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Instinct #2
Critical Instinct
Every single person Paige has drawn has ended up dead. And now she’s drawn herself.
Paige Jeffries’ is the darling of the art world. Her works are original, compelling. But after a brutal attack two years ago —a savage beating from an unknown assailant—Paige has become all but a recluse. She knows her mind is broken. In her sleep she’s drawing scenes of violence. Murders. Going to the cops isn’t an option because they already think she’s crazy. And they may be right.
Seasoned homicide detective Brett Wagner is asked to look into a cold case nobody wants: the assault and battery of a local artist who claims to have drawn a picture of her own attack before it even happened. He remembers shy Paige from high school, and is driven to find her attacker, to believe her when nobody else does, to protect the innocent beauty.
Because when he witnesses firsthand what Paige is drawing in her sleep, Brett realizes they are scenes from actual cases. Cases that had no connection until now. Portland has a secret serial killer, and Paige is somehow linked to his mind.
And he’s coming for her.
Paige Jeffries’ is the darling of the art world. Her works are original, compelling. But after a brutal attack two years ago —a savage beating from an unknown assailant—Paige has become all but a recluse. She knows her mind is broken. In her sleep she’s drawing scenes of violence. Murders. Going to the cops isn’t an option because they already think she’s crazy. And they may be right.
Seasoned homicide detective Brett Wagner is asked to look into a cold case nobody wants: the assault and battery of a local artist who claims to have drawn a picture of her own attack before it even happened. He remembers shy Paige from high school, and is driven to find her attacker, to believe her when nobody else does, to protect the innocent beauty.
Because when he witnesses firsthand what Paige is drawing in her sleep, Brett realizes they are scenes from actual cases. Cases that had no connection until now. Portland has a secret serial killer, and Paige is somehow linked to his mind.
And he’s coming for her.
234 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 3, 2017
1110 people are currently reading
540 people want to read
About the author
Janie Crouch
263 books2,028 followersUSA Today and Publishers Weekly bestselling author Janie Crouch writes what she loves to read: passionate romantic suspense.
After a lifetime on the East Coast—and a six-year stint in Germany due to her husband's job as support for the U.S. Military—Janie has settled into her dream home in Front Range of the Colorado Rockies. She loves engaging in all sorts of adventures (triathlons! 200-mile relay races! mountain treks!), traveling, and surviving life with four kids.
Heroes exist. Let a Janie Crouch book prove it to you.
Check out Janie's updates and more on her website at http://www.janiecrouch.com
After a lifetime on the East Coast—and a six-year stint in Germany due to her husband's job as support for the U.S. Military—Janie has settled into her dream home in Front Range of the Colorado Rockies. She loves engaging in all sorts of adventures (triathlons! 200-mile relay races! mountain treks!), traveling, and surviving life with four kids.
Heroes exist. Let a Janie Crouch book prove it to you.
Check out Janie's updates and more on her website at http://www.janiecrouch.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 261 reviews
March 16, 2022
Suspense romántico de ese que engancha y no puedes parar de leer.
Brent regresa a su Portland natal y le ponen a revisar casos sin resolver. Entre ellos, una agresión que sufrió Paige, una artista de renombre. Se da la circunstancia de que estos dos se conocieron hace años, en el instituto, de pasada, en una clase. Hay un asesino en serie al que identificar antes de que siga matando.
Ingeniosa forma de resolver que tienen en común sus víctimas. Lo que no me gusta es que mete el toque sobrenatural, lo que siempre me parece una forma perezosa de resolver intrigas.
Reseña algo más extensa, en mi blog.
Brent regresa a su Portland natal y le ponen a revisar casos sin resolver. Entre ellos, una agresión que sufrió Paige, una artista de renombre. Se da la circunstancia de que estos dos se conocieron hace años, en el instituto, de pasada, en una clase. Hay un asesino en serie al que identificar antes de que siga matando.
Ingeniosa forma de resolver que tienen en común sus víctimas. Lo que no me gusta es que mete el toque sobrenatural, lo que siempre me parece una forma perezosa de resolver intrigas.
Reseña algo más extensa, en mi blog.
May 12, 2017
3.5 RATING- A new to me author. Very readable, good flow, pulled me in immediately with no extensive backstory to sort through. Instant connection between characters. It wasn't five stars amazing but was just what I was in the mood for. I plan to go back and read book one and will read the third book when it releases this summer.
April 17, 2017
What an awesome romantic suspense/mystery story. Literally from page one, the books sizzles with all that is going on. Brett and Paige have this chemistry that is unmistakable, especially when Brett realizes that Paige is in the sights of the serial killer intent on making up for his mistake of leaving her breathing and decides to fix that.
Yes there is violence but its more sleek and in moderation. The plot is pulsing with action and suspense, filled with great writing and awesome characters, like the MC- Paige and Brett- and they will keep you hooked until the very end. I didn’t even know who the bad guy was until literally the very end. If you like stories such as this, where it’s a whodunit and a romance all in one, then you definitely need to read this book. Book 3, which is about Paige’s sister , Chloe Jeffries , is next.
My rating: 4.7 stars ****
"I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***
Yes there is violence but its more sleek and in moderation. The plot is pulsing with action and suspense, filled with great writing and awesome characters, like the MC- Paige and Brett- and they will keep you hooked until the very end. I didn’t even know who the bad guy was until literally the very end. If you like stories such as this, where it’s a whodunit and a romance all in one, then you definitely need to read this book. Book 3, which is about Paige’s sister , Chloe Jeffries , is next.
My rating: 4.7 stars ****
"I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***
April 4, 2017
A more than exceptional story that makes you hum from the chemistry being emitted in waves by Brett and Paige to the hair raising fear that encompasses you when Paige is in the sights of the serial killer intent on making up for his mistake of leaving her alive! Ms. Crouch writes with such intensity and impressive detail that the characters emotions resonate with the reader...(as I lay wrapped up in blankets with the house engulfed in light)! This story has left me so intrigued by each sister that I am buying all their stories! A definite "keeper"
September 9, 2019
Rating: R for sex
Sex: 2 scenes
Language: very few Lord's name in vain
Violence: deaths, beatings, kidnapping, arson with gasoline
HEA or Cliffhanger: commitment, but no ring
Do I need to read books before this one: no
Would I read more of the series: yes!
The plot and pacing in this are killer! The romance is really sweet. While there could have been more character development, there was enough to enjoy the plot and the romance. Though it was creepy, it was good to be in the killer's point of view, too. We don't get much of the setting, and I was disappointed, but as the setting isn't really necessary to the plot or even to the characters, I understand why the author left it out: Why read/write unnecessary words? The setting up of future books was integrated beautifully, because the future heroines are Paige's sisters and of course they're involved with her trauma. I would have liked to know how Brett's family died. I would have liked to know more about Paige's childhood in foster care, to know why she was friends with Brett's sisters, who were a year younger than her, but not with Brett. What situation would create that? I think more reminiscing between Brett and Paige would have been appropriate. I also would have liked to understand how he fell for her when she's not his type. For Paige, I can see that his colors would have reassured her, thus making it easier for her to fall for him, but Brett doesn't have that ability. What about Paige, other than being the damsel in distress, has him falling for her? Regardless, I thoroughly enjoyed the book!
