Blood Remembered by Douglas Pratt

“Tom, what’s up? Do you have any idea what time it is?” 
“Yeah, Max, I've been up for over four hours, I actually have some information I thought you might be interested in.”
“What?” My curiosity was peaked. Tom doesn’t make it a habit to call unless it is important. Certainly anything I would be interested in at this hour had to be life and death.
“Amanda Rawls was arrested last night for murder.” The hangover that had threatened to ruin my day had suddenly vanished as a surge of adrenaline pumped through my body with hydraulic pressure. I don’t know whether it was the mention of a murder, or the association of Mandy’s name with it.
“What? Who.... who did she kill?” 
“Mark Lofton.” 
“Her fiancé?”
 “Ex-fiancé, he got married to another woman a week ago.” I had never met Mark; however, I had planned to go to the wedding that was scheduled in about a month. I had not heard from Mandy in several months. I knew she was supposed to be getting married, and she had recently sent an invitation to the event. “How long have he and Mandy been broken up?” 
“I don’t know yet. I am sure I will find out soon.”
“Did she do it?” I was almost sure I knew the answer was no. However, a jilted lover is often capable of anything.
But I have known Mandy for as long as I can remember. Mandy and I met in high school. I was in tenth grade and she had been a year behind me. We got to know each other one day when she and I had been paired together for a theatre project. We performed a scene from A Street Car Named Desire. That spawned a relationship. 

We dated until the summer before our senior year, and we have always been close friends. She was my first love, and like most first loves, she was hard to forget.

~~~

Blood Remembered:

A Max Sawyer Novel
Book 1

By Douglas Pratt

Being awakened by your friend and lawyer to hear that your first love was arrested for murdering her fiance' could have elicited two responses...glad to see she's going to get some payback...or, in Max's case, immediate action...he had never forgotten Amanda Rawls and they had remained friends. Max was wealthy enough to help a friend in trouble...

Especially since his lawyer, Tom had also been elected to Prosecuting Attorney in Hellenston, Arkansas, and he was not only unable to defend her...he would be prosecuting her!

But Max knew that, within the limits of the law, Tom would do anything he could to help Max work on her behalf... She needed it, especially with how they'd found her, standing over the naked man...

Tom said, " says she was out of town, and came home to find him. But he was found in her living room, naked, with a hole in his chest. The .12 gauge was lying on the floor with her prints on it.”
...Cynthia’s eyes widened, “She killed him?”
“I don’t know yet. But she may need a lawyer. I am going to see if she needs anything. She may need some financial help. I just want to make sure everything is okay with her."

I set the cruise control at 67 miles per hour. Even though I could make excellent time in this car, I try not to speed. This car looks like its doing sixty when the keys are in my pocket.
I fiddled in the ashtray for the remote to the CD changer. I clicked it a few times until I found B.B. King belting out one of my favorites, "Ain't That Just Like a Woman." With his deep voice extolling the virtues of woman kind, I drove north toward home and a handful of unexpected surprises.

Returning to Arkansas was not an easy trip. Max had left ten years ago after his parents had been murdered in bed... and rarely returned... But before he left, he had found the murderer...the town Sheriff! Breaking open corruption in that office had never been forgotten...by Max or the town...

With the breeze through his hair and the sound of Eric Clapton tributing Robert Johnson, Max drove twelve hours, 637 miles, to pull into his home town... The familiar town was looking better since they ran the last mayor out of office...

News was spreading fast across town and everybody knew he was here to help Mandy...While he was out talking with people, another of his old girlfriends showed up...and asked Max to help her investigate and help Mandy... Actually, Lisa Day was an investigative reporter and wanted the big inside story!

Amanda was soon out of jail and staying with Max as agreed upon with the court...He was living on a small boat and before long they were both remembering their time together years ago.

Only thing is that, once Max had agreed to allow Lisa to work with him...he also began remembering being with her! Whoa!

The first thing needed was to talk to the murdered man's wife... Yes, Mandy's fiance' had gotten involved with another woman and had quickly married... But anybody who knew her...or even saw her...would wonder...WHY?

The late Mr. Lofton’s bride sure seemed to be coping with the murder of her husband. I got into the car and glanced into the bag. It was quite a little goodie bag. I set the bag down on the passenger seat and started the car. As I put the car into gear, I noticed the curtains of one of the windows brushing open and Leigh Rozen peering through the window. She was running her fingers of her left hand over her breast. She tried to give a seductive smile. I waved at her as I pulled away from the trailer. I touched the accelerator and sped back down the dirt road toward the highway. As I drove along, I pulled a few pieces of the papers I had extracted from the drawer. There were several telephone numbers on them. I had a friend who worked in D.C. for the F.B.I. He was a surprisingly good contact for information about these things. 

