Ruthless Creatures by J.T. Geissinger

January 27, 2026 By Leave a Comment


Ruthless Creatures by J.T. Geissinger
Publisher: Tor Publishing Group/Pan Macmillan
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Fern

Five years ago, my fiancé disappeared. He left me with a wedding dress I’d never wear. Left me with the kind of scars that can’t be healed. The man I built my future on vanished like a ghost. All that remained were my broken heart and a million unanswered questions.

Until a mysterious stranger arrives in town.

Tall, dark, and dangerous, Kage is as full of secrets as he is sex appeal. Though I know he’s hiding something, I’m drawn to him like a moth to flame. Heat crackles between us with every look, desire flares into passion, and I fall hard, helpless to resist.

But then I discover he’s been sent to collect on an unpaid debt from my missing fiancé….

And that debt is me.

Nat is struggling in the limbo her life has become. Her fiancé had disappeared without a trace just before their wedding rehearsal dinner and Nat has a million questions along with her broken heart. It might have been five years, but she still can’t seem to reconnect with the world and move on. Then Kage moves in next door. Tall, dark and dangerous Nat knows she shouldn’t be intrigued, but they’re drawn together like a moth to the flame. Then she learns he’s here to collect her fiancé’s debt – and payment will be herself.

This is the first mafia romance/darker romance story I’ve read since the genre exploded in recent years and I have to say this was a good book. In many ways it felt similar to me as the many (many, MANY) erotic romance stories I’ve read over the years, though I’ve usually stayed away from the mafia element. I admit the mafia aspect to this story was fairly light – Kage is the right hand man and member of this particular mafia family but he’s away from home, collecting the debt and “making a point” and I do feel that since he’s out of his home city, away from the rest of the family this really tones down the mafia element of the story. It was perfect for me and I felt it was a really good way to dip my toe into the genre.

The story itself was really quite good. I enjoyed both Nat and Kage’s characters, the plotline of her disappeared fiancé (ex-fiancé, I suppose, since it’s been five years and legally, he was deemed dead) and in particular the emotional fall out Nat has been dealing with over the situation was an emotional and excellent read. I do feel that Kage almost instantly fell in love with Nat – which I thought was strong for the plot and storyline but was never really thoroughly explained or discussed. Much of the book is from Nat’s perspective and so we can see why Kage and his honesty about not being a good person and not being a “regular” kind of man doesn’t turn Nat off. I found Nat’s perspective and attachment a lot better explained and much easier to connect with. I did enjoy Kage and his character truly appealed to me, but I wished a little there were a few more chapters from his perspective so I could have more easily understood some of his thought process. With some difficult themes both characters were going through a bit more balance between their perspectives would have helped me with this, I think.

The paperback copy of this book I purchased and read had a bonus chapter – from Kage’s perspective – at the end and this did fill some of that gap for me. The chapter was after the end of the book, and apparently an addition to the paperback copy only. I thought it was an excellent addition – though obviously I didn’t reach it until I had finished the book itself.

This book has plenty of spice and erotic readers should find it very satisfying. I thought the balance of spice and plot was very well written and I thoroughly enjoyed Sloan – Nat’s BFF and a fun and interesting secondary character. The final chapter fairly clearly outlines that the second book will be Sloan’s story and set up a cliffhanger style intro/prequel into the second book so readers who dislike that kind of ending/lead up to the sequel should probably not read the final chapter from Sloane’s perspective.

Filed Under: Erotic Romance, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

Simply Lies by David Baldacci

March 26, 2025 By Leave a Comment


Simply Lies by David Baldacci
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Action/Adventure
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Mickey Gibson, single mother and former detective, leads a hectic life similar to that of many moms: juggling the demands of her two small children with the tasks of her job working remotely for ProEye, a global investigation company that hunts down wealthy tax and credit cheats.

When Mickey gets a call from a colleague named Arlene Robinson, she thinks nothing of Arlene’s unusual request for her to go inventory the vacant home of an arms dealer who cheated ProEye’s clients and fled. That is, until she arrives at the mansion and discovers a dead body in a secret room—and nothing is as it seems.

Not only does the arms dealer not exist, but the murder victim turns out to be Harry Langhorne, a man with mob ties who used to be in Witness Protection. What’s more, no one named Arlene Robinson works at ProEye.

In the blink of an eye, Gibson has become a prime suspect in a murder investigation—and now her job is on the line until she proves that she was set up. Before long, Gibson is locked in a battle of wits with a brilliant woman with no name, a hidden past, and unknown motives—whose end game is as mysterious as it is deadly.

