Cuthbert’s Way by LJ Ross

August 29, 2023 By Leave a Comment


Cuthbert’s Way by LJ Ross
Publisher: Dark Skies Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

A SECRET KEPT FOR A THOUSAND YEARS…

After the dramatic theft of a priceless artefact from Durham Cathedral, the rest of the world believes that DCI Ryan and his team were able to recover and return St. Cuthbert’s cross to its rightful home. But Ryan knows the cross he recovered was a fake—far from being over, their problems are only just beginning…

Just as Ryan and his team begin to unravel the truth behind the spate of mysterious thefts, something even more priceless is stolen—something that can never be replaced.

As the nationwide manhunt continues without success, Ryan is thrust into despair—until he realises the answer lies not in modern policing but in an age-old secret known only to a chosen few. To recover what’s been lost, he must first crack ‘Cuthbert’s Code’, following the trail of a long-dead saint across the wild, unpredictable hills and valleys of the borderlands.

Can Ryan find what he’s looking for, before it’s too late?

He’s going to need a miracle…

Murder and mystery are peppered with romance and humour in this fast-paced crime whodunit set amidst the spectacular Northumbrian landscape.

It has been a number of months since the brazen bombing and heist of St. Cuthbert’s famous Gold Cross, but even though publicly the trail has gone cold and the investigation shelved, DCI Ryan and his team quietly are still pursuing every available lead. None of the team believes in the pat explanations and they all feel there is more to come. When a monk at a local school is found murdered DCI Ryan knows this could very well be the beginning of the end – but no one knows whether it’s the end of the case, or his blissful life as Ryan knows it.

I was pleased with the beginning of this story because even though the previous book left quite a number of items left unfinished, this story opens with plenty of tie-ins and explanations, so readers who haven’t read the book preceding this can definitely understand exactly what’s been happening and where the team are in this case. My only minor complaint was I felt this managed to bog down a lot of the first quarter or so of the pace in this book and while I was relieved there wasn’t any massive info-dumps or long-winded discussions, I did feel as if the pace of the mystery was slower and there wasn’t much action or forward motion at the start of the book.

The middle and ending however greatly made up for this. Once the bad guys raised their collective heads and the dominoes started to fall there was a far more action-orientated, hasty pace to the story as a whole and the mystery in particular. I feel this should definitely appeal to readers who prefer a more action based and less police procedural style of mystery novel.

While the characters are very well established, I feel readers should be able to pick this book up by itself and still thoroughly enjoy it. With the arrival of DCI Ryan’s infant daughter on the scene his direct family – including his wife, Anna, are shown quite a bit more than they have been in many of the previous books. I quite enjoyed this and felt it added a good perspective to the various aspects to Ryan’s full life and not just as a focused policeman.

I thought this was a well written story with an excellent plot and a good pace. I’m looking forward to the next in this series.

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Famous Last Words by John Carson

August 24, 2023 By Leave a Comment


Famous Last Words by John Carson
Publisher: Vellum
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

He caught him once before. Can he do it again?

With Harry McNeil’s life changed forever, he is thrust back into work when a serial killer dies in prison. Harry helped bring him to justice, but even in death, the man has something to say.

A message is found at the man’s post mortem. A message for Harry.

It isn’t over.

An informant in prison claims that the killer bragged about more victims, but none were ever found. Until now.

But these victims aren’t from the past. They’re from the present.

Just because the mentor is dead, doesn’t mean his spirit doesn’t live on…

And Harry is on the hunt for the protégé who is determined to keep the legacy going…

Meantime, DI Max Hold is having a quiet time since transferring back to his home town in Fife, from the London Met.

Until he gets a call to assist at a unique crime scene – Prince Albert’s cairn in the Cairngorm National Park. The body of a young woman has been found at the pyramid, and although the crime scene is being overseen by Grampian Division, Hold is being sent by Fife.

Out of his jurisdiction, some of the other officers think he’s out of his league.

But dealing with some of London’s finest low life for fifteen years, he doesn’t give in easily. And along with a DS who’s on temporary assignment, he faces a tough challenge. But soon this becomes one of the toughest cases of his career. And nothing London threw at him will prepare him for the outcome of this case…

After a seismic shift in his personal life, DCI Harry McNeil is determined to keep things as normal as possible, not just for himself but equally so his one year old infant daughter, Grace. DI Max Hold is having a bit of a break after transferring to his home town in Fife from the London Met, until a case that hits close to home has him called into action and directly into danger.

