Reading and #Reviews (Koontz, Proell, Garner)

I'm a writer, but I'm also a reader. Each month, I'll share with you reviews of present and past reads. My available time to read is limited because I write, but I love to curl up with a paperback or an eBook at night for the last hour of my day.

I tend to read what I write, but not exclusively. Besides Romantic Suspense, I read crime and law novels, once in a while a true story, WWII historicals, mysteries, and main stream character driven books.

Here are some of the books I've read recently or in the not too distant past. Maybe you'll discover a new book or author! 

Watchers by Dean Koontz

It took me a couple of chapters to get into this book. I gave it more time than I normally do because of the author. I’m glad I hung in there. I’m a dog lover, so that might be why I didn’t give up. I came to really like the main character, Travis Cornell, too. He appears to be a mellow fellow but his past life is slowly revealed, and we learn he’s a whole lot deeper. When he meets a woman whose life is sad, and whose self-esteem is non-existent, the book takes on a new twist. The story is great. The characterizations are excellent. The premise is wild but believable.

Blurb:

On his thirty-sixth birthday, Travis Cornell hikes into the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains. But his path is soon blocked by a bedraggled Golden Retriever who will let him go no further into the dark woods.

That morning, Travis had been desperate to find some happiness in his lonely, seemingly cursed life. What he finds is a dog of alarming intelligence that soon leads him into a relentless storm of mankind’s darkest creation...

https://www.amazon.com/Watchers-Dean-Koontz-ebook/dp/B001974DG0/

 

A Deadly Truth by Joyce Proell

Ms. Proell satisfied me for a second time. I read her first published book set in western times. Now this Victorian era romantic mystery was equally enjoyable. She has a knack for placing the reader deep in the time period. What I enjoy in a book are characters I can easily visualize and love to love or love to hate. Cady is a whip, a woman for her time and yet timeless. Doyle is a hero's hero. Cady's sleuthing into a student's murder and her subsequent involvement with Doyle kept me turning the pages.

Blurb:

When Doyle Flanagan finds two strangers in his library—one dead and the other the beautiful but meddlesome Cady Delafield, his life begins to unravel as all clues point to him for the murder. As the sexual tension sizzles and Victorian conventions crumble, Cady risks job, reputation and family ties to help him clear his name. Even as his life hangs in the balance, his passion for her drives him on, but will the truth about him be the one thing to scare her away?

https://www.amazon.com/Deadly-Truth-Joyce-Proell-ebook/product-reviews/B00DQH3U3I/

 

Deadly Deception by Marissa Garner (Rogue Security Book 2)

Do you believe a nasty family secret can be hidden by some and ignored by other family members for decades? It can, and it does in Deadly Deception. Ms. Garner tackles an issue in this thriller in a most compelling way. I don’t want to give away the zinger, so I’m not going to go into what that issue is. In addition to the suspense, she’s thrown in a great romance. This is the second book in a series, but you don’t have to read the first to enjoy this book.

Blurb:

When her mother disappears, Jessica Hargrove's life begins to unravel. And her problems are only just beginning. A horrible secret has been revealed, threatening to destroy three generations of her family, and the one person who may be able to help her is the man she's never stopped loving, the man who once broke her heart....

LAPD Detective Sean Burke is back in his small hometown, pondering if his career in the big city is what he really wants anymore. As painful as it is to see Jess again, she needs him. He can't walk away when she's about to lose everything she holds dear. But will what he discovers ruin their second chance at love?

https://www.amazon.com/Deadly-Deception-Rogue-Security-Book-ebook/dp/B0716WP633/