Former detective Mickey Gibson now works from home for a global investigations company. While she misses the field and action of her former police days, her two young children usually make up for the lack of action in her days now. When a colleague calls with a simple task for Mickey she doesn’t think twice about heading out to check over a house. Discovering a dead body inside, Mickey’s life is immediately turned upside down and she finds herself unwillingly drawn into a dangerous and fast paced world.

I’ve always enjoyed David Baldacci’s books, and this standalone novel didn’t disappoint. I found Mickey to be a modern, relatable and thoroughly enjoyable character. Much of her character and situation should strike a chord with many people and I thought she was an excellent hook into the story. I also thought Baldacci did an excellent job keeping the pace of the story fast but not so quick that I couldn’t keep up. There is a lot going on in this book and quite a few plots and sub-plots interweaving together and this could have easily turned into a mess where there was just too much going on. I feel Baldacci really is exceptional (in this and others of his works) with keeping that balance.

I thought the villain was also an excellent character, though I do admit the different layers and complications of the plot got quite a bit at times. I found I did need to suspend a little bit of my disbelief – there were just so many layers and twists I found myself at a few points pausing to wonder if this really was believable. Baldacci’s skill, however, had me so caught up in the plot and action that overall I did find it logical and while upon reflection I’m not certain that parts are realistic, there is ample evidence with enough planning and foresight everything is potentially possible and I did find myself caught up in the book and pacing it was quite easy to suspend a little disbelief and keep going with the action. I’m not sure all readers will feel this way – but if you enjoy Baldacci’s style and other works then this is absolutely along a similar vein and is admittedly very well thought out.

With a complicated plot, plenty of moving parts and a very solid pace readers should find this action orientated murder mystery a good read. I’m happy with this book and at the moment it stands alone so there’s no history or prior books in the series that need reading. I’d also pick up a second book about this character and read another one of her adventures.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

Redemption by David Baldacci

July 20, 2022 By Leave a Comment


Redemption by David Baldacci
Publisher: Pan Books (Pan McMillan)
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery /Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Fern

Decker is visiting his hometown of Burlington, Ohio, when he’s approached by a man named Meryl Hawkins. Hawkins is a convicted murderer. In fact, he’s the very first killer Decker ever put behind bars. But he’s innocent, he claims. Now suffering from terminal cancer, it’s his dying wish that Decker clear his name.

It’s unthinkable. The case was open and shut, with rock solid forensic evidence. But when Hawkins turns up dead with a bullet in his head, even Decker begins to have doubts. Is it possible that he really did get it wrong, all those years ago?

Decker’s determined to uncover the truth, no matter the personal cost. But solving a case this cold may be impossible, especially when it becomes clear that someone doesn’t want the old case reopened. Someone who is willing to kill to keep the truth buried, and hide a decades-old secret that may have devastating repercussions . . .

Amos Decker has returned to his hometown in Ohio to lay flowers on his daughter’s grave on what would have been her fourteenth birthday. When he is approached by a newly released prisoner who was his first arrest as a homicide detective Amos was not expecting the man to not only insist on his innocence, but for Amos to actually believe him. Drawn back into the old case, can Amos right the wrongs he unwittingly committed all those many years ago?

Even though this is the fifth book in the Amos Decker series I feel many readers should be able to pick this up and still thoroughly enjoy the complicated murder mystery. While this is absolutely the re-looking at a cold case, there is clearly still aspects of the original murder that continues into the present day as people who were peripherally involved continue to be involved and more murders are committed as Amos looks deeper into the issues.

Much of Amos’ past and his connection to the other primary characters – ie the FBI, Alex and Melvin etc – is well explained though it’s quite obvious there are previous books that delve far deeper into these friendships. Readers wanting a fast paced, movie-style action plotline might not find this suits their tastes. There is a wonderfully complicated plot with a number of twists and turns, but the pacing is a bit slower than an action-orientated storyline, and this means many of the items unfold at a slightly slower pace than some readers might prefer. Personally, I enjoyed this slower pace – it made me feel like I was understanding exactly what was happening and discovering things alongside Amos and not trailing behind or lost.

With an interesting plot and plenty of secondary characters in the cast who were part of the investigation this is a solid book and I feel it’s a well-woven plot. This isn’t a fast-paced ride, but I feel it’s more of a complex and inter-woven style of story where untangling everything is part of the pleasure and it’s always interesting to see how Amos’ brain works and all the myriad of smaller things his perfect memory can recall and turn for a new interpretation.

A strong book and a good series I really enjoy.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,