Tag: Christina Dodd

This Chick Read: Because I’m Watching (Virtue Falls #3) by Christina Dodd

She was known as Mad Maddie in her neighborhood because of her past. She was the lone survivor of a stalker/murderer in her college dorm which resulted in a nervous breakdown and internment into a mental facility. As she moves on with her life, her fiance is murdered in their home while she is upstairs. Due to her background she was a suspect. Now, living in a new neighborhood in Virtue Falls, Maddie meets her neighbor Jacob by driving her car into the living room of his home. Jacob survives the incident and continues to live in his demolished home where he can see and hear clearly the goings on across the street. Not everything is as it looks…

This novel had me hooked right from the first scene! There was something about Maddie and Jacob that drew me in. Whereas she was nicknamed Mad Maddie by her neighbors, Jacob was actually crazier than she. He was an ex-soldier with PTSD who had delusions of death. He was actually mad that Maddie had missed him with her car! Watching the two of them navigate into a friendship, or really a co-dependency, was really interesting. Seeing this mystery play out was even more so.

I have read all of the Virtue Falls novels, including the Woman Who Couldn’t Scream which follows this novel in the series. I’ve enjoyed them, liking the continuing story of the town and it’s inhabitants. There are subplots in each novel that moves the town’s story forward. Even though I read the fourth book before the third, I don’t think I messed up the story’s sequence too much.  This novel was still my favorite so far. Each piece came together in the perfect package of psychosis, mystery, and romance.  Well done, Ms. Dodd! May I have another? ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Watching

Click this link to purchase!*Because I’m Watching: A Novel (The Virtue Falls Series)

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate

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This Chick Read: What Doesn’t Kill Her (Cape Charade #2) by Christina Dodd

The second novel in the Cape Charade series, What Doesn’t Kill Her continues the story of our heroine Kellen Adams. After finding out she’d had a daughter while in a coma, Kellen, Max and Rae are trying to ease into a family unit. Suffering from PTSD after her years in Afghanistan, Kellen is having the tougher time bonding with her new daughter. Needing a break, she takes a side job delivering an archeological find to a recluse in the wilderness with a man she doesn’t know. On the way, the man tries to kill her, Kellen evades the kill, and finds out her new seven year old daughter Rae has hidden in the back of the van in the hopes of bonding with her mother. Escaping into the wilderness, Kellen and her pink sparkly daughter find out that they are being hunted by two teams of men. One is out to collect the valuable item they are carrying, and the other is out to kill Kellen. This quick trip has suddenly turned into the run for their lives.

Kellen started off so out of her element as a mom, but as she and her daughter evaded capture Kellen found that she did in fact care deeply for this little girl. Kellen’s maternal instincts are slightly skewed from the traumatic events in her past but she does teach Rae some invaluable lessons in self defense that were dramatic and sweet at the same time. Imagine trying to relay to a seven year old girl that they were being hunted by people who were trying to hurt them without scaring the crap out of her. There were some seriously funny conversations between these two that really added a lot of maternal warmth to Kellen’s character. For Kellen, this trip was a boot camp to motherhood.

I really liked Max in Dead Girl Running and he was even more likable as a dad and love interest to Kellen in this novel. He was alpha male enough to want to sweep in and keep his girls safe, but smart enough to let Kellen use her skills and provide her own safety. That’s not to say that he didn’t want to kick ass and take prisoners, but this was a woman who took charge of her own life and didn’t wait for anyone to save her. The two of them were very well balanced and I really enjoyed watching their relationship grow into a romantic one.

What Doesn’t Kill Her was even better than Dead Girl Running, and I loved that novel! There was some great dialog between Rae and Kellen that provided comic relief to what would’ve been a non stop action novel. Those moments of warmth between mother and daughter allowed the reader to build a deeper connection with Kellen, and I cared even more when she and Max reunited as a couple. I can’t wait to see what happens in the next Cape Charade book, Stranger She knows. It can’t come soon enough for me! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I was given a free ARC of this book for an honest review and it was honest!

Opinions from around the Blogosphere

“What makes this book a fun read is, for the most part, the non-stop action and diversity of settings: As the plot progresses, readers witness lots of action, near-misses, and pursuers, and assassins in exciting locations such as vineyards, resorts, and mountain-top lodges – and the chase is always on.” Mystery Tribune

Click this link to purchase!* What Doesn’t Kill Her (Cape Charade)

Copyright 2019 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate

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This Chick Read: Dead Girl Running (Cape Charade #1) by Christina Dodd

Dead Girl Running is a gripping, fascinating story about a woman who has run from her past and completely changed the direction of her life. She is now Kellen Adams, an assistant manager of a remote resort in the Pacific Northwest. When her predecessor’s body is found on the property she finds herself investigating the crime and drawing on all of her past and present talents to find the killer.

