INKSLINGER BLOG TOUR Desert Rose by K. Moore

Today we have the blog tour of DESERT ROSE by K. Moore! I am so excited to share this new psychological suspense with you—check it out and order today!

Title: Desert Rose

Author: K. Moore

Genre: Psychological Suspense

About Desert Rose:

In an instant, Jennifer’s life is forever altered.
When her ten-year-old daughter, Sarah, is abducted in Dubai, expats Jennifer and her husband Kevin are thrown into an unimaginable nightmare. With very little help provided by the local authorities and the US Embassy, Jennifer watches her life erode away and the tension in her marriage increase. Driven by rage and desperation, she is forced to make decisions she never thought possible.
An investigation without answers. A cover-up. A conspiracy. A betrayal.   There is no turning back.
What would you do if your child was taken?  
Desert Rose was named ‘Most Promising Manuscript’ at the 2018 Alaskan Writers Guild Conference.

Grab Your Copy Today:

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I have a love/hate relationship with this book. I hated it because it gave me panic attacks, anxiety, and I very nearly hyperventilated at one point. I became so aggravated with the patriarchal society of Dubai and the events that Jennifer was forced to endure. But I loved this book because it was able to invoke all those emotions in me. The writing pulled me in and refused to let me go even when Jennifer's world was falling apart at her feet and I came so close to giving up on the story I had to find out what happened. Told in a first person POV by Jennifer as her and her family go through this horrible ordeal. I was kind of hoping at one point Jennifer would go Liam Neeson on everyone's ass and find her daughter that way but no K. Moore sticks to a very realistic chain of events; frighteningly realistic. Overall, I did give this four stars out of five because it was emotional and it was a addictive read once I picked it up I didn't put it down until almost four hours later, except for the brief almost panic attack I had toward the end, I had to stop while I calmed down.     

 

About K. Moore: K. Moore is an Australian braving the sub-zero Alaskan temperatures with her husband and two sons while battling agitated moose, nosey brown bears, and a Karelian bear dog named Hathor. She’s an avid reader, hiker, and CrossFit enthusiast. If you manage to locate a decent bottle of gin and a chair at the bar, she might be convinced to regale you with tales of her global travels. Without the gin, you’ll have to find the evidence within the pages of her stories and poetry.

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ARC REVIEW Hunt the Dawn by Abbie Roads

So fantastic, Abbie Roads has nailed the dark, disturbing, and sexy. What's nice is that you don't have to read the first book of the series, Race the Darkness, in order to read this one; it helps but it's not required. This book was everything I hoped for and more when I thought about Lathan story. Evanee I really love her, she did what she had to do to survive and even when at her lowest it didn't stop her.

Lathan is unbelievable with his overactive olfactory being able to see memories and feelings from a person's smell. He works with the FBI as a special consultant he helps track down killers and he's one the path of one who is constantly changing his MO but the nose knows and Lathan knows all these victims were killed by the same person. Lathan because of his talent doesn't get close to people for the exception of one, his childhood friend and FBI contact. Evanee is working at a truck stop diner surviving on tips trying to avoid the pervert who has been harassing her. Evanee's car stops working she pulls off into a rest stop and who should show up but her step brother the pervert. Lathan happen to be riding by and he smelled Evanee's fear he pulls over to help. Everything about about Evanee calls to Lathan, he instinctually trusts her and knows he must protect her at all costs. Evanee is in shock by the time the stranger rescues her she allows him to take her to his home until she feels better. Evanee, like Lathan, trusts him she knows that she should know better but it's an instinctual need to be with him. Lathan can drop his guard around her and not get bombarded with scent memories. Evanee, on the other hand, her dreams start getting worse, she's connecting with the murdered victims in Lathan's case and leads to evidence. The serial killer figures out who but not how, but at all costs he must stop Lathan from exposing him so he focus on the person closest to Lathan; Evanee.

Overall, this truly exceeded my expectations for the book.  