----SPOILERS----
Brett got the job in Portland PD because he excelled in a Florida PD and because Chief Pickett is his honorary Uncle Adam. Brett's parents and sisters were killed a few months before he graduated from high school (we never learn how), and Adam is his father's best friend. Rhett's full name is Quintin Brett Wagner, hence QB, plus as quarterback in high school, he led the team to win the state championship .
The chief wants Brett to investigate an assault cold case (he's a homicide detective) because the victim, Paige Jeffries, a painter who has dined at the White House multiple times, went to the same school as Brett and is friends with the governor's wife. The department is getting pressure from the wife, not from Paige. Brett looks at the pictures of Paige after her assault, and realizes one of the pictures is a drawing. Paige told police she drew it weeks before the assault. The only thing Brett knows about art is two paintings someone had left on his doorstep after his family had been killed, that they make him feel better.
Paige's home is far away from Portland, up on a hill, with high fences and a guard at the gate. When she opens the front door, he recognizes her from an art class they had together. He remembers her eyes.
Paige never let herself have a crush on Brett because she knew there was no chance (shy freshman, BMOC senior). She was good friends with his twin sisters, a year younger than she. She'd drawn paintings of them (their auras), and left them for him on his doorstep after they died. She hasn't slept well since her attack, and she has dozens of drawings that she doesn't remember making.
Brett asks why she drew herself rather than paint, if painting is her preferred medium. He's the first cop to do that. She doesn't want him to look at her as crazy, so she doesn't tell him. He knows she's lying and hiding stuff.
He leaves, she paints his aura. We learn she and her sisters, Adrienne and Chloe, a set of triplets, lost their mom when they were six (no dad), and that they all have gifts.
On the morning of her art show opening, Brett and Alex Olivier investigate a murder with facial beating, and Olivier tells of another woman who was killed with a facial beating. Brett notices they were both killed on payday, and that Paige was beaten on payday, so he does a search and pulls back 5 cases that might be linked, including Paige's.
Brett goes to her art show, and immediately recognizes he has two Paige Jeffries originals. He gives her a hug because he needed to know she was safe (spent all day looking at hers and the other cases, thinks there's a serial killer, and she should've died), and her security guard comes over to take care of him. She actually likes the hug (can't abide touching), so she sends the guard away. They agree to date. Her manager (Hunter) and the governor's wife (Melissa) are amazed. She goes back in to get a scarf, and feels she's being watched.
Brett makes her feel brave. Paige decides she wants to go to the farmers market without her security team. She has a fantastic time, until she goes to get lunch. She gets attacked by teenagers who think she's one of their friends. She's shaken and calls Brett. The PoV changes to the killer. We learn he has cameras all around her place, he *had* been watching her last night, and he'd paid the teenagers to lure her into the dark alley where he waited. His anger is around betray, abandon, steal. He's protecting other men from ending divorced paying alimony. His motto is strangle, stab, burn. His job lets him travel the state, and would account for his having photos of women.
Brett and Paige go out for grilled cheese, then a walk. Adrienne (older by 7 minutes) lives in San Francisco with her husband, Conner, and is pregnant. He's in the FBI, and she's been consulting as a profiler since 17. Chloe (younger by 7 minutes) is a writer and creative director for a popular TV show about zombies, vampires, and apocalyptic stuff. Paige tells Brett she paints auras.
They go to her home. They kiss in the kitchen, and she feels colors. She shows him around. She doesn't show him the room with the drawings of dead women. They make love. At 4am, she gets out of bed and draws a woman while Brett watches. He takes her back to bed and massages cramped muscles until she's deeply asleep. In the morning, she explains she draws, but doesn't tell him the women are usually dead.
Paige sees an ad for a missing person, and it's the woman she drew. She brings the drawing into the police station, hoping to help with the case. Sadly, that woman is the one Brett investigated on Friday. Paige thinks the missing persons detective is questioning her to get help on the case, but they suspect her. Brett can't help, but he texts her security team to get her a lawyer ASAP. She's hurt he watched her being questioned.
Brett goes to her house and is relieved she lets him in. He seduces her before she can shut him out completely. Then she shows him the picture she drew of the victim months ago, as a murder victim. He leaves to wrap his head around it, meets his partner for a drink, and they agree to use whatever legal methods they can to catch a killer, no matter how weird. The next day, he calls Paige's brother-in-law, Conner, to find out what Paige's sister Adrienne does. Conner verifies the sisters have sixth senses, and that law enforcement can be different than what Brett has been doing for 10 years. He also warned him about the physical consequences and that Brett will have to protect her from law enforcement that will want to hurt her, as well as from the murderer if he finds out she's helping the police.
At her home, Paige confesses to all the drawings and that she thought they were her brain trying to process her attack. She'd had no idea they were real women. She gives Brett the portfolio, and goes into her studio so he can do police work and she doesn't have to look at the violence she'd drawn. She paints for 5 hours, and her painting is the aura of her attacker. Brett brings her back into the living room and shows her that, though she drew over a hundred pictures, it's actually only about 8-9 women. She asks him how he can group them together when their clothes are different and they're before and after the murder. It's because he's looked into their murders. He takes Paige and the drawings to the police station at night, and calls Alex to be there, too. They're able to identify all the women but one from the databases. They also identified the pattern of strangled, stabbed, burned, and that her not dying messed up his pattern (she should've died when the warehouse burned down). All the murders take place along northern I-5.
The next night, Brett accompanies Paige to the gallery to talk with Hunter about more 3D printings of her paintings. She feels the dark, and when she gets within a few feet of the room, she can't enter. She sits down, Brett tells Hunter to close the gallery because the killer is here, then the power gets cut. Brett calls Alex. Two gunshots go off. Brett tells Hunter to tell security to let people out before people get hurt in a panicked mob. Then Brett sees the killer. Brett chases him into a storage room, thinks the killer has headed out the door, and then a shelving unit is pushed onto him. The killer says he's trying to stop it: betray, abandon, steal. And he leaves.
The next day, Brett investigates the victims's careers while Alex investigates the kind of careers that would have employees going up and down I-5. They can't find anything, then the security company calls Brett because something's wrong with Paige. She's in a trance in the living room and won't wake up. She's trapped in blackness. She'd drawn herself, dead. She has to get out of the blackness. She sees colors far away. As she crawls closer, they get brighter. It's Brett's colors. She gets out. Alex calls with the report that the last drawing has been found dead in Salem. Brett stays with her that night. She can't sleep, afraid of the blackness, until he thoroughly exhausts her with sex.
The next day, Brett and Alex go to Salem. While inspecting her classroom, they see a 3D printer. The principal explains the victim got the grant because 3D printers are used in so many different careers. Brett and Alex are on their way back to a 3D printing company in Portland.
They get the name, the warrant, and investigate the killer's home. They find his files on the victims. They show the captain, who gives them whatever they need to find him. Then the security company calls Brett, asking if he will have Paige the rest of the evening. Brett has no idea what he's talking about. The guard says Paige received a call that Brett needed her, please come to the back of the station.
