Books I've Loved: Suspense and Mystery

Keep the Lights On

Allison Brennan always delivers a thrilling tale, but I have to say that Killing Fear is one of her best. The story in a nutshell: the villain escapes prison in an earthquake and goes to payback those who did him wrong. Including a hot stripper-cum-nightclub owner and the detective she still loves underneath it all.

As always, the baddie is a complex, richly layered character. Allison does the best villains. Chilling. Make sure you don't read this alone at night.

Riveting Suspense

I picked up I'm Watching You by Karen Rose a while back, but I set it aside because I wasn't in the mood. Well, I picked it up recently and was so surprised. I guess I wasn't expecting such well-developed characters and brisk pace. I guess I never expect much when I open a book, so when it's so good I'm pleasantly surprised.

I'm Watching You was so good, I also picked up Nothing to Fear by Karen Rose. You know how after you read a bunch of books even if you love the characters plots no longer surprise you? Nothing to Fear surprised me. There was one plot element I never saw coming. And the bad guy was a woman—a refreshing change.

Psychic Eyes

I'm a huge fan of Victoria Laurie's Psychic Eye books. I'd recommend any of them.

The latest installment, Killer Insight, might be my favorite though. Why? Maybe the pace was brisker. Maybe the characters more vivid. Maybe just because I feel like I know Abby, the heroine, so well now. In any case, if you're into mystery with a twist, I'd recommend you check out the series.

Romantic Action Adventure

Okay, I have to admit, sometimes I read and reread books—partly because I love them and partly because I run out of things to read. Cherry Adair's Kiss and Tell falls under the love it category. I just read it again (my ninth time) and it was as fun and harrowing as each time before.

Being a writer, I tried to figure out why. My conclusion: it comes down to the characters. They're so vivid and motivated that I get sucked into their universe with each read. So if you're looking for a sexy, romantic adventure, Kiss and Tell is for you. I can't recommend it enough.

Romantic Suspense

I rarely pick up suspense novels, mostly because I can usually predict what's going to happen. Not so with The Prey by Allison Brennan. It's about an FBI agent turned novelist who finds out her books are being used as blueprints to murder. The story is complex, the characters are rich, the scenes in the point of view of the bad guy are chilling.

Allison has two more books coming out back-to-back: The Hunt and The Kill. I've read The Hunt and am expecting The Kill to be every bit as good as her first two books.

One Chance, One Shot

Okay, I got that off the back cover of Time to Run, a romantic suspense from Marliss Melton. Sometimes coming up with the little caption headers taxes my brain so I opt for the easy way out.

But I digress.

Anyway, Time to Run is about a woman who takes her son and runs away from her abusive JAG lawyer husband. She recruits a Navy SEAL to get her out of Dodge, but he ends up taking her and the kid home. In the process, she realizes she can stand on her own and the hero recognizes maybe he hasn't lost as much of his soul as he thought. All that is punctuated by brief moments of gunfire.

Stalking You

I was totally surprised by Close Enough to Kill. A romantic suspense by Beverly Barton, I thought it was going to be the same old. It wasn't. The characters made Close Enough to Kill stand out.

So you have one woman sheriff who is faced with a potential serial killer in her small town. She's a third generation sheriff, but the youngest ever and also the first woman. Her daddy is still revered—in fact, most people still call him sheriff. Not only does she have to prove that she can do the job, but she has to stop the killer because his next target is... Wait—I won't spoil it.

Villainous Entertainment

Allison Brennan writes great villains.

In Fear No Evil, you've got an ex-FBI agent who's on the other side of the law, tracking the man who killed her partner. You've got a profiler (kind of) whose little sister was taken by the bad guy. And you've got a great cast of supporting characters in a page-turning thriller.

Beguiling Thriller

I've been wanting to read a book by MJ Rose forever, so finally I picked up The Venus Fix.

Loved it. It was a touch reminiscent of early Mary Higgins Clark but more sensual and lush. I loved the different points of view, and the main characters were vivid. And even though this is several books into the series, I feel like I got to know the main characters. I'm definitely picking up more books by MJ Rose in the future.

Thrilling

Die For Me by Karen Rose is the perfect blend of chilling suspense and great characters. I don't often read suspense because I feel like the characters are compromised in favor of the action, but Karen Rose always delivers dimensional, intriguing heroines and heroes. Not to mention the bad guys. And the bad guy in Die For Me is especially great.

See This

I'm a big fan of Victoria Laurie's Psychic Eye mysteries. I like some of the books in the series more than others, though, and Crime Seen is up there with my faves. I love how it takes off where the last book left off—primarily with Abby, the main character, wary and unsure of her abilities after almost being killed in the book before.

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