Rated: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ . ♥ {4.75}
Action: ♠♠♠♠ / Emotion: ♣♣♣ / Romance: ♥♥♥.♥ / Sensuous: ♦♦.♦ / Suspense: ♠♠♠♠♠
Action: 4.0 / Emotion: 3.0 / Romance: 3.5 / Sensuous: 2.5 / Suspense: 5.0 // Laughter: 2 / Tears: 0
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♥
2008 : RITA Finalist : Best Romantic Suspense
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Setting: San Diego, California (and its environs)
Era: Present Day [2007]
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What Is a Cup of Tea for One, May Be a Bitter Brew for Another! People are so individualistic that it is impossible to write a book that works for everyone. Allison Brennan's books are my cup of tea. I love her voice, the way she writes, the way she seamlessly weaves romance and suspense together in her books. All of her books are on my to be re-read list.
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Setting: San Diego, California (and its environs)
Era: Present Day [2007]
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
What Is a Cup of Tea for One, May Be a Bitter Brew for Another! People are so individualistic that it is impossible to write a book that works for everyone. Allison Brennan's books are my cup of tea. I love her voice, the way she writes, the way she seamlessly weaves romance and suspense together in her books. All of her books are on my to be re-read list.
Speak No Evil, the first book in The No Evil Trilogy, is another of Brennan's must-read books for fans of dark, taut Romantic Suspense books. Brennan does not waste any time at drawing the reader into this story. She grabs your interest and keeps it. The book became an un-put-down-able read. Brennan kept one turning the pages to see what was going to happen next -- even if great portions of the story featured police procedural maneuvers and detailed discussions between the law enforcement characters as they studied and profiled a serial killer in their efforts to stop his reign of terror.
Reading the prologue will indicate to readers that this book is not for the weak at heart, but for those who like their suspense to be a bit on the lurid side with chilling descriptions of evil incarnate. Brennan opens the book by giving a point of view voice to eighteen year old Angela "Angie" Vance. She is the victim of a harmless looking, but cruel killer who glued her mouth shut before inflicting mind-numbing pain over the span of two days. Brennan painted a very realistic picture of what it must have been like for this girl whose last thoughts were of her mother.
The story slowed down just a bit as Brennan began to introduce key members of the San Diego Police Department who would play a part in searching for and stopping Angie's killer. At the beach, where Angie's body had been dumped, the heroine, Homicide Detective Carina Kincaid, is joined by {1} her ex-boyfriend, Jim Gage, the supervisor of the Forensic Field Services Unit, {2} Dr. Ted Chen, the Assistant Coroner, and {3} her partner, Detective Will Hooper. Brennan begins to give dimension to these characters as they recognize the depravity of the killer.
Steve, however, plays a very important role in the book. Steve is the brother of the hero, Sheriff Nick Thomas of Gallatin County, Montana, who won our hearts in The Hunt (second book in The Predator Trilogy). Brennan spends a bit of time in this book detailing some of the history of Nick's encounter with The Bozeman Butcher, the serial killer featured in The Hunt, so it helped to have read that book to understand all the nuances tied to Nick's current difficulties. Nick is introduced trying to decide if he is physically and mentally capable of handling the job of Sheriff and whether he should run for re-election. Nick's ruminations are interrupted by a call from his brother asking him to come to San Diego to help him because he is a suspect in the murder of his ex-girlfriend.
Brennan is talented at addressing many different issues in the telling of her stories. One of the issues addressed in this book is the estranged relationship between the Thomas brothers. Steve is not portrayed as a very likeable character. He comes across as a selfish, immature know-it-all and, as such, makes Nick look all the better since he was willing to drop everything and come to the rescue of a brother, who was so favored by his father, Paul Thomas, that he overlooked his younger son. Nick realized that Steve was living in the past and still wanted to pretend he was a twenty-one year old war hero.
Another issue that Brennan addressed during the telling of Nick and Carina's story was the danger of internet predators. The reason Steve (and Abby, Jodi and Kayla) initially lied to the police and Nick about Angie was because she was leading a secret life. Angie had what she thought was an anonymous page on MyJournal dotcom on which she posted pornographic pictures and graphically detailed her sexual exploits. Nick's sensitivity and astuteness were highlighted because he was the only one who figured out why Angie was journalling about her sex life online.
Reading the prologue will indicate to readers that this book is not for the weak at heart, but for those who like their suspense to be a bit on the lurid side with chilling descriptions of evil incarnate. Brennan opens the book by giving a point of view voice to eighteen year old Angela "Angie" Vance. She is the victim of a harmless looking, but cruel killer who glued her mouth shut before inflicting mind-numbing pain over the span of two days. Brennan painted a very realistic picture of what it must have been like for this girl whose last thoughts were of her mother.
The story slowed down just a bit as Brennan began to introduce key members of the San Diego Police Department who would play a part in searching for and stopping Angie's killer. At the beach, where Angie's body had been dumped, the heroine, Homicide Detective Carina Kincaid, is joined by {1} her ex-boyfriend, Jim Gage, the supervisor of the Forensic Field Services Unit, {2} Dr. Ted Chen, the Assistant Coroner, and {3} her partner, Detective Will Hooper. Brennan begins to give dimension to these characters as they recognize the depravity of the killer.
Her death had not been easy. (Carina, page 4)One more important point of view voice character is introduced as well -- but not by name. Brennan does not pull any punches when it comes to invading the mind of the killer. Her ability to create a truly horrific serial killer from her imagination speaks for her talent. Brennan paints a graphic picture of the killer's mindset to highlight the terror the victims experience at the hands of a truly sadistic villain. While squeamish and prudish readers may have a problem with the profanity, rape, and torture being depicted, the scenes were well-written and sufficiently detailed to portray one of life's realities -- that there are some very not nice people out there who prey on the innocent (and not so innocent).
"The only thing I've learned being a cop is that good people get hurt and bad people enjoy it." (Nick, page 209)Several other important members of the cast are introduced into the story after Angie is identified. In a brief, but realistic scene in which Will and Carina notify Angie's mother, Debbie Vance, of her daughter's death, they set out to interview their prime suspect, Angie's ex-boyfriend, Steven "Steve" Thomas, and her best friends, {1} Abby Ivers, {2} Jodi Carmichael, and {3} Kayla Nichols. Even though these three girls play a vital role in the story, their personalities are not richly developed, so it is easy to keep them relegated to the background.
Steve, however, plays a very important role in the book. Steve is the brother of the hero, Sheriff Nick Thomas of Gallatin County, Montana, who won our hearts in The Hunt (second book in The Predator Trilogy). Brennan spends a bit of time in this book detailing some of the history of Nick's encounter with The Bozeman Butcher, the serial killer featured in The Hunt, so it helped to have read that book to understand all the nuances tied to Nick's current difficulties. Nick is introduced trying to decide if he is physically and mentally capable of handling the job of Sheriff and whether he should run for re-election. Nick's ruminations are interrupted by a call from his brother asking him to come to San Diego to help him because he is a suspect in the murder of his ex-girlfriend.
Brennan is talented at addressing many different issues in the telling of her stories. One of the issues addressed in this book is the estranged relationship between the Thomas brothers. Steve is not portrayed as a very likeable character. He comes across as a selfish, immature know-it-all and, as such, makes Nick look all the better since he was willing to drop everything and come to the rescue of a brother, who was so favored by his father, Paul Thomas, that he overlooked his younger son. Nick realized that Steve was living in the past and still wanted to pretend he was a twenty-one year old war hero.
"You've been lying through your teeth so that you can look like the hero you used to be, not the man you are today." (Nick, page 156)Once Brennan no longer needed Steve's character to drive the plot of the story further, she quickly and briefly resolved the differences between the brothers and Steve disappeared from the book. For some reason, though, it felt like Brennan left this thread hanging. Why go to so much trouble to define the strain between the brothers and then just dismiss it as inconsequential when it was no longer needed for the storyline.
Another issue that Brennan addressed during the telling of Nick and Carina's story was the danger of internet predators. The reason Steve (and Abby, Jodi and Kayla) initially lied to the police and Nick about Angie was because she was leading a secret life. Angie had what she thought was an anonymous page on MyJournal dotcom on which she posted pornographic pictures and graphically detailed her sexual exploits. Nick's sensitivity and astuteness were highlighted because he was the only one who figured out why Angie was journalling about her sex life online.
people see what they want and we give them what they want to see.
Sometimes I want people to see the real me, to hear what I really say. But they don't. This journal is a perfect example. Is this me? No, it's not. It's what you think I am , so I give it to you.
I don't know me. I don't think I ever have. (Angie, page 125)
One of the morals of this story could be "you give up your privacy when you post anything online." Brennan very realistically revealed, through the mind of the killer and then the law enforcement officers, how little bits and pieces of information that the victims had posted on Angie's supposedly anonymous journal page revealed exactly who they were.
Carina's oldest brother, Dillon Kincaid, who was a freelance forensic consultant for the District Attorney's Office also joined the investigation. Dillon came across as very astute, wise, and family oriented as he, along with Nick, gave a very detailed profile of the killer as more bodies began to show up in the San Diego environs. The most impressive scene with Dillon, who initially studied sports medicine until the murder of his nephew caused him to change vocations, was when he called on Nick, who was staying in the apartment above the Kincaid's garage, to question him about his physical capabilities in covering Carina's back should the need arise.
One of the most moving scenes in the book was when Carina's Irish-American father, retired Colonel Pat Kincaid, sat on the steps with Nick and talked about his eldest daughter, Nelia, who married Andrew for all the wrong reasons. When Nelia's seven year old son, Justin, was murdered, the marriage fell apart, she moved to Idaho, and had stayed away from the family for the last eleven years. Brennan tied this scene neatly into the fabric of the story because of Nick's reaction to Pat's help up the stairs and calling him "son."
One of the most heartbreaking characters was young Becca Harrison, who worked part time at the La Jolla Main Library and smiled at the killer while he was there spying (via webcam) on his next potential victim. Although Becca spent little time on the pages of the book, her interactions with the killer added greatly to the suspense factor of the story. You couldn't help but worry about this sweet young girl who had no idea that she had a crush on such an innocent looking, but depraved villain.
The romance that had to develop rather quickly between Nick and Carina took a back seat to the suspense element of the story. While many readers find such a fast romance unrealistic and, are therefore unable to empathize with the protagonists and "feel the love," Brennan did a great job of inserting instances of Nick and Carina's awareness of one another as the story progressed so that their falling in love wasn't totally unwarranted. Nick's interest in Carina was definitely underplayed, but Brennan did an excellent job of explaining the reasons Nick found Carina so intriguing (see page 269).
Angie Vance, straight-A student, had been playing a dangerous game that may have gotten her killed. (Carina, page 77)Loved the introduction of the Kincaid family in this book. Two of Carina's brothers became a vital part of her investigation. Carina was constantly calling on her youngest brother, Patrick, who worked in the e-crimes division of the police department, to help her find the killer using his skills to search out the IP addresses of men who commented on the MyJournal page that Angie had deleted because they scared her and creeped her out. Even though Patrick rarely appeared on the pages of the book, when he did, he easily won your heart with his vibrancy, dedication and joie de vivre.
"I just don't understand why a smart, pretty girl like the vic would put stuff like that out for every scumbag to see. (Sergeant Fields, page 80)
Carina's oldest brother, Dillon Kincaid, who was a freelance forensic consultant for the District Attorney's Office also joined the investigation. Dillon came across as very astute, wise, and family oriented as he, along with Nick, gave a very detailed profile of the killer as more bodies began to show up in the San Diego environs. The most impressive scene with Dillon, who initially studied sports medicine until the murder of his nephew caused him to change vocations, was when he called on Nick, who was staying in the apartment above the Kincaid's garage, to question him about his physical capabilities in covering Carina's back should the need arise.
One of the most moving scenes in the book was when Carina's Irish-American father, retired Colonel Pat Kincaid, sat on the steps with Nick and talked about his eldest daughter, Nelia, who married Andrew for all the wrong reasons. When Nelia's seven year old son, Justin, was murdered, the marriage fell apart, she moved to Idaho, and had stayed away from the family for the last eleven years. Brennan tied this scene neatly into the fabric of the story because of Nick's reaction to Pat's help up the stairs and calling him "son."
For the second time in as many days, he'd felt more affection from a man he'd just met than he'd felt in a lifetime with his father. (Nick, page 277)Brennan included two more relatively important characters into the story to increase the suspect pool. Angie had another ex-boyfriend, Doug Masterson, who had a record for selling drugs and a tendency to party. Angie's boss, the manager of The Sand Shack, Kyle Burns, was also added to the suspect list. Brennan did such a great job of dropping hints about the killer's everyday life, attending classes and going to work, that it was possible for either of these men to be the killer.