Paige is in blackness again. She'd been injected. She wakes up in the warehouse where he had her before. The killer is mad at her because she broke his pattern. He starts beating her up. He pours gasoline on her. She pushes him down the stairs, and she lands in the position she was in her picture, but she doesn't die. She picks up the piece of wood and bashes him until he's dead. Brett and Alex show up and call an ambulance.
While she's in the hospital in a medically induced coma, Brett says he's her fiance so he can stay with her (he figures it worked in While You Were Sleeping). Adrienne and Chloe arrive. Adrienne checks out Brett after having Conner leave the room (he blocks mental noise for her). He's a good guy.
Six months later, Brett poses naked for Paige (a deal they made earlier that he was going to catch the killer so that she would never draw murdered women again, only be drawing him naked). She's taking a drawing class. It's an awful drawing. He paints her with edible paint, says it might take 50 years of lessons before he's any good.
Sex: 2 scenes
Language: very few Lord's name in vain
Violence: deaths, beatings, kidnapping, arson with gasoline
HEA or Cliffhanger: commitment, but no ring
Do I need to read books before this one: no
Would I read more of the series: yes!
The plot and pacing in this are killer! The romance is really sweet. While there could have been more character development, there was enough to enjoy the plot and the romance. Though it was creepy, it was good to be in the killer's point of view, too. We don't get much of the setting, and I was disappointed, but as the setting isn't really necessary to the plot or even to the characters, I understand why the author left it out: Why read/write unnecessary words? The setting up of future books was integrated beautifully, because the future heroines are Paige's sisters and of course they're involved with her trauma. I would have liked to know how Brett's family died. I would have liked to know more about Paige's childhood in foster care, to know why she was friends with Brett's sisters, who were a year younger than her, but not with Brett. What situation would create that? I think more reminiscing between Brett and Paige would have been appropriate. I also would have liked to understand how he fell for her when she's not his type. For Paige, I can see that his colors would have reassured her, thus making it easier for her to fall for him, but Brett doesn't have that ability. What about Paige, other than being the damsel in distress, has him falling for her? Regardless, I thoroughly enjoyed the book!
----SPOILERS----
Brett got the job in Portland PD because he excelled in a Florida PD and because Chief Pickett is his honorary Uncle Adam. Brett's parents and sisters were killed a few months before he graduated from high school (we never learn how), and Adam is his father's best friend. Rhett's full name is Quintin Brett Wagner, hence QB, plus as quarterback in high school, he led the team to win the state championship .
The chief wants Brett to investigate an assault cold case (he's a homicide detective) because the victim, Paige Jeffries, a painter who has dined at the White House multiple times, went to the same school as Brett and is friends with the governor's wife. The department is getting pressure from the wife, not from Paige. Brett looks at the pictures of Paige after her assault, and realizes one of the pictures is a drawing. Paige told police she drew it weeks before the assault. The only thing Brett knows about art is two paintings someone had left on his doorstep after his family had been killed, that they make him feel better.
Paige's home is far away from Portland, up on a hill, with high fences and a guard at the gate. When she opens the front door, he recognizes her from an art class they had together. He remembers her eyes.
Paige never let herself have a crush on Brett because she knew there was no chance (shy freshman, BMOC senior). She was good friends with his twin sisters, a year younger than she. She'd drawn paintings of them (their auras), and left them for him on his doorstep after they died. She hasn't slept well since her attack, and she has dozens of drawings that she doesn't remember making.
Brett asks why she drew herself rather than paint, if painting is her preferred medium. He's the first cop to do that. She doesn't want him to look at her as crazy, so she doesn't tell him. He knows she's lying and hiding stuff.
He leaves, she paints his aura. We learn she and her sisters, Adrienne and Chloe, a set of triplets, lost their mom when they were six (no dad), and that they all have gifts.
On the morning of her art show opening, Brett and Alex Olivier investigate a murder with facial beating, and Olivier tells of another woman who was killed with a facial beating. Brett notices they were both killed on payday, and that Paige was beaten on payday, so he does a search and pulls back 5 cases that might be linked, including Paige's.
Brett goes to her art show, and immediately recognizes he has two Paige Jeffries originals. He gives her a hug because he needed to know she was safe (spent all day looking at hers and the other cases, thinks there's a serial killer, and she should've died), and her security guard comes over to take care of him. She actually likes the hug (can't abide touching), so she sends the guard away. They agree to date. Her manager (Hunter) and the governor's wife (Melissa) are amazed. She goes back in to get a scarf, and feels she's being watched.
Brett makes her feel brave. Paige decides she wants to go to the farmers market without her security team. She has a fantastic time, until she goes to get lunch. She gets attacked by teenagers who think she's one of their friends. She's shaken and calls Brett. The PoV changes to the killer. We learn he has cameras all around her place, he *had* been watching her last night, and he'd paid the teenagers to lure her into the dark alley where he waited. His anger is around betray, abandon, steal. He's protecting other men from ending divorced paying alimony. His motto is strangle, stab, burn. His job lets him travel the state, and would account for his having photos of women.
Brett and Paige go out for grilled cheese, then a walk. Adrienne (older by 7 minutes) lives in San Francisco with her husband, Conner, and is pregnant. He's in the FBI, and she's been consulting as a profiler since 17. Chloe (younger by 7 minutes) is a writer and creative director for a popular TV show about zombies, vampires, and apocalyptic stuff. Paige tells Brett she paints auras.
They go to her home. They kiss in the kitchen, and she feels colors. She shows him around. She doesn't show him the room with the drawings of dead women. They make love. At 4am, she gets out of bed and draws a woman while Brett watches. He takes her back to bed and massages cramped muscles until she's deeply asleep. In the morning, she explains she draws, but doesn't tell him the women are usually dead.
Paige sees an ad for a missing person, and it's the woman she drew. She brings the drawing into the police station, hoping to help with the case. Sadly, that woman is the one Brett investigated on Friday. Paige thinks the missing persons detective is questioning her to get help on the case, but they suspect her. Brett can't help, but he texts her security team to get her a lawyer ASAP. She's hurt he watched her being questioned.
Brett goes to her house and is relieved she lets him in. He seduces her before she can shut him out completely. Then she shows him the picture she drew of the victim months ago, as a murder victim. He leaves to wrap his head around it, meets his partner for a drink, and they agree to use whatever legal methods they can to catch a killer, no matter how weird. The next day, he calls Paige's brother-in-law, Conner, to find out what Paige's sister Adrienne does. Conner verifies the sisters have sixth senses, and that law enforcement can be different than what Brett has been doing for 10 years. He also warned him about the physical consequences and that Brett will have to protect her from law enforcement that will want to hurt her, as well as from the murderer if he finds out she's helping the police.
At her home, Paige confesses to all the drawings and that she thought they were her brain trying to process her attack. She'd had no idea they were real women. She gives Brett the portfolio, and goes into her studio so he can do police work and she doesn't have to look at the violence she'd drawn. She paints for 5 hours, and her painting is the aura of her attacker. Brett brings her back into the living room and shows her that, though she drew over a hundred pictures, it's actually only about 8-9 women. She asks him how he can group them together when their clothes are different and they're before and after the murder. It's because he's looked into their murders. He takes Paige and the drawings to the police station at night, and calls Alex to be there, too. They're able to identify all the women but one from the databases. They also identified the pattern of strangled, stabbed, burned, and that her not dying messed up his pattern (she should've died when the warehouse burned down). All the murders take place along northern I-5.
