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Hardcore
A dead porn star. A sister who thought she left the industry behind. A killer with no heart, and no fear.When adult film actress Tara Rose is found dead in her apartment at the age of 25, the police and coroner’s office rule her death a suicide. Tara's not the first young woman in the industry to kill herself, and probably won’t be the last. No one questions the evidence, except one person. Tara’s sister.
Like Tara, Ashley Hale used to have sex on camera for money, fame, and excitement. Then she had enough, and moved to the other side of the country for a chance at a normal existence. But Ashley knows Tara would never take her own life. To prove it, she must go back, even if that means finally facing down her own demons, outwitting a killer, and confronting the dark side of the multibillion-dollar porn industry.
Content This book is a thriller set in the adult entertainment industry. It contains some sexual content and strong language.
Like Tara, Ashley Hale used to have sex on camera for money, fame, and excitement. Then she had enough, and moved to the other side of the country for a chance at a normal existence. But Ashley knows Tara would never take her own life. To prove it, she must go back, even if that means finally facing down her own demons, outwitting a killer, and confronting the dark side of the multibillion-dollar porn industry.
Content This book is a thriller set in the adult entertainment industry. It contains some sexual content and strong language.
- GenresMystery
286 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 13, 2013
254 people are currently reading
67 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
August 8, 2024
This is quite the story. I've never read a book with the main character as a retired adult film actress and who is proud of what she did but retired from the life.
It's a murder mystery that takes a long time to figure out what part various characters play; the obvious turns out not to be so obvious, and it takes more and more digging and confrontations to advance in the investigation.
Did her sister, also in the adult film industry, get murdered or commit suicide? That's the theme of the story, and it stays uncertain most of the way thru the book. Not a spoiler to know that this book is about a murder, but it does take a lot to clarify the situation. Interesting characters and life situations abound.
I enjoyed it, as it really did hold my interest, and not just for prurient reasons. It is well plotted with interesting characters.
It's a murder mystery that takes a long time to figure out what part various characters play; the obvious turns out not to be so obvious, and it takes more and more digging and confrontations to advance in the investigation.
Did her sister, also in the adult film industry, get murdered or commit suicide? That's the theme of the story, and it stays uncertain most of the way thru the book. Not a spoiler to know that this book is about a murder, but it does take a lot to clarify the situation. Interesting characters and life situations abound.
I enjoyed it, as it really did hold my interest, and not just for prurient reasons. It is well plotted with interesting characters.
December 20, 2017
Hardcore is a story about the porn industry, the deep, dark, seamy, industry that turns girls into addicts and hookers. Mr. Winters portrays the industry in a better light than is true, but he gives the reader glimpses of the true evil of a multi million dollar business. It's the story of a sister searching for the truth about her sister's death. She refuses to accept the police ruling of suicide, believing that their ruling is largely based upon their attitudes toward porn actresses. It's an entertaining story with an ending that wasn't expected. I highly recommend it.
June 25, 2018
This book is about the death of a porn star, Tara Rose. It is ruled a suicide, and not surprising to people as those in that kind of business have a high suicide rate. BUT....Ashley Hale questions the ruling. Ashley is Tara's sister. Ashley used to be in the porn business until she had enough and moved away seeking a 'normal' life. She knows her sister would not commit suicide, now she is back to prove it. There are sex scenes and language that some people may find offensive. If so this book is not for you. I personally, found the story to be well written and interesting.
March 22, 2020
Red herrings galore!
Well written thriller exposing the porn industry for what it is. When Ashley's sister is found dead, it is written off as a suicide. But Ashley thinks that this is not the case. She has to go back to a life she had left behind to find the truth. Not easy for her to do until she finds an ally in Zack, an undercover FBI agent. Many suspects come to light with the result coming in a lovely twist.
An enjoyable novel with the potential for a follow up.
Well written thriller exposing the porn industry for what it is. When Ashley's sister is found dead, it is written off as a suicide. But Ashley thinks that this is not the case. She has to go back to a life she had left behind to find the truth. Not easy for her to do until she finds an ally in Zack, an undercover FBI agent. Many suspects come to light with the result coming in a lovely twist.
An enjoyable novel with the potential for a follow up.
June 19, 2020
I gave up. I just don’t care about any of the characters. I don’t care who killed Tara or if she committed suicide. After putting it aside for the fourth time I decided not to waste my time anymore. About 70% of the way through the story you find out why Ashley quit the movie scene. A valid reason for that but to then ignore your sister totally for two years? Then feel guilty throughout the book for blowing her off? None of the characters are either memorable or describable. Not impressed.
January 18, 2023
Great introduction to a great character
Ashley used to be a porn star but left the business years ago. She also left a younger sister who stayed in it. When the sister is found dead, a supposed suicide, Ashley believes she knows better and sets out to bring a killer to justice. Her mission brings her into contact with a skeptical cop and a surprising ally, all leading to a climax few readers will see coming.
