Say No More by Karen Rose – a Review

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Description:
Mercy Callahan thought she’d escaped the cult decades ago, but its long fingers are reaching out for her again in this electrifying novel in the Sacramento series…

Seventeen years ago. That was the last time Mercy Callahan saw Ephraim Burton, the leader of the twisted Eden cult where she was raised. But even though she escaped the abuse and terror, they continue to haunt her.

When her brother Gideon discovers new evidence of the cult’s—and their victims’—whereabouts, Mercy goes to Sacramento to reconnect with him. There, she meets Gideon’s closest friend—homicide detective Rafe Sokolov. From Rafe, she receives an offer she never knew she needed: to track down Ephraim and make him pay for everything.

But Ephraim, who had thought Mercy long dead, discovers she is in fact alive and that she is digging around for the cult’s secrets. And now he’ll do anything to take her back to Eden—dead or alive.

Review:

Say No More by Karen Rose is the 24^th book in her Romance Suspense series, as well as the 2^nd book in her Sacramento series arc.  I have become a big fan of Karen Rose, as her suspense thrillers are amazing, and unputdownable.  Be warned that this book is 640 pages, which is not the norm for romance suspense. Rose always creates fantastic heroes and secondary characters, as well as evil villains; and this does not change in this book, as she writes a masterpiece.  I did have to take a few breaks, especially since the villain, and his cult were very evil; the tense situations with our heroine or with the villains made me take a short break.  Not too long though.  ?

Say No More was a tense, exciting, action filled story that kept me on the edge of to my seat from start to finish.  The nice thing about the Sacramento arc is that many of the characters from the first book play major parts in this one, with Mercy and Rafe being in the forefront.   

Mercy Callahan, our heroine, escaped a cult 17 years ago, with everyone thinking she was dead.  Mercy built a new life in New Orleans, with family she discovered.  She returns to Sacramento with her best friend, Farrah, to talk to her brother, Gideon (last book hero) and apologize for thinking he abandoned her and her mother years before.  She also wants to spend more time with Rafe, as both of them are very much attracted to each other.  When Mercy arrives at the airport, she goes into shock, as the man, Ephraim (our evil villain), who tortured her as a young girl (abusive, and forced to marry at 12 years old) finds her and tries to kidnap her; luckily Rafe (who is still trying to recover from a serious leg injury in the last book), manages to use his cane and bring police attention to save Mercy.

Rafe, Gideon, Daisy, Tom, Erin, Farrah and the Sokolov family, and other police friends will work together to find Ephraim before he kidnaps or kills Mercy.  I loved the entire big family vibe, as they were all great. The investigation escalates, as Ephraim continues to follow Mercy and the group, killing many people along the way; he was most certainly the epitome of evil. Eden is the cult, with Ephraim and DJ being the villians in this story, and the leader of the cult, Pastor being partially in the background, as I suspect he will be featured more in future books.

What follows is an intriguing, tense, exciting, and edge of your seat suspense storyline that had me holding my breath so many times.  Important to note, that with the religious cult background as part of the story, we learn how Mercy, Gideon and others suffered sexual abuse, assault, murder, inability to leave, as well as give away all their money. As tense as this was through most of the book, it was sweet to watch the slow burn romance between Mercy and Rafe; as well as seeing Gideon with Daisy, Farrah and her boyfriend, and entire Sacramento family and friends.   Awesome.

Rafe was a great hero, determined to protect Mercy, despite his injuries.  They are determined to all work together to find Eden and bring them to justice, and freeing those unable to leave.  But the danger for all of them is intense, as Emprhaim is as evil as they come, killing anyone who stands in his way, putting all of them at risk.  Mercy was a fantastic heroine, who learned to take care of herself from her  abusive time at Eden, and her fears of her friends getting hurt because of her. 

Say No More is an intense thriller from start to finish, with non- stop action all the way.  As I have said before, Karen Rose never fails to give a fantastic well written thriller that is intense, always on the edge, with fantastic characters, evil villains and a wonderful couple you care for. If you love suspense, with a touch of romance and a thriller all the way, then look no further then Karen Rose.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher