Taken in the Cold by Roger Stelljes Blog Tour for Booktoure

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Taken in the Cold by Roger Stelljes Synopsis: "Make sure you wrap up warm for school, honey. A blizzard is on the way." Ten-year-old Teddy rolls his eyes at his mother. But then he hears a bang... By the time police arrive, Teddy's mother is dead. His open school backpack is strewn across the hallway. And Teddy is nowhere to be found.   When gunshots ring out from an exclusive family home on the edge of Northern Pine Lake,  Agent Tori Hunter  races through the gathering snowstorm to discover that  ten-year-old Teddy Marist has disappeared . His mother and her new boyfriend are dead in the family kitchen, breakfast still cooking on the stove. And racing to track down Teddy's father,  Tori finds he is missing too.   Local police are certain this is a simple case of a jealous ex-husband turned violent over his recent divorce. But interviewing everyone she can about Teddy's father, Tori's gut has her questioning if he would really kidnap his own child?  An...

Nothing to Hide (Lucy Kincaid, #15) by Allison Brennan


Title: Nothing to Hide
Author: Allison Brennan
Series: Lucy Kincaid
Genre: Mystery, Suspense
Format: Paperback
No. of Pages: 410
Date of Publication: April 30, 2019

Description: With a background in psychology, FBI Agent Lucy Kincaid is good at getting into the heads of killers and victims both. Still, her latest case is leaving her stumped. A third body has turned up in San Antonio—and it bears the same unique and troubling M.O. as the first two. The killer is clearly trying to send a message. But what is it—and to whom? All roads keep leading Lucy down a dead end. . .

The victims are all married men who led honest lives alongside their adoring wives, but have nothing else in common. When Lucy catches each widow in a lie, she realizes that things are not at all as they seem. What begins as a seemingly straightforward investigation turns into something far darker and more sinister than Lucy could have ever imagined. Can she solve this case before more lives are lost. . . including her own husband?

My Thoughts: I have quite enjoyed books by Allison Brennan. This is my first Lucy Kincaid book. I found it easy to follow along especially given that this is the fifteenth book in the series and not the first one. With that being said, I don't think its necessary to read these books in order.

Allison, as always, does a very great job in providing the back story for her characters especially the victims in this book. She also provides examples of previously cases that Lucy has worked on and how those cases are currently similar to the serial killer case she is currently working on.

Allison also does a good job in providing and describing the setting of the story. You can tell that this story is taking place in Texas, although it does tell you the location. I felt that the character, Jerry Walker, who is the BCSO investigator on case, helps to establish that southern feel in the story. This is done by the way that the character speaks and the way he acts. To be honest, Jerry was my least favorite character from the very beginning. I didn't like the way he was written or the way he treated Lucy, which is related to her being the FBI. I did finally start to warm up to him near the end of the book. I have to be honest in the fact that I almost stopped reading the book after a few chapters because I was struggling with connecting with Jerry.

Speaking of characters, I found it hard at times to keep track of all of the victims. There were multiple victims, obviously since this is a serial killer case, but each victim had multiple living relatives that played a key part in the story. The one thing that I found to help was that Allison continued to connect each victim, or at least attempt to, when a new victim was discovered.

The story was well written and was quite descriptive. Allison makes it easy to picture each scene, the profile that is delivered by Lucy's brother Dylan, and the evidence that the crime lab produces like the video.

The one thing that I am still confused about though and truly feel could have been omitted from the story or put into a different book was the story line around Jesse, Michael, and Brian. To provide a little backstory without giving away too much, Jesse is Lucy's step son and he tries to help out his friend. This story was interesting, but I cold not figure out how it connected with the serial murder that Lucy was investigating with Jerry. It felt disconnected from the rest of the story. As previously mentioned, I feel that this could have been omitted and the main story would have read a little bit smoother. I would have liked to read about Jesse and his friends though, just in a different book.

Rating: All in all, I would give this book 3 out of 5 stars. The main story was well written, but it had quite a few pitfalls in my mind. 

Purchase book: Amazon

About the Author: 
Allison Brennan is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling and award winning author of three dozen thrillers and numerous short stories. She was nominated for Best Paperback Original Thriller by International Thriller Writers, had multiple nominations and two Daphne du Maurier Awards, and is a five-time RITA finalist for Best Romantic Suspense. Allison believes life is too short to be bored, so she had five kids and spends all her non-writing time as a sports spectator, chauffeur, and short-order cook for her munchkins. She has a dog, two cats, and three chickens. Allison and her family live in northern California.

Thank you Gallery Publicity for the ARC. This is my honest opinion.

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