Category Archives: Christina Dodd

September 22, 2019 · 11:58 pm

Review: Strangers She Knows by Christina Dodd

Title: Strangers She Knows by Christina Dodd
Cape Charade Series Book Three
Publisher: HQN Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 352 pages
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

I have three deadly problems:
1. I’ve seriously offended a maniacal killer.
2. I just had a bullet removed from my brain.
3. My new daughter is growing up too fast–and she’s in the line of fire.

Living on an obscure, technology-free island off California means safety from the murderer who hunts Kellen Adams and her new family…. Or does it? Family time becomes terror-time, and at last, alone, Kellen faces a killer playing a cruel game. Only one can survive, and Kellen knows who must win…and who must die.

Review:

Strangers She Knows by Christina Dodd is an entertaining novel with a slight suspense element. This final book in the Cape Charade series can be read as a standalone but I highly recommend the two previous works as well.

Kellen Adams, husband Max Di Luca and their ten year old daughter Rae relocate to the family’s isolated, private island off the coast of California in order to escape a stalker out for revenge. In an attempt to keep their location under wraps, the only other people on the island are housekeeper Olympia Paollergio and caretakers Jamie and Dylan Conklin. Kellen and Max finally get to the opportunity to enjoy married life since the majority of their two year marriage has been dedicated to Kellen’s recovery from brain surgery. Kellen is also delighted for the chance to get closer to Rae  and finally cement their mother/daughter relationship. With a storm headed their way, a violent death and the certainty Kellen’s stalker has caught up with them, will the Di Luca family escape before it is too late?

Kellen has had a few rough years and she is ready to enjoy her family. With her rehabilitation mostly behind her, she is enjoying the transformation in her relationship with Rae. She is also working hard to convince Max that she is not a fragile flower in need of careful handling. When Kellen discovers her murderous nemesis has escaped prison and plans to exact revenge on her and her family, she defers to Max’s plans against her better judgment. Will her fears for their safety be proven right?

With little to do on the island since they are completely unplugged from the outside world,  Kellen and Rae enjoy exploring the spooky mansion where they are living.  The discovery of the one of the former occupants diary provides them with an intriguing glimpse into the young woman’s life during the 1940s. These passages are quite engrossing and add just a hint of mystery to the unfolding story.

Strangers She Knows is an interesting novel but the suspense aspect of the storyline is very understated.  Some of the plot is a bit predictable due to some eye-rolling decisions by Max and Rae.  Despite her few remaining health issues,  Kellen proves to be a worthy adversary when she and her stalker finally come face to face.  Christina Dodd brings the stalker part of the storyline to an action-packed, explosive conclusion. Old and new fans are sure to enjoy this final installment in the Cape Charade series.

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Filed under Cape Charade Series, Christina Dodd, Contemporary, HQN Books, Mystery, Rated B, Review, Strangers She Knows, Suspense

January 23, 2019 · 11:58 pm

Review: What Doesn’t Kill Her by Christina Dodd

Title: What Doesn’t Kill Her by Christina Dodd
Cape Charade Series Book Two
Publisher: HQN Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 400 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

One secret, one nightmare, one lie. You guess which is which.
1. I have the scar of a gunshot on my forehead.
2. I have willfully misrepresented my identity to the US military.
3. I’m the new mother of a seven-year-old girl.

Kellen Adams suffers from a yearlong gap in her memory. A bullet to the brain will cause that. But she’s discovering the truth, and what she learns changes her life, her confidence, her very self. She finds herself in the wilderness, on the run, unprepared, her enemies unknown–and she is carrying a priceless burden she must protect at all costs. The consequences of failure would break her. And Kellen Adams does not break.

What doesn’t kill her…had better start running.

Review:

What Doesn’t Kill Her by Christina Dodd is a riveting, fast-paced mystery. This second installment in the Cape Charade series can be read as a standalone, but reading book one provides important background information.

Kellen Adams is trying settle into her new life at the vineyard owned by her former boyfriend Max De Luca. She is maintaining her emotional distance from Max and seven year old Rae when she accepts a job from Nils Brooks.  While taking a priceless antiquity to a reclusive expert in the wilderness, Kellen must avoid two sets of hired guns who are threatening her while also keeping someone dear to her safe. When Max discovers the truth about Kellen’s latest task, will he find her before it is too late?

Kellen continues to experience difficulty settling into her new post-military life and she is uncomfortable living with Max, Rae and Max’s mother Verona. She very eagerly accepts Nils’ job but it does not take long for her to realize he didn’t tell her the complete truth about her assignment. A shocking discovery ups the ante as she dodges numerous assassins whom Kellen quickly deduces are actually two separate groups of people who are after her. She quickly surmises one faction is planning to steal the artifact she  is transporting. But Kellen is at a loss to understand why she is being targeted by the other set of men who seemingly have a much more nefarious plan as they stalk her through the backwoods.

