The Patriot Paradox

In William Esmont's The Patriot Paradox, the first installment in the Kurt Vetter Political thriller trilogy, this fast-paced thriller is action-packed and fast-paced from start to finish. When Kurt Vetter learned about his brother's death, it had sent him reeling and went home to his funeral. As he listened to the last message had given him on his answering machine, it sounded cryptic to him. When he discovered what he referred him to his late brother's home, it discovered a  top-secret plot on a decoded disk. That had sent him straight into London to look for Amanda Carter, someone his brother had previously worked with. Back at the CIA, when word had came through about Kurt Vetter being on the move, something he had belonged to them. And they would do anything to stop them, no matter what the cost. When they discovered the truth, things came crashing down on them in a blaze of glory, when Amanda lost his closest friend in the process. As soon as they unearthed this sinister plot, an assassin was sent after them and had set up a trap for them.  In order to stop a ticking tomb to go over in Russia, someone's onto the CIA and saves Kurt and Amanda in the end... but that may not be the end of it...

This was an intense and insane political thriller and a great start to the trilogy series. I loved the variety of locations from the USA to straight into Europe and then in Russia. The scenic descriptions were amazing and compelling enough to put yourself in there. I cared for Kurt who had venging the death of his brother and had teamed with Amanda, who was a force to be reckoned with. I also found her something of an enigma as well. This would make you want to bit your tongue and hold onto the edge of your seat with non-stop action, drama, suspense and plenty of intrigue, that could be ripped straight from the headlines in today's news.

Will you stop the madness in the Patriot Paradox today?

The Memory Lingers On

In Mary Higgins Clark's The Melody Lingers On, this startling mystery novel takes a storyline straight from the news that would blow you away. Lane Harmon is a young widow with a 4-year-old daughter named Katie. As an associate to the famous Glady Harper, an interior design, they get to interior design Anne Bennett's townhouse and for the Countess Sylvie De Marco's condo. And that's when she met Eric Bennett, the son of Parker Bennett, the notorious businessmen who ripped people's money off with a fraudulent fund. He had maintained his innocence and his eyes set for Lane and Katie. Meanwhile, the FBI has been looking for Parker Bennett himself, who had assumedly faked his own death and lived in paradise under another name. The people who were closest to him, besides his family, were under suspicion and possibly involved with him. One of them named Ranger Cole is avenging his late wife Judy's death in pure hatred and anguish.  Except for Anne, who had a music box that she played music, waiting for Parker to be "alive", the FBI also believed Eric had something to do with it. The closer the FBI dig into his background, the deeper Lane has conflicting feelings for him, they learn about his shocking dark side in the end when things come to a head for Lane and the FBI when he turned the table on them.

This was a gripping and intense mystery that hits close to home for today's news headline. I cared for Lane for a single mother who did the best she could to provide for Katie. I did think she could handle Glady's brash and demeaning behavior in the workplace. I thought Eric was a bit of a devil in disguise who might be hiding something and showed his true colors. I did feel for the poor people who had lost their savings in Parker's hand and dealt with a nasty blow. I did enjoy the gripping dual locations of New York City and New Jersey with compelling descriptions in every fantastic scene. This would make you want to shake your head and grimace and groan and gasp a few times with non-stop drama, action, suspense and a dollop of mystery.

Will you be there when the Melody Lingers On from the broken music box today?

A Taste for Vengeance

In Martin Walker's A Taste for Vengeance, the 11th installment in the Bruno, Chief of Police mystery series, this novel would give you the right ingredients for a dark and twisted mystery plot and a dollop of intrigue too. Bruno is the Chief of Police of St. Denis, a small village town in the South of France. He's also a rugby coach and a cooking instructor on the side. It all started for Bruno, when he received a call from his colleague that one of her cooking students never showed up for class. When he searched for her, he discovered she was found dead with a man in her hotel room. Not only did he have to deal with this double homicide, he had to dig into Monika Felder's background and how she ended up here. Besides that, he had to deal with pressure from the mayor, and one of his star rugby player's unplanned pregnancy, and a daring plot to assassinate one of his esteemed colleagues. Although Bruno's devoted to his dog Balzac and to his job, he's looking for a woman to spend his life with. As he looked further to discover the hidden background in Monika Felder's ailing husband and her lover, when things come to a head when he learned of a hit from the IRA and how it was connected to both murders and who wanted to do both of them in with a dash of revenge.