After a massive twist at the very end of the previous book in this series (Never Go Home) I was very pleased and relieved that this book picks up directly where the previous one left off. While there is a huge change in the works, I feel many readers will appreciate that it needed some time and care to get everything back on track. So I really felt this was an exceptional time for the author to introduce another main character in DI Max Hold – and hopefully this new character will continue either in his own series or possibly as an excellent counterpart for DCI Harry McNeil.

I wasn’t too surprised when Harry and Max’s two cases began to dovetail together – but it really helped me see how well the two detectives could work in parallel together. I’d love to see more of these two in action in future books. And while the cast in the Harry McNeil series is already really full and somewhat crowded, I feel there’s always room for more characters, particularly ones as layered and interesting as I found Max to be.

I also wouldn’t be opposed if Harry starts to take less of the main stage – even if it is “his” series – and some of the other characters, or perhaps Max, take a more active role in the books. I’m interested in where the author might take this series next and am eagerly awaiting the next book in this series.

I am also cautiously optimistic where Harry is heading in his private life. While I am glad he’s not jumping into anything too quickly, I feel a lot more comfortable with this pathway than I have for the last few books with his relationship with the psychologist Morgan. I am a lot happier with how this new plotline is moving and am quietly hoping it all goes smoothly and well.

I found this to be a really strong Scottish police procedural book and an excellent addition to the series.

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Buried In Secret by Viveca Sten

August 22, 2023 By Leave a Comment


Buried In Secret by Viveca Sten
Publisher: Self-published
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

When two cold case disappearances are reopened, a decade of deadly secrets is unearthed on Sandhamn Island in the #1 bestselling thriller by Viveca Sten, author of In Bad Company.

A woman’s skeletal remains are excavated on an uninhabited island in Sandhamn’s archipelago, and Thomas Andreasson is called to officially investigate. But his best friend, Nora Linde, can’t help but get involved.

On leave after her last case took a dark turn, Nora is tortured by depression, nightmares, and guilt. Her marriage fractured, her pride chipped away, Nora could find redemption in this investigation. Then evidence suggests two possible cold cases linked to the grim discovery: two women who have been missing for ten years. Now Nora feels compelled to unearth a mystery someone has gone to great pains to bury. What could have happened to require such a cover-up?

As the cold case vanishings converge, Nora follows a twisting trail of revenge, blackmail, and betrayal. She’s also inviting the watchful eye of someone determined to stop her. To free herself from the damaging grip of the past—and the reach of a relentless killer—Nora is going to have to brave the darkness one more time.

Summer is drawing to a close and it’s been a very difficult one for Nora Linde. On extended medical leave after her last case left dark marks on her emotions, Nora is struggling to return to regular life again. When her best friend, Thomas, is drawn into the skeletal remains of a woman found buried deep on an isolated Nora is devastated to learn she likely knew the poor young victim. Thomas also is investigating the death, but there were two missing women from that long time ago. Could the cases be connected somehow?

This book picks up fairly quickly after the last one finishes. Often in this series there is quite a lag between books – even numerous years sometimes – but the previous book finished with a bit of a twist and so I was pleased only a few short months have passed between then and this book. Nora is struggling with quite heavy feelings of guilt and depression. This means in some ways her character is quite different to the comfortable and strongly confident Nora I’ve become used to reading about. While I did enjoy the fact this Nora felt a lot more relatable and human, it also came across quite strangely to me that this Nora was so different to the woman I’ve read about in all the previous books.

I did very much enjoy the police procedural aspects to this book. Thomas has always been a very up and down character – sometimes strong and confidant, sometimes depressed or moody, so his character felt very normal and consistent to me with the previous books. I very much liked the methodical puzzle solving of the murder mystery and trying to figure out who the victim was and what had occurred more than a decade ago. I feel readers who enjoy Scandinavian crime and mystery should likely enjoy this book and probably enjoy the entirety of this series. These books tend to be a little darker and grittier than many other popular fiction writers, but personally I’ve grown quite a taste for them and find them highly enjoyable and strongly relatable.

I found this to be an excellent addition to the series and hope there might be more from this author to come in the future. Recommended.

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Dying Inside by Damien Boyd

August 16, 2023 By Leave a Comment


Dying Inside by Damien Boyd
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

In this thriller from the bestselling DI Nick Dixon crime series, a brutal murder looks like a gangland execution… until the next body is found.

