Review: Close Your Eyes by Iris Johansen (Goodreads Author), Roy Johansen (Goodreads Author)

Close Your Eyes by Iris Johansen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

2,5 stars

Close your Eyes is the 1st novel in the Kendra Michaels Series by Iris Johansen and Roy Johansen.

I have been a huge fan of Iris Johansen since reading the 1st book in her Eve Duncan Series, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2... and have read the entire series and a lot more of her other series, so I was looking forward to reading more about Kendra Michaels, who made an appearance in one of Eve Duncan latest books.

I can’t exactly say why this one was such a disappointment.

I found the premise of the story really good…..a woman who regains her sight after being blind for twenty years and uses her talents to help people with problems by doing music therapy and she also helps the FBI solve cases. Kendra Michaels is reluctant to help the FBI again after some not so good interactions with them in the past.
When her ex boyfriend and FBI agent, goes missing and her ex lover FBI agent, Adam Lynch asks for her help, she agrees. But not without giving the FBI agents a hard time.

The agents are portrayed as totally stupid and ineffective and only KENDRA MICHAELS is the smart one!
The bad guys are so idiotic that I could have solved the case myself.
The romance between Adam and Kendra..sorry, did I say romance??? No, there’s not even a flicker of heat between these two!!
Their interaction became so damn tiresome after a while.

I didn’t exactly hate this book…..just didn’t do it for me!!! Maybe book #2 will be better!!!

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Review: Dead By Midnight by Beverly Barton

Dead By Midnight by Beverly Barton
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Dead by Midnight by Beverly Barton is the 1st novel in her Dead By Trilogy and is part and #11 in the Griffin Powell’s Series.

It takes off from the previous book, Silent Killer and focuses on Lorie Hammonds, Cathy Cantrell’s best friend and Mike Birkett, the sheriff of the small town of Dunmore.

Jeez……..for a small town there’s a lot going on there!!! Gossip-mongers, murders, people with secrets….and a lot more!!!

Lorie Hammonds and Mike Birkett had been in love and engaged when she left for Hollywood seeking fame and fortune. Things didn’t work out quite what she expected and she returned home 9 years later to discover that Mike had married and had two children. She has never stopped loving him and has been trying to connect with him again…..he’s now a widower….but he’s not interested. In fact, he wants NOTHING to do with her. She regrets her past in Hollywood but she’s determined to make a new fresh life in her hometown.

Mike Birkett’s heart was broken by Lorie and he has never forgiven her for leaving him and for what she did in Hollywood. Posing for Playboy and acting in one porno movie. She’s not the person he knew….everyone in the small town has seen the pictures and the movie and she’s seen as nothing more than a slut!!!

When she receives a second threatening letter directed at her, she asks the local police force to help her discover the identity of the sender. And when the connection is made to the one porno movie she made, she realizes that’s she’s on someone’s list to kill everyone involved in that movie.

Such a good and unique plot. Chilling and scary as we see it from the killer’s POV, the way he plots each kill. Terrifying. And I could understand Lorie’s fear…..when would it be her turn!

I liked Lorie and how she changed her life around, learning from her mistakes and just trying to make a clean fresh start. How she dealt with the town’s bigots and the townspeople’s judgments.

The other characters I found endearing were Mike’s son, MJ, daughter, Hannah and his mother Nell. Their love for Lorie was never based on what she had done but the kind of person she was…kind, caring, loving and honest.

Mike did not feel the same as his family…he spent most of the time being downright cruel and horrible to Lorie and I thought he was damn not good enough for someone as good as Lorie….but he did redeem himself in the end.

Once again, may sub-plots in the story. Maleah Perdue, Jack Perdue’s sister and Griffin Powell’s employee, and Derek, profiler and also working for Griffin, still snarling at each other. Hell, when are these two going to get it together???