  

ARC REVIEW Beautiful Maids all in a Row by Jennifer Harlow

An intense Psychological Thriller. Jennifer Harlow has the promise to make a great series with this brilliant, compassionate, and grieving woman Iris Ballard. Once an accomplished FBI agent who made a name for herself profiling and never being wrong; unfortunately her last case ended in disaster, well for her it did, the good guys won but she lost her husband and her will to continue on and almost her sanity. This book was not shy on the descriptions, and I liked it! It wasn't needlessly gory but descriptive at all the right parts for the right reasons. It's told in Iris' point of view so she told it like it was and she didn't hold back. If she thought it was gross it was described aptly. The Woodsman is a serial killer, although I knew who it was from the very start, it does reveal who he is around the halfway point and that makes this even more so a good thriller because Iris knows, and he knows that Iris knows and he also knows she can't do a damn thing about because there is no evidence. He is a great manipulator and that's what makes him so scary. There is also Luke, Iris' old partner, and he comes off as a bit of an ass at the beginning but as the story progresses you see him for who he really is and that's a great guy.

Iris just wants to be forgotten, to forget, she can't sleep and even when she gives in and pops couple of pills she doesn't sleep for long, so she lives off of candy bars and vodka. There is a serial killer on the loose and as much as she tries to avoid it as soon as she sees Luke's face as the FBI Special Agent In Charge she knows it's only a matter of time before he shows up at her doorstep. Luke knows all the right buttons to push to get her interested in the case and before the night's over she at his hotel room with a profile. Luke trusts her implicitly and brings her in as a consultant. When another woman goes missing and they are following the clues Iris' name is leaked to the media and the Woodman takes an interest in her. It doesn't take long for Iris to figure out who the Woodman is he fits her profile to a tee, but proving it is a whole different matter.  

Overall, this definitely goes in my favorites group. It really reminded me of two books Kiss the Girls by James Patterson, The Maze by Catherine Coulter. If the series continues on this path I can see it being just as good as Iris Johansen's Eve Duncan series if not better.

ARC REVIEW The Wolf Road by Beth Lewis

OMG! Okay so this is my non-romance read. This is a post apocalyptic Yukon survival novel. I don't know what to think when I picked this novel except that the synopsis intrigued me. It was like subliminal message telling me I must read. The first chapter pulls you in, it continues at a much slower pace but once you get into it... it was addictive. I was up all night reading it. What happened to make the bombs drop and what changed the world is vague, when Elka first mentions it she states she never really cared about how it happened, it happened it's in the past and she lives in the now not the past. It does eventually give more details but it's an interesting take on what happens after. The Yukon Gold Rush basically gets a reset button, the bombs open up some veins of gold and that sparks a new rush of fools looking to become rich. Mother nature also got mean, everything became much worse winter, tornadoes everything. This thriller has a great story and a nice twist.

Elka doesn't remember her real name, when she was seven a massive storm tore her house up and spirited her away. She landed miles away she picked a direction and started walking the first person she came across she called Trapper. He raised her to be just like him a tracker and hunter to know how to live off the land for ten years she has cared for him like a father but one day in town she sees a poster with a charcoal picture of her Trapper wanted for murder. Elka doesn't want to believe it but things from her past start to connect and she realizes just what kind of a person he really is. The magistrate is after Kreager Hallet for the abduction and murder of several woman and one child. Once Magistrate Lyon suspects Elka of being part of it she's searching for her too. Elka runs and starts a roller coaster ride of a journey through the wilderness and making the least likely friends. Elka deals with things that she never had to deal with before murderous zealots, white slavers and trusting people who ask for nothing in return and escaping Magistrate Lyons alive.

Overall, my only problem with this book is the narrative. Elka is not educated and as it is told in first person so getting over my biggest pet peeve of double negatives and my brain autocorrecting stuff as soon as I trained my brain not to implode over the narrative I became immersed in the story and I stopped noticing it. I loved the story and the characters were great, Kreager I can believe was an evil sonofabitch.      

