RS Review: The First Wife (Hardcover)

I've finished "The First Wife" by Erica Spindler.

Product Description 

As a child, Bailey Browne dreamed of a knight in shining armor swooping in to rescue her and her mother. As she grows older, those dreams transform, becoming ones of a mysterious stranger who will sweep her off her feet and whisk her away from her ordinary existence. Then, suddenly, there he is. Despite the ten year difference in their ages, her working class upbringing and his of privilege, Logan Abbott and Bailey fall deeply in love. Marriage quickly follows.

But when Logan brings her home to his horse farm in Louisiana, a magnificent estate on ninety wooded acres, her dreams of happily-ever-after begin to unravel. A tragic family history she knew nothing about surfaces, plus whisperings about the disappearance of his first wife, True, and rumors about the women from the area who have gone missing — and when another woman disappears, all signs point to her husband's involvement.

At first Bailey ignores the whispers, even circumstantial evidence against Logan mounts. But finally, Bailey must make a choice: believe what everyone says — or bet her life on the man she loves, but is realizing she hardly knows.

From the author of Justice for Sara, Erica Spindler's The First Wife is a thrilling new novel that will have you gasping on every page.

About the Author

New York Times bestselling author ERICA SPINDLER has written thirty novels, including Watch Me Die, Blood Vines, Breakneck, and Last Known Victim. She lives just outside New Orleans, Louisiana, with her husband and two sons.

Product Details
Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Press; First Edition edition (February 10, 2015)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1250012546
ISBN-13: 978-1250012548

My Review:

Storyline:  As a child, Bailey Browne dreamed of a knight in shining armor swooping in to rescue her and her mother. As she grows older, those dreams transform, becoming ones of a mysterious stranger who will sweep her off her feet and whisk her away from her ordinary existence. Then, suddenly, there he is. Despite the ten year difference in their ages, her working class upbringing and his of privilege, Logan Abbott and Bailey fall deeply in love. Marriage quickly follows.

But when Logan brings her home to his horse farm in Louisiana, a magnificent estate on ninety wooded acres, her dreams of happily-ever-after begin to unravel. A tragic family history she knew nothing about surfaces, plus whisperings about the disappearance of his first wife, True, and rumors about the women from the area who have gone missing — and when another woman disappears, all signs point to her husband's involvement.

At first Bailey ignores the whispers, even circumstantial evidence against Logan mounts. But finally, Bailey must make a choice: believe what everyone says — or bet her life on the man she loves, but is realizing she hardly knows.

Characters:  Bailey seems a little wishy washy to me because at first she would support and believe Logan that he is innocent and then at a turn of a hat she would doubt his innocence.

Logan reminds me of Roarke from the In Death series by J.D. Robb because I swear the descriptions of his features seem the same.  He is man of mystery and I don't blame him for not wanting to boggle Bailey with his tragic past or the rumors of his family.  He definitely is a protector of family and friends he loves.

Romance:  It sure was a whirl wind romance because after a week they got married but for some people they just know they are suppose to be together.  I'm so glad that Logan was so sure about his love and his marriage to Bailey because she sure wasn't 100 percent sure!

Villain:  Hmm they sure were twisted and psychotic and you wouldn't really guess it was them.  Lots of twists and turns and red herrings too!

4/5

Thanks St. Martin's Press for sending me this book to review, greatly appreciated!

DNF Review: SLOW HEAT (Loveswept) Mass Market Paperback

I've finished "Slow Heat" by Erica Spindler.

Jack Jacob thrived on excitement, thrilled to a challenge, and always played to win, so when the sexy TV film critic was teamed with Jill Lansing, he expected fireworks. Five years before, they'd been wildly, recklessly in love, but he couldn't give her what she needed. Now she needed a hero, a man who'd share his soul. Original.

About the Author

A New York Times and International bestselling author, Erica Spindler's skill for crafting engrossing plots and compelling characters has earned both critical praise and legions of fans. Published in 25 countries, her stories have been lauded as "thrill-packed page turners, white- knuckle rides and edge-of-your-seat whodunits."

Raised in Rockford, Illinois, Erica had planned on being an artist, earning a BFA from Delta State University and an MFA from the University of New Orleans in the visual arts. In June of 1982, in bed with a cold, she picked up a romance novel for relief from daytime television. She was immediately hooked, and soon decided to try to write one herself. She leaped from romance to suspense in 1996 with her novel Forbidden Fruit, and found her true calling.