The next night, Brett accompanies Paige to the gallery to talk with Hunter about more 3D printings of her paintings. She feels the dark, and when she gets within a few feet of the room, she can't enter. She sits down, Brett tells Hunter to close the gallery because the killer is here, then the power gets cut. Brett calls Alex. Two gunshots go off. Brett tells Hunter to tell security to let people out before people get hurt in a panicked mob. Then Brett sees the killer. Brett chases him into a storage room, thinks the killer has headed out the door, and then a shelving unit is pushed onto him. The killer says he's trying to stop it: betray, abandon, steal. And he leaves.
The next day, Brett investigates the victims's careers while Alex investigates the kind of careers that would have employees going up and down I-5. They can't find anything, then the security company calls Brett because something's wrong with Paige. She's in a trance in the living room and won't wake up. She's trapped in blackness. She'd drawn herself, dead. She has to get out of the blackness. She sees colors far away. As she crawls closer, they get brighter. It's Brett's colors. She gets out. Alex calls with the report that the last drawing has been found dead in Salem. Brett stays with her that night. She can't sleep, afraid of the blackness, until he thoroughly exhausts her with sex.
The next day, Brett and Alex go to Salem. While inspecting her classroom, they see a 3D printer. The principal explains the victim got the grant because 3D printers are used in so many different careers. Brett and Alex are on their way back to a 3D printing company in Portland.
They get the name, the warrant, and investigate the killer's home. They find his files on the victims. They show the captain, who gives them whatever they need to find him. Then the security company calls Brett, asking if he will have Paige the rest of the evening. Brett has no idea what he's talking about. The guard says Paige received a call that Brett needed her, please come to the back of the station.
Paige is in blackness again. She'd been injected. She wakes up in the warehouse where he had her before. The killer is mad at her because she broke his pattern. He starts beating her up. He pours gasoline on her. She pushes him down the stairs, and she lands in the position she was in her picture, but she doesn't die. She picks up the piece of wood and bashes him until he's dead. Brett and Alex show up and call an ambulance.
While she's in the hospital in a medically induced coma, Brett says he's her fiance so he can stay with her (he figures it worked in While You Were Sleeping). Adrienne and Chloe arrive. Adrienne checks out Brett after having Conner leave the room (he blocks mental noise for her). He's a good guy.
Six months later, Brett poses naked for Paige (a deal they made earlier that he was going to catch the killer so that she would never draw murdered women again, only be drawing him naked). She's taking a drawing class. It's an awful drawing. He paints her with edible paint, says it might take 50 years of lessons before he's any good.
March 11, 2023
The couple: Brett and Paige
Romance trope: romantic suspense
Series: Instinct
Length: 234 pages
Plot: Brett is back in his hometown after having transferred to the police department. One of the first people he encounters in a case is Paige, the sweet, shy girl from his high school art class. She's all grown up but still shy and now haunted by a brutal attack two years prior. Brett is getting reacquainted with Paige and while investigating he realizes that they might be after a serial killer, one who is coming back for Paige. Paige has a special ability, though, that could lead them straight to the killer...and into danger.
Commentary: While I'm not a big fan of the psychic sense use to solve crimes trope (I have something against psychics, it's personal, long story), I did like these characters and that made up for it. I liked Paige especially, and I felt so bad for her because not only did she not ask for her gift, she had no idea what was really going on with the drawings she was making. Brett was great because he was the rare high school quarterback (in stories, at least - I don't think I know any in real life to say) who didn't peak in high school. He actually became a better person and didn't flaunt or dwell on his past successes as a teenager. I was so tense during the interrogation scene when it seemed like he was backing away from Paige instead of jumping in to see her (even though his actions did make sense).
Previous book in the series: Primal Instinct
Next book in the series: Survival Instinct
Romance trope: romantic suspense
Series: Instinct
Length: 234 pages
Plot: Brett is back in his hometown after having transferred to the police department. One of the first people he encounters in a case is Paige, the sweet, shy girl from his high school art class. She's all grown up but still shy and now haunted by a brutal attack two years prior. Brett is getting reacquainted with Paige and while investigating he realizes that they might be after a serial killer, one who is coming back for Paige. Paige has a special ability, though, that could lead them straight to the killer...and into danger.
Commentary: While I'm not a big fan of the psychic sense use to solve crimes trope (I have something against psychics, it's personal, long story), I did like these characters and that made up for it. I liked Paige especially, and I felt so bad for her because not only did she not ask for her gift, she had no idea what was really going on with the drawings she was making. Brett was great because he was the rare high school quarterback (in stories, at least - I don't think I know any in real life to say) who didn't peak in high school. He actually became a better person and didn't flaunt or dwell on his past successes as a teenager. I was so tense during the interrogation scene when it seemed like he was backing away from Paige instead of jumping in to see her (even though his actions did make sense).
Previous book in the series: Primal Instinct
Next book in the series: Survival Instinct
June 23, 2018
Another good romantic suspense in this series about triplets with special abilities. It too had a good plot and lots of exciting fast paced action. It was particularly interesting how the hero dealt with conflict of interest and paranormal. Detective Brett is assigned a cold case dealing with artist Paige who was brutally attacked and claims she drew a picture of her beating weeks before it happened.
November 16, 2017
3.5 stars
May 8, 2022
It troubles me how this author treats her heroines. She makes them go through so much only to gave them a guy to "save" them.
By sex if necessary.
So not romantic.
By sex if necessary.
So not romantic.
May 1, 2018
Like her two sisters, Paige has a gift – she can see auras. Every person has colours that surround them and Paige can see evil people because their auras are black.
Two years prior to the book opening, Paige was attacked by a man who nearly bashed her to death. He left her in a burning warehouse but somehow she managed to escape. In the two years after, she’s become a recluse, rarely able to leave her fortified house and be around people. Professionally, she is a talented artist whose paintings sell for a great deal of money, which means she can afford the round-the-clock security guards she has at her home.
The man who attacked her has never been caught. After her attack, Paige discovered she had another ability – she can draw in her sleep. Her pictures are so good they look like photos. Over the span of two years, she has drawn hundreds of pictures of women in her sleep – some of them are alive, some are dead. She doesn’t know who they are or why she’s drawing them, but it takes its toll on her. Like her sisters, she gets nose bleeds and becomes so weak she collapses.
Homicide detective Brett Wagner has moved back to Portland after spending fifteen years in Florida after the deaths of his parents and two sisters in a car crash when he was a senior in high school. Brett is asked by his father’s best friend, who happens to be the chief of police, to look into Paige’s cold case and see if he can spot anything others couldn’t. He knows Paige is hiding something after their first meeting, but he finds himself drawn to her.
Paige feels the same about Brett. They knew each other vaguely in high school – she knew his sisters – and his aura is peaceful: all blues and teals and purples. Slowly, she lets him in and trusts him, even when she knows how crazy her story sounds. In the early hours of one morning, Paige sleepwalks into the room where she draws and Brett follows her, where he watches her sketch a picture of a woman who soon turns up dead.