~~~

Well, he quickly learned she was selling, had whatever drug he asked for...and she was also available...if he wanted to buy anything else... He got out of there quickly, threw the drugs away and wondered if Lofton had been involved, or even using...

Stopping back at Amanda's house to pick up some clothes, he immediately began looking around, seeing the home he'd visited years ago, now as a crime scene...Naked? What had happened to his clothes? And where was his car? Walking around outside, he realized once again how isolated the house was... It was unlikely anybody heard the gunshot... So how did the police get there so quickly...

Just like the police quickly came when Lofton's wife, where Max had just been, was found dead..

I must say that Pratt has created a main character that is strong in investigative skills. And soon Max was moving fast, to put together the facts he was discovering. I'm looking forward to seeing Max (with Lisa the investigative reporter, I hope) in further books to learn what happens next! The book is written in first person, and has a whiff of  character Mike Hammer by Mickey Spillane, a favorite of mine... as well as the other more recent comparable characters that have been mentioned.

Really didn't have a clue regarding the ending...Great, right?! I love to be stumped in a whodunit...Don't you? Check it out!

GABixlerReviews

I was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee. I have been a reader for as long as I can remember. When I was in third grade, I started writing quirky poems that either sucked or I plagiarized. When I reached fifth grade, I wrote a book about Frisky the Frog. It was a collection of short stories, mostly ripped off of comic books and movies. However, it did instill the bug of writing.
During high school, I dabbled in short stories and poems. I found a new reason to write. Apparently, girls really like poetry. I won't tell them that I sometimes recycled the poems for different girls. I was a crass boy.
I attended the University of Memphis (actually starting the school while it was still called Memphis State University,) and I attained a degree in Journalism.  Blood Remembered is my first novel.

Larry Seeley Does It Again in Second Jack Sloan Novel!

Church in Juarez, Mexico - NARA - 516966 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

17 Degrees North:
 Take It To The Limit


By Larry Seeley




The problem when you look forward to a sequel of a series is that readers have to wait until the writer does his thing and gets it into our hands! But as soon as Larry Seeley had again published, I refreshed my memory of his first book, naturally by reading my review (click to check it out!) of Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves! There I confirmed that I had really liked the main character and loved the book.

Seeley has his own style of writing that I have come to appreciate after also enjoying his latest, 17 Degrees North. In his second novel, Jack Sloan is in an entirely different situation than in his first. He is somewhat more settled and he and Darlene are living on a small farm with an interest in a local bar/restaurant.

Everything was going along routinely when Jack was out one day riding and his horse stumbled.

And partially uncovered a large canvas bag that contained money--lots of it. A storm raged--what to do? So he took it with him, even though he already had the feeling he was making a mistake! Who did the bag belong to? How and why did it get way out where he had found it? Jack knew one thing--he didn't want the money and had to figure out what to do with it!

His main hesitation evolved around his past--he had an "encounter" with the FBI some time ago and didn't know whether they were still looking for him!

He was fairly close to one of the local officers, but the police chief and he didn't get along--mainly because the sheriff was a mean druggie, among other things...

So, for now, he would hold on to it, though neither he nor Darlene, once they had counted the money and knew somebody would be coming for it, wanted to be anywhere near what could only bring trouble their way!

But he did finally share with his police friend, Will, and learned that there had been a recent kidnapping and subsequent murder of the victim... The amount of money Jack had discovered matched the ransom, which an insurance company had provided. The whole affair, however, had everybody very confused as to why the victim had been killed after the money had been delivered.

In fact, it looked like the work of an assassin...

And as the investigation continues, Jack is pulled in, unwillingly, to work with an investigator from Juarez, Mexico, and an agent from the FBI. But somehow, the killer had traced the money directly to Jack's home and his employees and friends were shot, one clearly tortured. Jack knew his bringing the money home had caused this...

