Genres: Romantic Suspense

Teenagers Sheridan Kohl and Jason Wyatt were parked at the lake in Whiterock, Tennessee, when a stranger wearing a ski mask shot them both. Sheridan lived but Jason died—and the stranger was never caught. Even though Sheridan’s family moved away right afterward, she’s never been able to put the crime behind her.

And now that someone doesn’t want her to come home.

Because of a new development in the case, Sheridan returns to Whiterock. But when she’s attacked a second time, it’s only because of Jason’s stepbrother, Cain Granger, that she survives—and Cain’s the last person she wants to face. If not for their history, if not for her, Jason wouldn’t have been in that parked car.
Cain knows that whoever killed his brother probably isn’t a stranger at all. But figuring out that person’s identity is easier said than done—especially since the killer seems to be taunting them both:

Watch me.

So what I thought was going to be a trilogy, is actually turning into a series. Shocker. At least it’s a series that I am interested in reading more about. Trust Me remains my favorite book in the trilogy series. I did like Watch Me better than Stop Me.

Watch Me opens up with Sheridan Kohl being buried alive. It’s hard to beat a beginning like that. I was immediately pulled in. Sheridan has no idea who decided to kill her, but she knows it has something to do with why she came back to Whiterock, Tennesee. Fifteen years after the tragedy that caused Sheridan’s family to leave Whiterock, she has returned, determined to finally find out who shot Jason and why. Sheridan has always felt extremely guilty b/c the only reason her and Jason were together that night was to make Jason’s brother, Cain, jealous. At 17, Sheridan had no idea that her childish actions would cause the death of someone she liked.

Cain Granger has no idea what he will find when he follows his dogs into the forest surrounding his house. He certainly didn’t expect to find Sheridan Kohl, the girl that he has never been able to forget. Driven by a need he can’t explain, Cain offers to take care of Sheridan after she leaves the hospital. It isn’t long before both Sheridan and Cain realize that her returning to Whiterock has made someone nervous enough to kill.

While there were parts of this book that I didn’t like, overall I really thought it was good. I liked reading about a loner like Cain accepting that he was in love with a girl that he should have never let go. The book was so convoluted with people that could have been the killer, that it was relatively easy to figure out who the real killer was. Even for me.

I didn’t like Cain’s stepfather and wish someone would have put him out of his misery. Anything that went wrong in his life was b/c of Cain. That got old really fast. I was happy that he wasn’t happy in the end, even though his unhappiness came at a high price.

4 out of 5.

This book is available from Mira Books. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

Other books in the series:

Read my review of Trust Me here and Stop Me here.

Genres: Romantic Suspense

Who was the real killer?

Romain Fornier lost his reason for living when his daughter was kidnapped and murdered. He used a cop’s gun to mete out his own justice and spent the next few years in prison. Once he was freed, he returned to his Cajun roots in small—town Louisiana. But now he learns that he might have killed the wrong man.

Jasmine Stratford, a psychological profiler, is convinced his daughter’s killer is still alive—and that she and Romain have something in common. She believes the same man kidnapped her sister, Kimberly, sixteen years ago.

What happens next?

Jasmine is determined to track him down when she receives an anonymous package, postmarked New Orleans—the bracelet she gave Kimberly for her eighth birthday. She approaches Romain because she knows he can help her… if he chooses.

But searching for the man who irrevocably changed both their lives means they have to rise to a killer’s challenge:

Stop me.

After the awesomeness that was Trust Me, I had pretty high expectations for this book. Sadly, I was a bit disappointed.

For sixteen years Jasmine Stratford has tried to find out what happened to her younger sister, Kimberly. Though she was only a child herself, Jasmine has always felt responsible for Kimberly’s disappearance and the subsequent break up of her family. When she receives a package postmarked from New Orleans that contains the bracelet Kimberly was wearing when she disappeared, Jasmine immediately heads to Louisiana. Following up on the only lead she has had in years, she starts researching unsolved child abduction/murder cases that have happened in the area surrounding New Orleans. Her research brings her to the door of Romain Fornier.

Romain Fornier only goes through the motions of living. Two years after losing his wife to cancer, Romain’s daughter Adele was kidnapped and brutally murdered. When her killer was released on a technicality, Romain shot him down on the courthouse steps. After being released from prison, Romain has little to live for. When Jasmine shows up on his doorstep, he tries to turn her away. Jasmine is persistent though and soon has Romain wondering if he killed the wrong man. Now he’s not only having to deal w/ the possibility that he killed an innocent man, but also guilt for the feelings that Jasmine makes him feel.

Jasmine and Romain start working together to uncover what really happened to Kimberly and Adele and how they could be connected. Is Kimberly’s abductor somehow related to Adele’s murderer? With the abductor sending Jasmine clues, she knowingly puts herself on the in the path of a possible killer.

So overall, I enjoyed the book even though I didn’t like it as much as Trust Me. I just really wasn’t feeling it between Jasmine and Romain. Romain was obviously a tortured hero, losing his wife and his daughter within two years. His reluctance to get involved w/ Jasmine was palpable, yet his desire for her overrode that. I can’t quite put my finger on what I didn’t like about Romain. I liked Jasmine. The suspense was good, if not a tad predictable. Whenever I can figure out who the villain is, it’s predictable. Even thought it wasn’t as good as the first, it was still good.

3.75 out of 5.

This book is available from Mira. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

Other books in the series:

Read my review of Trust Me here.

Genres: Romantic Suspense

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.