Dream Stalker

Colorado Skies #1

by Sandra S. Kerns

Janine Chase, a reporter for a small newspaper in Northern Colorado, wakes up terrified. The killer who stalked her dreams when she lived in Philadelphia is back. He killed everyone close to her, almost. He didn’t kill the man she loved, but he did kill the relationship. Her obsession with helping the police catch the killer nearly killed her as well. When she recovered, she moved halfway across the country in hopes of leaving it all behind.
Philadelphia Detective Connor Dawson is dedicated to bringing in his brother’s murderer. The problem is the trail went cold after he arranged a fake obituary for the reporter, Connor’s ex-lover. The killer had been obsessed with her, and she with him. Connor knew the only way to keep her safe was to make the killer think she was dead. It worked for two years. But recently similar murders have popped up on his radar. The trail leads directly to where Janine relocated when she recovered from the killer’s attack. Not a believer in coincidence, Connor fears the killer has found her again. As hard as it will be to see the woman responsible for his brother’s death, he knows it would be worse to know she was dead and he could have stopped it.

Genres: Romantic Suspense, Thriller

302 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 10, 2013

Reviews

[G.S. Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Relentless, merciless: This story begins with a murder in progress. Cover to cover, the tension never lets up. This is the kind of book you read standing up, pacing the room, thumbing pages with one hand while making your cup of tea with the other – assuming you’re still up for a cup of tea after what goes on here…. The tension never abates because it has a number of strings to it and they’re each being constantly wound tighter: We have serial killings – who and why? We’ve got romance, lust and giving in to desires. There’s a good dose of the mildly supernatural to figure out. The relationships are complicated and real – abandonment, family, blame, revenge, loss, love. We have everything closing in around our main characters, little by little the whole book through…. The dripping suspense never relents and the author shows us no mercy. Five stars and two thumbs up!

[Stephanie Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of Ms. Kerns' work, but this was an unexpected treat! It held all of the key ingredients that make her stories great reads, but this one was different, in that we get a whole new view of "the bad guy" - from the inside out! We're introduced to him before any other character, as we join him on his twisted "mission". He was absolutely fascinating. I love the way Ms. Kerns was able to paint him in such a way that I pitied him just as often as I was horrified by him. He was so very 3-dimentional! I mourned the childhood he apparently suffered, and rooted for his inner child to overcome his inner demons. I was conflicted; I cheered the hero and heroine on, but I didn't really want this guy beaten...just saved [from himself]. It was a thrilling psychological journey! As if that wasn't enough, we have a really intriguing dynamic between the two main characters. They have a history that the reader slowly learns more about throughout the first 1/2 to 2/3 of the book. Their connection could have been spelled out, plainly, from the beginning, but it was so much more fun to grasp onto little details that blossomed into a really rich backdrop for the drama they actually face in this story. Outstanding read!

[A.M. Manay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book grabs your interest from the jump. I knew from the first page that I was in for a disturbing, engaging ride. Both the mystery and romance storylines are satisfying, and the main characters are very sympathetic. Strength plus vulnerability is always a potent combination. As an adoptive mom, I sometimes get weary of the frequency with which adoption plays a role in mystery novels (thanks, Agatha Christie), but this author handles it better than most, with empathy for all three sides of the adoption triad. This is a book that makes you think, "This writer knows what she is doing." It is quite enjoyable.

[Nanette M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow – just wow! I know Kerns can write romance because I am a fan who has read several of her books before, but the pacing and insights into the characters makes Dream Stalker one heck of a great read! The two main characters, Janine (the stalkee) and Connor (a detective hoping to protect Janine), are reunited when the stalker reappears in Janine’s life. Janine and Connor’s story is just what I like in a romance: They have their issues, but they can come together in the end. The Tea Time Killer, Janine’s stalker, is what sends this book way beyond (in a great way!). Kerns actually made me feel sympathy for the guy, which takes skill in writing.

[Ted Tayler · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Confused"

This was an odd mixture of crime, the supernatural and romance. Some parts I enjoyed; others I didn't. Because it veered from one thing to another throughout, I never really got to grips with the characters or the plot. I'm not quite sure what's missing in this book to stop it from being a very good read; maybe it's there and it's just me that couldn't see it. I really don't know.

[Deborah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very well done read. She's gone through this nightmare once, why is it starting again? He has followed the killer back to where she lives, since he's started back to killing again. The killer has started killing again and she sees him do it, why? He not going to let her out of his sight this time. This is an interesting and entertaining story. Enjoy I did.