ARC REVIEW Blind by Sidney Bristol

It's no secret that I love Sidney Bristol, and this is exactly why, her romantic suspense, Blind is very much one of my favorites now. The story is creepy and gritty and scary how realistic it is in a way that this could happen. This book was suspenseful and it was like I was watching a thriller movie. Two people who are connected by horrific circumstances and tortured pasts. Two people brought together and find the connection is more than just the darkness inside them. This book is the start (I really hope she write more) of a something really creepy and exciting, a new series in a Criminal Minds/The Following style.

Years ago Oklahoma City was terrorized by a serial killer named TBK; Torture, Blind, Kill. The year before she was born, Emma Ration's father watched the mad man torture and kill his parents. The killer was caught and died in prison. Emma has spent her free time researching and digging up everything she fond about the serial killer who ruined her father's life. Jacob Payton is the son of the arresting officer and lead investigator of the TBK killer and now he is lead investigator of what looks like a copycat. In hopes of discovering something new Jacob contacts Emma in hopes of looking at what information she has found. Jacob immediately feels a connection to her, it wasn't just her beauty or her tattoos or even her take no shit give no shit attitude it was something deeper. Emma feels the attraction too, even after she learns that he is a cop and why he initially asked for her help she can't help but feel safe with him.

Emma may have just inadvertently attracted the attention of the copycat. He starts targeting people she knows people she has had contact with. The FBI gets called in a specific group of people who specialize in this kind of thing, Jacob welcomes the help he knows by himself he is over his head. But is Emma's connection coincidental or intentional the Behavioral Analysis Unit pin pointed Emma and even brought her in for questioning, but Jacob pulls himself off the case by admitting he is her alibi for the night of one of the murders. Knowing Emma won't accept any other help he plays her personal body guard.  The copycat killer is so much more and is quickly accelerating and starting to act off the script. Emma, Jacob and the BAU dig deep into Emma's past to find out who would be behind these new string of murders targeting her.

Along with Emma and Jacob's story it touches in to the BAU and it's agents. Overall, this is a fantastic and thrilling and creepy read great for late nights when you can't sleep, cause you wont want to sleep during or after reading the book.

  

 
 

ARC REVIEW Black-Eyed Susan's by Julia Heaberlin

Black-Eyed Susans is a psychological thriller by a local author (for me) Julia Heaberlin. I have read her debut novel Playing Dead and loved it. Black-Eyed Susans screwed with my mind way more and that just the way I like 'em; the creepier the better. Julia Heaberlin has a wonderful, intelligent and informative writing style; she infuses just the right amount of history to her setting to give you as a reader a feeling that you know the place as well. You can tell a lot of research went in to the book and even the format of how the book is written feeds into the your feelings of the characters. The majority of the book flips flops between seventeen year old Tessie, and her grownup self, Tessa. I love how it does that you get to know her post-trauma and at the same time who she is as a person now,a mother of a teen-age daughter herself. I have been known to complain about flashback scenes, but these are not exactly flashbacks she's not remembering them. It's done right it with two separate POVs clearly marked. If she had written it chronologically with Tessie's story first then skipped ahead it wouldn't of had the same impact when you got to the "what a twist" moment. I really enjoyed all the characters, they all have their place in the story they are well written and very believable.

Tessa is the lone survivor of a serial killer. The last thing she remembers is buying a few thing at the gas station before going on her nightly run; the next hing she sees is a black bird trying to peck out her eyes. Years later Tessa still doesn't remember what happened in the missing time, she testified her story and never really knew if it was the right man or not, she just hoped Terrell Goodwin was. Now with the execution date getting closer Tessa has enough doubt that she joins forces with William "Bill" Hastings, the lawyer working pro bono for Terrell Goodwin; and DNA Forensic scientist Joanna Seger, to try and get an appeal for Terrell. Joanna works the scientific angle while Bill tries to help Tessa remember.

