Unusual, Fascinating Storyline in Twisted Threads by Kalin McFarren

...Blood sprayed over the mirror above the sink. She dropped her sheath and held the sword in front of her with both hands. The second man's face paled, and his jaw slacked. He remained motionless for endless seconds before charging at Akira with a knife stretched out before him. With one swift movement, she raised her sword above her head and brought it down hard and fast across his neck. She pulled the blade back, sending blood spraying across her face.

Another body left to the floor.

Akira could feel sweat gathering at the base of her spine. She wiped her eyes with her forearm to clear her vision. Tears threatened to break loose and destroy the fortification she'd built.

The voice was back in her head, moving her forward, keeping her from crumpling into a pitiful mess. Don't be a fool. Finish the job you were sent her to do.

She found two capsules in the outside pocket of her bag and popped them into her mouth. It took nearly a minute for the numbing effects to take hold. Then she set to work dragging bodies from the house and dropping them into the pit she had found in the woods. When she was finished, she stepped into the shower to wash the dirt and blood off a second time. After cleaning the bathroom floor and walls off a second time. After cleaning the bathroom floor and walls and scrubbing the living room thoroughly, she dumped all the evidence into the pit outside and set everything ablaze with a match and a bottle of Chateau Guirand. Her only salvation rested in the fact that Kurosaki's nearest neighbor lived too far away to witness the gruesome scene and strange smell filling the air.

A cool breeze touched her skin. Too cool. She looked down at herself and was instantly reminded of her nudity, which she had forgotten with the work she'd undertaken. A nervous laugh escaped her escaped her lips, and once more she found herself questioning her sanity...

~~~

Twisted Threads

The Threads Series

By Kaylin McFarren

I discovered this book and author on Authors Den where I have begun reviewing again...Got to say, first, that I would have really like to have started this series right from the beginning! I loved this story for multiple reasons... one of them personal...the book brought back memories of a wonderful cruise vacation I had, visiting Hell and other places... You see, the setting is on a cruise ship, where our main character has been sent to do her, hopefully, final job...

Akira Hamada, working under an assumed name, has been, in one way or another, imprisoned most of her life. She was taught to be and served as a geisha, and then in a different role, and, finally, was trained to become an assassin for a crime syndicate. Some of the work she had enjoyed... now... she was looking to create a new life. This was promised, if she would do one final job...

There was a murderer traveling on a cruise ship, but it had not yet been determined which of a couple, was the killer. A

Akira is controlled
by Kaito Mitsui

relative of the head of the syndicate had been killed and he wanted revenge! Akira was sent to determine the truth and then eliminate the threat. Another individual would travel with her as her father, but would be the one who cleaned up after the discovery had been made.

An older couple, traveling with their nephew and a personal physician is the target group. Akira plans immediately to make contact with the younger traveler to begin to gather information.

Devon Lyons had not wanted to be on this cruise! He was really not close to this elderly couple and was quite surprised to have been invited... even further to have his uncle share secret thoughts...

So when he met Akira, he was overjoyed to find himself admired by a young beautiful woman who was different than any other woman he had ever met. The early courtship interaction was fun to watch as Akira played the innocent young traveler from a far-away land... However, that relationship evolves over the week-long cruise... 

Devon is controlled
by killer

The book presents an erotic seduction that is well-written, unoffensive, and yet graphic in detail...and later when the danger is tightened and Akira, herself, is being hunted, there will be some scenes that occurred in a specially equipped room that apparently was used on many of the cruises. It is brief but includes torture. My only warning... 

But this is not the only activity to watch... Murders start to happen, with not much being done by a womanizing Captain, who is more concerned about keeping his playground available than in providing a safe environment...

And then "a watcher" creeps into the story... Who is it and what and who are being watched... 

The book is intriguing, unique, and is a great story to show east meeting west, as a "player" in America meets a woman from the far east, taught to beguile, to mesmerize... and, at the same time, taught to kill upon command...

The cruise characters are fun to meet and the side trips for the cruise are actually those you would visit in the Grand Cayman area... But the events that were occurring on this cruise were not the norm--even though the book includes statistics about the number of fatalities that occur on such trips, these deaths were not natural! 

McFarren has done an outstanding job of placing the reader on a cruise ship, dealing with the life of eating, pleasure, social events, entertainment, and tours...She has effectively used the ship's staff to bring readers into the setting, although she did place the majority in elite quarters, where I had something far less appealing on my trips...LOL But you really don't have to spend much time in your quarters...LOL

The merge of murder mystery and romance is well balanced and neither overpowers the book, so that both mystery/thriller fans as well as romance lovers will find this one for consideration. For me, I highly recommend it, for all those who enjoy a bit or erotica, which is quite appropriate for the story, with their suspense...


GABixlerReviews

KAYLIN MCFARREN has received more than 40 national literary awards, in addition to a prestigious Golden Heart Award nomination for Flaherty’s Crossing - a book she and her oldest daughter, Kristina McMorris, co-authored in 2008. Prior to embarking on her writing journey and developing the popular Threads action/adventure romance series, she poured her passion for creativity into her work as the director of a fine art gallery in the Pearl District in Portland, Oregon; she also served as a governor-appointed member of the Oregon Arts Commission. When she’s not traveling or spoiling her pups and three grandsons, she enjoys giving back to her community through participation and support of various charitable and educational organizations in the Pacific Northwest, and is currently the president of the Soulful Giving Foundation - a non-profit focused on cancer research, care and treatment at hospitals throughout Oregon.