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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
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Fangirls Read It First
First of all, anyone who has experienced sexual trauma may want to avoid this book. It wasn’t as graphic as some books and shows, but it gave enough detail to warrant caution. The story was paced very well. It moved quickly with lots of action and changed perspective often enough to keep the reader’s attention. While some of the plot points were predictable, there were a few twists that kept me guessing and intrigued.
The male lead, Agent Cam Prescott, came across as stereotypically “macho” and sexist. He has a difficult time reconciling the cool and “regal” doctor with her job of interviewing and profiling some of the worst, most gruesome criminals out there. He even compared her to a fairy princess at one point. I very much enjoyed Sophia. She was intelligent, witty, resourceful, and defiantly chose her own path. She was not a damsel-in-distress; she was a complex woman who didn't depend on others to do what needed to be done.
Fangirls Read It First
First of all, anyone who has experienced sexual trauma may want to avoid this book. It wasn’t as graphic as some books and shows, but it gave enough detail to warrant caution. The story was paced very well. It moved quickly with lots of action and changed perspective often enough to keep the reader’s attention. While some of the plot points were predictable, there were a few twists that kept me guessing and intrigued.
The male lead, Agent Cam Prescott, came across as stereotypically “macho” and sexist. He has a difficult time reconciling the cool and “regal” doctor with her job of interviewing and profiling some of the worst, most gruesome criminals out there. He even compared her to a fairy princess at one point. I very much enjoyed Sophia. She was intelligent, witty, resourceful, and defiantly chose her own path. She was not a damsel-in-distress; she was a complex woman who didn't depend on others to do what needed to be done.
ARC received from: Netgalley
Review: I am so conflicted as to how to shelve this. I mean there is Zero present-day romance but there are some lovely snippets of Cam/Sophia's relationship in flashbacks .....
This book is heavily suspense/crime driven with a fast-paced plot that keeps your attention. I would say it is appropriate for a fan of either genre.
Warning: the book ends with the expectation you tune into the second book of the trilogy so not everything is nicely wrapped up with a bow.
Review: I am so conflicted as to how to shelve this. I mean there is Zero present-day romance but there are some lovely snippets of Cam/Sophia's relationship in flashbacks .....
This book is heavily suspense/crime driven with a fast-paced plot that keeps your attention. I would say it is appropriate for a fan of either genre.
Warning: the book ends with the expectation you tune into the second book of the trilogy so not everything is nicely wrapped up with a bow.
Slow at First— keep reading!
The beginning of the book was slow and I considered not finishing. However, once the book grasped my attention, the plot thickened and I couldn’t put it down.
The beginning of the book was slow and I considered not finishing. However, once the book grasped my attention, the plot thickened and I couldn’t put it down.
Dr. Sophia Channing is a forensic profiler who works closely with Agent Cam Prescott. Some might say a little too closely, they had a brief affair which we learn about in snippets during flashbacks. These flashbacks start every chapter, which breaks up the almost non-stop action and gives the reader a little breathing room to process the horror of the rest of the story. They also give us some insight into why Prescott is hesitant and a little awkward about working with Channing on what may be the biggest case of his career.
A twisted, sadistic maniac is hunting women and leaving their remains in other people's graves. The first body is discovered by accident but it doesn't take long to discover there are more. The hunt is on, and the team is using every means at their disposal to figure out who the killer is before he strikes again. But when Channing's profile is aired on the news their plans go badly arwy Now they have to find him before one of their own ends up in a shared grave.
I thought the romantic elements lent some spice to the story, and helped to explain the tension between them. Cam has secrets from time spent on a federal task force, and while we don't learn what they are, those secrets get between Cam and Sophie and doom their relationship from the start. Yet each is still powerfully attracted to the other. It makes the story more human, most serial killer psychological thrillers focus solely on the hunt. This one gives insight into what makes the good guys tick and left me at least wanting to know if they ever surmount their personal obstacles and get back together. Since it's a trilogy, hopefully more relationship will unfold in book two, while they hunt down the next killer.
