Review: Trapper Road by Rachel Caine and Carrie Ryan

Series: Stillhouse Lake #6
Read As A Stand Alone: Not recommended
Publisher: Rachel Caine, LLC
Source: author assistant in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: August 2nd, 2022
Buying Links: Amazon* |  * affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Sometimes danger comes from the most unexpected places.

Gwen Proctor has always been willing to do anything it takes to protect her kids. But there are some things even she can’t protect them from. When a violent incident at Connor’s school brings the press to Gwen’s doorstep, she agrees to take a case out of town hoping to keep her family out of the crushing media spotlight.

The case is that of a missing girl, last seen getting into a truck with a stranger before disappearing. Gwen has a reputation for finding those who are lost, but this time something is wrong. Her instincts are off, and every clue she uncovers only raises more doubts, not just about the missing girl and the circumstances of her disappearance, but also about the fragile safety Gwen’s created for her family.

The closer she comes to uncovering the truth, the more she unwittingly puts those she loves at risk. Someone from Gwen’s past doesn’t appreciate the new life she’s built for herself and is willing to do anything it takes to tear it apart. Except this time it isn’t Gwen in the crosshairs, but her partner Sam. Without her instincts to rely on, how can Gwen protect those she loves against an enemy she never sees coming? (less)

EXCERPT: Cold Cruel Kiss by Toni Anderson

Today we are celebrating the release of the newest romantic suspense title from New York Times Bestselling Author Toni Anderson by participating in the blog tour! COLD CRUEL KISS is a Cold Justice Crossfire novel and it is available now. Add it to Goodreads and join Toni's FB group for exclusive updates.

Check out my review of "Cold Cruel Kiss" here.

Bea Reviews Cold Cruel Kiss by Toni Anderson

Series: Crossfire #4; Cold Justice #14
Read As A Stand Alone: Yes
Publisher: Toni Anderson Inc,
Source: the author in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: Jan. 28th, 2021
Buying Links: Amazon* | Apple Books* | Barnes & Noble | Google Books | Kobo |
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

When the daughter of the US Ambassador to Argentina is kidnapped in broad daylight on Christmas Eve, the FBI sends one of its best negotiators to investigate.

Supervisory Special Agent Max Hawthorne arrives at an embassy thrown into chaos as US and local law enforcement hustle to track the young woman. Is this a simple kidnap for ransom, or part of a political agenda? Could it be something more sinister?

Lucy Aston has something to hide. Preferring to stay in the shadows, the lowly, fashion-challenged office assistant resents being assigned to help Max. But Max can’t resist a puzzle…he’s starting to suspect Lucy Aston is not what she seems.

When rumors emerge of a suspected Russian spy operating out of the embassy, Lucy’s carefully constructed life begins to crumble. As she and Max race to rescue the ambassador’s daughter, Lucy has to do whatever it takes to keep her cover from being blown—even if that means betraying the man she’s falling for.

Bea Reviews A Stranger in Town by Kelley Armstrong

Series: Rockton #6
Read As A Stand Alone: Yes, but not recommended
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: Feb. 9th, 2021
Buying Links: Amazon* | Apple Books* | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Google Books | Kobo |
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

In #1 New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong's next Rockton book, A Stranger in Town, the biggest mystery is the fate of the town itself.

Detective Casey Duncan has noticed fewer and fewer residents coming in to the hidden town of Rockton, and no extensions being granted. Her boyfriend, Sheriff Eric Dalton, presumes it’s the natural flux of things, but Casey’s not so sure. Something bigger is happening in the small town they call home.

When an injured hiker stumbles from the woods, the sole survivor of a hostile attack, it’s all hands on deck. Even a member of the elusive Rockton council comes in to help. This council member also comes bearing news: Rockton is being shut down due to the hostile situation.

Casey and Eric must now race to save the town that has allowed residents to have a fresh start, away from the mistakes of their past, while also getting to the bottom of this latest attack.