Now he was out for revenge!

Larry Seeley has done it again! A thriller that keeps the suspense high and the action ongoing! Jack is James Bond type but a more laid-back type of dude that may just look like the author??? Darlene is the perfect cool lady that not only stands behind her man, but gets along side of him when the fighting and shooting starts! Of course, when she sees the body of the bad guy she shot, she immediately regurgitates--but hey, a lady can only do so much! Anyway, these characters alone are worth getting to know, but the rest were also wonderfully created and perfect in the role each were given, including the assassin, who was quite...duplicitous...

Enjoy this one! Highly recommended


GABixlerReviews

About the Author
Born in 1939 and raised in a tiny Ohio town, Larry Seeley is the ex-CEO of the world's largest privately-owned training company and the former CEO of the gaming firm that built the first legal Native casino in Maritime Canada. A U.S. Army veteran, he lives in the high desert north of Santa Fe, New Mexico. His four children and eight grandchildren are scattered from California to Minnesota. He and his wife, Katie, watch over a small menagerie of dogs, cats, and chickens. 

Sometimes Early Sale Copies Create Bad Rep--Authors, Readers Need to be Careful!

"That's all I had when I began writing BLIND FAITH--quite frankly it's more than I usually have!   I knew it would be a dark, edgy novel, filled with betrayals and intrigues.  A novel where nothing could be taken for granted, where no one was the person they appeared to be.  Where dark secrets would be unearthed and the lives of every character would be forever changed.  But also an uplifting novel of courage and strength and perseverance, and most of all, revealing that we each have the power to choose.  To choose to have faith, to choose to love, to choose to forgive." --quote from author on writing this book and included on Amazon book page...

Blind Faith
  (Kindle Version)


By C. J. Lyon




I very much enjoyed reading the little article on Amazon  (excerpt above)  by the author about how she came about writing Blind Faith. Indeed, her plan to write a dark, edgy novel was very successful in my opinion! It is not only a page-turner, moving fast with quite a complex story, there is indeed an underlying tale of how faith can be tested and how far it will stretch before breaking for any one person.

Sarah Durandt had much faith and love. Her family had been the most important thing in her life and she was unable to accept that they were dead. She had even gone to the prison and watched the execution of the man who had admitted to killing them. Now she spent most of her time going into the hills where some evidence had been found, trying to find some sign of where they might have been buried. Only then might she be sure they were really gone.

She knew every place around their home and had been trained in search and rescue, so that on her most recent trip when she had seen what looked to be a body, she had called it in and then went on to check... It was not her husband so she proceeded to get it ready to be taken back...a gutsy lady that readers will certainly come to care about!

Readers know early on that things are not right about the whole situation. One man is wooing Sarah while we see that he is playing her in order to later get rid of her... There are many characters involved in what actually happens and a series of events catches Sarah right in the middle, trying to discover what had been going on in her husband's past life, only to get caught in being chased by those who knew him from his past.

Note that the pace and puzzling twists move so fast that it is hard to share without giving too much away. Surprises are ongoing and will catch readers off guard and close attention to the tale is the only way you'll be able to read to keep up. I do believe that the Kindle Version was actually an ARC because there were some issues that should have been addressed and probably will be before its out in print in July. I got my copy at a 99 cent sale that is not even now available.

I enjoyed the book. Some of the events were maybe a little too contrived as you read and, afterward, you may question some of what took place. But, I still have to say that I got so quickly caught up that I was hooked up until the surprise ending. The print copy won't be coming out until July, a full year after I got my copy!  This best-selling author has many books to her credit, even though this version got some bad reviews, I feel sure that they will be corrected prior to print and is worth checking out further...


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U.K. 2nd Best-Selling Author Bringing Latest Greatest to U.S.! Check it Out!

Amazon says that I'm the second-bestselling British author.
 To be honest, Lee is only ahead of me because he sells so many
 in the US! (from FaceBook Wall!!)

Nightfall

By Stephen Leather












There's been books and even one popular song about deals with the Devil, but Stephen Leather twisted that in an even more sinister way in Nightfall--a man chose to make a deal for "his son's" soul as opposed to his own! I must admit that I had some hesitancy in beginning since this type of horror novel can get very gruesome...

