SYNOP:

Haunted and Obsessed
She sleeps with a Colt Python in her nightstand and her senses on alert—Jessica Beckett isn’t taking any chances. Hiding a chilling secret, living in a world of snitches and felons, good cops and bad dreams, Jessica is a bounty hunter who brings lowlifes to justice. But not even she can imagine what she’ll face when she tracks an online predator who has abducted a naive teenage girl.

Making Promises That Can’t Be Kept
Former NFL quarterback Payton Archer swore to his sister that he’d find her only child. But the police have no leads and the teen’s trail has turned cold. Plagued by personal demons, Payton’s never considered himself a hero. But this time he has to be.

And Fighting a Faceless Enemy
Joining forces to save the seventeen-year-old girl, Payton and Jessica discover that she’s nothing but a pawn in an insidious, terrifying global conspiracy. They’re battling a new kind of criminal. And soon their race for answers will become a dangerous struggle for survival.

I enjoyed a lot of things about this book.  I loved Jess. She was sassy and bold and was quick to think outside the box.  She would be great as an amateur sleuth in her own series.  I also loved how Dane wove danger and tension throughout the story and I enjoyed the couple of little twists I didn’t see coming.  The story was taut and an excellent thriller with the bad guys being scary bad.  I also like Nikki, the teen who runs headlong into trouble.  She was very real and plucky yet the events changed her realistically and I liked that.  I enjoyed reading about the mysterious Seth Harper and can’t wait to read The Wrong Side of Dead.  And I am so very intrigued by Alexa Marlowe!

But two crucial things kept me from giving this book an A.  One was the sheer number of characters that made it hard to really get to know some of them.  Sometimes their presence felt forced.  And the whole romantic relationship between Payton and Jess just seemed silly and minor.  They had so little time together (first meeting on page 234 of the book!) that their attraction didn’t feel real.  I felt more chemistry from Alexa and Garrett than Payton and Jess.  It just felt out of place and made me want to skim the few parts where they interacted emotionally (like the awkward hotel scene) to get back to the action.

Dane has made me think of internet chat rooms in a whole new light.  And I enjoyed wondering how they were going to thwart a plan that was obviously so large and out of their scope.  It wrapped up a bit too nicely but I have a feeling we’ll be seeing more of the Russian…at least I hope so cuz he’s creepy and awful and deliciously scary!  Give Evil Without a Face a whirl.  I think if you like thrillers you’ll enjoy this one.  It’s up for grabs on my Paperback Swap bookshelf!

SYNOP: WICKED GAME

ONE BY ONE, THEY’LL DIE.

Twenty years ago, wild child Jessie Brentwood vanished from St. Elizabeth’s high school. Most in Jessie’s tight circle of friends believed she simply ran away. Few suspected that Jessie was hiding a shocking secret-one that brought her into the crosshairs of a vicious killer.

UNTIL THERE’S NO ONE LEFT.

Two decades pass before a body is unearthed on school grounds and Jessie’s old friends reunite to talk. Most are sure that the body is Jessie’s, that the mystery of what happened to her has finally been solved. But soon, Jessie’s friends each begin to die in horrible, freak accidents that defy explanation.

BUT HER.

Becca Sutcliff has been haunted for years by unsettling visions of Jessie, certain her friend met with a grisly end. Now the latest deaths have her rattled. Becca can sense that an evil force is shadowing her too, waiting for just the right moment to strike. She feels like she’s going crazy. Is it all a coincidence-or has Jessie’s killer finally returned to finish what was started all those years ago?

I had high hopes for Wicked Game.  I loved the premise and the back blurb definitely had me excited.  But no matter how much I wanted to love this book, I just couldn’t get there.  There were a lot of characters to keep straight.  Renee and Becca were strong, Hudson was pretty much a meh character, who just never seemed to stand on his own.  And even though Jessie was only a memory that kept popping up, she was annoying.  But then again maybe all 16 yr olds are annoying on that “immature” level.

Overall, the big hiccup for me was the pace of the plot and the pace of the clues and details being disseminated.  It was soooooo slow.  At page 150 I was incredulous at the fact that I still didn’t really know what the heck was going on!  The paranormal elements weren’t all that paranormal to me.  The ending felt rushed and forced.  I wanted to know more about the Colony, but alas there was very little information.  I’m guessing from the ending that there will be another book.  I’m not sure at this point if I will try that one.  Nothing really clicked for me.  The chemistry between Becca and Hudson was non-existent for me.  Yes they had crushes on each other, yes they couldn’t keep their hands to themselves but I just never felt the emotional pull for them.  Let me end this by saying it wasn’t a horrible book.  I have read a lot worse!  It just wasn’t what I expected from these two ladies.

As usual I PPH Karen Rose! I’m Watching You was excellent! I love stories that challenge my own perceptions and this one had me doing a bit of thinking at the end. This story is about a vigilante killer who is taking out some of society’s worst offenders. These guys all got off in court by a technicality or by their defense lawyer being total scum and discrediting the Prosecution’s witnesses. Kristen Mayhew tries so hard to put these bastards away as an ASA but she can’t get them all. But someone has decided to help her and he calls himself Your Humble Servant. She gets close to the cop assigned to her case, Abe Reagan but there are issues that both of them are dealing with that keeps them at arms lengths from each other. The book is extremely fast paced and I only put it down to get some sleep. I had to look at whether I thought the killer was actually a killer or if he was doing a society a favor. Very interesting. And since I don’t usually read psychological thrillers a second time, I’m going to leave the book here at the condo for someone else to enjoy.