Bea Reviews Cry Wolf by Charlie Adhara

Series: Big Bad Wolf #5
Read As A Stand Alone: Yes but not recommended
Publisher: Carina Press
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: Jan. 18th, 2021
Buying Links: Amazon* | Apple Books* | Barnes & Noble | Google Books | Kobo | 
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Don’t miss this thrilling installment in Charlie Adhara’s suspenseful paranormal mystery series, Big Bad Wolf.

Agent Cooper Dayton never thought anything could be harder than solving murders. Until he had to plan a wedding.

After taking down an old adversary, Agent Cooper Dayton of the Bureau of Special Investigations has earned a break. Not that planning a wedding to his sexy shifter partner, Oliver Park, is necessarily stress free, but it’s better than worrying about the ominous warning, delivered months ago, that Cooper’s life is in danger.

When he’s dragged to an event by his family, Cooper braces for an awkward evening, but instead finds himself in the middle of an ugly feud between Park’s ex and a rebel pack leader. What was supposed to be a quick outing turns into a full-blown murder investigation after the pack leader ends up dead, Park’s ex goes missing, and Cooper and Park are sent a series of disturbing wedding gifts that are somehow connected to it all.

The list of potential suspects is long, and with the bodies piling up, Cooper must turn to the one person he trusts the least: the villain he’s already put behind bars once and who has nothing to lose by lying and everything to gain if Cooper is out of the picture—for good.

Bea Reviews Cold Wind by Paige Shelton

Series: Alaska Wild Mysteries #2
Read As A Stand Alone: Yes
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: December 8th, 2020
Buying Links: Amazon* | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Google Books | Kobo |
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Second in a new series set in Alaska from beloved cozy author Paige Shelton, Cold Wind will chill your bones.

Beth Rivers is still in Alaska. The unidentified man who kidnapped her in her home of St. Louis hasn’t been found yet, so she’s not ready to go back.

But as October comes to a close, Benedict is feeling more and more like her new home. Beth has been working on herself: She’s managed to get back to writing, and she’s enjoying these beautiful months between summer and winter in Alaska.

Then, everything in Benedict changes after a mudslide exposes a world that had been hidden for years. Two mud-covered, silent girls appear, and a secret trapper’s house is found in the woods. The biggest surprise, though, is a dead and frozen woman’s body in the trapper’s shed. No one knows who she is, but the man who runs the mercantile, Randy, seems to be in the middle of all the mysteries.

Unable to escape her journalistic roots, Beth is determined to answer the questions that keep arising: Are the mysterious girls and the frozen body connected? Can Randy possibly be involved? And―most importantly―can she solve this mystery before the cold wind sweeping over the town and the townspeople descends for good?

Bea Reviews Nothing Good Happens After Midnight: A Suspense Magazine Anthology by Hank Phillippi Ryan, Jeffrey Deaver, Linwood Barclay, et al

Publisher: Suspense Publishing
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: Nov. 17th, 2020
Buying Links: Amazon* | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Google Books |
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

The sun sets. The moon takes its place, illuminating the most evil corners of the planet. What twisted fear dwells in that blackness? What legends attach to those of sound mind and make them go crazy in the bright light of day? Only Suspense Magazine knows…

Teaming up with New York Times bestselling author Jeffery Deaver, Suspense Magazine offers up a nail-biting anthology titled: “Nothing Good Happens After Midnight.” This thrilling collection consists of thirteen original short stories representing the genres of suspense/thriller, mystery, sci-fi/fantasy, and more.

Readers’ favorites come together to explore the mystery of midnight. The ‘best of the best’ presenting these memorable tales, include: Joseph Badal, Linwood Barclay, Rhys Bowen, Jeffery Deaver, Heather Graham, Alan Jacobson, Paul Kemprecos, Shannon Kirk, Jon Land, John Lescroart, D. P. Lyle, Kevin O’Brien, and Hank Phillippi Ryan.

Take their hands…walk into their worlds…but be prepared to leave the light on when you’re through. After all, this incredible gathering of authors, who will delight fans of all genres, not only utilized their award-winning imaginations to answer that age-old question of why “Nothing Good Happens After Midnight”—they also made sure to pen stories that will leave you…speechless.

