Cold River by Carla Neggers

Cold River by Carla Neggers is the second book in the “Black Falls” romantic suspense series. Publisher: Mira (Harlequin), November 2009

New York Times bestselling author Carla Neggers ratchets up the tension and suspense as the relentless Camerons fight to uncover the truth about one of their own.

Hannah Shay has finally shown the town of Black Falls what she’s worth. Her Three Sisters Café is a success and she’s soon to become a prosecutor. When the café becomes an epicenter for investigators trying to pierce a violent crime ring that’s leaving bloody trails in nearby Cameron Mountain, Hannah suspects a man from her past is involved.

Sean Cameron returns to the snowy cold of his Vermont hometown to unmask his father’s killer. Sean has the skills and resources to mount his own search, but he must convince the resistant Hannah to cooperate—because the killer is ready to strike again…and closer than anyone ever imagined.

The twists and turns awaiting them will take them closer to the explosive truth…and into the sights of a killer.

Brothers avenging the death of their father.  Friend looking out for one another.  A killer on the loose and love is in the air.  This was  a great mystery involving the Cameron brothers, Hannah Shay, Bowie her childhood friend and the other people in Black Falls.  My rating: 4 stars

Spy Games by Gina Robinson

Spy Games by Gina Robinson is the second book in the “Fantasy Spy Camps” romantic suspense stories. Publisher: Zebra Books (Kensington), December 2009

Reilly Peterson’s been many things in her thirty-two years: an athlete, a model, a sportswear executive. Her ex-boyfriend, however, has done a good job of making Reilly something she’s never been—scared.

Now Reilly’s ready to protect herself with more than her sharp tongue. Fantasy Spy Camp’s Seattle-based Urban Ops division will train her to survive using everything from her bare hands to a submachine gun. But when she gets an eyeful of fellow camper Van Keller, all Reilly wants is to chill out, partner up, and go deep undercover…

Reilly decides to get self-defense skills to help against her jailed stalker ex-boyfriend. At camp, Reilly’s ex, freed from jail, taunts her and fellow campers rally around her, especially one cute guy. When one guy is murdered and Reilly is threatened, it appears that there are two people are to get her. This was a great story filled with plenty of action, humor, romance and mystery. My rating: 4 stars

*new-to-me author

Untraceable by Laura Griffin

Untraceable by Laura Griffin is the first book in the new “Tracers” romantic suspense series. Publisher: Pocket Star Books (Simon & Schuster), November 2009

ALEX LOVELL MAKES PEOPLE DISAPPEAR.
TURNS OUT, SHE’S NOT THE ONLY ONE.

Private investigator Alexandra Lovell uses computer skills and cunning to help clients drop off the radar and begin new lives in safety. Melanie Bess, desperate to escape her abusive cop husband, was one of those clients. But when Melanie vanishes for real, Alex fears the worst, and sets out to discover what happened. Using every resource she can get her hands on—including an elite team of forensic scientists known as the Tracers, and a jaded, sexy Austin PD detective—Alex embarks on a mission to uncover the truth.

As far as homicide cop Nathan Deveraux is concerned, no body means no case. But as much as he wants to believe that Alex’s hunch about Melanie’s murder is wrong, his instincts—and their visceral attraction—won’t let him walk away. As a grim picture of what really happened begins to emerge, Nathan realizes this investigation runs deeper than they could ever have guessed. And each step nearer the truth puts Alex in danger of being the next to disappear….

This was non-stop action from the first page to the conclusion. I enjoyed the tone of the book and the characters. The mystery was good because I wanted to know how they was going to catch the antagonizer and I liked how the romance between the two main characters were developed throughout the story. My rating: 4.5 stars

Take Me For a Ride by Karen Kendall

Take Me For a Ride by Karen Kendall is the third book in the “Artemis” romantic suspense series. Signet Eclipse, November 2009

A stolen necklace, a hidden family treasure and the Russian mob collide in a sizzling-hot romance from the “witty, irresistible” imagination of Karen Kendall . . .

Art restorer Natalie Rosen is a true romantic, inspired by the world’s treasures—and nothing incites her passion more than the legendary St. George necklace, a lost family heirloom believed to originate from Catherine the Great. When against all odds the necklace turns up in her office fore it goes to auction, Natalie takes drastic measures to keep it in the family.

Hard-living recovery agent Eric McDougal is no gentleman, but then, he’s never advertised himself as one. He thrives on charming women—and stolen art. Now he gets a dream assignment to do both. He thinks it’ll be a cinch, but he doesn’t count on his high-octane attraction to Natalie, or that she’ll unwittingly lead them both into a dangerous underworld where falling in love is as much a part of the game as staying alive.

