Month: August 2019

Several months ago, Navy SEAL Jake Heath & FBI Special Agent Alexa Mays chanced to meet when their respective agencies worked together on a counterterrorism mission. Jake, entranced by Alexa, left her some messages hoping to see her again, but they were never returned. As members of his SEAL team gather to celebrate a training victory, Alexa appears – and she’s hoping for Jake’s help on a case she’s currently running. Fearful of an attraction to a soldier who will be away on missions, Alexa tried to keep it all business.

Jake, surprised by Alexa’s sudden appearance after months of no contact, initially says no, and sends Alexa on her way. But he cannot deny the attraction that still sizzles between them, so he changes his mind, arrives at her apartment, only to scare off an apparent intruder. Alexa also has noticed a possible tail in the past several days – a black truck.

As they join forces to stop a would-be terrorist who’s running free in California, they try and fail to fight the growing attraction between them…but can they find and stop the terrorist in time?? And what will happen to Alexa’s heart when the mission is over?

This was a suspenseful, action-packed read that sucked me in immediately, and I read it easily in one sitting. Filled with the fast-paced drama and colorful characters that we’ve come to expect from Laura Griffin, this book will not disappoint!! Even better, it is the 4th in a series, but silt read as a stand-alone too! Happy reading!!

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

It’s another night in Ackers Gap, WV, and Deputy Brinksneader is ready to call his shift done, and head home to his wife’s cooking, when a call comes in to assist with an incident at the Burger Boss. Upon entering, it becomes apparent that paramedics are treating yet another drug overdose in the grimy bathroom stall. Until they find a just birthed infant in the toilet…

Meanwhile Bell, a former prosecutor, Nick, the former Sheriff & Jake, a deputy who is wheelchair bound after line of duty injury, are settling into their investigative office to review their ongoing cases. Most pressing is the disappearance of a young teenager. Following a lead, Bell walks deep in the woods to the grounds of an old psychiatric hospital in search of the missing Dixie Sue, and stumbles across a prone body that bears the evidence of a homicide.

As local police arrive and turn the victim over, Bell realizes it’s not the missing teen at all – its Darla Gilley, the sister of a local, Joe Gilley. But why in the world would she be up at the old Wellwood Hospital site? And who would want to kill her? Why?

Nick & Bell visit the family in hopes of finding some clues, and what they learn is perplexing. As they work to find the missing teen, they also work to solve Darla’s murder, As Bell digs deep, she finds and old diary, and learns some very unpleasant things about the old psychiatric hospital in the woods…and in doing so, she inadvertently crosses paths with a killer. A killer determined to keep the past where it belongs…

This is my first novel by Julia Keller and I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed it! The main characters are all likeable and I enjoy the insights into their pasts as well as who they are today, particularly the dilemma that Jake and girlfriend Molly have to contend with. I do not know if this is a standalone or not, but I sincerely hope that these characters appear in future works – I’d love to learn more of Nick & Bell’s past, which she alludes to a bit in this story. So, here’s hoping!! Ms. Keller gets an A+ from this reader! I look forward to reading more of her works!

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

Addendum:: I just posted reviews on some of the retail sites, and was elated to learn that this is actually BOOK 8 in a series!! That made my day!! 🙂

This is book five of the Creed series and I am enormously grateful to the author for her ‘authors note’ at the end that assures her readers that there are many more Creed stories to come! Thank goodness! Ms. Kava is definitely in my top 5 of MUST READ authors!!

In early AM Chicago, Frankie Russo wakes to her phone ringing at 5AM to find her marketing co-worker Tyler calling her via Facetime. Having worked on a large account recently, he has discovered that the company’s products, breakfast cereal and bars, contain a dangerous amount of glyphosate, an herbicide, considered a carcinogen. He also reveals that he and a friend hacked into the company CEO’s emails and learned that they know of the problem. Moments later, Tyler is accosted by two men and drops the phone. The man who picks up the phone is big, with a noticeable scar, before the call disconnects. Realizing she is in trouble, Frankie reaches out to her friend Hannah, in hopes of talking to Hannah’s friend, FBI Agent Maggie O’Dell.

Meanwhile, in Florida, Ryder Creed is working with a new dog with a prosthetic leg. Watching closely is Brodie, his sister, recently rescued after 16 years with a kidnapper. Brodi is still trying to find her place in the household after her experience. Ryder’s business partner and friend Hannah is working hard on building a home for her, and looking out for her when Ryder and his dogs are on rescue missions. Both have their eyes to the sky as an ominous line of thunderstorms start to form. As the storms spawn tornadoes in nearby southern Alabama, Ryder and Grace, his search and rescue dog, head out to assist.

Frankie arrives at the airport, only to discover she’s being followed, and that somehow the man with the scar has found her at the airport terminal. She quickly flees the terminal, rents a vehicle, and decides she’ll drive to Florida instead. When she calls Hannah, Hannah arranges for her to meet with Maggie in Alabama.

As Maggie and Frankie meet at the Southern Blessings Diner, unbeknownst to them, a large tornado is bearing down on them…and on Ryder too…

Awesome read!! I will never get enough of these characters, these dogs, or Alex Kava’s writing! Fabulous characters, scary situations, and the best search and rescue dogs ever make for a fabulous, un-put-downable read! If you do nothing else, acquaint yourself with this series! I promise, you won’t be disappointed!!

Detective Josie Quinn is at the park with her young charge, Harris, when a child disappears after a ride on the carousel. Lucy was there on a horse beside her mother Amy, and in the few seconds it took Amy to remove her harness, the child was gone. As the parents’ panic, Josie calls for back up and begins to seal the park. Searchers scour all areas of the park and there is no sign of 7-year-old Lucy to be found, and Josie begins to fear the worst.

As the police department builds a task force and pulls surveillance footage, along with researching Lucy’s parents for enemies that may have taken the child, Josie’s reporter twin, Trinity, helps in her own way with background research on the child’s parents, and the FBI is mobilized to assist. Then the first call comes in – from the babysitter’s phone – and she is found dead. Now the search into the parent’s past begins in earnest, as the kidnapper asks Lucy’s Mom, “how does it feel??”

Josie and her team are quick to learn that Lucy and her family had been stalked for a while before the child was grabbed. As the search for the kidnapper zeroes in on a young man masquerading as an entomologist, and Amy’s identity comes into question, Josie and her team fight to discover what Amy is trying so desperately to hide, and to rescue her daughter before it’s too late…
This book was an edge-of-your-seat nail-biter, and my most favorite Josie novel to date!! A great read!! I love Josie’s character and am enjoying watching her grow, along with her relationship with Noah. I already can’t wait for the next installment of the series!! Love, LOVE, LOVE this series!!

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