Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book
Rate this book
Special Agent Liam Conners is the only witness to his neighbor’s abduction: the Chloroform Killer has struck again.
But when his neighbor, Andrea James, returns from a business trip, they realize the killer’s mistake—her sister has been abducted in her place.
Now the killer is coming for Andrea, and Liam and his partner are the only ones standing in the way. Can they catch the killer and protect the target?


A Christian Romantic Suspense

140 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 2, 2014

166 people are currently reading
400 people want to read

About the author

Lisa Phillips

167 books872 followers
Lisa Phillips is a USA Today and top ten Publishers Weekly bestselling author of over 80 books that span Harlequin’s Love Inspired Suspense line, independently published series romantic suspense, and thriller novels. She’s discovered a penchant for high-stakes stories of mayhem and disaster where you can find made-for-each-other love that always ends in happily ever after.

Lisa is a British ex-pat who grew up an hour outside of London and attended Calvary Chapel Bible College, where she met her husband. He’s from California, but nobody’s perfect. It wasn’t until her Bible College graduation that she figured out she was a writer (someone told her). Lisa is a worship leader, tea aficionado, and dog lover of two crazy Airedales.

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
265 (39%)
4 stars
232 (34%)
3 stars
118 (17%)
2 stars
38 (5%)
1 star
22 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
Profile Image for Brenda Klaassen.
1,740 reviews26 followers
September 12, 2017
This was a book that I read when I was waiting for a family member or eating a meal by myself. The plot was full of twists and turns, this kept me interested and made for a few times of continued reading. The characters could have been real people. I might try and get the rest of these books because the characters really drove the story. I was impressed that this story was easy to read; but had some very deep thoughts.
Profile Image for Kristine McCord.
Author 3 books17 followers
March 13, 2014
I really enjoyed this prequel. I'd read Bait first, so it was cool to go back and get this story, since I'd gotten fond of the characters and had been curious about Liam's relationship with Andrea. As a side note, I've grown picky about suspense since I don't like a lot of blood and gore or super disturbing mental imagery these days. So I found this book did a great job giving me a good story with enough suspense to keep me hooked while still not blindsiding me with too much disturbia.
Profile Image for Caitlyn Santi.
Author 4 books103 followers
August 18, 2015
My first time reading this author so I didn't know what to expect but I really enjoyed this novella. I liked the characters, and while there were many romantic moments (Mainly due to the Hero's desire to protect the heroine, which totally made me melt!) I did feel like it was a little bit too much of an insta-romance for my personal taste, but it didn't seriously affect my enjoyment of the story, especially because I'm sure that even though these characters aren't the stars of the next book in the series, there relationship will develop more in the subsequent books. I also have to say that while the ending was quite suspenseful, there was zero closure, but that was okay it just made me want to read the next book even more! Overall, this was a good novella which I enjoyed!
Profile Image for Melanie.
2,215 reviews598 followers
October 19, 2015
For being so short, Target was actually a good read and held my interest. It ends with a huge cliffhanger that makes me want to pick up the next book and see what happens next.
Profile Image for Sarita.
1,519 reviews655 followers
January 26, 2024
For a novella, this story was action packed!

The story is told from three different POV, but I did not feel lost at all.

I enjoyed the partnership between Liam and Caisey. Liam had quite an intense protection attitude towards Andrea, who he knew from his neighborhood, but the kidnapping was the event which pulled them closer together.

The novella did end in a cliffhanger – so I did buy the next book and hope to read it soon!
Profile Image for Loraine.
3,452 reviews
January 4, 2024
This is a prequel novella for Lisa Phillips Denver FBI series. FBI Special Agent Liam and his partner, Caisey Lyons, are part of a team investigating a serial killer known as the Chloroform Killer. The Chloroform Killer disables each of his female victims with chloroform and then takes them elsewhere to cruelly murder them. When one of the victims has been taken from an apartment near to Liam's, the case touches too close to home and Liam and Caisey are determined this time they will capture the Chloroform Killer.