However, what actually happened is that the main character was so professionally experienced that he seemed able to approach the situation just as if it were a case. He immediately started to investigate, research and consider all options! For me, I was thankful that the horror became secondary; and what the author's choice in creating this character as he did was to actually transfer the novel into a mystery thriller that pulled me right in and kept me turning page after page to see what would happen. And the ending was perfect!

Out March 20th - you can pre-order NOW!

Jack Nightingale had lived a normal life, respected as a professional police negotiator until his last case. He had been called to try to talk a young child down from jumping and as he talked with her, he thought he was being successful since he got her to tell him that her father had been abusing her... But then suddenly she just jumped and he had been unable to stop her. It was the second phase of this case, though, that had resulted in his leaving his position.

Jack had gone to confront the girl's father. But while there, her father  jumped or was pushed from the window...

Of course there was no evidence to explain what had happened and Jack was not talking. In reality, he only remembered one thing--the man had turned to him and said "You're going to hell, Jack Nightingale..." Of course everybody thought Jack had pushed him and most felt that the man deserved it and that Jack was a hero. But his reputation could not sustain through the "possibility" though he was never charged.

Two years later, Jack had begun his own private investigation office, living close to the bone from case to case when he was contacted by a lawyer who explained that his father had died and he had inherited all of his estate. Of course, Jack felt it was a mistake--he had been adopted, but his parents had never told him he was not their biological son... Jack had also begun having weird dreams...

Cutting to the chase, Jack learned that his father had made a deal for his son so that he would have a wealthy financially successful life, which he'd had. But when Jack first went into the mansion which was now his, all of the furniture, paintings, etc. were gone. He learned that his father had begun selling everything to buy books--books on magic, witchcraft, demonology... Had he been trying to get out of the deal?

The investigation and research conducted by Jack is fascinating as he delves into what his father had done when he was born, what he'd done as he was near death, and as Jack's birthday approached. Jack's soul was due on his 33rd birthday... He realized that the deal must be true, because whenever he tried to discover more from his family or others, they were already dead by the time he reached them!

I enjoyed the comment on Leather's Facebook Wall, about Lee Child selling so many books here in U.S. and that is why he's second best-selling author in the U.K. As we learn more about him and read more of his books, like Nightfall, I am sure he will begin to be more in competition with Child! Highly Recommend--I thoroughly enjoyed this one!

About the Author

Stephen Leather was a journalist for more than ten years on newspapers such as The Times, the Daily Mail and the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong. Before that, he was employed as a biochemist for ICI, shovelled limestone in a quarry, worked as a baker, a petrol pump attendant, a barman, and worked for the Inland Revenue. He began writing full time in 1992. His bestsellers have been translated into more than ten languages. He has also written for television shows such as London's Burning, The Knock and the BBC's Murder in Mind series. You can find out more from his website, www.stephenleather.com.

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Female Sniper Targeted For Death in Frantastic Suspense Thriller

Image via Wikipedia

"Blue Two, what is target's position?"
"Zone Two, pacing. He's carrying the girl, a
gun at her head, A Bowie on the southeast
corner table. He's nervous, unpredictable."
..."Jazz's body froze in readiness. He was
coming her way. If Blue Leader ordered the
guys to rush the house, she had to be on her
game. She would protect them. She
wouldn't fail.
The blinds fluttered. Jazz forced her breathing
into a comfortable, familiar pattern. "Blue
Leader, this is Blue Four. I see movement.
..."Target acquired. It's a good shot."
"Can you see the girl?"
"He's got a gun to her head.
Only a second passed before the expected
order came through.
"Take the shot, Blue Four..."

In Her Sights


By Robin Perini




This is the first book for Perini and I was fascinated from the front cover through to the end! The main character was in a first-time role for my reading for a female, one characteristic I especially enjoy! Jasmine "Jazz" Parker was the only female sniper of a SWAT team! Cool, right?! In fact, she had just become a hero, saving the daughter of the governor when she had been captured and held...

But when her picture appeared in the newspaper, Jazz was dismayed--this could become a real problem if someone from her past happened to see that picture! And what was so frustrating was that Luke Montgomery, with whom she had a past, had thought he was helping her by spotlighting her action.

