Edge of Darkness by Karen Rose – Review, Interview & Giveaway

 

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Description:
Homicide detective Adam Kimble is no stranger to battling demons. But Meredith Fallon is a different kind of weakness: one that could actually be good for him, if only he would let himself depend on her. Meredith has loved Adam for a year, and seeing how hard he’s worked to deal with his PTSD makes her feelings only stronger, but she respects his needs. Her work keeps her busy anyway: she counsels sexually abused women like Mallory Martin to help them reintegrate into the world.

But someone doesn’t want Meredith helping women like Mallory, and Meredith finds herself in the crosshairs of a very determined killer. Adam would risk anything for her, but they’ll soon find out she isn’t the only target…

 

Review:

Edge of Darkness by Karen Rose is the 4th book in her Cincinnati series.  I have read a few books by Rose, but not in this series.  The last book I had read I noted that it was one of the best thrillers of the year, and now in 2018 I can say the same. Wow, what awesome thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat throughout.  Karen Rose has now become a must read for me.  I have not read the previous books in the Cincinnati series, but there were so many marvelous characters that make me want to find time to read the previous 3 books.

We meet our heroine, Meredith Fallon, in the beginning as she is a child psychologist, who helps out at a special home for abused children.  Meredith has many friends that  either work at the children’s home or her police that she is very close to; as they are very protective of her, especially since she is still emotionally upset over not seeing or hearing from her ex-boyfriend, Adam. 

Adam Kimble is a top notch detective, who loves Meredith, but has intentionally stayed away from her for almost a year.  Meredith’s friends are also Adam’s, but most of them have been unhappy that he has ignored Meredith, as well as avoiding some them…but no one knows why.  Adam suffers from PTSD from watching a horrible murder, where he could not save the young girl.  Having a verbally abusive father caused Adam to secretly drink early in his younger days, and after the murder, he got worse to help him get through each day.  Unbeknownst to his friends and coworkers, is that he has been sober for almost a year, and though still emotionally damaged, he plans to try to win her back once he meets his one year goal.

Before that happens, Meredith brings one of the sexually abused young girls to a restaurant to help her become more confident in releasing her fears.  They are accosted by a young man, who threatens them, and when they fall to the floor, the young man blows up. This is just the beginning of an intense & complex murder mystery that will result in more murders, pulling in all the detectives, including Adam to find out why someone is targeting Meredith. Adam forces himself to maintain control of his emotions, as he is assigned to be main detective to investigate this case, which also brings him back into Meredith’s life. 

What follows is an amazing story that held me on the edge of my seat from start to finish.  There were so many twists and turns throughout the book, almost to the very end.  As Adam, and his team try to protect Meredith, and others who are slowly getting killed off, the intensity of the story never lessens, especially when we get closer to discovering some secrets and surprises that will escalate the investigation that puts both Adam, Meredith, a couple of the abused girls, and their detective friends, in constant danger.  Rose has created an evil villain, who is as ruthless as they come, killing anyone who gets in the way, regardless of who they are.  This is a major twist that we never saw coming until we got closer to the end. 

In between the many tense moments, we got to see Adam and Meredith learn more about each other, their past lives; their situations; their dangerous jobs; and their love for each other. What I absolutely loved about this book, was the amazing group of friends, who are mostly cops or therapists that are closely bonded to each other, with some of them having been through tough and violent cases, similar to this one.  They are all strong and smart individuals and loyal friends, who are a close knit family.  Rose has done this so well, and when you like the characters that you become invested in, it makes the story that much better.    As I said before, I now have to go back into the three earlier books to learn about them all.   

I am in awe of Karen Rose, as her books are so well written with fantastic characters, evil villains, a great couple, and a totally intense mystery that keeps you in suspense to the very end.  If you love suspense, with a touch of romance and a thriller all the way, you should be reading anything by Karen Rose. I know I will.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

Hi Karen. Thank you for taking the time to answer some questions today.We are always looking forward to reading about the author behind the book.

TRC: Would you please tell us something about yourself? 

