LABYRINTH by Catherine Coulter

An FBI Story, Book 23

Gallery Books

July 30^th, 2019

978-1501193651

Thriller/Mystery, Contemporary, Action Adventure

E-ARC

Reviewed by Dawn (love2read28@gmail.com)

Obtained by Publisher via Netgalley

4.5 Hearts

Agent Lacey Sherlock is on her way to downtown Washington when she is in an auto accident. All she remembers is a body hitting her windshield and then nothing but darkness. When she wakes, she finds out no one knows who the guy is except he is a CIA analyst that is still missing.

Meanwhile on another case, FBI agent Griffin Hammersmith rescues a woman claiming she was kidnapped and that the kidnapper killed three other people. But when Griffin investigates it, he finds the accused kidnapper is a member of a prominent family who claim to have psychic powers. When Griffin and the woman he rescued are arrested by the sheriff, he calls Savich for help and they have to work their way through the lies that keep piling up even as Savich tries to help Sherlock and deal with the case of the missing CIA analyst.

Wow is all I can say after reading the latest FBI novel from Catherine Coulter. What a great premise and storyline plus I loved returning to past characters again to see where they went on after their book. Ms. Coulter delivers a fast paced, action packed story that will keep you glued to the pages until the very last page is read. I know I was just blown away by all the twists this author through at the characters. I have no idea how this author keeps surprising her readers with unique and intriguing stories in her FBI series and at book twenty-three, you would think it would be stale and boring. That is NOT the case for LABYRINTH at all. It’s just as fresh and exciting as book one, The cove. Every FBI novel has two stories running through it that at times intersect or are separate from the Savich and Sherlock main storyline. What I love the most is how much fun these books are. They are so entertaining and enjoyable that I love rereading them periodically to see back on characters or past storylines.

This time we see Savich dealing with Sherlock being injured and that story line shows a few twists I won’t get into it here to not spoil it for you in case you haven’t read it yet. I love these two characters and love how Savich and Sherlock work so well together as well as raise a wonderful little boy named Sean. Those glimpses into their personal relationship and family are the calm of the case(s) they deal with and I love seeing those glimpses into their life together. The characters are wonderfully written and highly entertaining. I think in LABYRINTH, Griffin is a delight and his dealing with a family who thinks they have psychic powers was fun to see this by logical special agent deal with. The characters are really well written and wonderful to read. I couldn’t help but get into the story itself and root for them to succeed in solving both cases.

If you have never read one of this author’s FBI novels, you can start anywhere as each story is basically stand alone in the series but I highly recommend reading from the beginning with The Cove and moving from there to see how Savich and Sherlock got together and see how some of the other characters joined Savich’s FBI unit. If you like a mystery that sinks its teeth into you while you read, action that keeps you on the edge of your seat and more then run to grab LABYRINTH and settle in for one wild ride from start to finish. I can’t wait to see where the author goes in the next FBI series book next.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement

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THE GOODBYE CAFÉ by Mariah Stewart

A Hudson Sisters Novel, Book 3

Gallery Books

March 26^th, 2019

978-1-5011-4512-4

Contemporary, Women’s Fiction

Paperback

Reviewed by Dawn (love2read28@gmail.com)

Obtained by Publisher

 4 Hearts

 

For Allie Hudson Monroe, finishing up the renovation of the family theater can’t get here fast enough so she can claim her inheritance and get back to Los Angeles where her life and teenage daughter live.  But she never anticipated that reuniting with her sister, Des and a new found sister, Cara, would impact her nor the ties that bind them together would strengthen as time went on. As the final touches are added to the theater, Allie finds herself in a quandary, does she stay and make a life with family and friends she has made in the hometown of her father or go back to the big city lights where she is just a cog in a wheel? Allie is about to figure out that life has a few more tricks up her sleeves for her as she finally finds the woman she was meant to be in Pennsylvania.

THE GOODBYE CAFÉ is the final story of the Hudson sister’s trilogy and one I loved to pieces. As we have seen in the past two books (The Last Chance Matinee and The Sugarhouse Blues), all three sisters are unique and entertaining. From Cara, the untold half-sister of Allie and Des to the strained relationship Allie in this third book become the woman she was meant to be, to tap into her background in art to save the day and the theater that has become to mean so much to the girls. I love how the author delivers a character rich story that centers on family. With some amazing secondary characters alongside Cara, Des and Allie, the reader is charmed by THE GOODBYE CAFÉ as well as the other two books in the series. I loved all three books, but Allie was my favorite by far character in the series. She was prickly, caustic and determined to leave as fast as she could without forfeiting her inheritance. But we see the growth Allie goes through to book three and I know I had my doubts about her but dang, doesn’t the author deliver a perfect story for Allie. Between a love interest that started in book 1, The Last Chance Matinee, to making new friends who give Allie the strength to keep reaching for the stars. All the characters are well written and kept my attention till the very end of the book.

THE GOODBYE CAFÉ is a perfect read on a spring afternoon, with a chilled glass of iced tea and maybe some of Cara’s granola to munch on. Ms. Stewart delivers a fast-paced storyline that ties up a lot of loose ends as well as giving sneak peeks into Cara, Des and other characters lives as Allie finds just where she belongs. If you haven’t checked this series out, I highly recommend it. It’s a great feel good story that will leave you breathless and with a smile on your face when the last page is read.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement

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THE LAST SECOND by Catherine Coulter and JT Ellison

A Brit in the FBI Series Book 6

Gallery Books

March 26^th, 2019

978-1-5011-3824-9 (ebook ISBN)

Contemporary, Action-Adventure, Mystery/Thriller, Crime, Suspense

E-book ARC

Reviewed by Dawn (love2read28@gmail.com)

Obtained by Publisher

4.5 Hearts

For FBI Special Agents Nicholas Drummond and Michaela Caine, recovering from their last adventure in saving the world has given them a few days of peace but when one of their friends is lost at sea on a regular security job, they leap into action and find they are in the middle of a case that will change the face of the world if it succeeds.