Newly promoted DCI Nick Dixon is stuck behind a desk when the peace of the Somerset countryside is shattered by a spate of sheep killings. Dixon recognises a sinister pattern: the animals have all been slaughtered with a crossbow, the power increasing with each kill. It seems whoever is responsible is practising, but for what?

Then the owner of a yacht that capsized on a suspected drug run is found dead, pinned to a tree by four crossbow bolts. Convinced that the killing is a gangland execution, the organised crime unit take over the investigation.

Dixon is sure the motive lies elsewhere, but is forced to watch from the sidelines—until another body is found.

Leading a major investigation team at Avon and Somerset Police headquarters, and with internal politics threatening to thwart him at every turn, Dixon must find the murderer before he kills again. And again…

After a recent promotion, DCI Nick Dixon finds himself sidelined from the field work and detective work he loves. His schedule crammed with meetings and performance appraisals and webinar training sessions, Dixon is finding himself drowning in the boring slog of police work which doesn’t satisfy him. So when a local farmer rocks up out front of the station with the six decaying sheep carcasses killed with a crossbow bolt to make his concerns taken seriously, Dixon is thrilled to finally have something – no matter how small – to actually investigate. When a body with the same crossbow bolt markings soon turns up, Dixon can see the sheep carcasses for that they really are. Practice. And now the killer is ready for his real targets – humans.

I’ve been enjoying this series for quite some time now and I’m thoroughly pleased that this author has only grown from strength to strength. I heartily sympathized with Dixon – caught between a rock and a hard place. With his management squeezing him into a slot he has no real desire to fill Dixon has been trying to work his own solutions but his streak of luck is finally running out. Grabbing a hold of this multi-faceted case though has finally put some spark back into Dixon’s work life and it’s really interesting to follow along with him and see where it all leads.

In many respects this is an average or normal type of case, a number of different elements – a sunken yacht, dead sheep and a murder victim – all tied together through either coincidence or very thin threads, but watching Dixon and his team tie everything together and uncover what’s really going on what excellent reading. This is not a crack-paced, fast action thriller, but it’s also not a plodding or boring police procedural story. I did feel some of the office politics was a little boring – though I can readily admit it gave quite a bit of tension and structure behind just how pinched and trapped Dixon felt with where his career had turned. I felt all these different elements wound together to form a really interesting, well paced and very well plotted murder mystery.

Readers can be assured they can easily pick this story up by itself. Despite it being the latest in a decent length series the plot and setting and characters are all very well explained and while I enjoyed seeing the various elements of Dixon’s team work together and felt the ending was quite satisfying on a number of levels.

An excellent British police procedural story with a realistic and compelling plot, some great characters and a delicious story to add into this series. A great book.

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In Bad Company by Viveca Sten

August 15, 2023 By Leave a Comment


In Bad Company by Viveca Sten
Publisher: Self-Published/Amazon Crossing
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Sandhamn Island’s archipelago is a beautiful place to visit. For a mother on the run, it’s the only place to hide in a novel of escalating suspense by Viveca Sten, bestselling author of Still Waters.

Building a case against Andreis Kovač is a risky strategy for prosecutor Nora Linde. A violent key player in Stockholm’s drug trade and untouchable when it comes to financial crimes, he has the best defense money can buy. To topple Andreis’s empire, Nora’s working a different angle. It’s personal. Nora’s critical witness is Andreis’s wife, Mina—if she’ll testify.

Mina has suffered her husband’s rage too long. It’s nearly cost her her life. Still carrying the traumas of the Bosnian War, Andreis can be triggered like an explosive. He must be taken down. And as the trial looms, Mina and her infant son must disappear. The police have found her a safe place to hide on Runmarö Island in Sandhamn’s archipelago. But there’s no shelter from a man as powerful and merciless as Andreis. Especially when he’s being crossed.

His campaign of terror has just begun. He’s prepared to crush anyone who stands in his way: Mina, Nora, and everyone they know and love. Andreis is coming for them. This time, Nora is on the defense.

Prosecutor Nora Linde is trying to build a fraud case against Andreis Kovac and finding it difficult. When Kovac’s wife ends up in hospital – Kovac’s abuse finally more than she can successfully hide or explain away – Nora works hard to help the woman escape her abusive marriage. As Kovac and his rage spirals out of control, Thomas is drawn into the suspicious murder of one of Kovac’s longest standing friends. Can Nora and Thomas keep the innocent from being harmed before it’s too late?

