Month: May 2018

The Real Michael Swann – Bryan Reardon

I was fortunate to receive this novel as an Advance Reader Copy, in exchange for an objective review.

It’s an idyllic summer day in a suburban neighborhood, and Julia Swann is home with her children and a couple of her close neighbors are with her. Her husband it commuting from NY City, and they share a couple of innocuous phone calls as he attempts to get home. But there’s been a brush fire and the commuter trains have been stopped. During a third call to his wife, Michael Swann vents his frustration, only to have the call suddenly drop without warning. Despite the relative normalcy of a dropped call, Julia is very unsettled and inexplicably frightened.

Shortly thereafter the news comes out – a bomb has been detonated at Penn Station – hundreds dead, hundreds more injured, and Julia has no word on Michael’s whereabouts. Frantic with worry, she attempts to approach the scene, only to be turned around by police. As she waits for news, she remembers different aspects of their many years together, reliving the night they first met, along with other milestones throughout their marriage.

Meanwhile, a man survives the explosion and staggers out of the wreckage of Penn Station, still clutching his briefcase. But he has no memory of whom he is, or where he’s from. As he finds his way to safety, his thoughts are shared with readers as well. But now, for reasons unknown, law enforcement have set their sights on Michael Swann as a possible conspirator.

As Julia struggles to find news of her missing husband, and an unknown man struggles to learn his identity, this book carries you off into a tremendous journey, full of fear, love, betrayal, bewilderment and ultimately hope. I was staggered by the last several pages of the novel – in fact my assumptions were so wrong, I had to go back and start from the beginning – and so many questions remain! A fabulous, edge-of-your-seat read!

Face Off – Brenda Novak

I was fortunate to receive this novel as an Advance Reader Copy, in exchange for an objective review.

Evelyn Talbot returns in this next installment of the Hanover House series!
After surviving a near-fatal attack by her then-boyfriend Jasper in high-school, Evelyn Talbot has made psychology and studying the psychopathic mind her life’s work. All her work has culminated in the building and opening of Hanover House, a maximum-security prison for psychopathic minds. Built in remote Alaska, Evelyn hopes to study psychopathy, in better attempts to understand these individuals, and to hopefully find areas in which they can be rehabilitated.

Jasper Moore is Evelyn’s old high school boyfriend. Remaining free, and killing indiscriminately for the last 20 years, Jasper has never stopped thinking about Evelyn. He has, through plastic surgery and a new identity, gained employment at Hanover House, in hopes of laying claim to her and finishing what he started all those years ago.

Amarok, Evelyn’s love, is an Alaskan State Trooper, though initially in opposition to the building of Hanover House, has fallen in love with her, and will do whatever it takes to keep her safe. When bodies begin to appear in the remote Alaskan wilderness, Amarok & Evelyn fear that Jasper has indeed followed her to Alaska. But he is so very much closer than either of them suspects…

I LOVE this series! I LOVED this book! It’s a fabulous concept, and each of these books has kept me reading non-stop late into the night, with the lights on! Non-stop action, suspense and drama, and all the reader wants to do is reach through the pages and shake Evelyn to let her know what’s coming!! Awesome read!!

I also have to add this side note, that it was interaction with Brenda Novak herself that lead me to Netgalley, and the amazing opportunity to receive ARC books and write reviews. I know my writing has a long way to go, but I again, am so grateful for the opportunity to read (one of my most favorite things!)and review! Thank you again Brenda, for pointing me in the right direction!!

Lost Creed – Alex Kava

Ryder Creed is back again along with his dogs, and is busy working Scout, a newer acquisition, at a training facility when he receives a text, regarding an incoming phone call – ‘it’s about Brodie’ is all he’s told. Brodie, his sister, disappeared from a rest area in Nebraska, over 16 years ago, and he’s never given up searching for her, or trying to discover what happened to her.

Maggie O’Dell, meanwhile, is deep in a cornfield as the FBI stealthily gets ready to merge onto the property of a suspected human trafficker. As they swarm the property, they capture a single man attempting to escape. But the house has been cleared – they were somehow warned that the FBI was coming. And then, on an innocuous board filled with pictures, Maggie spots a picture of Brodie, Ryder’s missing sister.

From that point on, the two join forces as the investigation into human trafficking continues and the search for Brodie intensifies. To say more would likely provide spoilers, so I’ll stop here. But, as with all of Kava’s work, this book is amazing, full of suspense, and un-put-downable! She ranks high on my all time favorite author’s list! A must read!!

If you only read one book that I recommend, read this one!! And then go pick up the rest of the Ryder Creed and Maggie O’Dell books. I found this author after the publication of her first book back in 2001, and I’ve NEVER been disappointed!

Broken Promise – Tara Thomas

I was fortunate to receive this novel as an Advance Reader Copy, in exchange for an objective review.

Kipling Benedict is the eldest of the three Benedict brothers, whom are the heirs apparent to the large shipping company bequeathed to them by their father. Set in beautiful Charleston, SC, Kipling has seen both of his brothers marry, but after having his heart broken at a young age, he has vowed to remain single, despite his hidden interest in Charleston PD’s Officer Alyssa Adams.

Alyssa Adams has an agenda of her own. After losing a sister to murder when she was 15 years old, she has made it her life’s work to avenge her sister and to protect society, a story she shares with Kipling over an impromptu cup of coffee one afternoon. As they talk, they discover a connection between them – a company named ‘Finition Noire’.

Soon, a young woman who proclaims to be the Benedict’s sister – Jade – goes missing, and Kipling receives a call from an individual who claims to have her. He joins forces with Alyssa in attempts to find her.

As the search for Jade intensifies, we learn of ‘The Gentleman’, and a clue left behind by Alyssa’s sister all those years ago, that ties into the present as Kipling & Alyssa give in to their chemistry and search for answers and for Jade. Just who is ‘The Gentleman’ and why does he have it in for the Benedict family?

I absolutely LOVED this book! Non-stop action and suspense, and some great reveals into the motivations and backstories of individual characters and how they became to be. It kept me guessing – and guessing wrong! Great read!! I will most definitely be watching for more from Tara Thomas!!