Former astronaut Dr. Nevaeh Patel is booted from the NASA program after an unexpected calamity when she was out on the International Space Station. Deemed crazy as she raved that aliens called the Numen, wanted to bring peace to the world when they saved her. Pushed from the world and a job that she has trained for over the years, Patel is determined to quiet the space above earth with an EMP attached to nuclear device on a satellite for the Numen and help remake the world into her favor. But as Drummond and Caine find out, all things are not as it seems when the fabled holy grail is found then stolen by Patel. With the clock ticking, they must stop Patel from activating the EMP and bringing about World War III.

THE LAST SECOND is a thrill ride from start to finish and these two authors deliver the thrills and chills with a breakneck speed that will leave you breathless. I love this series and find each book a thrill a minute as the cases Drummond and Caine get involved in are intriguing and unique. The series just gets better with each book and I love how the characters continue to grow with each book. Ms. Coulter and Ms. Ellison deliver lots of action scenes that left me gasping as I flipped the pages on my kindle. The mythology of the Holy Grail was intriguing one that added much to the other aspect of the storyline, the ‘aliens’ and their representative here on earth, Dr. Patel. The story starts off slow as we meet the new players in the series and catch up with Drummond and Caine who are taking a much-needed break after their last adventure almost killed them. This time going to help a friend leads them into a bigger mystery that leaves them nothing to do but see to it till the end.  Full of amazing characters that fairly leap off the pages and a storyline that just keeps you glued to the edge of your seat, the reader is lost within the pages of THE LAST SECOND till the very end.

THE LAST SECOND delivers so much within the pages that you can not help but get sucked in. I couldn’t put this book down and I just loved all the twists and turns the characters took as they chased down leads to Patel and her evil plot to ‘quiet’ the world. These two authors are so good together in this series and I loved every minute of THE LAST SECOND. If you haven’t read A Brit in the FBI series, then I highly recommend it, though start at the beginning with book one, The Final Cut, as you get to meet all the main players and continue from there to the other books in the series. I am looking forward to seeing where these two authors go next in their next adventure for Drummond and Caine as well as the rest of the Covert Ops group of the FBI. Run-don’t walk-to the check this series out. You won’t want to miss all the fun times they get into and the unique cases they need to solve.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement

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PARADOX by Catherine Coulter

An FBI Thriller, Book Twenty-Two

Gallery Books

978-1501138126

July 31^st, 2018

Thriller, Contemporary, Mystery, Crime & Law Enforcement Fiction

E-ARC

Reviewed by Dawn (love2read28@gmail.com)

Obtained by Publisher

5 Hearts

FBI Agents Savich and Sherlock are awakened one night with a masked man in their son’s bedroom. The intruder escapes but they are both shaken as they try to figure out who has targeted them. Is it a past enemy? A new danger? They have no idea but as they dig into the incident they find that its tied to another crime, one that also involves an FBI agent. Chief Ty Christie never anticipated her morning coffee on her deck would be the front row seat to a murder on the lake. When she calls it in and divers go out to find the body, they find not just the victim but human bones as well…lots of them. With Savich and Sherlock on the case and FBI Agent Sala assisting Ty, the link between a deranged murderer and their case chills them to the bone. Can they find the mastermind behind the murder of a federal prosecutor as well as figure out who used the lake as a dumping ground or will the lake be their watery grave in the end?

Wow, just wow. Catherine Coulter delivers another fine installment in her FBI series with PARADOX and I couldn’t put this one down. It was a fast-paced thrill ride from start to finish and I couldn’t flip the pages fast enough to see where Savich and Sherlock are going next in the case. Ms. Coulter does an amazing job in creating fresh stories in this long series and each time I think you can’t top the last book, she pulls out the stops and delivers another powerful book that will rock you to the core. I love this series and it isn’t just the cases that mysteries that draw me in, its also the characters. I have read the series since the start and I loved Savich and add in his wife, Sherlock, well you got a couple who literally melt my heart each time they pop up in this series as well as in the Brit in the FBI series this author co-writes as well. The characters are well written, unique and highly entertaining. I love meeting the new characters the author introduces in the series, case in point, Ty Christie and Agent Sala. Ty is intriguing, tough yet tender and can do her job with all she has. She complements Sala perfectly as they try to figure out who tossed the bones in the lake and why. I am hoping we get to see more of these two characters in future books.

PARADOX is a fast-paced adventure that readers will enjoy. The reader will be caught up on who the mastermind is behind the break in of Savich and Sherlock’s home and attempted kidnapping of their son as to the answer of the case that is Ty’s-is a serial killer using her tiny town’s lake as a dumping ground? The two cases intersect unexpectedly and I, for one, was glued to see where it all went. I loved all the twists and turns the author threw in as well as it kept the story moving smoothly, quickly and kept my heart jumping as I tried to see if Savich, Sherlock and the gang would prevail in the end. I highly recommend this series and even after twenty-two books into the series, PARADOX delivers a fine adventure. Now I want to see where the author goes next for the FBI crew and the cases they need to solve.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement

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