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Will Novak Thriller #4

The Devil's Work

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In The Dark A pristine white beach near Sanibel Island, Florida, is an unlikely place for a murder, but that's where Will Novak finds himself, knee-deep in salt water trying to save a life. Maybe the frantic woman is the client he's supposed to meet. But there's no question she's got plenty of powerful enemies. And now they're after Novak too.

In The Details

When he meets her again, her story opens a world of nightmares: captured women, stolen children, and "adoptions" forged in blood and death. The network that tore apart her family stretches across continents and corrupts the forces that should fight against it. And its leaders will do anything to silence her.

In The Last Place You Look

From the alligator-infested waters of the Everglades to the Central American jungle, the fight to stop a ruthless conspiracy-and to find one mother's child-will take Novak to the edge of hell itself...

Praise For Linda Ladd's Claire Morgan Thrillers

"One of the most creepy, crawly, and compelling psychological thrillers ever." -Fresh Fiction

"Chilling, compelling suspense...be prepared to lose sleep!" -Eileen Dryer

"Exciting, thrill-a-minute!" -Midwest Book Review

"Plenty of suspense and surprises." -Publishers Weekly

236 pages, Paperback

First published June 18, 2019

36 people are currently reading
413 people want to read

About the author

Linda Ladd

40 books247 followers
Pseudonym, Jillian Roth

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5 stars
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
Profile Image for Linda Strong.
3,878 reviews1,712 followers
June 18, 2019
Claire Morgan Black, her husband, Dr. Nicholas Black, and of course, Will Novac, are back with a vengeance. Claire is several months pregnant and has been vacationing with her husband.

Claire has sent Will to a beach in Florida to meet a client ... a young woman whose infant daughter has been taken. When he meets her, her story opens a world of nightmares: captured women, stolen children, and “adoptions” forged in blood and death.

The woman has a lot of powerful enemies and now they're after Novac, as well. Black and Novac call for some of their own powerful friends to give them a helping hand.

It's a roller coaster ride of action ... especially when Claire becomes personally involved.

As with all this author's books, this is well written, non-stop action from the very first page. The characters are solid, lending credibility to the story. Although fourth in the series, this is easily read as a stand alone. However, as always, I recommend starting at the very begining.
Profile Image for Cathy .
292 reviews12 followers
December 29, 2019
The Devil's Work by Linda Ladd
This is #4 in the Will Novak series and it leaves you wanting the next one! Can be read as a stand alone novel. Will, a pregnant Claire and Black are hunting for a missing baby that appears to have been taken by baby traffickers, during the hunt Claire gets taken and now Will and Black must get her back or risk losing both the baby and Claire. Lots of action and mayhem, this book will not disappoint! Thank you Netgalley and the Publishers for allowing me to leave my honest opinion.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for PamG.
1,332 reviews1,083 followers
May 17, 2019
I won this kindle e-book version in a Goodreads Giveaway. While this is the fourth book in the Will Novak series, it worked as a standalone. However, reading books 1-3 first would help with the relationships and backstories.

This is certainly an action-packed thriller with a protagonist that is a private investigator who is trying to save innocents. However, if you are expecting him to follow only legal recourses, this is not the book for you. He and his PI partner have been asked to find and rescue a kidnapped baby. From this scenario, the story is off and running. This thriller focuses on illegal infant adoptions, kidnappings, and murder along with sidelines of money laundering, drug running, and political payoffs. On the positive side, it also deals with the importance of friendships and family and how events shape lives

This book was well-written and fluid. The plot was engrossing and fast-paced with an intriguing storyline. It includes some twists and turns as well. Overall, it is an intense read.
Profile Image for Cathy Geha.
4,376 reviews119 followers
June 29, 2019
The Devil’s Work by Linda Ladd
Will Novak #4

Will Novak is a man with a past. He has been a husband, father, Navy SEAL and a member of the NYPD. He was “lost” for a bit mourning the family the family he lost on 9-11 and seems to have found purpose working with Claire Morgan Black as a private investigator. Claire, recently married and six months pregnant, has sent Will off to wait for and perhaps protect a woman in need. Saving a young woman and her brother from MC thugs trying to kill them introduces him to Alcina’s sad story of the murder of her husband and abduction of her infant daughter. And thus begins this rip roaring tale that includes abduction, murder, torture, money laundering, motor cycle gang members without scruples, amoral men and cross-border human trafficking. Will calls in friends from his past to help and the Lori Garner, from the previous book, is also included as part of the team assisting to find baby Rosa. They will eventually save more than one woman and child and put a whole lot of hurt on some very evil people. It will be interesting to see where Will ends up next!