Ashley used to be a porn star but left the business years ago. She also left a younger sister who stayed in it. When the sister is found dead, a supposed suicide, Ashley believes she knows better and sets out to bring a killer to justice. Her mission brings her into contact with a skeptical cop and a surprising ally, all leading to a climax few readers will see coming.
October 2, 2020
Entertaining if unbelievable
Had the story omitted the “romance” aspect, it would have been a bit more credible. I found it hard to accept the relationship between the two main protagonists and the pace at which it developed. Other than that, the mystery was decent and I am tempted to try another by this author.
Had the story omitted the “romance” aspect, it would have been a bit more credible. I found it hard to accept the relationship between the two main protagonists and the pace at which it developed. Other than that, the mystery was decent and I am tempted to try another by this author.
February 17, 2019
Really good story but,
I thought the ending was a bit conflicting with each of the characters in the story seemingly being the number one suspect, but someone else. Will not spoil the ending, but even that seemed contrived for effect. Good reading and would recommend.
I thought the ending was a bit conflicting with each of the characters in the story seemingly being the number one suspect, but someone else. Will not spoil the ending, but even that seemed contrived for effect. Good reading and would recommend.
March 4, 2019
Fun read and an interesting look into the porn industry.
Ashley Hale & Zach Cutter were a real dynamic duo in this book working to catch the person who killed Ashley’s sister. There were many twists and turns in this story and it had a great surprise ending.
Ashley Hale & Zach Cutter were a real dynamic duo in this book working to catch the person who killed Ashley’s sister. There were many twists and turns in this story and it had a great surprise ending.
December 7, 2019
Awesome ending
I enjoyed this book so much!
It has everything, mystery, suspense twists and turns.
And the ending is "I never saw that coming! "
Ashley is a great character and I especially liked Zach.
I enjoyed this book so much!
It has everything, mystery, suspense twists and turns.
And the ending is "I never saw that coming! "
Ashley is a great character and I especially liked Zach.
August 30, 2020
Not my favorite topic of book, but it’s well written and keeps you guessing trying to solve the mystery of who done it! A few surprises and twist that I love! Thanks for another good one Larry A Winters!
January 20, 2022
Stunning
I have to stay a crossover with Ashley Hale & Jessie Black should be considered, especially with complex plots from law enforcement to lawyers, trials & judges. The ending of this book opens a big myriad of directions the next book may go
I have to stay a crossover with Ashley Hale & Jessie Black should be considered, especially with complex plots from law enforcement to lawyers, trials & judges. The ending of this book opens a big myriad of directions the next book may go
May 4, 2018
I didn't read this one all the way through. Larry may be trying to get a little more "resque". I don't read a book I feel may be off color. I have read his other books and they are 5🌟.
June 7, 2019
Please more Ashley books!
Great characters & development with a surprising twist at the end! Would love to read about her adventure back on the East Coast
Great characters & development with a surprising twist at the end! Would love to read about her adventure back on the East Coast
November 15, 2019
Entertaining
An entertaining mystery with many twists and turns. A most unexpected ending. Worthwhile reading for the mystery enthusiast. Highly recommended.
An entertaining mystery with many twists and turns. A most unexpected ending. Worthwhile reading for the mystery enthusiast. Highly recommended.
June 17, 2020
I loved it. Ashley is a different kind of character and one you don’t read about in every book. It was a refreshing change to have a different kind of character.
September 29, 2021
Excellent Entertainment
Larry winters spins a fantastic tale of drugs, sex and murder. This novel was down to earth, filled with likable and hatable characters. An enjoyable read.
Larry winters spins a fantastic tale of drugs, sex and murder. This novel was down to earth, filled with likable and hatable characters. An enjoyable read.
December 28, 2021
What an awesome book and the plot kept growing throughout the story. Ashley is on a mission to figure who killed her a sister. Surprisingly Zack is there to help her narrow on the killer. Great read!
December 24, 2022
3.5 rating
I liked the plot for awhile and then it got too involved and close to ridiculous. This isn't this author's best writing. Try another of his books.
I liked the plot for awhile and then it got too involved and close to ridiculous. This isn't this author's best writing. Try another of his books.
August 30, 2023
very well written
I enjoyed this book as it has so many twists and turns. It is as well written as his legal books although I do prefer the legal ones more.
I enjoyed this book as it has so many twists and turns. It is as well written as his legal books although I do prefer the legal ones more.
March 9, 2024
As much as I enjoy Larry Winters books, I read 27% of this one and gave up on it. Could not feel any empathy for Ashley Hale and was not enjoying the book. I rate it 1 star.
