Four years ago…
Skye Kellerman was attacked in her own bed. She managed to fend off her knife-wielding assailant, but the trauma changed everything about her life. As a result of that night, she joined two friends—also survivors—in starting The Last Stand, an organization to help victims of crime.
But now…
Her would-be rapist is getting out of prison. Skye knows that Dr. Oliver Burke hasn’t forgotten that her testimony cost him his reputation—and his freedom.
Sacramento detective David Willis, who investigated her case, believes Burke is a clear and present danger—and guilty of at least two unsolved murders.
And now Burke is free to terrorize Skye again. Unless David can stop him. Unless Skye can fight back. Because Oliver Burke has every intention of finishing what he started. And that’s a promise. Trust me.
This book was amazing. Brenda Novak is an author that is only going up. I’ve read her for years. With every single title she releases, you can see her growth as an author.
After she was brutally attacked in her home, Skye Kellerman was able to escape her would-be rapist and help put him away. Life for Skye has never been the same since that night. Joining two other survivors she met through a survivor support group, they start The Last Stand, a place that helps victims of crimes. Though Skye can never be grateful for what Oliver Burke did to her, she can appreciate that she would never be in the position to help other victims without him. Though her life isn’t what she thought it would be, she’s happy with her work and content with her life. That’s until Detective David Willis calls to tell her that Oliver Burke is getting out of prison years before they expected.
David has always felt that Burke was responsible for at least three other murders in the Sacramento area. Never able to connect him with the murders, David thought he had years to do so. Now he has less than a week to figure out some way to keep Burke in prison and away from Skye. Though David has tried for years to put his personal feelings for Skye aside, they come roaring back to the surface. David has tried to stay away from her, but refuses to do that at the expense of Skye’s safety.
Novak did such a fantastic job of writing this story. Even though Skye was a victim, she refused to look at herself that way. Putting herself out there time and time again, Skye would do anything for a person that has been victimized, even putting her safety at risk. She was a strong heroine who refused to let one act of violence ruin her life. Novak also wrote the character of Burke extremely well. Burke is definitely a sociopath at its’ finest.
The relationship between David and Skye was a minefield. David has been married and divorced from the same woman twice. That’s one that I didn’t really like. David has a total martyr complex. He was sacrificing himself and his happiness for his son. And b/c his twice ex-wife was sick. I didn’t really care for the resolution of that situation b/c David didn’t have to own up and make his own decision. It happened in a way that he had no choice in the end. That’s about the only part in the book that I didn’t really care for. Other than that, I was hooked from beginning to end.
4.5 out of 5.
This book is available from Mira. You can buy it here or here in e-format.
I have a couple of Brenda Novak’s Harlequin Superromances on my keeper shelf. Must try her single titles.
Also, that’s a spooky cover.
It sounds a lot like a book I read called The Survivors Club. I forget the titles, and I let my neighbor borrow it.
It;s a about a group of women who are all attacked by the same man.
They form a club with each other, and then when the attacker is killed they are all under suspicion. IIRC, it is the cop heading the case, and one of the survivors who are the H/H of the book.