NEED TO KNOW

In pursuit of a Russian sleeper cell on American soil, a CIA analyst uncovers a dangerous secret that will test her loyalty to the agency—and to her family.

What do you do when everything you trust might be a lie?

Vivian Miller is a dedicated CIA counterintelligence analyst assigned to uncover the leaders of Russian sleeper cells in the United States. On track for a much-needed promotion, she’s developed a system for identifying Russian agents, seemingly normal people living in plain sight.

After accessing the computer of a potential Russian operative, Vivian stumbles on a secret dossier of deep-cover agents within America’s borders. A few clicks later, everything that matters to her—her job, her husband, even her four children—are threatened.‎

Vivian has vowed to defend her country against all enemies, foreign and domestic. But now she’s facing impossible choices. Torn between loyalty and betrayal, allegiance and treason, love and suspicion, who can she trust?

Release Date: January 23, 2018

Ballantine Books

Mystery/Thriller

Review copy provided by publisher

Liza's Review:

I love the mystery/thriller genre and especially when I get pulled in from the very first page. While I was pulled into Need to Know when it started, it quickly felt like it was going all over the place for me.

I really liked the main character Vivian Miller, but absolutely didn't buy into the fact that she would break so many laws and rules. I understood wanting to protect her children and her husband, but I just couldn't see a high level CIA counterintelligence agent not seeing signs along the way. Maybe because she was high level CIA, I expected more of her. I have to say that Matt played her like a fiddle to make it look like he was the wronged individual. I just never bought his innocence at any point in the book. Maybe I'm too jaded when it came to this story. I will say the actual mole within the CIA was a surprise to me, as I had picked a different character as the mole. I really liked that twist to the story.

While Need to Know didn't really end up being the book for me, I did enjoy the author's voice and would give her another try in the future. 

Rating: 3 Stars (C)

Black CATs Spotlight

I’ve been a fan of Leslie Kelly for years. I love her super hot contemporary romances and have had her books on my auto-buy list for years. As much as I love her contemporary romances, her romantic suspense books are my absolute favorites from her. One of my favorites of her romantic suspense series is her Black CATs series. This series is described as a thrilling romantic suspense, and that is spot on for each of the books.  The books were originally released as written by Leslie Parrish, and have recently been re-released with new covers by Leslie Kelly.

Fade to Black (Book 1)

A team of FBI agents are on the trail of the Reaper--a monster who auctions off means-of-death at a cyber playgrounds for deviants. Special Agent Dean Taggert's investigation takes him to the small town of Hope Valley, Virginia, where he meets the strong and competent Sheriff Stacey Rhodes. Dean and Stacey are in a battle of wits against the Reaper, knowing he has chosen his next victim: a young child.

Pitch Black (Book 2)

FBI Special Agent Alec Lambert is on the trail of a fiendish killer who lures his victims using Internet schemes. Teaming up with scam expert Samantha Dalton, he realizes the unsub—who calls himself Darwin—has his own plan to thin out the gene pool. Alec and the entire Black CAT team use all their skills to stop the monster before he can kill again…especially once they realize he has a new obsession: Samantha!

Fade to Black (Book 3)

Supervisory Special Agent Wyatt Blackstone is famed for his cool control and his intellect. But his world was shattered when Lily, a vulnerable young agent on his team was brutally murdered. Now, a killer is committing horrible crimes, leaving a lily as a calling card, and he and the rest of the Black CATs have to revisit a crime that haunts them all!

Buy like for the boxed set of Black CATs books from Amazon:

Don't Look Away

Don’t Look Away is the 1^st book in the Veronica Sloan series from author Leslie A. Smith. From the back cover.~

CAN A MURDER VICTIM'S OWN MEMORIES BE USED TO SOLVE A CRIME?

Detective Veronica Sloan isn’t shocked by much. Having lived through the worst terrorist attacks in history—which destroyed much of Washington, D.C.—she’s immune to even the most vicious brutality. But even she is stunned by the discovery of a murder in the basement of the under-reconstruction White House.

Sloan and FBI Agent Jeremy Sykes have been assigned to investigate the homicide because the victim was a participant in a top-secret experiment. Veronica has been training for just this kind of case, waiting to use her special skills, anxious to learn if a recording device implanted in a victim’s head can help solve their murder….before the killer strikes again.

I love a really good mystery or thriller. I was lucky enough to get a review copy from the author through NetGalley. I actually purchased my print copy even before I finished reading my digital copy.

I absolutely loved Don’t Look Away! It is set in the future just enough years for all the technology to be believable without being too out there. I also love books set in the future, and this one was very well done.

Veronica Sloan is a totally kick-ass character and I loved her from the very beginning. She and her partner Mark Daniels have worked well together for years and are pulling into what appears to be a typical murder except the victim was a participant in a top-secret experiment. Once Ronnie is attacked by the killer, FBI Agent Jeremy Sykes is called in to assist in the investigation. Jeremy and Ronnie trained together and have clashed from day one. They have amazing chemistry and I couldn’t wait for them to finally get together.

I have to say I guessed the wrong killer in the beginning. I love when that happens with a thriller. I did figure it out right before the killer was revealed, but not the reason why. Leslie Smith totally kept me on the edge of my seat reading this book. I can’t wait to see where she takes this series in the future. Don’t Ever Stop, book 2 in the series is currently set to release on July 15, 2013.