Scarlet River

by Megan Dietz

When Arnold Clarke's government experiment falls into the wrong hands, people around the country are given deadly split personalities they are oblivious to. Scarlet River focuses on the split that's moonlighting as the infamous Paradise Killer, the same killer who murdered CIA agent, Logan Vern's sister nearly ten years before. So when Logan returns home to find that mutual friends of his ex-girlfriend and him are being murdered, he uses his resources to investigate. But discovers the evil world of Project Paradise instead.

254 pages, Paperback

First published April 26, 2012

About the author

Megan Dietz grew up in Washington State where a majority of her family still resides. She is obtaining an English literature degree at Utah Valley University. She is currently working on the second installment of the Scarlet Series, of which she hopes to be released Summer of 2013. Don't forget to like Scarlet River's Facebook page!

Reviews

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars
Such a fun read. Lots of twists and turns and intrigue and thrills.

Logan is a CIA agent who is really good at hiding his emotions and getting the job done. Only one person has ever really gotten to him, his long time friend and for a short time his girlfriend, Scarlet.

His busy and dangerous life is put on hold for awhile as he waits for a new assignment. He decides to go back to his sleepy hometown and visit his parents and hopefully not run into Scarlet, whom he hurt when he left town.

The Paradise Killer, who murdered Logan's sister and Scarlet's cousin many years ago and was never caught, seems to be back. Using his resources and know-how Logan finds out that an experiment to use a chip to bring people out of a coma has been stolen and is being used in healthy minds. This person will now have a split personality that they know nothing about. Who knows what that new split will do and who is controlling them?

***Did have a hard time with the flashbacks since there was nothing indicating they were going to happen or give timing or anything. You were reading about something currently happening then suddenly were back many years ago. That usually frustrates me a lot.
I did read however from the author that the flashbacks were all supposed to be italicized but only some of them ended up italicized in the printed addition. That would have helped me a lot. Knowing this in advance, I hope will help you when you read it.*****

Can't wait for the next 2 books in the trilogy. =D

[Tia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well...it's not everyday you get to write a review on your own roommate's book. :)

I really enjoyed reading about the budding romance between Scarlet and Logan. It was cute but frustrating at times because one of them refuses to admit their true feelings. So you're worrying the whole time whether or not they'll really get together. But that's what keeps you hooked. I loved their little catch phrase- ''Run away with me?'' ''Any day.''

It does get a little confusing with all the switching from present to past events. Megan did warn me before reading that the publisher italicized lots of parts of the book that shouldn't have been italicized (which was supposed to help in telling the reader that its switching to past events.) There were also some editing that they didn't catch.

I gotta admit, some of the story was confusing cause it is a spy novel, and we're introduced to a whole lot of names and people. I thought the plot was original and there were lots of twists and turns that made the book very unpredictable. Great job, Dietz!

[Angela Goods · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw an ad for this book on Facebook. I was intrigued and read the first five chapters on the author's website. Then I added it to my Nook. I read it in less than two days! The story pretty much starts with this CIA agent who has a troubled past. He returns to his hometown where the killer who killed his sister returns. There are flashbacks throughout the story and many elements that keeps you hooked. At first its hard to keep up but it kept me thinking and trying to piece together all the aspects of the book. You begin having all these questions and wondering how the author is going to tie in everything. The ending was amazing. It's one of those books you need to read again to make sure you caught everything. The ending blew me away and I cannot wait for the second book!

[Kari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent character development, plot/premise, etc...

I felt really invested in the characters while reading. I think that is key in any good book, character richness, interesting people with dimension. The writing was descriptive, imaginative, and enchanting.

I highly recommend Scarlett River.