Category: Suspense

TITLE: The Forgotten Child
CHARACTERS: Holly Kendal
AUTHOR: D.E. White
PUBLICATION DATE: 09/27/19
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
Lights blinded her in an eerie white flash. She yanked the wheel as she felt the impact from the car behind her. There was a sharp pain, and then a bang in front of her, and after that nothing but darkness.

Holly Kendal is trying to put her painful past and broken marriage behind her and focus on her beloved son, Milo. But while driving him home on a dark February night, Holly loses control on the rain-slicked tarmac, and her car spirals off the road.

When Holly regains consciousness, everything is silent and in the dark, she can’t see Milo. Desperately, she claws her way out of the car and forces the back door open.

To her relief, Milo is where she left him, injured but breathing – but then she sees something that makes her heart stop.

Milo isn’t the only child in the car. Next to him is another little boy, unharmed but unconscious.

And Holly has absolutely no idea who he is.

For fans of Mel Sherratt and K.L Slater, The Forgotten Child will have you on the edge of your seat until the very last page!

REVIEW:
So here I am on the fence for a recent book. I liked the story but it wasn’t what I expected. I had this idea of the book based on the synopsis but while this was a background story it was not the main one.

The story is more about the strained relationship of Holly and her husband, her family and her past. And of course let’s throw some organized crime into it.

I think the story could have been good if my mind wasn’t so set on what the book promised but did not deliver.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

TITLE: I See You
SERIES #: Criminal Profiler #2
CHARACTERS: Zoe Spencer & William Vaughn
AUTHOR: Mary Burton
PUBLICATION DATE: 10/03/19
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
From New York Times bestselling author Mary Burton comes a gritty, suspenseful story in the Criminal Profiler series.

FBI special agent Zoe Spencer uses skeletal remains to recreate the faces of murder victims through sculpture. Though highly scientific, the process is also sensitive and intimate; she becomes attached to the individuals she identifies, desperate to find justice for each.

As Zoe examines old remains, she sees a teenage girl looking back at her—the victim in a cold case from over a decade ago. Zoe wants nothing more than to tell this young woman’s story and to bring her killer to justice.

Zoe’s case leads her to the victim’s hometown and to homicide detective William Vaughan, Zoe’s on-again, off-again lover. As the two become more involved in the case, they quickly realize that it isn’t as cold as they first believed: someone’s still out there hunting women. And with more women gone missing, time’s running out. Can they work together and stop this madman before he kills again?

REVIEW:
4.25 Hearts First the obvious. Of course the story was good. It was written by Mary Burton.

Burton not only writes an incredible story but one of the things I enjoy most about her writing is I am always second guessing myself trying to figure out who-dun-it.

I enjoyed the couple of Zoe and William. They mesh together well.

Zoe reminds we a lot of the character created by Iris Johansen, Eve Duncan. If you are a fan of Eve Duncan you need to grab this series.

As I started with. Mary Burton writes books that I can’t wait to read. And you should not wait either.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

TITLE: When He Vanished
CHARACTERS: Jane & John
AUTHOR: T.J. Brearton
PUBLICATION DATE: 05/14/19
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
A HEART-POUNDING THRILLER WITH A STUNNING TWIST

WHAT IF YOUR HUSBAND DISAPPEARED AND THE POLICE THOUGHT YOU MIGHT HAVE KILLED HIM?

Jane Gable returns from her shift at the hospital one night to find her two children asleep in bed and her husband gone, his phone and wallet left behind.

John has long been a responsible and dependable man, maintaining a predictable schedule. He is a former alcoholic, and so Jane fears he has relapsed and may be in trouble.

An ‘old friend’ of John’s, Bruce Barnes, turned up on their doorstep the day before his disappearance.

Jane’s son Russ had seen a mysterious blonde woman at the house.

An SUV keeps showing up. Jane feels watched and under threat.

Then John’s abandoned car is found with blood on the steering wheel and Jane fears the worst. And there is a revelation that will make her question her own sanity.

Jane desperately begins investigating on her own. Suspects include her ex-husband, her stepbrother, and the mysterious blonde.

Is she being framed? Can she even trust herself?