One of the most heartbreaking characters was young Becca Harrison, who worked part time at the La Jolla Main Library and smiled at the killer while he was there spying (via webcam) on his next potential victim. Although Becca spent little time on the pages of the book, her interactions with the killer added greatly to the suspense factor of the story. You couldn't help but worry about this sweet young girl who had no idea that she had a crush on such an innocent looking, but depraved villain.
The romance that had to develop rather quickly between Nick and Carina took a back seat to the suspense element of the story. While many readers find such a fast romance unrealistic and, are therefore unable to empathize with the protagonists and "feel the love," Brennan did a great job of inserting instances of Nick and Carina's awareness of one another as the story progressed so that their falling in love wasn't totally unwarranted. Nick's interest in Carina was definitely underplayed, but Brennan did an excellent job of explaining the reasons Nick found Carina so intriguing (see page 269).
Nick had thought he'd never find another woman who had that special spark, that indefinable something, that appealed to him. (Nick, page 334)Since the book was event driven rather than character driven, Brennan did not develop the personalities of Nick and Carina to the nth degree like a romance-only novel. Being a zealous romance reader, this deficit was a bit disappointing, but not so much so that it ruined the enjoyment of the book. Brennan did a great job of giving Carina some great romantic thoughts about Nick during the telling of her story.
There was far more depth to Nick Thomas than he wanted anyone to see.
Good thing Carina liked digging. (Carina, page 151)
If Nick was an example of the men who lived in Montana, maybe she should put in for a transfer. (Carina, page 174)
The raw realism that what you see is what you get with Sheriff Thomas attracted her like little else. (Carina, page 265)
Carina's strength of character, even though she came across as a tough, all about business heroine was very appealing. The way Carina went after what she wanted (Nick) really enhanced her personality and made her endearing. Brennan included some serious angst in Carina's past that had to do with her nephew's murder, but she did not succeed in making that strong emotional connection between reader and heroine that inspired tears. In spite of being opinionated and mouthing off at times, Carina was mature enough to listen when Will and Nick had to remind her that she was jumping to the wrong conclusion.
If Nick hadn't already won my heart in The Hunt, his quiet strength of character, his sense of humor, his intelligence, his angst, his hunkiness, and his cowboy hat would have won me over in this book. Nick still had his insecurities, but he walked tall through this book and showed readers (right along with the Kincaids and his brother) that he was made of a resilient, steel-like material that was going to get him through all the barriers thrown into his path. Nick's appeal was undeniable.
Even though the romantic awareness that arched between Nick and Carina took place in the background of the investigation, it was still very much a part of the story in spite of it's brevity and lack of punch. Brennan wrote a sensual, fun, slightly emotional love scene when Nick and Carina acknowledged their attraction and acted on it. And while it may have been a bit corny, a true romance reader could not help but smile at the closing scene in which Nick and Carina prove that their love was powerful enough that they were both willing to make deep personal sacrifices to be with the other.
To recap, Speak No Evil, the first book in Allison Brennan's The No Evil Trilogy, is another spine-tingling, thrilling, un-put-down-able read. The book features: {1} Nicholas "Nick" Thomas, a Montana Sheriff imbued with intelligence, a quiet strength, and a cowboy hat that wins hearts. {2} Carina Maria Kincaid, a San Diego Homicide Detective, who is driven, strong-willed and goes after what she wants. {3} A truly heinous serial killer who doesn't hide any of his gruesome sicknesses from the readers. {4} A series of police procedural activities that drives the story along at a strong, steady pace. {5} A slight degree of emotional connectedness between Nick and Carina, the secondary characters, and the readers. {6} A quickly built, shadowy romance that runs in the background of the investigation. {7} A constantly building sense of suspense keeps readers spellbound until the serial killer is caught. {8} A minimal degree of sensuality and heat when Nick and Carina make love. {9} The introduction of several members of the Kincaid family who inspire interest in reading their books. {10} The inclusion of several intriguing secondary characters who add great depth to the storyline. Would strongly recommend this book to fans of Romantic Suspense who prefer dark thrillers over sunny sweetness.
--Vonda M. Reid (Monday, August 12, 2013 : 4:41 p.m.) [324]
If Nick hadn't already won my heart in The Hunt, his quiet strength of character, his sense of humor, his intelligence, his angst, his hunkiness, and his cowboy hat would have won me over in this book. Nick still had his insecurities, but he walked tall through this book and showed readers (right along with the Kincaids and his brother) that he was made of a resilient, steel-like material that was going to get him through all the barriers thrown into his path. Nick's appeal was undeniable.
Even though the romantic awareness that arched between Nick and Carina took place in the background of the investigation, it was still very much a part of the story in spite of it's brevity and lack of punch. Brennan wrote a sensual, fun, slightly emotional love scene when Nick and Carina acknowledged their attraction and acted on it. And while it may have been a bit corny, a true romance reader could not help but smile at the closing scene in which Nick and Carina prove that their love was powerful enough that they were both willing to make deep personal sacrifices to be with the other.
To recap, Speak No Evil, the first book in Allison Brennan's The No Evil Trilogy, is another spine-tingling, thrilling, un-put-down-able read. The book features: {1} Nicholas "Nick" Thomas, a Montana Sheriff imbued with intelligence, a quiet strength, and a cowboy hat that wins hearts. {2} Carina Maria Kincaid, a San Diego Homicide Detective, who is driven, strong-willed and goes after what she wants. {3} A truly heinous serial killer who doesn't hide any of his gruesome sicknesses from the readers. {4} A series of police procedural activities that drives the story along at a strong, steady pace. {5} A slight degree of emotional connectedness between Nick and Carina, the secondary characters, and the readers. {6} A quickly built, shadowy romance that runs in the background of the investigation. {7} A constantly building sense of suspense keeps readers spellbound until the serial killer is caught. {8} A minimal degree of sensuality and heat when Nick and Carina make love. {9} The introduction of several members of the Kincaid family who inspire interest in reading their books. {10} The inclusion of several intriguing secondary characters who add great depth to the storyline. Would strongly recommend this book to fans of Romantic Suspense who prefer dark thrillers over sunny sweetness.
--Vonda M. Reid (Monday, August 12, 2013 : 4:41 p.m.) [324]
❀ . Top . ❀ . Review . ❀ . Synopsis . ❀ . Series . ❀ . Characters . ❀ . Quotes . ❀ . Comments . ❀ . Links . ❀ . End . ❀
Chapter-By-Chapter Synopsis: Allison Brennan -- Speak No Evil
Prologue
Brennan does not waste any time at drawing the reader into this story. She opens the book by giving a point of view voice to the young girl who had just graduated from high school. She is the victim of a harmless looking, but cruel killer who glued her mouth shut before inflicting mind-numbing pain over the span of two days. Brennan painted a very realistic picture of what it must have been like for this girl whose last thoughts were of her mother.
Chapter One
The introduction of key players are introduced as Carina Kincaid is joined at the beach by {1} her ex-boyfriend, Jim Gage, the supervisor of the Forensic Field Services Unit of the San Diego Police Department, {2} Dr. Ted Chen, the Assistant Coroner, and {3} her partner, Detective Will Hooper. Carina discusses with her teammates the details of the young girl's death and why she had been dumped at the beach.
Brennan wastes no time delving into the mindset of the remorseless killer. She reveals to the readers the darkness inside the killer as he described his fascination with blood and death and his first kill twelve years ago. The killer was disappointed because he didn't feel a rush of power when he killed the slut this past weekend. As he cleaned up and disposed of any remaining sign of the girl, he decided he needed to change his techniques to make sure he was never caught. Brennan painted a chilling picture of a man who had not an iota of conscience.
Chapter Two
Brennan continues to keep readers fascinated and intrigued as she features Carina working with Will to identify the victim. Carina gets a call from her training officer, Dean Robertson, who now works as many hours off the clock as on to try and find answers for parents whose children have gone missing. Dean tells Carina about a call he got from Steven Thomas regarding a girl that matches the description of their victim. It was quickly determined that the victim was, indeed, Angela "Angie" Vance, a freshman at UCSD.
Brennan begins to add another layer to the story by hinting at an emotional devastation suffered by Carina at the loss of a family member. Carina and Will go to Bud's Diner in North Park to tell Debbie Vance about the murder of her daughter. The scene was a bit simplistic, but powerful in that it rang true -- Debbie was in total denial.
Brennan continues to paint a vivid descriptive picture of Carina's carefree days as a teen and coed as she remembers surfing with her brother, Connor, and, basically, just enjoying life when she arrives at the beachfront apartment complex of a suspect, Angie's ex-boyfriend, Steven "Steve" Thomas. The suspense factor in the story is brought to the forefront as Sergeant Fields calls Will and Carina to let them know that Angie had filed a restraining order against Steve three weeks ago.
Chapter Three
A pretty straightforward chapter as Will and Carina go into detective mode once they arrive on campus and begin to question Angie's friend, Abby Ivers, after notifying her of Angie's murder.
Sadly, this story has not inspired that deep, intense fascination and suspense that makes for an un-put-down-able read. Rather than continue to read, a nap is calling.
Chapter Four
Carina and Will head to The Sand Shack, where Angie worked and where she was last seen to interview Kyle Burns, the manager. During the interview Brennan begins to shed light on Kyle as a possible suspect by making him anxious to get to class on time. Back on page 16, Brennan had let the readers know that the killer was running late for class. As Kyle detailed the events of Friday night, it became evident to Will and Carina that Steve had lied to them, thus moving him to the top of the list of suspects.
The killer is then given some page time between classes as he rushed home to make sure there was no evidence of Angie left behind in his room. He went on to detail why he had chosen Angie as his victim. Angie appeared all nice and sweet on the outside, but since he'd read her online journal, he knew that she was a slut on the inside -- just like the whore who lied about his father. Naturally, it is easy to assume that the whore must be the killer's mother . . . and that he has daddy issues as well because he has a letter from Corocoran Prison where his father was imprisoned. The killer also pulled out his box of keepsakes and stared at Angie's navel ring as he remembered her fear.
Chapter Five
Not a lot of excitement filled this chapter, as more details about the murder were revealed as Will and Carina continued the investigation. They joined Dr. Chen for Angie's autopsy and learned in greater detail the horror that she suffered at the hands of the killer. Then they headed out to talk to Abby again and found two more of Angie's friends, Jodi Carmichael and Kayla Nichols with her. Carina had to threaten to arrest them to learn that Angie had been anonymously posting a sex diary on the web. When Carina called her little brother, Patrick, who worked in e-crimes, to check out the website, he told Carina that every pervert around read that site and would want to know the author -- and that it wasn't that difficult to find out.
Chapter Six
Again, no excitement -- more police procedure type of action. Will and Carina go to Steve's apartment to question him. Carina is very suspicious of Steve as he paces and explains why he followed Angie home from The Sand Shack Friday night. He knew about the sex diaries and was worried that something was going to happen to her. Steve allowed Carina and Will to search his apartment and borrow his computer, but told them to quit wasting time on him and find Angie's killer.
Brennan added more information about the killer's background. His mother very bluntly and profanely told him not be a fool like his father and not to succumb to the temptations of women, who would only use him. Then the killer took the opportunity to pull out his father's old tapes so he could find his release as he watched the tapes and the pictures he took of Angie's struggles. The killer had re-enacted with Angie what he saw on his father's tapes.
Chapter Seven
Brennan introduced Sheriff Nicholas "Nick" Thomas and described the extent of his injuries and his insecurities as he sat at his desk piled high with paperwork. After a very brief synopsis of what happened in The Hunt, Nick can't decide whether he should run for election again, especially if the surgery he is facing next month is unsuccessful. But, more importantly, Nick doesn't know if he is up to running against Sam Harris, the undersheriff who abused his power when Nick was in the clutches of The Bozeman Butcher and led the press and politicians to believe that he had single-handedly stopped the serial killer instead of jeopardizing the case.
Brennan painted a picture of Steve as a selfish, know-it-all who wouldn't come to the aid of his brother when he was in the hospital last year. When Steve called Nick and explained that the police thought him guilty of killing his ex-girlfriend and needed help, he knew he had no choice but to go to San Diego. Really loved it when Nick called Lance Booker into his office and made him interim Sheriff and told him not to take any crap from Sam. (Remembered Lance from The Hunt.)
Chapter Eight
Brennan is pretty graphic in her descriptions as Will and Carina check out the entries Angie posted on her MyJournal page. You can't help but wonder, right along with Will, why Angie would do something so stupid -- posting descriptions of sex and pictures of genitalia online.
Chapter Nine
Brennan is stressing the differences in the personalities of the Thomas brothers as Nick goes out to the beach to talk to Steve. Steve seems to have trouble coping with his anger as Nick asks him to be open and honest with him regarding his relationship with Angie. Nick's slight hesitation when Steve asked if Nick believed in his innocence set Steve off into a tirade.