Brett and his partner, Alex, soon follow a lead that a number of dead women may be part of a pattern that links them to the same killer, the man who attacked Paige. Brett starts to believe that Paige should have died that night and that the killer will come back for her to finish what he started.
Paige eventually shows Brett the hundreds of pictures she’s drawn while asleep and with Alex, they realise they’re all of the same women who were killed by the man who attacked Paige. Eventually, Brett and Alex track down who he is, but not before he manages to kidnap Paige from right under their noses. Paige, who had already drawn a picture of herself dead, is determined not to let that picture come true and so she fights. The heroine wins and gets her hero. Yay! Another book worth reading 🙂
Two years prior to the book opening, Paige was attacked by a man who nearly bashed her to death. He left her in a burning warehouse but somehow she managed to escape. In the two years after, she’s become a recluse, rarely able to leave her fortified house and be around people. Professionally, she is a talented artist whose paintings sell for a great deal of money, which means she can afford the round-the-clock security guards she has at her home.
The man who attacked her has never been caught. After her attack, Paige discovered she had another ability – she can draw in her sleep. Her pictures are so good they look like photos. Over the span of two years, she has drawn hundreds of pictures of women in her sleep – some of them are alive, some are dead. She doesn’t know who they are or why she’s drawing them, but it takes its toll on her. Like her sisters, she gets nose bleeds and becomes so weak she collapses.
Homicide detective Brett Wagner has moved back to Portland after spending fifteen years in Florida after the deaths of his parents and two sisters in a car crash when he was a senior in high school. Brett is asked by his father’s best friend, who happens to be the chief of police, to look into Paige’s cold case and see if he can spot anything others couldn’t. He knows Paige is hiding something after their first meeting, but he finds himself drawn to her.
Paige feels the same about Brett. They knew each other vaguely in high school – she knew his sisters – and his aura is peaceful: all blues and teals and purples. Slowly, she lets him in and trusts him, even when she knows how crazy her story sounds. In the early hours of one morning, Paige sleepwalks into the room where she draws and Brett follows her, where he watches her sketch a picture of a woman who soon turns up dead.
Brett and his partner, Alex, soon follow a lead that a number of dead women may be part of a pattern that links them to the same killer, the man who attacked Paige. Brett starts to believe that Paige should have died that night and that the killer will come back for her to finish what he started.
Paige eventually shows Brett the hundreds of pictures she’s drawn while asleep and with Alex, they realise they’re all of the same women who were killed by the man who attacked Paige. Eventually, Brett and Alex track down who he is, but not before he manages to kidnap Paige from right under their noses. Paige, who had already drawn a picture of herself dead, is determined not to let that picture come true and so she fights. The heroine wins and gets her hero. Yay! Another book worth reading 🙂
May 25, 2021
This book has such a unique storyline for a romantic suspense novel. The paranormal element isn't always my thing, but it's totally working for me with this series.
The heroine, Paige, is an artist and so am I, so I was real excited for the twist of her drawing people's deaths before they happen. The hero, Brett, needed to see her sleep-drawing in person, so I was interested to see if the author could pull off the hero and heroine hopping into bed soon enough for him to see it. It absolutely worked for me. It helped that the characters had known each other since high school, although somewhat indirectly.
This book is a bit more sexy than the first one. There's two sex scenes. The first one is a fade out and what is shared, isn't super detailed. The second scene, is much more detailed. It's mostly foreplay and hand stuff, but still detailed.
The mystery is really good and it kept me wondering the whole time. If you're into romantic suspense, I would definitely recommend this series!
The heroine, Paige, is an artist and so am I, so I was real excited for the twist of her drawing people's deaths before they happen. The hero, Brett, needed to see her sleep-drawing in person, so I was interested to see if the author could pull off the hero and heroine hopping into bed soon enough for him to see it. It absolutely worked for me. It helped that the characters had known each other since high school, although somewhat indirectly.
This book is a bit more sexy than the first one. There's two sex scenes. The first one is a fade out and what is shared, isn't super detailed. The second scene, is much more detailed. It's mostly foreplay and hand stuff, but still detailed.
The mystery is really good and it kept me wondering the whole time. If you're into romantic suspense, I would definitely recommend this series!
April 10, 2017
This book makes you think! It's not just a romance, it has mystery and suspense. A must read! Paige and Brett sizzle!
April 18, 2023
Now THIS is how you write a romantic suspense! 2 things I look for in a romantic suspense: a relationship I feel can last & thrive once the danger is over, and a strong antagonist. Paige is my favorite FMC of the month. She was damaged after the brutal attack 2 years ago. Barely leaves her house, has slight agoraphobia, and has round the clock security. The first thing I noticed about her was she was sharp as a tack. Nothing escaped her notice for long; she had detective level instinct and perception skills. Brett’s best trait was his loyalty. He always took care of Paige and was never dismissive of her feelings or the situation. The idea of someone drawing murder victims in their sleep is creepy enough but reading it while it was happening was next level creepy. Gave me chills. Do not read this book late at night lol.
As convenient as it would’ve been, I’m glad he needed time to think about it. If he’d have believed her 100% from the beginning, it would’ve come off as unrealistic. And its not that he didn’t believe her or believe she was telling her truth, he just needed time to readjust his way of thinking to accept that some things are just unexplainable.
The inclusion of the villain’s POV was perfectly executed. You want readers to be on the edge of their seats & to figure everything out around the same time as the characters. We get the pattern very earlier on & discover more tidbits about the villain's background & motive throughout the story. A strong motive can singlehandedly make or break a character. Even though I read primarily for the romance, if the villain isn’t a big threat, it doesn’t work as well.
I kept the spice rating low because there was little to no sex scenes. There was 1 fade-to-black scene, a full scene, and a few mentions. Its unusual for the ftb scene to be first. You see it more often after they’ve already done it or the plot is reaching its peak & you don’t want the pace to be broken up for too long by a sex scene. The chemistry between the two was undeniable, but spice wasn't a priority. I actually didn't mind that, especially if the foreplay is good, given the context of the book & everything the heroine has had to overcome. What I did mind was the TIMING of the full out spicy scene & how it came about. I hate the seduction/"sex as an emotional weapon" trope. I get makeup sex but you have to make up & TALK first lol. Like if I just experienced what I believe to be a heartbreaking betrayal, I’m not hiding the pickle with you 15 minutes later.
As convenient as it would’ve been, I’m glad he needed time to think about it. If he’d have believed her 100% from the beginning, it would’ve come off as unrealistic. And its not that he didn’t believe her or believe she was telling her truth, he just needed time to readjust his way of thinking to accept that some things are just unexplainable.
The inclusion of the villain’s POV was perfectly executed. You want readers to be on the edge of their seats & to figure everything out around the same time as the characters. We get the pattern very earlier on & discover more tidbits about the villain's background & motive throughout the story. A strong motive can singlehandedly make or break a character. Even though I read primarily for the romance, if the villain isn’t a big threat, it doesn’t work as well.
