The Honey Trap

by Patrick Sheane Duncan

Twentysomething Pru seems like a girl on the straight and narrow. She takes in stray and abused animals and is studying to be a veterinarian. But college is so expensive these days so she has to work her way using her talents as a conwoman. Fleecing dirty old men, using the dark web and a variation on that old swindle, the Honey Trap.

Luring the potential pedophiles online with her youthful look, she meets and drugs them, taking their valuables and selling them on the Los Angeles black market. It's a living, buys kibble, and pays tuition. Besides, she figures this is what the bastards get for trying to have sex with underage girls. Right? Right.

But then one of the suckers turns out to be a fellow predator, of the most heinous kind.

During the ill-fated encounter, a serial killer turns the tables on Pru and nearly adds her to his collection of young female victims, tortured and then killed. She is barely able to escape. But this deadly experience is not over. The killer, now that he has met her, is a fan. Somehow he sees Pru as a fellow traveler and wants her to witness his next murderous plan, step by step.

Pru tries to evade the twisted courtship, but when she refuses, the killer takes the game to her doorstep—with deadly results. Pru now has to take down this cold-blooded enemy on her own. Using every trick she has learned on the mean streets she goes after him. At the same time she is forced to dredge up a host of dark, long-buried secrets of her own.

Genres: Audiobook

195 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 21, 2021

Reviews

[The Sassy Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐⭐⭐⭐

This book was all kinds of entertaining! Well written and fast-paced with interesting characters and a nice little "twist" at the end. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute. The only small niggle I had with it, and why it didn't get a full 5 stars was that last chapter. If you can even call it a chapter. It was like three sentences then...THE END. I just wanted a little more regarding Pru's future. Other than that, this gets two giant thumbs up from yours truly.

**ARC Via NetGalley**

[Laurie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has a great hook! Con artist, Pru, has a website to set up "dates" when she gets to their hotel room she slips them a roofie and robs them blind. But she's the heroine! One date turns out to be a serial killer with his own bad intentions. She is able to get the upper hand but he won't let it go and the chase is on. I love the premise of this book, the thought that went into these two main characters and Pru's mentor, and the action sequences. There are some seriously gory portions, which I don't mind.

There's one character, Pru's Russian fence, who is difficult to read; the author attempts to recreate his accent with his street-wise slang way of talking and it's just an mess. Thankfully he plays a small role. What I could have done without was the last chapter. It's three sentences, adds nothing to story and it refers to a minor detail earlier in the book (granted half-a-dozen sentences earlier but one of those things you don't even waste time on). I literally did a word search on my book to find out what she was talking about.

Many thanks to #NetGalley and Crossroad Press for providing me with a free copy of #TheHoneyTrap in exchange for an honest review.

[Alex | | findingmontauk1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dangerous, feisty, and sexy. THE HONEY TRAP blends justice, revenge, and vigilante shit from beginning to end. What happens when a con artist luring men with deranged and criminal inclinations stumbles across a serial killer who is also playing his own game? The fist half of the book was a solid 4 stars for me, and somewhere in the final 1/3 it dropped to a 3-3.5 average. The books has dual narrators on Audible: Felicia Day as the main character, Pru. Sean Duregger as the male counterpart. Both of them absolutely crushed this! It was so engaging having these two at the helm and it elevated the reading experience tremendously. They were both charming, entertaining, witty, dark, and funny.