Chapter Ten
Brennan is generating more interest and suspense as she spends an entire chapter in this mind of this demented killer. He has focused his attentions on Elizabeth Rimes, a beautiful girls who attends Atlanta Tech and has began corresponding with her online. He has dreams of joining Elizabeth in Atlanta and falling in love -- but, he must kill her cats first. The killer must be fascinated by women because he is currently at the library to watch Becca, a pretty girl who works there on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
One thing that is confusing is the way the killer compares sluts to "the woman who'd turned against his father." Is this his mother or not?
The killer reacts in fear when he gets a notification of a post to Angie's MyJournal page. He drove home too fast, telling himself that Angie was dead. Once home he checks the site and quickly figures out the identity of the three girls that post the details of their first sexual encounter in a tribute to Mirage (Angie's screen name). He is offended that sweet Jodi proved herself to be a slut too. The killer pulls out his father's brutal snuff film and watches it as he makes plans for sluts who kiss and tell.
The suspense escalates because it is obvious from Jodi's entry that she had sex with Steve too. You just know that entry is going to throw even more suspicion onto Steve -- once Jodi's body is found. (It doesn't take much deduction to know that Jodi will become a victim.)
Chapter Eleven
Brennan describes Carina's unease with this case because it seemed sloppy and there were so many variables that didn't make sense. As Carina and Will continue working the case, Carina loses her temper and spouts off about people not caring about Angie's death because of her sex entries. Will set Carina straight rather quickly and then told her about Nick being involved in the Bozeman Butcher case and suggested they utilize his skills and keep him close.
Man, Brennan is spending a lot of time with the killer. As he heads out to buy breakfast and get a paper to read the obituaries about Angie's funeral, he thinks about his plans for his next kill and that he always learns from his mistakes, first Randi and then Angie. The killer remembers Randi, the girl he'd been dating for months, screaming when he wouldn't take no for an answer. Angie couldn't scream, but he'd kept her too long. Now he must head out to class and plan for Jodi.
Chapter Twelve
Again, Brennan addressed the relationship issue between Nick and Steve. As Nick sat down at Steve's desk with his laptop he saw the picture of him and Steve with their parents. Nick remembered how his mother, Mariam Thomas, always overcompensated for the obvious favoritism that their father, Paul Thomas, showed to Steve. Steve, however, had always treated Nick good.
Nick found Angie's MyJournal page, read the tributes and realized that Steve had lied to him about only being with one young girl -- Angie. As Nick read as many of the posts as he could stomach, he realized Angie was a lost little girl after seeing one particular entry.
Carina's temper got the best of her when she and Will pulled Jodi, Abby, and Kayla from their classes and met them in the Dean's office. Will and Carina warned the girls that they were now in danger and explained that investigations like these sometimes took years to solve. Privately, Will and Carina spoke to Jodi about dating Steve and told her to be especially careful after learning that Angie had deleted a lot of comments on the website because they were weird and they scared her. After calling Patrick about undeleting the messages, Will and Carina went to lunch to meet with her brother, Connor Kincaid, a forensic psychiatrist, to get his help on profiling the killer.
Chapter Thirteen
Brennan introduces the romantic aspect into the story as Carina takes note of Nick's attractiveness and aura of quiet competence when he joins Will, Dillon and herself at the table in Bob's Burgers. Once Carina decides to trust Nick and let him join the conversation, a lengthy detailed discussion ensues about the killer's motives and possible reasons for the way he chose to kill Angie. Dillon described the nature of a sociopath, labeled the killer as one, and then described the probable nature of the killer.
Carina was not alone in her attraction. As Nick walked back to the police station with Carina and Will, he noticed that Carina had kissable lips and asked to be part of the investigation. Nick explained that he'd read Angie's journal, recognized her cry for help, and wanted to bring her killer to justice. Nick also didn't want to deal with the issues facing him back in Montana.
Chapter Fourteen
Brennan does a great job of inserting many different facets into Nick's personality and the story line. She has placed so many burdens upon Nick's shoulders that it is amazing that he can even concentrate on the investigation. Nick returns to Steve's apartment to confront his brother about lying about his whereabouts Friday night and the number of college girls he dated. Nick realized that Steve was living in the past and still wanted to pretend he was a twenty-one year old war hero.
Chapter Fifteen
The investigation continues as Nick joins Will and Carina as they head out to interview Doug Masterson when he returned from his skiing trip. From the clutter and dirt in Masterson's apartment, Carina knew he didn't fit Dillon's profile. After talking to Masterson, they went to interview Ellen Workman, who gave Masterson an alibi that indicated he couldn't be Angie's killer. Carina began to feel sorry for Nick because all fingers were pointing towards Steve as the killer.
The killer had to change his plans to take Jodi because she didn't drink the beverages he'd drugged in her place. Instead he took sweet, little Becca who was working at the library where he was watching Jodi on his webcam. Brennan is really delving in the psyche of this villain as he remembered an argument between his parents about rape and women when he was nine. The tension escalates as well as compassion for Becca as Brennan vividly describes the horror she was facing at the hands of the killer.
Brennan never leaves the emotional and romantic aura of the story behind. Carina took Nick to her parents home so he could stay in the apartment above their garage. Nick was very attracted to Carina as she explained why she let him join their investigation and asked him about The Butcher case.
Chapter Sixteen
Romance: Brennan is doing a phenomenal job of bringing out grins and laughter as Carina thinks about Nick, the man who invaded her dreams. What is truly amazing is the wide range of emotions that Brennan is able to draw from her readers as she tells this story. One minute fear is invading the senses, the next compassion, the next laughter, the next sensuality. What a sign of pure talent!
Emotion: Brennan continued to address the trouble between the brothers. Nick met Steve in the hall and tried to mend fences, but Steve was too angry and bitter to listen.
Procedural: The tension escalates as the police department gears up to search for the killer at Angie's memorial service. Carina introduces Nick to Patrick when they go to pick up the list of three members that Angie banned from her MyJournal page on the eighteenth. You cannot help but be drawn to the spunky, irreverent young man that Patrick appears to be.
Romance: As Carina and Nick began researching two of the MyJournal page posters, 'Bondage' and 'Scout', Carina is thinking with her hormones rather than her brain. She cannot believe how attracted she is to Nick.
Chapter Eighteen
Love the friendship revealing scene between Will and Carina at Angie's memorial service as Will was leaving for the airport. Will gives Carina his stamp of approval on Nick and she pretends not to be interested.
Brennan does such an amazing job of stirring up the emotions as Carina approaches Nick and is so ultra aware of him. Carina begins to ask the very reticent Nick about his history and even though he has a very serious nature, there is a teasing hint in his words as well. Brennan does a phenomenal job of displaying the multiple facets of Nick's personality with just a few well-written sentences.
Chapter Nineteen
Brennan continues to draw the reader deeper into the story as she featured the romance growing between Nick and Carina as they sat in her car after they arrived at her parent's home. Carina was frustrated because the killer had not shown up at the memorial service and she could say, case solved. Nick began to share the frustrations he faced with The Butcher case.
With her fingers entwined with Nick's, Carina told him the entire story about Justin's disappearance from his home the night she was babysitting. Nelia, Justin's mother and Carina's sister, had not spoken to Carina since that day. Nelia had bottled up her emotions until she finally exploded, divorced Andrew, and moved to Idaho. The family grieved right along with Nelia and wanted her to return home. Nick understood.
Brennan has a very entertaining and readable writing style. She understands sensuality and uses brevity to paint a vivid picture of Carina's dream about Nick.
A task force room is assembled and Chief Causey addresses the officers who have arrived to lend their aid to stop the killer. Patrick explains the steps he has taken to get the identities of 'Bondage' and 'Scout.' Dillion hands out his profile and Chief Causey makes Nick an official member of the team. Brennan already has readers on pins and needles, wanting Nick, Carina, Dillon and Patrick to catch this sicko before he kills any more coeds, but there are 200 more pages to the book and the killer has escalated, so that does seem like a possibility.
Chapter Twenty-One
Brennan is doing a fantastic job of building Nick's character. Nick and Carina are attending the autopsy of Becca and Nick is remembering The Butcher's fist victim. Nick is astute enough to realize that something about the first victim of a serial killer is very personal and it sets him off onto his reign of terror. So what was it about Angie that set this killer off?
Carina notices the similarities and differences between Angie and Becca during the autopsy and begins to question them. Here we are in a sterile cold lab, reading about a horrendous event that just took place and when Nick re-enacts what probably happened between Becca and the killer as evidenced by her injuries, Carina is more aware of Nick's closeness than the case. What a perfect example of Brennan's ability to successfully mesh romance into her suspense.
Nick and Carina head out to the library to interview the staff. They meet Marjorie Kimball, the head librarian, and get excellent information from the stodgy, eagle-eyed Midge who could repeat what each person in the library was doing the entire time she was in attendance. Nick and Carina felt they had a lead when Midge talked about the nice, clean-cut young man that Becca seemed to have a crush on who told Becca about his cat Wednesday night.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Nick and Carina head over to Abby and Jodi's apartment when Abby reported Jodi was missing. Brennan makes the story feel so realistic by including little things like the presence of the police officer, Mimi Danvers, who was the first responder to Abby's 9-1-1 call. Carina calls Jim and his techs out when Nick discovers dirt on the open window sill in Jodi's room. The suspense and tension escalates as Jim reports on the drugged beverages and finding the mini cam in the kitchen.
Brennan wrote a very impassioned scene between Nick and Carina when they returned to the car and she is blaming herself for not providing protection for Jodi. Nick spoke many wise words about Carina doing all she could with the information she had. Nick had too many bad memories about the mistake he'd made with The Butcher so he didn't share those details with Carina.
Nick and Carina go talk with Steve, trying to discover the connection between the killer, Angie, Jodie and him. Nick is relieved that Steve finally offers him forgiveness for his words, but believes the change in Steve can be attributed to Ava rather than him. Steve is serious about Ava and plans to get career counseling so they can get married.
Nick and Carina continue their investigation by going to The Sand Shack to interview Kyle about what happened at the party for Angie's friends after the memorial service. Kyle was unable to help them, but gave Patrick access to the computers.
The killer comes home and flies into a rage and pummels Jodi repeatedly because she died on him and stole his fun. After he calms down, the killer cleans up Jodi and places her in this trunk to get rid of her before he goes to work.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Patrick calls Carina to talk geek about finding the IP addresses on Bondage and Scout and the mini cam found in Abby's apartment. Jim called to let Nick and Carina know that Jodi's body had been dumped back at her apartment. As Jim (who was tired and getting short-tempered) laboriously processed Jodi's body, he and Nick agreed that the killer had hit Jodi when she died prematurely. The good new was that he may have left DNA behind. The bad news was that it was difficult to get DNA processed quickly.
Later than night, a disheveled Dillon and exuberant Patrick joined Nick and Carina in the conference room to eat cold pizza and go over the printouts Patrick had on Bondage and Scout. After reading the comments Scout posted at various sites and because he repeatedly tried to draw women into conversations by mentioning his cat dying (in various different manners) Nick and Dillon were sure that Scout was their killer. Now they just had to find him.
Chapter Twenty-Four
A very emotional chapter! Absolutely love that Carina is so strong and self-aware and that she knows herself well enough to understand why she is so drawn to Nick. When Carina arrives at her parents house to drop Nick off, she reaches over and gives him a potent, powerful kiss, holding nothing back. And while Nick wanted to take Carina upstairs and make love with her, he knew his knees would not even allow him to climb the stairs, much less make love. Nick liked and respected Carina even more when she realized his problem and drove off, letting him stand there on his own.
When Colonel Pat Kincaid, Carina's father joined Nick, he talked about his first child and daughter, Nelia. The story Pat told was very revealing as he explained that Andrew and Nelia married because of Justin, even though they didn't love each other. So when Justin was murdered, it was no surprise that both of these good people had nothing to hang onto. Pat explained that Nelia has been suffering alone for eleven years.
Really love that this book is about relationships as much as it is about catching a serial killer. After a difficult night, Nick finds Dillon at his door with coffee in hand. They bounce ideas off one another to try and figure out why the killer took Becca instead of Jodi Wednesday night and reach the conclusion that the killer is immature and was angry that Jodi foiled his plans, so he took another. Nick became defensive when Dillion explained that the real reason he was there was to discuss Nick's knees. Nick told Dillon he was scheduled for another surgery before Dillion invited him to breakfast at his mother's table.
Dillon then went to visit with Carina, who had just received a call from Jim who threw shadows of doubt about Nick's competency in the investigation. Dillon told Carina that he and Andrew were going after a warrant for the IP address of Scout from Judge DuBois because Patrick was close to a breakthrough. Then Dillon addressed the issue of Nick's ability to cover Carina's back in the line of fire because of his knees.