A twisted, sadistic maniac is hunting women and leaving their remains in other people's graves. The first body is discovered by accident but it doesn't take long to discover there are more. The hunt is on, and the team is using every means at their disposal to figure out who the killer is before he strikes again. But when Channing's profile is aired on the news their plans go badly arwy Now they have to find him before one of their own ends up in a shared grave.
I thought the romantic elements lent some spice to the story, and helped to explain the tension between them. Cam has secrets from time spent on a federal task force, and while we don't learn what they are, those secrets get between Cam and Sophie and doom their relationship from the start. Yet each is still powerfully attracted to the other. It makes the story more human, most serial killer psychological thrillers focus solely on the hunt. This one gives insight into what makes the good guys tick and left me at least wanting to know if they ever surmount their personal obstacles and get back together. Since it's a trilogy, hopefully more relationship will unfold in book two, while they hunt down the next killer.
Lots of things not to like. Repeated flash backs. Why couldn't they just have been a linear part of the story? Cliff hanger. To be honest, I don't care enough to read more, although I might.
**I received a copy of this book free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are 100% my own.
First things first, I'm happy to see this book is set in Iowa. In all honesty, I think this is the first novel I've read that was actually set in Iowa... even Stephen King's "Children of the Corn" is set in Nebraska, not Iowa. Then again, there isn't much in Iowa. Cam Prescott just about says it all when he says something to the effect of "This is Iowa. We've got cows. Pigs. Maybe sheep." He didn't mention corn and soybeans, but you get the gist of it.
Murders do happen in Iowa, although serial killings aren't all that common here. Or at least I never hear of them. So it was fun to read about places I've heard of, but haven't been to, in the state in which I live. It makes me giggle to think of someone like Dr. Sophia Channing living in Iowa, to be honest. I always picture big-time psychologists like her to be living in Chicago or New York, not Des Moines or Iowa City.
While it took me a couple of days to read, this book definitely didn't start out slow. This book got right down to it and didn't stop until the very end. While it's pretty common for the first body to be found within the first chapter of a thriller, it isn't as common for the action to continue right up to the end. It's also not quite so common to realize you're going to have a sequel by the way the first book ends.
This book had a few heart-stopping moments, which is good. The characters had great development and in all honesty, while there were some spots I thought were a bit predictable, it wasn't as though it detracted from the story. It probably just means that I've read a few too many thrillers and as such, I am able to determine when certain information is going to be revealed and by whom.
The only thing that sort of bothered me was the lack of clear delineation between the main plot of the book and the flashbacks of the relationship between Prescott and Channing. Once I got used to seeing the flashbacks at the beginning of each chapter it was easier to deal with, but at first I was left a bit confused. Perhaps those should have been in italics or otherwise marked so it would be easy to figure out. Also, it'd be nice to know who was having the flashback just for reference. After all, the two parties might remember things a bit differently.
All in all, it was a 4 star read. Luckily I've got the second and third books so I don't have to wish for the sequel on this one. I definitely recommend this one to anyone looking for a good thriller with some romance parts to it.
First things first, I'm happy to see this book is set in Iowa. In all honesty, I think this is the first novel I've read that was actually set in Iowa... even Stephen King's "Children of the Corn" is set in Nebraska, not Iowa. Then again, there isn't much in Iowa. Cam Prescott just about says it all when he says something to the effect of "This is Iowa. We've got cows. Pigs. Maybe sheep." He didn't mention corn and soybeans, but you get the gist of it.
Murders do happen in Iowa, although serial killings aren't all that common here. Or at least I never hear of them. So it was fun to read about places I've heard of, but haven't been to, in the state in which I live. It makes me giggle to think of someone like Dr. Sophia Channing living in Iowa, to be honest. I always picture big-time psychologists like her to be living in Chicago or New York, not Des Moines or Iowa City.
While it took me a couple of days to read, this book definitely didn't start out slow. This book got right down to it and didn't stop until the very end. While it's pretty common for the first body to be found within the first chapter of a thriller, it isn't as common for the action to continue right up to the end. It's also not quite so common to realize you're going to have a sequel by the way the first book ends.
