Category: Karen Rose

Closer Than You Think by Karen Rose (Cincinnati #1)

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My Rating: 5/5

Synopsis: Deacon Novak has returned home. The experienced FBI Agent knows that his move to Cincinnati’s Major Crime Enforcement Squad will be challenging, but the greater challenge will be saving his younger brother before he becomes the kind of criminal Deacon is chasing.

Faith Corcoran has escaped her identity. Being a therapist to victims of sex crimes was rewarding, but her work with their offenders has jeopardized her life. Her move represents a chance to build a new life in the empty old house her grandmother has left her.

What Faith doesn’t know is that a killer has made the house his playground, taking girls into the basement and murdering them. And now Faith is about disturb his fun.

With a murderer focused on her, Faith is going to have to put her trust in Deacon if she’s going to survive. Because this killer is always closer than she thinks….

My Review: I have always been a fan of Karen Rose books and was looking forward to reading this latest release, which also happens to be the first in a new series…yay! When I first started reading this I actually put it down after just 2 chapters. It just didn’t feel right and sometimes I need to go back to a book if I’m not in the mood. This was the right thing to do as when I re-visited again two weeks later I picked it up and then subsequently read at least half in on sitting!

Faith Corcoran is a character that took me a while to like. The book starts with Faith plucking up the courage to visit the house that her Grandmother left to her when she passed away. It’s at this early stage in the book when you realise that Faith is carrying way more baggage than most people and her career as a therapist has brought trouble and danger to her door. What starts as a seemingly innocent visit to the house sets off a chain of events that puts two young women’s lives in danger as well as that of Faith‘s.

The house that her Grandmother had left her turns out to be the scene of particularly harrowing crimes and is just the start of a horrific game of cat and mouse between the killer and the FBI. At this point enter Deacon Novak, the FBI agent that has returned to his home town of Cincinnati to save his younger brother from a life of crime. When he gets called to his first scene he is instantly taken by Faith. I must just point out that Deacon Novak is a brilliant lead character and is so unique in his description that he instantly remains in your memory bank!

The story is packed full of suspense with the suspicion seemingly falling on more than one person. I found myself being more and more drawn in as the story progressed. The only real negative is that at nearly 600 pages I thought the book was probably about 150 pages too long. That one small point aside I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to meeting not only Faith and Deacon, but Greg and Dani in the next book 2. 

Watch Your Back by Karen Rose (Baltimore #4)

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My Rating: 5/5

Synopsis:UNFORGETTABLE

Stevie Mazzetti knew she would never get over the murder of her husband and son. But with their killer behind bars, she was able to move on with her life, if only for her daughter’s sake.

UNIMAGINABLE

Now, eight years later, the Baltimore detective always fights for the victims she meets and when she learns that her ex-partner may have miscarried justice, Stevie’s determined to right the wrong, even if it means she is in danger.

UNDENIABLE

Clay Maynard has always wanted Stevie and when she is targeted by a vicious psychopath, he believes that protecting her may give him the chance to have her in his life forever. Clay will do anything to keep Stevie safe but with a killer on her tail who has everything to lose and a secret to hide, will they stay alive long enough to find happiness?

My Review: For me this book was a perfect wrap-up of all the events that have taken place in past books. But the first thing I feel like I need to point out is that you should probably read previous books first. If you haven’t the sheer amount of plot lines going on and the reasoning behind them may take longer to grasp. I also need to say that if you are planning on reading previous books please don’t continue reading this review as it will inevitably have spoilers. Having read nearly all of Karen Rose’ books I was itching to get this latest one and as soon as it was ready to go on my Kindle I eagerly started.

Stevie Mazzetti is a ballsy woman, however she is also a woman that has spent 8 years grieving the loss of her husband and son. With the killer behind bars she has a path to follow and is desperate to rectify some things. Her ex-partner turned out to be a dirty cop and as Stevie starts to dig cases up, it seems her life as well as her daughters are now in danger. The danger levels are pretty high up from early in the book and to be fair don’t drop until the very end making for a fast-paced and pretty tense read.

