A Mind Blowing Betrayal in A Killing Truth by @dvberkom

Posted on March 23, 2016 by fundinmental

DV Berkom is back today with her new prequel to the Leine Basso stand alone series, A Killing Truth. I have been very curious about Leine’s life as a government assassin, before she started chasing down serial killers, and now I get to know how she came to be the person she is today and the mind blowing betrayal that changed her life forever.

So come along on another grand adventure as the action and suspense take us down a long and ugly road of betrayal of the worst kind.

And if you missed DV Berkom’s guest post on Writing a Killer as Your Main Character, you can check it out HERE and enter the giveaway.

MY REVIEW

The Leine Basso series by DV Berkom is jam packed with action and adventure and Leine Basso is one badass protagonist that I would love to have on my side in my time of need. When I found out DV Berkom was going to write her story about before she started hunting down serial killers and taking out drug cartel, I thought, bring it on.

I have been looking forward to learning about Leine Basso before…

Leine Basso is an ex assassin, strong on the outside, yet soft on the inside, even though she does her best to hide it from everyone. She is super smart and does what needs to be down, no matter how tough the job.

What drove her to quit her government job as an assassin?

The betrayal by her boss leads to horrific consequences for Leine, so tragic, that it will haunt her for the rest of her life as she struggles to reconcile with her daughter. Will she ever be able to have a “normal” life…well, normal to her. You know love, a relationship, a man you can trust with your life. She has sacrificed so much, she deserves a chance at happiness…and DV…I believe you will give it to her. Right? LOL

I had wondered if I may be disappointed with A Killing Truth because I have been wanting to see how DV Berkom would write her story ever since I met Leine Basso. Now, I can breathe a sigh of relief. Disappointed? NO WAY. I am not surprised that this prequel is my favorite Leine Basso story yet. It explains her motivations, at the same time it is filled with action packed danger and suspense that kept me hanging on every word.

I found that I am happy I didn’t know her story before hand. It carries so much more meaning for me now and I feel her sense of betrayal and my anger makes me wonder how she could have ever allowed him to live and breathe. I am so pissed off, I don’t know how Leine manages. I never saw the twisted story that DV Berkom created and I love/hate it. I love it because it was such a horrible surprise that, in hindsight, I should have caught, but DV wrote it in such a way that shes slid it right by me. Excellent job! And I hate it because…well…you will have to read it to find out for yourself.

I received a copy of A Killing Truth by DV Berkom in return for an honest review.

5 Stars

And if you missed DV Berkom’s guest post on Writing a Killer as Your Main Character, you can check it out HERE and enter the giveaway.

GOODREADS BLURB

Before serial killers and drug cartels, Leine faced the ultimate betrayal…

Leine eliminates terrorists for a living. After a routine assassination almost gets her killed, she chalks it up to a fluke. Her lover and fellow assassin, Carlos, has another idea altogether. He thinks their boss is setting them up for a fall.

When Carlos goes missing and a bombing thwarts another mission, Leine suspects the stakes are far higher than she could ever imagine, and wonders if the man in charge might have it in for her after all.

A Killing Truth is the prequel to the award-winning Leine Basso thriller series of crime novels. If you like no-nonsense heroines, page-turning plots, and twists you won’t see coming, then you’ll love D.V. Berkom’s tension-filled series.

Download A Killing Truth to find out how the story began…

ABOUT DV BERKOM

DV Berkom is a slave to the voices in her head. As the author of two popular thriller series (Leine Basso and Kate Jones), her love of creating resilient, kick-*ss female characters stems from a lifelong addiction to reading spy novels, mysteries, and thrillers, and longing to find the female equivalent within those pages.

Raised in the Midwest, she received her BA in political science from the University of Minnesota and promptly moved to Mexico to live on a sailboat. Many, many cross-country moves (and several years) later, she now lives just outside of Seattle, Washington with the love of her life, Mark, an ex-chef-turned contractor, and writes every chance she gets.

For more information, please visit her website at www.dvberkom.com.
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And if you missed DV Berkom’s guest post on Writing a Killer as Your Main Character, you can check it out HERE and enter the giveaway.

I am reading my way through DV Berkom’s The Leine Basso Thrillers:

I am also reading my way through DV Berkom’s Kate Jones Thrillers:

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You can’t run from A Killer Past by Maris Soule

Posted on September 5, 2015 by fundinmental

A Killer Past by Maris Soule

Can we run from the past? I don’t think so.

Add me to Goodreads now.

MY REVIEW

I was drawn to A Killer Past for numerous reasons, the title, the cover, the blurb and the location, Michigan. I love to read books that are in a location I an familiar with and I know a bit about Michigan. This is not your comfy, cozy mystery.

Sergeant Jack Rossini had been called to a scene where two gang members claimed to be beaten up by a little old woman. After they arrived at the hospital, they changed their story to ninjas, ending with they fell.

That little old lady is Mary Harrington, who is 74 and looked like easy prey. Boy were they wrong. She kicked their ass, but that created a big problem for her, exposure. Now, not only is she in danger, but also those close to her. How far would they go to keep the past buried?

I knew the premise of the story was a forgone conclusion, but I was looking forward to some twists and turns that would entertain me. The first one was Mary Harrington.

