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Carolina McKay #3

Her Deadly Double Life

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To catch the perfect killer, she must become the perfect victim.

Carolina McKay saved two towns from sadistic killers while putting her own life on the line. Risking it all for strangers comes easy to her, but what happens when the victim is family?

After her estranged sister goes missing, Carolina delves into her sordid private life and soon learns that her sister isn’t the only woman who has vanished. There are more. Many more.

All signs point to a serial killer more dangerous than any Carolina has squared off against before.

As her investigation takes her undercover into the dangerous world of high end sex workers, Carolina is determined to rescue her sister, even if it means taking her place.Praise for the Carolina McKay "Unable to put down. Breathless excitement! Carolina is hard to love and impossible not to, with her guts and flaws showing. Every book seems better than the one before. Excellent reading!"This is a fantastic read!!! Carolina McKay is a kick ass character that draws you in, in the first few paragraphs. I thought I had it figured out and then the twists and turns started.... If you’re looking for a great new series from a fantastic author... THIS is it!""Love this series! Feels like I am back with old friends when I read these books. The action is non stop, the characters are developed and seem real, and wow at the ending! Great read!""Awesome ending! Never saw it coming. A grab you by the seat of your pants type of story. Such a variety of characters, with a bit of humor thrown in. Loved it!""VERY well written, the storyline grabs you with the first paragraph and just keeps getting better. I thought I had it figured out, then the twists and turns started!!! Excellent read!!""Plot twists galore. Excellent book. Writing was super. The storyline was gripping and intense. I just couldn't put if down. I would definitely recommend this book and author to all.""Absolutely awesome. To say I loved it would be an understatement.""A new favorite author. This s a brisk, hard to put down read."

262 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 15, 2020

635 people are currently reading
147 people want to read

About the author

Tony Urban

66 books208 followers
A professional photographer, writer and fan of general weirdness (both real and imagined), Tony has traveled tens of thousands of miles seeking out everything from haunted locations, UFO crash sites and monsters like Bigfoot and the Mothman. In a previous life, he worked in the independent movie industry but he finds his current career much more exciting.

Tony's first writing memory involves penning a short story about taking a road trip with his best friend and his dog (two different creatures) to watch KoKo B Ware in a professional wrestling event in Pittsburgh. He wrote that epic saga while in the 3rd grade and it was all downhill from there. His first books were a series of o)eat travelogues but recently his zombie apocalypse series, "Life of the Dead" has been a bestseller online and grossed out readers all over the world. His ultimate goal in life is to be killed by a monster thought by most to be imaginary. Sasquatch, werewolves, chupacabras, he’s not picky. If that fails, he’d enjoy making a living as a full time writer. Which of those two scenarios is more likely is up to the readers to decide.

Please sign up for my mailing list at:
http://eepurl.com/P8lc9

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5 stars
688 (61%)
4 stars
327 (29%)
3 stars
84 (7%)
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12 (1%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
Profile Image for Matt.
4,928 reviews13.1k followers
June 14, 2025
Drew Strickland and Tony Urban advance this series of collaborative effort with another great novel. Set in West Virginia, former Detective Carolina McKay finds herself looking for a purpose after she's been sidelined with an injury. When her mother seeks Carolina's asisstance, there is significant hesitation. Carolina's half-sister, Scarlett, is missing and no one has any leads. With loads of time and an itch that needs scratching, Carolina agrees to look into it. What she finds is something she could never have guessed, opening a world in which Scarlett finds herself unlike anything Carolina could ever have imagined. Strickland and Urban shock the reader once again with this piece!

While trying to stay one step ahead of an ongoing pain med addiction, Carolina McKay is confused when her mother reaches out with a panicked request. It would seem that Carolina's estranged half-sister has gone missing in Pittsburgh and no one is taking action. With little to do and a vague curiosity, Carolina takes on the investigation, hoping that her former connections in law enforcement will open doors. Discussions move from Pittsburgh to Las Vegas, and then a seedy underworld, where Scarlett seems to have come into money. Carolina has got to wonder what she's got herself into and how she will present it to her mother.

Following a lead or two, Carolina is able to locate Scarlett, who has a story that cannot be ignored. While Scarlett has been working as a high-end escort, she tells of a man who has not only been using the services of various escorts, but holding them captive and killing them. Scarlett speaks of escaping the grasp of the man, who has some sort of lair and has been taking various women to use for his own pleasures. Carolina is now fully committed with this case that has many worrying aspects.

