She Can Tell (She Can #2) by Melinda Leigh-a review

She Can Tell (She Can #2) by Melinda Leigh-a review

She Can Tell

About the book: Release Date December 2012

A horse trainer’s homecoming turns deadly when a vicious stalker, a cold murder case, and a hot police chief threaten to expose family secrets that a killer wants to keep buried.

After a terrible accident ends her riding career, horse trainer Rachel Parker returns to her hometown to a hostile welcome. Her efforts to rebuild the family farm are hampered by her sister’s domestic crisis and a violent vandal who threatens Rachel’s new business and her life. She is also blindsided by the undeniable and unwanted attraction she feels for hot police chief handling her case. Someone is systematically trying to destroy her. Someone who knows private things about her. Someone who’s been watching her…

As his investigation uncovers the turbulent past Rachel keeps carefully hidden, Police Chief Mike O’Connell finds himself with too many suspects and too many feelings for his fiercely independent victim. His desire for Rachel is a conflict of interest that jeopardizes everything he stands for. Long buried family secrets, a skeleton, and a corrupt local official with a grudge against Mike complicate the case, but the escalating violence against Rachel convinces him he doesn’t have much time. Whoever is watching Rachel wants her dead. Mike and Rachel race to untangle a web of deceit and lies that stretches twenty-five years into the past—before her stalker strikes again.

Review:

Rachel Parker has a lot on her plate. She’s recently returned home after an accident ended her riding career and someone is vandalizing her property. Seems that her “Watcher” is not glad to see her back home. To add to her frustrations and worries, her sister is married to an abusive man. When Rachel’s sister calls her because her husband is on a drunken bender, Rachel rushes to her sister’s home to find her unconscious at the bottom of the stairs with her husband standing over her. Rachel takes on her brother in law in order to get to her sister, then, thankfully, the police chief, Mike O’Connell makes the scene and promptly arrests him. Unfortunately, the brother in law’s dad is politically connected and Rachel knows it won’t be long until he’s released from jail.

Rachel takes her sister home with her once she’s released from the hospital, as well as her two nieces. Rachel is bound and determined to keep her family safe, but with the things that continue to happen around her property, she doesn’t know quite how she’s going to pull that off. Chief O’Connell takes a personal interest in seeing to their safety, and soon there are sparks between he and Rachel, but she’s had one bad relationship, and doesn’t want another. But, she can’t deny the attraction.

As the story progresses, the attacks and vandalism at her farm become more violent, and then life threatening. O’Connell knows in his gut that there is more to this story than meets the eye, but can he keep them safe? And, if Rachel can’t keep herself safe, how in the world is she going to keep her sister and nieces safe? And, will she finally let her guard down enough to let someone help her?

I liked the premise of this story, but as much as it pains me to say it, the first half of the story fell flat for me. There, in my opinion, was no build up for the feelings that were developing between the two main characters. It felt forced and not well explained. It just was………….And we were left to fill in the blanks for ourselves. With that being said, the second half of the book picked up the pace and once I got past the whole feeling forced issue, I really liked the way the story played out. I would think I knew who the “Watcher” was and then I wasn’t sure. There were just enough twists to keep me turning the pages and keep me engaged in the story. I only wish that there had been more development of the feelings between Mike and Rachel.

ORDER LINKS: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / The Book Depository/

Copy supplied by the author.

Reviewed by Vickie M.

Share

Phantom Dreams by T.K. Harris-a review

Phantom Dreams by T.K.Harris- a review

PHANTOM DREAMS by T.K.Harris

PHANTOM DREAMS is a contemporary mystery suspense (with a slight paranormal twist) that begins with the murder of a woman, knifed by a stranger, as she jogs through the woods. But the reader is privy to an internal dialogue between the murderer and another voice in his head. The voice is blaming the women for something and he is looking for one woman in particular.

35 year old FBI agent Jack Matthew is on the hunt for a serial killer. All the victims are women of similar height, age and features living in different states with different life styles, and each had one stab wound to the chest or stomach. The FBI was looking for an interstate killer. The other killings were approximately 1 year between each, but the most recent-number six-had a shorter time frame than the others. The killer was stepping up the time and 3 more bodies would be found.