This was an intriguing newest novel in the Bruno Chief of police series. I loved how we learned how to make dishes like a culinary cozy and compare it with a great blend of mystery and drama. I loved the interesting and idyllic locations in St. Denis and all over France for the scenic settings. It gave us a taste of village life right there. I did care for Bruno, single, and have a lot on his plate to keep him busy with full hands. I did like his colleagues on the police force and thought of Prunier a bit overbearing. This would make you salivate like a tempting meal and keep you reading on every page with non-stop drama, suspense, intrigue and  plenty of action along the way.

Will you have a Taste for Vengenace today?

Strong Hold

In Sarah Castille's Strong Hold, the fifth installment in the Redemption contemporary MMA sports romance, this novel would have you against the ropes for a wild ride. Shayla Tanner had loved Zachary Grayson ever since she was a little girl. Then he let her go, when she followed her dreams to be a ballerina in NYC and then ended up in an abusive relationship. Now in California, she's training to making the amateur MMA fighting circuit and works at a high-tech security company. But when Zachary "Slayer" Grayson reentered her world, it had thrown her out-of-orbit. For Zach, he had always loved Shayla and learned about how she ended up here with some inner demons of her own. While he portrayed as the substitute father figure for his two sister, he deserved some happiness of his own. As a retired MMA fighter, he now recruits them for MEFC. He can't help himself while the ghost of his past came up and bit him his butt. Now as they've reunited, he wants to protect himself and coach Shayla at the same time. But they have to rebuild their relationship as red-hot sparks fly between them outside of the ring. When Shayla's injured from a previous fight, he wanted her to take a step back as her fellow MMA fighter cheer for her to rise to the top. They would have to follow their dreams and their hearts to make a future for each other.

This was a compelling sports romance novel that features the MMA circuit. It was realistic and compelling to learn the inside world of MMA fighting with a strong romantic twist. I cared for Shayla, who had been through a lot and endured to become a strong fighter. I also found Zach a hottie and a sexy romantic to boot. I loved the dual locations of NYC and California and the Redemption gym scenes and outside of it with intricate and sexy scenes. This would make you root for Shayla as the amateur underdog as she rises to the top of your heart to make us a winner out of us all. This has sexy romance, plenty of drama, non-stop action and sparks of intrigue.

Will you ready to take your opponent out with the strong hold tonight?

UNSUB

In Meg Gardiner's UNSUB, the first installment in the UNSUB thriller series, this will give you chills and take your breath away too. Twenty years ago, a serial killer called the Prophet wrecked havoc in San Francisco and almost destroyed her father's life. Now as a Narcotics cop, Caitlin Hendrix fast-tracked to being a detective on this case. For Caitlin, she needed her father's help since he was first on the scene many years ago. But as the Prophet searched for the targets, he had his eyes set to wrecking havoc with her own life. It was her job to solve the puzzles of the past and connect to the present to break the code: Dante's Inferno. Each grisly crime scene had been interpreted by the Prophet's reenactment of it. The closer she gets to the trouble, the more in peril it puts her in the line of fire and discover who he is and how was he one step ahead of time all the time. In a race against time before the bombs goes off, Caitlin has to decide who to save and to kill in an explosive ending with a spine-tingling twist in the end.

This was a riveting psychological thriller that would blow you away from start to finish. I instantly cared for Caitlin and for her father Mack, on how this serial killer had ruined their lives from the inside-out. But I loved how Caitlin cared for her father and how she picked up the pieces to solve this puzzle with one mind-blowing clue to another. I also cared for Mack, who dealt with the remnants of mercury poisoning, and how he did what he could to protect his family. I also liked Sean and Sadie, who became important people in her life. This would give you whiplash and take your breath away with non-stop action, drama, suspense, and plenty of intrigue to make you hold on tight for a wild ride.

Will you help Caitlin identify the UNSUB tonight?

The Girl Before

In Rena Olsen's The Girl Before, this shocking psychological thriller debut will knock you off your feet. For Clara Lawson, everything changed in the blink of an eye, when FBI agents charged inside her home and took away her husband and her "daughters." Told in Clara's POV, we learn her story about she first met and married Glen Lawson the love of her life and how they came a couple. But every love story had a dark side, when she flashes back to how she lived in her former life with him and how she trained people. In every thriller scene, we learned how she handled the truth about her abduction at the age of six and then groomed to train girls in a brothel for a human sex trafficking ring. Everything she believed were shattered like glass, when she fought for her life and the life that grew inside her. Pieces of her former life resurfaced like a completed jigsaw puzzle as she remembered the past of Glen's violent tempers and how she came to be kidnapped for seventeen years. In order for her to fight for her bright future, she needed to put the people away who'd harmed her and others behind bars to set herself free.