The additional characters that are involved in this story could take a while to detail, but the main player being Clay Maynard the PI who wants to protect Stevie and her kid. Clay is a great lead character and although he is the main lead in this story we see the return of many other characters from previous books. One of the things I love about the Karen Rose books is that the characters are not forgotten. They may appear frequently or just the once but you get to see glimpses of people from previous stories and how they link to the current characters. Some people may wonder how they can even work out who belongs where, but check out Karen Rose Website as there is a place there that explains the relationship between people and books (which is a bloody great idea if you ask me). Check it out as http://www.karenrosebooks.com/krose-relationships.php.

Back to the story, there is a lot going on and that is by no means an understatement. There are numerous plot threads and just when you think that things are coming to a close, something else pops up. I have to say that at nearly 600 pages this is a humdinger of a book, even by KR standards. Even so, once again Karen Rose has produced a first class thriller that will have you sitting on the edge of your seat. I for one will be eagerly awaiting the next book, as it seems Karen Rose is hitting the jackpot with each and every book.

Did You Miss Me by Karen Rose (Baltimore #3)

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My Rating 5/5

I have read nearly all of Karen’s books and rarely read one that I don’t love. When her newest book landed on my doorstep a few days ahead of publication (thanks to the Publishers) I was excited as I ripped open the package. However, my excitement was replaced with shock as even by Karen Rose standards this book was a humdinger at 544 pages. With the synopsis read in seconds I poured myself a brew and immediately got stuck in.

For this that maybe haven’t read any Karen Rose books this book, along with any other can be picked up and read in any order as a stand alone book. For those that have previously read Karen’s books, you will see familiar faces from previous books. IN Karen’s last book PI Paige Holden is the main character along with State Attorney Grayson Smith. Both Paige and Grayson return in this book but as the background characters to both State Attorney Daphne Montgomery and FBI Agent Joseph Carter.

What I loved about starting this book was not only being introduced to Daphne and Joseph, but seeing what other characters were up to in their lives. Daphne’s son Ford Elkhart is actually the main focus of this book and he is kidnapped and only recalls what happened when he wakes up on a cold dark floor and realises he is tied up and being held. The book takes an immediate dive into the kidnapping and we see many chapters start to form threads. I was totally and utterly engrossed and found myself being drawn back to the book every time I attempted to put it down.

There are numerous threads and people to keep track of and at the halfway mark I had to take a breather as I realised I needed to get it all straight in my head?!? I had block read at least 250 pages and felt like I had overdosed on crime! Luckily a good nights’ sleep sorted that out and the next day I resumed reading the rollercoaster ride of a book! The characters Daphne and Joseph each have their own demons and skeletons and as the story progresses we see the layers of their pasts slowly peeled back. I liked the suspense you are kept in, even though I am the most impatient person. As usual the actual crime scenes are written vividly leaving a somewhat sour taste in my mouth at times, but by no means put me off!

Joseph and Daphne are both characters I really liked but the two that really pulled at me were Clay and Stevie. They were only in the book for small periods of time but I SO want to find out what happens there (I just know I’m going to have to wait on that front!). The plot itself had plenty of twists and turns and kept me guessing until the very end of the book. The one thing that stood out this time round was the sex! Yep, that’s right people I did say sex! Karen Rose is a great crime writer, but her genre (if people care to check) is romantic suspense. It irritates me when people grumble about this in her books because it’s what she does, and believe me when I say it’s what she does best. Karen Rose surprised me this time round and at times I wondered if I had inadvertently picked up a Jackie Collins (not a bad thing in my book!).

All in all, this book, although long even by her standards, was an absolute cracker. Karen Rose is first class at these sorts of books and this one didn’t disappoint. As usual, you are in for a bumpy ride which will have you reading from morning until night. Highly recommended.

No One Left To Tell by Karen Rose (Baltimore #2)

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My Rating: 5/5

One thing I want to make clear is that this book along with all of Karen Rose books falls under the genre of Romantic Suspense. Now I am a fan of both romance and crime so the mix of the two doesn’t bother me at all. For those that want zero romance, you may want to look elsewhere. For those that, like me, quite like that element of the book then get yourselves out and get a copy of her latest release.