[Leigh F · Rating 4 out of 5]

Started off slow but I got sucked in pretty much about 15 minutes in. Fell in love with Pru and really loved her as a badass woman she was. Highly recommend.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really struggle with anything remotely resembling animal abuse, so there were parts of this book that were hard for me to read. Overall I liked the premise but I thought that it was going to be more of Pru trying to find the killer/stop him from killing again but that ended up being pretty straightforward. I got a bit tired of the "by golly", "gosh", "fudge", etc. to portray the midwestern family.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Janalyn, the blind reviewer]

When Pru hit’s a mark she knows all the right people to go to so she can get rid of her loot. She makes good money and looks out for number one, with the exception of the animals she keeps in her little animal hospital. She’s paying her way through school to be a veterinarian and she has one year left so when she sets up a date with Calvin she just thinks he’s another pedo who she’ll take care of and be on her way. Little did Prue know this Mark would be even more dangerous to her life than she will be to his, but who does a con artist call when all her proof has been stolen back and she doesn’t even know who the possible serial killer is? Not only that but the serial killer, Calvin sees her at some kind of soulmate. This book was a trip and I do mean a good trip and although I really didn’t like Prue that much I mean you sold stuff the people connected with the Russian mafia and she would sell these peoples personal information despite the fact they had families I just found a lot of reasons not to like her but by the end of the book I did root for Prue this really is a great mystery with some wild moments I listen to the audiobook and thought both narrators were really awesome. I really have been loving the books from this publisher it can’t wait to read more. And psychic Pacalypse put out some really great books

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well done, Patrick Sheane Duncan! I have not read this author before so I had no clue how great a ride The Honey Trap would be. Prudence is a young, street smart woman, taught by a school of hard knocks, heartache, and an older woman, Rochelle, who took her under her wing and taught her a trade. Albeit an illegal and dangerous con trade, but way better than living on the streets. Pru entices "marks" looking for minor children to exploit using her youthful appearance. Her con game comes to a screeching halt when she goes up against a way more dangerous mark than she was prepared for. Now begins a back and forth of carnage and Pru's drive to hunt this man down and avenge his wrongs. Her bravery and intelligence is incredible, and I was constantly cheering for her. The last chapters were intense and shocking! Great read!!!

[Laken · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was quite interested in the first 43% of this book. A conwoman with a dark past meets up with her next target only to find herself face to face with a serial killer. What’s not to like about that?

However, this book contains problematic content that perpetuates racism.
When I read, “She was wearing jeans and a baggy zip-up sweatshirt, one of those with a hood, the kind black thugs wore,” that was where I stopped.
I couldn’t continue reading. I felt angry and in disbelief.
This sentence isn’t part of character building, it is said from the narrator’s point of view and there’s nothing that can be said to justify the use of such perpetuation of damaging and dangerous stereotyping.

[Jalia Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Omg, what a wild ride of a book. Pru is a young woman with a sad past who is working towards a better future. While taking classes to become a veterinarian, she runs several cons to make ends meet. With her best friend and mentor Rochelle helping her, she is pretty successful until she tries to con a very dangerous man who is out for revenge. If you like fast paced edge of your seat novels this one is as good as they come. Excellent book! Thank you NetGalley for this excellent book.

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book. It's like I Spit on Your Grave. It's not as hard-core as that but it's a similar premise.
The narration was good. It goes back and forth from the Pru's perspective and the killers. With that the narriators of the audio book change from a man to a woman.
I'll have to read more from Duncan

[Stephanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This one did nothing for me. The twist at the end probably reduced my review from 2 stars to 1. It was ridiculously unbelievable and downright silly. As a side note, if you're going to have a male narrator and a female narrator for an audio book, their interpretation of the male main character's voice cannot be this different. It was two completely separate characters.

[Timothy Barr · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was granted a free copy of this text by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This was a tough read because of the animal ties and the thriller aspects that were very realistic. However, it was very well-written and it made for a fun read. Definitely recommend.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I likely wouldn’t have finished this book if I’d been reading a hard copy, but I gave an extra star for the skillful audiobook narration by Felicia Day. The writing just isn’t very strong, and our villain is a little over-the-top cartoonish. Lots of content warnings for this one.

[Kelsey Bodenhamer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A double roller coaster ride

A con artist and a serial killer, A lethal combination. Lots of flips and change-ups to keep you guessing until the very end.

[Litio Broie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh.