Posts Tagged ‘thriller’
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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Tags: erotic romance, Lone Star Witch novels, romance, serial killers, Tessa Adams, thriller, warlocks, witchcraft, witches
Posted in Horror & Paranormal, Romance & Erotica, Thriller, Adventure & Mystery | Permalink | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, January 30th, 2013
Pros: Fun tale with some intriguing twists, enjoyable turns, and interesting characters
Cons: The “impulsive” bad guy was a little too predictable at the end
Rating: 4 out of 5
Review book courtesy of Penguin Group
Eve has a difficult new case to crack. It isn’t particularly gruesome, but the victim was a mother, a wife, sister-in-law to a judge, and much beloved by those around her. For once, Eve can’t find any hidden enemies, resentful spouses. Yet everything indicates that this woman was specifically targeted, and her death wasn’t the mugging-gone-wrong it was supposed to look like. Investigating the murder takes Eve deep into the confusing world of accounting, investing, and big business, where she’s sure to anger some very wealthy, very well-connected players.
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Tags: Eve Dallas, in death, J.D. Robb, mystery, Nora Roberts, Roarke, romance, thriller
Posted in Romance & Erotica, Thriller, Adventure & Mystery | Permalink | No Comments »
Friday, June 15th, 2012
Pros: Larger-than-life blend of action, romance, and mystery
Cons: Larger-than-life and melodramatic
Rating: 4 out of 5
Review book courtesy of Penguin Group
PI Paige Holden took on a pro bono client—a woman she knows who believes that her son is innocent of the terrible crime he was convicted of. The case seems like a dead end until the woman’s minivan crashes right in front of Paige, and she sees that the woman’s been shot. The woman’s final words and actions send Paige on a collision course with a very high-profile case and some extremely dangerous people.
Five years ago, State’s Attorney Grayson Smith felt satisfied that he had put a murderer in jail and made the streets just that much safer. But when Paige gives him her evidence and tells him what she knows, he starts to doubt himself—and those he works with. Before long, the two of them are largely hiding out with help from Grayson’s adoptive family, hoping to figure out who the bad guys really are before it’s too late.
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Tags: Baltimore, Karen Rose, police procedural, procedural, romance, suspense, thriller
Posted in Romance & Erotica, Thriller, Adventure & Mystery | Permalink | No Comments »
Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012
Pros: So totally in tears! An emotional roller-coaster tied to a dark mystery and some wonderful characters
Cons: …
Rating: 5 out of 5
Hope Carson is a survivor of domestic abuse, still battling her demons and trying to get her feet under her. It was her terrible luck to try to piece her life back together while visiting her friend Law, whose small town has just become the site of a terrible killing. As if that weren’t enough, Law was attacked and Hope was made to look as though she’d tried to kill both him and herself.
It takes golden-boy local DA Remy Jennings a while to catch up to the fact that she’s innocent. He feels it in his gut, but he also knows he’s having trouble remaining objective about her, and that means he needs to be particularly careful about basing his decisions only on the evidence at hand. Thankfully that evidence does eventually turn up, leaving him free to think about whether or not to pursue his interest in her. He knows she comes with baggage, maybe more than he can handle. But he just can’t seem to stay away from her.
Unfortunately for both of them, Hope’s ex-husband, the one who battered her, the one who tried to convince Remy she was violent and manipulative, now knows where she is. And he’s determined to bring her back home, no matter what he has to do to accomplish it. He isn’t counting, however, on an unlikely protector who doesn’t want to see Hope hurt…
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Tags: mystery, romance, Shiloh Walker, suspense, thriller
Posted in Romance & Erotica, Thriller, Adventure & Mystery | Permalink | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, February 7th, 2012
Pros: Gets better and better as it goes, with a tear-jerker climax
Cons: Rough start, with some too-perfect characters and stilted writing
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Review book courtesy of Penguin Group
Mariah Sayers fled the small town of Plains Point when she was just seventeen, escaping an abusive family and the aftermath of a brutal attack. Now that both of her parents have died, she’s returned with her teenaged daughter to set the house in order for sale. At first she enjoys the warmth of old friendships, the satisfaction of turning the old home into something beautiful, and even the sizzle of chemistry with the hot veterinarian who takes an interest in her. Then a terrible crime makes her realize that the man who attacked her not only isn’t gone, but may have been attacking, brutalizing, and even killing young women ever since she left. All Mariah wants to do is flee back to Chicago, but she might run out of time…
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Tags: Carla Cassidy, mystery, romance, thriller
Posted in Romance & Erotica, Thriller, Adventure & Mystery | Permalink | No Comments »
Thursday, December 8th, 2011
Pros: Intense!
Cons: It helps to read The Missing first, but it isn’t necessary
Rating: 5 out of 5
Review book courtesy of the author and Penguin Group
Also posted on Epinions.com.
