SAY GOODBYE BY KAREN ROSE (SACRAMENTO 3)

Say GoodbyeSynopsis: FBI Agent Tom Hunter has been chasing down leads to find the brutal cult that damaged some of his closest friends. They managed to escape to tell their stories, but Eden’s location has always remained a mystery.

Liza Barkley is struggling with her feelings for Tom and wonders if their friendship can survive the secrets they’ve kept from one another. But they may be forced to confront the truth when a chance to help the investigation puts Liza directly in the line of fire.

When the perpetrator of an attempted sniper attack on Liza and her friends is discovered to be one of the cult’s leaders, DJ Belmont, it becomes clear that he is out to get revenge on the victims who escaped Eden’s clutches.
But there is one person who has always had control over DJ, and who no one outside of Eden has ever glimpsed: cult leader Pastor. When a serious injury forces Pastor to seek help outside the confines of the Eden, Tom and his team finally have a chance to bring the cult down.

But DJ Belmont has his own plan, and is not going to stop until he gets what he wants…

Kat’s Rating: 5/5

Kat’s Review: Say Goodbye is the third and final instalment in The Sacramento series and this book sees more about ex basketball player Tom Hunter who now works for the FBI along with his lifelong friend Liza. Liza was an army medic so is no shrinking violet when it comes to dealing with difficult situations and this book certainly sees her in plenty of those! For those that have read the first two books they will know they are centered around a cult named Eden and its leader who is known only as Pastor.

In addition we meet pregnant teenager Hayley and her younger brother Graham who are being held within the Eden compound. We also see the return of Gideon, Mercy, Rafe and the rest of the Solokov clan. I absolutely loved reading more about Tom as he featured in Books 1 and 2 and to get the backstory with him and Liza was also compelling reading. I powered through this book and it kept me hooked all the way through. I was sad to get to the end as the trilogy has been absolutely amazing but this set of books is highly recommended!

SAY NO MORE BY KAREN ROSE (SACRAMENTO 2)

Say No More Synopsis: Mercy Callahan never thought she’d be able to talk about her past. When she arrives in Sacramento to make peace with her brother Gideon, and to help find the brutal cult that took away her childhood, she is finally ready to talk. But when Ephraim Burton – the man who made her life a living hell – follows her there, she realises she might never be safe.

Rafe Sokolov would do anything to have Mercy back in his life and would go to any length to protect her. But when it becomes apparent that Ephraim is more determined than ever to get Mercy back, even Rafe might not be able to stop the trail of destruction he leaves in his wake. As Ephraim draws near, it’s clear it’s not just Mercy who is in danger; those closest to her are firmly in his sights.

Kat’s Rating: 5/5

Kat’s Review: Karen Rose has this ability to draw you in to not only one book but a whole series. After reading book 1 I knew it was impossible to leave it alone until I had read all of the books. So on to book 2 I went with baited breath. I suppose in theory these books could be read as standalones but I have absolutely no idea why anybody would want to. My recommendation would be to read book 1 and go straight onto book 2 as I did.

Book 1 featured Gideon and all of the other characters one of which was his sister Mercy Callahan. Mercy is the central focus of book 2 and I was thrilled that we got to learn more about her. The basis of these stories is that both Gideon and Mercy were kept in a cult when they were younger and have spent many years both running and hiding. The Solokov family play an integral part in this series and Rafe Solokov features heavily in this second book.

The elders of the Eden Cult are chasing both Mercy and Gideon and Mercy is literally fighting life and death. Mercy knows that if she is captured she will never make it out of Eden alive again and this makes for a VERY high-octane read with lots of action and drama. You really don’t need a blow by blow account and the synopsis of these books gives you a taster to see if it fits the bill for your sort of book.

What I will say is that this is a thoroughly engaging and enjoyable book which kept me reading at every opportunity. I read this in around 4 sittings over two days and am already eagerly well into book 3. Karen Rose as an author is absolutely brilliant and somebody that I would highly recommend.

SAY YOU’RE SORRY BY KAREN ROSE (SACRAMENTO 1)

Say Youre Sorry Synopsis: When a killer closes in, there’s only one way to stay alive. Say You’re Sorry is the gripping first book in a brand new series from Sunday Times bestselling author Karen Rose.

A serial killer is on the loose in California, leaving letters carved into the torsos of his victims.

When Daisy Dawson fights off a masked attacker one night, she grabs a necklace from around his neck. What she doesn’t know then is that she’s found the missing link to a cold case that Special Agent Gideon Reynolds has been tracking for seventeen years. With Daisy’s help, he finally has the opportunity to get closer to the truth than ever before.

But it soon becomes clear that Daisy’s attack was just the beginning. Now the bloodied bodies of young women are showing up all over the state. As Gideon tries to track down the killer, it’s clear he has a new target. Daisy is in more danger than they ever could have realised…

Kat’s Rating: 5/5

Kat’s Review: Oh. My. Goodness! I was a HUGE fan of the Cincinnati books and was a little sad when they ended. I decided on a whim to pick this book up and LOVED the fact that this is like an extension of the series by linking characters from the previous series to this one. This first book introduces us to Special Agent Gideon Reynolds. Gideon was a member of a cult named Eden but is trying to move on with his life with the help of his close friend who are like family the Sokolov’s.