I kept the spice rating low because there was little to no sex scenes. There was 1 fade-to-black scene, a full scene, and a few mentions. Its unusual for the ftb scene to be first. You see it more often after they’ve already done it or the plot is reaching its peak & you don’t want the pace to be broken up for too long by a sex scene. The chemistry between the two was undeniable, but spice wasn't a priority. I actually didn't mind that, especially if the foreplay is good, given the context of the book & everything the heroine has had to overcome. What I did mind was the TIMING of the full out spicy scene & how it came about. I hate the seduction/"sex as an emotional weapon" trope. I get makeup sex but you have to make up & TALK first lol. Like if I just experienced what I believe to be a heartbreaking betrayal, I’m not hiding the pickle with you 15 minutes later.
March 9, 2018
Murder, mayhem, secret societies, buried treasure,
explosions, mafia, cartel, rats, global travel with a
steamy romance included with teamwork, trust and
friendship.
The plot is a highly suspenseful, dramatic, intriguing
and interesting turn of events.
Jack Grayson, a member of the Dark Alliance and his
team are sent to Mexico to find and retrieve an USB
drive.
Madeleine Blake, the first female member of the Dark
Alliance and former FBI agent is accompanying them.
This is book # 2 in the Dark Alliance series. It can be
Read as a stand along. This is the first book I have
read in the series and I had no problem following the
story as the author ties the past and present together
effortlessly.
explosions, mafia, cartel, rats, global travel with a
steamy romance included with teamwork, trust and
friendship.
The plot is a highly suspenseful, dramatic, intriguing
and interesting turn of events.
Jack Grayson, a member of the Dark Alliance and his
team are sent to Mexico to find and retrieve an USB
drive.
Madeleine Blake, the first female member of the Dark
Alliance and former FBI agent is accompanying them.
This is book # 2 in the Dark Alliance series. It can be
Read as a stand along. This is the first book I have
read in the series and I had no problem following the
story as the author ties the past and present together
effortlessly.
June 7, 2017
Plot: 4/5
Characterisation: 4/5
Prose: 4/5
How much I enjoyed it: 4/5
Characterisation: 4/5
Prose: 4/5
How much I enjoyed it: 4/5
July 31, 2018
A RS with paranormal twist!
I like it! It's not cool what Paige is suffering through. But it was an interesting twist! Pity all think that she's crazy! And nobody belives her! Poor girl!
I like it! It's not cool what Paige is suffering through. But it was an interesting twist! Pity all think that she's crazy! And nobody belives her! Poor girl!
December 3, 2018
Amazing story. Sweet romance, great dialogue, wonderful characters. My only problem is that it was frighteningly dark with a perverted, vicious killer. Horror just isn’t entertaining to me; it is upsetting — even with a happy ending.
March 24, 2019
I loved the artist aspect to this. This was a decent read, enough for me to read the last one in this series.
September 10, 2019
4.5 stars.
I loved the characters of the H and h. The plot was well paced and the romance well done. While the trope of a psychic artist connected to a killer is nothing new, the surrounding story was interesting enough to keep me reading.
This is the 2nd book in a series about 3 sisters. I have not read the first one and didn't feel like I missed anything. This book can stand on its own.
I loved the characters of the H and h. The plot was well paced and the romance well done. While the trope of a psychic artist connected to a killer is nothing new, the surrounding story was interesting enough to keep me reading.
This is the 2nd book in a series about 3 sisters. I have not read the first one and didn't feel like I missed anything. This book can stand on its own.
May 8, 2023
Well written romance/suspense with a paranormal element. Police investigation of a serial killer with the psychic heroine being in danger and the hero detective trying to save her. It was a solid read, although pretty unbelievable. I enjoyed it. 3.5 stars.
August 11, 2017
This is the first book that I have read by Janie Crouch and I am so glad that I was given the opportunity to do so. Brett moves back to Portland after living in South Florida for the past 10 years. He moved there after losing his family to go to college and then joined their police force until being offered a job recently back home in Portland. When he comes to the station, he finds a bunch of cold cases that they want him to start working on. Since that is one of his specialities, it was one of the reasons the chief wanted him to join their force. The chief was also one of his dad’s best friends growing up which helps but hurst Brett in ways. One way it hurts him is the Captain that he works for thinks he is getting preferential treatment which isn’t all that true. His first case is one that has been cold for 2 years. Even though he specialized in cold homicide cases, he is asked to do this as a special favor. Paige is an artist and was attached 2 years ago, being beaten really bad and was to be set on fire but got away. She doesn’t remember anything about the man who attacked her except it was “really dark”. She can’t help Brett get closer to closing this case but remember each other from high school as well as the chemistry they have between the 2 of them makes her feels safe. That is just the beginning of the story. There is friendship, danger, mystery, intrigue and love all wrapped up in this one book. It’s written incredibly well and the characters of the story keep you wanting more. Paige is one of 3 very interesting woman with talents that are unheard of. There is possibly a serial killer on the loose.. Was Paige his “one” that got away or are the cases extremely different? Will Paige let Brett into her life after all of this time of being alone? You need to pick this book up and read it for yourself, it is that great of a read. I am not a reviewer that gives the whole storyline away but I hope I intrigued you enough to pick this up for yourself. I voluntarily read an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book. It’s a definite buy for me as well.
May 10, 2017
Paige Jefferies is an amazing artist. She was abducted and beaten nearly to death but managed to escape the fire her abductor started to finish her off. She isolates herself from the outside world as much as she can to protect herself. But she can't protect herself from the drawings of murders she does in her sleep. And she can't say anything to the cops because they don't believe her. So she says nothing until she meets Brett a former high school student back home working as a detective.
Brett Wagner was given Paige's case because no other cop wanted to touch it. They think she's crazy or that something is wrong with her. As he looks into her case he discovers that some other cold cases might be done by the same killer. He starts having a relationship with Paige and makes him want to find her assailant in order to protect from any threat in the future. It worries him even more when he sees her drawing in her sleep and then finding out the woman she drew was dead. Paige explains how she sees people with colors around him but sometimes she sees darkness and it blocks everything else out,
Now thinking the killer will come back for her Brett does everything he can with the help of his partner to find the pattern and catch the killer before her claims Paige as the next victim. This was an amazing story I couldn't put it down until I had finished it. Loved the storyline and the characters. If you haven't read this yet you must do so now. Loved it and plan to recommend this to any of my book friends. can't wait to read more from this author.
Brett Wagner was given Paige's case because no other cop wanted to touch it. They think she's crazy or that something is wrong with her. As he looks into her case he discovers that some other cold cases might be done by the same killer. He starts having a relationship with Paige and makes him want to find her assailant in order to protect from any threat in the future. It worries him even more when he sees her drawing in her sleep and then finding out the woman she drew was dead. Paige explains how she sees people with colors around him but sometimes she sees darkness and it blocks everything else out,
Now thinking the killer will come back for her Brett does everything he can with the help of his partner to find the pattern and catch the killer before her claims Paige as the next victim. This was an amazing story I couldn't put it down until I had finished it. Loved the storyline and the characters. If you haven't read this yet you must do so now. Loved it and plan to recommend this to any of my book friends. can't wait to read more from this author.
