Synopsis:

A homicide detective in the dark. A serial killer on the loose. Both have their obsessions in a nerve-twisting novel of suspense by New York Times bestselling author Mary Burton.

Austin homicide detective Jordan Poe is hunting a serial killer she fears is the same man who assaulted her sister, Avery, two years ago. The details line up: the victims are the same age, same type, dead by the same grim MO. Luckily Avery survived. But the terrible memories linger, making Jordan more determined than ever to stop this monster in his tracks.
Texas Ranger Carter Spencer isn’t one to poach on a detective’s territory. Yet no matter how resentful a capable lone wolf like Jordan is, when she is attacked at a third crime scene and suffers a trauma that leaves her with limited vision, it’s up to Carter to help Jordan navigate a world she no longer recognizes. He needs her instinct, her experience, and her fearless resolve to crack this case. A case that’s about to get even darker.
A stranger is watching. He’s closing in on his ultimate prey. And no one but the killer can see what’s coming.

Publisher: Montlake
Publication Date: September28th 2021
Amazon US  / Amazon UK

My thoughts:
My first book by Mary Burton and I can see why this prolific author is very popular. This standalone thriller/police procedural had a strong female lead, a logical storyline with a few twists and red herrings to keep the reader guessing and a good pace- no wonder I read it in no time at all.

Detective Jordan Poe is both hard-working and tenacious. She has to be. Her mother (also a police officer) had a substance abuse problem and Jordan learnt quickly to take care of herself and her little sister Avery. When their mother died, Jordan had to cope not ony with her own but also with Avery's grief and later her descent into drug abuse. The low point came when she found Avery in her drug dealer Marco's place, tied and suffocating. Avery has been clean and sober ever since, but Jordan cannot help worrying about her.
When the first body of a young woman is found wrapped in plastic, Jordan has very little to go on to identify the victim, but when the second one is found, she has a terrible suspicion that the cases resemble what happened to Avery. The victims were young, blond, petite,and had a history of drug abuse. There is a bit of tension about who should deal with the investigation as Jordan isn't particularly happy to let the case go to Texas Ranger Carter Spenser. Carter has a tendency to rub people (esp. politically influential ones)  the wrong way, but he has experience of dealing with serial killers as well as the wisdom of recognising Jordan's detective skills and tenacity.
What made this book stand out is what happened, while Jordan was trying to save the killer's next victim. This isn't a spoiler (it maybe if you don't read blurbs)- Jordan suffers a blow to her head and is left with impaired vision. Remember she is in the middle of an ongoing investigation, the killer is still on the loose. Jordan is a fiercely independent person, but now she is forced to deal with tremendous changes to her her daily life, career and entire future.
I can't say I found it too easy to guess who the killer was- perhaps other, more savvy readers would see it early on. The plot was logical and everything was tied in the end. The only thing I wasn't sure about was the romance-it came in at a very late point in the book and I didn't feel it was necessary. This is a more plot-driven, action-packed kind of book, so the other characters apart from the protagonist were not as developped, but I think there is a potential for this standalone to become a series.
I liked Jordan and the way she dealt with adversity in her life with determination and compassion and I would certainly like to read more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for the ARC provided in exchange for an honest opinion.

New York Times and USA Today bestselling novelist Mary Burton is the popular author of more than thirty-five romance and suspense novels, as well as five novellas. She currently lives in Virginia with her husband and three miniature dachshunds. Visit her at www.maryburton.com.

Synopsis:
No strangers to evil, criminal profiler Reni Fisher and detective Daniel Ellis both still grapple with traumatizing pasts. It unites them. So has a crime they must solve before someone else dies.

At a campsite on California’s Pacific Crest Trail, a guide is murdered and three young hikers vanish without a trace. The only lead is a puzzle in itself: a video of the crime scene, looking eerily staged, uploaded to social media. The girl who posted it can’t be found. Is it a viral hoax gone unspeakably wrong, or is there something more sinister at play in the forest?

The case intensifies when one of the missing is found wandering down a dirt road, confused and afraid. As Reni and Daniel struggle to sort fact from fiction, a secret past collides with the present, threatening to sever their relationship. Are some truths too much to bear? Will this be the case that finally breaks them?

What really happened in the forest? Hidden crimes and secrets of the past converge in a riveting thriller by Anne Frasier, the New York Times bestselling author of Find Me.