Seeking to target this serial killer, Carolina has to go undercover, in hopes of getting answers and neutralising the threat. Carolina works alongside Scarlett to create an alluring profile in hopes of luring the man before he knows what's happening. This will surely be more dangerous than anything Carolina McKay's done during her time as a detective, but there are women out there who need her help. Drew Strickland and Tony Urban take things to a new level with this novel!

While I enjoy Drew Strickland's writing, I am just now seeing how Tony Urban flavours their collaborative efforts. This series has been successful up to now and I am enjoying what I have found so far. The narrative is able to pull the reader in from the first chapters and does nto let up until there is no going back. Characters have their own backstories that keep the reader wondering and hoping that development continues. The stories are complemented by strong characters and their interactions help advance the series effectively. Plot points keep the reader involved, as surprises fill each page. Carolina McKay comes into her own once more and shows how valuable she is to the series and the advancements of these investigative storylines. I am eager to see where Strickland and Urban plan on taking things and how Carolina will be a central part of it all, with ongoing crossovers into the Dupray, West Virginia community.

Kudos, Messrs. Strickland and Urban, for another chilling thriller.

Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
Profile Image for MikeR.
354 reviews13 followers
September 26, 2025
Her Deadly Double Life – Not for the Faint of Heart (Seriously, This One’s Grim)

Tony Urban and Drew Strickland have done it again: they’ve served up another Carolina McKay novel that will leave you queasy, breathless, and compulsively turning the pages. But before we get into the meat (and oh boy, there’s meat), a public-service announcement: this is not a cosy mystery. It’s a horrific tale of abduction and murder. If you’re squeamish, or prefer your crime fiction served with tea and biscuits, back slowly out of the bookstore.



The story launches with Carolina being strong-armed by her mother, Bea, into tracking down her estranged half-sister, Scarlet, who’s gone missing from Pittsburgh. The FBI shrugs. The local police yawn. Carolina, battered and barely keeping her oxy habit under control, heads off anyway. She’s a train wreck, yes, but one of those train wrecks that somehow stays on the rails long enough to solve a case.

What follows is a dual storyline — Scarlet’s nightmare escape from a sadistic captor, and Carolina’s equally reckless plan to smoke him out — that converges in a rural farm setting so revolting you’ll be gagging (I swear I could smell it through the pages). Urban and Strickland don’t flinch, and neither does Carolina, but you may want to put your sandwich down before reading these parts.

The book’s power lies in the tension between Carolina’s brokenness and her stubbornness. She’s not a likable heroine in the traditional sense; she’s prickly, self-medicating, and underappreciated. But she’s also ferociously determined to do the right thing, even if it kills her (or gets other people killed). By the time she goes undercover to bait a serial killer, you’re alternately yelling “No, don’t do it!” and “Yes, get him!”

There are still the rough edges you expect from this series — a few proofreading stumbles, some repetitive phrasing — but the core is strong: a grim, fast-moving thriller with an unforgettable main character. Urban and Strickland push Carolina into darker and darker waters, and while you may hate what you’re seeing, you won’t be able to look away.

Just don’t say I didn’t warn you about the farm scenes.
1,507 reviews7 followers
October 31, 2020
Her Deadly Double Life

