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

Acts of Mercy by Mariah Stewart

Acts of Mercy by Mariah Stewart is the third and final book in the “Mercy Street Foundation” romantic suspense trilogy series. Publisher: Ballantine Books, August 2009

Former FBI agent Sam Delvecchio brings the keen skills of a profiler to his new position as a Mercy Street Foundation operative—and not a moment too soon. His first assignment, the cold-case murder of a local soup kitchen volunteer, has all the telltale signs of a serial killer’s work. That grim suspicion is confirmed when FBI agent Fiona Summers shares the details of two other killings with eerie similarities to Sam’s case: The bodies in all three cases have been carefully posed. And when a fourth victim is discovered, the two investigators realize they’re pursuing the same twisted quarry.

Local parish priest Kevin Burch, Mercy Street founder Robert Magellan’s cousin, recognizes the posings for what they are: The killer is staging the church’s seven Acts of Mercy (“Feed the hungry, clothe the naked . . .”) with the bodies of his victims. But as Sam and Fiona race to prevent the final three murders, taunting messages from their target lead to the most chilling realization of all.

After Sam begins his first assignment, it is discovered that two recent incidents handled by the FBI are similar to his cold case.  While working with the FBI, it becomes apparent that the serial killer is targeting Sam and the only way to stop this before a family member is harmed, is for Sam to find the serial killer.  The ongoing story with Robert and his missing family finally has a resolution.     My rating: 4 stars

Silent Killer by Beverly Barton

Silent Killer by Beverly Barton is the 6th book connected to the “Griffin Powell &/or the Powell Agency” romantic suspense series.  Publisher: Zebra (Kensington), September 2009

In A Town Full Of Secrets

To most people, men like Mark Cantrell are fine, upstanding pillars of the community, completely beyond reproach. But their killer knows better. They are sinners of the worst kind, and they must burn on earth before they burn in hell. . .

Trusting The Wrong Person

Eighteen months after her husband-s unsolved murder, Cathy Cantrell has returned to her Alabama home, eager to build a new life for herself and her son. But pieces of her past are everywhere-including Jackson Perdue, the town-s deputy sheriff. The spate of recent deaths-each victim burned in the same horrifying manner-leave Jack and Cathy in no doubt that a serial killer is at work, one whose rage grows more vicious each day. . .

Can Be Fatal. . .

Now as a twisted killer moves in for a final, brutal act of vengeance, buried crimes are coming to light once more. And this time, justice will be swift, merciless, and as silent as the grave.

This story had so many twists and turns and red herring that as I sifted through the clues, I still wasn’t sure who the killer was until finally there was one person left who could have committed these crimes. What a thrilling ride that I didn’t want to get off and I look forward to the next book which will clear up some loose ends. My rating: 4.5 stars

Pitch Black by Leslie Parrish

Pitch Black by Leslie Parrish is the second book in the “Black CATs” romantic suspense trilogy series.  Publisher: Signet Eclipse (Penguin), August 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.

Former profiler Alec Lambert would give anything to catch The Professor, a serial killer who lures his victims with Internet scams. Now working with the Black CATs, Alec finally has his chance.

When two teen boys are lured to a cruel, icy death, Alec teams up with reclusive scam expert Samantha Dalton, who may be able to find out where the madman will strike next.  Despite Alec’s intense attraction to Sam, he’s fiercely determined to keep their relationship professional.  As they draw ever closer to discovering the Professor’s identity and stopping his murderous rampage, they realize Sam is the psychotic killer’s next obsession.  And possibly his next target.

This is a great read with lots of twists and turns that kept me guessing. Alec is after an elusive predator who preys on people he feels are not worthy of living on this earth.  With Sam helps they strive to capture him before another person is hurt, particularly Sam.  I enjoyed the mystery and love seeing Alec and Sam’s romance grow as the story progress.  My rating: 4 stars

Fade to Black by Leslie Parrish

Fade to Black by Leslie Parrish is the first book in the new “Black CATS” romantic suspense trilogy series.  Publisher: Signet Eclipse (Penguin), July 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.

From his years in the FBI’s violent crimes unit, Special Agent Dean Taggert has learned firsthand how vicious people can be.  But this is the worst he’s ever seen.  Eight victims have been murdered, their final moments captured on film and shown on a secret Web site called Satan’s Playground.  And a madman who refers to himself as the Reaper is auctioning off their means of death.

When the investigation leads Dean to the small town of Hope Valley, he enlists the help of sexy and capable Sheriff Stacey Rhodes, who’s dealing with secrets of her own. It’s too late to save the latest victim, but Dean and Stacey still have to work fast, because the Reaper’s next auction is about to begin…

This was a thrilling read with so many twists and turns where  every time I thought I knew who the killer might be, it turned out not to be the killer.  I also enjoyed the romance that was developed nicely. I’m looking forward to reading the next book in this trilogy.  My rating: 4 stars

*new-to-me-author