Her attacker is behind bars, but the nightmare continues…
Five months after facing down a serial killer and barely making it out alive, investigative reporter Jennifer Gibbs is ready to forget the harrowing experience that turned her world upside down and left her with deep scars.
But that’s easier said than done.
When her cousin is arrested for drunk driving, Jen insists there’s more to the story. Sure, Kellyn’s in a dark place right now, but she’d never put her life—or others’—in jeopardy. Unfortunately, there’s no way to prove it.
Until a local bartender calls with a story that might provide the answer: She’s convinced someone is drugging young women at a new downtown club—the same club that Kellyn visited.
Except these women were never seen again.
The only way to find answers is to go undercover at the bar and see for herself what’s going on. Jen quickly realizes the operation must be an inside job, and working late into the night with people she can’t trust is not the best way to uncover the truth.
Oh, what an exciting sequel to Anonymous Soures, but you can also read the story if you don't know the first part.
An exciting, compelling thriller about serial killer Kenny Shawe and journalist Jennifer Gibbs. Although Kenny now participates more from the sidelines, as he is in prison, he continues to influence Jennifer's thoughts as his latest - and living - victim.
In the meantime, Jennifer has become involved with a bigger criminal. One who kidnaps young women, mutilates them and sells their organs. But also using women as sex slaves and selling them to the highest bidder. When her sister and a friend narrowly escape from this maniac, she decides to go undercover as a bartender in a posh nightclub. Together with FBI agent Blake, she tries to expose the guilty ….. until she becomes prey herself.
Beautifully constructed. You stay in the story as you try to get ahead of the denouement not knowing that the writer provides many moments of upheaval because it is different than you thought. A great ending that was also unexpected!
Krysten Bennett, what a wonderful writer you are!
Curious about the next part to come given the epilogue
I received an advance review copy from Booksirens for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
After waiting for so long, I was thrilled to see Jennifer Gibbs back. This is one of my favorites. The way the story is written, the pacing is perfect and the tempo of the story is just right.
The characters are so well developed, I cannot even begin to explain how many times my emotions were going back and forth. Each page came with a different scene, was quite intense in some instances.
The issues that get highlighted in the story while Jenny deals with her trauma as she was trying to also help those that she loved is just unbelievable.
I loved this book so much and I totally recommend it.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Jennifer Gibbs is back in the second installment of the Breaking News Mystery series and she's in for another thrilling and chilling adventure in Undercover Source. Fresh off of her last breaking story, Jennifer is still dealing with the aftermath when she is thrust deep into another case, this one even more disturbing than the last.
Krysten Bennett offers a page-turner that I had a hard time putting down. I questioned everything that I thought I knew multiple times and was surprised more than once when I got things wrong. I enjoyed the mix of characters, both old (from Anonymous Source, the first book in the series) and new and everyone played their part well.
There are a few things that are just too convenient that occur throughout the book, and that is what is stopping me from giving it 5 stars. I am all for the "willing suspension of disbelief" but there were a couple instances where she seemingly fell into key information or situations that felt contradictory to what had happened previously. "Here's this information on this person that you haven't been able to come up with previously, but you really need right now, and so miraculously it shows up from someone you would never expect."
I don't normally read series books, because I prefer when a story wraps up completely at the end… and the Breaking News Mystery series is no different. The main story is wrapped up, but there are still loose ends, and the epilogue leads into the next story, which I eagerly await.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
This is a sequel to Anonymous Sources which I rated 5 stars. I strongly recommend reading that book before reading this one. Otherwise, getting up to speed on the numerous characters may be difficult.
Journalist Jennifer Gibbs goes undercover as a bartender at a trendy restaurant to investigate the kidnapping of young women whose bodies are found in a river with multiple organs missing.
While serial killer Kenny Shawe is in this story, the story primarily involves men who are more evil than Kenny. Not only are women being kidnapped, killed, and butchered, but other women are being made into sex slaves.
Jennifer's life is constantly in danger. Adding to the tension of her life being in jeopardy is the tension in her family as well as in her relationships with Mike and Gavin.
The characters are well-drawn and the writing style is impressive. But I can't give it a 5th star due to too many typos/editing errors. Doesn't anybody use a proofreader??
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I would give this more stars if I could!!
I read the first book in this series, Anonymous Source, a while back … due to the number of books I read, I had to read it again! It took me 5 days to read both books! It took preference over my Korean shows, not much can do that.
Suffice it to day, this second book was just as good as the first one. Really fast pace, brilliant character development, nice injections of humour to break the suspense. Some really deep emotions in this book, and they were just right.
I really love the dialogue, this author has it spot on. Had me smiling, tearing up, getting angry … loved it!
This book is highly recommended, and if you haven't read the first book, you have, have, HAVE to … not only because it's brilliant, but because you can't read this book without it, it is literally a 'to be continued'.