When Daisy Dawson is attacked but manages to run free she enlists the help of her friend which in turn brings in the Solokov family and the meeting of both Daisy and Gideon. I absolutely fell in love with every character in this book and am very much hoping we get to see all of them feature somehow in the upcoming books to this series. There are. alot of threads running through this book and a lot of leads and avenues for everybody to follow up on. This is packed with action, drama, tears, romance and a splash of violence….there isn’t really much that isn’t covered to be fair.

Overall a thoroughly engaging book and I enjoyed it that much I moved straight onto book 2 (I can see me binge reading all three books in this series). Very much reccomended!

DEATH IS NOT ENOUGH BY KAREN ROSE (BALTIMORE #6)

F608A3E1-48C2-4336-9863-7CB88555E7B3_4_5005_c

Synopsis: When you’re after revenge… death is not enough.
Gwyn Weaver is as resilient as anyone could be. Having survived an attempted murder, she has rebuilt her life and reclaimed her dignity and strength. She’s always known about her feelings for defence attorney Thomas Thorne, but as her friend and a colleague there could be no chance of anything more… or could there?
 
Thorne has known violence and pain all his life. He’s overcome the hardships thanks to his own steel, and the love of his loyal friends. Now he’s thinking it might finally be time to let his guard down, and allow himself to let in the woman he’s always admired from afar.
 
Then Thorne’s whole world is torn apart – he is found unconscious in his own bed, the lifeless body of a stranger lying next to him, her blood on his hands. Knowing Thorne could never have committed such a terrible crime, Gwyn and his friends rally round to clear his name.
 
But this is just the beginning – the beginning of a brutal campaign to destroy Thorne, and everything he holds dear…
 
Kat’s Rating: 5/5
 
Kat’s Review: I absolutely LOVED this book and was so sad to end it as I know this is the sixth and final book in this series. Having said that, the course has naturally run it’s course and was SO enjoyable and it leaves me time to move onto other Karen Rose books. This last book mostly features Thomas Thorne who takes the lead as his worst nightmare comes back to haunt him. He wakes in his bed with a woman lifeless next to him and blood everywhere. Gwyn Weaver, Thorn’s business partner. was the one to find him and even though she herself has survived a horrendous ordeal she is determined to help Thorne find out what happened.
 
This book can be read as a standalone but it is SO much better when read as part of the series. I actually wish I had read all 6 books back to back as every one has been a fabulous book to read and this last installment is no exception. We see the return of all the characters in this series and as per the standard when one person is in danger that naturally means that they are all in the firing line. There was so much action packed into this as well as romance, family, friends, laughter and tears. At over 620 pages this is not a short read but I feel like this was a well balanced book and it didn’t feel that long at all. Another brilliant read by Karen Rose and a series I would highly recommend!
 
1. You Belong to Me (2011)
2. No One Left to Tell (2012)
3. Did You Miss Me? (2012)
3.5. Broken Silence (2013)
4. Watch Your Back (2013)
5. Monster In The Closet (2017)
6. Death Is Not Enough (2018)

MONSTER IN THE CLOSET BY KAREN ROSE (BALTIMORE 5)

DD3E9675-0A1A-4581-A912-A50D716688B2_4_5005_c

Synopsis: A mother is dead, and now her killer hunts the child that witnessed the brutal crime…
Private Investigator Clay Maynard locates missing children for clients, but has nearly given up hope of finding his own daughter, cruelly stolen from him by his ex-wife twenty-three years ago.
 
Equine therapist Taylor Dawson has chosen to intern at Daphne Montgomery-Carter’s stables so that she can observe the program’s security director – her father, Clay Maynard. Trying to reconcile the wonderful man she’s getting to know with the monster her mother always described, Taylor never expects to become the target of a real monster, the man who murdered the mother of the little girls she works with at the stable. Neither does she expect to fall for Ford Elkhart, Daphne’s handsome son, who is dealing with his own demons. As family and friends gather for a wedding, Taylor starts to imagine a permanent life in Baltimore.
 
But not if the real monster gets to her first…
 
Kat’s Rating: 5/5
 
Kat’s Review: I have read so many of Karen Rose books that I sometimes lose track of what series I have and haven’t read so was thrilled when I came across this and realised I had read up to book 4 so got stuck in and boy am I glad I did. This series of book sis about a group of people who are friends and they all seen to get a book in the series so it’s easy to pick them up as standalones. However, once I was a few chapters in all the familiar people were re-introduced to me and I felt like I hadn’t been away. The opener of this book is shocking but gripping all at the same time. A young girl Jazzie comes home from school and finds her Mother dead on the floor. What is worse is that the killer is still there so Jazzie hides. When the police investigate Jazzie clams up and refuses to speak while they hunt for her Mother killer.
 