Series: Inland Empire#2 
Publisher:Thomas & Mercer
Publication Date:July 27, 2021
286 pages
ISBN 9781542025560, 1542025567 
 Fiction / Thrillers / Suspense                             

My thoughts:
In Tell Me, Anne Frasier's gripping sequel to Find Me, we are back to the Mojave Desert and the Inland Empire area in Southern California. If you haven't read Find Me, but are planning to do it, you should start from it. Tell Me provides re-cap of the main points of the previous book, so it would definitely diminish the effect of the narrative.

Reni Fisher is a former FBI profiler, a recluse and an artist who lives in a desert cabin andisstiltrying to make sense of her father's horrifying legacy. Benjamin Fisher, the Inland Empire serial killer, murdered and buried tens of young women whom he lured to death by using his young, unsuspecting daughter Reni. Formany yearsReni refused to see her father. The only reason why she agrees to do it at the request of a young detective Daniel Ellis is that her father promises to reveal  the burial sites. There's nothingmoreReni would like than to give a sense of closure to the families of the victims. Daniel also was traumatised by the event of his childhood. His mother disappeared when he was eight and he has never stopped looking for her, suspecting she mighthave been a victim of the InlandEmpire killer.

Find me provides closure for one of the two  protagonists (I deliberately don't want to say who) and we know there is more to the story. The new case of three sixteen-year-old hikers who disappeared from a campsite on the Pacific Crest Trail is fascinating on its own. The girls were sent to a digital detox retreat by their parents and went on a three-day hike with an experienced guide. The dead body of the guide was later found lying in her tent by two passing hikers, one of whom posts a video on the social media. Some people suspect it's a hoax, but Daniel instinct tells him to check the story out and there isn't anyone he'd rather ask to help him than Reni.

Overall, I liked the plot, but there was so much going on, so many topics: social media, school shootings, PTSD,  incels (right, I had to look the word up), pressures of parenthood and others. It could have all falen apart, but for Anne Frasier's superb writing style-she really knows how to engage the reader with plenty of action and clever twists. Told in short, snappy chapters, the book is very easy to read.

Both Reni and Daniel are wonderful protagonists. Their empathy with the victims and perpetraitors alike (for Daniel there are no evil people, just terrible choices these people  made) helps them in their investigations. By the way, the sinister bird on the cover for both Find Meand Tell Me isn't just there to give the readers creeps. Reni used to be fascinated by birds as a child and drew them a lot. Her father taught her  to make her drawings as accurate as possible and this ability to focus on details is another factor (together with empathy) that makes Reni so good in her job of finding missing people.

The setting is one of the best features of these two books. Here we have hiking trails in addition to the desert and its healing powers. For Reni the barrenness of the dry season is temporary-she knows good months, full of magical flowers and amazing colours will come.

The ending was just perfect. With all the loose ends  tied up,  The Inland Empire series can end here, but we have two great protagonists who make a wonderful team and perhaps Anne Frasier will decide to give us another story- I'll be there for it!

Carrying Clover
Newly single Camille Robins luck is about to change as she embarks on a new chapter of her life, moving to the city near her best friend, Lizzie.

A chance meeting at Lou’s B&B, Camille meets George, a handsome man who sweeps her off her feet.

Can Lizzie forgive Camille for stealing her previous boyfriend, or will she seek revenge?

Camille can’t believe her luck! George can’t believe how perfect she is....

Was it a fate romance, or part of an evil plan?


A fresh new twist on a psychological thriller, fast-paced, clever, and thought provoking that will make you question who is the lucky one.

Luck, love, deceit, and heartbreak will keep you turning the page. And a breathtaking twist you won’t see coming, will stay with you long after you have finished reading.

Purchase Link
UK  / US

My thoughts:
Carrying Clover is a psychological thriller/ suspense set in Somerset and Bristol, UK. It is steady-paced, has a limited set of interesting characters and a well-thought-through plot.