I have been really enjoying this Scandinavian mystery series and found this latest addition to be a solid and well plotted read. There were a few different threads of the story that the author managed to weave together very well as the plot progressed. While I do feel readers new to this series should be able to pick this book up and enjoy it on it’s own merits, there is a fair bit of history between Nora and her family, and also Thomas and his marriage that might not be easily picked up until well into the book.

As this is the ninth book in the series some of the character’s backstory seems to be expected to be understood so I do feel some readers might feel a little lost initially. The plot though and everything connected to both the legal trial Nora is building as well as the murder Thomas is investigating is all very well explained and self contained in this book. Only a few aspects of Nora and Thomas’ private lives are a little less clearly defined for readers.

I felt there was a really good amount of tension and build up to this book. The stakes grow quite high – especially as Kovac clearly loses control over himself and his escalation had me feeling quite worried in a number of places. I was also pleased with the ending – I felt it was quite a satisfactory wrap up – though I do have to admit the epilogue threw me for a bit of a curve and while it didn’t quite feel like a cliffhanger I did jump immediately online to discover if the next (and I believe possibly final) book in the series carried this plotline on or if it was a new case for Nora and Thomas. Readers who hate any lose threads might want to make sure they have both this and the next book in the series before they begin to read, as I could understand if some readers might want to jump immediately into the next book after reading this epilogue.

A well written and tightly paced murder mystery this is a good Scandinavian noir style of legal and police procedural novel.

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The Dark Hours by David J Gatward

August 10, 2023 By Leave a Comment


The Dark Hours by David J Gatward
Publisher: Weirdstone Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

A murder game. A real dead body. Can he help a friend through a torrent of danger?

DCI Harry Grimm smells trouble brewing. As the Chief Inspector and his team prepare for a harsh winter storm, a call comes in from an old pal that a remote PI training session in the Dales he is attending has abruptly ended in a suspicious death. And while the gruff detective struggles through a blizzard to reach the crime scene, the residents of a nearby house come to a fatal end.

Questioning the attendees in a bid to narrow down the list of suspects, Grimm worries about the treacherous weather isolating them from the rest of the Dales… and his overdue backup. But when a group of strangers arrives in search of an escape from the savage storm, he could be opening the door to another round of murders.

Can he keep everyone safe when the rules turn lethal?

DCI Harry Grimm and his team are preparing for a harsh winter storm, when he gets a call from an old and important friend calls him with some bad news. A PI training weekend has gone horribly wrong, with the fake “murder mystery” turning out to be anything except fraudulent. And most of the people present have reason to hate the deceased. With the threat looming of them getting all snowed in and phone reception dodgy at best, can Harry and his team uncover what is really going on?

I’ve been really enjoying this series and find it a good blend of believable police procedural and interesting small-town crime murder mystery. There is a solid cast of relatable and enjoyable characters and even though a few of the secondary characters – particularly those in the local small villages – feel like they’re a little bit of a caricature, it all rolls up into a strongly believable mystery book. The plots are varied and interesting and in particular the main murder mystery was very well paced and plotted I felt.

I have also strongly enjoyed how Harry has evolved over the past few books and really felt that having an important – and long standing – friend portrayed in this book really helped highlight to the reader just how changed Harry has become and how the Dales have made him such a better – and happier – man overall.

This is an excellent series and while I do feel this book can be read by itself and with none of the previous books, I do feel readers will enjoy this better having read at least a few of the other installments so they have a good feel for Harry and his tightly knit police team. And excellent rural police procedural mystery book.

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A SEALs Touch by Tawny Weber

August 8, 2023 By Leave a Comment


A SEALs Touch by Tawny Weber
Publisher: Harlequin Mills And Boon
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Fern

Subject: Navy SEAL Taylor Powell

Mission: Find a sexy fake girlfriend…with even sexier benefits!

Lieutenant Taylor “The Wizard” Powell has a reputation for getting out of tricky situations. Bad guys, bombs, weapons—no problem. Finding a girlfriend in order to evade matchmaking friends? Not so easy. He’s banking on contractor Cat Peres to help him out…not realizing his tomboy friend has a whole lot of sexy surprises hidden in her tool belt.

Cat can’t remember a time when Taylor wasn’t the object of her hottest dreams—so she can’t help but agree to his plan. Their only rule? Friends, no matter what. Except the deliciously hot chemistry that ignites between them takes them both by surprise…and having nothing between them might just ruin everything.

