Life Flight (Extreme Measures, Book One)

 

LYNETTE EASON

Stats for my copy: Trade paperback, Revell, 1/4/22.

How acquired: Revell Reads Bogger Program for review.

First line: Today was not going to be the day they dies – not is she had anything to say about it.

(For Goodreads synopsis, scroll down.)

My thoughts: The action starts from page one and the adrenaline rush doesn’t let up! This is the first book in a new series, and the series is off to a great start. Penny (who, of course, in my head, looks like Penny from The Big Bang Theory!) is an EMS helicopter pilot. When the book opens, she and two paramedics have rescued a teenager who had hiking accident in the mountains and is in critical condition, and thanks to a storm Penny has to make an emergency crash landing, and then hike down the mountain for help. Unbeknownst to her, an escaped serial killer is on the loose in the mountains, with FBI Special Agent Holt in hot pursuit. Penny and her crew saved Holt’s life some time before, and they casually dated after that, but living so far apart kept a real relationship from developing.

I loved Penny and I really loved Holt. When Penny becomes the serial killer’s next target, Holt goes all out to protect her, and amidst all the danger and excitement I loved watching how their relationship deepened. They both have secrets, and when Penny’s comes out Holt is hurt and disappointed that she’d never trusted him enough to tell him about it before. And yet he has his own secret that he keeps trying to bring himself to tell her. The serial killer is as creepy as all get out, especially when we learn the reasoning behind his actions.

I wasn’t familiar with Lynette Eason prior to this book, though a quick look through my reading log shows I did read one of her category romances back in 2012, although I have no memory of it now. But I’m very impressed with her writing and her storytelling. There are quite a few characters involved in the story line, but they are all well drawn and easy to keep track of. The descriptions of the mountain and the storm and the terrain are vivid. This fast paced adventure kept me up past my bedtime, and I can’t wait for the next installment in the series.

Synopsis from Goodreads: EMS helicopter pilot Penny Carlton is used to high stress situations, but being forced to land on a mountain in a raging storm with a critical patient--and a serial killer on the loose--tests her skills and her nerve to the limit. She survives with FBI Special Agent Holt Satterfield's help. But she's not out of the woods yet.

In the ensuing days, Penny finds herself under attack. And when news reaches Holt that he may not have gotten his man after all, it will take all he and Penny have to catch a killer--before he catches one of them.

Bestselling and award-winning author Lynette Eason is back with another high-octane tale of close calls, narrow escapes, and the fight to bring a nefarious criminal to justice.

Black Hills

NORA ROBERTS

Goodreads synopsis: A summer at his grandparents' South Dakota ranch is not eleven-year-old Cooper Sullivan's idea of a good time. But things are a bit more bearable now that he's discovered the neighbor girl, Lil Chance, and her homemade batting cage. Even horseback riding isn't as awful as Coop thought it would be. Each year, with Coop's annual summer visit, their friendship deepens from innocent games to stolen kisses, but there is one shared experience that will forever haunt them: the terrifying discovery of a hiker's body.

As the seasons change and the years roll, Lil stays steadfast to her aspiration of becoming a wildlife biologist and protecting her family land, while Coop struggles with his father's demand that he attend law school and join the family firm. Twelve years after they last walked together hand in hand, fate has brought them back to the Black Hills when the people and things they hold most dear need them most.

Coop recently left his fast-paced life as an investigator in New York to take care for his aging grandparents and the ranch he has come to call home. Though the memory of his touch still haunts her, Lil has let nothing stop her dream of opening the Chance Wildlife Refuge, but something ... or someone ... has been keeping a close watch. When small pranks and acts of destruction escalate into the heartless killing of Lil's beloved cougar, recollections of an unsolved murder in these very hills have Coop springing to action to keep Lil safe.

Lil and Coop both know the natural dangers that lurk in the wild landscape of the Black Hills. Now they must work together to unearth a killer of twisted and unnatural instincts who has singled them out as prey.

Stats for my copy: Mass market paperback, Jove, 2010.

How acquired: Bought.

First line: Cooper Sullivan's life, as he'd known it, was over.

My thoughts: I've only read two Nora Roberts books before this one, back in 2009 (Brazen Virtue, which I have no memory of now but my notes say “I really liked it”) and 2010 (Divine Evil, which I vaguely remember, and noted “I don't think of her as a great writer, I think some of her writing is cliched.”) Well, I'm here to tell you that Black Hills has put Ms. Roberts front and center of my radar and made a believer out of me. I loved this book. Seriously, loved it.

I loved Lil. I adored Cooper. Childhood sweethearts, lovers as young college bound adults, short long-distance relationship, breakup. Twenty years later Lil is still angry at Coop for breaking her heart, and we get a long ways into the book before Coop gets the chance to explain himself to Lil. I'd forgiven him long before then. Well, no, actually, that's not true, because I didn't feel he needed forgiving. Even not yet knowing the circumstances of the split, I certainly wasn't putting any blame on either of them. But maybe because it was inevitable that they would be together by the end of the book. It is a romance, after all! And from the moment Coop arrived back in town to help out his grandparents, I just knew he was a good guy, and it was obvious neither of them ever really got over the other.

