The Whistler by John Grisham

December 3, 2020 By Leave a Comment


The Whistler by John Grisham
Publisher: Dell
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Nymphaea

We expect our judges to be honest and wise. Their integrity is the bedrock of the entire judicial system. We trust them to ensure fair trials, to protect the rights of all litigants, to punish those who do wrong, and to oversee the flow of justice. But what happens when a judge bends the law or takes a bribe?

Lacy Stoltz is an investigator for the Florida Board on Judicial Conduct. It is her job to respond to complaints dealing with judicial misconduct. After nine years with the Board, she knows that most problems are caused by incompetence, not corruption.
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But a corruption case eventually crosses her desk. A previously disbarred lawyer is back in business, and he claims to know of a Florida judge who has stolen more money than all other crooked judges combined. And not just crooked judges in Florida. All judges, from all states, and throughout United States history. And now he wants to put a stop to it. His only client is a person who knows the truth and wants to blow the whistle and collect millions under Florida law. When the case is assigned to Lacy, she immediately suspects that this one could be dangerous. Dangerous is one thing. Deadly is something else.

Nothing is ever as easy as it seems and there are always layers.

I admit it. I love John Grisham’s books. I do. I got into this one thinking it would be one thing and was pleasantly surprised the book became more. The writing is sharp, but like talking to a friend and sucked me right in.

Lacy isn’t the character I thought she’d be. Then again, this wasn’t the book I thought it’d be. I expected something more straightforward, but the story is layered and complex. There is always more than meets the eye. Lacy comes across rather simplistic, but through the story she grows and it was nice to see it. I hated what she had to go through, but the struggle was worth it.

If you’re looking for a story where there’s a bad guy, some not so bad, but not so good guys and lots of good guys, then this might be the one you’re looking for. Give it a shot.

Filed Under: Mainstream Fiction, Mystery/Suspense, Other, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

Love and Hate by Vidisha Chandna Dua

November 24, 2020 By Leave a Comment


Love and Hate by Vidisha Chandna Dua
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Suspense/Mystery/Thriller, Romance, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Many times in life we make choices, not based on logic but what we are feeling at that particular moment without realizing its effect that will have on others. Alia’s life is changed unexpectedly because of the choice she made. How is she going to bring her life on track again? Will love conquer hate or is that an impossible task?

Things that seem too good to be true generally deserve closer scrutiny.
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Alia was an intelligent and observant woman. I smiled at how quickly she noticed something was off about her new neighbor, Vikrant. He had such a smooth and charming personality that it would have been easy for her to ignore that little voice in her mind that warned her he might be too good to be true. The fact that she picked up on these signs immediately made me proud of her and curious to find out more about the parts of her past that she didn’t like to talk about.

It would have been helpful to have more character development, especially when it came to the villain. His reasons for stealing from so many people weren’t clear. Knowing why he knowingly chose to hurt others over and over again sure would have helped me to understand him better. He was such a one-dimensional character that I had trouble relating to him the way I did the other characters.

The mystery and romance elements of the plot blended so well together that I can’t decide which one to mention first.Both genres were represented simultaneously and equally in the plot. That was exactly what this tale needed in order to come alive in my imagination, so I’m pretty happy that the author allowed both of them to seep into every scene. It was interesting to see how they played off of each other, especially as Alia dug deeper into the mystery of what her new neighbor’s true intentions might be as well as how her feelings for him were evolving into something more than a friendship.

Anyone who has ever had mixed feelings about romance or dating might enjoy Love and Hate quite a bit.

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

Silence Of The Sands by R.J. Hore

November 6, 2020 By Leave a Comment


Silence Of The Sands by R.J. Hore
Publisher: Champagne Book Group
Genre: Action/Adventure, Contemporary, Paranormal, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Suspense/Mystery/Thriller
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

His secretary Bertha has gone missing, and so have her mother and a large tourist island. Randy has to find emergency transportation to the disaster zone and fast, if he has to rescue the lost damsels and ease their possible distress.

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Good thing someone stuffed a kitten in Randy’s pocket. Just another typical day outside the office, complete with wayward women and a missing beach.

Randy knew something was up when his half-banshee secretary, Bertha, whirled into the office – over an hour late – grabbed some spare cash then left without any explanation. Randy knows Bertha is usually completely calm and collected, but he’s not initially worried. When Bertha contacts him and beg for help he’s drawn into his most bizarre case yet.