This is a great thriller. This is a book you won't want to put down. I can't wait for the next book in this series. I highly recommend this book.
1,066 reviews9 followers
March 28, 2023
This one focuses on Carolina's half sister, Scarlet, who has gone missing. Bea, their mother, is desperate - Scarlet calls twice a week, on Wed. and Sat. at 5 pm, religiously - but it's Sunday...Bea has not heard from Scarlet since the previous Saturday - 2 calls have been missed, and Bea has texted and called Scarlet since Saturday evening with no response. Without even missing a beat or considering Carolina's battered body from her most recent escapades, she demands that Carolina find Scarlet, who has moved to Pittsburgh.
To say the 2 girls are unfamiliar with one another is an understatement, and much of what Carolina learns is quite a surprise, starting with her occupation. The book writes the story as 2 story lines that converge and diverge at different points. With no help from the FBI or police, Max and the FBI agent she met, the one who was investigating an embezzlement in which Scarlet was a person of interest, and her sister, allow Carolina to set herself up as bait for a serial killer. Just when everything seems resolved, Carolina realipzes something she missed.
This one has fewer plot twists than the other books in the series, but the last one is a doozy.
It also continues, as in the previous books, with incomplete sentences, paragraph that change topics midstream, dropped words in a paragraph or a sentence, words that are unnecessarily repeated while the words that would have completed the thought or paragraph or sentence are omitted. Continued lousy proofreading by people who don't have a working knowledge of grammar, composition, and other components of lucid writing has once again detracted from the story in the book. Authors make mistakes as they're simply too close to their own work to catch everything.
I do like the character, and I feel a bit of affinity for her...it is hard being the unloved sibling, and that is what Carolina is. Her hard edges, and her flaws, are all the results of putting up defenses against rejection. Even at the end, when she has done so much, and has injured herself on top of injuries sustained already, you see Scarlet and her mom all lovey dovey without a single thank you from their mother to Carolina. No, Caolina isn't the lovey dovey type, and her sister does thank her, but it seems her mother has no thanks for what Carolina went through to find Scarlet, and then to find the killer. It will be interesting to see if anything changes for Carolina's good, and if it does, will she be able to accept it or will years of defensive walls prevent her from believing something good can happen for her.
Profile Image for Pam.
81 reviews14 followers
February 27, 2024
Dragons Are Real

Another frightful adventure, featuring former Police Officer Carolina McKay and her men, all of whom seem to be getting closer to a relationship with her. Never quite make it, but closer every time. The free-lance journalist/blogger Max, FBI Agent Jack, and Sheriff Elven are all smitten. Whether it's her beauty, or her investigative skills, they are in awe. Thus when she asks for help to track down the sadistic killer that kidnapped Carolina's sister they join her in Pittsburgh.

This is a fast caper, with some lucky breaks and sophisticated sex workers providing subject matter expertise. But Carolina's team isn't going to make it out alive. At least not all of them.

I am three books into this series. The extreme injuries that Carolina experiences with every case are starting to be unbearable. I am hopeful she will have a chance to heal, dry out, recover her health before she has to slay another dragon
Profile Image for Ricki.
1,421 reviews14 followers
May 30, 2023
Carolina is roped into looking for her sister by mom Bea. Supposedly Scarlet calls in regularly and has missed her last few calls so Carolina heads to Pittsburgh from W. VA.

There the police/FBI does nothing to search for Scarlet who it turns out is in the world's oldest profession- escort. Carolina is still a train wreck abusing oxy but somehow can function to search.
Meanwhile Scarlett escapes her captor and Carolina cooks up a plan to find where she was held and deal with the monster.

The farm parts of the story were truly disgusting and Carolina's idea lame. The only reason I keep reading these books is in the hope a truly good detective gets her act together before she gets more people killed.
255 reviews2 followers
September 7, 2023
Crazy good

This Caroline character has got nine lives. She has gotten herself into and out of unimaginable situations. Up until the last 5 pages, hold your breathe because the story is not done. The details in this book are mind blowing. Part of me wonders where the writers came up with this. Has it happened in someone else's life? Is it possible? Oh yes I think it is but I pray it stays in a book. On to the next in the series because I just need to know what Caroline gets herself into next.
2,005 reviews24 followers
February 2, 2021
So good

I, unfortunately, didn't realize this was book 3 in a series. But no matter, I wasn't at a loss like I had missed something. This series doesn't seem to depend on the proceeding books in order to understand what is happening. Good decision, guys. Although I am interested enough to backtrack and read book 1 & 2 and look forward to following Carolina and her mismatched friends exploits.
689 reviews1 follower
September 8, 2021
Her Deadly Double Life.

I'm not certain how Carolina keeps functioning, popping pills, drinking and always getting the sh*t kicked out of her.
Although this book was about her missing sister, she nailed it with help once again. Sorry about Jack but he knew he should have had backup.
76 reviews
June 3, 2022
Flipping Awesome!