Lil runs a wildlife refuge, and there is a LOT of detail about the refuge woven into the story. The day to day stuff. Updating the website, vetting the animals, feeding the animals, cleaning their cages, educating the public. And a lot of about the land, tracking, Lil's love of riding the mountainside. It all felt very real, and I've no doubt Ms. Roberts did a lot of research.

But there's not just cougars and romance. There's a serial killer in the hills, and he's got Lil in his sites. When I got down to the last 100 or so pages, my anxiety level kept ratcheting up. I knew something was going to happen, Lil would be in danger and Cooper would probably rescue her. But the end of the book kept getting closer and closer, with me waiting and waiting for it. And when it finally did, I was sitting up in bed, tired but too tense to sleep until the book was over.

The characterization is wonderful, not just Lil and Coop, but Lil's best friend Tansy, Coops grandparents, Lil's parents, and many others. I loved the side plot about Tansy and her reservations about a relationship with the younger Farley. I liked that it was an interracial relationship, and while that was mentioned it wasn't a big deal and was accepted by all their family and friends.

Now I understand why Ms. Roberts is so dang popular! 

Through His Touch (Mind's Eye, Book 2)

DEBORAH CAMP 

Synopsis from Goodreads: Sexy, suspenseful #2 novel of the Mind's Eye Series by Deborah Camp. Psychic detectives Levi Wolfe and Trudy Tucker face an unknown foe who is determined to destroy everything beautiful in Levi's life -- including Trudy. Will Levi's love claim her or kill her?

Stats for my copy: Kindle edition, published by Amazon, 2014.

How acquired: Bought.

My thoughts: If you've read the first book, THROUGH HIS EYES, you know it ended on a WTF cliffhanger that just came totally out of left field. Fortunately, the author resolves that cliffhanger in the first few pages here, and I was able to let out the breath I'd been holding since last February.

Levi Wolfe and Trudy Tucker are psychics who fell in love while working together on a serial murder case in the first book. Trudy has, not visions necessarily, but episodes where in her mind she is looking through the killer's eyes, seeing what he sees, and experiencing his emotions. Levi can channel the victim, seeing and experiencing the murder through her eyes.

The first book had quite a bit of action as they teamed up to catch the killer. In this follow up, there isn't as much of that. Levi is home in Atlanta, dealing with a stalker, catching up on his office work, dealing with his busy schedule, and missing Trudy, the first woman he's ever pledged himself to be faithful to. Trudy and her little dog Mouse have gone back to her home in Tulsa, where I'm not really sure what she gets up to, other than missing Levi.

In the first book, I connected with both Levi and Trudy quickly, and the author did a wonderful job of detailing their characters, making them realistic and taking us inside their minds. She continues that here, particularly with Levi. Learning to be in a relationship, to trust in love, to open himself up...it's a journey of self-discovery for him. There is a lot of angst in this book, and it's mostly coming from Levi. They don't stay apart for too long, and Trudy has her own insecurities of course, but she is more secure in her own feelings than Levi is with his. I definitely felt this story was much more Levi's than hers.

There is a new murder case for them to help solve, which leads to a very intense scene. And there's Levi's stalker to contend with as well. But more than that, the story is a very good character study of a man who knows he's broken and isn't sure if he's fixable. And I especially enjoyed some of the scenes with Gonzo, the head of Levi's security team, and with Wes, his cook/housekeeper, both of whom were interesting and charismatic in their own right.

And while the ending wasn't quite as cliffhangery as the first book, the words “The End” came rather abruptly, and I'm glad that the wait for the third book, due in January, isn't quite as long as the wait between books one and two was,* because I'm ready for book three. Now.

*Technically, the wait is about the same, as the first book was published in April, but I read an early advance copy graciously given to me by the author in February, so I had to wait an extra two months for this one.  

Christmas Countdown (Lost, Inc., Book 2; Love Inspired Suspense No. 320)

VICKI HINZE

Synopsis from back of book: A simple trip home for the holidays is all former FBI profiler Maggie Mason wants. But a serial killer has other plans. Trapped in a deadly game of cat and mouse, Maggie finds an ally in Lost, Inc. with private investigator Dr. Ian Crane. The handsome widower is reluctant to love again, and the last thing Maggie wants is to put Ian in the line of fire, too. Love could cost them everything...unless they can find their way to each other in time for Christmas.

First line: Something wasn't right.

Stats for my copy: Mass market paperback, published by Love Inspired Books, 2012; I think I acquired this book through my subscription with Harlequin Reader Service.