The ending was a bit of a disappointment for me….okay, the serial killer is caught….and surprise….someone I suspected….there were so many red herrings that I had a few suspects in my head….but not that one, exactly. What I didn’t enjoy was the chapters after the killer was revealed. We get another killer/s that have no connection to this storyline…..well, the connection is really to Griffin Powell…but it left me feeling a bit up in the air!!!

A nice suspense filled with romance, mystery and some interesting characters.

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Review: Silent Killer (Griffin Powell, #10) by Beverly Barton

Silent Killer by Beverly Barton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the 10th novel in Beverly Barton’s fantastic Griffin Powell Series.

Silent Killer is a really a thrilling read. The author has written an engrossing and gripping tale set in a small town in Alabama, where a serial killer is murdering church ministers.

Someone is killing church ministers “men of god” in the most horrifying way….torching them and leaving them to die a most painful death.

Cathy Cantrell, who witnessed her husband, Mark’s death and checked herself into a health facility after having a breakdown, is now back home and wanting to get her life together again. She’s also trying to get custody back of her son from her in-laws, who believe that she’s not well enough to have him back.

Jackson Perdue has returned home after many years. He had been listed as MIA during his stint in the Middle East, where he had been seriously injured during a mission.

Jack and Cathy have a history. They had been in love as teenagers and made promises to wait for each other. But when Cathy heard he was MIA, she had married Mark Cantrell, a church minister, with whom she had a son with.
They still have feeling for each other and

Jack has been asked by the local sheriff, Mark Berkitt, to work on some of the cold cases that have never been resolved.
When another minister is torched, they realize that there’s a serial killer in their town.

Some parts are written through the killer’s POV that gives you a look into their thoughts and the reason why. I must own up and say that after a while I skimmed some of those parts….all that religion and bible quotes got a bit much for me.

There are a load of sub-plots involved in the story that involved characters from previous books. It didn’t bother me too much but it made it a bit difficult at times to keep focused on the main plot.

I liked most of the characters and their development. One of my favorite characters in this series is Griffin Powell’s and we see a bit more about his past life and his connection to Sanders an Yvette Meng (another favorite of mine!)

The ending was done really well……after all the twists and turns and me thinking….oh I know who the villain is…..no, not really! Because I was totally surprised when we learn who the person was and the reason for their actions.

Another solid and well-written story by one of my favorite romance suspense authors.

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Review: The Guilty (Will Robie, #4) by David Baldacci (Goodreads Author)

The Guilty by David Baldacci
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Guilty, 4th book in David Baldacci’s Will Robie Series, continues with the life of a government assassin that finds himself at a crossroad in his life. Will Robie’s past is having an emotional effect on his job and he will have to face it head-on before he can move forward with his life.

His last assignment, where he killed an innocent bystander has resulted in him questioning his capabilities and adding to his problems is that he’s been informed that his father, a former marine, who he hasn’t seen since leaving home at 18, has been arrested for murder in his hometown.

Deciding to confront his demons from his past, he thinks back about his parent’s marriage, the love he left behind as he travels to his hometown, the small town of Cantrell, Mississippi. He’s amazed to discover that his father was the town’s judge and had become very wealthy since he had last seen him. He also finds that his father had remarried and fathered a son and his half-brother.

His father’s attitude towards Will’s offering to help him is just as he expected. Rejection and coldness but Will is not going to give up. He needs to do this for his father if he’s ever able to overcome the past in his life.

The author creates a small town with believable characters and all their daily life intrigues. Where everyone knows everyone’s business and how Will’s sudden appearance gets everyone involved in what is happening in the small place.

Jessica Reel makes an appearance again….so happy about that!!! Love this character. Not only because of that…but she actually “pops” up and saves Will’s life once again!!!

The character development is absolutely amazing including secondary characters.

This is a very complex plot filled with the most unexpected revelations. Nothing that I was expecting. And even when everything is revealed and when it feels a bit unbelievable….the actual villain ….wow, I never expected that….it somehow seems real….is that a bit weird or not!!!

David Baldacci is such a great storyteller. I just kept turning the pages and wanting to find out more.