Next was a book I’ve had since the day it hit the shelves of my bookstore – Your Mouth Drives Me Crazy by HelenKay Dimon was incredible! A lot of times snarky dialogue feels forced to me and pulls me out of a story, but the characters of Kane and Annie were hilarious and believable! The story kept me engaged (and practically had me washed away at high tide because I didn’t want to move from the beach chair!). I can’t wait for more from her. Fantastic! Now if only she will be doing Josh and Derek’s stories. I know something is in the pipelines for another Hawaii story because I went to her website, but I am soooo very impatient!

And last, but by no means least, is the story I just finished this evening. One that Tina has been bugging me to read for quite a while and I was very resistant to trying. When Darkness Comes (Guardians of Eternity, Book 1) is one of the best vampire books I’ve read in a while! I absolutely loved the character of Dante (where can I find myself one!!!) and the byplay between Dante and Abby kept me chuckling all through the book. The world building was subtle, yet weaved so skillfully in it wasn’t like a lesson. These two were HOT! I can’t wait to pick up Embrace The Darkness (Guardians of Eternity, Book 2) in early November. Alexandra Ivy is now on my auto-buy list!

Now what will I pick-up next…..

Weekends

Synop: (from B&N) An innocent-sounding family reunion at an exclusive California beach resort turns into a weekend of murder, deceit, exposed secrets and unexpected intimate encounters. John Peterson has it all: He’s a respected, successful Beverly Hills entertainment lawyer with a loving wife and grown son, the strikingly handsome young film director Joe Peterson. John also has a secret and he decides to gather his disparate family members at the elegant Hotel Del Moor in picturesque Linda Bella, California for some luxurious fun, togetherness and re-connecting before revealing his secret. Unbeknownst to the family, a brutal serial killer is lurking in the midst of all the wondrous festivities.

Go to Lindy’s website and read the first chapter! I hope to have an interview with Lindy about Weekends, being a new Mom and her life as a filmmaker/screenwriter. She wrote and directed The Lesson in 2000.

BBB: Can you tell us a little about Weekends?

Lindy: WEEKENDS is about an innocent-sounding family reunion at an exclusive California beach resort turns into a weekend of murder, deceit, exposed secrets and unexpected intimate encounters. In my words, I wanted to write a sexy, romantic California story, and transport the reader as much as possible. I guess I am one of those writers who wants to take the reader away.

BBB: What was your inspiration for Weekends?

Lindy: I live in, and love, California Growing up in Tennessee, California was my dream, a magical, mystical place that I used to dream about. It is so beautiful, and it is definitely my inspiration. The beach, the mountains, and all the artistic and creative people…I could not live anywhere else. All of my stories take place here. I guess you could say that was my inspiration. I wanted to give the reader a romantic beach story, and there you go.

BBB: Where can readers purchase Weekends?

Lindy: Amazon.com, and other links on my website . Please check it out at http://directorbabe.tripod.com

BBB: I see on your website that you are an author, filmmaker and novelist. Tell us a little about your filmmaking background.

Lindy: Well, as I said, I attended NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, which is famous for its drama and film schools. I did quite a few student films, and I picked up a thing or two. Being in Hollywood, it is hard not to get bitten by the screenwriting and directing bug. So, I wrote the script to my short film, THE LESSON, and directed it myself. It screened at the Seattle Underground Film Festival in October of 2000, and at Cine-Nights, a film festival here in Los Angeles. It was also on Reelshort.com.

BBB: What are you currently working on?

Lindy: My next book, CRASHERS is a crime mystery about a trio of young people who get caught up in the seamy world of auto insurance fraud. They stage car accidents to get insurance money, and events spiral out of control, of course. My husband is a professional stunt driver, so he helped me out a little. My other book, CITY OF TOYS, is based on my struggling actress days. It is about four beautiful women who live together in Hollywood. They are all aspiring actresses, and some pretty upsetting things happen to them, as they did to me. All my books are pretty edgy, but that is what I like to do. I like to shock people. I also have a short story on Amazon Shorts called SHE’S A WHORE. That is a very dark, dramatic story about child abuse in the deep south. You can download it off of my Amazon page.

BBB: Now that you are a new Mommy (congrats on the birth of your son!) is it hard to juggle being a mom/wife/writer?

Lindy: Thank you, my little baby boy is wonderful! Thank you. I try to write when I can. My kids keep me grounded. I also have a beautiful little girl who is 4 now. Time flies!

BBB: What is a typical day of writing like for you?

Lindy: I just let the characters take me away and lead me on a magic journey. I am not a plotter or a planner. I sort of wing it, that is the most honest way to write, in my opinion.

BBB: Do you have any special needs when writing? For instance some write to music, others to complete utter silence. Some only early in the morning and others only late at night. What are your quirks?

Lindy: My needs are a computer that works, and my brain turned on, lol.

BBB: How do you get past a writing block?

Lindy: I just ignore it, and then the work will come.

BBB: Who are some of your favorite authors and what’s currently waiting for you on your TBR pile?

Lindy: Gosh, I am currently reading THE GLITTER DOME by Joseph Wambaugh. My mom is a huge fan of his, and got me turned on to him. He writes gritty “Hollywood” stories, so I can relate. He was on the LAPD for years though, something I don’t have the guts to do, lol.

BBB: Anything else you’d you like to tell us?

Lindy: Yeah, have a wonderful summer and get some summer reading done! Thank you for having me, it has been fun!

Thank you, Lindy! So now, everyone go check out her book!!!