Tropical Delusions……

Detective Tracy Crosswhite is working cold cases now and takes a call from a woman that piques her interest. Many years ago, a young investigative reporter Lisa Childress, left her husband and young daughter to meet with an informant, and was never seen again. Despite a lengthy investigation, with Lisa’s husband being the prime suspect, not trace of the woman was ever found. Anita, her daughter, has never stopped looking for answers and hopes that Tracy can help discover what happened all those years ago. 

With little to go on other than some personal notes & published works of Lisa’s that Anita provides, Tracy begins the painstaking work of trying to piece together the storylines that Lisa was working on the night she disappeared, including pieces on political corruption, drug trafficking, as well as the infamous Route 99 serial killer. A visit to the flamboyant detective who originally investigated her disappearance doesn’t yield much new information – the main focus at the time was on Lisa’s husband, who was then vilified by the press and doesn’t not want a repeat of those baseless accusations. 

As Tracy starts digging deeper, she realizes that one of her old partners may know more than he’s willing to share – and as some of the Lisa’s seemingly separate investigations begin to overlap, a stunning discovery leaves Tracy with even more questions, and hopefully some long-awaited answers.  Yet, there are those – from past and present – who will do anything to keep old secrets safely in the past…

I LOVE this series and am overjoyed to see Tracy return to the pages once more. Smart, sassy and determined to deliver the truth, no matter the consequences, Tracy is a hero for anyone who loves a good, action-packed, who-dun-it. A fabulous must-read series!

Available from your favorite bookseller on August 23rd!

I received this book as an Advance Reader Copy from Netgalley along with Thomas & Mercer in exchange for an objective review.  Do you love to read?? Visit netgalley.com and start reviewing books today!!

It’s a beautiful day in the tropics and Zach Bridger, former NFL star, is sipping a beer by the pool in the morning hours, when the bartender calls him over to the television. There on screen is a picture of his ex-wife Rebecca Pratt, whom he hasn’t seen in the years since their divorce. Then the screen changes and he learns that Rebecca was found unresponsive and is being treated at the hospital. Then, his phone rings.

Twelve hours later, Zach arrives in Atlanta to a mob of reporters. Pushing through them, he heads to the fourth floor where he is shocked to learn that not only has Rebecca been greviously injured, but that she maintained documents naming him as her health care surrogate, much to his dismay and her parent’s disbelief. As Rebecca slips into an irreversible vegetative state, Zach finds himself unwilling to make decisions against her parents’ wishes – and leaves with the understanding that they will file for conservatorship.

Fast forward four years later, and Zach is enjoying a quiet life on his North Carolina property, when he receives a visit from Kate Lennon from the District Attorney’s office. Kate again presents him with the irrefutable proof of his legal healthcare proxy, along with a stunning announcement. Rebecca’s assailant, Eben Clark, is being released from prison. Were Rebecca to die, he could be re-charged – this time for murder. And Eban, very aware that his freedom remains in jeopardy, is willing to do anything to secure it – no matter what it takes…

I’ve been reading Sandra Brown’s work for 40 years or so, and she is at the top of her game! Like all of her work, this was a fabulous read centered around a very intriguing situation! The perfect blend of suspense, mayhem and romance made for a wonderful read indeed. I couldn’t put it down!

I received this book as an Advance Reader Copy from Netgalley & Grand Central Publishing in exchange for an objective review. Do you love to read?? Visit netgalley.com and start reviewing books today!!

It’s a busy day in Eagles Nest, OR, when a young teen comes to the local diner looking for some help and finds Police Chief Truman Daly. He tells Truman that his mother, Bridget Kerr and baby sister Molly are missing and have been so for two weeks. He tells Truman that he was told if she didn’t return within a certain amount of time, that he was to go for help. His father is recently deceased. All he knows is that his mother was looking for her brother. But he doesn’t know who his uncle is or where his mother may have gone. With a young child missing, Truman immediately notifies Mercy. 