A great series and looking forward to the next Will Robie book!

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Review: Wild Justice (Nadia Stafford, #3) by Kelley Armstrong (Goodreads Author)

Wild Justice by Kelley Armstrong
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wild Justice by Kelley Armstrong is the 3rd book and conclusion in her Nadia Stafford Trilogy and whilst I’m a bit sad to say goodbye to Nadia Stafford, part-time hit woman extraordinaire…..

I was quite pleased how it ended. Really, what a great finale!!!

This series kicked off with Exit Strategy…. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... where we are first introduced to Nadia Stafford, a former disgraced cop, now owner of a wilderness retreat lodge in the Ontario region and part-time contract killer for a Mafia family. We meet her Jack, her mentor, Quinn, the FBI agent and friend and Evelyn, a tough old bird and friend and also Jack’s mentor. They team up to hunting down the serial killer named Helter Skelter.

Followed by Made to be Broken, https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... , Nadia works on finding one of her employee that has vanished with her baby. We also get to see the love triangle that comes up between Nadia and Quinn and Jack and which left it up in the air.

In Wild Justice, Nadia is confronted with one of the hardest mission in her life. Jack has given Nadia information regarding the whereabouts of her cousin Amy’s killer, who disappeared after he had not been brought to justice after his crime.

Soon everyone she cares about is in danger when she discovers that there’s something more than what it seems about the case, especially when the killer is wiped out by someone else before she gets to him. She will also have to face her feelings for Jack and Quinn.

I love the way the author makes you engage with characters that kill for money …..she makes you see their flaws and the goodness that exists beneath that cold and calculating exterior.

Great character and plot development. Twists and turns keeping you guessing until the end. Fantastic writing. Dark humour. Sexual tension. Romance.

Although I’m pleased with the conclusion to this trilogy, I am still hopefully waiting….maybe we will see Nadia Stafford and her friends in the future!!!

A great series and worthwhile read.

A quote I liked:

“It's so easy to screw up. To make a choice that seems right. Then time passes and you look back and you say, 'How the hell did I do that?' Attitudes change. Insights change. Eventually things you were so damned sure were right become...incomprehensible.”

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Review: Made to Be Broken (Nadia Stafford, #2) by Kelley Armstrong (Goodreads Author)

Made to Be Broken by Kelley Armstrong
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the 2nd book in Kelley Armstrong’s Nadia Stafford Trilogy about an ex-cop turned contract hit woman.

I really like this series. Kelley Armstrong has created such a fascinating character in Nadia Stafford. A woman who believes that justice has failed her and how she becomes upon herself to free the world from the evil and wicked. Despite that she also does it for a financial reason doesn’t detract one from liking her. We see the soul-searching she does about justifying her kills and where does she draw the line between good and bad.

The storyline involves one of her newest employee’s, Sammi, a young mother with a baby, who disappear suddenly without leaving any clues of her reason for that.
No one in the community is interested in her disappearance as Sammi is seen as a piece of trash and no one to worry about.
But Nadia does. Sammi’s disappearance touches something inside her that is part of her past. Nadia is determined to find out what’s happened to Sammi and her baby. The guilt she feels not having been able to get justice for her own sister, Amy, who had been raped and killed, fuels her quest in trying to do it for her missing employee.

The author’s characterization is amazing. The development in Nadia and Jack’s relationship and with Quinn is really good.
I can’t help wanting Nadia and Jack, her mentor, to be together. I see something in Jack that gets to me….and despite his denial for what he feels for Nadia….and how remote and cold he can be with her…deep down, he does feel a lot for her…

It's not like that," Jack said.
"No? Nadia is yours, and it's about time you had the balls to do something about it.”

I am so interested in seeing where Nadia and the relationship she has with both Jack and Quinn goes next.

Well plotted, smooth writing, humorous dialogue and suspense that starts slow and pushes forward with a bang.

Such a good read….such a great series….and I can’t wait for book #3

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