Book Review: Monster in the Closet by Karen Rose

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MONSTER IN THE CLOSET
Romantic Suspense #19
Author: Karen Rose
Reading Level: New Adult
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Released: August 29, 2017
Review Source: Netgalley

The Sunday Times bestselling author of Every Dark Corner returns with an exclusive novel celebrating ten years of Karen Rose's thrillers in the UK. MONSTER IN THE CLOSET reunites readers with characters from Karen Rose's bestselling Baltimore series.

A mother is dead, and now her killer hunts the child that witnessed the brutal crime...

Private Investigator Clay Maynard locates missing children for clients, but has nearly given up hope of finding his own daughter, cruelly stolen from him by his ex-wife twenty-three years ago.

Equine therapist Taylor Dawson has chosen to intern at Daphne Montgomery-Carter's stables so that she can observe the program's security director - her father, Clay Maynard. Trying to reconcile the wonderful man she's getting to know with the monster her mother always described, Taylor never expects to become the target of a real monster, the man who murdered the mother of the little girls she works with at the stable. Neither does she expect to fall for Ford Elkhart, Daphne's handsome son, who is dealing with his own demons. As family and friends gather for a wedding, Taylor starts to imagine a permanent life in Baltimore.

But not if the real monster gets to her first...

Monster in the Closet is the first book I have ever read from Karen Rose and I have to say that I really enjoyed it.  Although it is book 19 in the Romantic Suspense series, I was able to read it as a standalone.  I will probably go back at some point and read through the whole series, however, because I really liked Karen's writing.  This book took over my life while I was reading it, as thrillers tend to do.

Jazzie Jarvis, which I love her name by the way, experiences the worst trauma a child could experience.  She is an 11 year old little girl, thinking her mom forgot to pick her up from school, she walks home only to discover her mom has been brutally murdered.  The even worse part is the killer is still in the house looking for something.  Jazzie quickly hides to stay safe, doesn't utter a single word, and remains silent for fear that the killer will find her even in the weeks to come.  Due to her silence, she joins a horse therapy program to help heal her trauma.  There she meets Taylor Dawson, an intern at the program who wants to help Jazzie but is harboring some secrets.

I am rating this book 4 trees because it kept me at the edge of my seat the entire time I was reading.  I really connected with the characters and thought that Karen Rose did a really great job with character development.  I recommend this book and have plans to read the whole series.

Book Review: No One Left to Tell by Karen Rose

No One Left to Tell
Romantic Suspense #13
Author: Karen Rose
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Released: June 1st 2012
Review Source: Signet
Available: Amazon

Summary: (from goodreads) The addictive Karen Rose serves up her most relentless thriller yet.

A woman is dead and her fiance is serving a life sentence for a murder he didn't commit. Now PI Paige Holden holds the only piece of evidence that could see him freed, and she cannot take it to the police. With the help of disarming state attorney, Grayson Smith, Paige is determined to avenge the murdered woman and set an innocent man free. But Paige has only scratched the surface of a cover-up far deadlier than she could ever imagine. A string of mysterious deaths of women with a shared past sets Paige on the trail of a ruthless killer. The problem is, the killer's on her trail too ...

Paige, a rookie private investigator, suddenly finds herself as a witness to the shooting of her client and an unwelcome TV celebrity status for jumping to her rescue puts her life in danger . The victim was the wife of a convicted killer, which she has been asked to investigate and provide proof he has been wrongly prosecuted. Obtaining some of the probable cause to open the case for investigation again was what got the wife killed and will soon have other killed as well. Unknown to her, a snowball reaction has been activated and a Pandora's box is now open, turning back is not an option. The last words from the dying victim, made her aware that trusting someone with the information is going to be difficult, due to the implication that the cops are involved.

Grayson is the prosecutor that sent this men to jail, after being provided with what he thought was undeniable proof this man was guilty. This new evidence also helped find that he had been used by one of his own. Paige has decided to approach him after observing him and realize that he is the only person to trust with this new evidence to try to reopen the case. The meeting has rattle some cages of very powerful people and brought Grayson and Paige to the forefront as the next targets for elimination to tie some loose ends. Saving each others life after several attempts to kill them, has them going into hiding. They recoup and plan how to use the information they obtained to bring down these powerful opponents with only a few of the people that can be trusted. They need to be able to proof the innocence of the client's husband and also to find the actual killer of the assassinated girl, only to discover the whole things is a lot bigger than they could have imagined and dates back a lot of years.

Being forced to stay together for protection opens feelings and wounds, that were kept secret for a long time to save loved ones, and creates obstacles in their relation. Complete trust is the only thing that can save them physically and spiritually and keep others involved alive.

The whole story expands over a period of five days of very exciting and climatic events with non-stop action and the constant developing of new twists and turns, secrets and surprises that come to a very satisfying ending. You will get a full dose of romance accompanied by thrilling mystery superbly written which you will not be able to put down until done.

Book Review: You Belong to Me

You Belong to Me
Author: Karen Rose
Pages: 504 pgs
Reading Level: Adult
Published: June 7th 2011
Review Source: NAL - Penguin Group
Available: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Borders

Summary: (from goodreads) Years ago, a young girl was beaten and raped while onlookers did nothing. Now those witnesses are becoming victims themselves…

Baltimore city Homicide Detective JD Fitzpatrick has seen a lot of horrific violence, both as a cop and during his deployment in Afghanistan, but nothing like the trail of tortured bodies that are turning up throughout the city. He’s up against a brutal killer with a very personal vendetta. And now JD is beginning to suspect that his medical examiner may be shielding some crucial evidence linked to the case.

Forensic pathologist Dr. Lucy Trask is intrigued by JD’s compassion, but she isn’t about to mix work with pleasure. Not while there’s a ruthless killer on the loose. And definitely not while she’s keeping a dark secret that could connect her to these vicious killings—and put her next on the killer’s hit list…

This is my first book from Karen Rose, and she is now in my must read authors list. A promising thriller beginning to end, full of suspense that keeps you glue to the pages to try to guess what new mystery will unravel and wonder who is not whom they pretend to be.

July Trask is a medical examiner, who had a rough life and keeps a secret life. Bodies and body parts are being left for her to find from someone that seems to have ties to her past and has opened old wounds. J.D. Fitzpatrick is one of the detectives in her case, which shares a difficult past as well, and has an instant attraction for the doctor. She has the feelings as well but tries to avoid them by shutting down her feeling. They both struggle not wanting to open up and needing to feel that they are not alone anymore and can’t seem to be away from each other. Along the way you get peeks into the serial killers mind, expecting and guessing who will be next and what the next move will be. The characters in the story are well described to let you into their personalities and help your understanding of the plot.

This book is for the adult readers, that like hard core thrillers, it has descriptive violence and explicit sexual scenes, and worth reading every single page, can’t wait to see what the next book will bring.