Bea Reviews Daylight by David Baldacci

Series: Atlee Pine #3
Read As A Stand Alone: Yes
Publisher: 
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: 
Buying Links: Amazon* | Apple Books* | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Google Books | Kobo |

* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

FBI Agent Atlee Pine's search for her sister Mercy clashes with military investigator John Puller's high-stakes case, leading them both deep into a global conspiracy -- from which neither of them will escape unscathed.

For many long years, Atlee Pine was tormented by uncertainty after her twin sister, Mercy, was abducted at the age of six and never seen again. Now, just as Atlee is pressured to end her investigation into Mercy's disappearance, she finally gets her most promising breakthrough yet: the identity of her sister's kidnapper, Ito Vincenzo.

With time running out, Atlee and her assistant Carol Blum race to Vincenzo's last known location in Trenton, New Jersey -- and unknowingly stumble straight into John Puller's case, blowing his arrest during a drug ring investigation involving a military installation.

Stunningly, Pine and Puller's joint investigation uncovers a connection between Vincenzo's family and a breathtaking scheme that strikes at the very heart of global democracy. Peeling back the layers of deceit, lies and cover-ups, Atlee finally discovers the truth about what happened to Mercy. And that truth will shock Pine to her very core.

Bea Reviews Blood World by Chris Mooney

Publisher: Berkley
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: August 18th, 2020
Buying Links: Amazon* | Bookshop.org | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Google Books | Kobo |
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

A drug that makes the blood of carriers a fountain of youth, a psychopath who doesn't care how many bodies he leaves in his wake, and an LAPD detective hopelessly compromised by a dark secret. Together, they're an explosive mix that's going to shatter the city of Los Angeles into a million corpuscles.

The most valuable commodity on earth is the blood of "carriers." These young people hold within them a virtual fountain of youth. Those with the right genes produce blood that, when treated with a new wonder drug, cures disease, increases power, and makes the recipient a virtual superman.

It also makes the carriers targets. Blood farms filled with kidnapped children spring up around the country, and Los Angeles is at the center of this blood-dealing world. The police are overwhelmed.

Ellie Batista became an LAPD officer specifically to fight this evil as a member of the Blood Squad, but she has been consistently denied a transfer to the prestigious unit--until the day she and her partner are ambushed during a routine stop. The resulting events plunge her into an undercover world more dangerous than she could have ever imagined.

A madman has found a way to increase the potency of the blood to levels previously unimagined. As he cuts a bloody swath through the already deadly world of blood cartels, Ellie is the only hope to stop him before the body count rises.

Friday Book Memes: Breaking Silence by Linda Castillo

I'm participating in two Friday book memes, Book Beginnings On Fridays, hosted by Rose City Reader, and The Friday 56, hosted by Freda's Voice.

Every Friday, share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name.

For the Friday 56, grab a book, any book. Turn to Page 56, or 56% on your ereader. If you have to improvise, that's okay. Find a snippet, short and sweet. Post it, and add the url to your post at the link here.

Friday Book Memes: No Man's Land by David Baldacci

I'm participating in two Friday book memes, Book Beginnings On Fridays, hosted by Rose City Reader, and The Friday 56, hosted by Freda's Voice.

Every Friday, share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name.

For the Friday 56, grab a book, any book. Turn to Page 56, or 56% on your ereader. If you have to improvise, that's okay. Find a snippet, short and sweet. Post it, and add the url to your post at the link here.

Bea Reviews The Goodbye Man by Jeffery Deaver

Series: Colter Shaw #2
Read As A Stand Alone: Yes
Publisher:  G.P. Putnam's Sons
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: May 12th, 2020
Buying Links: Amazon* | Barnes & Noble |
 Book Depository | Google Books | Kobo |
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

A thrilling new Colter Shaw adventure by the master of suspense, Jeffery Deaver.

In pursuit of two young men accused of terrible hate crimes, Colter Shaw stumbles upon a clue to another mystery. In an effort to save the life of a young woman--and possibly others--he travels to the wilderness of Washington State to investigate a mysterious organization. Is it a community that consoles the bereaved? Or a dangerous cult under the sway of a captivating leader? As he peels back the layers of truth, Shaw finds that some people will stop at nothing to keep their secrets hidden.