I mean…a 74 year old woman is the main character and her hidden past forces her to go on the offensive. Even though it had been years since she had used martial arts, actions were done by reflex. All her training had paid off.

Even after being warned, Jack does not let the mystery lie. He wants answers. Will he get them? Will he wish he had left well enough alone? We shall see.

Seeing I am no spring chicken myself, it was hard to buy into her kicking ass and taking a few kicks herself, then walking away. I know surprise was on her side, so I’ll give it to her. I don’t know what is missing in A Killer Past, but I did not feel a sense of urgency. I knew the gang members would retaliate, I mean, they are gang members, after all. Isn’t that what they do? It took me three days to read it. It lacks that something extra that makes it unputdownable. Nevertheless, A Killer Past was worth reading and I did enjoy it. I would recommend this as a not so cozy, easy reading mystery.

I received A Killer Past by Maris Soule in return for an honest and unbiased review.

3 Stars

SYNOPSIS

When two gang members choose Mary Harrington as their target, the quiet widow has a secret to share of her own

Most people in the town of Rivershore, Michigan view Mary Harrington as a quiet widow whose only oddity is that she spends a lot of time at the gym. Her son thinks it’s time for her to move into a retirement home. Two gang members think she’ll be an easy target. No one in Rivershore knows what Mary did in her younger years—really did—but the two gang members discover they’ve underestimated their victim . . . and Mary fears reverting to old habits may have jeopardized her future.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Award winning author of 25 romances, 2 mystery and 2 short stories, with 2 suspense novels coming out 2015. Maris Soule was born and raised in California but moved to the midwest two years after her marriage. She is a member of MWA, MMRWA, Sisters-in-Crime, RWA, FWA, and Authors’ Guild. Soule is still married to the same man, has two grown children, and two granddaughters. She is currently working on another mystery, this one set in Skagway, Alaska.”

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Assassins & Thrills – Blown by Chuck Barrett Review

Posted on June 11, 2015 by fundinmental

Chuck Barrett is the kind of author that is as interesting as his novel, Blown, so be sure and check out his bio and my review below.

He also has some fantastic covers.

Add me to Goodreads now.

MY REVIEW

Blown is a military thriller mystery adventure with sexy and dangerous Gregg Kaplan.

Mobsters, assassins, good guy, bad guys and her.

Gregg Kaplan was a Special Forces assassin, but now he works on the civilian side of government. He had to find her. He had four hours. But something happened and his cover is Blown.

He had made Tony, Senior Inspector Moss of the Marshal’s Service,a promise. A promise is a promise and he would deliver the man to WitSec, no matter what.

I quickly became enamored of Kaplan and his unique skills.

The woman he is searching for is his love interest from Toymaker. I have not read that…yet.

The identity of the assassin was a marvelous surprise.

I love complex scenarios with more than one angle. It keeps the mystery alive and me on the edge of my seat with suspense, trying to figure it out.

Chuck Barret makes me think he brings his personal life into his books with nicknames for his characters, like Dirt Man for Pete Moss. What can I say? It’s that something extra that gives the writing that additional kick. Do we see a book coming in the near future telling us his story? Could Greg and Tony become a team? I can see it.

I received Blow from Chuck Barret in return for an honest review.

4 Stars

SYNOPSIS

Gregg Kaplan is not an ordinary man, but a man with special skills, courtesy of the United States Government.

His assignment is to stay off the grid when he innocently stumbles into a blown witness protection detail in Little Rock, Arkansas. He simply could not walk away from the impending mayhem.

After the dust settles, a mortally wounded Deputy U.S. Marshal makes him promise to personally deliver the witness to a U.S. Marshals Service safe site.

Not just a promise, an oath. A pledge between ex-Army Delta Force comrades.
A trust that could not be broken—Once in, never out.

Kaplan soon suspects the witness he vowed to protect has secrets of his own; secrets that go beyond his testimony for the U.S. government. When he discovers the witness is being tracked, Kaplan teams with a WitSec Deputy U.S. Marshal assigned to recover the witness, but soon realizes some merciless people are dead set on preventing the witness from reaching the safe site.

But the witness has a hidden agenda of his own—One that could cost Kaplan his life.

ABOUT CHUCK BARRETT

Chuck Barrett is the bestselling author of the Award-Winning Jake Pendleton series. Breach of Power—Winner of the 2013 Indie Excellence Award Political Thriller category and Finalist in the 2013 International Book Awards Thriller/Adventure category, The Toymaker—Finalist in the 2013 International Book Awards Thriller/Adventure & Mystery/Suspense categories, and The Savannah Project—Finalist in the 2011 International Book Awards Thriller/Adventure category, Second Place in the 2011 Reviewers Choice Awards Mystery/Thriller/Suspense/Horror category, and Honorable Mention in the 2011 ForeWord Reviews Book-Of-The-Year Awards Thriller/Suspense category.

Barrett is a Florida native and a graduate of Auburn University. He is a retired air traffic controller with over 26 years experience and veteran commercial pilot & flight instructor spanning over three decades of flight experience.
Chuck also holds Dive Master and Rescue Diver certifications. He enjoys hiking in the Rockies with his wife, Debi and currently resides in Northeast Florida.