Tessie is happy and lucky to be alive, she was left in a ditch surrounded by black-eyed susans with dead bodies to keep her company. Tessie after getting rescued and in the hospital suffered a set back, she suddenly went blind; clinically called Conversion Disorder laymen terms hysterical blindness. Now she has to visit one last psychiatrist before testifying. She works reluctantly with him to get past her blindness and remember what happened. Her rock through it all her best friend Lydia plays a big part in keeping her normal and sane.

The story progresses on Tessa starts remember more as Joanna discovers things they didn't have the technology to find all those years ago. Tessa is haunted by the other Susans and tormented by out of season black-eyed susans being planted out side her window. Tessa and Joanna start up an unlikely friendship while Bill tries to start something more than friendship with Tessa. Tessa is just trying to get through he days without losing her mind or driving her daughter crazy or vise versa. The pieces start to fall in to place as the clock ticks closer to Terrell's execution.

Overall, it was a great book, I couldn't put it down.        

ARC REVIEW Fixed in Blood by T.E. Woods

Fixed in Blood in the fourth installment of the Justice series as known as the Mort Grant series. I love this series, it messes with your mind and heart.The scary reality of the world meshed with a fascinating and personable characters that have you either rooting for them or wishing them to burn in hell. I love Mort and Lydia and their father/daughter type relationship. Their would be great need for rejoicing if the situation that brought them back together wasn't so heinous. I must say this is a Series Book you really need to read the previous three books to get the full impact of the story and emotional ties.

When the last book left off Mort had ended his friendship with Lydia because of his daughter. He left Allie in Lydia's protection only to have her disappear again. Mort didn't understand that both Allie and Lydia did what they did to protect him and his son and his family. Now Mort is still the same living in his new houseboat and working with the same great people. Lydia is working at her practice helping her patients in ways they never thought possible. She is also casually seeing Police Detective Paul Bauer, (who we meet in the last book, Mr. Tall, Dark and Sexy). The trouble starts when a young woman's body shows up with extensive cuts all over her body dealt with precision and accuracy to make it as painful as possible. Soon afterwards the vice squad calls in Mort and his team they found online a snuff video of their victim. Using what little clues they found they try and track down who is behind this. Meanwhile one of Lydia's patients calls her in the middle of the night frantic, scared and apologizing saying this was her only option. The call cut off and Lydia's instincts is telling her this is something major. Not much time later does another girl show up dead with a snuff video to go with it. The girls only obvious connection is a loan company.

Mort and Lydia's path intersect again when both their cases lead them to the loan company, Rite Now. The loan company is the only link between the two dead girls and Lydia's missing patient. They discover more clues that lead them to a movie set filming in the area and with Lydia's help they discover who is really behind this. The tale tale twist that always accompanies the Justice novels is a good one this time I didn't see it coming and as always The Fixers sense of justice is sweet.

Mort forgave Lydia because something happened with Allie that made Mort see the truth about his daughter. The book also includes what Allie has been doing but I will leave all that as a surprise if you read the book.        

Overall This whole series is one to read they just keep getting better and better and the emotional connection you feel with Lydia and Mort is just icing on the cake.

REVIEW Dark Prayer by Natasha Mostert

Another hauntingly beautiful written story by Natasha Mostert. She has a unique style that can creep you out all the while sounding like an artist painting a masterpiece. The details she goes into for her stories you can appreciate how much time you know she put into making the story as indepth as possible and her beautiful turn of phrase keeps it from being boring. I love Natasha Mostert I would put her in the same category as Neil Gaiman. This time she delves into the world of memory; with memory altercation the prolonging of and eradicating even the concept of selling memories. Years ago five scientist created a secret society to discover and unlock the secrets of the memory, but the greed of two people quickly perverted the research.

