Dysfunctional Dreams

Dreams and Reality #17

by Hadena James

Aislinn Cain and the rest of the SCTU have just finished a case in Colorado when they are rushed back to Kansas City to deal with a problem close to home. The person that has been trying quite pathetically to kill Nadine Daniels for the last few years has turned to killing her clients. The newspapers dub him the Family Annihilator because he is killing entire households protected by Daniels’ Security.

As Nadine’s files are trucked to the SCTU headquarters to be sifted through, it quickly becomes apparent that Nadine has more enemies than even Aislinn Cain. Aislinn struggles to get into the mind of abusive domestic partners. Most are insecure narcissists not psychopaths or sociopaths unlike the serial killers they normally chase.

Also, as is the case whenever Nadine Daniels is involved in something it is more complex and complicated than it appears on the surface. Daniels’ Security has been in business more than fifteen years and they have had a lot of cases both on the books and off. Not to mention it is impossible for Nadine’s private life and business life to not overlap and Aislinn finds her private life and law enforcement life overlapping as a result. Aislinn worries all these distractions will result in the killer getting away or worse, completing their objective – Kill Nadine Daniels.

419 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 17, 2020

About the author

Hadena James began writing at the age of eight. As a teenager, she had several short stories published in literary magazines. She completed writing her first novel at the age of 17.
Hadena graduated from the University of Missouri with a degree in European History with minors in German and Russian studies. She has always wanted to be a writer so she also took several classes in creative writing.

Hadena’s primary literary genre is action/thriller. She currently writes two series, both use action/thriller. “The Brenna Strachan Series” uses fantasy and the “Dreams & Reality Series” uses murder mystery as its secondary genre. She continues to explore and expand her writing and hopes to soon produce a comedic action/thriller.

When she isn’t busy writing or running her business, Hadena enjoys playing in a steel-tip dart league. She also loves to travel throughout North America and Europe. Her favorite cities are Chicago, Illinois and Berlin, Germany. She is an avid reader, reading everything from the classics like Jane Austen to modern writers like Terry Pratchett. One of her all-time favorite books is “Good Omens” by Neil Gaimen and Terry Pratchett. She writes all of her books while listening to music and the bands tend to get “honorable mentions” within the pages.

Reviews

[KIM · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am revising my star back to the original 3stars. I’ve been rereading this series and wondered what I had rated it the first time. With the reread I would add total lack of editing and again the ending of the book threw me in a bad way. Disappointing book so 3 stars. (Old Review) I can’t give this book my usual 5 star for a D&R book. I love Ace and crew but I’m not overly fond of Nadine and her crew. The cross over in The Dysfunctional series makes this a so so read for me. Aslinn and the SCTU are chasing a family annihilator targeting clients of Daniels Security and putting their friend Nadine Daniels in danger. I’m editing my first review because it sounded as if I hated this book so I’m adding other reasons I was disappointed with this book. There isn’t enough interaction between the main characters for me and I found Aislinn’s reaction to fertility treatment a bit annoying. I was also disappointed with how some of the plot was written, to say more would require a spoiler alert. Not the best of the series but good read.

[Sherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hadena James is a must read author

A mix of police and alphabet agency procedural with plenty of psychologically interesting characters. Never a dull moment in her hard to put down books. Easy to follow but gives you plenty to mull over as she pulls you to the endgame. I've finished all her books in this series in 4 months and can't wait to read Avenged Dreams!

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read.

I love this series and always recommend it to readers. However this book fell short for me. Still a good read. But i was just not captured like with the others. It seemed like it was rushing through and just highlighting topics. Where i expected more dialog there was none. Everything just felt so impersonal. Towards the end i was really enjoying her non date scene. The convo was really flowing. Then it just cut off. I will continue to read the series because i really love it. Im interested to see if holmes will resurface. I looking forward to the next one.

[Ingrid · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story was all over the place. For two thirds of the book the killer was bent on revenge for Nadine and in the last third he was forced into killing by Lydia. It was like there were two killers.

I have noticed this in previous books especially where Raphael was hell bent on killing his brother for family upbringing reasons but then it flipped to suddenly being contracted to kill by the head boss.

[Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE GROOVE IS COMING BACK

This book is a return to the groove. The SCTU are going on again. Aislinn is back with her phobias and craziness. In this installment the return of Gabriel as the head honcho.

The SCTU is disperse in this story, we see little of Xavier, Fiona and Lucas maybe the author will work towards that again. I recommend this book and the complete series

[Kathy WIlson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun read. I liked the cross over with characters from another series making an appearance. The Daniels crew always makes things lively and so they were a fun addition. I hope to see more crossovers between the two series. The characters of the D&R series are like old friends and I always enjoy spending time with them. Can't wait for the next one!

[Sinead Abbott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another one smashed out of the park

I love this series and have read them avidly. This book seems different to the others. Having read the series you think you know Aislinn but this book opens up another side to her not explored before & i enjoyed that. Definitely worth a read if you're a fan Hadena James never disappoints

[Michele bookloverforever · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aislinn on hormones so her fertile eggs can be harvested for a surrogate wreaks havoc with her limited emotional capacity...all while chasing a family annihilator. Ends with aislinn and Ivan Daniels sharing non date dinner.

[Lndavidson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another good one!

I love how fast paced these books are, but . Packed with so much info and eleventy storylines. I enjoy Ace branching out and making new friends. Well as "friends" as Ace can get.

[Kathy Peters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

I love this series, each book is good alone but I never can wait for the next to come out. All of these characters have so much history and they are definitely one family.

[Laurie Cole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riveting, Well Written

I'm ready for the next Aislin Cain and the SCTU installment...Love these books, they are very well written and researched...

[Valadia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Again... Amazing!!

Love her books. She never disappoints!! I have been reading this series, and loving it since the start. I highly recommend her. Incredible author. WRITE MORE!!

[Alisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another good installment in the Dreams & Reality series. I don't know how/where Ms. James comes up with this cases.

[Danitza Hamilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm missing the last three pages.

As usual great story. But, stopped abruptly on the sentence where she remarks on his steak sauce. (?) Am I wrong?😐

[Sabrina Bright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this series!

This is a great series. It’s not for the faint of heart, but this is one of my favorite series.

Reading things from a psychopaths point of view is amazing. I love the growth Aislinn has and how she views the world. She has changed so much, and I can’t wait until she moves onto her next adventure.

[Pinky Hewitt]

Fab

Love the dynamics of the characters and you never can work out which way one of these books goes keep them coming