Carina was questioning her interest in Nick since he was going back to Montana, but she was pleased when Dillon told her that he liked Nick -- and Dillon was a great judge of character. In a very cute and entertaining scene, Carina saw Nick in her mother's kitchen and blushed when her mother caught her imagining him naked. As Carina drove Nick to the autopsy, she asked him about his parents when he told her how fortunate she was to have such a wonderful father and mother.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Carina, Nick, Jim, and Dillon are present when Dr. Chen performs autopsy on Jodi. Discussions follow regarding cause of death and killer's reaction when Jodi died prematurely due to anaphylactic shock. Brennan did a stellar job of presenting the analogy of the killer treating his victims like a bug in a jar.
Brennan closes the chapter by presenting the killer's discontent because Jodi ruined his high by dying too soon. As he ruminates about why he was more excited with Becca than with Angie and Jodi, he decides he must find another pure woman. It was surprising when the killer revealed during this thoughts about his mother and father that he had a brother. Wonder where the brother has been all this time?
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Patrick joined Nick and Carina in conference room with news that Scout used computers at both The Shack and the library. The three discussed the possibility that Kyle was the killer when Patrick suggested using Elizabeth Rimes to set up a trap for the killer long enough to get his IP address.
The idea that Kyle could be the killer took root when Jim show up with DNA evidence that tied the killer to a repeat sex offender named Mitchell Joseph Burns. Jim further revealed that Mitchell's wife Regina Burns had moved to San Diego with her two sons six years ago. The sons would now be twenty-four and seventeen years old. (So if Jim could get all this information on Mitchell and Regina, why couldn't he get the name of the sons?)
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Patrick and Dillon talked to Elizabeth Rimes and found out her real name was Bethany Eggers and she quit communicating with Scout because he lied about his cat dying and he was creepy. Patrick and Dillon wrote an e-mail to Scout from Elizabeth Rimes and sat back to wait for him to respond.
When Nick and Carina went to The Sand Shack to talk to Kyle about his father, it was easy to know who the killer was. It was blatantly obvious that Kyle hated his father and mother and wanted nothing to do with them. Kyle revealed that he let his younger brother, Brandon, work at The Shack after school and on weekends. After Kyle walked out during the interview when he realized he was a suspect, Nick and Carina waited around until Brandon got off work to interview him as well.
The suspense escalates as Nick had a bad feeling about something going wrong when he and Carina went to the home of Regina Burns to interview her. She wasn't home so they talked to her neighbor, Ray Grimski, to learn even more about what an awful home life Kyle and Brandon must have suffered at her hands.
When Carina learned that Kyle had gone home with Maggie Peterson, a waitress from The Shack, she was worried about a hostage situation and insisted on talking to Kyle again. Carina aroused Kyle's anger again when she questioned him about his father and Nick took over, going for an understanding tone. Nick and Carina left after Maggie told them that Kyle had been with her all weekend, giving him an alibi.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Nick drove Carina home. Brennan did a great job with the love scene, adding lots of heat, sensuality, fun and caring.
Brennan closed the chapter in the mind of the killer again without using his real name. A bit surprised at that because in the previous books when it become obvious who the killer was, she started using his actual name. Nevertheless, the killer headed over to Leah Peterson's boyfriend's house expecting to pick her up, only to become angry because she spent the night. He waited.
Chapter Thirty
When Nick had a nightmare about being unable to do anything to help Ashley van Auden when The Butcher had caught him and tied him up, he talked to Carina about his feelings of helplessness. Nick knew that Carina was one of the few people who would understand because of what happened with Justin. This was a very tender, moving, heart-felt scene.
The killer now had Leah in his room, bound and gagged. It had been so easy to take her. The killer was frustrated because he didn't feel the same thrill that he'd felt with Angie and Becca. He was tired of playing games and decided that he just wanted to act on his power over life and death. The killer bumped his computer and saw the message from Elizabeth. He read it, but needed to deal with Leah before he responded.
Chapter Thirty-One
After opening with a romantic setting where Carina finds Nick cooking in her kitchen, she realizes Nick is a keeper and she isn't ready to lose him to Montana.
Then Brennan keeps the pace fast and incredibly intense. Everything is happening at once. Brennan is jumping from scene to scene as Patrick and Dillon are trying to entice Scout to take the bait. Brandon is vacillating between chatting with Elizabeth and finishing with Leah when his mother arrives home from work a day early. On top of that Carina and Nick arrive at Maggie's house to try and find out what happened to Leah and Kyle overhears Patrick on the cell telling Carina that the killer's IP address is Regina Burns' home.
Chapter Thirty-Two through Chapter Thirty-Four
The big fast-paced, intensely exciting finale.
Chapter Thirty-Five
It's a bit difficult to come down from the high after reading the previous chapters, but Brennan needs to finish off the romance now that she has dispatched the killer. Nick and Carina go back to her place for some hot, sensual lovemaking and they exchange the requisite I Love Yous. The sad thing about this romantic interlude was that Brennan failed to instill that sentimental connection that romance readers crave. Nick wants Carina to marry him and move to Montana and Carina wants Nick to move to San Diego.
Chapter Thirty-Six
A corny ending. Loved it anyway. Even though Brennan again failed to make me "feel" the love, it was sweet that Nick and Carina were both willing to give up their home to be with the other.
Final Note
Okay, this may be pushing things, but this is fiction after all. I don't want Kyle to be arrested and jailed. The ending would have been so much better if Brennan had somehow tied up this raveled thread.
Brennan does not waste any time at drawing the reader into this story. She opens the book by giving a point of view voice to the young girl who had just graduated from high school. She is the victim of a harmless looking, but cruel killer who glued her mouth shut before inflicting mind-numbing pain over the span of two days. Brennan painted a very realistic picture of what it must have been like for this girl whose last thoughts were of her mother.
Chapter One
The introduction of key players are introduced as Carina Kincaid is joined at the beach by {1} her ex-boyfriend, Jim Gage, the supervisor of the Forensic Field Services Unit of the San Diego Police Department, {2} Dr. Ted Chen, the Assistant Coroner, and {3} her partner, Detective Will Hooper. Carina discusses with her teammates the details of the young girl's death and why she had been dumped at the beach.
Brennan wastes no time delving into the mindset of the remorseless killer. She reveals to the readers the darkness inside the killer as he described his fascination with blood and death and his first kill twelve years ago. The killer was disappointed because he didn't feel a rush of power when he killed the slut this past weekend. As he cleaned up and disposed of any remaining sign of the girl, he decided he needed to change his techniques to make sure he was never caught. Brennan painted a chilling picture of a man who had not an iota of conscience.
Chapter Two
Brennan continues to keep readers fascinated and intrigued as she features Carina working with Will to identify the victim. Carina gets a call from her training officer, Dean Robertson, who now works as many hours off the clock as on to try and find answers for parents whose children have gone missing. Dean tells Carina about a call he got from Steven Thomas regarding a girl that matches the description of their victim. It was quickly determined that the victim was, indeed, Angela "Angie" Vance, a freshman at UCSD.
Brennan begins to add another layer to the story by hinting at an emotional devastation suffered by Carina at the loss of a family member. Carina and Will go to Bud's Diner in North Park to tell Debbie Vance about the murder of her daughter. The scene was a bit simplistic, but powerful in that it rang true -- Debbie was in total denial.
Brennan continues to paint a vivid descriptive picture of Carina's carefree days as a teen and coed as she remembers surfing with her brother, Connor, and, basically, just enjoying life when she arrives at the beachfront apartment complex of a suspect, Angie's ex-boyfriend, Steven "Steve" Thomas. The suspense factor in the story is brought to the forefront as Sergeant Fields calls Will and Carina to let them know that Angie had filed a restraining order against Steve three weeks ago.
Chapter Three
A pretty straightforward chapter as Will and Carina go into detective mode once they arrive on campus and begin to question Angie's friend, Abby Ivers, after notifying her of Angie's murder.
Like many survivors, she was looking for answers. Unfortunately, they didn't have any. (Carina about Abby, page 32)Then the tension begins to increase as Steve joins the group to ask about Angie and ends up in a defensive mood as Will and Carina question him about his actions, wanting an alibi and an explanation. Steve explained that Angie had taken out the restraining order because he tried to warn her of the dangers inherent in the party scene lifestyle Angie had adopted.
Sadly, this story has not inspired that deep, intense fascination and suspense that makes for an un-put-down-able read. Rather than continue to read, a nap is calling.
Chapter Four
Carina and Will head to The Sand Shack, where Angie worked and where she was last seen to interview Kyle Burns, the manager. During the interview Brennan begins to shed light on Kyle as a possible suspect by making him anxious to get to class on time. Back on page 16, Brennan had let the readers know that the killer was running late for class. As Kyle detailed the events of Friday night, it became evident to Will and Carina that Steve had lied to them, thus moving him to the top of the list of suspects.
The killer is then given some page time between classes as he rushed home to make sure there was no evidence of Angie left behind in his room. He went on to detail why he had chosen Angie as his victim. Angie appeared all nice and sweet on the outside, but since he'd read her online journal, he knew that she was a slut on the inside -- just like the whore who lied about his father. Naturally, it is easy to assume that the whore must be the killer's mother . . . and that he has daddy issues as well because he has a letter from Corocoran Prison where his father was imprisoned. The killer also pulled out his box of keepsakes and stared at Angie's navel ring as he remembered her fear.
Chapter Five
Not a lot of excitement filled this chapter, as more details about the murder were revealed as Will and Carina continued the investigation. They joined Dr. Chen for Angie's autopsy and learned in greater detail the horror that she suffered at the hands of the killer. Then they headed out to talk to Abby again and found two more of Angie's friends, Jodi Carmichael and Kayla Nichols with her. Carina had to threaten to arrest them to learn that Angie had been anonymously posting a sex diary on the web. When Carina called her little brother, Patrick, who worked in e-crimes, to check out the website, he told Carina that every pervert around read that site and would want to know the author -- and that it wasn't that difficult to find out.
Chapter Six
Again, no excitement -- more police procedure type of action. Will and Carina go to Steve's apartment to question him. Carina is very suspicious of Steve as he paces and explains why he followed Angie home from The Sand Shack Friday night. He knew about the sex diaries and was worried that something was going to happen to her. Steve allowed Carina and Will to search his apartment and borrow his computer, but told them to quit wasting time on him and find Angie's killer.
Brennan added more information about the killer's background. His mother very bluntly and profanely told him not be a fool like his father and not to succumb to the temptations of women, who would only use him. Then the killer took the opportunity to pull out his father's old tapes so he could find his release as he watched the tapes and the pictures he took of Angie's struggles. The killer had re-enacted with Angie what he saw on his father's tapes.
Chapter Seven
Brennan introduced Sheriff Nicholas "Nick" Thomas and described the extent of his injuries and his insecurities as he sat at his desk piled high with paperwork. After a very brief synopsis of what happened in The Hunt, Nick can't decide whether he should run for election again, especially if the surgery he is facing next month is unsuccessful. But, more importantly, Nick doesn't know if he is up to running against Sam Harris, the undersheriff who abused his power when Nick was in the clutches of The Bozeman Butcher and led the press and politicians to believe that he had single-handedly stopped the serial killer instead of jeopardizing the case.
Brennan painted a picture of Steve as a selfish, know-it-all who wouldn't come to the aid of his brother when he was in the hospital last year. When Steve called Nick and explained that the police thought him guilty of killing his ex-girlfriend and needed help, he knew he had no choice but to go to San Diego. Really loved it when Nick called Lance Booker into his office and made him interim Sheriff and told him not to take any crap from Sam. (Remembered Lance from The Hunt.)
Chapter Eight
Brennan is pretty graphic in her descriptions as Will and Carina check out the entries Angie posted on her MyJournal page. You can't help but wonder, right along with Will, why Angie would do something so stupid -- posting descriptions of sex and pictures of genitalia online.
Angie Vance, straight-A student, had been playing a dangerous game that may have gotten her killed. (Carina, page 77)Brennan did an outstanding job when she wrote the very entertaining scene featuring Nick's sense of humor when he arrived at Steve's apartment and met Carina and Will. Nick came across as a very astute law enforcement official as he sent Steve for a walk so he could try and get some information regarding the case out of Carina and Will. Really love the way Brennan portrayed Nick's personality as he remained calm in the face of Carina's unwillingness to provide revealing details about the case. But Nick could read between the lines and reached the right conclusions as he asked insightful questions regarding the case. You can tell that Nick is one of the good guys when he tells Carina that if Steve is guilty, he would help her throw away the key.
"I just don't understand why a smart, pretty girl like the vic would put stuff like that out for every scumbag to see. (Sergeant Fields, page 80)
Chapter Nine
Brennan is stressing the differences in the personalities of the Thomas brothers as Nick goes out to the beach to talk to Steve. Steve seems to have trouble coping with his anger as Nick asks him to be open and honest with him regarding his relationship with Angie. Nick's slight hesitation when Steve asked if Nick believed in his innocence set Steve off into a tirade.