I loved this story where some of the other agents were present throughout.  Eric is on the job when he meets Natalie, the “accidental thief” and starts to feel more for her as he’s working with her to retrieve the lost item.  In order to retrieve the lost item, they travel from the streets of New York, to Connecticut and to Russia.  What a fun ride with romance and suspense wrapped in one story.  My rating: 4 stars

Up Close And Personal by Carla Cassidy

Up Close And Personal by Carla Cassidy.  Story Location: Kansas City, Missouri.  Publisher: Signet Eclipse (Penguin), October 2009

Passion and murder have never been so intimately acquainted.

With an ex-husband trying her last nerve and a daughter growing increasingly estranged, homicide detective Jordan Sampson needs a break.  She hopes attending her fifteen-year high school reunion will provide this respite.  A night of old acquaintances, good music, bittersweet memories, and, in Clint Cooper, an old flame reignited.  But among these once-familiar faces, something else has been incited: a deadly  need for revenge.

One by one, the former cheerleaders from Jordan’s old squad are being murdered, each victim a tantalizing clue to a killer closing in on the ultimate prey.  But who is it from her past who wants Jordan dead?  And why?  Now, as secrets echo in the dark halls of the school, so too does a whisper of fear is hitting terrifyingly close to home.

What a ride! After Jordan attends her high school reunion, someone is killing members of her old cheerleading squad and Jordan is the final target. Dealing with her divorce, her daughter living with her ex and becoming reacquainted with an old boyfriend, Jordan has a lot on her mind while working this case. Everyone is suspect but the serial killer will strike closer than Jordan imagines. This was a thrilling ride that I didn’t want to end. My rating: 4 stars

The Perfect Murder by Brenda Novak

The Perfect Murder by Brenda Novak is the 6th and final book in the “Last Stand” romantic suspense series. Publisher: Mira Books (Harlequin), October 2009

For more than a year, Sebastian Costas has been trying to unravel the truth behind the murder of his ex-wife and son. Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, he’s convinced that her second husband—a cop—committed both murders, then faked his own death. Now Sebastian has followed the slimmest of leads to Sacramento…and that’s where he finally gets the break he needs. Jane Burke, an investigator with The Last Stand, calls him in connection with a separate crime—a crime that could lead him straight to the man he’s been looking for.

Once married to a serial killer, Jane has spent the past five years rebuilding her life. And with Sebastian she finally has a chance at happiness. But the man they’re after is after them, too. For him this has become a personal battle, one he’s determined to win. Whatever it takes…

We first saw Jane in Trust Me where she was the victim. Now Jane is a strong independent woman who takes on her first case – the kidnapping of two sisters. Sebastian is in California looking for the man who murdered his ex-wife and son. Are they looking for the same man? I enjoyed the story with the mystery of how to catch this man and the blossoming awakening of Jane and the new relationship she’s forming with Sebastian. My rating: 4 stars

The Perfect Liar by Brenda Novak

The Perfect Liar by Brenda Novak is the 5th book in the “Last Stand” romantic suspense series. Publisher: Mira Books (Harlequin), September 2009

Obsession leads to lies…
When air force captain Luke Trussell opens his door one Sunday morning, he’s shocked to find the police—and even more shocked when they charge him with rape. He knows he made a mistake in judgment the night before, but he certainly didn’t force his attentions on the woman who’s been stalking him for months.

Problem is…Kalyna Harter has the bruises—and the DNA evidence—to make her claim convincing.

And lies can lead to murder.
Determined to isolate Luke, Kalyna goes to victims’ rights advocate Ava Bixby of The Last Stand, hoping Ava will help put Luke behind bars. But Ava soon realizes she’s defending the wrong victim.

Problem is…switching her support to Luke could be dangerous—especially when she falls for him. Because Kalyna won’t tolerate losing the man she wants to anyone. Least of all Ava…

Luke is accused of rape and as he continues to proclaim his innocence, his accuser becomes unraveled at the turn of events that is not going in her favor. No one is safe if they get in her way, no one, not even her mother. This book started out slow but picked up as we see how destructive the accuser is. My rating: 4 stars

Black At Heart by Leslie Parrish

Black At Heart by Leslie Parrish is the third book in the “Black CATs” romantic suspense trilogy. Publisher: Signet Eclipse (Penguin), September 2009

A group of elite FBI special agents has been brought together to form the Cyber Action Team, aka CAT–and they have one mission: to solve Internet-related murders.