Coming into this series in the previous book was a treat and reading that book or this one does not require reading the first two books. That said, there might be more back story about Will, Claire and Black in those books that I would have enjoyed reading or that might have added to the backstory and made this story even better than it already was.

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I like to read more in this series? Definitely!

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Lyrical Underground for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4-5 Stars
Profile Image for Reen.
476 reviews6 followers
May 19, 2019
Thank you to NetGalley and the author/publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. This is book 4 in the Will Novak series and can be read as a stand alone but is better if you have read the previous books. Will heads down to the Sanibel Island, Florida to meet one of Claire's clients. While there, Will Novak saves a young woman and her brother on the beach from being killed and finds she is the woman Claire sent him to meet. Will does have a tendency to find himself in the thick of things even when it is unplanned. Will finds himself involved in captured women, stolen children, and “adoptions” forged in blood and death as he tries to save innocent lives and right wrongs. I have found Will to be a bit of an enigma: he can't get past the loss of his past and yet moves on in ways that you would think would have more impact on him. His loyalty to Claire and Black as well as his drive to see wrongs being righted, make him an interesting character. Looking forward to more books in this series.
2,563 reviews41 followers
June 18, 2019
The fourth exciting book in the Will Novak series. Will is waiting for his partner, Clare Morgan Black, when he sees a woman and child being dragged into the ocean. He intercedes and fights off the man, but is then surrounded by the man’s friends and the world goes dark. When he wakes up, suffering from a concussion, he is in a strange place after being rescued. The woman, Alcina, is there and she is also waiting for Clare who promised to rescue her baby daughter who was kidnapped. Will and Clare find themselves in the middle of missing women, stolen children and illegal adoptions. While attempting to locate the baby, they find themselves under threat from a lawyer who seems to be controlling the operation, or is he? Will Clare and Will be able to locate baby Rosa, or is there more going on behind the scenes that they are unaware of? A complete rush from beginning to end. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (by paytonpuppy)
2,101 reviews25 followers
May 28, 2019
Will Novak is hanging out at the beach waiting for a new client to contact him when he sees a woman and boy being attacked. Someone is trying to drown the boy. Are the woman and the young boy the client he is waiting for? Will now finds himself in the cross hairs of a vicious biker gang.

This book is part of a series but could easily be read as a stand alone. Will is retired military and former NYPD cop now working as a PI. He and his partner Claire Morgan Black seem to have a knack for getting into trouble while working on cases. The story is about kidnapped women, stolen children and illegal adoptions. The action starts on the first page, doesn’t let up and there is a twist at the end that I didn’t see coming. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.
11.5k reviews197 followers
June 8, 2019
This is a well paced thriller with a topical plot line involving human and, for want of a better word, baby trafficking. Will Novak is former NYPD and now he's a private detective and thus doesn't always follow what others might consider the rules. His partners, Claire and Black, figure in this installment in the series as well. I read the first book and missed the middle two so this was more or less a standalone- not a problem. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read- a page turner.
Profile Image for Read All About It.
2,073 reviews23 followers
May 2, 2019
Will Novak saves a young woman and her brother on the beach from being killed by a biker gang. She is the woman Claire Morgan sent him to find.This sets off a chain of events that keep you turning pages until the end.Then you can breath again! Will just had a knack for getting himself and anyone with him into trouble. Claire Morgan and Black are a large part of this book. They’ve been in the background in the last couple of books so I was glad to see them front and center in this one. Definitely a thrilling edition to this awesome series. I did not see that twist coming at the end at all!
Profile Image for Deborah Hightower.
112 reviews2 followers
June 18, 2019
Thank you to NetGalley and Lyrical Underground for the digital ARC of The Devil's Work by Linda Ladd. I have not read the previous books in this series but that did not prevent me from enjoying this book; it was a stand alone story about kidnapping and baby trafficking. There was lots of action throughout the book to hold my interest.
Profile Image for Marie.
81 reviews2 followers
June 12, 2019
Very good book. I haven't read any of the other books in this series but it's a great stand alone book. Loved the characters.
460 reviews6 followers
August 25, 2019
Linda Ladd

The Devil’s Work is definitely a fitting title for this book! And, as always, it is an excellent read! Looking forward to the next adventure!
152 reviews
December 9, 2019
I would like to think such a story is all fantasy but am afraid it does exist in real life someplace. Well tol story.
278 reviews5 followers
August 17, 2024
another great book

Another great book in the Will Kovac series. Can’t wait to read the next one! I would highly recommend them!
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews

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