"Skewer me because I'm the easiest to blame. . . . Because the truth doesn't mean anything, does it? As long as you guys have someone to throw in jail, the truth doesn't matter." (Steve, page 97)This is a very emotional chapter, in which you can't help but feel compassion for Nick because of the hits he has taken over the years. Brennan very descriptively details the extreme difficulty Nick has in climbing the stairs, documenting the extent of the injuries to his knees and ankles. Once inside Steve's apartment, Nick looks at all the awards lining Steve's walls and realizes he no longer knows his brother -- the son his father favored.
Chapter Ten
Brennan is generating more interest and suspense as she spends an entire chapter in this mind of this demented killer. He has focused his attentions on Elizabeth Rimes, a beautiful girls who attends Atlanta Tech and has began corresponding with her online. He has dreams of joining Elizabeth in Atlanta and falling in love -- but, he must kill her cats first. The killer must be fascinated by women because he is currently at the library to watch Becca, a pretty girl who works there on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
One thing that is confusing is the way the killer compares sluts to "the woman who'd turned against his father." Is this his mother or not?
The killer reacts in fear when he gets a notification of a post to Angie's MyJournal page. He drove home too fast, telling himself that Angie was dead. Once home he checks the site and quickly figures out the identity of the three girls that post the details of their first sexual encounter in a tribute to Mirage (Angie's screen name). He is offended that sweet Jodi proved herself to be a slut too. The killer pulls out his father's brutal snuff film and watches it as he makes plans for sluts who kiss and tell.
The suspense escalates because it is obvious from Jodi's entry that she had sex with Steve too. You just know that entry is going to throw even more suspicion onto Steve -- once Jodi's body is found. (It doesn't take much deduction to know that Jodi will become a victim.)
Chapter Eleven
Brennan describes Carina's unease with this case because it seemed sloppy and there were so many variables that didn't make sense. As Carina and Will continue working the case, Carina loses her temper and spouts off about people not caring about Angie's death because of her sex entries. Will set Carina straight rather quickly and then told her about Nick being involved in the Bozeman Butcher case and suggested they utilize his skills and keep him close.
Man, Brennan is spending a lot of time with the killer. As he heads out to buy breakfast and get a paper to read the obituaries about Angie's funeral, he thinks about his plans for his next kill and that he always learns from his mistakes, first Randi and then Angie. The killer remembers Randi, the girl he'd been dating for months, screaming when he wouldn't take no for an answer. Angie couldn't scream, but he'd kept her too long. Now he must head out to class and plan for Jodi.
Chapter Twelve
Again, Brennan addressed the relationship issue between Nick and Steve. As Nick sat down at Steve's desk with his laptop he saw the picture of him and Steve with their parents. Nick remembered how his mother, Mariam Thomas, always overcompensated for the obvious favoritism that their father, Paul Thomas, showed to Steve. Steve, however, had always treated Nick good.
Nick found Angie's MyJournal page, read the tributes and realized that Steve had lied to him about only being with one young girl -- Angie. As Nick read as many of the posts as he could stomach, he realized Angie was a lost little girl after seeing one particular entry.
. . . people see what they want and we give them what they want to see.Nick met Steve's next door neighbor, Ava James, when she showed up with coffee in hand. Nick's temper was close to the top when he learned from Ava that Steve hand numerous girlfriends from the college, not just Jodi and Angie. When Steve rose for the day and joined them, Nick left until he could control his temper.
Sometimes I want people to see the real me, to hear what I really say. But they don't. This journal is a perfect example. Is this me? No, it's not. It's what you think I am, so I give it to you.
I don't know me. I don't think I ever have. (Angie, page 125)
Carina's temper got the best of her when she and Will pulled Jodi, Abby, and Kayla from their classes and met them in the Dean's office. Will and Carina warned the girls that they were now in danger and explained that investigations like these sometimes took years to solve. Privately, Will and Carina spoke to Jodi about dating Steve and told her to be especially careful after learning that Angie had deleted a lot of comments on the website because they were weird and they scared her. After calling Patrick about undeleting the messages, Will and Carina went to lunch to meet with her brother, Connor Kincaid, a forensic psychiatrist, to get his help on profiling the killer.
Chapter Thirteen
Brennan introduces the romantic aspect into the story as Carina takes note of Nick's attractiveness and aura of quiet competence when he joins Will, Dillon and herself at the table in Bob's Burgers. Once Carina decides to trust Nick and let him join the conversation, a lengthy detailed discussion ensues about the killer's motives and possible reasons for the way he chose to kill Angie. Dillon described the nature of a sociopath, labeled the killer as one, and then described the probable nature of the killer.
Carina was not alone in her attraction. As Nick walked back to the police station with Carina and Will, he noticed that Carina had kissable lips and asked to be part of the investigation. Nick explained that he'd read Angie's journal, recognized her cry for help, and wanted to bring her killer to justice. Nick also didn't want to deal with the issues facing him back in Montana.
Chapter Fourteen
Brennan does a great job of inserting many different facets into Nick's personality and the story line. She has placed so many burdens upon Nick's shoulders that it is amazing that he can even concentrate on the investigation. Nick returns to Steve's apartment to confront his brother about lying about his whereabouts Friday night and the number of college girls he dated. Nick realized that Steve was living in the past and still wanted to pretend he was a twenty-one year old war hero.
"You've been lying through your teeth so that you can look like the hero you used to be, not the man you are today." (Nick, page 156)Brennan, however, is ever conscious of the suspense factor and throws another red herring into the story. After the fight between the brothers, Nick packs up his stuff to leave Steve's apartment (at Steve's suggestion). Nick realizes that Steve never answered his question, "did you kill Angie." Steve may come across as an immature, irresponsible has been, but not for one minute did Brennan succeed in leading one to believe that he may be the killer.
Chapter Fifteen
The investigation continues as Nick joins Will and Carina as they head out to interview Doug Masterson when he returned from his skiing trip. From the clutter and dirt in Masterson's apartment, Carina knew he didn't fit Dillon's profile. After talking to Masterson, they went to interview Ellen Workman, who gave Masterson an alibi that indicated he couldn't be Angie's killer. Carina began to feel sorry for Nick because all fingers were pointing towards Steve as the killer.
The killer had to change his plans to take Jodi because she didn't drink the beverages he'd drugged in her place. Instead he took sweet, little Becca who was working at the library where he was watching Jodi on his webcam. Brennan is really delving in the psyche of this villain as he remembered an argument between his parents about rape and women when he was nine. The tension escalates as well as compassion for Becca as Brennan vividly describes the horror she was facing at the hands of the killer.
Brennan never leaves the emotional and romantic aura of the story behind. Carina took Nick to her parents home so he could stay in the apartment above their garage. Nick was very attracted to Carina as she explained why she let him join their investigation and asked him about The Butcher case.
Chapter Sixteen
Romance: Brennan is doing a phenomenal job of bringing out grins and laughter as Carina thinks about Nick, the man who invaded her dreams. What is truly amazing is the wide range of emotions that Brennan is able to draw from her readers as she tells this story. One minute fear is invading the senses, the next compassion, the next laughter, the next sensuality. What a sign of pure talent!
If Nick was an example of the men who lived in Montana, maybe she should put in for a transfer. (Carina, page 174)Procedural: As Nick watched from the adjoining room, Carina, Will, and Dillon interviewed Steve, who has an attorney present. Steve revealed that he saw Angie as a lost little girl and was trying to help her and to protect her from herself as she sought love from men in the guise of sex. After the interview Dillon supported Steve's take on Angie and did not believe Steve was the killer.
Emotion: Brennan continued to address the trouble between the brothers. Nick met Steve in the hall and tried to mend fences, but Steve was too angry and bitter to listen.
Nick didn't know what to do to fix the broken relationship with his brother. (Nick, page 182)Chapter Seventeen
Procedural: The tension escalates as the police department gears up to search for the killer at Angie's memorial service. Carina introduces Nick to Patrick when they go to pick up the list of three members that Angie banned from her MyJournal page on the eighteenth. You cannot help but be drawn to the spunky, irreverent young man that Patrick appears to be.
Romance: As Carina and Nick began researching two of the MyJournal page posters, 'Bondage' and 'Scout', Carina is thinking with her hormones rather than her brain. She cannot believe how attracted she is to Nick.
When his shoulder brushed hers, a jolt ran down her spine, leaving her with tingles and goose bumps. (Carina, pages 186-187)Horror: Brennan displays her skill at inspiring tension, suspense and compassion as she paints a graphic picture of the horror that Becca endures at the hands of the killer.
Chapter Eighteen
Love the friendship revealing scene between Will and Carina at Angie's memorial service as Will was leaving for the airport. Will gives Carina his stamp of approval on Nick and she pretends not to be interested.
Brennan does such an amazing job of stirring up the emotions as Carina approaches Nick and is so ultra aware of him. Carina begins to ask the very reticent Nick about his history and even though he has a very serious nature, there is a teasing hint in his words as well. Brennan does a phenomenal job of displaying the multiple facets of Nick's personality with just a few well-written sentences.
"Maybe I'm just better than you thought." (Nick, page 196)As Carina and Nick keep an eye on the guests, they revealed to one another their reasons for joining law enforcement. Carina shocked herself by revealing the truth to Nick -- that she joined the police academy when her seven year old nephew was murdered. Carina was surprised at the deep compassion and understanding in Nick's eyes.
It wasn't the first time she'd felt the brunt of his scrutiny, and it was a little unnerving, a little heady. Sexy. (Carina, page 198)
"Violence changes lives. Everyone evil touches is affected." (Nick, page 199)Carina cannot help but feel sympathy for Mrs. Vance who not only lost her daughter, but had to deal with the fact that Angie had a secret sex life and because the press were brutalizing Angie for her MyJournal page. Brennan took this opportunity to make a statement about the press that rings all too true.
The media seemed to think that freedom the press meant freedom to be callous. (Carina, page 200)Brennan takes the opportunity to highlight the marked differences in the personalities of the two brothers as Nick and Carina watch Steve interact with Jodi, Abby, Kayla and Ava. Steve still looks at Nick with accusatory eyes and Nick just wishes to mend the rift between them.
Chapter Nineteen
Brennan continues to draw the reader deeper into the story as she featured the romance growing between Nick and Carina as they sat in her car after they arrived at her parent's home. Carina was frustrated because the killer had not shown up at the memorial service and she could say, case solved. Nick began to share the frustrations he faced with The Butcher case.
With her fingers entwined with Nick's, Carina told him the entire story about Justin's disappearance from his home the night she was babysitting. Nelia, Justin's mother and Carina's sister, had not spoken to Carina since that day. Nelia had bottled up her emotions until she finally exploded, divorced Andrew, and moved to Idaho. The family grieved right along with Nelia and wanted her to return home. Nick understood.
"The only thing I've learned being a cop is that good people get hurt and bad people enjoy it." (Nick, page 209)Brennan never lets the fear and suspense fade. The killer is escalating. He dropped Becca's body off at the library (where he met her) just like he had left Angie at the beach where he'd met her. Then he watched Abby and Jodi drink the drugged beverages on his webcam and grew excited as he stole into their apartment and took Jodi back to his room. As the killer thought about his father, who was locked up for rape, and his mother, who cheated on his father, and the woman who falsely cried rape about his father, the picture became more clear. The killer's father was a rapist and when another woman cried rape, he left his son behind with a mother he hated. The killer revealed his invisibility when Jodi woke naked, tied to his bed, and didn't recognize him.
She'd seen him at least once a week for months, had said hello to him, had smiled at him every time she saw him. But she didn't really see him. She looked past him, through him, around him, never at him. (page 212)Chapter Twenty
Brennan has a very entertaining and readable writing style. She understands sensuality and uses brevity to paint a vivid picture of Carina's dream about Nick.
He wore nothing but his hat.Just as Carina got to the good part, her phone rang. Becca Harrison's body had been found at La Jolla Main Library. Carina picked up Nick and met Jim Gage and his assistant Blair Duncan at the scene of the crime. Dillon showed up with an identification of the victim and discussed the changes in the killer's MO as he evolved into a more accomplished predator, needing more intensity with each kill to reach his high.
She wore nothing at all. (page 216)
A task force room is assembled and Chief Causey addresses the officers who have arrived to lend their aid to stop the killer. Patrick explains the steps he has taken to get the identities of 'Bondage' and 'Scout.' Dillion hands out his profile and Chief Causey makes Nick an official member of the team. Brennan already has readers on pins and needles, wanting Nick, Carina, Dillon and Patrick to catch this sicko before he kills any more coeds, but there are 200 more pages to the book and the killer has escalated, so that does seem like a possibility.