No One Left To Tell starts as it means to go on when we see Paige Holden make her way to a pro bono clients house. The story starts with a bang as Paige witnesses Elena Munoz gunned down and while Paige is trying to save her, Elena whispers in her ear and sets off the chain reaction that will turn her life upside down.

Paige as a character is very easy to like, a lady that has her own past and is trying to make a fresh start in a new city. When Elena Munoz dies, Paige is determined to get to the bottom of the secrets she was holding. We also meet Grayson Smith, who also has his own secrets but has made a success of himself as an attorney.

Paige meets Grayson and together they try to piece together the evidence they have and set about finding the killer for numerous murders. This book, even by Karen Rose standards was quite a long one but this one seemed more intricate in detail. The storyline keeps expanding with new possibilities and leads at every corner.

At just over the halfway mark I couldn’t put it down, and although it got more and more complicated and dangerous I just had to keep reading. The list of crimes that they uncover, seem get longer by the hour with murder, corruption and suicides to name a few.

As usual we also get to meet a whole host of other characters such as Grayson’s family along with some familiar faces. One of the things I love about Karen Rose books is that I have read them all so the feature of some characters is an added bonus for me. We get to see Detective Stevie Mazzetti, Investigator Clay Maynard and Dr Lucy Trask who all feature in other books.

The pace is kept up from start to finish and although the book is lengthy it kept my interest from the first page to the very last. This book is a fine example of Karen Rose’s brilliant writing. Once again, I will have to wait impatiently for the next instalment.

I’m Watching You by Karen Rose (Chicago #2)

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My Rating: 3/5

One thing that tends to irritate me is people that read a book and then complain about the content, it’s either too romantic, or doesn’t have enough. Karen Rose writes romantic suspense, the giveaway is in the description! Having read most of Karen’s books, there are still a couple I haven’t got around to reading and this was one of them.

It doesn’t take long to get down to the nitty gritty of the crux of the story. We are introduced to Kristen Mayhew who has a chance meeting with Abe Reagan in a car park and discovers a gruesome find in the boot of her car. It becomes apparent pretty early on that this killer is intent of proving himself and Kristen is right in the middle of it.

The characters are easy to get to grips with and Kristen, although pretty tightly sprung was quite vulnerable and likeable early on. Abe Reagan was another matter, but after another few chapters I began to understand his background and warmed to him too.

The story was quite gripping and we see the killers’ perspective as he plots his next murder. However, having read most of her newer stuff, coming back to her second published book there was a marked difference. Karen Rose most definitely has some serious talent. However, I realised at the halfway point that my interest was leaning more towards the romantic side of the book; certainly not what I am used to when reading this sort of thing. I think that on reflection, in the early days the balance wasn’t quite there and in more recent books the balance is just right.

Having said all of that the book was definitely a page turner and kept me reading until the very end. I liked the fact that were a few plot twists and to be perfectly honest I thought the romantic side was brilliant (just not everybody’s cup of tea). The additional characters such as Mia (Abe’s partner) and the Reagan family added some much needed interest to the story as we see the interactions with everybody change. I especially liked the progression of Mia and Abe as partners and thought she was a great supporting character. This certainly wasn’t Karen Rose’s best work, but is definitely still a page turner and an enjoyable read. 

I Can See You by Karen Rose (Minneapolis #1)

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My Rating: 4/5

I am a pretty avid Karen Rose fan I must admit, and I have been slowly working through her older books I have yet to read. Before I started this one I glanced on other Amazon reviews to see what other people thought. One thing that frustrated me was a low rating this book was given due to the `romance’ aspect of it. The one thing I do know about Karen Rose, and something potential readers should know is that her genre is `romantic suspense’. The genre kind of gives it away, but if you only want murder and mystery and no more then maybe this isn’t for you. Myself, I see nothing wrong with a bit of romance and lust thrown in over a serial killer or two; I find it `lightens the load’ so to speak.

