Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Review Stop on the Tasty Virtual Book Tour for DEEP DARK by Laura Griffin with #excerpt + #giveaway

DEEP DARK
Tracers #10
by Laura Griffin

Available now at


A gripping new romantic thriller from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Laura Griffin...

The moment detective Reed Novak steps onto the crime scene, he knows the case is going to rock his world. A beautiful young woman murdered at home. No sign of forced entry. No motive. She’s obviously not the killer’s first victim, and Reed’s instincts tell him she won’t be his last. Reed’s first clue comes via a mysterious text that links to a dating profile, but even more intriguing than the clue is the person who sent it.

As a white-hat hacker in the Delphi Center’s cyber investigation unit, Laney Knox sneaks into some of the deepest, darkest corners of the Internet looking for predators. Laney would prefer to stay away from Austin PD’s most recent murder case, but she can’t ignore the chilling similarities between that crime and her own brutal attack years ago. Laney offers to help the sexy lead detective, but he wants more from her than just a promising tip—Reed wants her trust. Laney resists, but as their relationship deepens she’s tempted to reveal the closely guarded secrets that could make her a key witness…or the killer’s next victim.

My Review:

Someone is murdering women, and Reed Novak is determined to find out who it is and stop him. His greatest asset is also the one person he wants as far away from the investigation as he can keep her but she’s stubborn and driven to discover the truth just as much as he is. Laney Knox survived the killer, she knows he’s not only a predator in real life but in cyberspace too, now if she can just find out how he gets in to watch, stalk, and eventually kill.

I have to admit that when I first started reading DEEP DARK by Laura Griffin, I was a tad confused. A woman is attacked in her home and then in the next chapter, a woman is found dead in her home but they are not the same woman. Granted, I didn’t pay close enough attention to the name of the victim and once I went back to check, I got caught up but it did put me off slightly…then it didn’t matter anymore because I was hooked!

I had not read anything by Laura Griffin before. Although I do have copies of a couple of her other books given to me by a friend, and now I know they are both going to get pushed up the TBR list because Laura created an exciting, character and action driven suspense that kept me guessing practically to the reveal of the killer. That’s tough to pull that off with me but she wove such a detailed, intriguing, and suspense-filled mystery that I was sorry it ended when it did. Her investigators, her investigations, and her character interactions rival my favorite CSI shows.

I highly recommend DEEP DARK, book 10 of the Tracers series by Laura Griffin to anyone who is a fan of CSI stories, romantic suspense (trust me - the sexual tension between Reed and Laney is enough to have you fanning yourself), and fabulous characters filled with depth and personality, then you need to read this one. I’m going to have to go back and start reading the rest of the series now that I know just how amazing the Tracer series is. 
Happy Reading Everyone!

***galley provided by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unscripted review.


Excerpt:

Reed watched her, and she had that frustrated look in her eyes again. Every time she started to open up to him, he did something to tick her off. She shook her head and glanced away.
“Laney?”
“What?”
“I’m a detective. It’s my job to ask questions. To push.”
She looked at him again and her expression softened. “No, you’re right.” She glanced down at her beer bottle and picked at the label. “I’m glad she has you.”
“Who has me?”
“April. You seem—” She paused, like she was searching for the right word. “—committed.”
He didn’t answer. It wasn’t really a question, but the way she looked at him gave him the feeling she wanted a response.
She drained her beer and plunked down the bottle. “I should get home.” She stood up.
Reed stood, too. He left a tip on the table and followed her through the throng of people. The bar was packed, and the music had gotten louder since they’d first walked in.
They stepped into the warm, muggy air. It was dusk now, and a neon Lone Star Light sign cast a blue-and-red glow over the sidewalk. As they walked in silence, he thought of what she’d said about her job being meaningful. It was refreshing. Maybe he’d been a cop too long, but he didn’t know anyone who talked about things being meaningful anymore. If they thought about work in those terms, they kept it to themselves.
Maybe he was jaded.
No, he definitely was jaded. But it had more to do with his failed marriage than anything he’d seen on the job.
Reed spotted her little white car and felt a twinge of regret. He’d enjoyed talking to her, enjoyed being near her. And he couldn’t remember the last time that had happened with a woman. Having a beer with Laney had been the highlight of his crap week. Hell, the highlight of his month.
She looked around. “Where are you parked?”
“Around back.”
She gazed up at him. He couldn’t read her expression.
“Thanks for the drink,” she said.
“You bought it.”
He couldn’t read her tone either. The thrum of music seeped through the thin walls of the bar as they stood there in the light of the beer sign.
She stepped closer, and a jolt of heat went through him. She looked up at him with those bottomless brown eyes, and he knew he was in trouble. It was a bad idea to involve this girl in his investigation. Whatever useful info she might have was outweighed by the fact that she was young, and edgy, and he wanted her. And she must have seen something in his face because her eyes sparked.
She went up on tiptoes and kissed him.
##
Copyright 2016 Laura Griffin

About the Author:

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author LAURA GRIFFIN started her career in journalism before venturing into the world of romantic suspense. She is a two-time RITA Award winner as well as the recipient of the Daphne du Maurier Award. Laura currently lives in Austin, where she is working on her next book.



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3 comments:

Unknown said...

Hey, I saw this in the newsletter Laura sent and the blurb caught my interest, and then you posted this up and now I definitely have to grab it. =D

Amy Valentini said...

Oh Ki, if you love a good romantic suspense, you'll love this! Go for the giveaway. You might win a signed copy. Thanks for coming by, doll. xox

Unknown said...

Thank you for taking the time to write a wonderful review for DEEP DARK!

Crystal, Tasty Book Tours