All the while, Shaw must unravel an equally deadly enigma: locating and deciphering a message hidden by his father years ago, just before his death--a message that will have life-and-death consequences.

Bea Reviews Outfox by Sandra Brown

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing 
Source: Hardcover - the publisher in exchange for an honest review; ebook - library via OverDrive
Release Date: August 6th, 2019
Buying Links: Amazon* | Apple Books* | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Google Books | Kobo |
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

From the #1 NYT bestselling author: After a thirty-year search for a serial killer, FBI agent Drex Easton becomes a suspect's next-door neighbor -- but can he navigate a shocking series of twists and turns to track down the truth? Sure to keep readers on the edge of their seats, this new novel will feature Brown's signature combination of steamy romance and jaw-dropping plot twists.

FBI agent Drex Easton is relentlessly driven by a single goal: to outmaneuver the conman once known as Weston Graham. Over the past thirty years, Weston has assumed many names and countless disguises, enabling him to lure eight wealthy women out of their fortunes before they disappeared without a trace, their families left without answers and the authorities without clues. The only common trait among the victims: a new man in their life who also vanished, leaving behind no evidence of his existence . . . except for one signature custom.

Drex is convinced that these women have been murdered, and that the man he knows as Weston Graham is the sociopath responsible. But each time Drex gets close to catching him, Weston trades one persona for another and disappears again. Now, for the first time in their long game of cat and mouse, Drex has a suspect in sight.

Attractive and charming, Jasper Ford is recently married to a successful businesswoman many years his junior, Talia Shafer. Drex insinuates himself into their lives, posing as a new neighbor and setting up surveillance on their house. The closer he gets to the couple, the more convinced he becomes that Jasper is the clever, merciless predator he's sought--and that his own attraction to Talia threatens to compromise his purpose and integrity.

This is Drex's one chance to outfox his cunning nemesis before he murders again and eludes justice forever. But first he must determine if the desirable Talia is a heartless accomplice . . . or the next victim.

Friday Book Memes: The Goodbye Man by Jeffery Deaver

I'm participating in two Friday book memes, Book Beginnings On Fridays, hosted by Rose City Reader, and The Friday 56, hosted by Freda's Voice.

Every Friday, share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name.

For the Friday 56, grab a book, any book. Turn to Page 56, or 56% on your ereader. If you have to improvise, that's okay. Find a snippet, short and sweet. Post it, and add the url to your post at the link here.

Bea Reviews A Cold Trail by Robert Dugoni

Series: Tracy Crosswhite #7
Read As A Stand Alone: Yes
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: Feb. 4th, 2020
Buying Links: Amazon* | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository |
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

In New York Times bestselling author Robert Dugoni’s riveting series, Seattle homicide detective Tracy Crosswhite returns home to a brutal murder and her haunted past.

The last time homicide detective Tracy Crosswhite was in Cedar Grove, it was to see her sister’s killer put behind bars. Now she’s returned for a respite and the chance to put her life back in order for herself, her attorney husband, Dan, and their new daughter. But tragic memories soon prove impossible to escape.

Dan is drawn into representing a local merchant whose business is jeopardized by the town’s revitalization. And Tracy is urged by the local PD to put her own skills to work on a new case: the brutal murder of a police officer’s wife and local reporter who was investigating a cold-case slaying of a young woman. As Tracy’s and Dan’s cases crisscross, Tracy’s trail becomes dangerous. It’s stirring up her own haunted past and a decades-old conspiracy in Cedar Grove that has erupted in murder. Getting to the truth is all that matters. But what’s Tracy willing to risk as a killer gets closer to her and threatens everyone she loves? (less)

Review, Excerpt, Giveaway, & Friday Memes: The Last Sister by Kendra Elliot

Series: Columbia River #1
Read As A Stand Alone: Yes
Publisher: Montlake
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: January 14th, 2020
Buying Links: Amazon* | B&N | Book Depository  |
* affiliate link; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through this link.

Blurb from goodreads:

Three sisters’ secrets collide in a shocking novel of suspense by the Wall Street Journal and Amazon Charts bestselling author of the Mercy Kilpatrick series.

