THE HUNTING GROUNDS (Hidden Sins#2) by Katee Robert-Review, Excerpt & Giveaway
THE HUNTING GROUNDS
Hidden Sins #2
by Katee Robert
Release Date: July 25, 2017
Genre: adult, contemporary, murder mystery, romantic suspense
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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date July 25, 2017
For two FBI agents with a past, love becomes a matter of life and death in the new Hidden Sins novel from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Katee Robert.
Maggie Gaines used to be an FBI agent—top of her class and one of the bright, up-and-coming stars—until she spectacularly fell apart during her first high-profile case. That was eight years ago. Now she’s a ranger at Glacier National Park, and she’s found some measure of peace. But when the body of a murdered woman is discovered, she must finally put the past behind her and work with the one man she thought she’d never see again.
For months, Vic Sutherland has been hunting a killer who’s been targeting unsuspecting hikers in national parks—and now the predator has come to Glacier. Vic knows the case will bring him face-to-face with his former partner, yet nothing can prepare him for seeing Maggie again after all these years, or for the memories of passion it stirs in both of them.
As the investigation brings them closer together—and closer to the killer—Maggie and Vic fear they have only each other to trust. But even that might not be enough to make it out of Glacier alive.
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REVIEW: THE HUNTING GROUNDS is the second installment in Katee Robert’s contemporary, adult HIDDEN SINS murder/mystery, romantic suspense series. This is FBI agent Vic Sutherland, and former FBI agent and park ranger Maggie Gaines’s story line. THE HUNTING GROUNDS can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story line is revealed where necessary. Vic Sutherland, and his boss at the FBI Britton Washburne were first introduced in book one THE DEVIL’S DAUGHTER.
Told from several third person points of view including Maggie and Vic, with flashbacks to the past THE HUNTING GROUNDS focuses on the search for a killer who is targeting hikers at various National Parks. When the most recent victim(s) is discovered in Glacier National Park park ranger Maggie Gaines comes face to face with her past-FBI BAU (Behavioral Analysis Unit) specialist Vic Sutherland-her former partner and the man with whom she had fallen in love. What ensues is the search for a killer, as Maggie and Vic analyze the path of jealousy and revenge.
THE HUNTING GROUNDS is a story of mystery, murder, suspense and retribution. As the number of victims grows, Vic and Maggie begin to break down the potential who and why of the killer’s murder spree.
The relationship between Maggie and Vic is one of mutual attraction but seven years earlier Vic Sutherland was a married man, and our heroine walked away from a career in the BAU when her first case went all to h*ll. Their attraction for one another has never waivered, and Maggie and Vic are wiling to reclaim what was lost years before.
There is a large ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters including the head of the BAU Britton Washburne, Vic’s FBI partner Tucker Kendrick, park ranger Ava Boyle, seasonal ranger David Downey, coroner Dr. Katherine Huxley, and Maggie’s current boss Wyatt Thornton. There are also a large number of hikers who become targets for a psychopath h*ll bent for fury in the name of betrayal and revenge.
The superb and detailed world building focuses on the sights and sounds of life on the trails; the geography of Glacier National Park; and the search for a killer who will not stop until everyone is gone.
THE HUNTING GROUNDS does not focus so much on the romance aspect of the leading couple but focuses more on the hunt for a killer so I hazard to label THE HUNTING GROUNDS a true romantic suspense. The relationship between Maggie and Vic is a little more than a bi-product of working together but a relationship that has the potential to resume when all is said and done. The premise is intriguing but predictable although the killer’s motivation needed a more thorough explanation; the romance is limited and secondary to the overall story line; the leading characters are reserved and fell a little flat. THE HUNTING GROUNDS by Katee Robert is an imaginative tale of murder, suspense and revenge.
Click HERE for Sandy’s review of book one- THE DEVIL’S DAUGHTER
Copy supplied for review
Reviewed by Sandy
NOTE: The excerpt is intended for mature readers due to strong language and text
The Hunting Grounds Excerpt
Copyright © 2017 Katee Robert
Vic’s gaze fell on his phone. Maggie’s number was now in the contacts folder. It would be easy to dial it, just to check on her.
Except it was late, and she hadn’t asked for him to babysit her.
He’d gone years without seeing her, and now that they were in the same general area, it was like they were two magnets that could barely resist the pull. He wanted to hear her voice, to sit her down and share a meal that wasn’t military issue, to actually talk.
His phone rang, which startled him so much he almost dropped it. Vic stared at the screen for several precious seconds, wondering if he was more tired than he’d thought, because it sure as fuck looked like Maggie was calling him. “Sutherland.”
“It’s me.”
He sat on the edge of the bed, suddenly painfully aware that he wore only a towel. It shouldn’t matter. She couldn’t see him, didn’t know what he was or wasn’t wearing, but it did matter. “Hey, Maggie.”
“I have to apologize.” He could almost feel her soft sigh. “You were right, and I was acting like a stubborn kid. This whole thing—the murders in the park and having to deal with my past and you—has got me all twisted up.”
Maybe it was the events of the last two days, but he was so goddamn tired of doing the noble thing. He never put himself or his personal shit before a case. Not once.
He’d never wanted to before.
“I twist you up?”
“As if you didn’t know. I had something of a crush on you when we were partners—which I’m sure you knew after I threw myself at you—and apparently I didn’t outgrow it as much as I thought.”
The dimness of the room evoked an intimacy he didn’t deserve. Was Maggie sitting in her bedroom in low light, too? He liked the picture that made. “You have nothing to apologize for.”
“I’ve been making an ass of myself since you stepped off that helicopter.” She shifted, the sound painfully loud in the near silence. “And I’m doing it again, apparently. My whole point was that I’m sorry and I’ll be professional from now on. You don’t have to worry about any breakdowns or hissy fits.”
If he was smart, he’d take her apology for what it was and allow it to move them back to solid ground. There were lives on the line and a condensed timeline that was only going to get more condensed with each body that popped up.
But when Vic spoke, he didn’t move them back to firm ground. He threw them right over the edge of the cliff. “Fuck being professional. I want you, Maggie. Not the former FBI agent. Not the park ranger. I want you.”
New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Katee Robert learned to tell her stories at her grandpa’s knee. Her 2015 title, The Marriage Contract, was a RITA finalist, and RT Book Reviews named it ‘a compulsively readable book with just the right amount of suspense and tension.” When not writing sexy contemporary and romantic suspense, she spends her time playing imaginary games with her children, driving her husband batty with what-if questions, and planning for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. Connect with Katee at:
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