Max is losing hope that Kellen will be receptive to resuming their relationship. He is also frustrated by her continued efforts to hold Rae at arm’s length.  Fed up with Kellen’s evasive maneuvers to avoid spending time with Rae, Max pushes her to work with Nils. Will Max finally break through Kellen’s formidable defenses and convince her to give him and Rae a chance?

With plenty of action, What Doesn’t Kill Her is a suspenseful mystery that is impossible to put down. Kellen  continues to grow and evolve as she admits her fears and lets down her emotional walls. Max is a little too good to be true but this does not lessen his appeal. Rae is a precocious little girl who steals every scene she stars in. Christina Dodd does an outstanding job keeping the identity of the person who is after Kellen and why tightly under wraps until an adrenaline laced showdown between Kellen and the perpetrator.  The cliffhanger conclusion will leave readers anxiously awaiting the next installment in the Cape Charade series.

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Filed under Cape Charade Series, Christina Dodd, Contemporary, Harlequin, HQN Books, Mystery, Rated B+, Review, Suspense, What Doesn't Kill Her

April 22, 2018 · 11:58 pm

Review: Dead Girl Running by Christina Dodd

Title: Dead Girl Running by Christina Dodd
Cape Charade Series Book One
Publisher: HQN Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 368 pages
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

I have three confessions to make:
1. I’ve got the scar of a gunshot on my forehead.
2. I don’t remember an entire year of my life.
3. My name is Kellen Adams…and that’s half a lie.

Girl running…from a year she can’t remember, from a husband she prays is dead, from homelessness and fear. Tough, capable Kellen Adams takes a job as assistant manager of a remote vacation resort on the North Pacific Coast. There amid the towering storms and the lashing waves, she hopes to find sanctuary. But when she discovers a woman’s dead and mutilated body, she’s soon trying to keep her own secrets while investigating first one murder…then another.

Now every guest and employee is a suspect. Every friendly face a mask. Every kind word a lie. Kellen’s driven to defend her job, her friends and the place she’s come to call home. Yet she wonders–with the scar of a gunshot on her forehead and amnesia that leaves her unsure of her own past–could the killer be staring her in the face?

Review:

Dead Girl Running by Christina Dodd is a gripping, suspenseful mystery. This first installment in the Cape Charade series is a spin-off of the Virtue Falls series and can be read as a standalone.

Kellen Adams is a former Army officer now working as an assistant manager at a guest resort along the Washington Coast.  Since business is slow during the dreary winter months, Kellen is in charge while resort owners Annie and Leo Di Luca are on vacation. Things become complicated right away when the remains of the former assistant manager turn up just as the head of security takes a leave of absence. Although Kellen has hired several of her fellow veterans, Birdie Haynes is the only person she feels like she can really trust. When a new round of guests arrive, Kellen is immediately suspicious of Nils Brooks, who claims he is an author doing research for a book he is writing. Is Nils who he says he is? Does his arrival have any connection to the murder of the previous assistant manager?

Kellen has an uncanny ability to immediately size up the people around her and her observations are wry and usually accurate. She hates that she has doubts about the people she implicitly trusted during battle but some of their behavior is eyebrow raising. Kellen has settled into her new job with ease but she is a little uneasy investigating what happened to her predecessor. When Nils takes her into his confidence, she is naturally skeptical of his claims. Kellen warily agrees to work with him after she finds proof that he is most likely telling the truth.

Following a shocking turn of events, the Di Lucas send their nephew Max to aid Kellen in her efforts to figure out what is going on at the resort. Kellen is troubled by her reaction to Max and after his arrival, her fragmented memories of a lost year in her life begin to surface. She is off balance and distressed by her inability to fully comprehend what these flashes of memories mean. Before she can understand how Max fits into her past, the situation at the resort turns dangerous. Unbeknownst to Kellen, her past and her present are about to collide in a shocking and unexpected manner.

With two distinct story arcs, Dead Girl Running is an intriguing mystery. Kellen is a fantastic character who is well-developed and easy to like. She does not let her past dictate her future and with grit and determination, she has (mostly) overcome her somewhat tragic history. The plot is clever but there are a few incredulous twists that are difficult to believe. The investigation into what is going at the resort is well-executed and Christina Dodd does an outstanding job obscuring the perpetrator’s identity.  While the main storyline is completely wrapped up, the novel abruptly ends with a cliffhanger that will leave readers eagerly awaiting the next installment in the Cape Charade series.

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Filed under Cape Charade Series, Christina Dodd, Contemporary, Dead Girl Running, Harlequin, HQN Books, Mystery, Rated B, Review, Suspense

September 7, 2016 · 11:57 pm

Review: Because I’m Watching by Christina Dodd

Title: Because I’m Watching by Christina Dodd
Virtue Falls Series Book Three
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense, Romance
Length: 352 pages
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

From this “master of the genre,” Christina Dodd, comes a white-knuckled suspense of this remarkable mesmerizing series (Library Journal starred review) set in the quaint–and deadly–coastal town of Virtue Falls…

She had survived, but she is still held captive…
Of her memories, her loneliness, her delusions. But are they truly delusions?

