Month: June 2019

Laura Heart is back in her Connecticut hometown after a sudden nasty break up via a text message with a man she really thought loved her. Staying with her sister and her husband, Laura has taken to online dating sites in hopes of finding love . Formerly Laura Lochner, she has changed her name because of a significant event in her teenaged years, that she wishes to leave behind her. She heads out Thursday evening to meet a man she met online and does not return home. Calls to her cellphone go to voicemail.

Frantic with worry, her sister Rosie, husband Joe & childhood friend Gabe all begin a search for her. Very quickly they find the vehicle Laura was driving – but no sign of Laura. They create a fake account on the dating site Laura used, and quickly identify her scheduled date, a man named Jonathan Fields. They are also able to connect with some of his former ‘dates’ who have less than desirable stories to tell – and with still no sign of Laura, they involve the police.

Now as the clock ticks, the search is on for Laura…

Told from the viewpoints of Laura & Rosie, along with excerpts from Laura’s psychiatric visits several months ago, the reader is drawn into an exploration of the close relationships they all had as childhood friends, as well as Laura’s attempts to ‘be loved’, as the reader learns that not all men are nice, and not all relationships are healthy…

A suspenseful, riveting, hard-to-put-down read that will have you asking yourself just how well you really know someone…

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

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

It’s an idyllic evening in a small English village when a young woman knocks upon the door of a home she believes is hers. A gentleman answers, his wife in the background, as she announces that she’s been away on a business trip, and that this is her house, before she faints. The couple, Tony & Laura, assist her indoors, and offer her some tea. And that’s when she explains that she has lost her handbag, and that she cannot remember her name. All she had to lead her ‘home’ was a bus ticket in her pocket. As the couple consoles her, she stuns them by describing the home in significant detail. Tony tells her she looks like a ‘Jemma’ and offers her their spare bedroom for a few days until things can sort themselves out.

A quick visit with a local physician determines that she likely has amnesia, triggered by some catastrophic event she is unable to recall. A local reporter, Luke, seemingly recognizes her, or thinks he does, but he can’t remember how or from where. As Jemma herself continually searches her memory for clues, she reflects frequently on a friend, Fleur, who is deceased, but is unable to picture her face.

That is the start of a story that takes off like a runaway train and will keep you spellbound with all of its twists and turns and the speed at which they happen. A search of old home records and memories have the townspeople convinced that she may be Jemma Huish, a known murderer. And Luke is diving deep, trying to learn her identity…. But all is not as it seems, and what seems like a book that jumps from place to place and from random character to character, is actually a very well crafted, and horrifying suspenseful read, all coming together seamlessly at the end….and you’ll never look at a seahorse again quite the same…

This was a bit of a depart from my typical genre, but it caught me up in the first few pages, and Jemma’s struggles to remember the events of the past, and the steps she took to do so, had me racing to the thrilling, yet macabre finish. A great read! I look forward to more from J.S, Monroe!!

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

It’s Monday, and Buddy Steel is trying to catch up on his reports when he receives a call from his dispatcher requesting his presence at a scene. Upon his arrival, he finds that a young woman has been shot while sitting in her car. No apparent motive can be ascertained.

Meanwhile, the California Coastal Commission is enlisting Buddy’s assistance with another matter. It seems that a reclusive Russian with reported film interests in Hollywood, also has an interest in privacy, to the detriment of public access points to the beach, which he has boarded up and guarded, despite a law to the contrary. The Russian, Boris Petrov, supposedly a pal of Putin, has a reputation for getting his way…but he’s never met the likes of Buddy…

Then a second woman is found murdered, shot to death like the first one, and shortly after that, a third. With a serial killer taking aim at Freedom, Buddy finds himself trying to head up both investigations…and enlists the aid of young attorney named Jordyn, a former lover, to take on Boris Petrov, as he looks for a remorseless killer – a killer who is much too close to home…

Filled with suspense, action, witty characters and more than a few surprises, Buddy’s latest adventure will keep you on the edge of your seat, and then longing for more…

I honestly cannot wait for the next Buddy Steel installment!!