Author: Debra Webb
Publication: Mira, 2018, hardcover, also available as Kindle and audio
Genre: Suspense
Joanna Guthrie was free. She had been for eighteen years–or so she needed everyone to believe. What really happened during the longest fourteen days of her life, when she and two other women were held captive by the worst kind of serial killer, wasn’t something she has ever been able to talk about. Not after what they had to do to survive.
But when more women go missing in an eerily similar manner, Jo knows her prolonged silence will only seal their fates. She’s finally ready to talk; she just needs someone to listen. Disgraced FBI special agent Tony LeDoux is that someone and he can’t deny he finds Jo compelling–he’s just not sure he believes her story. But with the clock ticking, Jo will do anything to convince him, even if it means unearthing long-buried secrets that will land them squarely in the cross-hairs of the killer…
Audience: Fans of gritty romantic suspense; authors such as Cynthia Eden and Lori Foster
About the Author: Debra Webb is the USA Today bestselling author of more than 100 novels, including reader favorites the Faces of Evil and the Colby Agency series. She is the recipient of the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award for Romantic Suspense as well as numerous Reviewers Choice Awards.
My Impressions: This is a very dark narrative in which two damaged characters come together to solve a long hidden mystery. Jo has never been the same since she was tortured by a killer during a previously carefree freshman year of college. Years later, she is a journalist for an online newspaper so she can work from home, avoid people, and pick up strangers when she feels like having sex. Tony, forced out of the FBI after obsessing about his career at the cost of innocent victims, has relied on alcohol and women to dull the pain; he no longer has a badge to rely on but is determined to find his missing niece, captured by the same killer as Jo. When Jo comes to him for help, they sleep together (well, why not, when there's a killer or three on the loose) but their relationship reveals little sense of connection other than a collaboration to find a killer. Those looking for romance may be disappointed but readers interested in a suspenseful serial killer novel will enjoy an unusual story. Technically, this is the fifth in the series but I felt it worked as a standalone, although I assume Tony's FBI disgrace is covered in The Blackest Crimson. The plot, while not impossible considering the crazy things we encounter on a daily basis via the media, is not very convincingly handled, and I could have done without the gratuitous violence.
Purchase Links: Barnes & Noble Amazon IndieBound
Source: I was provided an ebook by the publisher and TLC Book Tours for review purposes. I seem to be the final stop on the tour but you can visit earlier stops below:
EXCERPT TOUR:
Tuesday, February 13th: What is That Book About
Wednesday, February 14th: The Book Diva’s Reads
Thursday, February 15th: Books & Spoons
Friday, February 16th: Book Reviews and More by Kathy
Monday, February 19th: Palmer’s Page Turners
Tuesday, February 20th: Broken Teepee
Wednesday, February 21st: Helen’s Book Blog
Thursday, February 22nd: The Lit Bitch
Friday, February 23rd: Lit Wit Wine Dine
Saturday, February 24th: Clues and Reviews
Tuesday, February 27th: Why Girls Are Weird
Wednesday, February 28th: Kritter’s Ramblings
Thursday, March 1st: Books a la Mode
Friday, March 2nd: Read Love Blog
TBD: Ms. Nose in a Book
REVIEW TOUR:
Monday, March 5th: The Sassy Bookster
Monday, March 5th: Books & Spoons
Wednesday, March 7th: Moonlight Rendezvous
Thursday, March 8th: Tales of a Book Addict
Saturday, March 10th: Books & Bindings
Monday, March 12th: Thoughts from a Highly Caffeinated Mind
Tuesday, March 13th: @athousandbookstoread
Wednesday, March 14th: The Book Diva’s Reads
Thursday, March 15th: Katy’s Library and @katyslibrary
Friday, March 16th: Not in Jersey
Monday, March 19th: Helen’s Book Blog
Tuesday, March 20th: Mama Reads Blog
Wednesday, March 21st: Ms. Nose in a Book
Thursday, March 22nd: Bewitched Bookworms
Thursday, March 22nd: A Bookish Way of Life
Friday, March 23rd: Kritter’s Ramblings
Monday, March 26th: Novel Gossip and @novelgossip
Tuesday, March 27th: Mystery Suspense Reviews
Tuesday, March 27th: A Chick Who Reads
Wednesday, March 28th: Why Girls Are Weird
Thursday, March 29th: From the TBR Pile
Thursday, March 29th: Book Reviews and More by Kathy
Thanks for being a part of the tour!
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