On her hands and knees, Nikki moved to the other side of the body. She couldn’t stop her fingers from trembling as she brushed the dark hair off the victim’s face. She couldn’t look away. “I know her…”
When Special Agent Nikki Hunt is called to the Boundary Waters near Stillwater, Minnesota, it’s not just the cold that shocks her to her core: the body of a young woman has been found frozen beside a remote lake. Nikki is devastated to see the victim is her childhood friend Annmarie, and she recognizes the velvet ribbon tied in her hair as the hallmark of a serial killer who she has been hunting for years.
Desperate for justice, Nikki throws herself into the case. But she is shaken by what she finds at Annmarie’s home: a dead-bolt on her front door and a map in the spare room, with the locations of murdered women circled in thick, red marker. Did Annmarie know she was next? Then Nikki finds out that the killer has left a clue in Annmarie’s bedroom: a photo of Nikki’s mother that no one has ever seen. Has the murderer at large been in Nikki’s life since she was a child?
Nikki soon realizes that the key to unlocking this case is in her own family, but digging up the past could put her own daughter in danger. She has spent her whole life protecting the ones she loves, but to find this killer Nikki might have to risk everything…
Fans of Karin Slaughter, Lisa Gardner and Robert Dugoni will be completely addicted to this heart-pounding thriller. Once you start reading, the twists and turns will have you racing towards the end.
MY THOUGHTS:
Another winner for Stacy Green. This is probably my favorite Nikki Hunt book yet. So much going on. The action and the flow was great. Even though I figured out who Frost was and who he was to Nikki that by no means took away from this book. It was so good.
FBI agent Nikki Hunt is back again with a new case. Actually two cases. One being a woman found in the ice. The other a young girl missing and presumed to be a victim of Frost. The body found is Nikki's childhood best friend Annmarie. They have not seen each other or spoken in too many years. After Nikki's parents were brutally murder she closed herself off to everyone.
Nikki is racing against time now to save another possible victim of Frost's before it's too late. This time he is leaving too many clues. Is he messing up or setting a trap for Nikki? Has Frost always known Nikki and if so how? Why did he do all of these horrible things. Many questions that have come to light throughout this series. Many in this book alone and believe me all are answered. You will find out when and why. You'll want to know all and you will find it out.
Too many innocent victims to forget. In this one there was one point that made me literally catch my breath. I could not believe it. No him. Of all people why? Nikki has a hard job but she tackles it with all she has. With all the professionalism of any good FBI agent. There were some things that she did miss but look at where her mind was at. Her best friend a victim. A young lady who had already lost her sister to Frost. Worrying about saving this young lady. Worried about her own daughter. Was she putting Lacey in jeopardy?
This book has all the twists and turns and edge of your seat thrills you expect from Stacy Green. I loved everything about this book. She outdid herself again. I really look forward to her next Nikki installment. What will happen next? We will find out.
Thank you to #netgalley, #bookouture, #stacygreen for this ARC. This is my own true feelings.
5/5 huge stars for a job well done. I highly recommend this one.
READ & REVIEWED:
“Standout sequel from Dorian Box featuring a fierce female main character, a perfectly planned and paced plot, and a strong sense of theme. ... Emily is a brilliant character ...” — IndieReader (starred review, IR Seal of Approval)
“[A] must-read thriller ... engrossing ... memorable. All the right ingredients of emotions, action, corruption, justice, courtroom drama, and gentle romance.” — Readers’ Favorite (5-Star Seal)
Emily Calby disappeared at age twelve, the only survivor of a notorious home invasion. Three years after her terrifying odyssey in The Hiding Girl, she’s safe, living in anonymity with her mentor, ex-gang member Lucas Jackson—before life blows up again on her Sweet Sixteen birthday. Arrested for carrying her birthday gift (an illegal handgun), a fingerprint scan shows her to be the "missing Calby girl" and worse: she’s wanted for murder in another state.
Extradited to a corrupt juvenile prison, Emily struggles to adjust to a new code of survival while battling a vindictive prosecutor willing to resort to any means to convict her. As The Law thwarts her every move, she begins to appreciate its awesome power. She discovers an unused prison law library and buries herself in the books, casting her destiny.
As she fights for her life in court, the dark secrets behind the prison walls close in. Her cellmate, a spookily prescient drug addict, is in grave danger. So is her first love, a gentle boy sentenced to life without parole. Emily’s desperate to help them, but how can she, when her explosive trial brings one new disaster after another? A courtroom thriller like no other.
MY THOUGHTS:
“A tense, simmering, fast-paced mystery, Kate White’s latest captivating thriller explores the secrets that lurk just under the surface of a picture-perfect façade. I raced through this story about a close-knit family’s annual gathering at an idyllic estate that quickly turns deadly. The Fiancée kept me guessing until the very end, never sure who to trust—or where the danger was hiding.”—Megan Miranda, New York Times bestselling author of The Last House Guest and The Girl from Widow Hills
The New York Times bestselling author returns with an unsettling but riveting psychological thriller about a captivating woman who joins a family and threatens to upend their picture-perfect lives.
They had everything they needed for a perfect family vacation: close-knit relatives, a bucolic setting . . . and a murderer in their midst?