The protagonist of the novel Camille has just come out of an abusive/controlling relationship. She is quite vulnerable, but her mental attitude is overwhelmingly positive-she is finally free to live her life the way she wants and this includes rebuilding her relationship with Lizzie, Camille's foster sister, and starting a new job in Bristol. While she is waiting for the keys to her perfect new flat (bought with her inheritance money), she checks into a B&B where she meets the sweet owner oftheB&B  Lou and baby Sophia. At 34, Camille can't wait to start her own family. There's only one more protagonist of this suspenseful read that is missing. Meet George, a determined sales rep from Bristol, who often stays at Lou's B&B and clearly doesn't waste his time charming the socks off Camille.

The story is mostly told in from Camille's POV , and I couldn't help wondering how naive and gullible she appeared...and then Bang! we get snippets from two other characters that give us an insight into their bitterness, obsession, and evil plans concerning Camille. Another thing worth mentioning is the present tense narrative. I know it isn't everyone's favourite, but here it definitely enhanced the writing and made it feel more atmospheric and more immediate. I felt anxiety building up in me and was afraid for poor Camille's life almost from the word go. Suspense with a capital letter!

Overall, it was an atmospheric read ( I wish I'd read it for my R.I.P. readathon), full of suspense and dark twists (sorry, can't say they were impossible to predict, but give me logical and foreshadowed over unpredictable any time).  Can't wait to read Lorey Durston's next novel!

Author Bio – Lorey Durston is an author of thriller and suspense novels. 
CARRYING CLOVER is her debut novel.
She is currently working on her next suspense novel to be released late 2021.
 
Social Media Links – Twitter https://twitter.com/DurstonLorey
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Lorey-Durston-Author-101764481996748
Instagram: loreydurstonauthor 
​

Synopsis:

​A bone-chilling family history is unearthed in a heart-stopping thriller by New York Times bestselling author Anne Frasier.

Convicted serial killer Benjamin Fisher has finally offered to lead San Bernardino detective Daniel Ellis to the isolated graves of his victims. One catch: he’ll only do it if FBI profiler Reni Fisher, his estranged daughter, accompanies them. As hard as it is to exhume her traumatic childhood, Reni can’t say no. She still feels complicit in her father’s crimes.

Perfect to play a lost little girl, Reni was the bait to lure unsuspecting women to their deaths. It’s time for closure. For her. For the families. And for Daniel. He shares Reni’s obsession with the past. Ever since he was a boy, he’s been convinced that his mother was one of Fisher’s victims.

A five-hundred-mile road trip lies ahead. Thirty years of bad memories are flooding back. A master manipulator has gained their trust. For Reni and Daniel, this isn’t the end of a nightmare. It’s only the beginning.

My thoughts:
Anne Frasier's dark thriller Find Me has a chilling premise. Imagine a little girl being used as a bait to lure innocent, young women to their deaths at the hand of a serial killer. What if she thought it was just a game she was playing with her loving, caring father? Benjamin Fisher, nicknamed the Inland Empire Kiler, because he murdered and buried his numerous victims somewhere between L.A. and Mojave Desert, Benjamin Fisher was Reni Fisher's loving and caring father.

Caught when Reni was eight years old, after one of his victims escaped and identified him (he was her university professor of psychology, Benamin never revealed the places where the bodies were buried. Now he wants to talk. He is willing to lead Detective Daniel Ellis to those shallow graves. It might be true or it might be just a trick to get out of the prison for a day. Daniel doesn't care. He will do anything possible togive the victims' families closure. The only problem is that Benjamin Fisher has a condition. He wants his now 38-year-old daughter to be there. Reni hasn't seen him or been in contact fgor the last thirty years, since the day of his arrest.

Daniel, who is nothing if not determined, finds Reni and manages to persuade her to cooperate. Reni is a former FBI profiler. Daniel once attended her talk at Quantico and even asked her if she felt complicit in her father's crimes. I won't tell you what she replied, because the whole book is the answer. Daniel also has a personal agenda, although not many people know about it. His mother,who was raising him alone, disappeared when he was a child and he has always suspected she was one of the Inland Empire Killer's victims whose bodies were never found.
The protagonists are well-written characters whose whole lives have been marked bywhat happened to them when they were children. Reni's mother warns Daniel that Reni is fragile, psychologically vulnerable. There is a reason why Reni had a breakdown and later chose to live as a hermit in a desert cabin, making pottery and healing in the only way she knew. Reni has always had a complicated relationship with her mother, who claimed she didn't know anything about Benjamin's crimes...

