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Dana Mulder #1

Deadly Pattern

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Deadly Patterns reveal disturbing truths.

Dana’s hired to find a missing woman. Thinking it would be a straightforward case, instead she's thrust into a web of kidnappings, deceit, and murder.

The investigation leads her to a prominent doctor who abducts his patients after their surgery, but all the evidence is circumstantial. With the help of her detective brother and his partner, they discover more bodies and link cold cases where they establish a similar MO.

During the investigation, the man who’s tried to kill her before makes contact again.
Can she solve the mystery before they find another body, and before she becomes the target of a savage maniac intent on making her his?

236 pages, Paperback

First published September 16, 2020

829 people are currently reading
520 people want to read

About the author

N. Gray

48 books170 followers
N Gray is a USA Today Bestselling Author, and lives in Cape Town, South Africa with her daughter.

She's an analyst and provider profiler for a medical insurance company during the day.

At night, she types on her curved keyboard creating fictional characters some may love, and others you want to kill yourself.

She writes in four genres; thriller, urban fantasy, horror, and paranormal romance, with a series out in each.

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Community Reviews

5 stars
210 (35%)
4 stars
225 (37%)
3 stars
109 (18%)
2 stars
43 (7%)
1 star
13 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
Profile Image for Shelley Amazon ca reviews as Purrrplehaze .
505 reviews45 followers
October 26, 2021
Ugh...another serial..

An exciting, well written crime thriller with a fearless heroine hunted by Pighead. Great story and characters but I personally don't like books that continue with unfinished storylines. Especially when the book is short.

Since I don't like unfinished stories, I am going to continue with the series and the prequel for now. But I have been known to drop out of a series and move on. I'll see how this pans out.

I received an ARC of this book from the author and I am giving you my honest review.
179 reviews4 followers
June 1, 2021
I really enjoyed this book. It kept my attention from the beginning and kept up the pace throughout. It left an unanswered question at the end so I must look for the next book in the series as I want to know the answer! This is a new author for me and I believe there are books in 2 other genres which could be interesting to read to see if they are as good as this one.
Profile Image for Heather W.
4,061 reviews35 followers
September 25, 2020
Deadly Pattern is the first book in The Dana Mulder Suspense Series and is a great start to this series.

I really enjoyed this suspense thriller. The characters are well depicted and intelligent. The storyline is well written and captured my attention from the first, with kidnappings, suspense, drama, danger, and intrigue. I am looking forward to reading more books in this series.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Profile Image for Natelle.
662 reviews3 followers
May 25, 2023
Dana Mulder quit her job at the FBI after a case ended in tragedy. Though she still bears scars from the event, she still feels compelled to help people in trouble. Having joined her friend Marc as a private investigator, she lets into action when a man asks her to help find his daughter. Since Bianca disappeared after having shoulder surgery, she starts with the doctor. As half-answered questions lead to more, she realizes her investigation ties into one that peers of her police officer brother didn’t feel the need to dig into. How many similar cases are out there? Will Dana’s past keep her from seeing the resolution of this case?

The writing of this novel made it hard to completely appreciate the story. Word choice was a major problem. Sometimes the phrasing was clunky or confusing and a lot of characters leered at each other regardless of the action or conversation going on at the time.
3,975 reviews20 followers
September 24, 2020
This is my first time reading something by this author. The summary of the book definitely caught my attention and I was intrigued. This is a wonderfully written thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat pretty much throughout the whole book - a definite page-turner for sure! There were many great plot twists throughout that I was anxiously turning the pages to see what would happen next. Great characters, well-developed, that really pull you in to the story. This was a really great read and I will definitely try something from this author again.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
1,145 reviews7 followers
October 11, 2021
A traumatized FBI analyst quits and becomes a private investigator. The case of a missing woman reveals a horrifying conspiracy and a chance for romance. But a nightmare from the past threatens to up end her life.

This was a readable novel. The missing woman mystery was solid if predictable. The threat from the past added some excitement so long as the obvious was overlooked. If one was truly traumatized it is hard to believe they would be so lax with their personal security. The incompetent cops were not convincing either. But it does engage and entertain. Worth a read.
Profile Image for Shelley Amazon ca reviews as Purrrplehaze .
505 reviews45 followers
October 26, 2021
Ugh...another serial..

An exciting, well written crime thriller with a fearless heroine hunted by Pighead. Great story and characters but I personally don't like books that continue with unfinished storylines. Especially when the book is short.

