Category Archives: Kevin O’Brien

July 30, 2021 · 12:01 am

Review: The Night She Disappeared by Kevin O’Brien

Title: The Night She Disappeared by Kevin O’Brien
Publisher: Pinnacle Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 496 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

For fans of Gone Girl and of Harlan Coben and Linwood Barclay’s domestic suspense—a gripping novel by New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Kevin O’Brien, in which “the other woman” becomes the prime suspect when the wife goes missing.

Some nightmares you can’t forget
From the depths of sleep, Seattle TV reporter Anna Malone awakens to her phone ringing. She rarely drinks, and this hangover is brutal. Why can’t she shake the feeling that something terrible happened last night? And why can’t she recall any of it?

But even worse
What Anna does remember: an awkward restaurant meal with her married lover, Russ Knoll, and his unsuspecting wife, Courtney. Russ’s phone call reveals that Courtney is missing, and as days go by with no trace, he comes under police scrutiny. Anna’s in the spotlight too, thanks to a TV rival with a grudge. Anna’s not proud of her affair, but she and Russ aren’t bad people. They’re certainly not the killing kind.

Is the one you can’t remember . . .
Anna already suspected that Courtney—a successful, charming author—might have a darker side. Is she truly missing? Perhaps the sudden disturbances in Anna’s life aren’t accidental after all. But no scenario that Anna imagines can compare to the twisted game unfolding around her, one chilling piece at a time . . .

Review:

The Night She Disappeared by Kevin O’Brien is an intriguing mystery with plenty of suspense.

Seattle TV Reporter Anna Malone is relieved her current project is almost over. She has been working on a segment starring young adult author Courtney Knoll. Working with her has been very uncomfortable but Anna cannot say no to Courtney’s dinner invitation. Anna dreads the upcoming evening and her dread turns to shock when she sees Courtney’s pediatrician husband Russ at the table.

Anna has nothing against Russ but the last thing she wants to do is spend an evening with the man she has been dating and his wife. Drinking way more than she is used to, Anna has no memory of most of the previous night when she learns Courtney has gone missing. Then Anna notices someone is following her and she begins receiving menacing phone calls. What has happened to Courtney? And why can’t Anna remember what happened the night before?

Anna is a popular reporter without any close immediate family. Both her parents are deceased and her older brother Stuart has been missing for several years. She has never had a serious relationship until she meets Russ. Anna trusts Russ’s assertions his marriage is over but doubts creep in after she begins working with Courtney. Relieved the filming is finally over, Anna is surprised by her videographer George Danziger’s observations about the things he noticed when the two women were working together.

Anna does not agree with Russ’s suggestions about how she should deal with Courtney’s inexplicable disappearance. Anna does hold a few things back when she is questioned by police. However, she does not believe these details have any bearing on why Courtney has vanished. But Anna continues to be troubled by some of her choices and she then makes another decision she soon comes to regret.

The Night She Disappeared is a clever whodunit that is fast-paced and engaging. The storyline is well-written and filled with unexpected twists and turns. Despite her affair, Anna is a likable woman who is a little naïve. The various settings spring vividly to life and one place in particular eventually plays a pivotal role in current events. With plenty of tension, Kevin O’Brien brings this suspenseful mystery to an unanticipated conclusion.

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Filed under Contemporary, Kevin O'Brien, Mystery, Pinnacle Books, Rated B+, Review, Suspense, The Night She Disappeared

July 27, 2020 · 11:56 pm

Review: The Bad Sister by Kevin O’Brien

Title: The Bad Sister by Kevin O’Brien
Family Secrets Series Book Two
Publisher: Pinnacle Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 438 pages
Book Rating: C

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

TOO CLOSE
The site of the old campus bungalow where two girls were brutally slain is now a flower patch covered with chrysanthemums. It’s been fifty years since the Immaculate Conception Murders. Three more students and a teacher were killed in a sickening spree that many have forgotten. But there is one person who knows every twisted detail. . . .

TO SEE
Hannah O’Rourke and her volatile half-sister, Eden, have little in common except a parent. Yet they’ve ended up at the same small college outside Chicago, sharing a bungalow with another girl. Hannah isn’t thrilled—nor can she shake the feeling that she’s being watched. And her journalism professor, Ellie Goodwin, keeps delving into Hannah and Eden’s newsworthy past. . . .

THE DANGER
When Hannah and Eden’s arrival coincides with a spate of mysterious deaths, Ellie knows it’s more than a fluke. A copycat is recreating those long-ago murders. Neither the police nor the school will accept the horrific truth. And the more Ellie discovers, the more she’s convinced that she won’t live to be believed. . . .

Review:

The Bad Sister by Kevin O’Brien is a perplexing mystery.  Although this newest release is the second novel in the Family Secrets series, it can be read as a standalone.

Hannah O’Rourke’s excitement over rooming with Rachel Bonner is tempered by the inclusion of her half-sister Eden.  The college they are attending has an infamous past due to serial killings that took place in fifty years ago.  Eden finds the college’s history fascinating whereas Hannah is always looking over her shoulder.  

Despite living in a new city, Hannah and Eden’s relationship is still edgy and complex. Eden remains independent and goes her own way while Hannah becomes fast friends with Rachel. Before long Eden is off on one of her jaunts but Hannah worries there is more to her disappearance than appears. Confiding in her journalism Professor Ellie Goodwin, Hannah’s fears for her half-sister’s safety appear to be well-founded.  What, if anything, does Eden’s disappearance have to do with recent deaths that are eerily similar to the long ago serial killings?

Hannah, Eden and Rachel’s activities are pretty much what one would expect from young college women. Eden is a loner who does her own thing without giving much thought to anyone who cares for her. Hannah is immature and easily swayed by other people’s opinions. Rachel is the poor little rich girl who might just have an agenda of her own.  Hannah grows uneasy when she learns unexpected information so she walks a fine line as events begin to spiral out of control.

Ellie’s spectacular career culminated with a possible movie deal that unfortunately fell through at the last minute. Having given up her newspaper career, she is mostly satisfied with her new career. But helping Hannah unearth the truth about Eden’s disappearance reminds her how much she enjoyed digging into a story. As she uncovers shocking information, will Hannah convince local authorities to take her suspicions seriously?

The Bad Sister is an engaging mystery with a convoluted storyline. The characters are not very well developed and the pacing is slow. With predictable plot twists and undefined motives, Kevin O’Brien brings the mystery to a satisfying conclusion.

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Filed under Contemporary, Family Secrets Series, Kevin O'Brien, Mystery, Pinnacle Books, Rated C, Review, The Bad Sister

July 25, 2016 · 11:58 pm

Review: You’ll Miss Me When I’m Gone by Kevin O’Brien

Title: You’ll Miss Me When I’m Gone by Kevin O’Brien
Publisher: Pinnacle
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense
Length:544 pages
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

No Forgiveness

Andrea Boyle moved to Seattle to give her seventeen-year-old nephew, Spencer, a fresh start after the death of his parents. Andrea has found her own new beginning with Luke, a successful playwright and father of a teenage son, Damon. The boys appear to have little in common, but in truth they share a private torment…

No Remorse

When a tragedy befalls Damon, it’s just the beginning of a nightmare that unfolds. But the worst is yet to come once a dark secret from Spencer’s past is exposed. And when Luke is brutally attacked, both of their futures are at stake.

No Second Chance

Now it’s up to Andrea to prove Spencer’s innocence to the police–and to herself. Because for reasons she has revealed to no one, even Andrea can’t help questioning the truth–and fearing that she may be next to pay the ultimate price…

Review:

Bullying takes center stage in Kevin O’Brien’s newest mystery You’ll Miss Me When I’m Gone.

Hoping for a new beginning, Andrea Boyle and her nephew Spencer Murray move to Seattle but soon after she becomes involved with playwright Luke Shuler, someone begins harassing and threatening her at her home.  Moving in temporarily with Luke, she and Spencer try to befriend Luke’s son, Damon, who is the same age as Spencer.  Damon and Spencer are classmates and they are both being bullied by their fellow classmates.  Spencer tries to fly under the radar as he tries to stay out of his classmates’ sight while Damon’s OCD makes him the butt of the bullies jokes on a near daily basis.  After Damon publicly calls out his tormentors, the bullies he mentioned are slowly murdered one by one.  When someone uncovers the truth about Spencer’s past, he becomes the prime suspect in the investigation.  Andrea believes her nephew is innocent but her confidence in Spencer is shaken as the evidence begins to pile up against him.

Now that her relationship with Luke is becoming serious, Andrea knows she needs to tell Luke the truth about her nephew’s past but a crisis with Damon occurs before she can talk to him.  In the aftermath of tragedy, she and Spencer move back into their townhouse as Luke begins picking up the pieces of his life.  As someone begins murdering the students responsible for bullying Damon, Andrea has complete faith that Spencer is not involved but unexpected discoveries raise a few doubts about his involvement.  Equally troubling is the fact that someone has unearthed the truth about Spencer and once his secret is revealed, Andrea tries to find out who is responsible for the leak and most important, she wants to know what motivated someone to look into their past.