HOW FAR WILL SHE GO TO SAVE HER FAMILY?

Perfect for fans of Rachel Cain, Harlan Coben, or Julianne MacLean.

REVIEW:
Review featured at www.books-n-kisses.com

3.75 Hearts This is a true psychological thriller that makes you a bit unsure of your own surroundings.

When Jane’s husband goes missing the cops automatically look at the wife as the suspect. So Jane takes the role of detective on to herself.

What she finds puts her (and the reader) into a suspenseful mindset.

I really found this story interesting and kept me on the edge of my seat. I had a hard time figuring out who-dun-it. Everytime I thought it was one thing a twist turned my thoughts around.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

TITLE: The Silent Ones
CHARACTERS: Juliet & Maddy & Brianna
AUTHOR: K.L. Slater
PUBLICATION DATE: 07/24/19
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
This morning, I was packing up lunches, ironing, putting on the laundry I should have done last night. Now my precious daughter is accused of murder.

When ten-year-old cousins Maddy and Brianna are arrested for a terrible crime, Maddy’s mother Juliet cannot believe it. How could her bright, joyful daughter be capable of such a thing?

As the small village community recoils in horror, the pressure of the tragedy blows Juliet and her sister’s lives apart. And things get even worse when their daughters retreat into a self-imposed silence. Can anyone reach Maddy and discover the truth before her fate is sealed?

Juliet is crushed. Nothing will ever be the same for her darling girl. But she knows that to find out what really happened that day, she and her sister must unlock the secrets of their own terrible past, a past they swore never to speak about again …

The most unputdownable psychological thriller you’ll read this year from the bestselling author K.L. Slater. If you love The Wife Between Us or Gone Girl, you’ll be totally hooked on The Silent Ones.

REVIEW:
4.25 Hearts What a great suspenseful story. This one had me all over the place. Seems every time I thought I had the story figured out I was very wrong.

The family is interesting in their dysfunction. The girls are remaining silent. I mean totally silent which we do not understand. The mom’s are desperate and scared.

This is a really good story that will keep you turning the pages. Very few books keep me unsure of “who-dun-it” so long into the story but this one did.

Highly recommended. If you are a fan of the genre you will be thinking of this one for a long time.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

TITLE: Sherlock Holmes And The Case Of The Undead Client
CHARACTERS: Sherlock Holmes & Dr Watson
AUTHOR: M.J. Downing
PUBLICATION DATE: 06/01/19
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
Sherlock Holmes has only been deceased a month when Dr. John Watson, still grieving, recounts his final case with Holmes. A terrifying mystery, it sends Watson and Holmes into the dark reaches of London’s back alleys – and the human soul.
It begins when Anne Prescott, a lovely Scottish nurse, begs Sherlock Holmes and Watson to help her find her fiancé and her sister, who have gone missing in the teeming streets of London. Immediately, Watson feels an attraction to her that shocks him. Newly married to Mary, and deeply in love with her, he struggles to put Anne out of his mind.
As Watson and Holmes dig into the slums and sewers of London looking for Anne’s fiancé and sister, they uncover a deadly web of bloody murders, horrific medical experiments, and even voodoo ritual that threatens not only London, but the entire British empire, and beyond.
Watson must call on his unique combination of expertise in the medical sciences, as well as his military training to stop this killer before London —and Anne — are lost to the killer’s bloody plan.
But time is short and the mystery ever more complex. How can he manage his feelings for Anne? What about his loyalty to Mary? He can’t have both.

REVIEW:
3.25 Hearts Here is the thing… You have to take your head out of the Conan-Doyle way of Sherlock Holmes was written. As new authors pick up this character we have to learn to enjoy Holmes and Watson in a new way.

This is written as if in Watson’s diary of the events. The storyline is well written and enjoyable. The suspense is typical of a Holmes book.

I look forward to read another one from this author to see how the characters grow under his writing.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

TITLE: Neon Prey
SERIES #: Lucas Davenport #29
CHARACTERS: Lucas Davenport
AUTHOR: John Sandford
PUBLICATION DATE: 04/23/19
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
Lucas Davenport pursues a prolific serial killer who has gone undetected for years in the newest nail-biter by #1 New York Times bestselling author John Sandford.

It was a relatively minor criminal matter, all things considered, but enough that the US Marshals obtained a warrant to enter the home. They didn’t expect to unearth trophies from a score of killings.

Now Davenport is on the trail of a serial murderer, one who was able to operate for years without notice or suspicion. But there’s even more to this killer than meets the eye…

REVIEW:
3.75 Hearts This is the 29th… Yes 29th… in the series and while you would think it has gotten old but it really hasn’t.. Mostly.

After 28 other stories some of the personality of Lucas has crossed over a time or two but that being said the story really holds up even after so many stories. The serial killer Lucas is after this time is a cannibal that the FBI has been after for a while.

I have to say the storyline was a bit dark but still an enjoyable read. And even though it is #29 you can read it as a stand alone.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

TITLE: Fear In The Lakes
CHARACTERS: Beth & James
AUTHOR: Graham Smith
PUBLICATION DATE: 07/12/19
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
A case with no leads.
A victim with no enemies.
A killer with no conscience…

When Detective Beth Young is called to investigate a victim with multiple broken bones, nothing prepares her for what she finds. James Sinclair is fighting for his life, and Beth can’t shake the idea that the nature of his injuries suggest someone with a personal grudge against him.

But James’s devastated wife Laura insists that her kind, softly-spoken husband is a man with no enemies. She was the one with the fiery temper, but James was so calm, she’d never once managed to provoke even a cross word from him in their eight year marriage. And he was the same with everyone – she can’t name one person who might want to hurt him.

But she knows virtually no details about her husband’s childhood or his life before he moved to the Lake District as a young man, and Beth feels sure that the key to finding James’s attacker is hidden in the secrets of his past. Who was he really? And what is the significance of the coded messages that Beth finds hidden on his laptop?

Then two more bodies are found in one of the deep, picturesque lakes that the area is so famous for, exhibiting similar injuries to the ones James Sinclair suffered. How are they connected? And how many more people are at risk?

Beth knows she is in a race against time to hunt a vicious killer who is both elusive and incredibly dangerous. A killer who knows what James did in the past. Who likes to be one step ahead. But who – if they realise they’re being hunted – might come for Beth next…

REVIEW:
3.5 Hearts This is the third in the series but I have not read the other two but it can be a stand alone with just a bit of feeling like you missed something from the previous books.

I liked Beth and found her to be a strong woman capable of handling herself which I always enjoy.

The middle of the story got a bit slow. I was pushing my way through the middle but I had enjoyed the beginning and I was glad I did since the ending picked up and was enjoyable again.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

TITLE: Blindsided
CHARACTERS: Cadence Lawrence
AUTHOR: Kate Watterson
PUBLICATION DATE: 07/09/19
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
A young woman encounters the killer she accused years earlier—and finds herself drawn back into a vortex of evil she thought she’d left far behind her.

A decade after Cadence Lawrence accused the perpetrator in the brutal murder of her high school friend, she’s finally put the nightmare to rest. But the ghosts of her past won’t rest, and an unexpected encounter with the killer reawakens demons she thought were long dead. Gripped by paranoia, Cadence fears she’s being stalked, and suspects that the murderer has invaded the sanctity of her home. Could her chance encounter have rekindled the savage rage that claimed the life of her friend and now threatens Cadence herself?

Half-crazed with fear, Cadence takes flight, but instead of finding sanctuary, she runs headlong into one of the worst snowstorms to blast northern Wisconsin in years. Stranded, freezing, and alone, Cadence confronts her worst nightmare—until deliverance comes in the form of a stranger who rescues her and offers shelter from the blinding storm. But something is not altogether right with her savior, and Cadence is faced with another impossible dilemma. Should she trust this enigmatic stranger, or once again flee for her life? In the midst of an unrelenting storm, the walls are closing in on Cadence.

REVIEW:
2.75 Hearts This was a difficult story to read. It has a lot of potential but it never really met it. I had a hard time connecting with the characters but especially Cadence. Many times I was reading and thinking “seriously, that wouldn’t/can’t happen that way” and it took me out of the story.

Just not a book I would recommend.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.