This is the second book in the Breaking News Mystery series. It begins several months after Jessica and her cousin, Kellyn, were kidnapped and assaulted by Kellyn's serial killer husband Kenny. Kellyn blames Jessica for Kenny being in their lives because he married Kellyn due to his obsession with Jessica. I was devastated for Jessica because it wasn't her fault he's obsessed with her. The new case Jessica investigates is really creepy and hooked me again. I read this book in a day because I just had to know who is killing all these people? And the cliffhanger? What a doozy! Can't wait for book three! I received an ARC copy and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I just finished Undercover Source and now I am sad that it's over! I knew from the beginning that I'd love it. The first chapter started the book off with an eerie bang and it only got better from there!
Jennifer is a strong, badass main character who is just trying to overcome the horrible things she's lived through. She has a lot of heart. I love how this book was written and how she went through so much while trying to uncover the secrets at Highball. I never knew which characters I could trust and there were many twists I was not expecting!
I do recommend reading the first one before you read this one though. I was confused at times and didn't realize this was the second book in the series. No wonder why some things didn't make sense! 🤣
Thank you Booksirens for this free ARC! I am leaving my review voluntarily.
This was an excellent book in an excellent 2 book series! It was so good I read it twice! This book was such a good suspense book I was on the edge of my seat throughout. U will not want to put it down! The twists, turns and double crosses kept this reader in suspense! Who can u trust? No one! Jennifer is trying to get her life back together after her attack instead chaos is all around her. This is an absolute must read! I’m so glad I discovered this author. I look forward to reading more books by her! I can’t recommend this book any higher it’s that good!
Undercover Source is book 2 in the Breaking News Mystery by Krysten Bennett. WOW! This thriller is so good and very intense. I was never sure who was Jennifer's enemy or friend. I thought the serial killer was creepy and manipulative. I was blown away at the ending and I can't wait to read book 3. I received an arc for free and am leaving my review voluntarily.
This is a wonderful addition to this thrilling series! Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start. Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believable. Great suspense and action with wonderful world building that adds so much to the story. Such a thrilling read that I couldn't put it down. Can't wait to read more of these. Recommend reading.
I read a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.
Literally the ONLY book anyone should be reading right now!!!
Gibbs is backkkk and even more of a badass than before - if that was even possible. I was hooked from the very beginning, becoming more engaged with each unexpected plot twist. Every page had my emotions running wild that I just wanted to keep reading! Book 3 can't come soon enough!
(I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.)
Jennifer Gibbs is the cousin of Kellyn Mallaghan and was called because she had been in an accident while being drunk. Kelly gives her a lot of grief but she still wants to help her. Jennifer had suffered under the hands of a serial killer and he was attacking women after drugging them. Jennifer is determined to find the killer. This is a chilling read full of suspense which has you on the edge of your seat. I received this book via booksirans and leave a honest review. I recommend this book to other readers.
This is the follow on to a book that I really loved. This is a well thought out story that carry’s Kenny on the sidelines in Jennifer’s thoughts, making her question her own sanity at times. It’s a completely different story but a brilliantly horrendous follow up from a fabulous author.
At first I found it difficult to pick it back up and to continue the story line. Sometimes I found the new characters difficult to remember (for me it was too many names etc) however once my brain clicked in, I really enjoyed the book.
Lots of intense moments which had me second guessing what was happening (often wrongly). It has horror, sexual exploitation and an organised organ stealing gang, lots of thought provoking stuff too - it’s the last time I accept a drink from anyone in a bar!!!
I thought the ptsd symptoms that Jennifer was dealing with were portrayed in such a sensitive manner that I hope it will encourage other “carers” of people with ptsd to see it from a different angle.
There were some bits of the story that I thought mmmm that’s convenient (when info came to light suddenly) but on the whole - loved it.
Bring on the next instalment
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
loved Anonymous Source, the first book in this series. I recommend reading this story first. It will make it easier for you to get up to speed. Well this sequel is great too. I was on the edge of my seat. I'm looking forward to a new book in this series.
I received an ARC for free via BookSirens, but all opinions in this review are my own and provided voluntarily.
I actually read the beta copy and still purchased the hard copy when it was released. I read this book in just three days the second time. I read the beta copy over the span of a week or two. Super exciting and engaging! I loved the first book and this one was equally as good. The ONLY downfall for me was that you meet so many people throughout. I caught myself flipping back and forth a bit to recall who each character was. I wouldn’t even call it a negative though, because some people prefer that— I just have a hard time retaining things in general, so it was a little difficult for me personally. I did grasp who-was-who much better on the second time reading it.
Over all, I absolutely recommend the series. This was an excellent sequel and I look forward to the next book! I can’t wait!!