Chapter Twenty-One
Brennan is doing a fantastic job of building Nick's character. Nick and Carina are attending the autopsy of Becca and Nick is remembering The Butcher's fist victim. Nick is astute enough to realize that something about the first victim of a serial killer is very personal and it sets him off onto his reign of terror. So what was it about Angie that set this killer off?
Carina notices the similarities and differences between Angie and Becca during the autopsy and begins to question them. Here we are in a sterile cold lab, reading about a horrendous event that just took place and when Nick re-enacts what probably happened between Becca and the killer as evidenced by her injuries, Carina is more aware of Nick's closeness than the case. What a perfect example of Brennan's ability to successfully mesh romance into her suspense.
Nick and Carina head out to the library to interview the staff. They meet Marjorie Kimball, the head librarian, and get excellent information from the stodgy, eagle-eyed Midge who could repeat what each person in the library was doing the entire time she was in attendance. Nick and Carina felt they had a lead when Midge talked about the nice, clean-cut young man that Becca seemed to have a crush on who told Becca about his cat Wednesday night.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Nick and Carina head over to Abby and Jodi's apartment when Abby reported Jodi was missing. Brennan makes the story feel so realistic by including little things like the presence of the police officer, Mimi Danvers, who was the first responder to Abby's 9-1-1 call. Carina calls Jim and his techs out when Nick discovers dirt on the open window sill in Jodi's room. The suspense and tension escalates as Jim reports on the drugged beverages and finding the mini cam in the kitchen.
Brennan wrote a very impassioned scene between Nick and Carina when they returned to the car and she is blaming herself for not providing protection for Jodi. Nick spoke many wise words about Carina doing all she could with the information she had. Nick had too many bad memories about the mistake he'd made with The Butcher so he didn't share those details with Carina.
Nick and Carina go talk with Steve, trying to discover the connection between the killer, Angie, Jodie and him. Nick is relieved that Steve finally offers him forgiveness for his words, but believes the change in Steve can be attributed to Ava rather than him. Steve is serious about Ava and plans to get career counseling so they can get married.
Nick and Carina continue their investigation by going to The Sand Shack to interview Kyle about what happened at the party for Angie's friends after the memorial service. Kyle was unable to help them, but gave Patrick access to the computers.
The killer comes home and flies into a rage and pummels Jodi repeatedly because she died on him and stole his fun. After he calms down, the killer cleans up Jodi and places her in this trunk to get rid of her before he goes to work.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Patrick calls Carina to talk geek about finding the IP addresses on Bondage and Scout and the mini cam found in Abby's apartment. Jim called to let Nick and Carina know that Jodi's body had been dumped back at her apartment. As Jim (who was tired and getting short-tempered) laboriously processed Jodi's body, he and Nick agreed that the killer had hit Jodi when she died prematurely. The good new was that he may have left DNA behind. The bad news was that it was difficult to get DNA processed quickly.
Later than night, a disheveled Dillon and exuberant Patrick joined Nick and Carina in the conference room to eat cold pizza and go over the printouts Patrick had on Bondage and Scout. After reading the comments Scout posted at various sites and because he repeatedly tried to draw women into conversations by mentioning his cat dying (in various different manners) Nick and Dillon were sure that Scout was their killer. Now they just had to find him.
Chapter Twenty-Four
A very emotional chapter! Absolutely love that Carina is so strong and self-aware and that she knows herself well enough to understand why she is so drawn to Nick. When Carina arrives at her parents house to drop Nick off, she reaches over and gives him a potent, powerful kiss, holding nothing back. And while Nick wanted to take Carina upstairs and make love with her, he knew his knees would not even allow him to climb the stairs, much less make love. Nick liked and respected Carina even more when she realized his problem and drove off, letting him stand there on his own.
When Colonel Pat Kincaid, Carina's father joined Nick, he talked about his first child and daughter, Nelia. The story Pat told was very revealing as he explained that Andrew and Nelia married because of Justin, even though they didn't love each other. So when Justin was murdered, it was no surprise that both of these good people had nothing to hang onto. Pat explained that Nelia has been suffering alone for eleven years.
"Every decision, every choice, changes the path we're on."Nick was moved when Pat insisted on helping Nick climb the stairs and called him son.
"They did the wrong thing for the right reasons." (Pat, page 273)
For the second time in as many days, he'd felt more affection from a man he'd just met than he'd felt in a lifetime with his father. (Nick, page 277)Chapter Twenty-Five
Really love that this book is about relationships as much as it is about catching a serial killer. After a difficult night, Nick finds Dillon at his door with coffee in hand. They bounce ideas off one another to try and figure out why the killer took Becca instead of Jodi Wednesday night and reach the conclusion that the killer is immature and was angry that Jodi foiled his plans, so he took another. Nick became defensive when Dillion explained that the real reason he was there was to discuss Nick's knees. Nick told Dillon he was scheduled for another surgery before Dillion invited him to breakfast at his mother's table.
Dillon then went to visit with Carina, who had just received a call from Jim who threw shadows of doubt about Nick's competency in the investigation. Dillon told Carina that he and Andrew were going after a warrant for the IP address of Scout from Judge DuBois because Patrick was close to a breakthrough. Then Dillon addressed the issue of Nick's ability to cover Carina's back in the line of fire because of his knees.
Carina was questioning her interest in Nick since he was going back to Montana, but she was pleased when Dillon told her that he liked Nick -- and Dillon was a great judge of character. In a very cute and entertaining scene, Carina saw Nick in her mother's kitchen and blushed when her mother caught her imagining him naked. As Carina drove Nick to the autopsy, she asked him about his parents when he told her how fortunate she was to have such a wonderful father and mother.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Carina, Nick, Jim, and Dillon are present when Dr. Chen performs autopsy on Jodi. Discussions follow regarding cause of death and killer's reaction when Jodi died prematurely due to anaphylactic shock. Brennan did a stellar job of presenting the analogy of the killer treating his victims like a bug in a jar.
Brennan closes the chapter by presenting the killer's discontent because Jodi ruined his high by dying too soon. As he ruminates about why he was more excited with Becca than with Angie and Jodi, he decides he must find another pure woman. It was surprising when the killer revealed during this thoughts about his mother and father that he had a brother. Wonder where the brother has been all this time?
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Patrick joined Nick and Carina in conference room with news that Scout used computers at both The Shack and the library. The three discussed the possibility that Kyle was the killer when Patrick suggested using Elizabeth Rimes to set up a trap for the killer long enough to get his IP address.
The idea that Kyle could be the killer took root when Jim show up with DNA evidence that tied the killer to a repeat sex offender named Mitchell Joseph Burns. Jim further revealed that Mitchell's wife Regina Burns had moved to San Diego with her two sons six years ago. The sons would now be twenty-four and seventeen years old. (So if Jim could get all this information on Mitchell and Regina, why couldn't he get the name of the sons?)
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Patrick and Dillon talked to Elizabeth Rimes and found out her real name was Bethany Eggers and she quit communicating with Scout because he lied about his cat dying and he was creepy. Patrick and Dillon wrote an e-mail to Scout from Elizabeth Rimes and sat back to wait for him to respond.
When Nick and Carina went to The Sand Shack to talk to Kyle about his father, it was easy to know who the killer was. It was blatantly obvious that Kyle hated his father and mother and wanted nothing to do with them. Kyle revealed that he let his younger brother, Brandon, work at The Shack after school and on weekends. After Kyle walked out during the interview when he realized he was a suspect, Nick and Carina waited around until Brandon got off work to interview him as well.
The suspense escalates as Nick had a bad feeling about something going wrong when he and Carina went to the home of Regina Burns to interview her. She wasn't home so they talked to her neighbor, Ray Grimski, to learn even more about what an awful home life Kyle and Brandon must have suffered at her hands.
When Carina learned that Kyle had gone home with Maggie Peterson, a waitress from The Shack, she was worried about a hostage situation and insisted on talking to Kyle again. Carina aroused Kyle's anger again when she questioned him about his father and Nick took over, going for an understanding tone. Nick and Carina left after Maggie told them that Kyle had been with her all weekend, giving him an alibi.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Nick drove Carina home. Brennan did a great job with the love scene, adding lots of heat, sensuality, fun and caring.
Brennan closed the chapter in the mind of the killer again without using his real name. A bit surprised at that because in the previous books when it become obvious who the killer was, she started using his actual name. Nevertheless, the killer headed over to Leah Peterson's boyfriend's house expecting to pick her up, only to become angry because she spent the night. He waited.
Chapter Thirty
When Nick had a nightmare about being unable to do anything to help Ashley van Auden when The Butcher had caught him and tied him up, he talked to Carina about his feelings of helplessness. Nick knew that Carina was one of the few people who would understand because of what happened with Justin. This was a very tender, moving, heart-felt scene.
The killer now had Leah in his room, bound and gagged. It had been so easy to take her. The killer was frustrated because he didn't feel the same thrill that he'd felt with Angie and Becca. He was tired of playing games and decided that he just wanted to act on his power over life and death. The killer bumped his computer and saw the message from Elizabeth. He read it, but needed to deal with Leah before he responded.
Chapter Thirty-One
After opening with a romantic setting where Carina finds Nick cooking in her kitchen, she realizes Nick is a keeper and she isn't ready to lose him to Montana.
Then Brennan keeps the pace fast and incredibly intense. Everything is happening at once. Brennan is jumping from scene to scene as Patrick and Dillon are trying to entice Scout to take the bait. Brandon is vacillating between chatting with Elizabeth and finishing with Leah when his mother arrives home from work a day early. On top of that Carina and Nick arrive at Maggie's house to try and find out what happened to Leah and Kyle overhears Patrick on the cell telling Carina that the killer's IP address is Regina Burns' home.
Chapter Thirty-Two through Chapter Thirty-Four
The big fast-paced, intensely exciting finale.
Chapter Thirty-Five
It's a bit difficult to come down from the high after reading the previous chapters, but Brennan needs to finish off the romance now that she has dispatched the killer. Nick and Carina go back to her place for some hot, sensual lovemaking and they exchange the requisite I Love Yous. The sad thing about this romantic interlude was that Brennan failed to instill that sentimental connection that romance readers crave. Nick wants Carina to marry him and move to Montana and Carina wants Nick to move to San Diego.
Chapter Thirty-Six
A corny ending. Loved it anyway. Even though Brennan again failed to make me "feel" the love, it was sweet that Nick and Carina were both willing to give up their home to be with the other.
Final Note
Okay, this may be pushing things, but this is fiction after all. I don't want Kyle to be arrested and jailed. The ending would have been so much better if Brennan had somehow tied up this raveled thread.
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Books In The Series: "The No Evil Trilogy"
| # | Date | Title | Hero | Heroine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01. | 02-2007 | Speak No Evil | Nicholas P. "Nick" Thomas; Gallatin County, Montana Sheriff | Carina Maria Kincaid; San Diego Homicide Detective |
| 02. | 03-2007 | See No Evil | Julia Chandler, Deputy District Attorney | Connor Mateo Kincaid, Private Investigator, former SDPD |
| 03. | 04-2007 | Fear No Evil | Dillon Kincaid; Forensic Psychiatrist | Katherine "Kate" Donovan, FBI Special Agent |
Characters Found In "Speak No Evil"
| Character | Description |
|---|---|
| Nicholas "Nick" P. Thomas | [Hero] back at work 7 months; sore knee; reading glasses (68) being a cop seemed to be ingrained in him (69) held captive by The Bozeman Butcher; infection ravaged his joints (73) Stetson (81) Nicholas P. Thomas; Sheriff, Gallatin County, Montana (83) 3 years younger than Steve (85) "Grinding pain in his knees and ankles forced him to walk slowly." (98) "driving urge to right wrongs" (100) ambled with steadfast stride; quiet confidence; did not exude arrogance like most cops; aura that bespoke confidence, intelligence, focus; nice on the eyes (138) sexy voice; firm body (139) impressed Dillon with his sharp analysis; easygoing country Sheriff was an act; extraordinary (151) 35 or 36-y-o (156) too-sexy-for-words cowboy hat (174) defined muscles; broad back (187) aloof; serious; focused on task (197) sheriff nearly 4 years; deputy 8 years; intense; focused scrutiny (198) had loved one woman who didn't love him for 10 years (201) broad chest; flat stomach; narrow hips; scars on both knees (217) was sexy and didn't know it; didn't flirt; didn't try to be anything he wasn't (265) square jaw; piercing blue eyes; scent of soap and sweat (266) didn't do well with small talk (271) septic arthritis (283) big guy; broader than Pat; built like Connor (291) parents didn't love each other (295) |
| Carina Maria Kincaid | [Heroine] Homicide Detective (4) broke up with Jim last year; 4 brothers (5) wore dark hair in French braid when on the job (7) didn't graduate from college; one psychology class (9) became detective last year; 10 years as beat cop (17) on force 11 years (18) San Diego Police Department (21) loved to surf (26) didn't like college; too active; too antsy (30) broke up with Jim nearly 2-y-a (51) 5'8" (57) attractive; 140 pounds; muscled, yet soft; carried primary gun in side holster; secondary gun at back; dark sun-streaked hair pulled back in french braid; fathomless brown eyes; saw everything in an instant (82) Irish and Cuban blood in her veins (83) soft skin except for calloused fingers (88) shared darker complexion of Cuban-born mother (137) full, kissable lips (149) long, lean body; probing eyes (150) unusually elegant, exquisite profile (170) full of confidence, drive, intelligence (200) didn't date much; attracted to guys who didn't flirt, the hard-to-get type (266) sensual self-awareness (267) sharp brain; deep confidence; strong; natural optimism (269) straightforward manner; didn't agonize over every decision she made (270) Maria (294) army brat until she was 16 (295) |
| . . . | . . . |
| killer | [Major Secondary Character] arrogant; thought himself smarter than the police (9) watched tv forensics shows; keep barrier between himself and victim (15) sadistic (29) hated cats (105) sociopath (144) immature (145) Dillon's profile: abnormally neat in appearance and environment; immaculate house; no tolerance for dirt; lives alone; may date, but can't maintain a long-term relationship; will appear safe, innocuous, pleasant, polite; will not seem like a threat; had a vicious temper that he had under control until he loses it (148) a student or college dropout; above average intelligence; underachiever; won't take criticism well; so involved in his fantasies that he doesn't pay attention to anything that he doesn't think is important (149) nice looking; average; tall; on the skinny side; nice; polite; clean cut (234) had a brother (302) |
| . . . | . . . |
| Al | [One Appearance] cook at The Sand Shack (380) |
| Andrew | [No Appearance] Justin's father; defense attorney (206) Carina never liked; a good DA (208) |
| Damon Bader | [No Appearance] Angie blocked from her MyJournal page; lived in Detroit, Michigan (184) record of misdemeanors; works as sanitation engineer; twice divorced; 2 kids; 56-y-o (185) |
| Belle | [Animal] Mrs. Racine's beagle; notorious for digging out of the yard; the Thomas boys returned her home often; hit by a car (86) |
| Belle | [Animal] Elizabeth's cat (105) |
| Tom Blade | [One Appearance] SWAT team leader (385) |
| Charlie Daniels | [No Appearance] deputy of Gallatin County, in charge of Search and Rescue; ran for Sheriff (406) |
| Mimi Danvers | [One Appearance] police officer at Abby and Jodi's apartment (237) |
| Denise | [One Appearance] waitress at The Sand Shack (380) |
| Blair Duncan | [Rare Appearances] crime scene tech; Jim's assistant; fresh out of college (218) |
| Lance Booker | [Rare Appearances] Gallatin County Deputy; during Butcher investigation he'd been an overeager rookie; today he was a solid cop (72) |
| The Bozeman Butcher | [The Hunt] for 13 years, kidnapped, raped, and tortured college women then released them naked to hunt them in the woods; killed 22 women (73) |
| Brandon Henry Burns | [Secondary Character] Kyle's brother; bussed tables at The Sand Shack after school and on weekends; Kyle paid him under the table (317) still lives with mother; in high school (318) tall; skinny; growing into his awkward height; pleasant looking; a bit nondescript; well-groomed; short brown hair; pressed clothes (319) Henry (359) |
| Kyle Burns | [Secondary Character] manager of The Sand Shack (38) mid-to-late 20s; short sandy brown hair; inquisitive blue eyes; body of a weight lifter (39) underachiever; in and out of college for 3 years; grades are good, not great; aspired to do great things with his life, but didn't have the focus to stick with any one thing; his strength is management because he's neat, organized, disciplined; lives alone in small duplex near the university (306) 45670 Rupert Street (308) |
| Mitchell "Mitch" Joseph Burns | [No Appearance] a repeat offender; served 4 years for 2 counts of forcible rape (310) gagged his victims with black bandanas; tied them to bedposts with white nylon rope (311) disappeared 8-y-a; 2 sons at time of his arrest 12-y-a; his sons would now be 24-y-o and 17-y-o (312) Mitch (316) |
| Regina Burns | [One Appearance] Mitchell's wife; moved to San Diego 6-y-a (312) two cars: 1996 Camero; 1990 Taurus (324) works for cruise line (325) |
| Jodi Carmichael | [Secondary Character] Angie's friend; lives in apartment near campus (23) cut hair, added highlights (110) dated Steve (133) |
| Chief Causey | [Secondary Character] Will and Carina's supervisor (190) |
| Chandler | [No Appearance] [Heroine of See No Evil / Book 2] Deputy District Attorney; needed Will to appear in court on Friday (80) |
| Ted Chen | [Secondary Character] Assistant Coroner; short, trim, well-dressed Asian man (5) |
| Daniels | [Rare Appearance] officer assigned to watch Steve's apartment (80) |
| Deena | [No Appearance] Steve's ex-girlfriend; works at Starbucks next to college (128) |
| Denise | [One Appearance] waitress at Bud's Diner (23) |
| Diaz | [Rare Appearance] officer assigned to check on Masterson (80) |
| Rebecca Douglas | [No Appearance] victim of The Bozeman Butcher (346) |
| Judge DuBois | [No Appearance] Andrew and Dillon petitioning for to obtain warrant on IP addresses (288) |
| Bethany Eggers | [No Appearance] Elizabeth Rimes' real name; had quit communicating with Scout because knew he was lying about Felix; thought he was creepy (315) |
| Felix | [Animal] killer's neighbor's black and white cat (105) |
| Sergeant Fields | [Rare Appearances] SDPD; called Will, Carina to tell them what he'd found on Steve Thomas (26) 16-y-o daughter (79) |
| Jim Gage | [Secondary Character] supervisor of the Forensic Field Services Unit of the San Diego Police Department; moody; dated Carina last year; refused to talk about what bugged him, on and off the job (5) wore wire rimmed glasses (6) normally calm, methodical demeanor (257) |
| Theodore Glenn | [No Appearance] killed 4 female strippers 6 years ago; Will's case; filing appeals (81) |
| Peg Grimski | [No Appearance] Ray's wife; died 2-y-a of cancer (327) |
| Ray Grimski | [One Appearance] Regina's neighbor; 60s; bald man; beer belly; beer breath (325) |
| Sam Harris | [No Appearance] Gallatin County undersheriff; second in command; taken over when Nick disappeared last year, played the press and politicians (72) implied stopped Butcher single-handedly instead of jeopardizing the case (73) |
| Becca Harrison | [Secondary Character] worked part time in library on Tuesday and Thursday; pretty; wide mouth; red lips; pretty smile (106) small, slender fingers (167) drove sporty Toyota (171) pure; smooth skin; small breasts; sweet; kind (172) intern at La Jolla Main Library (218) long dark hair; blue eyes; 5'4"; 105 pounds (219) had been a virgin (230) happy; joyful; shy (232) |
| Mr. Harrison | [No Appearance] Becca's father (231) |
| William "Will" Hooper | [Secondary Character] [Hero of Killing Fear] Carina's partner; 40; divorced; enjoyed playing the field; good cop; veteran; Carina trusted; taught Carina "how to play hardball in a male-dominated profession"; never hit on Carina; Carina's best friend after her brothers; Jim disliked (10) San Diego Police Department (21) firm, calm demeanor (130) appeared casual, but was always alert (159) |
| Abby Ivers | [Secondary Character] Angie's friend; lives in apartment near campus (23) cute; perky blonde; tight t-shirt, low waist jeans; deep dimples; eye makeup heavily applied (30) one and only boyfriend (109) |
| Ava James | [Rare Appearances] Steve's neighbor; tall, slender girl; straight golden-blonde hair hung to her waist; pretty (127) lived next door to Steve 18 months (128) |
| Tommy Jefferson | [No Appearance] killer's boyhood neighbor; bully (12) |
| Justin | [No Appearance] Carina's nephew; the first grandchild; the first nephew; the first next generation; a little hellion; everyone loved; mom's dimples; father's political statesmanship (205) 27 days older than Lucy (207) |
| Katrina | [No Appearance] Steve's ex-girlfriend (128) |
| Marjorie Kimball | [Rare Appearances] head librarian at La Jolla Main Library; a petite silver-haired woman (231) |
| Connor Kincaid | [No Appearance] [Hero of See No Evil / Book 2] Carina's brother; surfed (26) P.I. (291) |
| Dillon Kincaid | [Major Secondary Character] [Hero of Fear No Evil / Book 3] Carina's brother (29) forensic psychiatrist (30) getting into the mind of a killer was his specialty (60) consulted for the SDPD, interviewed suspects and presented psychiatric report to court (115) freelance forensic consultant for the District Attorney's Office; maintained a private practice; looked more like Irish-American dad than any of the 7 Kincaid children; fair skin; red-brown hair; built like lean football player; played college ball; switched from sports medicine to criminal psychiatry (137) Dr. (140) drove black Lexus (149) |
| Lucy Kincaid | [No Appearance] Carina's baby sister; high school senior; smart (7) |
| Nelia [Kincaid] | [No Appearance] Carina's sister; Justin's mother; kept feelings bottled up; exploded; divorced; moved to Idaho; attorney for a defense contractor (206) never spoke to Carina since abduction (208) the first child, the first daughter; pregnant at 23 (272) gone 11 years; talks to Rosa every Sunday (274) |
| Pat Kincaid | [One Appearance] Colonel; Carina's father; Irish-American; 7 children; fair skin; red-brown hair (137) loved his family and showed it (271) |
| Patrick Kincaid | [Major Secondary Character] Carina's little brother; in e-crimes unit; 11 months younger than Carina; late bloomer; over 6' (57) young cop; Carina's favorite (184) |
| Rosa Kincaid | [One Appearance] Cuban-born; 7 children (137) Carina's mother (272) |
| Krauss | [No Appearance] family that owned the house before the Burns (325) |
| Doug Masterson | [Secondary Character] gave Angie coke (36) sells drugs; bad news (40) over 30 (42) minor drug offenses; 6-mo stint at Descanso for possession of cocaine with intent to sell; 34-y-o (52) hot (56) tall; lanky; long, blond hair; dimple in chin; condescending (159) |
| Midge | [One Appearance] worked front desk at La Jolla Main Library; 10 years younger than Marjorie; stodgy; eagle-eyed (233) |
| Monica | [No Appearance] Will's date de jour, lives in Carlsbad (10) |
| Miranda Moore | [No Appearance] [Heroine of The Hunt] escaped the Bozeman Butcher by jumping into the Gallatin River to escape him (241) |
| Kayla Nichols | [Secondary Character] Angie's friend (24) lawyer wanna be (53) bisexual (109) standoffish; rough; prickly (196) |
| Leah Peterson | [Rare Appearances] lived with sister; 19-y-o (329) |
| Maggie Peterson | [Rare Appearances] waitress from The Sand Shack for last year; 22-y-o; university student (329) |
| Quinn Peterson | [No Appearance] [Hero of The Hunt] FBI Agent; Nick called him in to work The Butcher case; the man Miranda loved (275) |
| Jason Porter | [No Appearance] killer's boyhood neighbor; lived on corner house; black kid (12) |
| Mrs. Racine | [No Appearance] the Thomas's neighbor (86) |
| Randi | [No Appearance] killer dated for months; shy; quiet; timid; moved away when found dog dead (121) |
| Elizabeth Rimes | [No Appearance] killer exchanged e-mails; beautiful; attended Atlanta Tech; lived in apartment near campus; biked to school; Enya her favorite singer; favorite color sky blue; favorite movie Sleepless in Seattle (103) long, soft blond hair; loved cats (104) |
| Dean Robertson | [Several Appearances] in charge of Missing Persons; SDPD (17) Carina's training officer 11-y-a; worked off-the-clock as many hours as regular shift; never married; driven to find missing kids for their parents (18) detective (385) |
