Jo RobertsonCritiques

Kate Myers, a Forensic psychiatrist is seconded to an investigation to find the killer of a teenager girl in Begler County. Deputy Sheriff Ben Slater leads the team and he is the one she needs to convince that this killings is the latest in a serial killers spree.

Ok,

Ok, this book was ok, not something I would read again, movie was bad though...I probably would not recommend this book

Not sure why, but this book dragged for me. The plot was okay, typical romantic suspense, but it seemed to take forever to finish.

Chance of reading others in the series about 50/50

Synopsis:

When her husband dies unexpectedly Jane Stark is left with four young boys and a mother-in-law who hates her. When she finds herself pregnant with the longed-for baby girl her husband wanted and ex-detective Rick --- moves in next door, Jane doesn't know whether to be happy or overwhelmed with the changes life has handed her.

My review:

I loved this story. So much heartache. I could not imagine it. But family and friends are there to make the load lighter. A wonderful Christmas story! Who said that you are only allowed to read them at Christmas time?

I will look out for more of Ms Robertson's books.

The Watcher
2 Stars

LAPD psychiatrist Kate Myers travels to Placer's Hill, California in search of the killer who murdered her twin sister 15 years ago. Kate must convince the local authorities, including skeptical detective, Ben Slater, that the killer at work in their community has been active for years, and that they must act quickly if they are to stop his psychotic descent into madness.

The prologue suggests this will be an intense serial killer thriller, but the remainder of the story does not live up to it's potential.

The serial killer premise is compelling and the killer's motivation quite original for this genre. The police procedural aspects start out well, but become contrived as if the author is trying too hard to make it all realistic and believable.

The finale is too drawn out and could have been more compact with about 50-75 fewer pages. Also, the heroine has a HUGE TSTL moment at the end when she distracts the hero and almost gets him killed. Seriously?! She's a police psychiatrist and should know better than to call out someone's name when he is confronting a killer... *sigh*

The romance is the weakest part of the story mainly due to the fact that there is simply too much going on in the hero and heroine's personal lives that creates unnecessary and manufactured angst. Both Slater and Kate are very prickly with each other and keep secrets that ultimately come back to bite them.

One other element that grates on the nerves is the underlying misogyny not on the part of the killer (which is to be expected), but from every other male character. They ogle the heroine at every opportunity and even the hero's attitude is disrespectful. Moreover, Kate is the lone female character in the book aside from the killer's victims, and one has to ask oneself if this town had no other women capable of speech.

All in all, it is difficult to believe that this book won the RWA Golden Heart Award. I'll not be continuing with the series.

good book, mystery but a bit unrealistic in places.

Even though this story mainly takes place where the first book did and Jackson(hero) and Olivia(heroine) were childhood friends of Ben, from the first book, this book did a 180 from the first story.

This book suffered from to many different plots and the entering in of the paranormal aspect both confused and drug the story line down.

Other Ben I never came to care for any of the characters, which is sad because the first book blew me away. I still highly recommend reading the first book.

AIM TO KILL by ALLISON BRENNAN – Love Allison’s writing. The impression you have of what the book is about in the first chapter is not at all what you get by the end. There are so many twists to the story that were slowly revealed until a surprise ending. I highly recommend this one. It also has quite of few characters that are from her older suspense books that make appearances.

UNTIL DEATH by CYNTHIA EDEN – A murder at Mardi Gras kicks off this intense thriller. Great story with a surprising twist at the end that you don’t see coming.

CROSSED by J.T. Ellison – I’ve never read this author before but this was a prequel to her Taylor Jackson series and Dr. Samantha Owens Series. Both characters are introduced in this book. Taylor is a Nashville Homicide Lieutenant and Samantha is the Medical Examiner. Taylor’s love interest FBI profiler Dr. John Baldwin is also introduced. This story follows the hunt for a serial killer with some strange notion of starting the apocolypse

HANOVER HOUSE by Brenda Novak - Evelyn Talbott, was a victim at 16 of a killer that turned out to be her boyfriend Jasper who killed 3 of her friends and then slit her throat and left her to die. Now a psychiatrist who studies serial killers she get the funding to open a new mental health center Hanover House in the remote Hilltop, Alaska that will house killers for her and her colleiques to study. Her brush with death makes her need to know why serial killers and psychopaths do what they do. Along with Evelyn working to get Hanover up and running we as the reader find out that Jasper is still alive and still just as obsesses with Evelyn. This is the prequel to a new series that will revolve around Hanover House and its psychopaths. The Jasper thread was not concluded so I assume that will be an ongoing plot throughout the series too.

DIRTY DEEDS by Liliana Hart - Short story about J.J. Graves and Jack Lawson who are on their honeymoon and get caught up in a murder investigation of one of the island's oldest residence.

Extra star for this having a serial killer that was unlike any I have ever read before.

Fifteen years ago a young killer takes his first victim. Now that young girl’s twin sister Kate Myers is a Forensic psychiatrist and has been looking for years for similar murders that have happened since to find the man that killed her sister. She thinks she’s found a connection with the latest killing in Bigler County. After getting herself assigned to assist them she butts heads with the lead detective assigned to the murder.

Ben Slater has been put in charge of running the investigation of the murder of a young girl. He doesn’t understand why the LAPD assigned some Forensic psychiatrist to his case. Ben is a pretty brooding man along with not totally believing the real reason Kate is there. After Kate comes partially clean that she thinks they have a serial killer on their hands the two finally start working together both on the job and off.