October 11, 2019
A new author for me but I must say what a gripping read. I don't normally like dark thriller serial killer stories but this was so well written it was an enjoyable read.
Will be looking to read the rest of this series.
Will be looking to read the rest of this series.
July 24, 2017
I thought I was starting with number one but realized 15% in that it was the second book in the series. And by that point I did not want to put it down. 4 words: Romantic suspense done flawlessly! Now I'm going to stop writing this review and dive into number one!
May 4, 2021
Two years ago, artist Paige Jeffries was attacked in a seemingly random incident. She's been drawing unknown and dead women ever since.
When homicide detective Brett Wagner transfers back to Portland, his superior (and family friend) asks him to look into an cold battery-and-assault case. The victim is a reclusive artist who claims to have drawn herself injured in a hospital long before the attack happened. But Brett doesn't see Paige as an attention-seeker and when he starts connecting dots an looking for similarities, an eerie pattern emerges.
Paige was a victim of a serial killer. As she survived, she broke the killer's pattern and it's just a matter of time when he'll attempt again.
Unlike the first book this was a bit meatier in both the character and story department. The characters were more and better developed and fleshed out which resulted in a more rounded story and reflected in the romance. It was still instantaneous, but the amount of time Paige and Brett spent together, getting to know each other, him getting to know her abilities, working together to find the killer, seemingly slowed down the tempo, making the time-frame of the story appear longer than it really was.
I was looking for the same traits in the Brett/Paige dynamic as with Conner and Adrienne as far as him possibly tampering her abilities, but he wasn't. It had probably to do with a less "aggressive" aspect of Paige's talent, though I'm sure she'd appreciated some sort of reprieve anyway.
The suspense was very well done and developed. I much appreciated the "leg-work" of the investigation, that the guys put some actual detecting work in instead of relying to Paige to perform a miracle (at it happened with her sister). Despite her drawings provided important pieces of the puzzle, it was Brett and his partner, Alex, that actually found the perp. Whose motive was rather flimsy, but that's a serial killer for you.
A well-rounded story with great characters and dynamics, a solid romance and a good suspense.
P.S. I have a bone to pick, though. In the first book it was established Conner had to be blocks away from Adrienne for her "talent" to work, while in this one he just had to step out of the room? Did they practice in the years they were together? A token explanation would've been appreciated.
When homicide detective Brett Wagner transfers back to Portland, his superior (and family friend) asks him to look into an cold battery-and-assault case. The victim is a reclusive artist who claims to have drawn herself injured in a hospital long before the attack happened. But Brett doesn't see Paige as an attention-seeker and when he starts connecting dots an looking for similarities, an eerie pattern emerges.
Paige was a victim of a serial killer. As she survived, she broke the killer's pattern and it's just a matter of time when he'll attempt again.
Unlike the first book this was a bit meatier in both the character and story department. The characters were more and better developed and fleshed out which resulted in a more rounded story and reflected in the romance. It was still instantaneous, but the amount of time Paige and Brett spent together, getting to know each other, him getting to know her abilities, working together to find the killer, seemingly slowed down the tempo, making the time-frame of the story appear longer than it really was.
I was looking for the same traits in the Brett/Paige dynamic as with Conner and Adrienne as far as him possibly tampering her abilities, but he wasn't. It had probably to do with a less "aggressive" aspect of Paige's talent, though I'm sure she'd appreciated some sort of reprieve anyway.
The suspense was very well done and developed. I much appreciated the "leg-work" of the investigation, that the guys put some actual detecting work in instead of relying to Paige to perform a miracle (at it happened with her sister). Despite her drawings provided important pieces of the puzzle, it was Brett and his partner, Alex, that actually found the perp. Whose motive was rather flimsy, but that's a serial killer for you.
A well-rounded story with great characters and dynamics, a solid romance and a good suspense.
P.S. I have a bone to pick, though. In the first book it was established Conner had to be blocks away from Adrienne for her "talent" to work, while in this one he just had to step out of the room? Did they practice in the years they were together? A token explanation would've been appreciated.
April 5, 2019
A delightfully different second sight thriller! I enjoyed every page of this fast paced novel!
Paige is a talented and hugely successful artist known throughout the country for her unique style! Two years ago she was brutally assaulted, which caused her to become reclusive, with a full time security detail! Detective Brett, in the course of his cases, interacts with Paige and becomes enamoured of her! He becomes protective and supportive, which helps her want to live life more fully! She sees the real beautiful Brett, both inside and out! As the tension and danger rachets up on several levels they must pull together to survive a psychopathic murderer ( redundant I know)!
Critical Instinct is another brilliant new series by one of my favorite authors! After reading 8 of Janie Crouch's books, each is a masterpiece of storytelling and are consistantly great!
This particular exciting page turning plotline, is amazing and I loved the characters! Paige was BFF worthy and handsome, sexy Brett was a sweetheart! The reader could feel the tension and deeply personal ordeal embracing Paige! Brett was a rock helping her keep it togather, while both discovered a deep reasonating and enduring love forsaking all evil! Their relationship and connection had me smiling often, panting and frightened as the emotional rollercoaster roared through the story!
Janie is brilliant at romantic suspense and I will read anything she writes! She is soooo great!
Critical Instinct is a standalone tale with HEA and no cliffhanger! A beautiful story of abiding love in the face of enormous adversity! The magic of the story is Paige's talent to "discover" startling details of a criminal mastermind! I've never read anyone like Paige! This book made my knees go weak for multiple reasons! OMG!
Paige is a talented and hugely successful artist known throughout the country for her unique style! Two years ago she was brutally assaulted, which caused her to become reclusive, with a full time security detail! Detective Brett, in the course of his cases, interacts with Paige and becomes enamoured of her! He becomes protective and supportive, which helps her want to live life more fully! She sees the real beautiful Brett, both inside and out! As the tension and danger rachets up on several levels they must pull together to survive a psychopathic murderer ( redundant I know)!
Critical Instinct is another brilliant new series by one of my favorite authors! After reading 8 of Janie Crouch's books, each is a masterpiece of storytelling and are consistantly great!
This particular exciting page turning plotline, is amazing and I loved the characters! Paige was BFF worthy and handsome, sexy Brett was a sweetheart! The reader could feel the tension and deeply personal ordeal embracing Paige! Brett was a rock helping her keep it togather, while both discovered a deep reasonating and enduring love forsaking all evil! Their relationship and connection had me smiling often, panting and frightened as the emotional rollercoaster roared through the story!
Janie is brilliant at romantic suspense and I will read anything she writes! She is soooo great!
Critical Instinct is a standalone tale with HEA and no cliffhanger! A beautiful story of abiding love in the face of enormous adversity! The magic of the story is Paige's talent to "discover" startling details of a criminal mastermind! I've never read anyone like Paige! This book made my knees go weak for multiple reasons! OMG!
February 28, 2019
3.5 stars
(Note: not pure romantic suspense/contemporary...has elements of the paranormal/extrasensory)
Okay, there may have been a few (cough...or maybe more than a few) issues, but overall I really enjoyed this read. It’s sucked me right in with an engrossing story as well as interesting and engaging characters.