Twenty years ago Emily Mills’s father was murdered, and she found his body hanging in the backyard. Her younger sister, Madison, claims she was asleep in her room. Her older sister, Tara, claims she was out with friends. The tragedy drove their mother to suicide and Tara to leave town forever. The killer was caught. The case closed.

Ever since, Emily and Madison have tried to forget what happened that night—until an eerily similar murder brings it all back. It also brings FBI special agent Zander Wells to the Oregon logging town. As eager as he is to solve the brutal double slaying, he is just as intrigued with the mystery of Emily’s and her sisters’ past.

When more blood is shed, Zander suspects there’s a secret buried in this town no one wants unearthed. Is it something Emily and Madison don’t know? Or aren’t telling? And Tara? Maybe Emily can’t bear to find her. Because when Tara disappeared, she took a secret of her own with her.

Bea Reviews Ice Cold Heart by P.J. Tracy

Series: Monkeewrench #10
Can it be read as a stand alone? Yes, though there may be some confusion.
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: September 10th, 2019
Buying Links: Amazon* | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository  | Google Books | iBooks* | Kobo | * affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Minneapolis detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth join Grace MacBride and Monkeewrench to uncover a dark and ugly conspiracy that reaches deep into the safety of homes in this latest electrifying thriller from New York Times bestselling author P. J. Tracy.

It's a bitter winter in Minnesota--too cold to kill. There hasn't been a murder for a month, but the lull quickly comes to an end for Detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth, when they're called to the gruesome homicide of Kelly Ramage. Found in a friend's vacant house, this was no random attack, and clues reveal that she was living a very dangerous secret life.

Magozzi and Gino trace her steps back to an art gallery where she was last seen alive. The gallery seems like a dead end, but the art is disturbing and exploitative. It may very well be inspiring a sadistic killer, because in this instance, art doesn't imitate life, it imitates death.

Tipped off about a year-old murder that is a mirror-image of Kelly's crime scene, Gino and Magozzi enlist the aid of Grace MacBride and her eccentric, tech genius partners in Monkeewrench Software to help them decipher the digital trail that might connect the cases.

As coincidences emerge, Magozzi, Gino, and the team have to work around the clock at breakneck pace to unravel a series of clues that form the framework of a larger, more sweeping, and insidious conspiracy than any of them could have imagined. Is Kelly the last person to die or just the most recent? And is there any way to stop it?

Release Day Review: The Third Mrs. Durst by Ann Aguirre

Publisher: Midnight Ink
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: August 8th, 2019
Buying Links: Amazon* | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | IndieBound | Kobo |
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Some people just need killing.
Marlena Altizer Durst lives in her husband’s shadow. He controls her every move—what she wears, the food she eats, and the friends she’s allowed to make. If she disobeys, there are… consequences. And he has all the power, so nobody would believe her.

Her Cinderella story has been well-documented and it seems that she leads a fairy-tale life. But nobody ever wonders if Cinderella was happy after she married the prince. Marlena has traded freedom and safety for luxurious imprisonment, and most days, that seems like a bad bargain. Death may be the only exit she’s allowed. Just like his first wife. And his second.

Unless she flips the script.

And gets away with murder…

Gorgeous New Covers for the Fantastic Cold Justice Series by Toni Anderson!

Toni Anderson's bestselling, and wonderful, COLD JUSTICE series has a brand new look - check out the stunning new covers below and get your hands on these gripping romantic suspense books today! They're great!

Excerpt & Giveaway: A Merciful Promise by Kendra Elliot

Kendra Elliot has landed on the Wall Street Journal bestseller list multiple times and is the award-winning author of the "Bone Secrets" and "Callahan & McLane" series as well as the "Mercy Kilpatrick" novels. Kendra is a three-time winner of the Daphne du Maurier Award, an International Thriller Writers finalist, and an RT Award finalist. She has always been a voracious reader, cutting her teeth on classic female heroines such as Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden, and Laura Ingalls. She was born and raised, and still lives, in the rainy Pacific Northwest with her family, but she looks forward to the day she can live in flip-flops. Visit her at www.kendraelliot.com.