Jazzie and her sister are put into a therapy programme where they are riding horses and that centre is run by one of the clan of people that are featured in this series. A new young woman named Taylor is working at the therapy centre as an intern but what everybody doesn’t realise is that she is there to find out about her Father and that will have huge repercussions for everybody! This book had me gripped from the first to the last page and I absolutely loved it. I was so pleased that I went straight out and brought book 6 in the series as I needed to know where everybody was now. And absolutely brilliant book and an even better series!

Into The Dark by Karen Rose (Cincinnati #5)

51mXBnyOa8L Synopsis: When Michael Rowland saves his younger brother Joshua from the clutches of his stepfather, he runs for his life with his brother in his arms. From his hiding place he sees the man who has made their lives a misery taken away in the trunk of a stranger’s car, never to be seen again.

Doctor Dani Novak has been keeping soccer coach Diesel Kennedy at arm’s length to protect him from her dark secrets. When they are brought together by the two young brothers who desperately need their help, it seems they might finally be able to leave their damaged pasts behind them. Continue reading “Into The Dark by Karen Rose (Cincinnati #5)”

Edge of Darkness by Karen Rose (Cincinnati #4)

517RvO9RqCL._SY346_ Synopsis: Homicide detective Adam Kimble is no stranger to battling demons. But Meredith Fallon is a different kind of weakness: one that could actually be good for him, if only he would let himself depend on her. Meredith has loved Adam for a year, and seeing how hard he’s worked to deal with his PTSD makes her feelings only stronger, but she respects his needs. Her work keeps her busy anyway: she counsels sexually abused women like Mallory Martin to help them reintegrate into the world.

But someone doesn’t want Meredith helping women like Mallory, and Meredith finds herself the target of a very determined killer. Adam would risk anything for Meredith, but they’ll soon find out the killer is just a little too close to home…

My Rating: 5/5 Continue reading “Edge of Darkness by Karen Rose (Cincinnati #4)”

Every Dark Corner by Karen Rose (Cincinnati #3)

51taS1bpDFL._SX325_BO1,204,203,200_ Synopsis: When FBI Special Agent Griffin ‘Decker’ Davenport wakes from a coma, he immediately thinks of two things: first, the ring of human traffickers he’s spent the past three years undercover to bring down was just the tip of the iceberg; second, the brown eyes he sees upon waking belong to a woman he trusts to help him finish the job he started.

FBI Special Agent Kate Coppola’s mission is to stop the growing menace of domestic human trafficking, starting with the customers and suppliers of the now-broken Cincinnati trafficking ring. Decker’s new revelation is her worst nightmare – one of the traffickers’ customers is acquiring teens for the Internet sex trade.

Kate and Decker’s search for this mystery customer becomes more difficult and dangerous with every passing hour as witnesses, suspects, and even members of their own team, are systematically exterminated by a predator who lets nothing stand in his way…

My Rating: 5/5 Continue reading “Every Dark Corner by Karen Rose (Cincinnati #3)”

Alone In the Dark by Karen Rose (Cincinnati #2)

download Synopsis: Former Army Ranger Marcus O’Bannion and homicide cop Scarlett Bishop have met only briefly but when Scarlett receives a phone call in the middle of the night, she immediately recognises the hauntingly smooth voice asking her to meet him in one of Cincinnati’s roughest areas.

On arriving, Scarlett finds the body of a seventeen-year-old Asian girl and Marcus injured. A fierce champion of victims’ rights, Marcus claims the young woman was working for an affluent local family and the last time he saw her she was terrified, abused, and clearly in need of help. Having agreed to meet her, both Marcus and the young woman were targeted for death.

As they investigate, Scarlett and Marcus are pulled into the dangerous world of human trafficking where they soon realise they are going to have to become as ruthless as those they are hunting.

Because if they don’t, how many other girls may end up alone in the dark?

My Rating: 5/5

My Review: I am so glad that I promised myself I would get back into Karen Rose books and I decided to go with the Cincinnati series as I LOVED Deacon Novak in book 1. I now realise by the end of this book that this series features the same characters but each book seems to spotlight one person. Book one was Deacon Novak and book2 (this one) features his partner Scarlett Bishop along with Marcus O’Bannion the owner of a newspaper. The opening of this book is pretty full on as Marcus plans to meet and potentially help a young girl. That young girl ends up dead and Marcus shot.

With the great opening the story just grew in strength as time went on. KR books are always reasonably long and well plotted and this was no exception. There is a lot of information about other characters and their part in the series and this individual story. The story itself is very well paced and you are never short on action. I fell in love with Marcus Brother Stone and his colleague Diesel too.

At over 700 pages this is a hefty but worthwhile read. I got to the end and loved it so much I went straight onto book 3 which picks up a week after this one ends. Another cracking read and one I would recommend

Publication List – Karen Rose