On the surfece, Spencer certainly seems to be a normal teenager trying to adjust to his new life.  He is sympathetic to Damon’s plight and since their lives intersect outside of school, Spencer makes a concerted effort to make friends with him but Damon is quick to spurn his overture.  Spencer is the first to realize the connection between Damon and the murdered teens but with one notable exception, his warnings to the bullies fall on deaf ears.  Following up on his hunch, he begins an investigation of his own but he is less than forthcoming with his aunt about his activities.  Spencer finally puts his trust in one of his fellow students but when the truth about his past is revealed and people begin to believe he is the killer, will he regret his decision?

You’ll Miss Me When I’m Gone is a complex, multi-layered mystery that is fast-paced and compelling.  Although there is a vast pool of suspects and a few clever twists and turns, it is fairly easy to deduce the killer’s identity. This knowledge does not lessen the novel’s enjoyment and just when readers think they have everything all figured out, Kevin O’Brien throws in a shocking revelation that is impossible to predict.  With a pulse-pounding and nerve wracking confrontation, this riveting mystery thunders to a dramatic and completely satisfying conclusion.  A brilliant whodunit that fans of the genre are sure to enjoy.

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Filed under Contemporary, Kevin O'Brien, Mystery, Pinnacle Books, Rated B, Review, Suspense, You'll Miss me When I'm Gone

April 13, 2014 · 11:57 pm

Review: Tell Me You’re Sorry by Kevin O’Brien

sorryTitle: Tell Me You’re Sorry by Kevin O’Brien
Publisher: Pinnacle Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense
Length: 545 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

First You’ll Say You’re Sorry

A family is wiped out after a burglary gone wrong. An executive accused of embezzling kills himself and his loved ones. A house fire claims the lives of all its inhabitants. Separate incidents with two common threads–a first wife who took her own life, and a secret the victims took to their graves. . .

And Then

Stephanie Coburn has barely recovered from her sister’s mysterious suicide before her brother-in-law and his new wife are murdered, her face disfigured beyond recognition. Stephanie never met the bride, has never even seen a clear photograph. But she knew her sister, and she knows something is desperately wrong. . .

You’ll Say Goodbye

The police won’t listen. Her only ally is another victim’s son. Step by step, they’re uncovering a trail of brutal vengeance and a killer who will never relent–and whose forgiveness can only be earned in death. . .

The Review:

Tell Me You’re Sorry is another intricately plotted and intriguing mystery by Kevin O’Brien. This suspense-laden novel is a fast-paced and engrossing page-turner that is impossible to put down.

Stephanie Coburn is still reeling from her sister’s inexplicable suicide when her niece, nephew, brother-in-law and his wife are savagely murdered. The murders are quickly solved but Rebecca is not fully convinced the police have the killers in custody. When her own investigation into the deaths turns up a similar pattern in two other cases, Stephanie reaches out to Ryan Ferrell, a teenager whose family died under the same mysterious circumstances. Working together they discover a possible motive for the murders, and their trail leads to the one man who can fill in the missing pieces to the perplexing puzzle. But will they uncover the truth before the killer strikes again?

Stephanie and Ryan are an unlikely but effective crime fighting duo. Stephanie has survived several attempts on her life and when her career is threatened, she is certain her suspicions are correct. While she pursues leads on her own, Ryan’s efforts uncover the link between the victims and a possible motive for their murders. By the time they figure out the killer’s next victims, Stephanie and Ryan are one step behind the killer and they frantically devise a desperate plan to save not only the intended targets, but themselves as well.

Tell Me You’re Sorry is a complex mystery that is virtually impossible to solve. Several of the chapters track Stephanie and Ryan’s investigation while other chapters provide tantalizing glimpses into the lives of the victims before the killer strikes. These snapshots show ordinary people living normal lives with no hint of their impending deaths, and this makes their murders all the more shocking. Late in the novel, there are chapters from the killer’s viewpoint but the murderer’s identity and motives for the killings remain closely guarded secrets. Kevin O’Brien brings the novel to a pulse-pounding and thrilling conclusion that is a little shocking but immensely satisfying.

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Filed under Kevin O'Brien, Mystery, Pinnacle Books, Rated B+, Review, Suspense, Tell Me You're Sorry