 This was a truly emotional and intense psychological thriller debut from Rena Olsen. This touched on the hard-core topic of human sex trafficking rings that still  goes on these day. I did care for Clara/Diana throughout this story and how she entered that dark world and cared for those girls. She became strong and tough as a young woman who broken free from the past and learned the truth from the lies. I loved the various locations from the brothel to the therapy and the prison in Midwestern regional area here in the USA. This would make you want to root for Clara from start to finish as she remembered how she was the little girl before with non-stop action, drama, intense suspense and plenty of intrigue.

Will you be there to help her who she was as the girl before today?

The Banker's Wife

In Cristina Alger's The Banker's Wife, this phenomenal thriller  deals with ground-breaking real life topics you hear in the news everyday. For Marina Tourneau, she was a happily engaged woman and investigative journalist for the Wall Street Journal. But when she received a phone call from her editor-in-chief Duncan Sander, he proposed an interesting investigative case for her to write. It all started with a tip with some information on Morty Reiss, a man who had stashed hidden offshore funds and caused a financial scandal across the border. Duncan needed Marina to help him track him down. But later, she learned that Duncan was murdered, which set her world into a tailspin. For Annabel Werner, she believed that her husband Matthew was killed in a plane accident. But things aren't what they seem, when she learns more about her husband's dealings with the Swiss United Bank in Switzerland. For Marina and Annabel who had never met each other, they have questions and look for hidden connections to the same place, while hearing more secrets and lies. And Zoe Durand, who's one of the whistleblowers had risked her life to tell what she knows to blows this story wide open. But there's a lot of people who would stand in their way, even if it might hit close to home, with a twisted and shocking ending you can't believe.

This was absolute fantastic to read from start to finish. This would keep you guessing and turning the pages right to the end. I cared for Annabel, who had been dealt a shocking blow to her life, and was in total disbelief it could happen to her. I also cared for Marina, who had been hit hard with shocking lies and would do anything to get answers. I really feel bad for Duncan and Zoe who were both stuck in the middle of it all. I loved the vast array of locations from Paris, Zurich, New York City, and then to Mexico in the end. Every scene was mesmerizing and mind-blowing to picture us there with them. This would make you want to grit your teeth, hold your breath, and shake your head a couple of times with non-stop action, drama, suspense, and plenty of nail-biting mysteries.

Will you be there to read the Banker's Wife today?

Sandpiper Shore

 In Debbie Mason's Sandpiper Shore, the 6th installment in the Harmony Harbor contemporary romance series, this sweet and heart-warming romance will bring tears to your eyes and believe in magical fairytales. For Jenna Bell, she always wanted a fairytale romance and to find her prince charming. As a matchmaker and wedding planner, she had thought she had found the one, when her fiancé Lorenzo dumps her before her wedding. Then she becomes a runway bride of sorts in her wedding dress and runs into Logan Gallagher, a Secret Service agent on detail for Princess Isabella. Not only did he save her life twice, they become connected and save a baby sandpiper from the shore. With Jenna's TLC to take her under the wings, she deals with trying to please her stepsisters to win their love and a ruthless cop who has it in for Logan's family. Meanwhile Logan's great-grandmother Colleen makes a ghostly appearance and had kept family secrets in her book she had written. After Logan gets into a car accident, he has amnesia and supposedly engaged to Isabella. For the two of them, they became entangled into a mess of ruthless criminal and her maddening ex-fiancé who runs his ring back. In the end, after the spell had been literally broken, they realize they were meant to be together with a happily ever after for her own to remember.

This was a fantastic contemporary romance novel that really pulls at your heart strings. I really loved Jenna and her ability to make perfect matches. I also loved how she cared for Pippa and how she let her spread her wings and fly in the end. I did feel bad for her on how her step-sisters, stepmother and how Lorenzo mistreated her. I also found Logan compassionate and dreamy and how he handled toughest situations even in his household. I loved Shaybae and how she cared for her best friend and helped her out in a pinch or two. I did love the Boston area for Harmony Harbor and how it painted a vivid and lovely picture for the mesmerizing settings and the idyllic scenes. This would make you stand on your own two feet, sway and swoon, whistle, and believe in magic and fate with lots of romance, a hint of non-stop drama, a sprinkle of action, and a dollop of suspense.

Will you be swept away to find your true love at Sandpiper Shore?