The writing is very engaging -it's almost impossible to put this short, compelling book down. You think you have everything figured out and then twists start coming  right, left, and centre until the nail-biting end which becomes a race to survive and save another person's life.

The setting of the Mojave desert is very atmospheric. It isn't just gorgeous sunsets and majestic Joshua trees, it's a place that can kill or heal you, depending on how prepared and how attuned you are to nature. This is the only place Reni feels safe in, because its' the place that lets her be herself, not an accidental passenger in other people's journeys.

To be honest, the book ends in an open way. It could have been a standalone- there is a sense of closure  and a lot of things are cleared. There are other things which remain a secret and might or might not berevealed in the next book. Can't wait to read it and find out which direction Anne Frasier chose for this fascinating series.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher (Thomas & Mercer) for the review copy, provided in exchange for an honest opinion.



​

Thank you to Rachel from Rachel's Random Resources for inviting me to participate in the blog tour for The Life She Wants, a new psychological thriller by J.MHewitt.

The Life She Wants

You want to save your marriage. She wants to destroy it.

Paula worries that her marriage to Tommy is hanging by a thread. She loves how safe her husband makes her feel, but lately, it seems like he’s pulling away from her, and he keeps avoiding a much-needed conversation about finally having children.
When Tommy suggests a cruise getaway for the two of them, Paula is thrilled. He’s fighting for this marriage, and he’s even promised that they will talk about growing their family. It’s Paula’s dream come true. Until the couple meets beautiful Anna.
From the moment Anna appears in their lives, things start to go wrong for Paula. She finds herself trapped in a sauna. Her hair is destroyed at the salon. Money goes missing from her cabin. At first, Paula thinks she’s paranoid in suspecting Anna is turning her dream holiday into a nightmare. But soon, it becomes clear that Paula may not be the only woman fighting for Tommy’s affections. 
How far will Anna go to get what she wants? What lines will Paula cross to protect her marriage? And whose dark past will return to destroy them first?
The Life She Wants is a suspenseful psychological thriller with a twist. Perfect for fans of Catherine Ryan Howard, Ruth Ware, and Lisa Jewell.

Purchase Links
ebook / paperback

My thoughts:

The Life She Wants is an intense psychological thriller that starts as a slow-burn and then picks up the pace to turn into a story full of twists and turns.

Paula has been together with her husband Tommy for more than fifteen years. She appears to have it all-a good-looking husband who earns a lot of money and is able to afford every kind of comfort, a five bedroom house, cars, holidays, unlimited free time. On the other hand, she has never used her degree, she hasn't got any real friends and her husband refuses to discuss the question of starting a family. Is her marriage in trouble? Is there anything she can do to save itandensureshe still has the life she wants?

When Tommy (unwiling as he is to discuss babies) shows their two tickets for a cruise, Paula is hopeful that maybe things aren't as drastic as she thought. But then aboard the cruise liner, Tommy is back to his usualnarcissistic behaviour andstrangethings begin to happen to Paula, including being locked in the sauna. Could their new aquaintance dazzlingly beautiful Anna have anything to do with it?

The story is told from three POVs- two of them are those of Paula and Anna and then there are also 'Before' flashbacks from the mysterious third person. Part of the fun of reading this book is trying to figure out who they are. I can't say I particularly liked any of the characters in the book (I did sympathise with them, though), but the book was very easy to read and it is clear that the author knows how to slowly build the suspense and then surprise the reader with an unexpected twist in the end. Bonus points for using very atmospheric settings that add to the darkness and mystery of the plotlines.

Entertaining, full of drama (especially towards the end), intense, The Life She Wants is the firstbook by J.M. Hewitt, but it won't be the last.

Thank you to Rachel from Rachel's Random Resources, NetGalley and Canelo for the ARC provided in exchange for an honest opinion.

Author Bio

J.M. Hewitt is the author of five crime fiction novels. Her work has also been published in three short story anthologies. Her books usually incorporate twentieth and twenty-first century events and far-flung locations, and her novels explore the darker side of human behaviour. In contrast to the sometimes dark content of her books, she lives a very nice life in a seaside town in Suffolk with her dog, Marley.
 
Social Media Links –
Website
www.jmhewitt.net
Twitter
@jmhewitt
Facebook Author Page
J.MHewittauthor
Instagram
j.mhewitt

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