Black at Heart

Black at Heart is the latest book in the Black CATs series by Leslie Parrish. From the back cover.~

A group of elite FBI special agents has been brought together to form the Cyber Action Team, aka CAT-and they have one mission: to solve Internet-related murders.

Even as he devotes himself to catching the Internet’s most despicable criminals, Wyatt Blackstone has become a master of detaching himself from his work. But now, after the loss of a vulnerable young agent for whom he cared deeply, Wyatt’s renowned icy control is starting to crack. For not only has someone started picking off evil-doers, one brutal murder after another, but the clues to the crimes point to an absolutely impossible suspect: the very woman he thought he lost.

Black at Heart is currently the final book in the Black CATs series. I’ve loved all of the books in this series, but Black at Heart is my favorite. Black at Heart focuses on Wyatt Blackstone and the young woman he will do anything to protect, Lily Fletcher. I’ve been trying to figure out how to talk up Black at Heart without giving away any spoilers, and it’s so hard. I can say that Leslie gives the reader an amazing story filled with romance and suspense. She kept me guessing in both Fade to Black and Pitch Black as to who the bad guy was, but I was finally able to figure it out in Black at Heart. I don't think it was too obvious, I just think I finally read between the lines and saw what I missed in the other books.

I look forward to more books by Leslie Parrish in the future. I’m hoping at some point there will be more Black CATs books, but I’m just as excited by any books by Leslie Parrish. Black at Heart has a release date of September 1, 2009 and I suggest everyone run out to buy it.

Kiss of the Phantom

Kiss of the Phantom by Julie Leto is currently the final book in her Phantom series. From the back cover.~

The youngest of all the Forsyth brothers, Rafe believes mysterious Lord Rogan will protect the Romani inhabitants of Valoren against the vicious mercenaries threatening them. Instead, Rogan’s dark magic traps Rafe inside a stone, forcing him to watch his wife’s murder. Consumed by grief and guilt, Rafe doesn’t wish to be freed-he wants only to be left alone.

Nearly three hundred years later, a beautiful treasure hunter travels to a remote corner of Germany, in search of a stone that could solve her financial troubles. But from the moment Mariah Hunter touches the artifact, she is haunted by erotic images of a man with eyes as silver as the moon-a man who appears out of nowhere just in time to save her from certain death.

As Mariah finds herself undeniably drawn to her dark savior, it might be Rafe who is the real danger to her heart.

Julie gives the reader another winner with Kiss of the Phantom. The chemistry between Rafe and Mariah is sizzling from their very first encounter. I also love the mystery of the artifacts connected to Lord Rogan. Mariah has no idea that she is the woman who can help Rafe become human again, since she is the one who awakened him from his stone prison. Mariah and Rafe are on the run from a client of Mariah’s and an enemy after the stone, and become as close to one another as either will allow.  Mariah doesn’t know the only way to free Rafe is to admit she is in love with him. Both Mariah and Rafe have things in their past they must overcome to have a lasting relationship.

I loved Kiss of the Phantom and look forward to more books from Julie Leto in the future.  At this time, there are no more books scheduled in the Phantom series, luckily Julie has More Blazing Bedtime Stories coming out in November.

3 new reviews to be posted soon

So I've finished 3 wonderful books over the last several days and I will get the reviews posted as soon as possible.

First up is Black at Heart by Leslie Parrish. It is the third book in her Black CATs series and is my favorite book in the series. Next is Kiss of the Phantom by Julie Leto. It is currently her final book in her Phantom series and I'm really hoping the publisher changes their mind and lets Julie write more books in this series. Finally, I finished The 8th Confession by James Patterson. It is the latest installment in his Women's Murder Club series and will be the only one released this year.

I'll post a more detailed review for each book hopefully before the weekend is over.

Fatally Flaky

Fatally Flaky is the latest book in the Goldy Schultz series by Diane Mott Davidson. From the inside cover.~

Cynics say getting married is a death wish…

It’s been a long, rainy summer for Goldy Schultz, who is engaged in planning wedding receptions for what seems to be all of Aspen Meadows. It’s bad enough that Billie Attenborough, the bride from hell, has changed her menu six times and the event date twice. Now she wants to move the location to the Gold Gulch Spa just a scant two days before tying the knot to her doctor fiancé.

Then Doc Finn, beloved local physician and the best friend to Goldy’s godfather, Jack, is killed when his car tumbles into a ravine. At least that’s what appears to have happened. But Jack thinks Doc was murdered because of the research he was doing at the spa-allegations that are confirmed when Jack himself is attacked.

So Goldy dons chef’s whites and goes undercover at the spa, where coffee is outlawed in favor of calming smoothies, and the fruit cocktail doesn’t include fresh fruit. Add in the obstreperous owner, who years ago tried to sabotage Goldy’s fledgling business, and she’s got her hands full.

Above all, there seems to be a clever killer on the spa grounds, watching her every move. After what befell Jack, Goldy knows that she might be next. Catering weddings, and cooking low-fat food, could be killing her-literally.

I have always enjoyed the Goldy Schultz books and Fatally Flaky was another winner for me. I was able to figure out the bad guy before the end of the book, but there were a few twist and turns to throw me off initially. Overall, Fatally Flaky was a fun and entertaining mystery that I would recommend to anyone who likes to read light mysteries.

Pitch Black

Pitch Black by Leslie Parrish is the second book in her phenomenal Black CATs series. From the back cover.~

A group of elite FBI special agents has been brought together to form the Cyber Action Team, aka CAT – and they have one mission: to solve Internet-related murders.

Former profiler Alec Lambert would give anything to catch the Professor, a serial killer who lures his victims with Internet scams. Now working with the Black CATs, Alec finally has his chance.

When two teen boys are lured to a cruel, icy death, Alec teams up with reclusive scam expert Samantha Dalton, who may be able to find out where the madman will strike next. Despite Alec’s intense attraction to Sam, he’s fiercely determined to keep their relationship professional. As they draw ever closer to discovering the Professor’s identity and stopping his murderous rampage, they realize Sam is the psychotic killer’s new obsession. And possibly his next target…

As I said when I read Fade to Black, the first book in the Black CATs series, Leslie has found her true voice with romantic suspense. Pitch Black is filled with mystery, romance and suspense.  Alec Lambert is new to the Black CATs and immediately starts to investigate the Professor, who he had investigated in the past as a member of the Behavioral Analysis Unit. When two teen boys are killed, the email correspondence between one of the boys and Samantha Dalton sends Alec and his partner to Sam’s door for help. Alec is attracted to Sam from the very first, but she is still recovering from her divorce and fights her attraction in the beginning. Unknown to Alec or any of the other agents in the Black CATs, the Professor has set his sights on Sam.  I thought I had who the Professor was figured out several times throughout Pitch Black, but Leslie kept me in the dark until almost the very end. I really liked the build- up of tension between Alec and Sam. Alec wants to keep their relationship strictly professional until the case is solved, but Sam doesn’t want to let another day go by without being with him. The passion between them is so true to life that it leaps off the pages.

I think the Black CATs series gets better with each book. I have really loved both Fade to Black and Pitch Black.  The release date for Pitch Black  is August 4, 2009 and everyone should pre-order it today! I've also already read Black at Heart, the third and currently final book in this series and will blog about it soon. As much as I loved Fade to Black and Pitch Black, Black at Heart is my favorite book in the series!