29 year old Kathy Gilliam was suffering nightmares filled with pain and death-the same nightmare that had been haunting her off and on for years. But lately the dreams have been more intense and somehow different. And to complicate matters her attention had been divided between work, her ailing father and the nightmares now occupying her daily routine. And a visit to the physician would find Kathy on the receiving end of a psychiatric appointment. His suggestion to write down her dreams would bring Kathy into a world of murder and death, and all of the faces are very familiar.

As the number of murders increased so too did Kathy’s dreams. Confiding in her best friend Margo, they would soon discover that the images in Kathy’s nightmares are matching the faces of the victims. But when she approached the police about her suspicions, they wrote her off as a crackpot looking for attention. When the FBI heard the story, Kathy became their number one suspect because she knew the intimate details and the weapon of choice. But the FBI agents noted the similarity between Kathy and all of their cases- they were hoping they were wrong. And now Kathy was saying there is a possibility that two men are involved? But when Kathy begins to see the man in her dreams around town, she believes she is going insane. When the FBI finally find their killer, it will be Kathy who experiences a lifetime of memories that come flooding back through time.

PHANTOM DREAMS is an amazing storyline that will keep your attention from beginning to end and what an ending-a total surprise. Throughout the story I thought I knew what was happening- I was close. But T.K.Harris adds a strange twist to the tale of one young man’s need to seek revenge for something that happened long ago. If you like a mystery with a twist, Phantom Dreams is a fantastic tale of murder and intrigue. And the ending, well, no one ever said there could never be a HEA in mystery storyline.

ORDER NOW: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / KOBO

Copy supplied by the author

Reviewed by Sandy

Share

Touched by Death by Dale Mayer-a review

TOUCHED BY DEATH by Dale Mayer

TOUCHED BY DEATH is the June 2012 contemporary suspense/mystery novel by Dale Mayer.  Anthropologist Jade Hansen’s life has been a world of depression. Following a trip to Haiti (the previous year) to help victims of an earthquake, Jade returned home to the loss of almost everyone she cared about and quite possibly her mind.  When a wealthy American businessman wanted to recover the bodies of missing family members, Jade would find herself back in Haiti helping to excavate a mass grave of victims buried after the disaster.  And to the teams utter shock and horror they found more than just victims of the quake.

Along with a team of doctors and pathologists, Jade’s adventure into the heat and quake ravaged island of Haiti brought back many memories from the previous year.  Along with a suspicious feeling that they were being watched, Jade was also intrigued by the attentions of fellow American, Dane Carter.  Dane is an independent contractor helping to rebuild the local hospital, but a call from the team working the sight, would bring Dane and his construction machinery to help with the recovery. But trying to keep the discovery a secret was placing more pressure on the team then they had fully anticipated.  When the man overseeing the finances threatens to pull the team, they begin to wonder if it is all worth the cost.

The discovery within the pit amped up everyone’s morbid curiosity, but the locals were not accustomed to outsiders interfering with the dead.  Old voodoo traditions, myths and stories would surface and the local inhabitants would begin to suffer with the knowledge that the outsiders were disturbing the dead. But the bigger problem that would surface was that the authorities didn’t care. The details and information the team were unearthing were falling on deaf ears and the police were refusing to cooperate with any investigation.  People disappear all of the time and now one of the retrieval team is missing. 

Family life for most of the locals is difficult.  As one of the poorest islands, the Haitians could barely feed or clothe themselves.  And Dane’s brother had married a local woman, whose current mental health was deteriorating as the excavation continued. And to add to the already stressful situation, his brother’s extended family were giving Dane cause for concern. Something wasn’t right.

Dane and Jade’s relationship is slow to build as each is in Haiti to work.  But slowly over a few weeks, Dane gets up the nerve to ask Jade out, but life has a way of surprising everyone, when rumors about family members and missing team members are more important than one’s love life.  But a warning from a voodoo woman would put Jade on edge and Dane needing to find a way to protect the woman with whom he was falling in love especially when most of his extended family were missing or dead.

TOUCHED BY DEATH is a fascinating storyline with several twists. Although I had an idea as to the person or people responsible, I was still surprised that I was intrigued with the build up and revelations.  The storyline flows smoothly, the characters are real and I was definitely impressed with the direction of the story.

LINKS TO ORDER
Amazon Kindle
Amazon Paper Books
B&N Paper Books
The Book Depository
KOBO
Books a Million
Powells

Copy supplied by author.

Reviewed by Sandy

 

Share