| Mr. Sanders | [One Appearance] elderly; La Jolla Main Library patron (233) |
| Sherry | [One Appearance] waitress at The Sand Shack (381) |
| Scooter | [Animal] Elizabeth's cat (105) |
| Jessie Souter | [No Appearance] instrumental in Nick's decision to become a cop; drug-addicted mother; petty thief father; spent time in and out of foster homes when parents landed in jail; Missoula beat cop arrested him, befriended and guided him; grew up to become a cop (101) |
| Stanton | [No Appearance] getting warrant for information from MyJournal (221) |
| Miriam Thomas | [No Appearance] Nick and Steve's mother; overcompensated with Nick because of Paul's favoritism (123) |
| Paul Thomas | [No Appearance] Nick and Steve's father; "only had faith in one of his sons"; dead 10 years; joined Army; earned a Purple Heart; love of history (100) monthly reserves duty (123) 2 years in Vietnam; Nick born 9 months after his discharge (294) joined the reserves because missed military (295) |
| Steven "Steve" Thomas | [Major Secondary Character] clean cut; late 30s, maybe 40 (18) met Angie through computer class at UCSD (19) oceanfront apartment (25) 39-y-o; no known occupation; pension from US Army (28) lean; athletic build; broad shoulders; dark blond hair; blue eyes; anger close to the surface (33) military straight posture (34) an explosive pendulum of emotions (35) short-cropped dark blond hair (60) Desert Storm war hero; savior of an entire school of Kuwaiti children (70) sounded like a petulant kid (85) earned two Congressional medals during Desert Storm (91) hated the snow and rain; settled in San Diego when went on disability because of the weather and proximity to other veterans (93) attended college long enough to earn 3 degrees (96) small, sporty car (98) followed in father's footsteps; earned a Purple Heart; love of history (100) left military 14-y-a; going to school part time for 10 years (102) online identity: SThomasSgt (114) lines framing his eyes; tanned skin looking dry and leathery; full head of hair starting to recede at the temples; few silver strands mixed into the sandy blond (152) 38-y-o; immature; irresponsible (156) gregarious; friendly; talked to everybody (197) disabled veteran; three degrees (245) |
| Tommy | [No Appearance] Leah's boyfriend (362) |
| Ashley van Auden | [No Appearance] victim of The Bozeman Butcher (346) |
| Angela "Angie" Vance | [Major Secondary Character] victim; 18-y-o; blond hair; brown eyes; 5'5"; 115 pounds; freshman at UCSD; undeclared major; lived with mother and grandmother (19) extensive blond highlights in hair; beautiful; long, shiny hair; warm, inviting smile (20) full scholarship at UCSD; smart; straight As through high school (22) restraining order against Steve 3 weeks ago (27) worked at The Sand Shack (31) lots of boyfriends; romantic (32) assistant manager at The Sand Shack (39) doesn't like being told what to do (41) nice; sweet; polite; almost demure (44) anonymously kept sex diary online (55) 4.0 GPA; everyone liked her; worked hard at the Shack (75) screen name: Mirage (108) |
| Carl Vance | [No Appearance] Angie's father; left when she was baby; had new family (24) |
| Debbie Vance | [One Appearance] Angie's mother; waitress at Bud's Diner; looked like daughter; brown hair; pretty in her day; looked a little gray and worn, though happy (20) short; chubby; about 40; cherubic face |
| Ellen Workman | [One Appearance] girl Masterson went skiing with (161) 25-y-o college dropout; lived with parents in Carlsbad; part time cocktail waitress; sharp; credible (164) |
Locations, Organizations Found In "Speak No Evil"
| Location / Organization | Description |
|---|---|
| Atlanta Tech | college Elizabeth Rimes attended (103) |
| Big Bear | Masterson's parents have cabin there (161) |
| Big John's | The Sand Shack when Carina in college; fifties style soda shop (38) |
| Bob's Burgers | located across from the police station; a regular hangout for Homicide (115) |
| Bud's Diner | where Debbie Vance worked (20) looked like greasy spoon on outside; rich aroma on inside (21) |
| Camino del Oro | location of The Sand Shack (31) |
| Carlsbad | suburb of San Diego; where Monica lives (10) |
| Corcoran Prison | the killer's father imprisoned there (43) |
| Descanso | where Doug Masterson served a six month sentence (52) |
| Detroit, Michigan | where Damon Bader lived (184) |
| Fremont case | Carina's first case as a detective; caught nurse who used fake ID at funeral service (190) |
| Gallatin County, Montana | where Nick was Sheriff (83) |
| Journalme.iloverealmen.com | name of web page where Angie journaled (55) |
| La Jolla | coastal community near San Diego (159) |
| La Jolla Main Library | where Becca worked (216) |
| Montana State University | where The Bozeman Butcher found most of his victims (73) |
| MyJournal dotcom | where Angie anonymously journaled (54) |
| North Park | old neighborhood in Central San Diego; where Angie lived with mother and grandmother (20) |
| Poway | case Dillon worked where anonymous journaler killed (143) |
| San Diego, California | book setting (3) had one of the largest veteran communities in the country (93) |
| San Diego Police Department | employed Will Hooper, Carina Kincaid, et al. (21) |
| San Francisco Appeals Court: | where Will needed to appear in Court (81) |
| The Sand Shack | on Camino del Oro off the beach; last place Abby saw Angie Friday night; Angie works there (31) across highway from beach; cross between Hawaiian luau and surfer haven (38) |
| UCSD | University of California, San Diego (19) |
| University City | where Regina Burns lived; between downtown San Diego and La Jolla to the north (312) |
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"Speak No Evil" Quotations
| 7 | she realized that justice wasn't always swift, and that the system didn't always work. (Carina) |
| 32 | Like many survivors, she was looking for answers. (Carina) |
| 80 | "there's no way to be one hundred percent safe" (Carina) |
| 83 | ☺ "Quick-draw McGraw is my partner" (Will) |
| 93 | There was something sad about that. Nick and Steve had each settled in a place they felt was home, but without a family to make it a home. (Nick) |
| 100 | Some cops become cops because of tragedy, but Nick became a cop because of hope. (Nick) |
| 125 | people see what they want and we give them what they want to see. Sometimes I want people to see the real me, to hear what I really say. But they don't. This journal is a perfect example. Is this me? No, it's not. It's what you think I am , so I give it to you. I don't know me. I don't think I ever have. (Angie) |
| 150 | "My mama told me women were always right." (Nick) |
| 174 | If Nick was an example of the men who lived in Montana, maybe she should put in for a transfer. (Carina) |
| 196 | "Maybe I'm just better than you thought." (Nick) |
| 199 | "Violence changes lives. Everyone evil touches is affected." (Nick) |
| 200 | The media seemed to think that freedom the press meant freedom to be callous. (Carina) |
| 200 | Lord knew he needed a woman who didn't have baggage that weighed more than his. (Nick) |
| 209 | "The only thing I've learned being a cop is that good people get hurt and bad people enjoy it." (Nick) |
| 212 | She'd seen him at least once a week for months, had said hello to him, had smiled at him every time she saw him. But she didn't really see him. She looked past him, through him, around him, never at him. (Brandon) |
| 220 | she thought about the anguished cry that came out of her sister's throat, a sound that could only be described as the voice of pain itself. (Carina) |
| 272 | "But it's never just one thing, is it?" (Pat) |
| 273 | "Every decision, every choice, changes the path we're on." (Pat) |
| 273 | "They did the wrong thing for the right reasons." (Pat) |
| 286 | She'd never been able to have sex with someone and just walk away as if it meant nothing. She'd never wanted to have sex with a man she didn't feel something special for. (Carina) |
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Comments, Snarky Remarks, and Politically Incorrect Responses to Reviews Encountered Online
"Allison Brennan -- Speak No Evil"
So many times I want to respond to a reviewer's comments about a book . . . but common courtesy and the rules of the site prevent me from spouting off. But here on my own site, I'm doing so.
"Allison Brennan -- Speak No Evil"
So many times I want to respond to a reviewer's comments about a book . . . but common courtesy and the rules of the site prevent me from spouting off. But here on my own site, I'm doing so.
| Reviewer | Link / Brief Synopsis | Response Wanted To Make |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon ★☆☆☆☆ K (Los Angeles) | . . . her writing is some of the worst that . . . | This is just another example of a negative-minded person who likes to spread the negativity. S/he proses on about being "a fan of almost every genre" and "reading quite a bit of suspense / thriller / mystery books" but s/he has only posted two reviews on Amazon and both of them were negative. S/he doesn't give any reasons about why Allison Brennan's "writing is some of the worst that I've come across in a very long time." I hate this kind of author bashing review! |
| Amazon ☆☆☆☆☆ fellow person | So don't tell us so much about the story, . . . | How do you find any books to read? I understand about not wanting to accidentally read any spoilers before reading the book, but reading online reviews before reading the book is a sure-fire way to make that happen. (That is the reason I never read reviews before reading the book!) Even though you worded your request very nicely and complimented Elaine on her writing style, I felt your criticism was unjust because: {1} if you have read many reviews on Amazon, then you should realize that some reviewers put *actual* spoilers in their reviews (some intentionally, some not); {2} if you actually read the book, you would know that the revealing information Elaine provided was minuscule; {3} if you did your research, this book is listed a "Romantic Suspense" book, therefore, Nick and Carina are going to end up together -- it's a given in the Romance genre; and {4} you did not write a similar comment to other reviewers who revealed even more detail about the story than Elaine. |
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"Allison Brennan -- Speak No Evil" Review and Information Links
| Rated | Posted | Site | Notes, Comments, Etc. |
|---|---|---|---|
| -- | -- | Allison Brennan's Website | Author |
| -- | -- | Allison Brennan's Facebook | Author |
| -- | -- | Allison Brennan's Twitter | Author |
| -- | -- | You Tube | Speak No Evil trailer |
| . . . | . . . | . . . | . . . |
| 4.50 | 01-....-2007 | A Romance Review | --Jackie // brief, but good |
| D / Warm | 02-28-2008 | All About Romance | --Lynn Spencer // ouch! |
| 4.25 average | {40 reviews} | Amazon | as of: August 12, 2013 |
| -- | -- | American Author's Association | Biography |
| 4.41 average | {44 ratings} | Barnes & Noble | as of: August 12, 2013 |
| Article | 02-08-2010 | Barnes and Noble | Allison Brennan Article |
| Article | 01-04-2011 | Janet Gable Bashman | Writing Powerful and Evocative Settings by Allison Brennan |
| 2.25 | 02-09-2007 | Books, Books and More Books | --Nath {gr32} // good review, but too nit-picky. It's Fiction! |
| -- | -- | Books n Bytes | List of Allison Brennan's Books |
| Thread | 06-13-2010 | Coffee Time Romance | A.B.'s detailed response about "Series, Trilogies, Stand-Alones" |
| Article | 08-24-2012 | Criminal Element | Allison Brennan's article on what makes a Romantic Thriller // excellent |
| Article | 10-06-2008 | Dear Author | --Mary-Frances Makichen // If You Like Allison Brennan // awesome |
| -- | -- | Fantastic Fiction | List of Allison Brennan's Books |
| -- | -- | Fict Fact | List of Books In The No Evil Trilogy |
| -- | -- | Fiction DB | List of Allison Brennan's Books |
| PR review | 01-15-2007 | Fresh Fiction | --Paula Myers // Terrifying, Gripping Romantic Suspense . . . |
| PR review | 04-17-2007 | Fresh Fiction | --Rachael Dimond // Spine Tingling Thriller . . . |
| PR review | 04-30-2007 | Fresh Fiction | --Patricia Woodside // Rapid-Fire Suspense . . . |
| 4.07 average | {2,694 ratings} | Good Reads | as of: August 11, 2013 |
| {positive} | 10-03-2007 | I Just Finished Reading | --Lori // "It had it all -- everything I love." |
| 3.80 average | {46 ratings} | Library Thing | as of: August 12, 2013 |
| Interview | 11-20-2012 | Mysterious Writers | Allison Brennan Interview (tied to Kiss Me, Kill Me) // very interesting |
| -- | -- | Order of Books . com | List of Allison Brennan's Books |
| 4.1 average | {239 ratings} | Paperback Swap | as of: August 12, 2013 |
| -- | -- | Publisher's Marketplace | details about Allison Brennan's books, PR quotes, awards, etc. |
| A Keeper | 02-....-2007 | Romance Reader At Heart | --Debbie Jett // great, very gushy |
| Article | 03-30-2010 | RT {Romantic Times} Book Reviews | Message From The Author // excellent |
| 4.00 | 03-30-2010 | RT {Romantic Times} Book Reviews | --Jill M. Smith // good |
| 4.47 average | {15 ratings} | Shelfari | as of: August 12, 2013 |
| -- | -- | Stop, You're Killing Me | List of Allison Brennan's Books |
| Interview | -- | Suspense Magazine | Allison Brennan / March 2008 Author of the Month |
| -- | 12-27-2005 | To Be Read | Allison Brennan's feelings about the day of first publication |
| Article | 02-28-2008 | Wow! Women On Writing! | Suzanne Pitner Interview of Allison Brennan / so impressive |
| Interview | 05-19-2006 | Writer Unboxed | Therese Walsh Interview of Allison Brennan / excellent detail |
| 4.75 | 08-13-2013 | Wolf Bear Does Books | shorter post on Amazon, Fiction DB, Good Reads, Library Thing, Shelfari |
❀ . Top . ❀ . Review . ❀ . Synopsis . ❀ . Series . ❀ . Characters . ❀ . Quotes . ❀ . Comments . ❀ . Links . ❀ . End . ❀
♥ Disclaimer: I Purchased This Book
♥ Very Subjective Rating
♣ Will add your review link of Speak No Evil to table, just ask
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