My thoughts: That first line pretty much summed up my feelings about this book. I struggled to get into the story. I couldn't understand how this woman could have been running and hiding from this serial killer for so long, why every time she moved to a new place, rented a house, he soon found her and she had to run again. I kept thinking why does she keep getting a new phone when she knows he's gonna eventually trace it? Of course, it was then revealed that she wasn't just hiding from him, but also hunting him, and trying to keep him distracted looking for her so he won't go after her friends and family or any new victims.

While trying to stay a step ahead of this serial killer, there is also a stalker on the loose. I think this storyline was actually a continuation from a previous book in the series (which I have not read), where a stalker was threatening Maggie's brother's girlfriend, but had in the end been arrested and was now in jail. He's referred to as Mr. Blue Shoes, because he wore blue shoes, a key piece of evidence in his arrest. Except now it's apparently occurred to someone to have the man arrested try on those blue shoes, and guess what? They don't fit. So he's obviously not the stalker. In the wake of O.J. and "if the gloves don't fit, you must acquit", I find it hard to believe that the size of the suspect's feet and the size of the shoes would not have been compared during his trial before he could be found guilty. And then, an officer commented to Maggie that the suspect had been calling his victim (who was his ex-girlfriend) every day, trying to convince her he was innocent. This man is in jail and he's allowed to call his victim? Every day? Would that really happen?

I never connected with any of the characters, and when I put the book down and picked it up later I didn't always remember exactly what had happened in the previous pages. Fortunately, as with most of these Love Inspired books, it was a quick read, and it did have a sweet and satisfying HEA in the end.

Through His Eyes

DEBORAH CAMP

Synopsis from Goodreads: Two psychics – one serial killer.

Someone is stalking women and murdering them in Key West.

Levi Wolfe and Trudy Tucker join forces to help identify the murderer and stop him. Levi can channel the deceased victims and Trudy can tap into the mind of the killer. As a psychic detective team, they’re formidable. As lovers, they discover that they’re insatiable.

But if Trudy can see through the killer’s eyes, can the killer see her?

Stats for my copy: Ebook received from the author; anticipated publication date Spring 2014.

My thoughts: Trudy Tucker is a psychic who recently began using her ability professionally to help law enforcement track down murderers. When a vision comes over her, she finds herself seeing the world through the eyes of the killer, and experiencing his thoughts in her head. Levi Wolfe is also a psychic, and having embraced his own abilities long ago he's a celebrity, appearing on television and radio, in magazine, and lusted after by millions of women. His connection to a murder is through the victim's eyes. When a serial killer begins a spree in Florida, Trudy reluctantly teams up with Levi to investigate.

I discovered author Deborah Camp when I picked up an old (1985) Silhouette, Love Letters, a couple of months ago. I then began following the author on Facebook, and when she offered copies of her newest book, the first in a planned series, to review, I jumped at the chance.

We meet Trudy first, and I connected with her character quickly and easily. She is still not completely comfortable with her new profession, but then who would be? I imagine it would be incredibly unsettling to be going about your day, doing mundane little chores, and then to suddenly find yourself inside the mind of a madman while he murders someone. And while you might want to try to find a way to shut that ability off rather than offer your services to help find and stop said madman, how in good conscience could you turn away?

When we meet Levi, we get Trudy's impressions of him first. Her mentor, Quintara, trains young psychics like herself, helping them learn to control their ability and not allow it to control them. Levi is close friends with Quintara, and occasionally puts in an appearance at her workshops. He makes Trudy uncomfortable, and she is a little disdainful of his womanizing reputation and fame seeking ways. Of course, as we get to know Levi better, we, and Trudy, learn there is much more to the man than what's on the surface. And as I connected with Trudy from the beginning, I just as quickly fell for Levi. He's charming, arrogant, demanding, determined, reticent, funny and sexy. All traits that I very much like in a hero.

The supporting characters are also fleshed out and have their own distinct personalities. And the serial killer plot is absolutely chilling.

The attraction between Levi and Trudy is palpable. She resists it at first, as one should with a man who doesn't believe in relationships or happy ever after. But inevitably she gives in, and there are some scorching scenes after that point. And I'm still a little surprised at myself for this, but frankly, there was too much of that. I'm not a prude, I don't have a problem with sex in a book, explicit or otherwise. In fact I like explicit and erotic and pushing boundaries and I certainly don't avoid it and often seek it out. I think I just liked the story so much that the sex scenes felt over the top and extraneous to me. I would have enjoyed the book just as much if the sex had been tamer or less evident on the page. I don't entirely understand my own thoughts on this aspect, but in today's market, in the wake of that book I refuse to read, I don't doubt that others readers will feel differently.

So what it comes down to is I really really liked this book. I got very caught up in and invested in the story and the characters, and was often on the edge of my seat, not wanting to put it down and go to bed.

And then. Then I reached the last paragraph. And I literally sat up and exclaimed “what the fuck?!” And now my entire perception of one character has been confused and turned completely on its head, and I have to WAIT to find out what happens next! Seriously, Ms. Camp?!