ABOUT THE BOOK

There is nothing a mother wouldn’t do to protect her children.

They think they’ve won. Good. While I try my best not to kill Gabriel, Aidan is hunting down the person responsible for destroying our lives; the one we call the Puppet Master. Separate but, united, Aidan and I continue to fight our enemies, desperate to reclaim what they stole from us.

By chance, Eli and I stumble on a small, off-the-grid town – Pepper Gorge. It soon becomes clear this is not a place where people choose to live. Their lives controlled by a centuries-old evil passed down through generations. If not for a woman running into the restaurant screaming about a body that has been found in the woods, we might never have realised what this place is. A cult.

Unable to turn my back on the innocent people of Pepper Gorge, Eli and I start investigating, despite it putting pregnant me in danger. No more dangerous than living in the same house as Gabriel.

With each passing day, more questions arise, and not enough answers. Not only questions about Pepper Gorge, but also the link between my father’s best friend and the Puppet Master. The most important question – what really happened the night my parents died?

Their car crash wasn’t an accident…

MY REVIEW

Finley is in the biggest war of her life. Several weeks of hell. Several weeks being held captive by two men who are responsible for framing her husband for murder. One an assassin who she had loved once and one who loves her sister. Several weeks of protecting her pregnant sister and her own unborn child from whatever clusterfuck her husband is trying to fix. If that wasn’t enough, there is something dark and disturbing going on in the town next door that gives Finley something to focus on while she waits for her husband to save her from the kidnappers and herself.

Finley is an ex-vigilante profiler. She has decided to become a legitimate citizen after living in darkness tracking down serial killers where she met her husband, Aidan, who is equally as messed up as she is, which makes them a perfect match. They are two broken people who want to right wrongs.

I love Finley’s strength and love for her family. She will do anything to keep the people she loves safe. Anything. With all she has gone through as a prisoner of war and much worse, she knows when to push the darkness down and when to let it go. I so wanted her to let loose on Gabriel, aka Ari, and if not for her husband, Aidan’s calm voice in her ear, she would have done it. Finley’s expressions of inner disdain and loathing for those who she hates are what make the story for me. It had me mentally clapping my hands. Aidan is a genius with an IQ of over 200. He’s selfless, he’s generous, and he loves his family. And he will do anything for his wife. Anything. Finley never judges his need for perfection within himself. The love between Finley and Aidan is so steady and unflappable. They ground each other.

I love Ms. Whitcomb’s books because she has more than one intense story going on. This one includes Aidan’s search for the Puppet Master who is behind the murders that are being laid on Aidan’s shoulders, it includes getting revenge on the men who betrayed Finley and her sister, Lizzie, and it includes Finley finding and stopping an incestuous cult. Yes, a lot is going on, but it’s so well written you know exactly where you are in the story. The supporting characters are also essential to the twists and turns of this story. From Aidan’s wonderful family of black ops to Finley’s sister Lizzie and her lover, Eli, who has a questionable past. And then there are the nasty antagonists Gabriel, aka Ari, who Finley once loved, and Finley’s godfather, Tom, who just made my skin crawl. Don’t worry. Finley gets her just revenge.

I recommend highly, this fast-paced and gripping dark romantic suspense thriller filled with dark, complex, and compelling characters and predictable, but exciting plot twists.  I also suggest you read this series from the beginning to get the whole story starting with Orca and Deception.

Thank you to Ms. Whitcomb for giving me the opportunity to read this book with no expectation of a positive review.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mariëtte Whitcomb studied Criminology and Psychology at the University of Pretoria. An avid reader of psychological thrillers and romantic suspense novels, writing allows her to pursue her childhood dream to hunt criminals, albeit fictional and born in the darkest corners of her imagination.

When Mariëtte isn’t writing, she reads or spends time with her family and friends.

Follow Mariëtte on her website, Facebook, Instagram, Goodreads, and Bookbub.

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