Reading and #Reviews (Gallant, Clark, Cornwell) #suspense

I'm an author, 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 mainstream 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.

Twilight Deception (Leave No Trace Book 3) by Jannine Gallant

Shot, wounded, and bleeding, Tristan Flanagan is on the run from a once trusted business partner who stole money from their company and set him up to take the fall. He flees into the Grand Canyon, hoping for a miracle.

While on an overnight camping trip, artist Willow Larkin stumbles across a man more dead than alive. Though skeptical of his wild story of betrayal and embezzlement, especially when she was burned once before by a charismatic liar, Willow is still drawn to this desperate, sexy stranger. Against her better judgement, she hides him in her secluded cabin to recover—unaware that helping him puts her in the crosshairs of a violent criminal.

Staying one step ahead of both the police and a man intent on murder, the pair embark on a dangerous mission to prove his innocence. But finding the truth to clear his name is a deadly game—one they must win before he’ll be free to love again. If they survive . . . 

MY REVIEW

What Ms. Gallant does so seamlessly is dropping us in nature’s setting for a wild ride of suspense and romance. 

When Tristan takes off, shot and bleeding, we’re with him on his escape into the wild…the wild being the Grand Canyon. Born and raised in Arizona, this setting held an extra punch for me, especially with some of it taking place in Flagstaff where I went to college. 

Lucky for him, an outdoorsy, gutsy woman rescues him and joins him on a ride to prove his innocence. 

You’ll enjoy this one!

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Forging Forgiveness by C. B. Clark 

When small-town college instructor Candace Cooper discovers bloody, bare footprints in the snow while running in a state park deep in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, it brings back the horrific nightmare of her past.

Detective Aiden Farrell is determined to redeem himself in his new position in Colorado, even if that means ignoring his growing feelings for the beautiful professor he meets during an investigation. His fear that the footprints she saw are connected to a recent spate of missing teens intensifies when Candace is assaulted on campus.

Aiden and Candace join forces, but as they start unraveling the truth, they get closer to each other—and to a killer who'll stop at nothing to achieve his nefarious goal.

Caught between duty and love, Aiden fights in a race against time to save the woman he loves. 

MY REVIEW

A college professor with a tragic background meets a detective who is still smarting from recent indiscretions. Sounds like the makings a conflicted story with many possibilities. Add murder and love to the mix, and you’ve got a great romantic suspense. Ms. Clark delivers. Enjoy the read!

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Serial by Patricia Cornwell 

Forensic investigator Reilly Steel, Quantico-trained and California-born and bred, imagined Dublin to be a far cry from bustling San Francisco, a sleepy backwater where she can lay past ghosts to rest and start anew.
But a serial killer soon puts paid to that idea.

A young man and woman are found dead in a hotel room, the evidence initially suggesting a suicide pact.
But as Reilly and the investigative team dig deeper and more bodies are discovered, they soon realize that each crime has an intriguingly unique element in common.

And that a cunning mind is at work, one who seeks to upset society's norms in the most twisted way... 

MY REVIEW

This story was twisty but unfortunately, some of the twisting seemed to have broken ends not connecting. I think part of the problem was Reilly’s guilt over her sister’s disappearance so many years earlier. Of course, she’d be affected, but to the degree portrayed didn’t quite seem real. She also seemed to connect dots that just weren’t there between the crimes. I liked a lot of the supporting characters—I tend to like a book if the plot is weak but has good characters. The plot twist at the end is a good one leaving the story with a redeeming quality.

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