Expiate by Virginia Johnson

Reading this book was a treat!

Review:
As I was thinking about what to write it continued to cross my mind that the story was missing some history between Ethan and Aspen along with they need to just get it on. It seemed obvious to me they are perfect for each other. Anyways, I realized this is the second book in the series, not the first. I got it backwards.

The story is gripping, gritty and gory. All three G's and I loved it! Aspen is a deranged young woman with a massive, bloody chip on her shoulder. Reading it is like envisioning a nightmare. Until I read the first book I don't know the details but enough is said that she suffered greatly at the hands of men and now she makes them suffer.

Ethan seems like the egotistical kind of guy that assumes he's right and somehow better than others. He has to out do her, prove that he's better at killing than she is or something like that, only I think he needs to prove it more to himself because it doesn't seem she cares. I didn't like him much but at the same time don't have enough on him to form anymore of an opinion.

He is her nemesis and vice versa. One is as messed up in the mind as the other. The plot gives only a few details allowing the mind to formulate the in between. Without giving away a spoiler the ending was a delight! Not saying what happens but it was genius. 

For those who love gory, suspenseful and/or scary thrillers this book is well worth the read. It doesn't disappoint. 

Amazon

Audiobook Deals! Grab the Ruthless Storm Trilogy Now!

Today I'm bringing you The Ruthless Storm Trilogy. It's a mystery/thriller decked to the hilt with suspense and plot twists that are mind-bending. The entire trilogy is now in audio!

Get the true audio experience by upgrading!

Volume 1 Eye of the Storm: Eilida's Tragedy Kindle is FREE!! and available for whispersync



Amazon

Blurb:
It’s a normal day for Sunshine as she takes the seat at her desk as receptionist at the Lyden Times until the tragedy of a young nameless woman floods the newsroom. Her head and body covered in bloody gashes and fresh bruises. Sunshine forms an immediate interest and digs into her life. After learning her identity, Eilida, she pokes around her hometown where she is mistaken for Eilida. Soon Sunshine’s world crashes. Everything she loved begins to fade. She trades in her skirts and heels for jeans and sneakers. A ghost avails itself to her and a man with eyes dark as coal stalks her dreams and waking nightmares. Her fiancé worries as he can’t wrap his mind around her transformation yet refuses to let go. Time ticks down as their wedding date approaches on the anniversary of a day that changed Eilida’s life forever.

Volume 2 The Calm Before the Storm: Evan's Sins Kindle is only .99! and available for whispersync



Amazon

Blurb:
The prequel to Eye of the Storm Eilida's Tragedy.

Evan O’Conner isn’t a normal child. His father’s alcoholism and mother’s abuse drives him to concoct a plan to rid his life of them permanently. The night is fraught with a horrendous storm, thunder and lightning as the beast inside him is born. Even in her death his mother won’t leave. She haunts his subconscious as he attempts over and over to kill her. 


Evan meets his match when Officer Burkhlader enters the picture. One of her closest friends and his family fall victim to violent deaths during the worst hurricane Billows Hollow has ever seen. With only a sketch she learns the identity of the perpetrator and digs into his life, pries into his past – hunting him. Will she stop him? Or will somebody else?

Volume 3 In the Midst of the Storm: Tommy's Deception. The Kindle is only 2.99! and available for whispersync



Amazon

Blurb:
Tommy and Eilida meet again at Flashers. The local college bar. Their friendship develops quickly. Then a student is murdered in her dorm, another victim of the Hurricane Killer. The assailant is on the loose when Eilida’s apartment is broken into and she runs to Tommy for safety. She discovers his birthday is the one day that makes her soul cry but is it only a coincidence?

The cards stack against him as she finds Tommy is hiding Astrological charts and Evan’s map, material that would have solidified a case against the Hurricane Killer. And Eilida discovers a ring that went missing the day she met Tommy at an astrology convention was present at Evan O’Conner’s murder scene. Did Tommy kill the monster? Or is he picking up where Evan left off? Will astrology give her answers?


The nightmares of Eilida’s past rush forward and everything points toward Tommy.

Don't pass them up!

Melancholy Jack By Diane Bixler Book Review

My review today is off my 2015 reading list. This was a book I really had to think about. Jack is a normal kid who learns to blend into his surroundings as he muddles through life. But there's a turning point, an event that changes him. It's really not a single event, more like the last straw, a trigger. 

I have spent countless hours watching documentary TV shows on killers as I wrote The Calm Before the Storm, and many years working with children with pathological illnesses. And I have to say the author did an excellent job painting the scene and allowing me inside Jack's head. The book flows easily and is a quick read because it was so hard to put down.




My review: 

Melanchology Jack is an account of his life and the forces that drove him to the act of murder. He was born into a dysfunctional family and at a young age fell in love with acting. It’s an interesting fictional biography in which the reader gets to look inside the mind of Jack and understand how his wheels turn.

Jack’s character is built through his retelling of his life. I felt for him and his plight from the time he was a young child. And found myself disliking characters I met only through his descriptions of them. Jack isn’t a bad guy just born under adverse circumstances. His life follows a sorrowful path, learning to be controlled in his approaches.

