Black Mountain

In Laird Barron's Black Mountain, the 2nd installment in the Isaiah Coleridge crime thriller series, this noir novel would give you goosebumps on your skin. For Isaiah Coleridge, he's a former mob enforcer who's about to retire from the hit man business. But when he's tasked on his assignment to protect a mafia don's daughter and her fiancé from a stalker, he had thought it would be an easy task in Hudson Valley. But when he learned about Harold Lee was the second criminal to turn up dead recently, Coleridge decides to start his investigation to learn about Lee and his connection to Morris Oestryke, a former criminal who was supposedly dead and had strange ties to the mafia. When Ray Anderson's name popped out of the woodwork, he connected the dots that led to interview other unsavory characters about the real criminal known as the Croatoan and his former crime sprees. In this pursuit, he chases Nic Royal, a potential link to the case and possible copycat, when he learns about who really was Oestryke under his presumed identity. In the end, it's a do-and-die situation on a battle royale between Isaiah and Oestryke's hardened demise.

This was an intriguing and compelling crime thriller that deals with the mafia and how dark and deep things can get. I did care for Isaiah who seems to be a family man and wants to have a new normal for his life. He had lived a hard life and wants to pay his dues. I did care for Lionel and Curtis who both wanted to exact revenge and call it even. I did like the Hudson Valley area for the locations and the darkened settings to set the mood for the scenes. This would send you chills through your spine with non-stop action, plenty of drama, suspense and a scoop of mystery told from Isaiah's POV.

Will you pay a visit to Black Mountain tonight?

Double Vision

In Colby Marshall's Double Vision, the 2nd installment in the Dr. Jenna Ramey series, this thriller will intrigue you from the first page. It all started when 6-year-old Molly Keegan reported a shooting at a local grocery store to Yancy Vogul, a 9-1-1 operator. That's when Jenna received the call at the FBI's BAU unit when they headed to the scene. Besides a profiler, she has an usual trait--she has grapheme-color synesthesia, a neurological disorder when she associates colors to emotions. Although she uses it to adapt to her job, she applies it to this case when there were six victims who were killed and Molly witnessed it all. For Jenna, who's dealing with being a single mother to her daughter Ayana, and other life issues like her psychotic mother Claudia, she's the one who picks up subtle colored clues from the victims and from the ones in the past. With the help from Molly's input, who has a strange fascination with everything numerical, she becomes a key piece to this puzzle to track down the Triple Shooter and stop him in the tracks. Little did they know why Molly could pinpoint these details that led straight back to her own home with a shocking twisted ending that would blow you away.

This was an interesting and ground-breaking thriller because it deals with a diverse cast. I did care for Jenna who used her disability to help her solve puzzles with the FBI. She doesn't let it stand in its way and learns to adapt and adjust to it in every day life. I did find her fascinating and compelling that she works a lot and has very little time to see her little girl. I also found Yancy intriguing, since he's adjusting to having a prosthetic leg that makes things a bit difficult for him. But he did make him useful and helpful to Jenna's team. I had found Molly charming with her numerical fascination, while I did feel sorry for Nancy to deal with her father's Alzheimer's disease and has to put him in a home before things did get violently out of hand. I did like the Washington D.C. location and the surrounding settings in the Virginia area. This would make you tickled pick with shocking twists and turns with non-stop action, colorful drama, plenty of suspense with hints of mystery along the way.

Will you check out Double Vision today?

One Warm Winter

In Jamie Pope, One Warm Winter, this startling contemporary romance debut will overwhelm you with a whole lot of things. For Wynter Bates, she was adopted by a wealthy billionaire when she was a baby. And when she was little, someone tried to kidnap her, spewing false claims that she was her child. Now as an adult, she had grown up living in Washington D.C as a college professor as her father runs for president and a scandal had transpired in the news--someone leaked to the press about the love letters about an affair and a secret love child.  Caught up in the middle, Cullen Whelan, Wyn's Irish bodyguard whisked her away to St. Thomas and wait for everything to die down. To this secret getaway to tropical paradise, both Cullen and Wyn pretend their loves to Cullen's friends who were former military personnel and spies. When she's brought into his world, they get to know each other better and get closer to each other as more news unfolded about the scandal, making Wyn wonder if it was the truth about her parentage or all a lie. For Wyn, she was an African-American woman live with privilege and the riches, while Cullen was the opposite of her, an Irish lad who had battle scars from the war and from having a rough childhood with his father's beatings. Although Cullen sworn to protect her, he didn't want to fall in love with her and have no sex with her. But with a chance encounter together on the island made magic together between them. Between Cullen's father's ill health in Ireland and the D.C. scandal winding down with a shocker about Wyn's older sister, things come ahead to them to discover their true feelings for each other to have a go with it and have their own paradise in the States.

