Today I am reviewing The Stranger You Know by Andrea Kane for TLC Book Tours. As always, I am provided with a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

About the book (from the publisher): It begins with a chilling call to Casey Woods. And ends with another girl dead. College-age girls with long red hair. Brutally murdered, they’re posed like victims in a film noir. Each crime scene is eerily similar to the twisted fantasy of a serial offender now serving thirty years to life – a criminal brought to justice by Forensic Instincts.

Call. Kill. Repeat. But the similarities are more than one psychopath’s desire to outdo another. As more red-haired victims are added to the body count, it becomes clear that each one has been chosen because of a unique connection to Casey – a connection that grows closer and closer to her.

Now the Forensic Instincts team must race to uncover the identity of a serial killer before his ever-tightening circle of death closes in on Casey as the ultimate target. As the stalker methodically moves in on his prey, his actions make one thing clear: he knows everything about Casey. And Casey realizes that this psychopath won’t stop until he makes sure she’s dead.

My review: One of the benefits of reviewing books is that I often encounter new-to-me authors that I might not have discovered otherwise. My reading horizons are expanded. I love a good thriller or mystery, as you well know by now. But if I had encountered this book in the mystery section of the bookstore, I would probably have passed it by. Why? Because the team behind Forensic Instincts is predominantly young, beautiful and/or hunky; the same formula I avoid like the plague when watching television shows with impossibly beautiful young things working as CSI investigators or lawyers or doctors or FBI Agents. That’s a formula concocted for mass appeal and has very little basis in reality. In fact, this Forensic Instincts series of thrillers is practically screaming for some screenwriter to develop it into a pilot. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if that happens. (That’s not a bad thing, by the way.) Anyway, I’m grateful that I had the opportunity to review this book because my initial assumptions would have kept me from a very good read.

Andrea Kane is a very good writer. Even though I was at first skeptical, I found myself caught up in the plot, which is tightly written and compelling. Kane knows how to build suspense, leaving tantalizing clues for the reader as she constructs a plot that careens toward the final pages. The story is told from the point-of-view of each of the members of the Forensic Instincts team as well as that of the killer, giving us rich, taut character development and a back-and-forth that is tightly edited, almost cinematic in quality.

The idea of a team of maverick investigators who, at times, cross lines that the police cannot is ingenious. While they often work alongside the police, this group is full of specialists (a former Navy SEAL, a retired FBI agent, a behaviorist, a tech wizard, an intuitive) who work out of a brownstone in New York City. Kane’s descriptions of NYC and the surrounding area of New Jersey and New York State (including some settings very near to my home!) are right on the money. It’s a compelling read. I couldn’t put it down.

I really think you’ll like this book. As I said before, it’s part of a series; two other books preceded this one. If you like to escape into a thriller that grabs you and takes you on a wild ride, you’ll like The Stranger You Know.

About the author: Andrea Kane’s psychological thriller The Girl Who Disappeared Twice became an instant New York Times bestseller, the latest in a long line of smash hits. With her acclaimed signature style of developing unforgettable characters and weaving them into carefully researched story lines, Kane has created Forensic Instincts, an eclectic team of maverick investigators. Recruited because of their special talents and dynamic personalities, the high-energy members thrive on blatantly disregarding authority. Armed with skills and talents honed by years in the FBI and Special Forces and with training in behavioral and forensic psychology, this unstoppable team solves seemingly impossible cases while walking a find line between assisting and enraging law enforcement.

With a worldwide following and novels published in more than twenty languages, Kane is also the author of numerous romantic thrillers and historical romances. She lives in New Jersey with her family, where she is busily crafting a new challenge for Forensic Instincts.

Lucky you! I am giving away one copy of The Stranger You Know. If you are interested, just leave a comment on this post and I’ll pick a winner on Thursday evening.  Good luck!

Happy Monday.

Today I’m reviewing Killer Image by Wendy Tyson for TLC Book Tours. As always, I am provided with a copy of the book in return for my honest review.

About the book (from the publisher): Philadelphia image consultant Allison Campbell is not your typical detective. She’s more familiar with the rules of etiquette than the rules of evidence, prefers 3-inch Manolos to comfy flats and relates to Dear Abby not Judge Judy.

When Allison’s latest Main Line client, the fifteen year old Goth daughter of a White House hopeful, is accused of the ritualistic murder of a local divorce attorney, Allison works to prove her client’s innocence when no one else will. But in a place where image is everything, the ability to distinguish the truth from the façade may be the only thing that keeps Allison alive.

My review: This mystery revolves around the Main Line, a wealthy enclave outside of Philadelphia, where money, especially old money, is key. Tyson clearly knows her subject matter. Killer Image is the start of a series involving Allison Campbell so Tyson has spent a lot of time defining and fleshing out the characters, especially the ones who will most likely be in future books. All of them have a past they are wrestling with. Everyone has secrets. Image vs. Reality.

Campbell’s client, a young mixed-up girl, is one part of a web of relationships that connect to Allison’s past and to the lives of her friends and family. What Tyson does well, and what I think needs to happen with any series involving a ‘detective,’ is this: she shows us that the subject matter, the mystery itself, springs up in the midst of a busy life, full of ongoing commitments and ongoing relationships, some of them troubled. That’s what happens in real life, isn’t it? There may be something that takes center stage in our lives but at the same time we are dealing with parents, friends, misunderstandings, worries and fears. While Allison is doing her detecting, the rest of her life doesn’t stop. I get a real sense of where the characters have been prior to the beginning of the novel and of what they are wrestling with in the present.

It’s a tightly plotted mystery and the characters are interesting and compelling. The setting is detailed and, as someone who lived in Philadelphia for five years and is familiar with the Main Line, I think Tyson does a neat job of creating that world for us.

A good start to a series.

About the author: Wendy Tyson wrote her first story at age eight and it’s been love ever since. When not writing, Wendy enjoys reading other people’s novels., traveling, hiking, and playing hooky at the beach – and if she can combine all four, even better. Originally from the Philadelphia area, Wendy has returned to her roots and lives there again with her husband, three kids and two muses, dogs Molly and Driggs. She and her husband are passionate organic gardeners and have turned their small urban plot into a micro farm. Killer Image is Wendy’s first novel in the Allison Campbell mystery series.

I’m giving away a copy of Killer Image to one lucky commenter. To enter, please leave a comment on this post. I’ll pick a winner on Sunday night.

Happy Wednesday.