Lieutenant Taylor Powell is used to taking care of himself, but he’s really struggling to avoid what feels like everyone in his life trying to set him up with a long procession of women. So he reaches out to one of his closest friends, Cat Peres to try and stem the tide. What starts as a fake relationship all too quickly becomes real for them both – but can they risk their long-term friendship on something that might not work out?

This is a very enjoyable, spicy romance. Readers who like the “friends to lovers” trope should feel this is a very satisfying story. While Cat has been smitten with Taylor for years, I really did enjoy how she didn’t just hang around for him. She was completely modern and carried on with her work and life and I was really pleased with this.

With these sorts of books, I am always amused and enjoy how surprised the hero inevitably is by the chemistry and shock at looking at such a long-standing friend in a new light. I really enjoyed how Taylor didn’t try to walk away from that, especially once he realized it was obviously more than just hormones, but a strong and real connection.

Sassy and fun, this is a great and quick read I really enjoyed.

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Seducing The Marine by Kate Hoffman

August 3, 2023 By Leave a Comment


Seducing The Marine by Kate Hoffman
Publisher: Harlequin Mills And Boon
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Fern

Subject: Marine Will MacIntyre

Current Status: Medical leave

One day a year Will MacIntyre lets himself remember the woman who left him after he enlisted. But seven years later, on the anniversary of that fateful day, Will is defusing a bomb in Afghanistan—and it explodes.

Dr. Oliva Eklund can barely find the boy she loved inside the hard, chiseled body of the man Will is now—a Marine who knows just how to tempt her, just how to seduce her. Olivia is well aware that Will plans to return to his unit after he recovers, but she can’t resist trying to heal him. Even if it means sending him back into a war zone. And breaking them apart forever.

Seven years ago Dr Olivia Eklund and Will MacIntyre broke up – on the day he enlisted to join the Marines. For seven years Will had defused bombs – literally – and not made a single mistake, until he finally lost his streak and the bomb he was defusing blows up. Returning home, Will is shocked to run into Olivia, and even more surprised she’s now a local doctor. Olivia knows she needs to heal Will – but she also knows that means their hearts might break when he leaves. Again.

I enjoyed this spicy romance and really felt Olivia and Will were a strongly matched couple. Neither of them had let their hurt stop them from achieving what they each wanted, even if they had never really been truly happy in the intervening years. I was particularly pleased that even though this is a typical Harlequin romance novel, it was still very modern and relatable. The spice and heat of the chemistry between Liv and Will was believable but not enough for me to feel the book should be slapped with an “erotic” title. There was plenty of plot and characterization outside of the simmering romance between our two main characters.

Equally I was pleased Liv didn’t simply hang around town and wait for her wayward hero to return. Liv actually went out there and enjoyed her life. She has an incredible intelligence and used that to get her medical degree then build a satisfying life around that. I really enjoyed how both Liv and Will had solid and logical reasons for their behavior, but they were each willing to listen and try to keep an open mind about the other.

Readers who enjoy a spicy romance should definitely find this an enjoyable and delicious read.

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Operation Mongolia by William Meikle

July 27, 2023 By Leave a Comment


Operation Mongolia by William Meikle
Publisher: Severed Press
Genre: Contemporary, Paranormal, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Action/Adventure
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

It’s supposed to be a routine job, walking a pair of stranded archaeologists out of the Gobi Desert.

But when the rains come unexpectedly, S-Squad’s troubles are only starting.

There is something in the sand, something red and wriggling.

Thirsty for water.

Hungry for flesh.

When Captain Banks and his team of squaddies are told to head over to the Gobi Desert and collect two archaeologists stranded with Chinese Rebels nearby the entire team hopes they will finally have a simple, regular assignment. And all is going well, initially. They meet up with the two boffins, the squad is ready for the long walk out of the desert to their rendezvous point with a helicopter. Everything is all sorted out. Only then the rains hit and something red, wriggling and with plenty of teeth is waiting for them under the sand – and these critters are thirsty.

I absolutely love this series and am eagerly working my way through them all. They are quite short stories – about 130 pages each or so – but filled with oversized, B-grade monsters, the squaddies are believable, utterly ribald and a bunch of laughs, and usually the plot isn’t overly complicated. I find them wonderful escape fiction when work or life is dragging me down a bit. If you want something deeply plotted, or with a complex puzzle then this isn’t the series you’ll want to grab. If you’re in the mood for something lighthearted with plenty of shoot ‘em up style, a few crass and tasteless jokes and banter with a whole bunch of action and big monster sized beasties – this will suit you perfectly.