Even as he devotes himself to catching the Internet’s most despicable criminals, Wyatt Blackstone has become a master of detaching himself from his work. But now, after the lost of a vulnerable young agent for whom he cared deeply, Wyatt’s renowned icy control is starting to crack. For not only has someone started picking of off evildoers, one brutal murder after another, but the clues to the crime point to an absolutely impossible suspect: the very woman he thought he’d lost

This was a good read that kept me turning the pages to see will happen next. Evidence left at the multiple murder scenes continually points to Lily who is believed dead. With Brandon and the team’s help, Wyatt sets out to find the serial killer while protecting Lily. The relationship between Lily and Wyatt grows and the incidents from their past is out in the open. When Lily’s life is threatened the team steps n before she is lost again. My rating: 4 stars

Hot Pursuit by Suzanne Brockmann

Hot Pursuit by Suzanne Brockmann is the 15th book in the “Troubleshooters” romantic suspense series. Publisher: Ballantine Books, July 2009

Alyssa Locke is no stranger to dealing with danger. As team leader of the nation’s number one personal security company, Troubleshooters Inc., she’s seen more than her share of action, survived plenty of close calls, and holds her own with the best of them–and against the worst of them. Guarding lives is her game, and no one plays it better. But her toughest challenge will be protecting herself from a serial killer she’s been after for years–known only as “The Dentist”–who is determined to make her his ultimate trophy.

The assignment was supposed to be an easy one: teach self-defense techniques to a newly elected assemblywoman and her chief of staff after a political controversy generates a blizzard of hate mail–including death threats–from hotheads and cranks. But as soon as she mobilizes her squad of moonlighting Navy SEALs in New York City, Alyssa begins butting heads with the hard-case cop who thinks that the Troubleshooters are chasing shadows.

Until they discover a dead body. And then another. Now Alyssa really has her hands full–bodyguarding two independent, busy women, managing a murder investigation, and trying to find time for her husband, Troubleshooters operative Sam Starrett, and their infant son. Meanwhile, it wouldn’t be a Troubleshooters operation without romantic sparks and heated rivalries–and any time the SEALs of Team Sixteen are involved, there are plenty of both.

But then, while investigating a suspect, Alyssa is ambushed and suddenly finds herself imprisoned by The Dentist. Cut off from everyone she loves and relies on, Alyssa must call upon all of her strength and skill to survive this final confrontation with the sadistic monster, meanwhile trusting that her Troubleshooter teammates, led by her beloved Sam, will reach her before it’s too late.

This was a great read. Someone is targeting a newly elected assemblywoman and Alyssa and her entourage arrive to give assistance. Little did anyone know that the someone is really targeting Alyssa and have taken steps to bring her to him and eliminating her family. My rating: 4 stars

Drawn in Blood by Andrea Kane

Drawn in Blood by Andrea Kane is the second romantic suspense book featuring “Sloane Burbank.” Publisher: William Morrow, September 2009

Former FBI Special Agent Sloane Burbank has seen her share of danger. She’s faced down a serial killer and survived life-threatening injuries . . . but she never expected that danger to invade the lives of her family. . . .

Then her mother is viciously attacked in the posh Manhattan apartment her parents share and it quickly becomes clear that this is no ordinary robbery. The thieves were too clever, too knowledgeable, and so obviously after something of her father’s. But what could a respected art dealer have done to merit such violence? When a mysterious message is left for him, Sloane knows her father’s in over his head. Determined to find out the truth, Sloane discovers a deadly secret buried in his past that has made him the target of a power-hungry mobster with a lethal agenda and nothing to lose.

Sloane is desperate to save her father, but to do so she must hold on to secrets of her own—especially from FBI Special Agent Derek Parker, the man she has grown to love deeply. She knows she must tell him everything, but how can she betray her father’s confidence? Can a couple who’s faced so much survive this ultimate test of trust? Will they survive at all?

As the decades-old secret claims the lives of her father’s oldest friends and the killer closes in on him, Sloane finds herself in foreign territory: alone, facing escalating personal danger, and hunting a moving target in a world where memories are long and loyalties are drawn in blood.

When Sloane’s mother is wounded in a retaliation from an incident in her father’s past art dealings, Sloane and Derek works fast to solve this mystery.  I could not put this book down from the first page to the last sentence.  This was a thrilling ride to see who the victors will be.  My rating: 4 stars