Since I don't like unfinished stories, I am going to continue with the series and the prequel for now. But I have been known to drop out of a series and move on. I'll see how this pans out.

I received an ARC of this book from the author and I am giving you my honest review.
Profile Image for Michele.
1,852 reviews61 followers
June 16, 2022
This one will really keep you reading to try and figure out who is killing strawberry blond women. And why is Dana being followed by a man in a mask who actually let her live a few years back. Dana is a PI--her brother is a police officer and is always trying to get Dana to step back--she is stubborn and wants to find out what happened to the missing girls. She does things that are a lot dangerous and thinks nothing of it!!

She does figure it out and nearly gets killed in the process. Lots of action and twists and turns which will keep you guessing!
Profile Image for Chuck.
114 reviews1 follower
July 28, 2022
Overall, fairly well written. Engrossing plot, good characters, and pretty good writing. Some minor details were irritating, like some language syntax that just didn’t seem to be natural (as if the characters spoke English as their second language) and some geography just was odd(jumping from Aurora to go get food at Navy Pier, then going hiking at Starved Rock) thought that likely wouldn’t bug anyone else who wasn’t from the area the author decided to base her novel in.
A bit amateurish, but a really enjoyable book.
264 reviews
October 20, 2022
Great book to read, I thoroughly enjoyed the characters, the storyline and twists and turns. The story kept me guessing while it was well written with a good pace to the story. The characters were well developed and necessary for the story to unfold. I totally enjoyed it but have given it 4 stars as I don’t like books that don’t conclude fully. I may read the next in the series as this was so enjoyable.
949 reviews5 followers
July 8, 2023
Enjoyable! This book kept me riveted and on the edge the entire time. I constantly was trying to guess who the bad guy was, and frequently found myself physically sitting upright and stressed out knowing our lead character was either walking towards danger or needed to get away. :p This book will captivate and suck you in. I recommend it. 👍 If it was not AI narration and read by people, I would most likely have given it 5 stars. The narration wasn't bad, just robotic.

📚📚📚📚
Profile Image for Peggy.
2,458 reviews50 followers
October 11, 2020
With the edge of your seat... page turning... plot twist type of book that so many like to read.... well... this for sure is no doubt one of them books! Don't expect to know what you think... It may and more then likely twist around on you! If you haven't read this book yet, you're missing out!
Profile Image for Joy Schmidt.
678 reviews3 followers
May 21, 2021
The story was fast-paced and kept my attention throughout. It includes two storylines--one of finding the missing woman and one of the masked attacker. The book ended with one mystery solved, but left a cliffhanger with the other one. Great motivator to find the next book in the series!
78 reviews
October 12, 2022
Dana's story was very interesting, suspenseful kept me wondering about Pighead, the Doctor and Todd. As seems to be the case in all these books, the main character (Dana) is selfishly stubborn to solve the case - although not really being authorized to do so. Thanks to the restraint of her brother and his partner. The romance in the story was a breather to the suspense!
Profile Image for Josette.
28 reviews11 followers
July 7, 2023
The story kept me interested. I listened to the audio book version of this. I would've loved to find out more about pighead and what's going to happen to him?
The mystery about Bianca was solved.
I'm probably not going to continue the series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
495 reviews7 followers
July 23, 2022
I really enjoyed this book, the story is great, with a lot of unexpected twists and turns that kept me glued to the pages.
1,945 reviews10 followers
February 23, 2023
Very good police procedural. Nicely developed characters and decent dialogue. Plot is fairly routine but well done.
Profile Image for Chris.
566 reviews
April 10, 2023
Decent Story

Liked the story and the pace. Some of it dragged a little, but the majority slid along nicely... I was disappointed there was no end...really.
454 reviews
July 19, 2023
Great book!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
1,471 reviews7 followers
July 13, 2024
Great police thriller

This story kept you on your toes until the end. Loved the tenacity of the main character Dana. Couldn't believe who the bad guy ended up being.. Good read!
Profile Image for Kevin Cannon (Monty's Book Reviews).
1,290 reviews24 followers
June 24, 2024
A woman disappears without trace from a hospital. Is this linked to other past happenings? Private detective Dana Mulder (I'm guessing the author has a fondness for the X-Files) is hired by the woman's father to investigate.

Great plot, interesting main characters and a series sub-plot thrown in.

I listened to the audiobook which was AI narrated, but this in no way affected the enjoyment. AI has come a long way in the last few years and is now quite difficult to identify.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews

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