While this is part of a series I haven’t read any of the previous installments and can happily say this book truly stands well alone. I adored catching all the puns and various mangled references (a cat called Schrodinger, for example) and this coupled with the hard-boiled edge of Randy’s voice mingled really well so the story didn’t feel too noir or edgy, but also not just a light and fluffy comedy story either. I thought the author did an amazing job balancing these two and I found myself both deeply embroiled in the mystery aspect to the plot while laughing at the references I caught and enjoying the lighter tone equally well.

Readers looking for a humorous mystery that doesn’t take itself too seriously but still has a solid plot, a wealth of interesting and varied magical characters and an astonishingly well-detailed world should find this story a delight. The pace moves quickly at times and I found myself needing to go back and read more carefully in a few places as the author manages to put a number of clever references and witty ripostes in a very short space of words. It’s easy to overlook small details like this and I’m certain this book will only grow deeper and more complicated in a wonderful way upon further re-reads. This is exactly the sort of book where even on the third or fourth re-read you can catch extra hints, tips and clues and be delighted all over again at the cleverness of the author and characters.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

The Deary: Betrayal in the Shade of Light by Sarmistha

November 5, 2020 By Leave a Comment


The Deary: Betrayal in the Shade of Light by Sarmistha
Publisher: Olympia Publishers
Genre: Suspense/Mystery/Thriller, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Action/Adventure, Paranormal, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

After her brother’s mysterious demise, Steff Robert Smith collects herself and decides to know what’s hidden from her. As she gets obsessed with the payback, she is exposed to secrets and betrayals, the ones that were always in front of her eyes. The deceit was in the light, yet was shaded. The fight is not just against bad ones but also with time and her destiny. On the journey to get her revenge, loved ones come and go and she is left broken each time.

So, does her pain win, or does the revenge and fire of sisterly love take over? Will she bow to her destiny or rise above and win her battle?

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A little curiosity goes a long way, especially when it comes to a mysterious death.

Steff was an assertive individual, and that was one personality trait that was sorely needed in this mystery. This was the sort of adventure that required anyone participating in it to have a strong sense of what they were seeking and how far they were willing to go to reach their goals. She definitely had the right personality for that!

I had trouble getting into this story due to how non-descriptive it was. When characters were introduced, I had few to no details of what they looked or sounded like even when they were the protagonist or someone close to that role. This same problem extended to the settings, themes, and conflicts. I’d struggle to explain what many of them felt like or how they might have changed over time because of how little information I had about them to begin with.

The plot twists were well done, especially in the last dozen pages when the pacing picked up and Steff was dealing with multiple conflicts at once. These scenes raised the stakes of her mission and made me wonder what her fate would ultimately be. The author took a few risks with the ending that were a little out of the ordinary for the mystery genre, but they paid off wonderfully. I’m glad she was willing to stretch the boundaries of this genre like that.

The Deary: Betrayal in the Shade of Light should be read by anyone who enjoys action-filled mysteries.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

The Killer Wore Cranberry: A Sixth Scandalous Serving by J. Alan Hartman (editor)

October 30, 2020 By Leave a Comment


The Killer Wore Cranberry: A Sixth Scandalous Serving by J. Alan Hartman (editor)
Publisher: Untreed Reads
Genre: Suspense/Mystery/Thriller, Paranormal, Contemporary, Historical
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Everyone’s favorite Thanksgiving-themed mystery anthology is back for a sixth outing, celebrating not just the best in murder-most-fowl short stories (not a turkey among them), but also ten years of Untreed Reads Publishing!

In addition to enjoying the holiday magic that is bumping off family members we don’t like, this year’s Killer also honors the dedication to the writing world by the late TKWC contributor Earl Staggs.

Serving up a sixth season of stories are the following dinner guests: Bobbi A. Chukran, Bert Paul, C.C. Guthrie, Catina Williams, Herschel Cozine, J.B. Toner, Joseph S. Walker, Kari Wainwright, Lesley A. Diehl, Steve Liskow, Steve Shrott and Trey Dowell. Lisa Wagner returns with all-new recipes, helping you to fill your stomach and tickle your funny bone at the same time.