This was outstanding. I literally had issues putting the book down. Found myself at 3am waking up and catching some pages. This is what great writing is all about. Endearing lead character, lots of action & twists. The one at the end though! Whoah! Can't wait to read the next book!
2 reviews
August 3, 2022
great series

Be sure and start your journey with book 1-“Her Deadly Homecoming”. This series definitely woke me up from a reading slump. The characters suck you in and the twists and turns keep you wide awake! By the end of each book you are already looking for the next book. 5 Stars plus!!!
1,691 reviews1 follower
February 18, 2025
This is a very unusual series, very disturbing yet hard to put down. The main character is very flawed and out of control yet manages to be an excellent detective. The plots are very different from the normal books of this kind, and go in the most unexpected directions. Even though the killer was revealed early in the story, the solutions followed and circuitous and interesting path.
Profile Image for Lynne.
318 reviews2 followers
August 21, 2025
Carolina must have a death wish

Although there are times I want to slap some sense into Carolina’s head, she is up to her neck in this story. Her half-sister is missing and the outlook isn’t good for finding her. Enlisting the help of old and new characters, the ending is satisfactory.
12 reviews1 follower
February 15, 2021
I love Carolina McKay she takes care of business. Tony Urban and Drew Strickland are excellent writers their books are not for the squeamish. They grab you on page 1 and carry you all the way through. Looking forward to reading more of their books.
185 reviews1 follower
May 18, 2021
Love this series

Feels like I am back with old friends when I read these books.

The action is non stop, the characters are developed and seem real, and wow at the ending!

Great read!
Profile Image for Michelle.
189 reviews1 follower
August 11, 2021
Excellent

This storyline was so realistic in today's world. The way they described Earls looks was vividly gross. I could actually see him in my minds eye. Nasty guy! Didn't think it would end as it did, but should have guessed. Awesome story!!! On to the next
109 reviews2 followers
September 18, 2021
Another success!

Reading one a day since the first one! This one was almost over the top with the unexpected ending. My heart was actually pounding for the last part of the book. I’ll never get to sleep now…..
Profile Image for taffykathiegmail.com.
590 reviews
September 21, 2021
Most families are not perfect. This goes beyond your imagination!

Family is all you have to help you in life. This family is one only stories can comprehend their thinking, and actions. What a great ending!!
Profile Image for Jennifer Snider.
111 reviews10 followers
October 31, 2021
Yet another psychological Thriller filled with sadistic and deviant criminals.

Carolina never disappoints and in this story she shows how far family will go to save family. I love reading books where women play the hero sometimes and I was surely not let down in this one.

Happy Reading 📚🤗
Profile Image for Sterling Kirkland.
Author 29 books13 followers
February 3, 2022
This one was quite good. With her sister missing, Carolina heads off to Pennsylvania to find her. Taking this series to an entirely new place with a fresh set of side characters. The ending is quite a major twist, but it will leave you satisfied.
69 reviews2 followers
November 23, 2022
Another Great Book

Enjoyed this book as much as the last ones. Am about to buy the next in the series! Looking forward to whatever new adventures Carolina gets herself into. Hope to read more about sister, Scarlet too!
11 reviews
March 22, 2025
Fantastic Story

Unbelievable story line every turn unbelievably full of suspense didn't see the climactic ending kept me on the edge of my seat and hard to put down So fanatical yet so real it was scary .... Would make a great movie or miniseries .
85 reviews2 followers
October 18, 2020
Awesome!

I can’t love these characters any more than I already do! The story was entertaining and there were edge of your seat moments. It was just done so well! Bravo!
48 reviews
January 2, 2021
Excellent

This third book in the series is the best. I enjoyed all of them. Hopefully there is a forth.
I highly recommend this series.
5 reviews
February 20, 2021
Great Read

Very entertaining. Sucks you in from the very begining. I hope there are more books in this series. Definitely will read them if so.
41 reviews1 follower
March 3, 2021
Great series!

I just finished the three book series. I enjoyed all three of them. They were easy to read, quick and kept you guessing.
13 reviews
May 22, 2021
Great Read!

This is the third book of a trilogy, and to me, the best. I have become very fond of Carolina; she is a flawed human with the best intentions. I would love to see more stories featuring her.
101 reviews
June 14, 2021
Carolina series

I really liked each of these 3 books and can't wait until the 4th one comes out. Keep up the good work, you now have a new reader.
Profile Image for Debbie Diem.
69 reviews1 follower
October 25, 2021
These books keep getting better and better. This is book three in the series. When Caroline is told her half sister is missing, even though they are not close, she runs to help her.
17 reviews
May 15, 2022
Addictive

Another great book I read less then a day I loved the story Carolina is the best look forward to next book!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews

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