They had never got close enough for her to ever share her secret past with him. Now when he realized that somebody was after her, he would have to learn what had happened, whether she told him or he found out on his own. Luke's brother was Gabe, who was also on the SWAT team, while Luke was now the investigative reporter who had pasted her heroism across the front page but he was also an ex-Army Ranger and, most importantly, had never gotten Jazz out of his system. He was going to help her, whether she was willing or not!

Similar issues in their past had once prevented their relationship, but when Jazz and Luke were together, it was hot and steamy, each both remembering being intimate, but fighting to forget that during the confusion and threats coming toward Jazz, both from within the SWAT team, when Gabe is hurt, as well as those who had never wanted a woman sniper... But it was the fear for Gabe that broke the bonds of restraint and pulled the two of them together...finally...

Slowly details were coming out about Jazz's past and individuals were pinpointed but nothing could be proven as to whether the danger came from the past or from enemies she had made since being selected for the sniper position. And Jazz did not feel she could share her past with anybody.The only thing definite--somebody didn't want Jazz Parker to live...

Not only has Perini presented us with a well-written novel, which includes significant knowledge of weaponry she has that special skill that sets a steady, paced rhythm to sharing the tale so that readers are caught, turning each page to gather another clue, to learn more about the two lovers as the main characters, including meeting a delightful young girl who turns out to be Luke's daughter who sends Jazz into a spin! The suspense keeps us totally involved, while the romance sometimes becomes even more important than the story line. Suspense and thriller readers will be totally satisfied, hopefully as much as I was! Highly recommended!

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About the Author


Award-winning author Robin Perini's love of heart-stopping suspense and poignant romance, coupled with her adoration of high-tech weaponry and covert ops, encouraged her secret inner commando to take on the challenge of writing romantic suspense novels. Her mission's motto: "When danger and romance collide, no heart is safe."


Devoted to giving her readers fast-paced, high stakes adventures with a love story sure to melt their hearts, Robin's strong characters and tightly woven plots have garnered her the prestigious Romance Writers of America Golden Heart Award. By day, she works for an advanced technology corporation, and in her spare time, you might find her giving one of her many nationally acclaimed writing workshops or training in competitive small-bore rifle silhouette shooting. 


Robin loves to interact with readers. You can catch her on her Website and several major social networking sites.


   

Related articles

• Book Review: In Her Sights by Robin Perini (blogcritics.org)

Fictional Supermen or Genetically Created Killers?

Image via Wikipedia

"Everyone on the floor!" the first one shouted, waving
his gun. The second man barred the front double doors
with a crowbar. "Get down I said!" he screamed, shoving
one of the bankers to the floor.
Rage crouched down, his eyes moving to the elderly
couple, huddled against each other on the floor, both
terrified. He swiveled his head back toward the woman,
whose eyes met his...He closed his eyes and thought
about his gift. He had used in only once before, years
ago. Since then he'd sworn to her he would never use it
to harm another...
Bang! The shotgun went off. Startled by Rage's sudden
move, the large man had fired it inadvertently, right into
Rage's stomach...

Code of Darkness


Chris Lindberg






He was a superhero in many ways, but there was also blood-lust in him that resulted in his being over-zealous. A purse snatcher or a robber or a rapist...justice would only be served by death to those who committed a crime! It had all started when he visited the bank that Saturday morning...

Rage had noticed the woman in line, their eyes had met and briefly they had connected. So when the robbers took her hostage, Rage had offered to go in her place. Later he had been shot...

But being shot didn't stop him and as the cops were surrounding the bank, Rage followed the men who had taken the woman.

"In one blinding motion, the newcomer ripped the gun from the small man's hand then spun into a kick that connected with the large man's jaw. Larry could hear the sickening crunch as the jawbone shattered. Completing his full spin, he rounded up on the small man and punched him square in the chest, sending him flying into a brick wall. As the large man fell, he turned back to pull the woman free while kicking the shotgun from the robber's limp hand...Then before Larry could utter a word, the man leapt all the way up onto the adjacent building's roof, and was gone..."

The amazing thing about Code of Darkness is that it begins with action--all the above occurred in the first chapter--and is ongoing throughout the book! Action-packed, however, does not even begin to describe the exciting intrigue of what will occur!

Consider chapter 2, for instance, that immediately takes you into the world of Elias Todd...For most of the book, he will be referred to as Asset One, which lays the foundation for the underlying story...

Enter the Federal government...