This book in particular, like many others of hers, is not a short one. The hardback is a pretty hefty weight and all in all has nearly 500 pages. As usual, it took me no more that one or two chapters to be drawn into the book. Once you have read a few of Karen Rose books you realise that various characters appear in more than one book. Although this is the case each of her books can be read as a stand alone. We meet Eve who is a woman (previously featuring in another book Nothing to Fear) with a past. She is trying to rebuild her life after a terrifying ordeal where she was kidnapped, tortured and left for dead. She works part time in a bar while studying her thesis which involves an online game called Shadowland.

The first thing that struck me about this book is the fact that this was a perfectly believable situation. With the online gaming world taking off it put the fear of God into me while reading it (ridiculous I know)! Pretty soon after meeting Eve we meet Noah Webster who is a copper with his own secrets and past. Along with his temperamental partner Jack we see them dragged into a case which should be a simple suicide. It becomes clear pretty quickly that it isn’t the case and before long they are dealing with a serial killer.

The story is quite long and detailed with numerous suspect possibilities and just when I thought I had it figured out, I realised I was wrong. I was wondering if this book was a bit too long but by the halfway mark I literally couldn’t put it down. Yes there is a predictable element of romance within the book and some pretty hot and steamy scenes towards the end, but to be fair the people involved had a very bad week and I think it was deserved:-)))

As I have read a fair few of her books now, I wouldn’t say this is my favourite but was still a riveting read as usual. Overall, another great book by Karen Rose and one that I would highly recommend.

You Belong to Me by Karen Rose (Baltimore #1)

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My Rating: 4/5

When I received KR’s latest book I wasn’t surprised to see it was a humdinger of a hardback at 480 pages. This was actually something I relished, a meaty book that I could get my teeth into.

In the past Karen Rose has been criticised for her style of writing with some saying that the romance element shouldn’t be there. I disagree and see nothing wrong in a crime or thriller novel having a splash of love about it.

In this particular book it took me no time at all to get straight into the heart of the story. The opening few chapters throw us into the world of Lucy Trask and the grisly discovery of a body. Lucy does follow a tried and tested type of character, a strong and independent woman with a murky past. I must say though, although it may seem a tires type of character, Karen Rose does it perfectly. Lucy Trask was a great character and a lot of the gripping elements of the story relate to her past and her current hidden secrets. JD Fitzpatrick is also a strong and cleverly written lead character. I wouldn’t be spoiling the plot by saying that the love interest is not hard to work out in this book but it was done subtly.

As ever Karen Rose’ strongest attribute is the crimes themselves. As usual we have a gritty and sometimes disturbing plot with a very high body count and a race against time before more people become victims. The crime scenes themselves are very descriptive and the tension runs pretty high too and I found myself sitting up a little more, and nudging my tush further towards the edge of my seat waiting to see what would happen.

The story doesn’t let up pace throughout the whole book and the ending was a pretty good round up too. Overall it took me around three days to finish the book which isn’t surprising with the size of it. However, I didn’t once get tired of reading it and the story remained fresh throughout. I think her stories only get better and she manages to keep it interesting with the characters she creates. Overall, another great book by Karen Rose and one that I would highly recommend.

Scream For Me by Karen Rose (Atlanta #1)

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My Rating: 3/5

 Karen Rose is a RITA award winning novelist who has been writing since her debut book `Don’t Tell’ in 2003. Karen Rose then produced a series of books starting with Die For Me which was released in 2007. The series feature Special Agent Daniel Vartanian. This book is the second in the Series and is entitled `Scream For Me’.

I have only read one other Karen Rose book which was her debut novel and I was thoroughly captured by her writing style and thoroughly enjoyed every page of that book. When I picked up this one I was totally unaware that it was the second in the series but this had absolutely no effect on the enjoyment as previous events are explained in detail. If you wish to read from the beginning of this series I would suggest you don’t read onwards from this point as there may be spoilers relating to the first book.