This was a real lovely contemporary romance that's diverse and true to form to tell a warm-hearted story. I cared for Wyn and how she would deal with the fallout and the repercussions from her father's deceit and lies. I also wondered how she would adjust to the news and how she felt for Cullen. I did feel for Cullen who had a lot of emotional baggage he carried to the States and then to the islands. I do think he has a lot of swagger and a sexy Irish brogue. Jazz was a hoot too. I did love the vast location settings from D.C to St. Thomas and a short visit to Ireland too for the settings. This would make you want to sway and swoon with non-stop action, plenty of drama, lots of sexy romance, and a hint of sparkling suspense for a well-rounded read.

Will you find your paradise on the islands in One Warm Winter?

Gone Without a Trace

In Mary Torjussen's Gone Without a Trace, this jaw-breaking and gripping thriller will have you at the edge of your seat. It all started when Hannah Monroe returned from work with good news and comes home to find an empty home and her boyfriend Matt Stone gone. She's literally beside herself and wonders why when everything appeared hunky-dory with him. She consoled her best friend Katie about it had trouble focusing on work when things aren't all what they seem in her accounting firm.  Little by little, someone had been messing around with her, leaving her mystery texts and prank calls and other surprises at her empty home that drove her stark raving mad. Who could she turn to and who could she trust? Things at her parent's home aren't too good when her father abuses her mother when he's on a warpath. And her father had expected perfection out of Hannah and blames everything on her. No matter what, she's obsessed to track down Matt even things go on the wayside at work when things get out of hand. The more she had found out about clues about Matt, the more she tracks him down to get answers. And she gets more than she bargained for when the people closest to her had been betraying her to take what they want from her with an earth-shattering end you wouldn't believe.

This thriller was spine-tingling from start to finish with twists and turns on every page. I did care about Hannah and was concerned about her and her erratic behavior. I think she should've let Matt go without saying a single word and move on. She had taken her obsession a bit way too far to go to extreme to deserves answers. If she had written him a letter, would she get the answer she deserved? As for Katie and James, I just want to shake my heads at them. But I do love the vast settings from London to Manchester and the eye-catching locations around England. This would give you goosebumps and feel chilled at the end with non-stop drama, plenty of suspense, intense mystery and gobs of action.

Will you follow Hannah's journey in Gone Without a Trace today?

Before She Was Found

In Heather Gudenkauf's Before She Was Found, this thriller will give you goosebumps on every page. It all started when they found 12-year-old Cora Landry's body at the tracks at the train yard in Pitch, Iowa. At the start of the investigation, everyone told their story from their POV and how life treated Cora Landry. It also told on how she tried to fit in with others and befriended Violet Crow, a new girl in town, and Jordan Petit, one of the mean girls. But when they were assigned an urban legend project together in a social studies class, they chose on the legend of Joseph Wither,  who raped and kidnapped girls back in the olden days. From there, it all started like a fine idea when Cora went to find out the truth about Wither for the project. But that's when things get personal and scary for her when he had known personal stuff about her. She had planned to meet him there and run away since she's been teased and bullied in school and no one wants to be her friend. But as events led up to the discovery of her massive injuries, everyone remained a suspect and hit close to home for them in small-town Iowa.  In the end, it leads to a shocking discovery that lead to the night of the attack with   a mind-numbing conclusion.

This was a spine-tingling and intense thriller that delves in to the subject of bullying, friendship, and the possible hidden dangers of chat room discussions. I did feel bad for Cora who's having trouble making friends in school and trying to fit in with others. I  also did feel bad for Violet who was the new girl and got caught in the middle of this. With hearing heart-wrenching headlines about adolescent and juvenile suicide with young kids ending their lives due to endless teasing from others in school, this hits close to home with that harrowing message. I did like the trainyard settings and the fascinating locations in and around Pitch, Iowa, that depicted this story well. This would make you want to shake your head and think twice with non-stop action, compelling drama, plenty of intrigue and lots of mystery that would keep you guessing to the end.

Will you be intrigued to read Before She Was Found tonight?

Shredded

In Tracy Wolff's Shredded, the first installment in the Extreme Risk New adult sports romance series, this debut would make you want to barge a run and do a flip in the air. For Z Michaels, he's a twenty-one-year-old professional snowboarder who has aspirations to win Olympic gold. He's a rebel without a cause and loves to shred the powder with his besties, Cam, Lucas and Ash, in Park City, Utah. Underneath his tattoos and his piercings, he has a lot of emotional baggage from a family tragedy in his past. But when he meets Ophelia, the new girl who's a barista at the lodge, it was more than love at first sight between them when she spilled coffee on his pants. Ophelia has her own emotional scars and faceda tragedy from New Orleans, when she lives and works with her aunt and uncle. At first, she didn't want to make about Z and wanted nothing to do with him or the bet that his friends placed on them that they would hook up by the end of the week. During the span of that week, while Z trains for the Winter X-Games in Aspen, he had gotten under her skin and protects her from any lurking dangers during night. But when he Z had performed a crazy stunt in the backcountry that went viral, Ophelia was shocked and appalled on his recklessness. During the X-Games, Z had gotten injured and running scared with a shocking ending.

