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Catching the eye of a delusional serial killer known as the Casanova Killer signals the end for certain beautiful young women of San Francisco. True to his name, Casanova offers the women a taste of romance and unparalleled adoration before sending them to a bloody death.

The FBI Special Serial Crimes Division, SSCD, sets a trap for the killer with one of their own as bait. Agent Jerry Forbes pairs with Interpol’s Ethan Barnes to capture Casanova before another woman falls prey to his charms.

Jerry and Ethan soon discover that pretending to be lovers may be more dangerous than catching a killer. Follow their story from the moment they set up house to the abrupt end that Jerry does not see coming.

Is it love or certain death?

ebook

First published July 29, 2012

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590 people want to read

About the author

Tallulah Grace

24 books56 followers
Raised in the foothills of the mystical Blue Ridge Mountains, I attribute my love of beautiful landscapes, and fascination with all things paranormal, to my environment. The settings and characters in my novels reflect my appreciation for natural beauty, as well as a desire to explore the what-if’s of things unseen. Throw in a degree in Psychology, paired with a strong interest in the workings of the criminally insane mind, and you have a breeding ground for a psychological thriller.

Becoming an author was not a conscious decision; I've always been a writer. Channeling a passion for story-telling into my livelihood required a giant leap of faith, one that I'll never regret as I truly love what I do.

When I'm not writing, I enjoy antiquing, bead-weaving and sharing time with my incredible daughter and our two spoiled-rotten cats.

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5 stars
245 (35%)
4 stars
231 (33%)
3 stars
152 (21%)
2 stars
44 (6%)
1 star
25 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews
Profile Image for Bren fall in love with the sea..
1,963 reviews478 followers
October 13, 2019
“Sorry Slick, but I have news about Casanova. You remember, the case we’re working? The reason that you’re here?”
― Tallulah Grace, Casanova Killer



3.5 stars.

Casanova Killer..great title. And as the title suggests, this book is indeed about a charming ladies man who is also batshit crazy and murders women after romancing them. Not the kind of guy one would want to take home to mom for sure..

I enjoyed this book. It was not as gritty as expected but it was a fun read. And it appears to be part of a trilogy. I will read at least one of the other two.

As much as I liked this, I did not love it because so much of it was devoted to the romance between Gerry and Ethan who are two agents assigned to the case. Gerry must go under cover and mold herself into the "Casanova's" type of woman to lure him out.

Ethan is under cover as well. The two wind up falling in love.

It got a bit to much into the romantic aspect for me. Not that I do not ever read romance or romantic suspense novels.(I read just about everything and anything)!

But it was distracting because one minute they are tracking the killer and the next, Ethan is ruminating on Gerry's beauty or she is ruminating on his handsomeness and I did have to skim those parts after awhile because it got repetitious.

As other reviewers mentioned, there is a "Criminal minds" aspect to this book. I have watched that show in the past and think it's good so if you like the show, chances are you will like this book.

You do get a glimpse into the mind of this guy..not a pretty place to be.

SPOILERS:

Characters..I could not buy this guy as a Casanova killer simply because he did not seem to bright OR alluring. I could not figure out what drew women to him. He really had no depth, was a snob and sounded so unappealing without the little fact that he is a Serial killer! I wish I could have seen what it was that drew dozens of women to him. Yes, he has money but so do alot of guys. I mean this man was stealing women away from wealthy men anyway and I just did not get it. Ugh.

And might I say that I could not STAND Dylan. Now I do not know if the author wrote him as intentionally irritating but regardless, I disliked him through the book. I hope he and Gerry do not wind up together. He seemed unduly happy to tell Ethan that when he came back, he might not help him get Gerry back. And what was with all the "are you worthy of her"? It brought down the book a bit for me because he was whiny, controlling and obviously in lust with Gerry. I liked Ethan and felt bad that he had to leave Gerry but I like that they reunite in book three and will be reading that one. I did like their romance. I just did not like the endless descriptions of them staring at each other mesmerized.

I think this was quite a unique and good idea for a book, I love the title, love the descriptions of California and love Gerry. I am glad I chose this book and recommend it to mystery and romantic suspense fans.
Profile Image for Ted Tayler.
Author 79 books300 followers
June 6, 2018
"Talented writer aiming for a plethora of genres"

A great opening chapter. I don't plan to read the series, but it's an intriguing approach to get a wide range of readers interested in your books. The SSCD element smacks of 'Criminal Minds' and the BAU; there are plenty of fans keen to immerse themselves in that. Then there's the romance element as Ethan and Jerry are thrown together on an assignment. As always, both are impossibly good-looking. That's snared the fans of romantic fiction. If you need your heart strings tugged by a truly emotional back-story then Jerry suffered the horrors of abuse in her youth. I don't know what percentage of foster kids suffer abuse, but the frequency with which they crop up in modern novels makes me thankful for the unconditional love my parents showed me.
So there you have it; all bases covered. I'm sure the series will find fans across the board. There was more than enough in just one book to satisfy me.
Profile Image for Ragne.
370 reviews5 followers
March 16, 2014
Well, if this was supposed to be a thriller, it failed miserably. Grace over-explains the motives, and the final scene with the killer, was a huge disappointment, as it wasn't really exciting. It seems to be a romance, with a criminal story as a sort of bi-story.
The characters didn't seem plausible at all. As usual, the two main characters are beautiful beyond belief. The woman, Jerry, says that her good looks has made her life hell, but still insists on making herself as beautiful as she can by her clothes and make-up.
Speaking of make-up; it seems nobody in the book can understand that it is possible to be sexy and beautiful without it. That speaks volumes about what I very much dislike about our community.

There were quite a few spelling mistakes, and at times, it seemed like Grace used big words that she doesn't quite understand, or know how and when to use. It is always irritating to me when I notice them, as English is not my primary language. It makes me question the writer's intelligence, and takes me away from the story.

The book was a disappointment. I had thought it would be a crime-mystery, but turned out to be pure chick-lit.

Edit: I almost forgot this: One of the agent are clairvoyant? Really?! That alone should be enough to dislike this book.
Profile Image for Brandi  Hansen.
98 reviews
July 21, 2014
Loved it

Loved it

Tallulah Grace is a very talented writer. She knows how to grab your attention and keep it. Casanova Killer is a great read and a wonderful insight to the SSCD Thriller series. I was sad about Jerry getting her heart broke but hopefully in the stories to come she will find her true love again.
Profile Image for Donna.
207 reviews
January 14, 2015
First book I've read of Tallulah grace. A free read and can't wait to read the rest of them
Profile Image for Donna.
1,626 reviews34 followers
September 28, 2017
This review is hard to write. I really enjoyed the story. It did take me longer to read it than it should have but I had a headache so it wasn't the story that was at fault. I liked the characters and I really wasn't ready for the book to be over. I felt bad for Jerry and I hope things work out better for her in book 2. Overall, a really good story and I am looking forward to the next one.
Profile Image for Jen Lynn.
951 reviews
May 1, 2020
There was a lot of potential with the storyline, but it fell short right from the beginning. The conversations between the characters were too much like they were out of a bad movie. The whole set up seemed too far fetched. One of the agents is able to see the future. The ending was rushed and was just too unbelievable. Lots of missed potential I feel like with this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
1 review
August 3, 2018
Kept me involved all the time. Glad not to see too much bad language or sex. Would recommend. Will read others by this author

. She is an intriguing author. I do like a good thriller and mystery. Probably will try the other series as well.
Profile Image for Susan.
40 reviews
October 6, 2020
Dang

Hi loved this book but was not at all happy with the ending. I really thought it would be different but I do like the characters. I will try to read more by this author and more with Jerry and Dylan.
Profile Image for Michelle.
1,576 reviews1 follower
September 2, 2017
Good book

You people should just read this book yourselves and write your own review on this novel yourself and I really enjoyed reading this book very much so. Shelley MA
Profile Image for Athena.
741 reviews4 followers
January 11, 2018
Not great, but pretty well written and it got exciting at the end.
21 reviews
March 27, 2018
Casanova Killer

It was an entertaining read. The author keeps you wanting to read more, with just a touch of romance. The author leaves you hanging wanting to read the next book.
Profile Image for Barb VanderWel.
1,819 reviews29 followers
September 11, 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.
15 reviews
April 9, 2019
Good

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will be following the story of Jerry and Ethan in the next one. Good characterization.
Profile Image for Nancy Silk.
Author 5 books82 followers
February 10, 2014
"A Top Notch Crime Thriller With Some Romance"

