Walking home one night, single mother Tracy Michaels suffers a violent sexual assault.
He Watches:
She survives, but he stalks her, threatening her baby's life if she talks.
The Police:
Sergeant Reese Sanders struggles with his own survival, and he's convinced Tracy holds the key to a serial rapist that led to his sister's death the year before. He questions her, suspicious when she withholds testimony.
She Runs:
Tracy seeks shelter in a safe house, and with her counselor's guidance, she discovers inner strength and courage, qualities she must test when her assailant finds her and demands she meet him.
"Hill mesmerizes with the horrific details of rape, self-blame, and the will to live. A compelling tale of pain, courage, and hope." RT Book Reviews
Hello. I'm Brenda Hill, a California-based author, writing coach, and L. Cooper Press CEO.
I love things that go bump in the night whether they're serial killers or other strange creatures. I've written about those pesky people who intrude on our lives with deadly force - Ten Times Guilty, With Full Malice. I'm still writing about those pesky people/creatures who intrude on our lives, but this time they're in a bit different form.
The House on Serpent Lake is a ghost/love story - with a twist.
Stacy's story is like something that you would find in a true crime book! Unfortunately what happened to her happens too often in our society! I was pushing for her to give up the name of the rapist but he threatened to harm her baby if she did! I don't want to give anything away you'll just have to read the book to see how Stacy's story ends!
This carefully crafted, suspenseful story is about the victims of rape and their struggle to cope.
Brenda Hill has created a realistic drama that puts the reader in the mindset of the victim. It is not just the brutal invasion of the body, but also the emotional effects that can be debilitating from this criminal act. It is obvious that the author did much research. The perpetrator in the story has repeatedly preyed on unsuspecting and vulnerable women and will continue his criminal acts unless caught. The police are thwarted by the reluctance of the victims to identify their assailant since the fear of reprisal is very real. Although help is available to overcome this traumatic event, it is resisted out of shame and guilt. It takes a special personality to break these barriers and the characters portrayed in this role are extraordinary.
I was reluctant to buy this book since it was not a genre that appealed to me. I was curious about the writing style of the author based on numerous posts where she proffered advice. Was she as good as portrayed? Would her coaching to other writers be reflected in her writing? I had to find out and I was not disappointed. Brenda Hill is good. I now want to read other books by this author.
“He waited in the stand of poplars behind the bus shelter, his black sweats fading into shadows cast by the midnight moon. A ski mask covered his face.
At twelve-seventeen, a Denver city bus approached the residential shelter. Air brakes hissing, it rolled to a stop and Cindy Harris, a sweater draped over her blue scrubs, stepped to the pavement. Glass shards from the streetlight crunched under her feet.”
The above excerpt was my introduction to Brenda Hill. Those few words hooked me and the rest of the story didn’t disappoint.
Though it starts a little slower than I might’ve expected, suspense and pace soon build. In hindsight, I think what I perceived as slowness was simply setting the scene and very necessary. As the story unfolded, I often found myself holding my breath and turning pages as fast I could read them.
Rape is not an easy subject to write about, but Hill handles it with both strength and sensitivity. Tracy, the rape victim – and I hesitate to use the word victim here – is vulnerable yet possesses a strength she doesn’t know she has.
I wasn't keen on this. I got a little bored of the story as there seemed to be a lot of extra padding around the attacks that were mentioned. Like the weather and light, etc....Plus there were some silly mistakes that annoyed me so I packed it in at 29% which is further than I usually go before packing a book in. Missing apostrophes, then one character appearing who was supposed to be on holiday, unnerved used when it should be unnerve, then a fullstop randomly dumped into a sentence which was bizarre. "....heart pounding in her throat, she.bent over...". The final straw for me was when a lady told Mike to call 911 when we'd been told her hubby's name was Greg in the preceding chapter !! I have two more by this author downloaded and I hope they're not as poorly edited.
Ten Times Guilty is a definite thriller.The sexual assault scenes are graphic and details the emotional rollercoaster the victim experiences during the attract. But it's the fear of further harm coming to the victims and their loved that hinders the police from thoroughly investigating this crime. At the end one of the young women takes a stand and points the police to the appropriate perpetrator. For me this was a quick read. I enjoyed the character development and the author's depiction of each individual. Completely believable.
I enjoyed this book very much. A good story of rising past unfortunate events. I am looking forward to reading more by this author. I got this one free, but have just brought two more.
I really enjoyed this book. I felt the pain Tracy Michaels felt as she was dealing with her rape, and the man who raped her stalking and terrorizing her so she won't identify him as her rapist. Tracy finally takes matters into her own hands to stop him.