Karen:  I was born and raised in the Baltimore-Washington area.  I met my husband when we were seniors in high school, over 35 years ago.  We’ve been married more than 30 years and have two adult daughters.  I’m a chemical engineer by education.  I worked for 15 years for a large consumer products company in Cincinnati and I have two patents in bulk fiber laxatives.  (Don’t ask.  Okay, ask if you want to, but don’t be grossed out by what I answer.) I’m a knitter and a reader and a Buffy fan 🙂

TRC:  LOL   I love Buffy, too.

TRC:  When and how did you first become interested in writing? 

Karen:  I began writing when I was an engineer traveling internationally, unable to pack enough books to last the length of my trips.  There were no ebooks back in the day and I couldn’t understand anything on the TV, so I began writing my own stories to keep myself company in all those hotel rooms away from home.  It was a hobby for nearly ten years before I sold my first book, DON’T TELL.  That was in 2001.

TRC:  Within your Romantic Suspense series, you have the Cincinnati series.  Can you give us a brief description of this series? 

Karen:  The Cincinnati series is built around the FBI/Cincinnati PD joint task force, their friends, families, as well as the families they build.  First up is the sometimes bigger-than-life Special Agent Deacon Novak, who’s transferred from Baltimore at the beginning of book one, CLOSER THAN YOU THINK.  Deacon and his heroine, psychologist Faith Corcoran, are drawn into the deadly web of a killer who has been operating out of the house Faith has just inherited for many years. 

Books two and three deal with human trafficking, labor and sex trafficking.  ALONE IN THE DARK and EVERY DARK CORNER feature Deacon’s two task force partners, Detective Scarlett Bishop (book two) and Agent Kate Coppola (book three).

Introduced in book one, Deacon’s cousin Detective Adam Kimble is having a rough time, his personality changing drastically.  No one in his circle knows why, except psychologist Meredith Fallon, in whom Adam has confided—at least part of his story.

TRC:  With Edge of Darkness released yesterday, can you please give us a brief description of this book?

Karen:  EDGE OF DARKNESS is Adam Kimble’s return to his family and to Meredith.  In the months since their first interaction he’s pulled away, avoiding her.  He’s plagued by demons, but knows that he can’t solely rely on her for his sanity or his sobriety.  Adam is an alcoholic, trying to get his life together before he feels he is good enough to invite Meredith to be part of it.  Meredith has been confused and hurt by his avoidance, but he is the first person she calls when a young man is shot and killed right in front of her—after he’d held a gun on her.  The race to catch the killer leads Adam to the dark places he’d hoped he’d escaped forever.

TRC:  You write exciting Romance Suspense Thrillers, which can be intense.  Have you ever found yourself affected by a scene?

Karen:  Many times! Often I’ll put off writing a scene because I feel awful about a character being murdered.  Sometimes I’ll group all my “villain scenes” into one day so that I can get all the intensity out at once.  I can become edgy and irritable while writing the villain scenes, so I like to do these in ways that keep me from snapping at my family :).

TRC:  Can you please tell us what you are working on now, and what you have upcoming in 2018?

Karen:  I’ve just started a new series – set in Sacramento, California!  More on this later, but I will tease a little by revealing that readers will meet mostly new characters with a few very old favorites.  Later in 2018, we’ll release DEATH IS NOT ENOUGH, Baltimore #6.  This is Gwyn and Thorne’s story – they were introduced in YOU BELONG TO ME, Baltimore #1. 
TRC:  What is your writing process?  Do you like to outline your story before you start? Do you have a specific place you like to write?  Is there a special time of day that works best for you?

Karen:  I usually binge write.  Once I get into the groove, I’ll write 18 hours a day until it’s done.  I have a place on the beach where I go to write.  It’s quiet and gorgeous and I love it there.  I’m more productive between 11pm and 6am, which is difficult because I try to sleep during the day when nobody else is sleeping.  Phones ring, dogs bark, trash trucks rumble, waking me up every time.  I wish I were a 9-5 writer!  When you are not writing, what other interests or hobbies do you have?

I read a lot! Not usually suspense, though.  I read a lot of contemporary romance.  I also travel, knit for other people because we don’t get much call for woolens in Florida, and play with my dogs.  Would you like to add anything else? Just a huge thank you for inviting me!

Thank you, Karen for answering our questions. We wish you the best of luck with Edge of Darkness.

 

 

 

Karen Rose’s publisher is graciously offering a paper copy of EDGE OF DARKNESS to ONE (1) lucky commenter at The Reading Cafe

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