Elias Todd was a mercenary, an assassin whose services were available to anybody that could pay his price. He was very rich...

Todd was just back from his latest job, merely slipping poison into the victim's drink, while the autopsy would show that the man had died of a heart attack. "Two hours of work, netting a half-million-dollar payout."

But they were waiting for him...and though he fought with his great strength, they had come prepared for him and filled him with three shots, connecting with Todd's neck and upper chest...he began to feel consciousness slipping away.

Colonel Nolan Hayes declared that Todd was definitely one of them as he examined the wounds from the tranquilizer darts. Asset One had been secured. And before he began to stir they began to Assemble the Box to to get him inside immediately.

Super-soldiers is not a new concept--some readers may even believe that such research has or is taking place right now. What I found compelling about Lindberg's novel was that he took us directly into the lives of three men, all of whom had been genetically altered. Now the research funding had been renewed and two assets were being hunted...

And while these three men had been living their lives, Larry Parker was living as a homicide cop in Chicago and Mira Givens was doing good work as a social worker. Both had been at that bank robbery; both had been drawn into what would become one of the worst violent events that had occurred in Chicago, and later, Virginia...and one of the best "actions" that had been covered up by those government bureaucrats who  created...plausible storylines... What impressed me most was that it was Parker and Givens, just regular people, who used their determination and intelligence to wade through everything and wound up there at the climatic end, because of their love and commitment. You'll have to read it to understand why!

A touch of fantasy and science fiction, with lots of action and suspense will ensure that readers who choose Code of Darkness will be totally wrapped up from page 1 through many hair-raising, scary, and extremely graphic scenes of what is created and done in the name of science...Not for the squeamish! I thoroughly enjoyed it and would highly recommend!

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"Dressed in full military garb, he walked with a powerful air toward the table,
ignoring all others around him, his eyes fixated on Todd the entire way, as if sizing up
a target...Todd instinctively struggled against his bindings, again to no avail...
"My name is Colonel Nolan Hayes...I am the head of Operation...Chief Asset Recovery;
part of a larger undertaking by the Pentagon called Project Safeguard."
..."Dr. Ingramov," he bellowed to his right. "You may commence with testing...
Electric shocks. Continuous currents. Pressure points. Needles, large and small.
Probes, Biopsies. All without anesthesia. Through all of it Todd kept his pain
inside of him, gritting his teeth through the agony, letting his anger build within
him. He would get an opening, he knew he would; and when it came, he would
kill them all. First Polosky, then Ingramov, and finally Hayes..."

Melissa Foster's Chasing Amanda Provides Riveting Suspense!

Chasing Amanda


By Melissa Foster

Image via Wikipedia

“No! I want to go home!” She clawed at the dirt,
    kicking fiercely at her captor's face,
“I'm not going back in there!”
         Tracey felt her arm being pulled and twisted
     behind her back. Her terrified screams
          were absorbed by the dirt walls of the tunnel.

Melissa Foster hooked me from the first page and I stayed there reading until I finished it that evening! If you have the time, I'd recommend you plan to do the same...because Foster's second book is full of suspense, intrigue and a story that grabs you and holds on tight until you've read the final words! The subject matter is horrendous, of course, but I find that well-written novels with a tremendous impact, also serve to make more and more people aware of how easily, how very easily it is...to lose your child...

Molly, our lead character, had not only found that out, but had been traumatized by what she had seen. Amanda, a little girl had been abducted. Molly had seen her screaming and struggling with a man she thought was the father who had calmly told Molly she was upset about not getting her doll. Molly had driven away but later discovered that the girl had been abducted and later found murdered. Although years had passed, Molly had never forgotten, or forgiven herself. She had sunk so far into depression that her husband decided to relocate the family...



But little girls alone are not safe, no matter where you go...

Now, in Boyds, a little girl was missing. Her name was Tracey... And Molly was adamant she was going to do everything possible to help find her, even if it meant losing her husband...

Besides, she was tortured by visions of little Tracey."She called the powerful episodes the Knowing, as her mother had. Now, she'd give anything to be able to close her eyes against her ability, wash it away like dirt from a fall.Before Amanda, Molly's visions had been vague and sporadic, sand under a breaking wave, morphing from one second to the next in unclear shapes and patterns. Amanda's death had changed every aspect of her life, including the clarity and frequency of her visions..."

While Boyds was a quiet small town where Molly had become involved and gotten to know most of the members of the community, she found that people were not happy that she was diligently working to find Tracey. Asking questions had led to the fact that another little girl had disappeared there 20 years ago and never been found. Secrets of small towns may disrupt an entire community and the person asking questions may be in danger...

No! Not now! She closed her eyes and tried to will away the pressure in her head. There was no escape. She clenched her fists and brought them to her forehead, bracing herself for what she knew was happening. A fog enveloped her mind, and her legs became weak beneath her. A passerby, seeing her body shake and thrust, would have thought Molly was having a seizure. A passerby wouldn't have been able to distinguish between a seizure and the Knowing. Molly could...She felt like a puppet on a string. Visions flashed in her mind: A cavern-like room surrounded by shadowy darkness; a young girl huddled in a corner, scared and shivering; the smell of rancid, wet earth. Molly fell to the ground and cried out in fear and frustration, “No!”

The police wouldn't support her; her husband didn't want her to become so involved. The one woman, her pastor, who had helped her through many discussions when she had first arrived, now seemed distant, secretive, and Molly had even seen her out in the night in strange places. But she wasn't the only one--another friend who had been out searching had stopped strangely in the middle of a cornfield and touched the ground, saw Molly and moved on. When Molly reached the spot, she bent down and "felt" that something was there...

But time was passing and Tracey had still not been found. Molly was finding clues, but kept them to herself, hoping that they would bring psychic connections...but when they did, nobody would go with her to the place where she knew Tracey was being held... Now she faced Tracey's abductor, and found that Tracey had been so traumatized that she no longer wanted to leave the one who had kidnapped her...

You DO NOT want to miss this one! I considered this a must-read...for many reasons! Readers--you know who you are! Melissa Foster is a true storyteller, able to create strong believable characters, provide riveting suspense, and, at the same time, spotlight the major issue of child abduction. Melissa, very well done!

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Exciting Suspense Novel Spotlights Internet Dark Side...

wikipedia.com

Afraid of the 
Dark


By James Grippando




If you enjoy deep, heavy, complex suspense, this is the book for you! Not only are you caught in the chase of "who," you are watching as the "why" is also explored--is it terrorism? Pornography? Pedophilia? How about a little of all of it, plus murder! Indeed readers will try to follow the threads as the why's are revealed, but none of the tension or drama lets up until the very end!

It all started when Vince Paulo was helping out his friend, Chuck Mays. He was helping him keep his daughter McKenna safe from electronic predators by electronically watching her! However, when he saw the message she had sent, it was just a little later than it needed to be. By the time he had reached McKenna's home, she was seriously injured and then died. By the time Vince left her home, a bomb had gone off and Vince was blinded!

Jack Swyteck was asked to represent a man being held at Guantanamo. He was doing it only to support his friend Neil. When they arrive, Jack started to talk to him and for the first time after years of his being there, the man started talking. Getting him released was only the first step...

As soon as he was back in the United States, he was arrested for the murder of Mays' daughter, McKenna. His name was really Jamal and he had been McKenna's lover.

Since Jamal had come to trust Jack, he was asked to defend him once again. Learning that prior to his being taken to Guantanamo, Jamal had been in an interrogation prison, he thought, in Prague, Jack was convinced some type of government cover up was going on. After all, they must have known who Jamal was while he was imprisoned and perhaps even had held and tortured him before then. Jack learned that Jamal was related to a known terrorist though he had lived with his mother for years, without contact.

But there was one thing--while waiting for help for McKenna, knowing that she might not make it, Vince Paulo had questioned her about who had done it. He taped her response, naming Jamal, her first...

No matter how everything was considered, all of the pieces just didn't add up. Then Jack, Vince, and Chuck Mays came together, willing to share information. But anybody who knew something was soon killed. Or threats against family were made.

While the title refers to the individual who used the phrase, "Afraid of the Dark," Grippando has actually spotlighted the dark side of Internet use. We all know that we never really know with whom we are talking. We also know that our identity can be stolen. And we faithfully purchase all the protection software that supposedly keeps us safe... How foolish we can be...

This is not a book you fall in love with...but it was excellent in so many other ways! Highly recommended.

Book Received from
Amazon Vine


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