As Theodore leads the duo on a very roundabout path to his home nestled in the woods, they meet his younger sister Charlotte and quickly recognize the signs of ‘peppers’ – a survivalist family – no computers, no phones and minimal interaction with the townspeople. As they gently search the house for clues to Bridget’s whereabouts, they find a small cache of pictures hidden. Though the pictures are several years old, Mercy recognizes someone in the pictures – a friend from a nearby Sherriff’s department.

A quick visit to Detective Evan Bolton reveals some astonishing news – Bridget, is actually Bethany – Evan’s sister, who’s been missing for fourteen years.  Evan is stunned, and immediately joins the investigation as he prepares to meet his niece and nephew. As the children bond with their uncle, they begin to confide in the group – including a startling fact about their father. 

Meanwhile, a recently deceased millionaire has reportedly hidden a treasure and his attorney has posted a cryptic poem that will ultimately lead one lucky individual to the cache.  As a result, Eagle’s Nest has been flooded with tourists, all hoping that the mountainous region may be guarding the prize.  With the treasure hunters come other problems, with Truman and his team fielding frequent calls for fighting, trespassing and finally murder. 

As the team works to find Bethany, Truman is seeking a killer in his rural town, all while the hunt is on to find a valuable treasure… 

First, I just have to say that I was ecstatic to see Mercy & Truman returning to print!!  Her character became very near and dear to me as I worked through her ‘Merciful’ series, originally slated to end after six novels. Apparently, I was not alone in that sentiment as I read her Acknowledgements page and I am thrilled that there will be more of Mercy and crew forthcoming!! I love these books!! 

That being said – as always, this was a great read! Don’t pick it up until you have the time to read it cover to cover – it’s that good (as they ALL have been!!! )

I received this book as an Advance Reader Copy from Netgalley & Montlake in exchange for an objective review.  Do you love to read?? Visit netgalley.com and start reviewing books today!!

Josie Quinn & Noah Fraley are just returning home from their honeymoon, driving along a country road on a foggy Pennsylvania morning when they hear screaming – then the wisp of what appears to be a young woman rushes across the road in front of them. Josie quickly pulls off the road as she and Noah begin searching for her. They find an empty car, door open, then discover a woman being choked by a man. As Josie cries out to stop the assault, she tackles the man before he breaks free and takes off running, a look of horror on his face. As Noah tends to the woman, Jose takes off after the assailant, catching up to him just before he leaps off a cliff into the river below… 

As she returns to the roadside, she finds Noah doing CPR, and knows that the young woman is gone.  A quick look at the abandoned car and its contents spilled over the roadway along with the license plate helps them to identify the deceased. A good look at the vehicle interior makes them realize there was another female passenger, but a search of the surrounding woods is fruitless.  The assailant is quickly identified as well by his car, also found nearby. 

Visits to the girls’ parents yield little clue to what might have happened. They were reportedly close friends, both working at a local hotel as part of the catering team. None of them recognize a picture of the girls’ assailant. But one parent does tell the detectives that a couple of weeks ago, his home had been ransacked from top to bottom, yet nothing was stolen. The autopsy on the dead teen reveals signs of torture… A visit to the killer’s home brings even more questions – his wife convinced he’s at work, horrified by the accusations being made. A lifelong knowledge of the Denton woods helps the team to locate the hideout of the killer, but he is frightened – of something – and refuses to utter a word. 

As Josie and her team work to put the seemingly random pieces of the puzzle together, there seems to be one common denominator – the hotel – but what did two teens do to draw the ire of a local businessman?  And what are they all so afraid of?

As will all Josie Quinn books, Lisa Regan takes us on a wild ride full of action, suspense and numerous twists and turns that will have you scratching your head and reading well into the night! Any guess I had as to which way the storyline was headed was dead wrong, and just when you think you’ve reached the end…nope, not yet… 

Incidentally, I was also saddened to learn of the death of the Ms. Regan’s father in her Acknowledgements, and now fully understand the pervasive sadness that had persisted through the last couple of novels after Lisette’s death.  

I received this book as an Advance Reader Copy from Netgalley & Bookouture in exchange for an objective review. Do you love to read?? Visit netgalley.com and start reviewing books today!!