The survivor of a college dorm massacre, a woman accused of her lover’s murder, Madeline Hewitson is haunted by ghosts and tormented by a killer only she can see. At night, she works, writing and drawing the monster that slithers through her imagination, and living in fear of those moments when the doors of her mind unhinge and her nightmare lives in the daylight.

A seasoned military veteran, Jacob Denisov lives alone in his small, darkened home, sleepless, starving, and angry. Every day he lives with the guilt that comes from his own failures and the carnage that followed. When neighbor Madeline Hewitson drives her car through the front wall of his house, she breaks his house–and his life–wide open. Forced to view the world outside, Jacob watches Maddie, recognizes a kindred spirit and wonders what she fears more than herself. Has someone caught her in a twisted labyrinth of revenge and compassion, guilt and redemption, murder and madness?

When Maddie’s imaginary killer takes form, she fights, screaming her fear and defiance. But will she be strong enough to triumph, or is the killer she fears no more than a shadow, an illusion … that watches?

Told with Christina Dodd’s trademark twists and turns, BECAUSE I’M WATCHING is a tour-de-force thriller that will keep you guessing with every turn of the page.

Review:

From the attention grabbing first chapter until the novel’s final word, Because I’m Watching by Christina Dodd is a spellbinding mystery set in a small coastal town in Washington.  While this newest release is the third installment in the Virtue Falls series, it can easily be read as a standalone.

Madeline “Maddie” Hewitson is the lone survivor of a murderous rampage that took the lives of her close friends and dorm mates only to find herself in the public eye after she is accused of murdering her fiancé.  Needing a fresh start, she moves to the small enclave of Virtue Falls where she manages to fly under the radar until a series of unexplained events earns her the nickname of “Mad Maddie”.  Terrified, sleep deprived and utterly haunted by strange occurrences, she meets her neighbor Jacob Denisov under inauspicious circumstances after she crashes her car into his front room.

Jacob is fighting a few demons of his own and while dismayed by the damage to his home, he is more upset that he survived the accident.  Struggling with survivor’s guilt and severe PTSD after he and his team are captured and tortured, Jacob hates being exposed to his neighbors.  Forced to deal with workman rebuilding his house, he slowly rejoins the world of the living and finds himself utterly charmed by his vivacious neighbor. After a series of crimes begin happening in their small neighborhood, suspicion falls on Maddie but Jacob has plenty of doubts about her involvement. But if Maddie is not responsible for what is going on, then who is?

No one in Virtue Falls is willing to give Maddie the benefit of the doubt.  Despite having lived there unnoticed for quite some time, everyone is quick to believe she is crazy when she begins hallucinating and experiencing mishaps around her home.  After numerous calls to the police who discover nothing untoward during their investigations, Maddie is dismissed as a crackpot who has a few loose screws.  She keeps to herself and forces herself to stay awake until daylight in an attempt to avoid the terrors that haunt her nights.  Still surprisingly upbeat and positive despite the tragedies in her life, Maddie easily deduces  that Jacob is even more tortured than she is.  Not one to shy away from uncomfortable discussions, she is completely honest with him about her past and Maddie essentially forces him out of his self-imposed isolation.

Jacob is guilt-ridden over what happened to the young people in his care and he is working up the courage to take his own life when Maddie crashes into his house and his life.  Although he does not want to become involved with her or his neighbors, he cannot ignore what is happening around him.  Forced to see what is going on in the neighborhood as his house is being repaired, Jacob becomes curious about what is going on with Maddie.  Although still on self-destructive path, he finally opens up to her about the demons that haunt him.  These two wounded souls help one another truly begin to heal, but is their fragile bond strong to survive what happens next?

In addition to the storylines with Jacob, Maddie and the mysterious happenings in their neighborhood, there is plenty of drama going on in the small town of Virtue Falls.  Sheriff Kateri Kwinault is the midst of a heated campaign for the upcoming sheriff’s election.  She also finds herself in the middle of an unexpected romance with a longtime friend and she is unnerved when her unresolved past with her father rears its ugly head.  Cordelia Markham provides Kateri with some unsettling information about a series of troubling text messages but figuring out who is in danger is like finding a needle in a haystack.  When the truth about what is happening with Maddie finally begins to emerge, will Kateri be able keep her out of harm’s way?

With a cast of quirky characters and a baffling mystery, Because I’m Watching is a suspense-laden addition to the Virtue Falls series.  With numerous subplots and plenty of secondary characters, the story is a little busy but overall, it is easy to keep track of what is going on. An astute reader will have a fairly good idea about who is responsible for what is happening to Maddie and why but Christina Dodd manages to throw in a few unexpected plot twists late in the novel.  The conclusion is certainly action-packed and most of the storylines are fully resolved.  An entertaining installment that old and new fans will enjoy.

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Filed under Because I'm Watching, Christina Dodd, Contemporary, Mystery, Rated B, Review, Romance, St Martin's Press, Suspense, Virtue Falls Series