Jack Simonetti is a rich playboy, and his father has had enough of him living off of his money and his exploits so he sends him to London to help out on old friend. His old friend Daniel Barone has a ward who went missing but showed up again suffering from a memory fugue. Jenilee Gray  has been living with Daniel Barone since her mother's murder when she was five, two years ago she disappeared but recently a private investigator found her the only problem is that she doesn't remember anything. Fugue state is similar to amnesia but differs in the fact that it is caused by a emotional trauma rather than a physical one. It causes the sufferer to create a new identity. Jenilee Gray is now Eloise Blake. Barone has asked Jack to befriend her and convince her he is her best hope to getting back to Jenilee and to keep her safe since accidents she has just barely scraped by. Jack has no choice but to agree, what he didn't count on was unraveling deep secrets long ago buried and that someone is willing to do anything to keep those secrets hidden.

Eloise Blake likes her life as a parkour. Free running has enabled her to literally run from her problems. Ever since she woke up not knowing who she was she has had visions in the corner of her eyes, voices speaking and seemingly random numbers invading her brain. With the help of Jack they discover the truth behind it all.

Cover Your Eyes by Mary Burton

Cover Your Eyes new Romantic Suspense from Mary Burton. Wooo emphasis on the suspense. A mind bending thriller and I guessed wrong!! I always make a guess and most of the time (almost always) I guess right, not this time. It is an attention grabber, it enthralled me to the very end. Mary Burton is a magician with writing, she makes you look in one direction when she is leading you somewhere else completely. It is definitely a book that I will recommend to anyone who reads suspense, mystery and thrillers.

Rachel Wainwright is still a relatively new public defender she changed her major after her brother was wrongly convicted of a crime and wasn't exonerated until after his death in jail. Rachel has now devoted her time to helping people who were wrongly convicted. Her newest case is a man convicted of murder thirty years ago. He is on deaths bed and his only wish is to be free and spend his last moments with his son. Rachel wants to believes him she has gone over everything and thinks their is enough to cause reasonable doubt especially if she can get a DNA testing done on the evidence found. Rachel stirs up enough trouble that she has made herself a target.

Detective Deke Morgan is the son of the man who made his career on that case and as much as he doesn't want to believe Rachel something in his gut tells him she's right. Especially when more murdered woman fitting the same MO as the one from thirty years ago. To top it all off Deke is having very strong feelings for Rachel. Rachel has issues with trust but for some reason she feels safe with Deke. With new evidence popping up and more people dying Rachel and Deke work together to find out the truth.  

The Unforgivable Fix: by T.E. Woods

The newest novel from T.E. Woods another outstanding Justice novel. I swear these just keep getting better. Mort and Lydia come together again this time to fight something a little closer to home. If my hands hadn't been holding my tablet I would have been wringing my hands the entire five hours it took me to read this book. I was so emotionally involved in this story I put it down for nothing. (Lucky the kids were at school at the time) This is the kind of series that is best if you have read the other books, you can still enjoy it if you haven't but really think about reading the first two before it just makes it smoother and less confusing when you start this one.

Seattle detective Mort Grant has finally decided to sell the family house. He is finally letting go of all the memories attached to the house and move on. Lydia after listening to Mort once again tell her she needs to get out and move on as well. Keeping his advice in mind when an old friends calls and asks if she con take on a temp partner who needs to clock in time with patients. Lydia opens her office again and opens it to patients. Lydia faces her own problems when the unlicensed doctor working under her starts to have some unusual dealings with his cases. When a high standing social figure is charged with sexually abusing his step daughter and the girls biological father goes to Lydia for help things start to get messy for The Fixer.

Mort's missing daughter Allie has gotten involved with some very shady characters and now is on the run from them; she runs to Dad. After being gone for almost five years Allie shows up knowing her Dad can help. Mort asks Lydia if they can stay with her until they get things situated with the very bad people after Allie. Lydia has an instant dislike to Allie, she can't really explain why. It's a mix of jealousy of having Mort as a father, such a devoted and loving father like him, and their is something off putting about her and her ability to manipulate people to her will. Lydia doesn't want Allie in her house because she doesn't want her to discover that she is the Fixer.

Allie plays at the poor daughter, but she really is a master manipulator. She knows she got her self into this mess and she is using Mort and her lovers enemies to her advantage. Unfortunately her actions lead to more than Mort can handle. This book had me suffering from a major book hangover.