Summer’s looking forward to a break from hustling for acting work in Manhattan when she, her husband Gabe, and Gabe’s nine-year-old son arrive at the annual family get-together at her in-laws’ sprawling estate. On the agenda are leisurely gourmet meals, tennis matches, and plenty of relaxation by the pool.
But this year, Gabe’s brother Nick has invited his new flame Hannah, whom Summer immediately recognizes from a few years before. Oddly, her brother-in-law’s girlfriend claims not to know her. Yet she charms the other family members, and after Nick announces that he’s proposed to Hannah, Summer doesn’t have much choice but to grin and bear it.
Then the reunion is rocked by tragedy when a family member is found dead. Though the doctors attribute the loss to natural causes, a grieving Summer fears that the too-good-to-be-true Hannah is involved, even as Gabe dismisses her suspicions.
For readers of Lilac Girls and The Lost Girls of Paris comes a captivating novel of resilience, as three generations of women battle to save their family’s vineyard during WWII.
Champagne, 1939
Gabrielle Leblanc Dupree is taking her family’s future into her hands. While she should be preparing for a lavish party to celebrate two centuries of champagne making, she secretly hides Chateau Fouché-Leblanc’s most precious vintages behind a fake wall in the cellar in preparation for the looming war. But when she joins the resistance, the coveted champagne isn’t the most dangerous secret her cellar must conceal…
A former Parisian socialite, Gabrielle’s mother, Hélène, lost her husband to another war. Now her home has been requisitioned by the Germans, who pillage vineyards to satisfy the Third Reich’s thirst for the finest champagne. There’s even more at stake than Hélène dares admit. She has kept her heritage a secret…and no one is safe in Nazi-occupied France.
Josephine, the family matriarch, watches as her beloved vineyard faces its most difficult harvest yet. As her daughter-in-law and granddaughters contend with the enemies and unexpected allies in their midst, Josephine’s deep faith leads to her own path of resistance.
Across years and continents, the Leblanc women will draw on their courage and wits, determined against all odds to preserve their lives, their freedom and their legacy…
MY THOUGHTS:
I don't know why I always think these books will be different. No tears. No heartache. I have no idea why I always think things will be ok. I mean it's history. These things really happened. Though this is a work of fiction it is a part of history. It could have happened. Actually it did happen. It may have happened to a family very much like the one in this story. In France during WWII. All the laughter, tears, sadness. All the things that happened during this awful time period. It did happen. I'm fairly certain that the people who owned these wineries and champagne houses were big targets for the Nazis. I'm sure those awful, mean, cruel, people targeted them and stole more than just their wines. Of course they did. It's history. Let us never ever forget. Let us never ever take our freedoms for granted. I happened and god forbid it ever happen again. But it could....
This is the story of a family. A family who love each other dearly. Three women and a teenage girl live in this story. They make champagne. They make wine. They grow grapes too for this purpose and work hard. At least the three older women do. They are all three widows who lost the loves of their lives early in their marriages. Each had a good marriage filled with lots of love and happiness. But it was cut short. Then the war happened. The second world war. The one that would change their lives forever.
Josephine is the the grandmother and mother in law. She is the eldest and the head of the family. She has loved this place her entire life. But she is also getting tired. She wants to join her husband. But it's not time yet. She has work to do. She has a family who needs her. Josephine is such a wonderful woman. She's truly strong even in her advanced age. Her memory is not quite as sharp as it was. But she is also very clever. Never under estimate her.
Helene is the daughter in law of Josephine and mother to Gabrielle and Paulette. She's very well respected and loved in her family. She's a force also. A strong woman who will do anything to protect her children. What she does and goes through is proof that she is not selfish. She loves this life and home. She loves all the women here. She fights to protect them.
Gabrielle is the one I really liked best of all. She is a fighter just like her mother and grandmother. She loves the villa with everything she has. She works very hard to keep the champagne going. Her whole life is geared toward making it better than before. Each year should be better. A very hard working woman who has pretty much sacrificed her life for her family and their livelihood.
Then we have Paulette. She's young and like most young ladies she is kind of selfish and dumb. Not dumb in a feeble way. Dumb in the silly things she does. The mistakes she makes. The trouble that seems to follow her. She has a good heart though. But I still didn't much like her. She got on my nerves.
The three main women are strong and forceful when they are pushed. They do what it takes to survive when the Nazi's invade their home. They each have a job to do. To keep each other safe and alive. This is the story of one family during the time France was invaded by the Nazis. How they endured the things that went on. Who did what they could to help. The big huge sacrifices they made just to keep each other safe. How far each was wiling to go to make sure they made it through this war.
This is a different kind of historical fiction than I usually read. It's excellent. It's centered around the LeBlanc family. The chateau where they grow grapes for making champagne. What happened to them. How they survived. It's part love story also. The love of family and friends. The love between two unlikely people also. It's a well rounded story that will give you many emotions. A whole lot of tears though. Be warned.
Thank you to #netgalley, #reneeryan, #harlequin for this ARC. This is my own true feelings about this book.
5/5 huge stars and a high recommendation. You don't want to miss this one.
My thoughts I can't believe this is my first book by this author. It was excellent. Very well written and researched. Based on a true ...