Her novel Bone Cold won the prestigious Daphne du Maurier Award for excellence. A Romance Writers of America Honor Roll member, she received a Kiss of Death Award for her novels Forbidden Fruit and Dead Run and was a three-time RITA Award finalist. Publishers Weekly awarded the audio version of her novel Shocking Pink a Listen Up Award, naming it one of the best audio mystery books of 1998.

Erica lives just outside New Orleans, Louisiana, with her husband and two sons and is busy at work on her next thriller.

Product Details
Series: Loveswept
Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Loveswept (April 1, 1995)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0553445162
ISBN-13: 978-0553445169

My Review:

This book is so bad I couldn't even get passed the first few chapters.  Bad character development and all they needed was to talk to each other.

DNF

1/5

RS Review: Justice for Sara (Hardcover)

I've finished "Justice for Sara by Erica Spindler.

When seventeen-year-old Katherine McCall awakened one morning to find her beloved sister, Sara, brutally murdered, her whole life changed in the blink of an eye. Kat was named the prime suspect and, on a string of circumstantial evidence, charged and tried. While the jury found her innocent, not everyone else agreed, and her only choice was to go into hiding. But she carried a dark secret with her, one that made her worry she might actually have had something to do with Sara’s death.

Now, years later, Kat is still haunted by her sister’s unsolved murder and continues to receive chilling anonymous letters, but she has tried to move on with her life. Until, on the tenth anniversary of Sara’s death, she receives a letter that makes the past impossible to ignore: "What about justice for Sara?" What about justice for Sara? And for herself? Kat realizes that going back to Liberty, Louisiana, might be the only way to move forward and find some peace. And there’s a killer out there who was never caught.

But the town she’s come back to is hardly different from the one she left. The secrets and suspicions still run deep. Kat has an ally in Detective Luke Tanner, son of the former Liberty police chief, but he may be her only one. With plenty of enemies, no one to trust and a killer determined to keep a dark secret buried, Kat must decide if justice is worth fighting — and dying — for.

Bestselling author Erica Spindler returns with a chilling new suspense novel about a woman who goes home ten years after her sister's murder to find the true killer.

About the Author

A New York Times and International bestselling author, Erica Spindler's skill for crafting engrossing plots and compelling characters has earned both critical praise and legions of fans. Published in 25 countries, her stories have been lauded as "thrill-packed page turners, white- knuckle rides and edge-of-your-seat whodunits."

Raised in Rockford, Illinois, Erica had planned on being an artist, earning a BFA from Delta State University and an MFA from the University of New Orleans in the visual arts. In June of 1982, in bed with a cold, she picked up a romance novel for relief from daytime television. She was immediately hooked, and soon decided to try to write one herself. She leaped from romance to suspense in 1996 with her novel Forbidden Fruit, and found her true calling.

Her novel Bone Cold won the prestigious Daphne du Maurier Award for excellence. A Romance Writers of America Honor Roll member, she received a Kiss of Death Award for her novels Forbidden Fruit and Dead Run and was a three-time RITA® Award finalist. Publishers Weekly awarded the audio version of her novel Shocking Pink a Listen Up Award, naming it one of the best audio mystery books of 1998.

Erica lives just outside New Orleans, Louisiana, with her husband and two sons and is busy at work on her next thriller.

Product Details
Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Press (August 6, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 125001252X
ISBN-13: 978-1250012524

My Review:

Storyline: Both Sara and Katherine McCall (Kat) lost their parents to a terrible accident when both were young. Sara has been taking care of Kat for 5 years and only has been met with resentment, loathing and rebellion.

Kat has come back to town to after ten years to find out who the real murderer of her older sister Sara
was. At 17, one morning while getting ready for school she found her sister beaten to death with a baseball bat. At this time she was rebellious and keeping a secret - she was secretly sleeping with 20 year old Ryan Benton and believed she was in love with him.

The book switches from the present to the past before and after the murder.

Characters:  All the characters were well developed and we get glimpses that people aren't what they appear.


Romance:  I really enjoyed the romance between Luke and Kat because he was persuasive but not overbearing, he believed in Kat's innocence and it was loving and sweet.

Villain(s):   They were selfish and only cared for their own welfare.




4/5

Watch Me Die [Hardcover]

I've finished "Watch Me Die" by Erica Spindler.

Product Description

In Spindler's thrilling new psychological drama, one woman's journey to recovery becomes her worst nightmare ...

