Genre: Thriller/Mystery
Disclaimer: Reading is all about exploring, but this Book Review does not shy away from spoiling specific scenes as this is more of a look inside the good and bad of a book.
The Analysis:
Squeal of excitement. I think I found a book I like. And its very Thriller/Mystery movie-esque. Or at least that’s what I thought from chapter 1. A Cold Dark Place lets Book Review it.
Heres the Blurb:
He’s an assassin who’ll die to keep her safe.
His secret will destroy them both.
With over two-thousand 5-star reviews on Goodreads this Romantic Thriller leaves readers wanting more!
Former CIA assassin Alex Parker works for a clandestine government organization hell-bent on taking out serial killers and pedophiles before they enter the justice system. Alex doesn’t enjoy killing, but he’s damn good at it.
FBI Special Agent Mallory Rooney has spent years hunting the monster who abducted her identical twin sister eighteen years ago. Now, during an on-going serial killer investigation, Mallory begins to suspect there’s a vigilante operating outside the law.
When Mallory starts asking questions, Alex is ordered to watch her. As soon as they meet, the two begin to fall in love. But the lies and betrayals that define Alex’s life threaten to destroy them both–especially when the man who stole her sister all those years ago makes Mallory his next target.
Now The Story:
Book Info:
Pages: 350
Author: Toni Anderson
Available: On Kindle
This story very much reminds me of some Mystery Thriller’s that I might watch on a Saturday on Netflix and I mean that in a good way. It gives you more than your Law and Order/NCIS fix here.
Also from a reader/writer standpoint, there are enough twists, in the beginning, to keep you wanting more. The killer (main focus) is not immediately known. The victim (main focus) is not immediately known. Yet there is plenty of death and intrigue.
I also had like little twinges of woo woo woo for the victim of the prologue who I thought surely was going to die. Only because by the end, I could see myself saying/feeling something similar. I had a very I can relate to this moment.
However, as we headed into our umpteenth fight and serial killer appearance by Chapter 4, I couldn’t help but wonder like, hey, this is supposed to be a romance. Where is my hint of sweet-smelling roses? So far all I got is she/he is cute and sexy. I need more. So there is romance but it is light and very B story.
Hence the necessary book cover change, I think.
A brief side note: the MeToo movement had me questioning everything. This was not the intention of the author. Just times have changed and I wasn’t sure how to view that scene. It was of a man turning a tipsy or drunk woman down and her insisting, like no, let’s get it in. With everything that’s going on I just no longer think the bar hook up is appropriate.
Then an inadvertent chuckle came on behalf of the killer. He was upset that Mallory (the main character) was nothing like her sister Payton. I’m thinking to myself, well, since you killing people that remind you of Payton than that’s probably a good thing.
Further in, I didn’t like that when she was having a convo with another agent about her sister. She ended up freaking out and vomiting on the side of the road. Sorry, I like my female heroines just a little stronger. It was a weak moment in front of a colleague that she admitted was testing her. Not cool. Was it normal? Yes. Would I still have liked a little stoicism and the tears later, very much, yes.
It could also be the maturity in me, but I also found the motives for our heroine joining the FBI lackluster. As it went on I got tired of hearing about the sister. If only because people die every day and they deserve the same fervor to which she hunted down this killer. Not everyone can join the FBI and do the work themselves. Silly. (I think my maturity ruined this one lol)
This is why about Chapter 10, I was done with her and her sister. A cop gives his report on a possible suspect that doesn’t look good on her mother. No objectivity she gives some sad ass excuse like it matters. I just thought about all the dirty cops doing that right now and not giving investigations a fair shake. I almost stopped reading.
Then she said the words I needed to hear to bring this 3 star to 4.
“They all deserve that.”
She was referring specifically to closure for a victim’s family who had also lost a daughter. Yes, everyone’s family that is brutally murdered deserves closure. Not just yours, sis.
Then the B-story romance kicks in. It’s clearly insta-love. As they had no foundation outside of some good sex into which to feel so strongly for each other. Which normally wouldn’t be a problem. However, the author raised the stakes pretty good. I’mma need the characters to answer a little more in-depth about why this is the person to blow it all for. Next thing I knew my dream of a good story was dead.
By the end I was like Nah this got to go to a three. I don’t care at all if the heroine finds the killer and he’s clearly crazy.
Story At A Glance:
Recommendation: Depends; 3 out of 5 on romantic suspense; 5 out of 5 on Thriller.
The Ratings:
Book Cover Appeal (based on the new cover):
🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓
Story & Narration:
🍓🍓🍓🍓
Romance:
🍓🍓🍓
Character Personality:
🍓🍓