This was an awesome debut that features the extreme sports world of snowboarding. I never read any new adult titles before, and I rarely read young adult. Now I think it's time for a change to read more New Adult or Young adult titles, maybe both.. I did care for Z (wonder if it's short for Zachary) and how he had so much emotional baggage he carried for over a decade. I did love how he shredded the powder and performed some pretty cool aerial tricks during Slopestyle and also on the Half-pipe. I also cared for Ophelia and how she was her own person with her own issues and had been the one to melt Z's heart.  I loved the Park City settings and the epic locations around the ski resort for this snowboarding sports romance series. This would make you want to grab a snowboard and barge a run of your own with non-stop action, plenty of sporting drama, sparks of romance, and lots of suspense to keep you wanting more.

(P.S. I've read this book for fun and for research for my sports romantic romantic suspense, Dead Heat, and might be use as a prop if I'm not agented by summer. I would be reading more of the series in the future.)

Will you take a chance to read Shredded and perform a YOLO flip tonight?

Foul Play On Words

In Becky Clark's Foul Play on Words, the second installment in the Mystery Writer's Mystery cozy series, this mystery will strike a chord to all writers who want to get published. It would resonate with each and every one of us. It all started when Charlemagne "Charlee" Russo is asked to speak at a local writer's conference in Portland for her friend Viv and to help her out. Besides that, she requests Charlee's assistance in locating her daughter Hanna who went missing and agreed to look for her. AS a mystery writer herself, Charlee notices a lot of strange happenings at this writers conference while she went to look for help for Hanna: a sick food staff, computerization registration issues, a double booking with a dog agility show, and a whole lot more. Things couldn't go from bad to worse when agents and editors were stuck by the storm as Charlee had to do double duty to give feedback to first pages and sound advice to all types of writers. She also met some nefarious people at the conference that she became puzzled with including Viv's ex-husband Garth and Hanna's friends. Was she really missing or left on her accord? Charlee didn't get any resounding answers from Viv on her financial issues either. Before this conference can fall apart, it would be up to her to find Hanna and get down to the bottom of it before its too late for everyone conference attendee there to solve the puzzle.

This was an intriguing new mystery series to like and to fall. I do like the inspirational advice that Charlee said to those writers at the critique sessions and for being the keynote speaker. As a writer myself, it's good advice to pass on that writers and readers alike. I did care for Charlee and how she came across this puzzling dilemma. I do like how she took charge of the situation and helped Viv out, while she had more questions than answers. I did like was a mystery writer who knows what it's like to be rejected by agents before she can get a final "YES" with an offer. I did care for Viv and how she ended up getting mixed up with things. I did like the location of Portland and the settings ins and around the conference in the hotel before the storm and during it. This would lift your spirits and to propel you to keep the faith with a good caper to sink your teeth into with lots of drama, plenty of intrigue, a scoop of suspense and great action for a potential locked-room mystery scenario.

Will you help Charlee save the conference in Foul Play On Words today?

Hide and Seek

In Mary Burton's Hide and Seek, the first installment in the Criminal Profiler romantic suspense series, this series debut will send you goosebumps and chills from start to finish.  It all started for Special Agent Macy Crow when she was assigned to Deep Run, Virginia, with the Tobi Turner case. Macy has been a survivor and had beaten the odds when she had been a victim of a hit-and-run accident on a previous case. Although Macy's parentage comes from a dark secreted past, when she was born from her rape and her mother was killed and later adopted with her twin sister. But that didn't stop her from getting the job done. In Deep Run, she's reunited with Sheriff Mike Nevada, a former lover of hers, on a serious case. When the corpse was found of missing teenager Tobi Turner's remains inside of an old barn, it was the start of everything in her investigation of what happened to her. And that had lead her to the shocking cases of untested rape kits and more missing persons case that bare the similar criteria to the case around the Washington D.C area. And now with another missing person reported, it was up to Macy and Nevada to see if it fits the same profile of this perp to connect the present. The closer they deep into the dark truth of the Deep Run Dream Team football team and the deep secrets they kept hidden from others. When she had found she had figured it out, it all comes to ahead when she faced the killer/rapist dead on with the fight for her life.

This was a fascination debut to introduce us to Macy Crow and to care for her. I liked how she didn't let her slight disability let her down or interfere on solving the case. I liked how she also bared a deep secret that's connected to her upbringing with similar traits. I did care for Mike and how he was the man in charge as sheriff and how he never stopped loving Macy. The local setting of Deep Run, Virginia, was perfect and picturesque for this series. Not all small towns have secrets that they would take to their grave. The locations were mesmerizing and enticing to pop before our eyes. This would make you hooked from the first page and to hold on tight with non-stop action, plenty of sizzling romance, lots of drama, and a dollop of suspense to keep you intrigued to the end.

Will you take a chance and root for Macy in Hide and Seek?