Desiree (”Dez”) Lincoln is a psychic who works for the FBI. Her ability? She talks to dead people, and they don’t let her rest until she helps them rest. Taylor Jones is Dez’s boss, a man whose talent lies in finding psychics and helping them to focus their talent. His driving goal above all others is to save lives—because he couldn’t save his little sister when she disappeared at age six.
Dez and Taylor feel the mutual heat of attraction between them, but Taylor is too cut off, too controlled, and too much Dez’s boss to allow a relationship—and in pushing Dez away after seeing her critically wounded, he pushes her too far. She leaves the FBI entirely and strikes out on her own.
Months later, a strong-willed spirit calls to Dez from Taylor’s old hometown; it needs her help to save a girl’s life. Dez and Taylor are thrown together again to resolve a situation that keeps escalating, and Dez may be able to help Taylor find out what happened to his sister all those years ago. Hopefully the craziness will bring Dez and Taylor finally together, rather than tearing them apart even further…
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Tags: erotic romance, psychics, romance, Shiloh Walker, suspense, thriller
Posted in Horror & Paranormal, Romance & Erotica, Thriller, Adventure & Mystery | Permalink | 3 Comments »
Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011
Pros: Some pieces of interesting plots in here
Cons: Not sure where to start…
Rating: 1 out of 5
This is a review of the Kindle e-book version (there is also a paperback available).
The official description of the book on Amazon is, in this case, probably better than I could do. If I tried to write one I’d have several false starts and end up with a messy, jumbled accounting. So, here’s the official take on the plot: “A virus engineered for genocide has been released in Colorado Springs, leading to mass, and seemingly unexplained violence. Some of the survivors of the infection begin to evolve into something that is both less than and more than human. The race is on to prevent world-wide release of the virus.”
I have a total weakness for bio-thrillers for some reason, maybe because the idea of a virus threatening humanity seems all-too-possible these days. The reviews of this one looked decent at the time that I picked it up, so I thought I’d end up with something at least somewhat enjoyable. Unfortunately, I didn’t.
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Tags: apocalypse, bio-thriller, Brian O'Grady, Sci-Fi, Science Fiction, SF, thriller, virus
Posted in Science Fiction, Thriller, Adventure & Mystery | Permalink | 4 Comments »
Monday, May 23rd, 2011
Pros: Gorgeous, cinematic story with a great deal of personality
Cons: Might start a little slow for some; I wanted a little more about Jericho
Rating: 4 out of 5
Visit Rob Thurman online.
Also posted on Epinions.com.
Stefan Korsak is a bodyguard for the Russian Mafia in Miama, Florida. Once he would have preferred to join the police, but since his younger brother Lukas was kidnapped ten years earlier, this is the only way for Stefan to easily make enough money to continue the search. Even Stefan’s well-connected father has given up. Then finally one of his contacts pays off—Lukas was sighted and trailed back to some sort of armed compound.
Now Stefan is going to have to draw on all of his resources. He needs to liberate his brother from the mysterious armed compound, but as daunting as that seems, it might end up being the easy part. Lukas has been brainwashed, and no longer remembers his brother. He’s also been trained and medically altered in ways that could make him very dangerous to Stefan, himself, and anyone else they come across. Toss in a very angry mob boss since Stefan ran off, as well as the armed men trying to retrieve Lukas, and the brothers’ reunion could be short indeed.
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Tags: adventure, futuristic, genetic engineering, Korsak Brothers, mystery, near future, Rob Thurman, Sci-Fi, Science Fiction, SF, thriller
Posted in Science Fiction, Thriller, Adventure & Mystery | Permalink | 4 Comments »
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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Tags: erotica, Karen Rose, murder, mystery, romance, serial killers, suspense, thriller
Posted in Romance & Erotica, Thriller, Adventure & Mystery | Permalink | 1 Comment »
Thursday, May 19th, 2011
Pros: Fascinating world-building; lots of action and plot twists
Cons: Jayleia didn’t quite seem to match up with her portrayal in the first book; it was hard to see why the two main characters kept resisting their feelings for each other; make sure you read “Enemy Within” first
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Review book courtesy of Penguin Group
Scientist Jayleia Durante’s spymaster father is missing, and Major Damen Sindrivik, a spy from a rival government, needs to find him. In order to do that, he kidnaps Jayleia. Damen needs to find Durante without getting caught by the traitors who’ve allied themselves with the vicious Chekydran, but Jayleia isn’t exactly eager to give up her father—even if she knew where he was, and she’s convinced she doesn’t. At the first opportunity she plans to escape Damen, but it’s going to take both of them to handle the huge conspiracy that’s barreling toward them.
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Tags: adventure, Horror & Paranormal, Marcella Burnard, Sci-Fi, Science Fiction, scifi, SF, thriller
Posted in Romance & Erotica, Science Fiction, Thriller, Adventure & Mystery | Permalink | No Comments »
