Bea's Book Nook: Bea Reviews Cold Malice by Toni Anderson

Thursday, September 14, 2017

Bea Reviews Cold Malice by Toni Anderson

Bea's Book Nook, Blog Tour, Review, Cold Malice, Toni Anderson

Series: Cold Justice #8
Publisher: Toni Anderson
Source: the pr firm in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: September 12th, 2017
Buying Links: Amazon* | Kobo | Google Play | iTunes* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from pr firm:

ASAC Steve (Mac) McKenzie is out to prove himself by leading a task force investigating a series of murders in the heart of Washington, DC. His undercover work in an antigovernment compound twenty years earlier is related—as is the sweet, innocent girl he befriended back then. Now that girl is a beautiful woman, and she has something to hide.

Tess Fallon spent a lifetime trying to outrun her family’s brand of bigotry, but someone is threatening her anonymity by using the anniversary of her father’s death to carry out evil crimes and she’s terrified her younger brother is involved. She sets out to find the truth and comes face-to-face with a man she once idolized, a man she thought long dead. As the crimes escalate it becomes obvious the killer has an agenda, and Tess and Mac are running out of time to stop him.

Will the perpetrator use a decades-old dream of revolution to attack the federal government? And will the fact that Tess and Mac have fallen hard for each other give a cold-hearted killer the power to destroy them both?

My Thoughts:

"Cold Malice" kept me up late reading. Timely topic, twists, tight plotting, complex protagonists, and a bumpy yet steamy romance combined to make a compelling story that I couldn’t put down, even when sleep was yelling my name.

Anderson kept me guessing not only as to who all of the bad guys but how exactly they were accomplishing things. I had guesses, some of which were right, but some were wrong. I liked that I couldn't figure everything out but that Anderson had some tricks up her sleeve. Those tricks, and the relationship between Tess and Mac kept me engaged. Tess and Mac knew each many years ago but lost touch. Now that Tess and Mac are back i each other's lives, they do a dance. Neither quite trusts the other despite, or because of, their familiarity. Secrets are a precious commodity and not easily surrendered. Add in the personal attraction, and the strains that puts on their professional relationship, and it's a complicated, compelling romance. Mac is highly focused on work which makes for a great job performance but crappy personal relations. He was an ass at times but an understandable. I did think he could have groveled more at the end when he was trying to win back Tess but the scene at the office was sweet. Also, I love how real Anderson's FBI feels. Now I know diddly squat about the real FBI but her depiction, complete with red tape, comes across as authentic and that's something many authors fail to accomplish.

Authenticity, family, romance, action (lots of action), conspiracies, betrayal, topical subjects (white supremacy, cults, etc), and a furious pace plus terrific writing add up to a heck of a story. And if you are worried about jumping in at book 8, it works just fine as a stand alone although there are recurring characters. If you like romantic suspense, pick up "Cold Malice". You wont be sorry.