in no way going to put up with some random jackass next door who decides to make a game of trying to get her into bed.

But Isaiah is relentless. And Darcy finds herself torn between not letting him win, and giving into her own desire.

Just as they start to get close, they realize that something more sinister is afoot and they will both be forced to confront feelings of betrayal that will set their lives in an unexpected direction.

My thoughts: Oh my god, this book was gooood! It was so good that I now regret not to have read it earlier. I mean, I have had it in my kindle for like a year and it has been on my to read list since I read the first book “For a good time, call…” which is about Isaiah’s sister.

I think the reason to why it took me such time to read this one is because I did not like Isaiah at all in the first book. Not so surprising really. But since I really loved Fiona’s story, which by the way also got a five star rating, I could not, not read this book. And i´m so happy now.

The book is dark, just have to warn you there. It´s dark and abusing, but o so good. I fell in love with Isaiah in the first chapter and got to really learn to know him. How he struggles and tries so hard made my heart ache. I was not a big fan of Darcy to an beginning but she eventually grew on me. What surprised me the most is how ruff Gadziala made this book. It is a little unlike her other books. I have a very few triggers when it comes to books, but here there was one chapter that really made me cringed and made me uncomfortable. But I do not regret it for one minute.

Fantasy/Paranormal · Fiction/Science Fiction · Suspense · Thriller/Horror

Odd Hours – Dean Koontz

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2029927.jpg| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ |

Goodreads synopsis: The legend began in the obscure little town of Pico Mundo. A fry cook named Odd was rumored to have the extraordinary ability to communicate with the dead. Through tragedy and triumph, exhilaration and heartbreak, word of Odd Thomas’ gifts filtered far beyond Pico Mundo, attracting unforgettable new friends – and enemies of implacable evil. With great gifts comes the responsibility to meet great challenges. But no mere human being was ever meant to face the darkness that now stalks the world – not even one as oddly special as Odd Thomas.

After grappling with the very essence of reality itself, after finding the veil separating him from his soul mate, Stormy Llewellyn, tantalizingly thin yet impenetrable, Odd longed only to return to a life of quiet anonymity with his two otherworldly sidekicks – his dog, Boo, and a new companion, one of the few who might rival his old pal Elvis. But a true hero, however humble, must persevere.

Haunted by dreams of an all-encompassing red tide, Odd is pulled inexorably to the sea, to a small California coastal town where nothing is as it seems. Now the forces arrayed against him have both official sanction and an infinitely more sinister authority…and in this dark night of the soul, dawn will come only after the most shattering revelations of all.

My thoughts: Fourth book about the strange but lovable Odd Thomas. Non of the earlier books has been a wow, love and need to read more, and now after this one i´m starting to ask myself, “why do I keep throwing away time?”

Well the answer on that question is “Come on, its Dean Koontz!”. Well, I do really like Koontz and his books and I did really like the first books about Odd and to follow his life. Its just that I don´t really like the writing in this one, and the story is just weird and a complete train wreck. To many page fillers and stuff that sidetrack the story and don´t makes any sense in the end.

No black monsters this time, just weird visions and dreams. More ghosts and completely strange side characters who makes the story even more confusing. No, not one of the greatest books. Time will tell if I ever will complete the story about Odd Thomas.

Mystery/Crime · Romance · Suspense

You Belong To Me – Karen Rose

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8697191.jpg| GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ |

Goodreads synopsis: A killer is branding his victims with numbers. How many will he kill before he’s stopped? YOU BELONG TO ME is a fantastic thriller from bestselling author Karen Rose, and the first novel in her Baltimore series.

When forensic pathologist Lucy Trask stumbles across a mutilated body by the chess tables in her local Baltimore park, its face so badly damaged it is unrecognizable, her sole concern is that it might be her old school teacher Mr Pugh.

When the corpse is identified, Lucy is shocked to discover that the victim is actually another man from her past. Who killed him and why his skin is burnt with the number ‘1’ is unclear but it’s evident that someone is demanding Lucy’s attention.

The discovery of a second branded body raises worrying questions: how many more lives may be at risk before the killer’s final message is revealed? And can Lucy solve the killer’s gruesome puzzle before their thirst for revenge is complete?

My thoughts:Great book. Great characters, great story, great suspense and great, hot romance. Just a great book. Karen Rose has done a great job with the mystery and suspense so it is not until the end you really get to know whats going on. I love to sit through a book and guess how it all hangs together and when an author proves me wrong in the end, i have won big. And Karen Rose really did it in this book.

The book is part of an series. It is nr 12 in Romantic suspense but number 1 in the Baltimore series. I definitely want to read more by Rose. Her writing is great and I cant believe that i never stumble over her books earlier. It was actually one of my Goodreads friends who read it and thats how I discovered her books.

There is one negative thing with the book tho and that is that it are a little to many people and it’s sometimes hard to keep track on who is who and from where. But other than that it’s an great book. And you get the best from two worlds. Super romantic exciting and murder, crime suspense. Just up my alley.

Contemporary · Mystery/Crime · Romance · Suspense · Thriller/Horror

Shadow Of Perception – Kristine Mason

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25361217| GOODREADS | AMAZON | My rating: ♥ |

Goodreads synopsis: What happens when negligent plastic surgeons get a taste of their own medicine…?

Chicago investigative reporter, Eden Risk, receives an unmarked envelope containing a postcard ordering her to watch the enclosed DVD…or someone else dies. No police. After Eden watches the DVD, a gruesome, horrifying surgery, she turns to the private criminal investigation agency, CORE, for help. Only she hadn’t expected that help to come with a catch. Her former lover, Hudson Patterson, has been assigned to the case.

Hudson would rather have another CORE agent handle the investigation. Two years ago, he’d screwed things up with Eden…bad. And as more DVDs arrive, Eden and Hudson find themselves not only knee-deep in a twisted investigation, but forced to deal with their past, and the love they’d tried to deny.

My thoughts: This is the second book in Masons CORE Shadow Trilogy. I did like the first book and gave it three stars, but I really liked the first book from her other CORE series (above the law). But this one I did not like at all. I didn’t like that the suspense disappeared to fast since Mason gave to much explanations to early. So the murder and his mystery was not that exciting. And I did not like Eden at all and some of the drama was totally her fault and then try to make it Hudsons fault. That kind of relation and drama is really nothing for me.

And its to bad. Because i´m starting to see and a pattern and Mason has an sick imagination. An imagination totally in my taste. Something new and a little on the border of insanity that is really refreshing for someone like me who read a lot of thriller, suspense, mystery and books with romance.

So in total, this was not the book for me, but I still want to read more and the third book is about an character named Rachel and that is really exciting. 😀