This book had a few heart-stopping moments, which is good. The characters had great development and in all honesty, while there were some spots I thought were a bit predictable, it wasn't as though it detracted from the story. It probably just means that I've read a few too many thrillers and as such, I am able to determine when certain information is going to be revealed and by whom.
The only thing that sort of bothered me was the lack of clear delineation between the main plot of the book and the flashbacks of the relationship between Prescott and Channing. Once I got used to seeing the flashbacks at the beginning of each chapter it was easier to deal with, but at first I was left a bit confused. Perhaps those should have been in italics or otherwise marked so it would be easy to figure out. Also, it'd be nice to know who was having the flashback just for reference. After all, the two parties might remember things a bit differently.
All in all, it was a 4 star read. Luckily I've got the second and third books so I don't have to wish for the sequel on this one. I definitely recommend this one to anyone looking for a good thriller with some romance parts to it.
I stopped doing things I should have done yesterday to finish Chasing Evil. This story gripped me from the first page. It's part one of a trilogy, and I am now looking forward to reading Touching Evil.
In Chasing Evil we are introduced to forensic psychologist Sophia Channing who is asked to assist in the search for a serial killer who has been abducting women. The investigation is lead by Cam Prescott of the Iowa DCI. Sophia and Cam had a short-lived, ardent affair which we learn about in flashbacks. Neither of them is quite over it.
Chasing Evil has a very good mix of suspense, police investigation and sizzling romance. The characters are full of depth, and I liked Sophia as well as Cam very much. They felt authentic. The suspense side of the book is also really well done. It was quite gruesome in parts with strong language and graphic sexual scenes. The hunt for the serial killer was intense and thrilling. Not everything is resolved by the end of book 1 (obviously, as it's a trilogy), but as cliff hangers go this wasn't bad. It definitely left me wanting to read more about Sophia and Cam and the sadists they are hunting.
Thank you to the author and the publisher for providing me with a complimentary copy via NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.
Highly recommended for romantic suspense fans!
In Chasing Evil we are introduced to forensic psychologist Sophia Channing who is asked to assist in the search for a serial killer who has been abducting women. The investigation is lead by Cam Prescott of the Iowa DCI. Sophia and Cam had a short-lived, ardent affair which we learn about in flashbacks. Neither of them is quite over it.
Chasing Evil has a very good mix of suspense, police investigation and sizzling romance. The characters are full of depth, and I liked Sophia as well as Cam very much. They felt authentic. The suspense side of the book is also really well done. It was quite gruesome in parts with strong language and graphic sexual scenes. The hunt for the serial killer was intense and thrilling. Not everything is resolved by the end of book 1 (obviously, as it's a trilogy), but as cliff hangers go this wasn't bad. It definitely left me wanting to read more about Sophia and Cam and the sadists they are hunting.
Thank you to the author and the publisher for providing me with a complimentary copy via NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.
Highly recommended for romantic suspense fans!
Thriller, Romance
“Backdropped against clumps of rich black Iowa topsoil was an unmistakably human hand.”
Women’s murdered bodies are discovered concealed in the graves of the recently buried throughout Iowa. DCI investigator Cam Prescott is assigned lead on the case and they have called in several specialists to consult on it. One of those specialists is Forensic Psychologist Dr. Sophia Channing, brought in to assist by providing a profile on the suspect.
“She’d spent the better part of graduate school interning with Louis Frein, renowned profiler at Quantico’s Behavioral Science Unit. In the last decade and a half, she’d interviewed the most notorious serial killers in captivity. There was more, much more to the woman than her appearance.”
She has worked with Cam before on cases but they also have recently ended a torrid 14 day affair. Sophie claims she broke it off due to their professional relationship but deep down her feelings were scaring her. Feeling wholly unlike herself and out of control had her running for the hills.
With Dr. Channing’s profile and the identity of a few of the victims, they are able to nail down the suspect’s MO. He is targeting single, wealthy women with children. He follows them until the perfect moment when he snatches them, makes them go to a bank and withdraw large sums of money by using threats against their children for control. Over the course of the next several weeks, unspeakable things are done to them, and then they are discarded in someone else’s grave to be forgotten. Until now. Once they know his workings, they find he has just struck again. Can they find him in time to save his newest victim?