But...
- forced plot points, check
- insta love, check
- less than believable over-the-top villain, check
- need for one more proofread, check
(Though overall it was remarkably clean! Issues were small - generally of the typo variety, with a couple word choice issues thrown in.)
I also found myself disappointed in the minimal and often glossed-over romantic interludes, thought I will say they were handled extremely tastefully. And we’re very well written. This was just a personal preference (and my mood at the time), not at all a problem with the book or the writing. Just a note for my one looking for a bit more...romance in their romance. So to speak.
I am also thrilled there are two more books available about the sisters and their gifts. The only issue I have is Adrienne is already married and in her third trimester, so unless the book is a prequel, it is likely to be of a less appealing storyline variety to me. (Again, personal preference) I think I’d have preferred her story first, meeting Connor and getting involved with the FBI, THEN this story of Paige’s. And I am betting the more exuberant and less introspective Chloe is the concluding volume.
In any case, well with the read. An enjoyable escape!
Edit: after finishing this book and heading to pick up the next, I learned this WAS book two! Yay! So now I will go read the “prequel” about Adrienne and Connor.
(Note: not pure romantic suspense/contemporary...has elements of the paranormal/extrasensory)
Okay, there may have been a few (cough...or maybe more than a few) issues, but overall I really enjoyed this read. It’s sucked me right in with an engrossing story as well as interesting and engaging characters.
But...
- forced plot points, check
- insta love, check
- less than believable over-the-top villain, check
- need for one more proofread, check
(Though overall it was remarkably clean! Issues were small - generally of the typo variety, with a couple word choice issues thrown in.)
I also found myself disappointed in the minimal and often glossed-over romantic interludes, thought I will say they were handled extremely tastefully. And we’re very well written. This was just a personal preference (and my mood at the time), not at all a problem with the book or the writing. Just a note for my one looking for a bit more...romance in their romance. So to speak.
I am also thrilled there are two more books available about the sisters and their gifts. The only issue I have is Adrienne is already married and in her third trimester, so unless the book is a prequel, it is likely to be of a less appealing storyline variety to me. (Again, personal preference) I think I’d have preferred her story first, meeting Connor and getting involved with the FBI, THEN this story of Paige’s. And I am betting the more exuberant and less introspective Chloe is the concluding volume.
In any case, well with the read. An enjoyable escape!
Edit: after finishing this book and heading to pick up the next, I learned this WAS book two! Yay! So now I will go read the “prequel” about Adrienne and Connor.
June 1, 2023
It's been a while since I read the first one of these books, so I kind of forgot how intense they could be, given that it's such a short book. But it was. And I like how the answer to what connected these victims was kind of right in front of us, but also vague enough that I didn't figure it out until the detectives actually figured it out as well. I was with them, all the way. On their page, thinking what they were thinking.
I also like how our main heroine wasn't stupid. She finally wanted a little bit of freedom, to try and be a bit normal again, but she didn't completely ditch the protection she'd acquired for herself after the incident that made her need it in the first place. She was careful. And the thing that finally got her tricked and separated from everyone else... I'm not saying it was smart, but it was a plausible thing to have happened. It was believable. This smart woman didn't suddenly do something stupid. She thought she was being called in, being helpful, and it turns out her attacker is just very shrewd, very patient, and completely obsessive about his pattern.
The romance happens a bit fast, but that happened in the first book too. I think I liked this one better though because... in this one, Brett's nicer about everything. In the first one, Conner is a huge skeptic, and kind of distrusts and almost hates the main FC in that book. In this one, Brett has a calmer approach. He's still a skeptic... but he's not so hard about it. He still cares about Paige, even when he's struggling to wrap his mind around the new information he's being given about her.
Yeah, I really liked this. It was a good quick read, that definitely kept me on my toes. Looking forward to the next one.
I also like how our main heroine wasn't stupid. She finally wanted a little bit of freedom, to try and be a bit normal again, but she didn't completely ditch the protection she'd acquired for herself after the incident that made her need it in the first place. She was careful. And the thing that finally got her tricked and separated from everyone else... I'm not saying it was smart, but it was a plausible thing to have happened. It was believable. This smart woman didn't suddenly do something stupid. She thought she was being called in, being helpful, and it turns out her attacker is just very shrewd, very patient, and completely obsessive about his pattern.
The romance happens a bit fast, but that happened in the first book too. I think I liked this one better though because... in this one, Brett's nicer about everything. In the first one, Conner is a huge skeptic, and kind of distrusts and almost hates the main FC in that book. In this one, Brett has a calmer approach. He's still a skeptic... but he's not so hard about it. He still cares about Paige, even when he's struggling to wrap his mind around the new information he's being given about her.
Yeah, I really liked this. It was a good quick read, that definitely kept me on my toes. Looking forward to the next one.
December 26, 2018
I hardly, if ever read a book that has even a slight paranormal edge to it, but I have to admit I am so glad I read this book. This is a well-written story that balances the romance with suspense, with just the right amount of steamy scenes that does not distract from the story line. This type of balance is often not done correctly in this genre, so My “congratulates” to the author.
This book pairs together Brett and Paige, as Brett is the detective assigned a Cold Case involving a victim (Paige) that is a famous, but reclusive artist. It turns out Paige and Brett aren’t strangers to each other, as the former high school QB and the shy girl were in the same art class together years ago.
Paige’s case still baffles the police to the point they don’t believe her story, as she drew herself as the victim before her violent attack occurred. Brett is puzzled by the drawing yet he tends to believe Paige’s story, even though he is a man of facts and logic. The plots gets very intriguing and more bizarre when Paige’s mystery drawings intersect with a current murder and other Cold Cases Brett is working on with his partner, Alex.
I would be remised if I didn’t comment on Alex’s character. Alex makes my “Top 10 List” of Favorite Supporting Book Characters. Alex is a great addition to this book, as this detective is a solid and loyal partner, as well as the much needed comic relief in this intense storyline.
Even with a plot that centered around Paige’s “Special Triplet Gift”, which as I stated above, is not my thing, I had to rate this compelling book 4.75 Stars. Plus I plan to read the other books about the Triplets.
This book pairs together Brett and Paige, as Brett is the detective assigned a Cold Case involving a victim (Paige) that is a famous, but reclusive artist. It turns out Paige and Brett aren’t strangers to each other, as the former high school QB and the shy girl were in the same art class together years ago.
Paige’s case still baffles the police to the point they don’t believe her story, as she drew herself as the victim before her violent attack occurred. Brett is puzzled by the drawing yet he tends to believe Paige’s story, even though he is a man of facts and logic. The plots gets very intriguing and more bizarre when Paige’s mystery drawings intersect with a current murder and other Cold Cases Brett is working on with his partner, Alex.
I would be remised if I didn’t comment on Alex’s character. Alex makes my “Top 10 List” of Favorite Supporting Book Characters. Alex is a great addition to this book, as this detective is a solid and loyal partner, as well as the much needed comic relief in this intense storyline.
Even with a plot that centered around Paige’s “Special Triplet Gift”, which as I stated above, is not my thing, I had to rate this compelling book 4.75 Stars. Plus I plan to read the other books about the Triplets.
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