Review: Desperate Girls by Laura Griffin

Desperate Girls (Wolfe Security #1) by Laura Griffin
Publication date: August 7th 2018
Publisher: Gallery Books
My rating:  4.5 Stars
Pages: 368
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Desperate Girls is a tightly wound, fast-paced romantic thriller that follows a desperate woman on the run as she hides from a killer’s symbolic revenge spree.

Defense attorney Brynn Holloran is right at home among cops, criminals, and tough-as-nails prosecutors. With her sharp wit and pointed words, she has a tendency to intimidate, and she likes it that way. She’s a force to be reckoned with in the courtroom, but in her personal life, she’s a mess.

When a vicious murderer she once helped prosecute resurfaces and starts a killing spree to wipeout those who put him behind bars, one thing becomes clear: Brynn needs to run for her life.

When the police come up empty-handed, Brynn turns to a private security firm for protection. But when she defies advice and gets involved in the investigation, even the former Secret Service agent assigned to protect her may not be able to keep her safe. With every new clue she discovers, Brynn is pulled back into the vortex of a disturbing case from her past.

As the clock ticks down on a manhunt, Brynn’s desperate search for the truth unearths long-buried secrets and reignites a killer’s fury.

My Thoughts:

Brynn Holloran is a force to be reckoned with in the courtroom, but her life is turned upside down when she finds out a defendant she helped put away has escaped and is wanted for the brutal killing of her co-counselor.  This guy tortured, raped and strangled women, and chilled her with his cold, deadly staring during the trial.  Brynn’s current boss is taking no chances with this dangerous threat and hires the Wolfe Security to protect Brynn. She balks at this level of action at first, but it soon becomes apparent the threat is very real!

Erik Morgan is serious when it comes to protecting his asset; lust and attraction have no place in his job, but Brynn ticks all his boxes.   She’s gorgeous, feisty and confident, and Erik can’t help but admire her conviction and determination, even if she is a pain in the ass to guard.  

Laura Griffin kicks off her new series with a bang! I didn’t want to put the story down when the danger kept coming!  Brynn and Erik’s chemistry popped, the tension building between them as they got to know each other in close quarters.  All the while trying to figure out the killer’s next move.

Desperate Girls was an exciting blend of danger, action, and romance! A definite recommend!

Review: The Cottages on Silver Beach by RaeAnne Thayne

The Cottages on Silver Beach (Haven Point #8)  
by RaeAnne Thayne
Publication date: June 19th 2018
Publisher: HQN Books
My rating:  3.5 Stars
Pages: 384
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Years after betraying her, he's back in Haven Point…and ready to learn the truth.

Megan Hamilton never really liked Elliot Bailey. He turned his back on her family when they needed him the most and it almost tore them all apart. So she's shocked when Elliot arrives at her family's inn, needing a place to stay and asking questions that dredge up the past. Megan will rent him a cottage, but that's where it ends-no matter how gorgeous Elliot has become.

Coming back home to Haven Point was the last thing bestselling writer Elliot Bailey thought he'd ever do. But the book he's writing now is his most personal one yet and it's drawn him back to the woman he can't get out of his mind. Seeing Megan again is harder than he expected and it brings up feelings he'd thought were long buried. Could this be his chance to win over his first love?

My Thoughts:

Elliot Bailey is back home in Haven Point after a case left him injured and in hot water with the higher ups at FBI.  He chooses to rent a lakeside cottage on Silver Beach instead of staying with his family, so he might have peace and rest, and finish his latest crime novel.  Elliot blanks out on the fact that Megan Hamilton might be close since she owns the inn until he figures out she’s in the cottage right next door.  He’s always found Megan attractive and unsettling which makes things a bit awkward, especially since she used to date his younger brother.

Also, there’s the fact that Megan’s sister-in-law disappeared eight years ago without a trace.  Suspicions and talk have followed Megan’s brother, Luke, in the years that have followed, and Elliot thinks Luke had a hand in her disappearance.

You’d think this combination would mean a lot of conflict between Elliot and Megan, but somehow there wasn’t much. The two end up spending quite a bit of time together living next door, where their mutual attraction grows and burns.  I enjoyed the close quarters of a road trip and how Elliot helped settle Megan’s nerves and insecurities with her gallery showing. Their romance sparked and simmered throughout, even while trying to uncover what really happened to Luke’s long-gone wife.

RaeAnne Thayne writes quaint romances with heart, with big loving families, close-knit friends, set in the picturesque town of Haven Point.  I enjoyed Elliot and Megan’s romance and hope to see more of them in future books.

 

Review: The Girl in the Moss by Loreth Anne White

The Girl in the Moss (Angie Pallorino #3)  
by Loreth Anne White
Publication date: June 12th 2018
Publisher: Montlake Romance
My rating:  4.5 Stars
Pages: 398
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A shallow grave exposes deadly secrets as bestselling author Loreth Anne White brings her thrilling series of romantic suspense to its shocking conclusion…
Disgraced ex-cop Angie Pallorino is determined to make a new start for herself as a private investigator. But first, she and her lover, newly promoted homicide detective James Maddocks, attempt a quiet getaway to rekindle a romance struggling in the shadows of their careers. The peace doesn’t last long when human skeletal remains are found in a nearby mossy grove.
This decades-old mystery is just what Angie needs to establish her new career—even as it thrusts her and Maddocks back into the media spotlight, once again endangering their tenuous relationship.
Then, when Angie’s inquiry into the old crime intersects with a cold case from her own policing past—one that a detective on Maddocks’s new team is working—the investigation takes a startling twist. It puts more than Angie’s last shot at redemption and a future with Maddocks at risk. The mystery of the girl in the moss could kill her.

My Thoughts:

The Girl in the Moss has Angie a little out of sorts as the story first starts being as she was fired from the police force, and her identity and worth so tied up with the job.  Now, she must complete a certain number of hours in the field to get her private investigator license. The only way to do that is by logging time with a PI, such as Coastal Investigations where she’s already on thin ice due to her notoriety.

Angie’s insecurities lead her to bungle things up with Maddocks, so Angie’s on thin ice with him, too, but she has a plan to fix it. Thank goodness she realizes she’s being an idiot early on and realizes how much Maddocks means to her, because otherwise I’d really have to slap that girl!  (Yes, I do realize she’s a fictional character…) Loved Maddocks being patient and at the same time not taking shit.  Maddocks’ daughter was a delight here as well!

Things start looking up when a case basically falls in her lap.  A woman was swept over the falls in group fly-fishing trip several women took as part of a documentary twenty-four years back.  Her body finally washes up and things may not have been as they appeared.  Angie digs into the case and finds a hotbed of lies and deceptions, and stirring up the past does not make her popular in this little town!  It’s a close-knit town and the locals are far from friendly!

As usual, Loreth Anne White’s writing is beautiful and makes you feel as if you’re right there with Angie.  Eerie and atmospheric, as are the other books, crackling with tension, and a sense of impending danger.  I was really worried for Angie’s safety with the men in this small town.  Some of the mystery I guessed, but some of it was an absolute surprise.  I like that the clues and story lead you to conclusions that make sense, and I also enjoy a few twists I didn’t see coming.  I like that there was a little of both here.

I’m really sad to say goodbye to this series!  I can’t believe this is the last book because I think there are several threads left unexplored, such as Leo and his shiftiness (hate him!) and then Holgerson!  A whole book could revolve around Holgerson!  Maybe a spinoff?  At any rate, I’ve loved every one of the Angie Pallorino books and recommend them to anyone who loves a gripping mystery with interesting characters and a romance to root for!

 

 

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