Filled with twists and turns plus a touch of romance, this is an excellent suspense novel, and I look forward to reading the rest of the series.
Profile Image for Grace.
689 reviews21 followers
February 17, 2019
I really enjoyed this book I've read it while sick and although I feel terrible the mystery and suspense kept me interested and moving forward!
Profile Image for SoBeA.
620 reviews49 followers
March 10, 2014
Let me preface by saying this is really not my genre. I was in desperate need of a story to read, and a romantic suspense title seemed to fit the bill. It wasn't til after Id started that I realized this was a Christian fiction title. Now I don't begrudge anyone their genres ( or beliefs for that matter) but I don't like to mix theology in with my fiction.

So, usually at the first hint of religiosity encroaching, I will abandon a book, but this time I kept with it (I'd already gotten a good deal into it!) ...and I'm glad i did, if for no other reason than trying something new.

Okay,so...Would I read another? probably not, this really isn't my genre, it was alright in the begining, but got a little preachy for the second half of the book. Also the h annoyed me. She's described as distant and remote, and she definitely fits those descriptors. It was just very hard to like her ESP as she kept pushing the H away...then she sorta changed her mind, seemingly arbitrarily, and wanted forever with him instead. The H was pretty decent in the beginning, but sorta fizzled, later on. Also the h's FBI partner was a little too often center stage,.

Also and I don't know how to explain it, but the theological discussions, some of,them seemed to just pop up randomly. And while most of the suspensey bits were decently written, though some bits didn't make sense, I'm not sure it warrant being called suspense. It was very light, IMO.
Oh also because I'm a spaz, and don't pay attention, I didn't realize this was a novella. And a prequel to boot! Yeah so there's totally a cliffhanger.

So 2, 2.5 stars maybe.
Profile Image for Becky Avella.
Author 5 books40 followers
March 6, 2014
This was a quick, entertaining prequel. I thought the friendship between partners Liam and Caisey was fun, and the cliffhanger ending made me look forward to reading Bait, the next book in the series by Phillips. Fans of inspirational romantic suspense will enjoy this series.
Profile Image for Sarah.
106 reviews
February 8, 2017
This is a good story. It's very short & sets the scene for Bait. When you finish this you will want to go directly to the next book. There was a couple places that were a little choppy or a sentence or two didn't make sense to me. But overall Ms. Phillips writing was suspenseful and engaging.
Profile Image for Nancy.
2,583 reviews65 followers
February 26, 2017
I really didn't get this and where was the ending ??
1,257 reviews6 followers
May 13, 2019
Tonally this book is just really weird. You have this heroine, Andrea whose sister has just been kidnapped by a serial killer and who will in all likelihood be murdered which is used as an excuse for her to share sweet little moments with the attractive Detective neighbor watching over her. They laugh at old movies on the couch while eating ice cream and it is all so precious except for the fact that her sister is in the hands of a psycho who will likely torture and kill her. Her behavior didn't strike me as me as either realistic or a great example of admirable behavior, Christian or otherwise. I got the distinct impression that having her troubled sister permanently removed from her life was a actually a win for the heroine - a gift from god so to speak.

The editing is atrocious. Here is a typical example of a not just ungrammatical, but plain weird sentence: "Instead his mind washed with the things he's seen at work, hunting down degenerates and crazies." I think it was suppose to be something like, "His mind was awash with the . . ."

A lot of the plot didn't make sense to me. The police are upset when the fact that the Chloroform Serial Killer stalks his victims and leaves them menacing notes is leaked to the press. I don't get it. Why would that be a secret? Wouldn't the police want potential victims to be on the lookout for the serial killer? Wouldn't that potentially stop future deaths and help them find the killer? In point of fact, Andrea got threatening notes but didn't think to report it to the police because she didn't have any idea - thanks to the police's brilliant plans - that she could be the target of the serial killer.