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No matter how much you plan ahead, no one can foresee every possible outcome of Thanksgiving dinner.

Stan reluctantly attended turkey day festivities at a house filled with gangsters in “Some More Good Times.” What surprised me the most about this story was how funny it was. The author took every opportunity he could to bring out the humor in his scenes, including the ones about an unexpected death and other topics that would normally be written about in serious terms. It was always done respectfully, but the juxtaposition between the sometimes dark subject matter and the jokes the narrator made about them grabbed my attention and didn’t let go.

The family matriarch of “A Very Darwin Family Thanksgiving” had been ranking her loved ones by how much she loved them for many years before this get-together happened. Naturally, this caused a great deal of competition among her heirs, the details of which I’ll leave up to other readers to discover for themselves. The only thing more interesting than reading about those family dynamics was figuring out the plot twist in this one. It was as unexpected as it was perfect for everything I’d already learned about theses folks.

In “A Ghost, Turkeys, and a Pretty Holiday Sweater,” a thirty-something clubber named Vonda was hounded by the ghost of a murdered college friend to do something completely out of character and technically illegal for the holiday season. That sentence only captured some of the unusual plot twists to be found here! I loved every story in this collection but ending it all on such a mischievous note only made me enjoy the whole thing even more. Vonda was one of the least likely heroes I’ve read about recently, so seeing how she reacted to her dead friend’s orders was almost as much fun as finding out what happened next.

This anthology is part of a series that can be read in any order.

I’d heartily recommend The Killer Wore Cranberry: A Sixth Scandalous Serving to anyone who has strong feelings about Thanksgiving regardless of what sort of feelings those are. There’s something for everyone here, from folks who adore this holiday to the ones who can’t wait for it to be finished!

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

Sucker Punch by Laurell K. Hamilton

October 30, 2020 By Leave a Comment


Sucker Punch by Laurell K. Hamilton
Publisher: Berkley
Genre: Paranormal, Romance, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Horror, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Reviewed by Xeranthemum

A brutal murder, a suspect in jail, and an execution planned—but what if the wrong person is about to be killed?

When a fellow U.S. Marshal asks Anita Blake to fly to a tiny community in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula on an emergency consult, she knows time is running short. When she arrives, there is plenty of proof that a young wereleopard killed his uncle in the most gruesome and bloody way possible. As the mounting evidence points to him, a warrant of execution is already under way.

But something seems off about the murder, and Anita has been asked for her expert opinion on the crime scene. Despite escalating pressure from local cops and the family’s cries for justice for their dead patriarch, Anita quickly realizes that the evidence doesn’t quite add up.

Time is against Anita, as the tight-knit community is up in arms and its fear of supernaturals is growing. She races to uncover the truth and determine whether the Marshals have caught the killer or are about to execute an innocent man—all in the name of justice.

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I missed a couple of Ms. Hamilton’s previous books prior to Sucker Punch because I felt tired of whole scenes being dedicated to sex. I’m thrilled that this novel has a PLOT and the author stayed focused on solving the mystery with only a few episodes to remind me how convoluted and important her relationships are within her polycule. It wasn’t heavy-handed at all and I really appreciated that.

The whole premise was to save a young man who both Anita and Marshal Newman believed to be innocent. Unfortunately, a warrant of execution was issued and time is not on their side. The legalities they were trying to work through and with was fascinating. It presented a clear case of our justice system in reality. A law is passed that everyone felt was needed but in practice falls short of actual life situations. The result is someone could die that really shouldn’t but the law is so narrow, there’s no wiggle room. Talk about frustrating and stressful! The suspense comes from wondering if they will make it in time and what will they have to do to make it so.

Of course, everyone is sure Bobby is the murderer. The secondary characters exhibit prejudices and lack of tolerance and the willingness to ignore the 10 years Bobby was a model citizen. How easy it is to accept the simple way out just because the topic makes a person uncomfortable. It seemed like most of the townsfolk just want to sweep Bobby under the rug and forget anything ever happened. But, in true Anita Blake form, she won’t give up, she keeps fighting no matter how angry she gets the local PD. I am always impressed with Anita’s character. She’s a strong woman who isn’t afraid to fight and face the monsters head on, even when monsters turn out to be evil humans. I wasn’t sure if that was the case because guess who’s back in town? Olaf a/k/a Otto. He had a case in the vicinity and I kept wondering if there was a connection.