Ed Sheehan’s review of the novel Undercover Source by Krysten Bennett
Krysten Bennett’s novel, Undercover Source, starts with a prologue eight years ago in Chicago with bartender Paige Ashton being followed to her apartment after closing the bar. The guy following her forces his way into her apartment and starts questioning her about the tattoo on her wrist that has two side-by-side triangles with one pointing up and the other pointing down. He tells her that everyone who has that tattoo is dead or soon would be. Then Chapter One starts in the present day when Jennifer Gibbs, a reporter, who finds out that her little sister, Kellyn, is in the hospital. She had wrecked her car while driving drunk. Driving drunk was totally out of character for her. Jenny and a girlfriend go the bar that Kellyn had been to. The bartender recognizes the reporter, and tells Miss Gibbs that women keep disappearing from the bar and someone is covering it up.
The story goes back to 25 days after Jennifer survived a kidnapping and being held hostage. The details of what happened to make Kellyn mad at Jenny are concealed throughout most the novel leaving that as a mystery along with the mysterious disappearing of women. The plot thickens when Jenny’s husband, Detective Mike Demarco, is called out to a crime scene where a woman’s body is found whose organs had been removed perhaps for sale on the red market.
This novel is the second in the “Breaking News Mystery” series. I have not read the first novel. The character of Jennifer Gibbs is captivating as are many of the supporting characters and the plot unfolded in an easy-to-read format. Like many advance reading copies, it needs better editing for left out words like “of” and “a”. I believe the ending would be better without the epilogue. “Coming next” would work better to introduce the next novel in the series. I rate the novel 4 out of 5 stars.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Jennifer Gibbs is baaaack and just as badass as ever!
Undercover Source is an absolute thrilling follow-up to Krysten Bennett's first book Anonymous Source. I was completely engaged from the very first page and pretty much blew through the entire book in nearly one sitting (I had to put it down once due to ugh...real life crap...and I was not happy because I just wanted to keep reading). Full of twists and turns...questions on who Jennifer should trust or not trust...heart-pounding suspense - Undercover Source has it all.
If you are like me, I also had some lingering questions after reading the first in the series and those questions were answered (however after the ending of this book I have new questions!!). As a primary romance reader, I also love, love, love the whole Mike versus Gavin dynamic going on.
If you have not read Anonymous Source yet (if not, what are you even doing?!) be sure to read that first and then dive into Undercover Source as it is amazeballs!! I already want book 3 now!
I very much loved Anonymous Source, but this sequel is a step above it. Undercover Source is a finely crafted story that works on many levels, has emotional depth, and resolves in an ending that is both satisfying and leaves you wanting more.
The pacing is impressive, and the book deftly balances the mystery plot with its main character's emotional issues. I wanted a continuation of the first book that addressed its loose ends, and I got it, and more. Undercover Source takes some fun twists and turns, and more importantly, they all lead to a satisfying ending. Among the supporting cast, I didn’t know who to trust!
Jennifer is a fantastically drawn character. While the book is a thriller, it satisfied me as a reader who prefers character-driven stories. Yes, the book has a pulse-pounding plot, but Jennifer as the protag is what really engaged me. I appreciate her snark, but she's also relatable, grounded, and smart. I really liked her in the first book, but Krysten Bennett definitely found her groove with her prized protag in this sequel. I eagerly await book three just for Jennifer alone.
I’m a big fan of Bennett’s writing style. Her prose is the perfect blend of pretty writing while still not getting in the way of the story. And there are so many great lines sprinkled in.
I highly recommend this book, even if thrillers aren’t your genre. This is a thriller plus so much more.
Undercover Source is Krysten Bennett’s second book in her Breaking News Series. I received an ARC copy and this review is my honest opinion. This book will make more sense if you have read book one Anonymous Source. The story line and characters carry through to this book. I have cried when reading books, I have laughed, but I have never sworn so much at the end of every chapter! Yes, this is a good thing. The author has an amazing way of building the story and tension through each chapter and then leaving the end of the chapter as a cliff hanger. If you are one of those people who says “I’ll just read one more chapter,” you could very easily end up reading the entire book in one sitting! The multilayered characters, unexpected events, and the complex interactions make this book one of my favorites! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
Crime reporter, Jennifer Gibbs, is still recovering from her attack and struggling to regain her sense of self in life when she finds herself in the middle of a new and shocking investigation.
Will going undercover help keep her distracted and help her heal or will this new investigation bring up familiar feelings and new trauma?
I absolutely loved Anonymous Source and this follow up was a great read as well with a mix of familiar and new characters to discover. I was constantly leaning on the edge of trust with many of the characters and wasn’t sure what I could believe until Krysten was ready to let me in on the secrets.
I received an ARC for free, but all opinions in this review are my own and provided voluntarily. I also pre-ordered a signed copy to add to my collection. :)
I absolutely loved this. I loved the first book and this was a terrific follow-up. Jennifer is struggling to deal with the aftermath of the first book, as is her cousin Kellyn. When Kellyn has a DUI, Jenn is determined to prove her drink was spiked and goes undercover at the nightclub as a bartender.
I loved the characters here and how the interactions felt very real. There's plenty of twists throughout and I was never sure who could be trusted or not. The ending surprised me and now I'm gutted I have to wait for the next book. It can't come quick enough.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.