Beachcomber by Karen Robards

 Leaving everything all behind is harder than you think, even if Christy Petrino moves to Ocracoke Island.  Small and peaceful, the residents and tourists think.  So, why doesn't it have the same atmosphere to her?

She left behind her job as an attorney at a large firm - mob owned-, a fiancé -mob family-, and her mother and sisters - mob controlled.  What could be worse?

It gets more perilous.  

The Beachcomber is hunting beautiful brunettes on the same beach Christy rented her cottage.  She looks like his typical target.  Adding to that, she might identify him because she saw him kill a girl.  It's dark during the murder, but any witness is a dead witness.

Luke, staked out next door, is quite an annoying tourist to Christy.  He shows up out of thin air on multiple scenarios.  If only she could know he works for the FBI and she's under surveillance.

That is partly bad (the surveillance) and fortuitous (he's always around).  

It's a cagey show between the hot and sexy man next door repeatedly saving her from being murdered, or whether his job to catch her in connection with the mob wins out.

Happy reading,

Dawn

Shiver by Karen Robards

 East St. Louis, Illinois is nothing like its step-sister, St. Louis, Missouri.  East St. Louis is where things happen and no one sees.  Samantha Jones lives in the shit-hole in Illinois, but she has the love of her life, a young son, and a job as a

night repo-woman.  

That's all she cares about, and she carries a Smith and Wesson to make sure she stays alive to care for her son.

Daniel Panterro is living a nightmare at the same time, only he's bound and bloody in the back of Sam's next repo job.  The classy looks of the BMW she drives her cranky repo truck to, holds him in the trunk when she pops the lid.  

Sam wants nothing to do with the streets of East St. Louis, and Danny cannot reveal his true identity.  Doesn't matter.  She's entangled in his troubles whether she saw who put him in the trunk or not.  

It's a crazy ride.  Danny takes Sam hostage, yet he protects her relative to the situation.  

Sam chastises herself for noticing Danny's good looks beneath the dirt and blood.  The fact that he doesn't want her dead is a relief, too.

Could it be more than just survival?  Could something good and loving come from a frightening hide-and-seek with the thugs after them?  Will Sam and Danny live to find out?

Robards delivers another one of her high-octane romantic suspense novels, and I recommend opening the cover!  

Happy reading,

Dawn

The Last Victim by Karen Robards

A criminal pathologist, Dr. Charlotte “Charlie” Stone, has more than her expert degree to help her find a serial killer, which has returned from a hiatus of seventeen years.  The opposite of science, she also has her sixth sense of seeing recently murdered victims.

She doesn’t’ want to see the barely cold bodies come alive again, but she needs more than FBI Special Agent Tony Bartoli’s help to stop the killings.
 

Tony is an experienced agent and does his best for the investigation, but there’s another man involved that he doesn’t know about and can’t see.

The other man happens to be the convicted felon, Michael Garland, who dies in Charlie’s arms. A felon can have a hot body and a few good characteristics despite a criminal streak, and Michael proves it…after death.

The page turner with this story is the constant suspense and a maze to find the killer along with two nearly eligible bachelors competing for Charlie’s attention. 

They both get attention, but only one wins in the end.

 

Happy reading,

Dawn

Shiver by Karen Robards

Oh my, I have a Sunday post!  I’m not interviewing an author, but I do have the latest release from Karen Robards of which I have a signed copy.  At the infamous RWA (Romance Writers of America) Nationals, Karen joined Karen Rose and Sharon Sala in a panel devoted to romantic suspense, so I couldn’t help but read one of their books first…

 Shiver by Karen Robards

 

Karen Robard’s newest novel introduces her readers to a determined Samantha Jones who will do anything to assure the safety of her 4-year-old son.  It gets a little difficult when she finds a hard-to-tell-he's quite beat up- handsome stranger shot and locked in the trunk of the Beamer she’s supposed to repo. 

Sam has an unusual job for a young woman, but as a tow-truck driver, she’s making a living.  This all might change when her night of work in East St. Louis turns into a do-or-die as she shoots two men sneaking up on her as she inspects Danny lying in the trunk of the car.

From then on, Danny has to protect himself and Sam and her son from the rest of the drug lords.  And he can’t tell Sam he’s an undercover agent, not just a scoundrel dealing with the drug scene.

Sam is upset with herself as her attraction to Danny creates an unwanted need from a man with such an insidious background.

Danny doesn’t want Sam involved, but what can he do at this point?

Robards shows you what he can do as Sam and Danny collectively outmaneuver their followers to remain alive.

It’s an exciting novel to read as the tension constantly shifts and all the “bad guys” aren’t named until the end.

 

Happy reading,

Review: SHAMELESS by Karen Robards

This story is the story of all rogues!  Karen Robards introduces us to Neil Severin, lean, fit, and beyond handsome, and it’s not impossible to fall in love with him even though he’s an assassin in Regency England.  Talk about loving the “bad boys!”

Neil is on a mission when it’s thwarted by Lady Elizabeth (Beth), beautiful, flirty, and in no need of a man to control her.  This is proven by her three former fiancés.

As Beth is being accosted by her latest fiancé, Neil is hidden in the same room and comes to her rescue, which alters his attempt to assassinate her brother-in-law.

Neil’s alternate plan is to kidnap Beth with the hopeful result of getting close to her brother-in-law, only someone else kidnaps her first.  He needs to save her again to finish out his mission, but the fact that they end up running for both their lives puts them in extremely close quarters.

Shameless reveals all in a twisting plot seasoned with passion and strong will.  Never doubt the mix of social classes in Regency England when the heart is involved!

Enjoy,

Dawn

Review: PURSUIT by Karen Robards

Initially, Jessica ford, a low level and hard working attorney, was sent to pursue the First Lady after she slipped away from an international dinner party.  The First Lady, dressed incognito, escaped to a D.C. hotel where Jessica tracked her down.

When called upon, a limo equipped with Secret Service heralded the First Lady and Jessica for a short trip from the hotel, which ended in a ball of flames.  Jessica was thrown from the wreck and was the only survivor, a dangerous position.

Jessica soon fell into the arms and security of Mark Ryan, another Secret Service agent.  The unnerving thread to her safety was that she suspected the Secret Service as party to the death of the First Lady, so how could she trust the buff and handsome Mark Ryan?

After a slew of bombs, gunshots, and chases by the Dark Suits, Jessica had no choice but to love, I mean trust (!) Mark.  With his strong arms pulling her to safety and his luscious lips keeping her warm, Jessica gave him her trust.

But that wasn’t enough to keep the barrel of a Glock from resting against her forehead.  What could Mark do when she saw him shot and fall to the ground?  Was there a plan C?

Robards writes a thriller full of surprises and the unthinkable.  I sat on the edge of my sofa wondering whether there really could be a way for Jessica and Mark to escape trained assassins-alive.  Keep your curtains pulled when you read Pursuit.              

Enjoy,

Dawn