AFTER THE DARK (Killer Instinct #1) by Cynthia Eden-Review and Book Tour

AFTER THE DARK
Killer Instinct #1
by Cynthia Eden
Genre: adult, contemporary, romantic, suspense
Release Date: March 28, 2017

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date March 28 , 2017

Four months after being fired from the FBI and retreating to her hometown of Fairhope, Alabama, former special agent Samantha Dark is still learning to enjoy the peaceful anonymity of small-town life. Her confidence shaken, Samantha avoids contact with others. After all, when monsters live in plain sight, it’s hard to trust anyone. But when her former partner, Agent Blake Gamble, the ultimate good guy and someone who’s always believed in her, comes to town seeking her help with his latest case, Samantha is torn. Her fabled instincts let her down once before, when the killer who ruined her career got away under her watch, and there are no guarantees they won’t again.

But Blake doesn’t believe in ever giving up…especially when it comes to Samantha. While they could never pursue their mutual attraction before, when they were partners, now there’s nothing standing in their way…except the specter of known serial killer Cameron Latham. Cameron always claimed he and Samantha both had a darkness within that connected them…until Blake came into her life. Samantha knows that darkness is real—that it’s what allows her to penetrate the minds of sadistic killers. The last thing Samantha could bear, however, is to reveal her dark side to Blake and have him recoil from her. Blake wants to prove to Samantha that he can handle all her secrets—she just needs to trust him. But Samantha learned to be careful about whom to trust. Those close to you can turn on you in an instant…

Blake’s current case turns out to be the work of a copycat killer—a psycho pupil of Cameron’s who is seeking vengeance for his former master by planning to kill Samantha. But it serves as a catalyst for something more venomous—a reason for Cameron himself to reemerge, deadlier than ever. The last person Cameron wants harmed is Samantha. He’s more interested in eliminating perceived rival Blake for good.

Two deadly killers are after them, but Blake and Samantha know every monster has a weakness. It’s just a matter of finding who it is before it’s too late…

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REVIEW: AFTER THE DARK is the first full length installment in Cynthia Eden’s new, contemporary, adult KILLER INSTINCT romantic suspense series. This is former FBI profiler Samantha Dark, and FBI agent Blake Gamble’s continuing story. There is a prequel novella THE GATHERING DUSK that introduces the characters and sets up the After The Dark story line revealing some background between the leading couple and their latest serial killer.

NOTE: AFTER THE DARK contains graphic scenes of violence, brutality and torture that may not be suitable for all readers.

Told from several third person points of view AFTER THE DARK fast forwards the series four months from the novella The Gathering Dusk wherein our heroine former FBI profiler Samantha Dark has been fired from the Bureau for letting a killer go- a killer she knows intimately and a man who was once our heroine’s lover. With a copycat killer on the loose Samantha’s former partner at the FBI Blake Gamble comes looking for help and a second chance at a happily ever after. What ensues is the search for two potential killers who are playing a psychological game of cat and mouse with our story line couple, and the building relationship between Blake and Samantha.

Samantha Dark’s reputation as an FBI profiler was destroyed when it was discovered that their most recent serial killer investigation led back to Samantha’s former lover-a doctor, a professor, a man known to manipulate our story line heroine using her past as a form of psychological warfare. FBI agent Blake Gamble is a man determined to prove that Samantha’s past has no affect on their current situation but a man who has fallen for the woman that will control his heart. The relationship between Samantha and Blake begins as professional partners but their attraction to one another is immediate and intense but a sexual relationship between active Bureau agents is definitely against the rules. The $ex scenes are intimate and provocative without the use of over the top sexually graphic language and text.

There are a large number of supporting and secondary characters including a number first introduced in the prequel novella The Gathering Dusk: Samantha’s ex-lover and mentor Dr. Cameron Latham, and FBI Executive Assistant Director Justin Bass. We are introduced to a former student of Cameron’s Jason Burke, FBI agent and former SEAL Josh Duvane, reporter Janice Beautfont, and Captain Roger Lewis-a man Samantha considers a surrogate father.

The world building continues to focus on the hunt for a killer. Samantha is a profiler who gets into the mind of the person she is trying to uncover. The romantic relationship between Samantha and Blake is threatened by Samantha’s inability to let go of the past.

AFTER THE DARK is a story of suspense, mystery, murder and betrayal with a couple of twists and turns to the story line premise. The premise is intriguing and tangible; the characters are colorful and fascinating; the romance is powerful and alive, Cynthia Eden pulls the reader into a tragic tale of one man’s obsession with killing, and the resulting psychological power death holds over everyone concerned.

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

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THE GATHERING DUSK
(Killer Instinct .5)
by Cynthia Eden
Genre: Adult, contemporary, romantic, suspense

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date January 1, 2017

When untried FBI profiler Samantha Dark is face-to-face with a killer, there’s no room for fear. Her best weapon is her instincts. Those same dark impulses that allow her to get inside the mind of a murderer, to locate victims—or to pull the trigger before she’s next. She can’t afford to have those instincts clouded by anything…especially her far-too-sexy new partner.

Former SEAL Blake Gamble plays everything by the book. Except, of course, when it comes to the increasingly simmering attraction between them. But when a vengeful serial killer targets them both, Samantha once again reaches into the sinister, shadowed part of herself. Even as she begins to fear that the only way to catch this killer is to become one…

••••••••

REVIEW: THE GATHERING DUSK is the introductory novella in Cynthia Eden’s contemporary, adult KILLER INSTINCT romantic, suspense series.

Told from several third person perspectives THE GATHERING DUSK introduces FBI profiler Samantha Dark, and former SEAL and FBI agent Blake Gamble as they search for a serial killer and his latest victim. As a profiler Samantha was able to get into the head of the person responsible for destroying so many lives, and along with her partner Blake Gamble, the couple diffused a volatile situation before it could get any worse. What ensues is Samantha’s struggle with guilt and her past, and the realization that the serial killer may not have been working alone.

THE GATHERING DUSK is a very quick read; a story of suspense that reveals a little of the relationship dynamic between Samantha and Blake, as well as the friendship our heroine holds dear with former lover Dr. Cameron Latham. The premise is intriguing and sets the stage for the next installment AFTER THE DARK.

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Reviewed by Sandy

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Award-winning author Cynthia Eden writes dark tales of paranormal romance and romantic suspense. She is a New York Times, USA Today, Digital Book World, and IndieReader bestseller. Cynthia is also a two-time finalist for the RITA® award (she was a finalist both in the romantic suspense category and in the paranormal romance category). Since she began writing full-time in 2005, Cynthia has written over thirty novels and novellas. Cynthia lives along the Alabama Gulf Coast.