The serial killer who’s POV we get throughout the book is whacked. And the reason he is whacked is not something I’ve ever read before in a romantic suspense which made this so much more exciting to read.

The author did a great job of balancing the police procedure, romance, and mind of the serial killer and also with Ben and Kate’s tragic past. I loved this book for having something original and different to bring to this genre – which is my favorite.

Excellent evolution of the story line with quite interesting characters, even the really bad guy. A forensic psychiatrist links crimes from the past to a recent killing in Bigler County. Great start to a new series.

I've only had the opportunity to read one of these books but if any of these are half as good as Brenda Novak's Hannover House this is one amazing collection! I will be recommending this collection to everyone I know!

Hannover House by Brenda Novak - 5 huge stars!
Evelyn Talbot is a survivor. After nearly escape death at the hands of a madman she has devoted her life to the study of serial killers and what motivates them. When she decides to open a prison for the worst of the worst in a remote location in Alaska she has no idea her past is about to catch up with her. Very thrilling with twists and turns on every page.

Contemporary, Romantic Suspense, Suspense

Aim to Kill by Allison Brennan
Alex Morgan is a disgraced former cop that is shot when she saves the life of California’s Lieutenant Governor. She doesn’t expect to be caught up in the middle of an FBI sting, an old rivalry or a deadly conspiracy and cold blooded murder.

Until Death by Cynthia Eden
Ivy DuLane sees more than she should during Mardi Gras. As she is trying to figure out what is going on she runs into her former lover who is the detective on the case and the man who broke her heart. This time around Bennett Morgan is determined to never let her go.

Crossed by J.T. Ellison
Lieutenant Taylor Jackson meets FBI profiler Dr. John Baldwin when she is investigating a madman that is creating an end-of-days apocalypse of his own.

Toys in the Attic by Heather Graham
Michael Quinn and Danni Cafferty are called in to help a friend of Quinn’s when the friend’s sister is injured. As Quinn and Danni are used to dealing with matters that tend to be unusual they are the perfect team to solve what is going on with their friends.

Dirty Deeds by Liliana Hart
J.J. Graves and Jack Lawson are enjoying their honeymoon when they are called in to help investigate a ritualistic murder.

Before Evil by Alex Kava
The case that has Special Agent Maggie O’Dell destined to a career of chasing killers.

Bad Break by CJ Lyons
FBI Agent and workaholic Lucy Guardino takes her daughter on vacation. The plans were to have fun and relax not end up embroiled in a murder. Nor was Lucy’s plan to have her daughter play amateur sleuth that ends up having disastrous consequences.

Secret Hideaway by Carla Neggers
Ellen Galway enlists the help of a Texas Ranger when her twin sister disappears.

 
Hanover House by Brenda Novak
Evelyn Talbott is a psychiatrist that is studying serial killers at a new revolutionary medical health center in remote Hilltop, Alaska. Evelyn is determined to unlock the mysteries of the anti-social mind. No matter what it takes even if it kills her. Being surrounded by men that feel no remorse just might mean that very thing.

Dead Man Running by Theresa Ragan
Events end up being set in motion when a man is accused of murder escapes prison in a body bag. He is determined to prove his innocence.

Random Acts by Erica Spindler
Michaela Dee Dare is a reformed southern belle that is now a kick ass cop. Micki is working to solve the link between a series of bizarre murders that seem completely random in New Orleans.

Without Malice by Jo Robertson
Santiago Cruz is a parole officer that takes it personal when his parolees seem to be the target of someone that is killing homeless people. With the help of prison doctor Frankie Jones they work to trace the brutal deaths to their tragic origin while dealing with no clear motive or murder weapon.

Turn the Tables by Tiffany Snow
Blane and Kade are on a brother bonding trip to Sin City, and Las Vegas proves to never be the same again.

This one is worth getting because not only does it support a great cause but it will give readers a chance to discover some new to them authors and to also read some authors they might already love. The suspense in each story is great and with all the different stories readers are sure to find one that is right up their alley. The stories keep the suspense racketed up until the very last page of each one. Some of the stories takes some twists that will keep readers guessing until the very end. There are some novellas and some of the stories are more novel length but with so much to choose from it makes for some great reading. It can also be read a little at a time or all together. This proves to have some great stories that reader will get lost in and keep reading until the early hours of the morning.

Received a review copy

I've been taking my time reading through the thrillers in this collection and I've not been disappointed. Many of them are very short but even so they are excellent. One of my favourites was by Ms Eden's called Until Death. It takes place in a Mardi Gras and it was a great who done it story and had me flipping the pages so quickly I could hardly read fast enough. This box set is a good collection of stories, if you like a little suspense with a touch of romance this set is for you. All profits go to benefit Diabetes Research.

For this novel, all I can say is Wow. From the first page, this novel immediately sucked me in, and it didn't let me go throughout the entirety of the story. I loved the characters, both Myers and Slater were so realistic and layered that you couldn't help but connect with the characters, and you couldn't help but root for them.

The way this author writes creates such a vivid experience that I found myself sweating, seeing every single detail as it happened, seeing the killer as he took his victims. The author's attention to detail is outmached.

The suspense of the book never lets up--it continues to build, until it explodes into a dramatic climax. I love that the main heroes get injured--most murder mysteries leave everyone coming out unscathed, but I love how this author brings up the injuries his characters suffers.

There is plenty of romance between the psychiatrist and the detective, but it's not enough to deter from the story itself. I would recommend this book to absolutely anyone!

A family member recommended this book to me. It was a great book that kept you wanting to read more.