Checkmate: Book One in the Brian Koski Stalker Series

by Jean Hackensmith

Caryn Deaver survived a nightmare...and now it's back. Caryn's Deaver's abusive ex-husband bound her and their children hand and foot, locked them in the bathroom, and set the house on fire. They managed to escape with their lives, and Dan Hamilton was sentenced to eighteen years in prison for the crime. He's out now and the rules in his sadistic game allow Caryn only twelve "moves" before she will die. Zach Riker, Cheyenne's Fire Chief, was the first paramedic on the scene eighteen years ago. He saved Caryn's life. Now she is his life and he'll stop at nothing to protect the woman he loves.

456 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 2008

About the author

I am the published author of 12 books, all in the romance genre; everything from time travel, to historical, to contemporary. My newest release, "Checkmate" is the start of my break from the romance genre. It's still classified as a romantic thriller, but truthfully it's more thriller than romance. I'm not saying I won't ever write another romance, especially time travel. I'd have too many upset readers if I didn't. But, for now, I just needed try something new. In fact, my current manuscript, titled "We The People" takes me completely out of the romance genre. But more about that later.

As far as personal info goes, I'm married to my best friend and biggest supporter, Ron. I'm the proud mother of 3, the stepmother of 2, and the grandmother of 10. Next to writing, my passion is community theatre. In fact, I founded our local community theatre back in 1992 and still direct 2-3 shows a year. My other interests include camping, bowling and sitting in a restaurant with a good friend until the wee hours of the morning and talking about anything and everything.

Reviews

[Melanie M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn't put the read down

I was on the edge of my seat almost the entire book. First, read like this. I am a victim myself not to this extreme, but I needed to know there was an end to this nasty man as the law does what they can, but it isn't always enough.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just too repetitive for me. Lacked realism and I couldn’t wait to finish it.

[Bonnie Monken · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an excellent book! So much going on. I can’t wait for the 2nd book in the series.

[Clarissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to support a local author with the purchase of this book.

The use of the word portal instead of door or window was too much for a non-fantasy book. In fact, there were a couple of sentences that had door/window & portal both used.

With this book being part of the "Brian Koski Stalker Series", I thought Brian Koski was underutilized for the the majority of the book. The timeline was on the jumpy side for me. I feel the concept was good, but it started out as a romance and ended as a thriller. This made the story feel disjointed.