The author did an excellent job in “setting the stage” for Jack’s biggest acts in life and writing the turbulent journey of Melancholy Jack. She uses powerful descriptions that paint the picture in the readers’ mind as if watching a movie play out instead of reading a book. And there’s plenty of room for a sequel.

My review of Diane Bixler's Murder in D Minor
Website
Melancholy Jack (Acts of Justice Book 1)

Meet Dennis Rask star of the Rask trilogy by John Tucker

I will first say that John Tucker is merely the creator of Rask, since this time Dennis Rask has formulated his own ideas and opinions which John Tucker is not liable and shall be held harmless. On a personal note. Rask puts Dexter to shame. He is one squirrely psychopath. 

My Review on Divisive

Divisive by John Tucker is arguably one of the best cliffhangers I have ever read. Dennis Rask is a sociopath, who after winning the lottery has preyed on vulnerable families. He sabotages them from the inside out. In Divisive he chooses the Connors a highly dysfunctional mother and two daughters, Emily and Elizabeth. He wraps them all around his swarthy, scum ridden finger, then one by one dismantles their already deteriorated family. A year previous Mr. Connors had passed away and since the mother, Carolyn,  drowned the girls in torment and verbal abuse. Dennis Rask with his sweet words and kind gestures is an angel to the Emily and Elizabeth.

Tucker’s pacing of the novel  runs at a perfect momentum to keep the reader on the edge of their seat contemplating what will happen next, and who is more evil. There are all types of vile characters in this novel, Carolyn may be the most repugnant. The way she treats her daughters is enough for anyone to cheer Rask on. Twists lurk on every page guiding the reader’s emotions and curiosity. I can’t give away any spoilers you will have to read to find the unexpected twists which take this novel spiraling into a sequel.


Can’t wait to read the sequel, awesome read!

Meet Dennis Rask

Elle: Please tell who you are, a little background?    

Dennis: I'm nobody. Just a guy with a dream and a lifetime to do it.  My crazy mother packed my soul with dynamite, my aunt covered me with her filth and, well, when I won the lottery...that just ignited the hatred inside me. Abusive mothers need to die like the scum they are. I wish I had the time to kill every damn one of them. <He laughs.> It's a good thing I'm a decent guy with a pleasant outlook on life, now ain't it? 

Elle: You spend a lot of time traveling from city to city. What are some cities you have visited or want to visit?    

Dennis: I'm a drifter by choice. I love different places, assorted women, and various...games. Small towns make my dick hard. Hogansville, Georgia. Europa, Mississippi. Brownsville, North Carolina. Buckfield, Maine.  God forsaken places where I can find the best people in the world...and get to know them. 

Elle: What is your secret to staying calm even under duress? 

Dennis: I may be calm on the outside but, believe me, my mind's churning like crazy, figuring out how to make a bad situation my bitch. I've seen enough violent arguments to know when to keep my mouth shut, and when to sway the people involved to my side. They say the best way to get into a woman's...heart is to listen to her, and I do that. You get a bitch wrapped around your finger, make her fall for you, you've got that whore for life. She'll do anything you say, as long as it makes me happy. 

Elle: You are quite the ladies man, any advice for those not so fortunate in that department?      

Dennis: Women like three things in a man – confidence, charm, and a big dick. I've got all three.  It don't matter if they're sixteen or sixty. If you can sweet talk them into giving up the goods, they'll be your lapdogs for life. You can pet 'em, beat 'em, screw 'em,  chain 'em in the damn basement. At the end of the day, they belong to you...until you're ready to kick them to the curb.

Elle:  How did you come up with the name Junebug for Emily? 

Dennis: Emily was like a daughter to me.  When I first saw her big smile, her sparkling eyes, and her developing frame, I just came up with it – on the spot.  Women like their nicknames – Beautiful, Princess, Angel – they don't care.  You're paying attention to 'em. If you do it long enough, their legs spread apart like a knife in fresh, creamy butter.  

Elle:  Do you have a favorite food? 
   
Dennis: I'll eat anything. I do have a certain thing I call dessert.  Some dishes, despite their appearances, have their own flavor. I've had some yummy ones that taste like strawberries, cherries, and lemons. It's one of the few things I like about the variety of my existence. All in all, there's not a bad one in the bunch. I just get to attached to it. Know what I mean? 

Elle:  You spent a lot of time watching 7th Heaven with Emily but what is one of your favorite shows? 

Dennis: I like movies. The violent the better. Blood, guts, rape, death, execution – it's all the same.   I'm sorry to admit this but I get off on porn too. Not the damn cutesy ones with a storyline but the ones with slapping, bondage, strangulation, and whipping.  I think it's healthy to watch things you don't necessarily do in your private life, wouldn't you agree?


Elle:  What games do you like in your spare time?     

Dennis: The ones you put a great deal of time and thought into playing – like chess.  You get into your opponent's mind, study their moves, toy with 'em at times, and then lower the boom on their stupid asses. I admit, it gets boring when you play with idiots, but it makes the endgame and victory so damn sweet.  

You can find Dennis Rask here.
Divisive (The Rask Trilogy) at Amazon
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