Before Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, stained-glass restoration artist Mira Gallier had it all: a thriving business doing work she loved and an idyllic marriage to the perfect man. But the devastating storm stole her beloved husband - his body swept away by floodwaters, never to be found.

Now, after years of pain and turmoil, it looks as if Mira is finally on the verge of peace and emotional stability. But her life, like the magnificent windows blown to bits by Hurricane Katrina, is about to be shattered once again. And this time, it's not a killer storm she faces, but a psychopath who will stop at nothing until he possesses her, body and soul ...

First, church windows that she restored are vandalized, and the priest who looked over them brutally murdered. Spray-painted across the glass are the words: He Will Come to Judge the Living and the Dead.

Then, New Orleans is rocked by a terrifying chain of murders that all seem to be linked to Mira. The police, led by homicide detective Spencer Malone, are following a string of clues left by the killer on each victim - and beginning to wonder if the murderer isn't Mira Gallier herself.

As Mira begins to unravel under pressure from all sides - and fear for her life - it's unclear whom she can trust. And when a man from her past appears out of nowhere, sparking something long forgotten in her heart, he quickly becomes the police's new prime suspect. One by one, the people in Mira's life are targeted, until it's clear that the killer has been saving her for last . . . and that there's nowhere left to run.

Product Details
Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Press; First Edition edition (June 21, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 031236394X
ISBN-13: 978-0312363949

My Review:

Storyline: We open the book with a grandson who kills his grandma.  He believes God is speaking to him and that he is the second coming or the one who paves the way.  He does this by murdering people who he believes are evil.

Mira Gallier is a stain-glass restoration artist living in New Orleans who lost her husband during Katrina.  She and her husband decided to stay to enjoy the storm but the next day her husband was swept away from a water break.

His filthy rich father believes she murdered his son and has made it a life long decision to ruin her life as long as he lives.  He brings up murder charges against her and when that doesn't go his way he charges her with a wrongful death suit.  She is acquitted and then he gives an interview with a local new station which makes Mira look bad and to accuse her of murdering his son once again.

Connor an old friend comes back during this time while being in the Army and serving a term in Afghanistan.  Mira learns he left because he was in love with her and couldn't stand to watch their relationship.  She also finds out her husband knew why Connor had left and where he was and that he wasn't a good man as she thought.

Then suddenly people that Mira knows or just acquaintances start dying by brutal means.  First a parish preacher is murdered with biblical sayings drawn all over the stain glass windows.  Then a homeless man is killed after stealing her necklace and breaking into her home.  Then her father-in-law is murdered.

Characters:  Mira is devastated by the death of her husband and the after effects of Katrina.  She feels guilty and in pain and unwilling to move forward in life.  I didn't like she didn't want to listen or believe what Connor revealed to her about her husband.  She actually kicked him out of her house and told him never to come back.

Connor is an honorable and dedicated man who has loved Mira since the first time he saw her.  He has been feeling guilty because he knows that Mira's husband wasn't who she thought he was and he didn't want any part of it so he took off.  I didn't like that he wouldn't talk to Mira but would run away when ever the conversation got serious.

Romance:  Hmm not sure about the romance between Mira and Connor at first.  I definately could feel it on Connor's part but I didn't really feel it on Mira's part until near the end!

Killer:  The killer was very screwed up in the head but managed to function properly in society.

In Silence [Hardcover]

I've finished "In Silence" by Erica Spindler.

Product Description

A peaceful southern town. A terrible evil. The power of silence.Journalist Avery Chauvin is devastated when she receives word of her father's suicide. How could her father, a dedicated physician, have taken his own life?

Returning to her hometown of Cypress Springs, Louisiana, Avery desperately searches for answers. Instead she hears whispered rumors of strange happenings, of neighbors who go missing in the night. She discovers a box of fifteen-year-old newspaper articles in her father's house, all covering the same event -- the brutal murder of a local woman. Why had her father kept them?

Then the past and present collide. A woman is found savagely murdered. An outsider passing through town vanishes. And Avery begins to wonder, could her father have been murdered?

About the Author

Erica Spindler's bestselling novels include Dead Run, Bone Cold, All Fall Down and Cause for Alarm. She lives in the New Orleans area with her husband, an advertising executive, and their two sons.