A decision is made by the top brass to give the media pieces of Dr. Channing’s profile, they gotta feed the machine. What they don’t realize, is this will have devastating consequences for Sophie. When they killer hears what they are saying about him, he is furious and the one to blame is Dr. Channing. There is only one thing for him to do, he must make her pay.
“She couldn’t seem to move, and she couldn’t blame her immobility on whatever drug he’d injected her with. Fear kept her limbs leaden. Her mind frozen. But a couple of thoughts were clear enough. The man they’d been seeking so diligently had found her. And he didn’t look at all like the stranger depicted in the forensic sketch Jenna had drawn.”
“Despite the way their relationship had ended, she was certain Cam would stop at nothing to find her. She wouldn’t wait for that rescue. Couldn’t count on it. But it warmed something inside her to be certain of his efforts on her behalf.”
Cam knows his time is limited, based on their knowledge of the killer. He must find Sophie before it’s too late.
This was a great book! The perfect combination of thriller and romance. I really enjoyed how the beginning of every chapter was a little piece of the relationship between Cam and Sophie. It was just enough that it did not take away from the hunt for a serial killer. This was an easy read that had me hooked from the prologue to the last chapter, which leaves you hanging. I will definitely be getting book 2 to keep it going. I must have answers! This was my first Kylie Brant book and I was not disappointed, she has certainly been added to my author watch list.
“Backdropped against clumps of rich black Iowa topsoil was an unmistakably human hand.”
Women’s murdered bodies are discovered concealed in the graves of the recently buried throughout Iowa. DCI investigator Cam Prescott is assigned lead on the case and they have called in several specialists to consult on it. One of those specialists is Forensic Psychologist Dr. Sophia Channing, brought in to assist by providing a profile on the suspect.
“She’d spent the better part of graduate school interning with Louis Frein, renowned profiler at Quantico’s Behavioral Science Unit. In the last decade and a half, she’d interviewed the most notorious serial killers in captivity. There was more, much more to the woman than her appearance.”
She has worked with Cam before on cases but they also have recently ended a torrid 14 day affair. Sophie claims she broke it off due to their professional relationship but deep down her feelings were scaring her. Feeling wholly unlike herself and out of control had her running for the hills.
With Dr. Channing’s profile and the identity of a few of the victims, they are able to nail down the suspect’s MO. He is targeting single, wealthy women with children. He follows them until the perfect moment when he snatches them, makes them go to a bank and withdraw large sums of money by using threats against their children for control. Over the course of the next several weeks, unspeakable things are done to them, and then they are discarded in someone else’s grave to be forgotten. Until now. Once they know his workings, they find he has just struck again. Can they find him in time to save his newest victim?
A decision is made by the top brass to give the media pieces of Dr. Channing’s profile, they gotta feed the machine. What they don’t realize, is this will have devastating consequences for Sophie. When they killer hears what they are saying about him, he is furious and the one to blame is Dr. Channing. There is only one thing for him to do, he must make her pay.
“She couldn’t seem to move, and she couldn’t blame her immobility on whatever drug he’d injected her with. Fear kept her limbs leaden. Her mind frozen. But a couple of thoughts were clear enough. The man they’d been seeking so diligently had found her. And he didn’t look at all like the stranger depicted in the forensic sketch Jenna had drawn.”
“Despite the way their relationship had ended, she was certain Cam would stop at nothing to find her. She wouldn’t wait for that rescue. Couldn’t count on it. But it warmed something inside her to be certain of his efforts on her behalf.”
Cam knows his time is limited, based on their knowledge of the killer. He must find Sophie before it’s too late.
This was a great book! The perfect combination of thriller and romance. I really enjoyed how the beginning of every chapter was a little piece of the relationship between Cam and Sophie. It was just enough that it did not take away from the hunt for a serial killer. This was an easy read that had me hooked from the prologue to the last chapter, which leaves you hanging. I will definitely be getting book 2 to keep it going. I must have answers! This was my first Kylie Brant book and I was not disappointed, she has certainly been added to my author watch list.