Kill Switch

by S.W. Vaughn

Stealing the wrong man's identity was a deadly mistake.

Marco Lumachi is a professional hitman. His name is not Donovan North, and he's not a detective transferring from New York City to Landstaff Junction, Vermont. But the whole town thinks he is, and if he wants to stay alive, he needs them to keep believing that.

Because the real Donovan North was gunned down on the way to his new job, by a rival mob family who thinks they killed the hitman -- and to maintain the illusion of his "death," Marco has taken his place.

Forced to work on the right side of the law, Marco finds himself hunting down a serial killer who's brutally murdered two women already. Worse, the detective he's assigned as a partner isn't some bungling small-town cop. She's sharp-eyed, determined, and not buying a word of his cover story.

But the man he's impersonating kept secrets of his own, and what Detective North was hiding could prove deadly ... for Marco, and for the innocent women that the killer is still targeting.

An edge-of-your-seat crime thriller with shocking twists, KILL SWITCH is perfect for fans of Melinda Leigh, Patricia Gibney, Rachel Caine, and Kendra Elliot.

314 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 26, 2019

About the author

S.W. Vaughn lives in "scenic" Central New York, with its two glorious seasons -- winter and road construction -- along with her husband and son. An award-winning author, copywriter, and blogger, she's been writing professionally for over 15 years.

Under Sonya Bateman, she is the author of the DeathSpeaker Codex series (urban fantasy) and the Gavyn Donatti series (urban fantasy / Simon & Schuster).

Reviews

[Aaron Lazar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always been a fan of S.W. Vaughn, ever since Broken Angel, the first book in the House Phoenix series. Vaughn’s writing is brilliant, witty, easy to read, and smooth as silk. I’ve read and loved them all. She also writes as Sonya Bateman, who has authored several incredibly addictive series such as The Deathspeaker Codex series and the Gavyn Donatti series. Both are superb, and I’ve eagerly read every single title.

But this book, Kill Switch, has absolutely blown me away. Maybe it’s because I love a good thriller/mystery/suspense more than any other genre. But frankly, I honestly couldn’t put this one down and totally ignored all my chores I was supposed to get done today. Yes, it was that good.

I was constantly guessing about who the killer was – and it was supremely satisfying to have so many possible suspects cleverly introduced throughout the story, to have wondered along with the main characters if they really could be the killer, but then to have been pleasantly shocked when the real killer was revealed. Oh, yes. Supremely satisfying. And I must say the way the clues were dropped was brilliantly done.

The whole premise is also thrilling. The idea of one guy (Marco Lumachi) stepping into another guy’s life (Donovan North) to save his own skin, and every step of the way, your heart is pounding because you are just certain he’s gonna be exposed, and that everything will blow up in his face…it was riveting.

I also found the characters extremely well developed, the conversations/dialog natural and smooth, and the writing flawless.

I guess I’m raving. But this book made me do it.

Highly recommended by Aaron Paul Lazar for anyone who loves crime thrillers/mystery/suspense stories.