One connection that makes for good reading is the dynamic between Otto and Anita. Fans of the series understand why that is disturbing on so many levels. In Sucker Punch, I was treated to a serious pondering of, what If Olaf actually gets his way? If you’d have asked me before reading this novel, I would have said no way in heck – that is never going to happen. Ms. Hamilton spent some time with Olaf’s character and now I have to say, I’m not too sure. And after what Edward said? Color me shocked! Another stunner is that Anita’s lion isn’t that averse to the possibility. I wonder if other readers are of similar mind about Olaf after reading this story. It sure makes for some interesting contemplation.

The ending is exciting, shocking, stunning, and quite possibly contains the most important cliffhanger question any book has ever ended with. I am not going to say who it involves because I want a reader to be just as flabbergasted as I was. I never saw that coming in a million years. One thing is for sure – I am NOT going to miss the next book when it comes out. The answer to that question is way too important to ignore.

Ms. Hamilton wraps up the case in spectacular style. It’s not what I expected but it makes a ton of sense and provides complete closure. Sucker Punch is a powerful book with a hefty story worth taking the time to read. This is the most satisfying Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter novel I’ve read in quite some time and is an easy recommend.

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

The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler

October 28, 2020 By Leave a Comment


The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler
Samurai Detective #1
Publisher: Puffin Books
Genre: Historical, Suspense/Mystery/Thriller, Young Adult (14 – 18 y.o.)
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Poinsettia

While attempting to solve the mystery of a stolen jewel, Seikei, a merchant’s son who longs to be a samurai, joins a group of kabuki actors in eighteenth-century Japan.

One night in the Tokaido Inn will change Seikei’s life forever.
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I recommend this book for the young adult age group if they are reading this tale on their own for a couple of reasons. First, there is quite a bit of discussion about seppuku. This is when a samurai commits suicide rather than suffer dishonor. This is significant and essential to understanding Japanese culture, but it is a heavy topic. I believe the book can be read aloud to younger children, but again I would recommend plenty of discussion on what seppuku is and why it was viewed positively in Japanese culture during this period in history. Second, there is also some gore surrounding a death near the conclusion of the book. It isn’t overdone, but there is enough detail that younger readers might be sensitive to that material.

Seikei is a very likable boy. He’s smart, curious, and honest. He tries to live his life according to the samurai ideals. In fact, he dreams of being a samurai, but as the son of a merchant he knows he can never be one. His future is already laid out for him, or so it seems. Everything changes when Seikei witnesses the crime at the inn. Seikei soon finds himself working side by side with the samurai magistrate, Judge Ooka. Not only will Seikei help solve the crime, but he’ll also have the opportunity to learn more about the ways of the samurai. For Seikei it is the experience of a lifetime. His excitement is palpable, and I admired his fierce determination to do his best. However, can Seikei ever go back to the life of a merchant after tasting the life of a samurai?

It becomes apparent about midway through the book who the thief is, but the motive remains a mystery. It soon becomes clear that there is much more to the thief’s plan than the theft of a jewel. As Seikei digs for the truth, he uncovers a plot that has been years in the making. As I raced through the pages, I found myself asking if the thief was indeed the true villain!

There is a lot of historic detail packed into this exciting mystery! Japanese customs, etiquette, class structure, religious views, etc are all explained within the context of the story. As a result, the pacing never suffers. It is all simply part of Seikei’s life. This is can spur some great discussion on Japanese class structure in the 1700’s under the rule of the shoguns, and dare I say, make learning about history fun!

I had a lot of fun reading The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn. Seikei is a likable character, the mystery is compelling, and the conclusion is gripping. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a mystery with a good dose of historic detail!

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , ,

Island Secrets by Jacqueline Terrill

October 28, 2020 By Leave a Comment


Island Secrets by Jacqueline Terrill
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Suspense/Mystery/Thriller, Paranormal, Romance, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

In this epic haunting family vacation set in Virginia that effects a couple of lives that will last forever…A golden doubloon lands on Ginger’s feet while walking up the beach of Virginia’s Chincoteagues Island. Ginger and her husband, curious about the medallion, visit a local museum seeking artifacts. A chance encounter with a wharf, a local historian, and a coin collector, brings them to uncover the historical significance of the medallion. But soon enough the couple discovers a trove of secrets about the island since the seventh century. What are the haunting details about the coin that brings back a curse from the mystic sea?