December 20, 2025
Zack
Had potential to be a great book but was easy to read. Itdidnot
Flow and was kind of mixed up with people
Had potential to be a great book but was easy to read. Itdidnot
Flow and was kind of mixed up with people
June 26, 2013
Larry A. Winters' HARDCORE is a fast-paced mystery thriller set in the world of pornography. For years, twenty-seven-year-old Ashley Latner and her sister Tara were porn stars in LA with top salaries and plenty of fans. When Ashley decided to leave the business and move to New Jersey to make another life for herself, she cut off ties with both her drug addicted mother, Gail, and her sister. Two years later, Tara is found dead in her LA apartment, an apparent suicide. But Gail isn't convinced that Tara killed herself, and it isn't long before Ashley agrees. Something happened to Tara, and Ashley is determined to unravel the mystery.
The setting of HARDCORE will be fascinating to anyone who has ever been curious about the porn industry. The characters Winters has created are real, believable people who work in a business most of us would consider unsavory, if not downright repulsive. Ashley, for example, admits she enjoyed her years as a porn star - not the sex, exactly ("that always felt like work," she says), but "the fans and the photo shoots and the box covers and the events." Her sister, Tara, who had opened her own agency before her death, was trying to reinvent the industry by making it safer for women, and helping them stay off drugs and alcohol. Other characters in the novel, including porn directors, producers, agents, and actors, provide an insight into the industry that is both rare and intriguing. Is it possible to look at pornography as a business like any other, or are the moral implications too difficult to overlook? Winters' assumption here is that these are regular people, just like you and me, who do a job and make a living. It's a unique and interesting approach.
The plot revolves around Tara's death and Ashley's attempts to find her killer. She has no luck with the police - Detective Heather Collins wants nothing to do with a porn star who may or may not have been murdered - but gorgeous Zack Cutter (he's "hot enough to be an underwear model") seems anxious to help her. They run through the possible suspects, including Tara's former lover and business partner, her mother Gail, a film director, a drug dealer, and even a Russian crime syndicate. The twists and turns are dizzying - every time I thought I had the whole thing figured out, Winters would turn the tables and we'd be at square one again. Is there anyone Ashley can trust? Maybe not. But in the end, everything does make sense, which is essential in a good mystery.
I do have a few criticisms of HARDCORE. The relationship between Ashley and Zack was a bit too predictable for my taste, and their sexual play and banter never seemed quite real in the context of what was happening in the story. I have a hard time believing characters in novels who stop for a quickie while dodging bullets and chasing potential murderers! Additionally, the ending, while surprising, does seem a bit sudden, as if Winters was ready for his story to end. And the killer can't seem to help spending time confessing to Ashley in the final minutes. It always makes me laugh when a killer has the upper hand and ends up talking so much that he (or she!) loses the advantage. In real life, a killer would just pull the trigger. No need to talk the victim to death!
But none of those things are problematic enough to get in the way of what is definitely a good read. Winters is a solid writer, and he knows how to pace a good story. I was totally engaged from the first page, and Ashley Latner is a fascinating character. There is a set-up for future books in the novel's final pages, so it looks like this won't be the last we'll see of Ashley and Zack. There's plenty of potential here for more stories, so that's a good thing.
Bottom line, if you like fast-paced mysteries, interesting characters, and enough twists and turns to keep you guessing, then HARDCORE won't disappoint. Expect the kind of language and sexual situations inherent in the porn industry - Winters doesn't pull any punches there. This is a sexy, exciting mystery that's definitely worth a read. I do recommend it.
[Please note: I was provided a copy of this novel for review; the opinions expressed here are my own.]
The setting of HARDCORE will be fascinating to anyone who has ever been curious about the porn industry. The characters Winters has created are real, believable people who work in a business most of us would consider unsavory, if not downright repulsive. Ashley, for example, admits she enjoyed her years as a porn star - not the sex, exactly ("that always felt like work," she says), but "the fans and the photo shoots and the box covers and the events." Her sister, Tara, who had opened her own agency before her death, was trying to reinvent the industry by making it safer for women, and helping them stay off drugs and alcohol. Other characters in the novel, including porn directors, producers, agents, and actors, provide an insight into the industry that is both rare and intriguing. Is it possible to look at pornography as a business like any other, or are the moral implications too difficult to overlook? Winters' assumption here is that these are regular people, just like you and me, who do a job and make a living. It's a unique and interesting approach.
The plot revolves around Tara's death and Ashley's attempts to find her killer. She has no luck with the police - Detective Heather Collins wants nothing to do with a porn star who may or may not have been murdered - but gorgeous Zack Cutter (he's "hot enough to be an underwear model") seems anxious to help her. They run through the possible suspects, including Tara's former lover and business partner, her mother Gail, a film director, a drug dealer, and even a Russian crime syndicate. The twists and turns are dizzying - every time I thought I had the whole thing figured out, Winters would turn the tables and we'd be at square one again. Is there anyone Ashley can trust? Maybe not. But in the end, everything does make sense, which is essential in a good mystery.