I do like how a number of the squaddies are now becoming quite familiar. These books can all absolutely be read independently of each other – and in virtually any order – though I did notice there were a few single sentence long Easter Eggs recalling previous adventures in a few places that really made me chuckle. I found personally it really added a nice zing to the story for me, but I absolutely feel readers who find this book by itself should be very happy to crack it open and give it a try having not read anything previously by this author.

A rambunctious and fun read, this was a lovely lazy afternoon I feel was very well spent. Recommended.

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The Vanishing by Jayne Ann Krentz

July 13, 2023 By Leave a Comment


The Vanishing by Jayne Ann Krentz
Publisher: Jove
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Paranormal, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Decades ago in the small town of Fogg Lake, The Incident occurred: an explosion in the cave system that released unknown gases. The residents slept for two days. When they woke up they discovered that things had changed—they had changed. Some started having visions. Others heard ominous voices. And then, scientists from a mysterious government agency arrived. Determined not to become research subjects of strange experiments, the residents of Fogg Lake blamed their “hallucinations” on food poisoning, and the story worked. But now it has become apparent that the eerie effects of The Incident are showing up in the descendants of Fogg Lake.…

Catalina Lark and Olivia LeClair, best friends and co-owners of an investigation firm in Seattle, use what they call their “other sight” to help solve cases. When Olivia suddenly vanishes one night, Cat frantically begins the search for her friend. No one takes the disappearance seriously except Slater Arganbright, an agent from a shadowy organization known only as the Foundation, who shows up at her firm with a cryptic warning.

A ruthless killer is hunting the only witnesses to a murder that occurred in the Fogg Lake caves fifteen years ago—Catalina and Olivia. And someone intends to make both women vanish.

Catalina and Olivia grew up together in a small town called Fogg Lake. Having gone into the private investigator business together the two life-long friends are surprised but happy to find they not only enjoy it but are quite talented at it too. But when Olivia goes missing and Slater Arganbright turns up on her doorstep seeking help and an offer Catalina can’t refuse, their lives suddenly become a whole lot more complicated.

I have been a huge fan of Krentz and her various series for a number of years now. I have always thoroughly enjoyed her romantic suspense series and I was curious when she clearly started this new series (the Fogg Lake trilogy) as a new paranormal romantic suspense. Readers who have enjoyed her Arcane series, or the Harmony based books under her pseudonym Jayne Castle should find this book runs along a similar vein and enjoy it. I could understand though if readers who pick this book up having not read anything previously by Krentz might find that there’s a fair bit of terminology and references that they have to catch up on. Personally, I wouldn’t let coming to this book cold stop me from giving it a try – I strongly feel that Krentz is a superlative writer and she excels at romantic suspense. I absolutely feel this book is well worth a bit of effort in understanding her paranormal powers and world, but I could understand if it might not suit every readers tastes.

While the paranormal aspects to the story are very strongly influential to the plot, I did feel the more usual mystery/suspense (the plotlines of who killed the paranormal artefacts dealer and what happened to/who kidnapped Olivia) are still very well written and gripping each in their own rights. The romance blossoming between Catalina and Slater was very well written and quite steamy in places, but I have to admit I felt for much of the book this took a somewhat back seat to the other more vibrant plotlines going on.

Also understandably since this is the first book in the trilogy there was a bit of world building and scene setting – which I quite enjoyed, but other readers might feel slowed the pace of the plot in the very beginning of the book. Personally I’d have thought not setting the scene properly – explaining who Catalina and Olivia are, what the circumstances of day-to-day life was in Fogg Lake etc would have been highly unusual and likely lessened my enjoyment of the story, but for a modern romantic suspense often a breakneck pace and having the plot be highly action orientated is considered necessary. Additionally, while the main plots of this story are well rounded and fully resolved – there is clearer a larger story arc that encompasses the whole trilogy, so there are still plenty of questions left revolving around this much larger arc.

An exceptional writer, I find Krentz almost never misses the mark and this was yet another excellent story to add to my shelf of hers. Interesting characters, a few gripping plotlines all neatly interwoven and a steamy romance really had me eagerly turning the pages well into the night. A brilliant read and one I can strongly recommend.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews, Romance Tagged With: , , , , , ,
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