Kellen was such an interesting character! Through flashbacks we find out she had a different name and was in a bad relationship. When she left that persona behind she became Kellen Adams and through that change gained her strength and fought an internal battle to become a stronger person. Kellen went through some trauma where she lost a year of her life and as this mystery unravels, so does her memory. Through those flashbacks we saw her past, but I really enjoyed discovering who she is now.

Kellen’s head trauma caused her to become a little robotic. She see’s things almost android or computer like at times, listing off other characters attributes in bullet points that are unemotional and analytical. I know this is done on purpose so you can see her character grow and she does! She gets warmer, more emotional, and human as the novel rolls on. It took a little getting used to but once I did I was totally enmeshed in the story and really wanted to see this new persona that was emerging.

Dead Girl Running was a great start to this new series and for those of you who love Virtue Falls, they are only a few hours up the coast and you get a quick peek at a couple of characters to satisfy that fix. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️

I was given a free book by this author for my honest review and it was honest!

Dead Girl

Click this link to purchase!Dead Girl Running (Cape Charade Book 1)

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved.

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This Chick Read: Obsession Falls (Virtue Falls #2) by Christina Dodd

What would you do if you saw a little boy in danger from two men? I’d like to think I’d step in, but then what if they turned on me? Taylor Summers has to make this decision when she see’s a boy being pulled out of the trunk of a car and his would be killers talking about his murder. She does the unselfish and puts his life before her own and distracts the killers so he can escape. Unfortunately this action completely changes her life. She is convicted in the press of kidnapping the boy and then dying in a car explosion. Her identity gone, her previous life dissolved, she goes on the run from the killers.

Taylor was amazing. As a little girl her father taught her some survival skills, but she took those memories and actually lived in the wild for a few months. When she lands in Virtue Falls, she starts a fresh new life, until the kidnapper finds her and she has to learn a new set of skills to outsmart him.

This was a great second novel in the Virtue Falls series. Half of the book took place before Taylor arrives in Virtue Falls but when she does, our favorite characters from the first book become a part of the plot and we get to see where their lives are now. That’s always fun because sometimes you just don’t want to let good characters go. Obsession Falls was action packed, our heroine took charge of her own life and made it work for her, and there’s even a bit of a love interest for her, although that was the weakest part of the plot. She was strong enough to get through everything on her own so it kind of annoyed me when a man tried to take charge and “save” her. Luckily it annoyed Taylor too! This book can be read as a stand alone, but Virtue Falls was a fun book to read if you want to start at the beginning.

❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click HERE for my review of Virtue Falls.


Click link to purchase! Obsession Falls: A Novel (The Virtue Falls Series)

Copyright 2017 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

 

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This Chick Read: The Woman Who Couldn’t Scream (Virtue Falls #4) by Christina Dodd

Finally, we get Kateri’s story! A constant presence in the other Virtue Falls novels, Kateri, now the Sheriff of Virtue Falls, is chasing after a violent fugitive as well as trying to catch a killer. Virtue Falls may be a charming resort town, but it has a pretty violent past. The Woman Who Couldn’t Scream is the fourth book in the series, each of which are wonderful romantic thrillers, and this one is no different. Kateri’s childhood friend moves back to town under an assumed name, just as the violence hits. Is it a coincidence??

Merida, Kateri’s friend who has moved back, has eagerly left her last ten years behind. She is mute and had been the wife of a domineering elderly man who controlled her every action.  Caught in that unhappy marriage through horrific circumstance, she had bottled up her plans for revenge against the man she thinks put her there. When she comes face to face with him in Virtue Falls amidst what seems to be a serial killer in action, she is forced to face her feelings sooner than she had planned.

This novel had so many twists and turns! Kateri, still dealing with her past injuries from the tsunami that hit in the first book, has finally semi recovered and finds herself back in a leadership role in town. Her search for a killer while dealing with her feelings for two men mess with her head and certainly adds tension to an already tension filled book! I also liked Merida’s character from the start. She is not the victim she appears and actually has a strong core that has gotten her through some really difficult times. Her story is twisted and fascinating and lends an air of dark mystery to an already action packed start to the book.

Virtue Falls is filled with some zany and interesting characters and even though its been awhile since I read one of these novels, it was easy to jump right in and remember why I keep picking up the books in this series. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️

I received a copy of this book from the author for my honest review and it was honest.


Click link to purchase! The Woman Who Couldn’t Scream: A Novel (The Virtue Falls Series)

Copyright 2017 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved.

I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads5 Comments

This Chick Read: Virtue Falls by Christina Dodd

Twenty-three years ago Elizabeth Banner witnessed the murder of her mother, and her father was sent to jail for the crime.  Now, Elizabeth is part of a geological team sent to Virtue Falls to continue the research her father had started while living in that area. While there, an earthquake strikes large enough to send a tsunami racing towards the town. Continue reading “This Chick Read: Virtue Falls by Christina Dodd” →

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