I do have a few criticisms of HARDCORE. The relationship between Ashley and Zack was a bit too predictable for my taste, and their sexual play and banter never seemed quite real in the context of what was happening in the story. I have a hard time believing characters in novels who stop for a quickie while dodging bullets and chasing potential murderers! Additionally, the ending, while surprising, does seem a bit sudden, as if Winters was ready for his story to end. And the killer can't seem to help spending time confessing to Ashley in the final minutes. It always makes me laugh when a killer has the upper hand and ends up talking so much that he (or she!) loses the advantage. In real life, a killer would just pull the trigger. No need to talk the victim to death!
But none of those things are problematic enough to get in the way of what is definitely a good read. Winters is a solid writer, and he knows how to pace a good story. I was totally engaged from the first page, and Ashley Latner is a fascinating character. There is a set-up for future books in the novel's final pages, so it looks like this won't be the last we'll see of Ashley and Zack. There's plenty of potential here for more stories, so that's a good thing.
Bottom line, if you like fast-paced mysteries, interesting characters, and enough twists and turns to keep you guessing, then HARDCORE won't disappoint. Expect the kind of language and sexual situations inherent in the porn industry - Winters doesn't pull any punches there. This is a sexy, exciting mystery that's definitely worth a read. I do recommend it.
[Please note: I was provided a copy of this novel for review; the opinions expressed here are my own.]
June 15, 2013
Mystery and porn - what a mix!
"Hardcore" is a behind-the-scenes look at the porn industry. AND it's a darn good well-written mystery on top of that.
Author Winters takes us where few have ventured before - into the personal and work lives of porn stars and porn production.
Protagonist Ashley Latner (working name Ashley Hale) just found out that her estranged younger sister Tara apparently committed suicide. Well, she doesn't believe it. And she starts doing her best to find out what really happened.
Great in-depth characterization, fast paced story with a surprise plot line, a steamy romance for Ashley that she didn't plan on - this is a story worth reading - for adults, that is. It's not an out-and-out porn read but it's definitely for mature audiences.
"Hardcore" is a behind-the-scenes look at the porn industry. AND it's a darn good well-written mystery on top of that.
Author Winters takes us where few have ventured before - into the personal and work lives of porn stars and porn production.
Protagonist Ashley Latner (working name Ashley Hale) just found out that her estranged younger sister Tara apparently committed suicide. Well, she doesn't believe it. And she starts doing her best to find out what really happened.
Great in-depth characterization, fast paced story with a surprise plot line, a steamy romance for Ashley that she didn't plan on - this is a story worth reading - for adults, that is. It's not an out-and-out porn read but it's definitely for mature audiences.
August 26, 2013
A well written mystery set in the world of hard core pornography. In this tale, a former porn star's sister (who is also in the business) dies, and the main character goes to LA to find out if it was suicide, as was indicated by the police, or murder, which is what she believes after reviewing the details of the death.
I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the mystery, the number of twists and turns the plot took, and the development of the characters.
I hope there are more stories written with these characters. I think it's likely they can be revisited in future novels. Looking forward to more by Larry Winters.
*****
I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the mystery, the number of twists and turns the plot took, and the development of the characters.
I hope there are more stories written with these characters. I think it's likely they can be revisited in future novels. Looking forward to more by Larry Winters.
*****
February 1, 2016
Ashley Hale is an ex porn star who has moved on to a job in a bank in an effort to leave her former career behind. Her younger sister Tara has stayed in the business. When Tara dies of an apparent suicide Ashley goes back for her funeral. Ashley can't believe Tara killed herself but the police have closed the case. Tara is just another porn star. They aren't interested in looking any further. As Ashley looks into her sisters death she is drawn back into the industry scene. Is there anyone she can trust? Just when you think you might have it figured out the author adds a twist. Another great read by Larry Winters. I look forward to another book by him.
October 2, 2013
really enjoyed this storyline about a murder in the porn industry. Interesting to hear about some of the seamy back side of this industry but with some major twists and turns! A great read!
September 18, 2013
Totally unexpected killer, totally unexpected motive. Good Read.
November 9, 2013
Decent mystery set against a different backdrop.
May 3, 2016
Awesome book!!
I have all of Larry Winters books. He is a wonderful writer who keeps you turning the pages. That is why I gave this book the highest rating of 5 stars.
I have all of Larry Winters books. He is a wonderful writer who keeps you turning the pages. That is why I gave this book the highest rating of 5 stars.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews