Stacking the Deck

Redemption Club #1

by Anne Marie Becker

In a city built for sin, the Redemption Club is a secret society that exists to fulfill a person’s darkest desires—including murder games—for a price.

Raised off the grid by an anti-government group, Skye Hamilton puts her resourcefulness and survival training to good use taking the dangerous tasks nobody else wants. When a job searching for a runaway teen brings Redemption Club members gunning for her, putting those she cares about in danger, she’ll risk everything to fight the enemy. Including her heart.

Jared Bennigan, Las Vegas bodyguard to the elite, accepted his latest job hoping it would lead to his missing sister. All evidence points to his client as the last person to have seen her, but he’s not the only one looking for a woman who disappeared. Skye’s enticing blue eyes contradict her tough, distrusting exterior, revealing an intriguing combination of vulnerability and intelligence. But those eyes are watching his client—through her rifle’s scope.

To find both missing women, Jared will need to convince Skye—who plays a wicked game of hard-to-get—to be his partner. And with the Redemption Club intent on making Skye the prey in a human hunting expedition, her skills, and her trust in Jared, will be put to the test. It’s the ultimate game of survival of the fittest. But who will win?

308 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 9, 2015

About the author

An award-winning author of romantic suspense, Anne Marie has always been fascinated by people—inside and out—which led to degrees in Biology, Chemistry, Psychology, and Counseling. As a games hostess at Sea World, tutor, waitress, personal and family counselor, and high school counselor, she has indulged her curiosity through sanctioned professions. Now, as a stay-at-home mom of three young children, her passion for understanding the human race is satisfied by her roles as mother, wife, daughter, sister, and writer.

She writes to reclaim her sanity.

Find ways to connect with Anne Marie at AnneMarieBecker.com. There, you can sign up for her newsletter for special sneak peeks and giveaways.

Reviews

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didnt know what to expect from this new series from Anne Marie Becker. When I first read what the series was going to be about I was skeptical as it seem like such a huge departure from her previous series. Now that I've finished the book and I can it definitely say its nothing like her Mindhunter series but I'm hooked and loved it. The characters are not your normal everyday law abiding people. Doesnt mean they dont have good hearts but they defiantly walk a fine line.

I love strong heroines that can take care of themselves and Skye Hamilton is definitely that kind of woman. She was raised by men who are anti-government and constantly train for any type of disaster. She trust no one and is an expert with both guns and knives and hand to hand combat. She's currently helping a friend look for his missing daughter which bring her face to face with a man who at first seem to be working for the enemy.

Jared Bennigan didnt have the greatest upbringing and left for the Army as soon he graduated. This is left his much younger two half-sisters in the care of his reckless mother who ended up dead due to her life style choices. He's now back in Las Vegas working for Global Security Solutions. When one of his sister goes missing he goes in as a bodyguard to one of Hollywood's elite after a clue points to him having knowledge of what happened to her. Robert Stone is also the man Skye is tracking for the same reason.

As the reader we know what's going on and who has the girls and for what purposes. Even knowing this the suspense was still pretty high and there were plenty of secrets that were still left to be revealed as the story went along.

Jared was a guy that kept his cool pretty much the whole book and had lots of patients on getting the very non trusting Skye to eventually trust him so they could team up to find the girls together. The final showdown with the bad guys was violent and gory but ohh so satisfying.

So to end my review I shouldnt have worried about this new series because it was just as captivating as her previous one. Looking forward to future books in the series.

[Coco.V]

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[WiLoveBooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting story. I liked the characters. I liked how we knew who the bad guys were and what they were doing. The tension came in having the good guys figure it out. Interested to see where the series goes.

[Kee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stacking the Deck was one heck of a ride!

The story revolves around Skye and Jared finding out what happened to the people they care about. Skye's search for her missing friend leads her to cross paths with Jared, whose looking for his sister. Both believing that the disappearance of the two girls is due to one man in particular. Skye tries to do it on her own at first because trusting someone, even Jared, isn't something that she's prepared to do. She's been through a lot in her short life and there was always one basic rule that she was raised to live by...


But there's more to these missing girls than meets the eye and Skye is forced to form an uneasy partnership with Jared. As they get closer and closer to the truth, Skye is targeted as prey for the ultimate hunt.

There are a lot of secrets uncovered throughout the story, but one in particular BLEW.MY.MIND.

I can normally guess what's going to be revealed, but this time, I never even saw it coming.

Lastly, I have to say that the secondary characters (two in particular) were amazingly written. Even though this story revolved around Skye and Jared, I feel like I know these two secondary characters. I know how strong they are and I can't wait to find out more about them

The beginning did start off a little slow for me, but when it got going, I couldn't put it down. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys action, suspense and most of all, kickass heroines and the heroes that love them. I can't wait for the next installment!!


Free ARC received from the author in exchange for an honest, unbiased review*

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised by this book! I liked the writing style and thought the characters and plot were very interesting. It didn't bother me at all that you knew who the villain was and knew what the inevitable outcome was going to be. I would be very interested in reading more from this author.

[Alex (HEABookNerd)]

DNF @ 25%

I just couldn't get into this book, it wasn't for me. The heroine is supposed to be this off-the-grid, survivalist assassin but she doesn't come across as very smart. Maybe it gets better later in the book but I couldn't be bothered to stick around to see.

[Glenda Bettin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great new series

[Theresa Hurley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story with Skye and Jared.

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Holy hell this book had me on the edge of my seat the whole freaking time! I wasn't thinking this book would have been so intense when I first started it. Boy I was completely wrong! I seriously was having issues being able to put down and continue to read b/c of the fear of what would happen next. Skye is a strong woman, with a past that keeps her trust and emotions locked up behind a wall. Jared is dealing with his own issues and understands what Skye is dealing with. These two together from the very beginning was enough to cause a smolder in my kindle. The action, the suspense and the emotional state of this book will be sticking with me for awhile. Almost to the point I am going to need to take a break from reading anymore...Yeah right, lol. I have a reading addiction and I can't ever seem to stop. Even now, when I am supposed to be working. First book by this author and will not be the last. Loved every minute of this torturous book and plan on going through it all over again in her next book in the series, lol. Highly recommend.

[Trude · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of Ms Becker's Mind Hunter series so I jumped at the chance to get an early copy of Stacking the Deck, the first book of her new Redemption Club series in exchange for a
honest review. And I wasn't disappointed.
Character development is huge for me in a book...and I loved Skye and Jared. Skye is physically tough and can handle herself in most situations, but because of her past she is also very vulnerable. Jared understands this and teaches her to trust and rely on someone for the first time.
Jared's sister is missing as is a young friend of Skye's and it is up to them to find them before it's too late. Even though we know who the bad guys are fairly early this doesn't take away from the suspense.
This book kept me turning the pages...in fact I read it in just a day!
I'm definitely looking forward to more in this series.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book in a new series by Anne Marie Becker. The story is an exciting thrill ride with an unusually strong heroine and an urgent mission - to find some missing girls. Skye was raised by survivalists on a remote ranch. Learning to trust someone else and accept a partner in her mission is her greatest challenge. Even though she doesn't need a knight riding in on a white horse to save her, learning to open her heart and deal with her past while solving the mystery of the missing girls makes for a compelling story with a satisfying, believable ending. As the tension in finding the girls ratchets up, so does the tension between Skye and Jared, the security expert looking for his sister. Loved this heroine, loved the book.
I received a free, advance copy of this book from the author in exchange for my unbiased review.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book!

Stacking the Deck by Ann Marie Becker is full of danger, mystery, and a little romance to even things out. Skye and Jared are well developed characters with enough backstory to let the reader understand their motivations. There isn't as much of a backstory for the other characters like Uncle Tom, Tristan, and Ryan, but the reader doesn't need it.
The fast paced action, interspersed with strategizing and hunting for information, kept me on the edge of my seat. I found myself reading faster as the action picked up in the book!
This book isn't just about action: it's about commitment, justice, family, and love. Of tearing down walls that keep us isolated and afraid. Of being part of the solution instead of part of the problem.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! I'm ready to start book 2 in the series!

[Barb L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was difficult to read at times, probably due to the .pdf format. One scene would have characters talking or a particular action occurring, and the next paragraph would have a completely different scene and/or different character(s) talking -- rather confusing, to say the least. I wasn't sure if I would like Skye at first -- not being into vigilante justice, but she grew on me. I definitely liked Jared and did enjoy the growing chemistry between them. I plan to buy the next book in the series -- and would have given this one a higher rating if not for the exasperating lack of breaks between different scenes throughout the story.
* I received a free, advance copy of this book from the author in exchange for my unbiased review.

[Missy Noecker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book! The book sucked me in and I wanted to just reach in and give Skye a big bear hug. It had a great mix of romance, mystery and suspense. However, I wish that since it was written in different POVs that there would have been an indication of whos POV we were reading whenever it changed. Skye had a rough life growing up and was trained to not trust anyone. Jared also had a hard childhood. Will these two learn to trust each other to help find the people that they care about before it's too late?
I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

[Dana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a free, advance copy of this book from the author in exchange for my unbiased review.

I enjoyed this book and the characters, but would have liked to see a little more depth. The story started out well with the way Skye & Jared meet for the first time. But I felt it was a little slow in the middle and rushed at the end as everything was wrapped up and explained. Overall, I'm interested enough to read the next book in the series to see where it leads.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book Stacking the Deck. It was a fast paced romantic suspenseful type book. The kind that you keep reading and turning the pages to find out what happens next. I would highly recommend this book to all! I am looking forward to the next book in this series!
I was given an advanced readers club book to read and give my unbiased opinion.