Good vacations comes in all shapes and sizes.

This book was filled with descriptive passages of the people and places in it. Reading it was like watching a film play out in my mind. It was simply that vivid and detailed! That is the sort of writing I always appreciate discovering because of how easy it makes it to picture everything that’s going on, and it made me eager to keep reading until I’d reached the end of the final page.
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There were times when the dialogue felt a little stiff and repetitive to me. Everyone had such similar speaking patterns that I had trouble telling them apart until I reached the point in a sentence that mentioned who was talking now.

The relationship between Ginger and Beau was so warm and happy. One of the coolest parts about it was that this was a couple who had been together for a long time. They obviously still loved and liked each other just as much as they did in the beginning. It’s always nice to have examples of couples who have been together for many years and are still head over heels for each other.

I was surprised by how long it took for the mystery elements of the plot to make their full entrance. While there were hints here and there in the beginning, this honestly read more like a romance novel for the first half of it or so than it did a mystery. It would have been nice for these themes to be given more time to shine.

With that being said, I did enjoy the suspenseful portions of the storyline once they arrived. The slow buildup to them gave me time to put the few clues that were shared early on to good use while I waited for more of them to arrive. It was interesting to see how everything came together in the end, especially when it came to the paranormal side of this subplot.

Island Secrets was a lighthearted romantic mystery that I’d recommend equally to fans of either genre.

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

The Girl Behind the Wall by Bruce Wetterau

October 16, 2020 By Leave a Comment


The Girl Behind the Wall – Edgar Allen Poe, the Girl, and the Mysterious Raven Murders by Bruce Wetterau
A Clay Cantrell Mystery
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Suspense/Mystery/Thriller, Paranormal, Historical, Contemporary
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Did Edgar Allan Poe know more about murder than he revealed in his bizarre stories of murder and mayhem? Was he in fact guilty of killing a girlfriend in a fit of rage many years before he became famous?

Bruce Wetterau’s taut thriller weaves a murder mystery worthy of Poe himself as it follows Poe through actual events in the last months of his life. The year 1849 saw the real-life Poe dealing with his alcoholism, failing health, poverty, and painful memories of his recently deceased child-bride wife. His life had become a psychological pressure cooker, with severe anxiety attacks and bouts of strange hallucinations.

The Girl Behind the Wall opens in early 1849. Poe is being tormented by frightening visions about murdering Annabel Lee while he was a student at the University of Virginia. Afraid of the hangman’s noose, Poe knows he can never tell anyone about the repressed memories haunting him. But a newspaper reporter named Sam Reynolds has overheard him talking erratically about Annabel while in a drunken stupor. That a man as famous as Poe could be a murderer would be the scoop of a lifetime and Reynolds will do anything to get it.

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Obsessed with Poe, the Raven stages his murders with clever ties to Poe’s works. Clay tries to stop the murders and soon winds up in the Raven’s cross hairs. Though this isn’t the first vicious killer Clay–an ex-Army Ranger–has fought, he doesn’t know the Raven has a diabolical plan to execute him.

Will Poe finally reveal the truth about Annabel, or will he take the secret to his grave? Can Clay escape the Raven’s plot, find what drives the Raven’s murderous obsession with Poe, and at last answer the question, who killed Annabel Lee?

The truth can’t be buried forever.

This was a beautifully complex tale, from the ample cast of characters to the interlocking subplots. The author built in precisely the right amount of reminders in later scenes to jog the reader’s mind about characters or clues that were becoming more relevant to the plot than they’d been the first time they were mentioned. I read methodically in general, but it was definitely nice to have these reminders as everything began to gel together.

There were times when the plot moved so slowly that I had some trouble remaining as interested in it as I was in the beginning. The narrator needed to keep track of a lot of information simultaneously while also letting the audience knowing how all of the subplots were developing or, in some cases, not developing at the moment. I really wanted to give this a higher rating, but the pacing issues were distracting enough that I couldn’t personally go any higher than three and a half stars.

