Hello! Thanks to Innovative Online Book Tours, I am participating in the blog tour for an interesting Indie mystery novel. Please feel free to say hi and let me know what you think. :)
by Lisa Regan
Genre: Suspense / Mystery / Romance / Indie
Ages: 18 and up
I received an e-copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review as part of a blog tour.
Description:
Three men are viciously assaulting Philadelphia's
prostitutes, and it's up to veteran detective Jocelyn Rush to stop them.
She catches two, but they won't betray their partner, the most dangerous of all,
and the attacks continue, striking closer to home. Jocelyn's only real
clue comes when a monster from her past resurfaces--now she must race to
connect the demons of her past with the villain of her present--before the
sadistic attacker sets his sights on her.
My Thoughts:
I enjoy a well-written, well-thought-out mystery, and Hold Still certainly qualifies. A series of hints, clues and red herrings was laid out in a subtle (but not too subtle) manner, leading the reader to a perfect 'Aha!' moment when the culprit is revealed. Not every mystery has one of these moments, sometimes because the author is trying too hard to surprise you or not trying hard enough, which makes it all the more impressive when an author manages it as well as Lisa Regan did.
Jocelyn Rush, the hard-edged heroine, caught me immediately with her reaction to her daughter being inadvertently kidnapped when someone carjacks her. It was a very telling scene that neatly displayed multiple facets of her personality while also snagging my emotions, all in the first chapter.
The minor characters were also cleverly written. Some of them were immediately likable, where others were more the if-I-met-you-in-real-life-I'd-strangle-you-on-the-spot type. My favorite was probably Kevin, Jocelyn's partner, who had a fun sense of humor. The love interest, Caleb Vaughn, was likable enough, but he didn't show up until the middle of the story and, honestly, the romance was not the best part of the book. It wasn't bad, just a bit perfunctory.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I wouldn't call it 'fun' (it's too dark for that), but it was an interesting story, skillfully told. I can definitely see myself reading more by this author in the future.
Rating System: Profanity, Sexuality and Violence
1 (mild) through 10 (extreme). Ratings may contain spoilers.
1 (mild) through 10 (extreme). Ratings may contain spoilers.
Profanity:
I rate it a 8.10 for quite a bit of swearing, including quite a few f-bombs.
Sexuality:
I give it 7.10 because, although there is only one mildly descriptive sex scene, there are many references, innuendos, and sexual insults throughout, as well as several instances of rape, none of which are graphically described.
Violence:
I rate it 7.10 for murder, attempted murder, rape and assault. Most of the violence is not graphically described.
About the Author:
Lisa
Regan is a crime fiction author. Her
first novel, Finding Claire Fletcher
won Best Heroine in the eFestival of Words Best of the Independent eBook Awards
2013. It was runner-up for Best
Novel. It was also a Digital Book Today
Best of 2013 ebook selection. In
December 2013, Finding Claire Fletcher
and her second novel, Aberration were
#1 Amazon bestsellers in the Kidnapping and Serial Killers categories,
respectively.
Lisa is
a member of Sisters In Crime. She has a
Bachelor’s Degree in English and Master of Education Degree from Bloomsburg
University. She lives in Philadelphia
with her husband and daughter.
ONLINE LINKS:
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