This story is fantastic, and I've been glued to it. It reminds me somewhat of the TV series, "Criminal Minds." At Muir Beach in California, Jenna and Robert are enjoying walking along the high cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Jenna is thrilled with her new lover who strolled into her life just a week earlier. Little did she fear him when he walked up behind her, wrapped her in his arms, and calmly sliced her throat and tossed her off the cliff. On an FBI aircraft enroute to San Francisco, a team from the Special Serial Crimes Division (SSCD) has been requested by the SFPD to assist in many like killings. Lead investigator is Nate Banks, assisted by Dylan Dawes, and female investigator Jerry Forbes. Jerry will be working undercover, to bait the unknown subject. Another member will join them from Interpol, Ethan Barnes, as there have been similar killings in Europe: three in London, four in Italy. All the women have the same physical description -- very tall, slender, dark brown hair, and very beautiful. All the murders evolved around women connected with very rich men as mistresses. Ethan will be working with Jerry undercover, which she's not too happy about partnering up with a total stranger ... until she meets him and is hit with electrical shocks of attraction to his handsome appearance. Interpol has dubbed the villain, Casanova Killer. Nate, Dylan and Jerry have formed a tight investigative team and in time, Dylan becomes concerned about her safety as he doesn't really trust Ethan. Perhaps he is just jealous? The thriller is superbly written, plot development excellent, story line very potent and engaging. I'll be reading more of this series of novels offered by fantastic Author Tallulah Grace.
Profile Image for Wendy.
Author 4 books15 followers
December 21, 2013
This was a really great book. I loved the idea behind it and it was rather well executed.

I only have 3 minor complaints:

1. There's a lot of grammar and punctuation errors. The author is good at getting the story across, but I think she could help her writing career by brushing up on proper punctuation and grammar skills to improve the way the text reads. The errors snap the reader out of the story, which can be annoying.

2. The resolution of the story felt a bit...simple. After intense build up, wondering how the story would end (particularly with a statement in the blurb that "even Jerry didn't see the end coming"), it felt like the resolution was a bit too easy, a bit of a cop out.

3. The end of the book was very abrupt. I got to the last chapter, which my Kindle told me would take me eight minutes to read. It was actually about one and a quarter, and ended mid-conversation. The rest of my eight minutes was spent reading previews of the next book, and other things like that. Don't get me wrong - I enjoyed reading those, and I will be picking up the next book, but I felt like the book didn't so much end as that the file for the book had gotten saved incorrectly and I was missing a page or two. I realize that it was intended as a cliffhanger to get you to buy the next book in the series, but it was just a bit too abrupt.

Overall, however, I really did enjoy the book, and would recommend it to others.
Profile Image for Teri.
47 reviews1 follower
June 2, 2013
Mistresses were being lured away from their companions by a much younger man that would wine them and dine them and show them a good time - not knowing that in under a month they would have their neck sliced and left for dead. Keeping a low profile, he was able to move onto his next victim in no time using his same mo. Agent Jerry Forbes and Interpol’s Ethan Barnes go undercover to try and lure what they were calling the "Casanova Killer" out from hiding using Jerry herself as bait. By the victimology, Jerry fit the unsub's desired woman. All Jerry and Ethan had to do was to portray living a lavish life getting their faces plastered all over the newspapers and get noticed. From first meeting, Jerry and Ethan were instantly drawn together and begin to develop a real relationship making the assignment much easier than she had thought. Once Jerry attracted the "Casanova killer" it's up to her whether she would catch him or be his next victim.

This was my first book read by this author and will not be the last, it was a really good read!
Profile Image for Pierre Sr..
Author 1 book4 followers
October 13, 2013
I read Casanova Killer in less than a week, and I had a very busy schedule! This book was captivating and I had a hard time leaving it at night, when I just HAD to get some sleep...

Trying to catch a serial killer, Jerry and Ethan pose as a couple who lives the good life: easy money, nice apartment, car with private chauffeur, etc. (all paid by authorities who wish the FBI to catch this killer ASAP).

The fake couple becomes a real one, as Jerry and Ethan experience love at first sight. But both are reluctant to get involved, as they are both working on a case as partners and don't want to get distracted from their investigation.

I found this relationship to be the best part of the intrigue of the story. The serial killer's crimes are also intriguing but the reader gets curious to find out if both agents will eventually declare their mutual love for one another...

A great story with a mitigated ending. Worth reading!
Profile Image for Bethan.
11 reviews20 followers
October 27, 2014
Ok so I sort of enjoyed this story. However, punctuation and grammar errors jarred me out of the rhythm of the story a bit. The author needs to double-check the typing (bits of punctuation missing were the most obvious) and there were a few instances when eg, the wrong person's name was written (Kim instead of Sonja).

I also felt that the two main characters fell in love way too deep way too fast. The whole backstory of her life added very little to the story, except a cliche.

From a crime novel standpoint, I liked the idea and the plot but the motives for the murders were so overexplained there was no mystery. It was like the author was nervous that the reader wouldn't 'get it' so it was written very explicitly.
22 reviews
July 26, 2016
I had never heard of this author until this book appeared on Amazon's free list. The synopsis peaked my interest so I thought I would try it. When I started it I couldn's quit reading it until I finished. I started hunting more books by her. My only problem was I didn't know if there was a certain order to read them. I just finished Bayou Butcher and was a little confused at first because things were very different since I read this book. I finally figured out what happened and I have the order worked out now. I'll be reading a lot about the FBI SSCD unit in the next few days.
590 reviews
November 22, 2014
Thrilling, suspenseful and romantic

Casanova Killer is not an ordinary crime thriller. Tallulah Grace carefully weaves magic between the pages of her novels with such finesse the plotline and character dialogue flows smoothly throughout the story. I enjoyed reading not only for the murder mystery that was going on but the budding relationship between one local agent and an international agent. I am looking forward to reading more of the SSCD Crime Thrillers and seeing where these two agents end up.
157 reviews3 followers
August 27, 2015
Decent story; unformatted text

Plot was much like a TV show. Think CSI or something like that. Most annoying thing was that the Kindle version I read was not structured right. There was nothing to mark scene transitions, so one paragraph would be in a place with two people and the next paragraph was in a different place with two different people. It made the story hard to follow at times, like a fifth-grader wrote it.
Profile Image for Lisa Lopez.
95 reviews4 followers
January 31, 2014
I kept trudging through knowing a first book in a series, can be a world builder, but no. Sadly this was predictable, flat and just boring. I gave up after the H after the h's admission to her childhood and sharing her heart decided to enlist the help of her friend/partner to break her heart to protect her. No, this did not fit in with the relationship built to that point and honestly I just stopped reading.
Profile Image for Marcia Witherspoon.
180 reviews1 follower
January 20, 2016
Exciting Read!!!

Was caught up right from the beginning. Lots of thrills and suspense in the last few chapters. Since I am not a fan of romance stories I was bored by the romantic parts of this book so I basically skipped over those parts. But overall it was a pretty decent serial killer thriller. Would recommend.
Profile Image for Valerie.
437 reviews21 followers
June 29, 2013
Just had a hard time with this book....to many POVs mixed together along with switching of scenes..they needed to be broken up better was really confusing...story line was good but the execution not so much.....
7 reviews4 followers
June 20, 2013
I enjoyed the story but I feel like something is missing. It is fast paced, I really like the characters and the plot, but the end was just too fast, could have more build up, more emotions, really the whole book needed more emotions.
Profile Image for Black Butterfly.
2,642 reviews39 followers
October 12, 2013
I JUST COULDN'T GET INTO THIS BOOK, I TRIED, JUST COULDN'T. IT JUST DIDN'T HOLD MY INTEREST, I LOVE TV SHOWS LIKE "CSI" (all the cities), "CRIMINAL MINDS", AND "DEXTER". THIS JUST DIDN'T HAVE A SPARK, CHARACTERS WERE KINDA FLAT. ;(
300 reviews8 followers
September 23, 2014
Wow what a great book couldn't put it down and I'm going straight into the next book .. God I hope there is more in the pipeline ........ I read a lot and tallulah is one of the best writers I've ever read......
Profile Image for Lisa.
2,362 reviews13 followers
January 4, 2015
A tense and high stakes read as the SSCD and Interpol race against time to capture a killer intent on killing the women of rich socialites across Europe and America. A sit on the edge of your seat and bite your nails read as they try to outwit the arrogant murderer.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews

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