This isn't a complete story. It reads as the first hundred pages of the next book.
Profile Image for Antonetta  Secunda.
31 reviews
April 5, 2023
The first few chapters of this book really captured my attention and I started to enjoy it, but then it turned around for me as the development of the character's and the way conversations were written seemed a bit off to me. It sort of lost it's flow for me and left me mostly confused at the reactions of the character's to each other and the development of their relationships.

I do think the author has a lot of potential and has wonderful plot ideas. But for me the last chapters weren't worked out as well as the first few were in this book.
Profile Image for Anita Burkett.
Author 5 books70 followers
October 6, 2017
Another Good Story

I made the mistake of reading the next book first. This one was interesting and held my attention. But I can't help but compare it to the other one. This had less pages and characters. It was easier to keep up with them. It was less adventurous. But still good. I look forward to reading more from this author.
539 reviews2 followers
February 13, 2018
It was very good, but I hate it when it's more or less a cliff hanger ending....not totally but still the only annoying part....it's not the way, to get me read the next in the series.
Still it was a good story.
Profile Image for Linda Rainey.
2,348 reviews21 followers
February 19, 2018
Suspense!

Suspense grabs you and pulls you through the twists and turns of this mystery.
I loved the story line filled with well crafted characters.
Be sure to read book 1 in this series.
This novella is recommended for Christian romantic suspense readers.
Profile Image for Nancy.
324 reviews4 followers
May 30, 2019
I ususally do not read novellas, but it was recommended to do so to continue this series. I was pleasantly surprised. Yes a lot was crammed into this book, but it gave me a taste of what was to come. So I am starting Bait today.
Profile Image for Connie Harris.
1,532 reviews3 followers
Read
July 10, 2022
Great story by one of favorites!

Mackenzie Winters is being protected by Special Agent Liam Conners. A serial killer has already killed Mackenzie's sister and since he killed the wrong one, he's back!
Profile Image for Pascale’s*ARC,Unwind,Read,Review.
2,363 reviews31 followers
February 11, 2023
Completely disappointed. I didn’t realize this is a prequel and ends on a cliffhanger. I didn’t like it enough to keep reading in the series so this is where it ends for me. A complete waste of my time. Had I known, I would’ve read something else and not invested my time.
787 reviews5 followers
April 11, 2024
Good Edge of Your Seat Suspense

Hold on tight for an edge of your seat thrill ride. Events you don't see coming and a tangled plot that leaves you reeling. Definitely worth the read. On to the next book in the series.
Profile Image for Mike Hipp.
60 reviews
February 10, 2017
good read

looking forward to reading Bait next, good drama and well developed characters. Held my attention
strong pairing of crime and fbi
Profile Image for Shelia Hall.
77 reviews23 followers
May 18, 2017
Real spinetingler

Lisa Phillips writes a great mystery! She will have you on the edge of your seat waiting for the next move. Great book!
16.6k reviews155 followers
December 17, 2017
Gripping

What a gripping story line as you wonder if she will be safe from the killer. He's angry and will get her if he can. Will everything work out? Will they catch him?
1,796 reviews1 follower
March 17, 2018
A great mystery introduction to the series, but watch out, its a cliff hanger!
Profile Image for Barb VanderWel.
1,819 reviews30 followers
September 23, 2018
I love this & I can't wait for more.
I will be also leaving a review on Goodreads @ Amazon.
And letting everyone know about it.
So i gave it a 5 Stars.
Profile Image for Veronica Knack.
148 reviews
September 13, 2020
Great teaser!

This was so good that I had to get the next book! Have to find out what happens to Liam, Andrea and Causey!
273 reviews
August 9, 2021
Compelling!

Lisa has another gripping thriller as she bases her story out of the Denver FBI office. You won't be able to put it down, nor wait for the next in the series.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.