Product Details
Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: Mira; 1ST edition (June 1, 2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1551666995
ISBN-13: 978-1551666990

My Review:

Storyline:  Avery comes home to settle her dad's estate and to find out why he committed suicide.  Once she gets there she runs into her former beau Matt Stevens the country sheriff and discovers his twin Hunter has returned too.  The Stevens family hopes she gets back with Matt but Hunter is the one who intrigues her.  He gave up a law career in New Orleans to return to the town and family that deserted him.  The two of them join forces to investigate her father's past and find out a rape and murder that happened a long time ago that resulted in the wrong people being convicted.  The town isn't so perfect and they also find out about a Group calling themselves the Secret Seven who punishes any they believe who dare defy with their interests with death.

Characters:  All of the characters were well written and I really liked Hunter because he knew something was wrong with his family and he left them.

Romance:  I really enjoyed the romance between Hunter and Avery because he has always wanted her. 

Also I believe that she wanted him too but was scared that he took her out of her element.  She thought Matt was safer!  I'm really glad they got together and you can feel the heat between them especially when they were fighting their attraction to each other.

Killer:  The killer was really deranged in his beliefs but could act normal in society!

4.5/5

Blood Vines (Hardcover)

I've finished reading "Blood Vines" by Erica Spindler.

Product Description

In this bare-knuckled adrenaline ride from New York Times bestselling author Erica Spindler, Alex Clarkson’s worst nightmares are about to come true…

A sinister, hooded figure…

When Alexandra Clarkson starts having terrifying visions filled with blood and ceremonial images, she tries to find a rational explanation – maybe her mind is playing tricks on her, resurrecting creepy tableaux from her research on religious ceremonies and sects. But when Alex’s mother, Patsy, commits suicide without leaving behind any information, Alex is left wondering: could she be haunted by something from the childhood she doesn’t remember?

Naked, writhing bodies…

Detective Daniel Reed was the last person to speak to Patsy. What he reveals to Alex is shocking. Twenty-five years earlier, Patsy was married to Harlan Sommer, one of Sonoma County’s most prominent vintners, when their infant son disappeared without a trace. The loss destroyed the Sommers’ marriage, causing Patsy to leave and take Alex with her.

A dead child…

Called on to investigate the identity of a baby’s remains unearthed in a Sonoma vineyard, Reed had picked up a trail that led him to Patsy in San Francisco. Now Reed and Alex both wonder if the cold bones could be her baby brother Dylan, and Alex decides to accompany Reed back to Sonoma for the investigation. No sooner does she arrive, however, than she is drawn deep into the search for a twisted killer…

About the Author

New York Times bestselling author Erica Spindler has written 29 novels, including Breakneck, Last Known Victim, Copycat, Killer Takes All, See Jane Die, Dead Run and Bone Cold. Erica lives just outside New Orleans, Louisiana, with her husband and two sons.
 
My Review:
 
4/5

Breakneck (Hardcover)

I've just finished reading "Breakneck" by Erica Spindler.

Product Description

A remorseless killer. A string of innocent, clean-cut victims. Detectives M.C. Riggio and Kitt Lundgren must race against a cold-blooded predator who moves at breakneck speed in this heart-pounding thriller from New York Times bestselling author Erica Spindler.

Hot on the heels of their last case, partners Mary Catherine (M.C.) Riggio and Kitt Lundgren, detectives in the police department's Violent Crimes Bureau in industrial, blue-collar Rockford, Illinois, are called out to a college student’s apartment where a young man with no criminal record, not even a noise complaint from his neighbors, appears to have been murdered in his sleep.

The trail seems cold, until another victim turns up, and then another… each one striking closer to home for M.C. The growing list of seemingly emotionless kills leaves M.C. and Kitt little to follow—like the first victim, all the targets are young adults, kid-next-door types who’ve never taken a step outside the law. Meanwhile, the case starts to take its toll on M.C.’s personal life, setting her on edge with her partner and putting their hard-earned friendship in jeopardy. As M.C. and Kitt hunt a faceless killer, they are led deep into the cyberuniverse, where no one is who he seems and you never know who's watching. At the heart of this mesmerizing thriller is the relationship between two headstrong women as they struggle to balance their dual roles, to learn to trust, and to walk the fine line between upholding the law—and taking it into their own hands.

About the Author

New York Times bestselling author Erica Spindler, has written 28 novels, including Last Known Victim, Copycat, Killer Takes All, See Jane Die, Dead Run and Bone Cold. Erica lives just outside New Orleans, Louisiana, with her husband and two sons.