Winter Break

Harper Jennings #3

by Merry Jones

Harper Jennings has survived the Iraq war, her husband Hank's brain injury, a drug conspiracy, and a gang of murderous artifact smugglers. So she should be able to survive a visit from her mother while Hank's away on his first business trip since the accident. Right? When self-obsessed, controlling Vivian arrives with a new man in tow, however, Harper can't believe she let Hank talk her into this.

Soon, though, Harper--four months pregnant and on doctor's orders to rest--has more on her mind than her mother's constant interference. When she glimpses a nude young man being dragged into the woods near her house, everyone--police included--concludes it was either kids playing around or Harper's hormones talking. 

But Harper can't let it go, and when she starts to suspect her mother's boyfriend might be hiding something, soon even her own home no longer seems as place of safetry...

Genres: Mystery

352 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

AKA Merry Bloch Jones.

Merry Jones is a Book Excellence Award Finalist in Suspense (What You Don't Know), and a Best Book Award winner from American Book Festival (Child's Play.) She has been writing since she was old enough to hold a pencil. "If I don't write," she says, "over time, I get agitated and irritable, as if energy is building up inside and I have to let it out."

Accordingly, over the years, she has written a wide range of material, in a variety of styles and for diverse media. She began her career by spending about fifteen years writing and producing video and multi-media for corporate clients, but, when her second child was born in 1989, she decided to pursue her passion and began to write books.

Series:
* Zoe Hayes Mystery

Reviews

[Bonnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the third in the Harper Jennings series written by Merry Jones.The series stars Harper, a young woman back from the war where she was injured and still has flashbacks from the experience. She is now married to Hank who suffered a brain injury and is trying to regain his motor skills by taking on an assignment out of town. Harper is four months pregnant and her mother comes to stay with her while Hank is gone because Harper needs bed rest. Her mother brings along her latest boyfriend and Harper is miserable with them there. It is nearing Christmas and they purchase a huge tree and gaudy decorations after Harper said she didn't want a tree. One day Harper is in her bed and sees a naked amn running from another man. When they make eye contact, he mouths, "Help me." This sets her on a quest to discover who he is and she treks around in the snow looking for clues. The plot gets really complicated with two yuoung psycopaths luring in young men to experiment on their reactions before being killed. The mother's boyfriend is involved in the mob, and Harper is having flashbacks, hunting killers, and having contractions. Quite a read.

[Gloria Mccracken · Rating 3 out of 5]

The slam-bang exciting plot was partially offset by somewhat unreal character development, but it sure was a fun read.