Posts Tagged ‘serial killers’

“Soulbound,” Tessa Adams

Thursday, January 31st, 2013

Pros: I was on the edge of my seat the whole way through!
Cons: A few threads could have used a little more wrapping up; dark material warning
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Review book courtesy of Penguin Group

 

Xandra is the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter, and royalty to boot. Great signs and portents heralded her birth, which is why no one can understand how it is that she can’t do the slightest bit of magic. Fleeing the increasingly dangerous attempts of her mother to bring out her latent power, Xandra ends up in Austin, Texas, where she’s perfectly happy running a hugely popular coffee shop. Everything’s going just fine—until warlock Declan shows up in town. Suddenly her simple life is blowing up in her face. She’s following compulsions that lead her to dead bodies and force her to relive the women’s last, horrific memories. The women bear a resemblance to her, and versions of her own mystical tattoo appear on their bodies. Sparks fly—literally—when she and Declan get close, but he walked out on her once, and she doesn’t particularly trust him now. To make matters worse, it seems that her magic has finally decided to show up, but definitely not in any way that anyone could have predicted. And if she doesn’t get a handle on it soon, the killer might get to her before she can figure out who he is.

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“You Belong to Me,” Karen Rose

Friday, May 20th, 2011

Pros: taut pacing and plotting; characters I want to see more of; suspenseful
Cons: large cast of characters with plenty of dark secrets—pro or con depending on the reader (see review)
Rating: 5 out of 5

Review book courtesy of Penguin Group

 

Medical examiner Lucy Trask is trying to help catch a ruthless killer—one that seems fixated on her, as she’s the one who keeps finding the bodies. As she starts to realize the link between her and the victims, she tries desperately to keep past secrets from the police, who end up investigating her as well as the killer. To make matters worse, she’s starting to fall for one of the cops, a detective Fitzpatrick. He’s kind, hot, and all sorts of great things, but she’s learned the hard way that letting people in is a bad idea.

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“Cold Touch,” Leslie Parrish

Friday, April 22nd, 2011

Pros: Chilling, thrilling, and blood-stirring
Cons: Some genre standard elements, but they’re handled very well
Rating: 5 out of 5

Review book (uncorrected proof) courtesy of the author
Expected release date: July 5, 2011

 

Olivia Wainwright, daughter of wealthy and influential parents, hasn’t had such a perfect life. A kidnapping-turned-violent when she was young left her with the unwanted ability to relive the last two minutes and ten seconds of a person’s life simply by touching their remains. She’s found she can use this ability to help catch murderers when no other means will do, but she never uses it unless she absolutely has to. Because each time she does, she dies a little more inside.

Savannah detective Gabe Cooper is working a cold case: a set of remains found in the wall of a burned-out building. Olivia can’t help but get involved, as she suspects the body may be linked to her own kidnapping. Convincing Gabe to let her help, however, will be another matter; like most people, he thinks her so-called psychic abilities are a crock. Still, despite his disbelief, he can’t get the strong-willed, gentle woman off of his mind. He just needs to decide whether he can let go of everything he’s ever believed in order to solve his case and have a chance at love.

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“Waking the Dead,” Kylie Brant

Thursday, November 5th, 2009

Pros: Strong characters & mystery; lacks the flaws of the last book in the series
Cons: Could use a little more foreshadowing
Rating: 4 out of 5

Review book courtesy of Penguin Group.
Also posted on Epinions.com.

 

Since I’ve fallen behind on my reviewing (ack! Too many cat & family health issues—both our cats have a cardiologist and asthma inhalers now), I’ll cheat and quote the back-cover text to give you a taste of the plot before I let you know what I think of the book.

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