I liked the way the historical and contemporary timelines were linked to each other. There were excellent reasons for all of those parallels. Nothing happened by chance even when I didn’t yet understand why events in the late 1840s were lining up so closely to what was going on in present day. This is a topic I’d love to go into more detail about, but it really needs to be left for future readers to discover for themselves. All I can say is that it was well written and clever.

Anyone who is a fan of Edgar Allen Poe should give The Girl Behind the Wall a try.

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

Wild One by Alisa Woods

October 15, 2020 By Leave a Comment


Wild One by Alisa Woods
Wilding Pack Wolves 4
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Contemporary, Paranormal, Romance, Suspense/Mystery/Thriller
Rating: 4.5 stars
Reviewed by Xeranthemum

Marco’s pack is being hunted… but he needs a mate to keep them strong. Marco Wilding’s pack is being picked off, one by one. The Wolf Hunter’s mercenaries are snatching wolves off the street then dumping the tortured bodies inside Marco’s territory. When they go for a shifter kid, Marco’s patrol is on it—until a beautiful female wolf steps in and kicks the kidnapper’s ass. The delay saves the kid, but Marco can’t stop drooling over this brave, unmated female who mysteriously landed in his lap.

Only she wants nothing to do with him.

Julia Holloway’s life was finally turning around—she was getting her degree and getting out of her mother’s house with its parade of abusive step-fathers. Then her wolf went wild and ruined her life. Now she’s on the run, but her wolf is still out of control. When it once again tries to save someone, this time a kid who was being kidnapped, she gets an offer she can’t refuse—safe harbor inside a shifter pack while she gets her life together.

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As Julia and Marco race to stop the Wolf Hunter’s men, Julia will have to do more than just tame her wild wolf… she’ll have to decide whether giving up everything she wants will bring her the one thing she really needs.

This was an intense read that had me wide-eyed so many times, I forgot to blink. The action, the race against time, the heroics, the near misses, and a wonderful romance woven in altogether made Wild One an awesome read.

This story is about Julia and Marco. Marco is a character that I was briefly introduced to in Wild Heat. Like the other two books I read and reviewed, this book can also be read as a standalone. This is the kind of series that I like – I can pick up any book and feel like I’m getting the complete picture, with so many intriguing teases from previous stories, I actually want to read them, even if they’re out of order. It all works.

Another thing that works is the pairing of Julia and Marco. She’s running, unsure of where her life is leading, and Marco is fighting to create a place where shifters can have lives worth living. He’s a hero because he truly cares and wants to help every wolf shifter – from little kids to the elderly, that society has ignored and shoved to the outskirts, just because they are who they are. Marco is perfect hero material. Julia is in her own way, too. She is selfless and she throws herself into any situation she believes in 100% even when she’s outnumbered and outclassed. She’s feisty and ferocious. In short, she’s a perfect heroine to match the hero. I enjoyed getting to know them.

That dastardly villain, The Wolf Hunter, has ramped up his villainy. This time, he’s crossed the line by targeting kids. The really whacked thing is that he hates shifters in an obsessive kind of way and if a reader has read Wild Heat, they’d know why it’s so twisted. The Wolf Hunter has issues – Marcos made me laugh when he referred to those ‘issues’, even while he was being brutally tortured. That might be a bit much for some readers because his torture was being witnessed by some kids that were going to be the killer’s next victims. Readers can be assured that the author took care of the kids when the time came. I think that drama is what made this book so powerful and compelling. This is the type of wickedness that needs to be defeated, and heroes come to the fore from unexpected places. Ms. Woods surprised me with who ended up helping in the big battle scene towards the end. I was most impressed.

The romance between Marco and Julia was great. It wasn’t fast; there were some mix-ups and some personal trials and challenges they both had to overcome while trying to keep everyone safe. Their budding love grew over the course of the book and when they finally came together in passion, it was hot, hot, hot. One thing I didn’t share in past reviews of the other two books was how the author has the hero and heroine mate. I’ve never read anything like it and it’s clever, unique and quite awesome. And, I can’t forget to mention sexy, it’s very sexy.

The happy ever after wrap up was just as impressive, positive and happy as I could wish. There are challenges yet to face for the Wilding pack and all their allies. I’m looking forward to reading the next book and finding out who gets their HEA next. If paranormal romance readers haven’t discovered this series yet, they are missing out. I’m so happy to have a new favorite author to binge read!

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