In this second instalment we again meet Daniel who has recently buried his parents following their brutal killings at the hands of his own brother. Not only does he have that to deal with, but the fact that his brother Simon died at his own hands too. When a new case lands on his desk he is determined to absorb himself in this new case and catch the killer that seems to be replicating murders from 13 years ago. The problem with that is that the murders seem to be linked to a collection of photographs that belonged to his brother.

Alex Fallon is an ER nurse and is getting over the breakup of her relationship with a fellow Doctor. Alex has a murky past with her twin sister having been murdered thirteen years ago. When she finds out that her stepsister Bailey has gone missing she fears the worst. However Bailey has a history of drug abuse but would her own stepsister abandon a small child alone in her house just for her next fix. Alex doesn’t want to take any chances so takes Baileys daughter Hope into her own care and begins her own search for her stepsister.

Alex and Daniel inevitably cross paths when Daniel realises there may be a link between the murders from 13 years ago, the murders that are happening now and the disappearance of Bailey Crighton. Between them they try to make sense of what is happening and why.

The proper description for this type of book genre is romantic suspense. When I reviewed Karen Rose’s previous book I totally disagreed with that label but I have to say it is more fitting to this book. The story itself is far from a bed of roses and is largely based around multiple murders of young women. However all of her books do have a romantic element running through them. I have to say though, that in this case it just became part of the story as opposed to taking over from the central focus of the book. It runs along nicely and is integrated well without becoming too over the top.

You do have to pay attention as there are many characters introduced throughout which all have a part to play somewhere along the line. This author has a knack of switching seamlessly between a horrific murder scene and a scene in which two people are falling for each other despite the circumstances. I loved the element of the story which was written from Bailey Crighton’s point of view as the story is then staggered and the reader is drawn further into the reasoning for a lot of things the further in to the book they get.

Overall I think I preferred her debut novel to this but this was still a solid 3.5 out of 5 stars. She has also introduced Daniel Vartanian’s sister Susannah along with Daniel’s friend Luke Papadopoulos who are to take a much more central role in the follow up to this book. I think Karen Rose is a great author and I look forward to reading the next installment.

Don’t Tell by Karen Rose (Chicago #1)

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My Rating: 4/5

I had never read any Karen Rose novels but a friend of mine mentioned I might like her books.

When it comes to genre I am a little bewildered. The front of the book as well as the jacket information gives the impression that her books are thrillers. Yet her website seems to suggest that she writes `Romantic Suspense’ books. After finishing her book I am not sure I would quite call her genre this but can see that she does have a romantic element running through the story.

Having said that this book is far from Chick Lit and the happy and bubbly lives the characters seem to lead. This book is real in all its glory. It’s almost real to the point that some people could empathise with the character. This story is based largely on a woman’s survival following years of domestic abuse.

Caroline Stewart has created a new life for her and her son and is trying to do the best she can to move on. 9 years after leaving her husband after faking her own death, a new man enters her life and she has all the challenges that a woman in her position is not used to dealing with. The aspect of the book that deals with the nicer side to Caroline’s life is refreshing. The reason I say this is that we also see the fear and absolute terror she is subjected to. Karen Rose has hit the nail on the head in terms of balance.

In my opinion, any author that can create a character like Caroline’s husband has done a first class job. It has been a long time since I have read a book that raises such hatred in me towards a certain character. Make no mistake, after reading this around a third of the way through, I was already hoping that the husband would wind up dead and in a long and painful manner.

The book takes us through Caroline and her son Tom’s life after their awful experiences with Rob, Caroline’s husband. Not only that, with the introduction of Max, Caroline’s new boss, we see how her son Tom reacts to the presence of a new man around the place. When Caroline’s car is found in a lake her husband realises that the chances of Caroline being alive have been upped. He is furious that he `stole’ their son away and is determined to find them.

The author picks up the pace considerably with Rob trying to trace Caroline and there are various scenes where he is seen for what he really is, a psychopath with a taste for murder. This book isn’t all roses but is a gritty and real thriller that I literally couldn’t put down. The author manages to create a fast paced book with the element of `real life’ added to the mix. I thoroughly enjoyed it and have already got my next Karen Rose novel ready to read.