Category Archives: Forensic Instincts

Review: The Silence That Speaks by Andrea Kane

silence speaksTitle: The Silence That Speaks by Andrea Kane
Forensic Instincts Series Book Four
Publisher: Mira
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery
Length: 336 pages
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

WHO WANTS MADELINE WESTFIELD DEAD? AND WHY?

Forensic Instincts’ first order of business is to find out who’s targeting their client. Under the leadership of Casey Woods, the investigative team has the resources to do just that, working inside the law—and outside it. FI’s strength is its members, among them Casey’s associate Marc Devereaux, former navy SEAL and a man who’s equal to any situation.

Except maybe this one…

Madeline’s case hits too close to home for Marc. She’s the only woman he ever loved, and she’s his only weakness. Now a nurse at Manhattan Memorial, she’s terrified because someone is trying to kill her. So she turns, reluctantly, to Marc and FI for help and protection.

Meanwhile, Manhattan Memorial is in turmoil. With a merger in the works, the staff is still haunted by their hospital administrator’s sudden death—during heart surgery performed by Madeline’s ex-husband, Conrad. A surgery at which Madeline was present. The killer seems to blame both Madeline and Conrad…

With a growing list of suspects—including the grieving widow and a string of scorned lovers—Forensic Instincts will have to figure out who has the greatest incentive to get rid of Madeline. And FI has to work fast to save her…before she’s permanently silenced.

Review:

The Silence That Speaks is another perplexing mystery in Andrea Kane’s delightfully unique Forensic Instincts series. In this latest installment, the team is hired by a woman from FI member Marc Devereaux’s past following an attempt on her life.

Madeline Westfield has no idea who would want her dead and equally baffling is why she is being targeted. Knowing the police are not taking her suspicions seriously, Madeline turns to the FI team for help in unraveling the mystery. Their investigation begins at a local hospital where she and her ex-husband Conrad are both employed. The hospital is in the midst of merger while at the same time mourning the recent and unexpected death of the hospital administrator Ronald Lexington following heart surgery performed by Conrad.

The team immediately zeros in on Ronald’s death as a possible motive for the attempt on Madeline’s life and the clues certainly seem to support their theory. They soon find out some rather unsavory information about Ronald’s past but their efforts to fully examine the data they uncover are quickly thwarted.  In the midst of trying to break the heavily encrypted files, Ronald’s widow falls under suspicion when it becomes obvious that she blames both Madeline and Conrad for Ronald’s death. While it does not appear that her claims have merit, has her grief driven her to try to exact revenge on Madeline and Conrad?

Once again, FI leader Casey Woods depends on her crack team of investigators to dig into the case. Ryan McKay’s cyber skills are immediately put to use and when he runs into a brick wall, he turns to his equally skilled brother, Aidan, for assistance. Claire Hedgleigh’s psychic abilities once again prove invaluable and her intuition helps the team narrow down the focus of the investigation. Newcomer Emma Stirling’s street smarts and youth add another dimension to the team and this provides them with the edge they need to infiltrate the hospital to gain access to the information they need to crack the case.

The Silence That Speaks is a fantastic addition to the Forensic Instincts series. Andrea Kane offers a viable pool of suspects and many plausible motives for the attacks on Madeline, but she does an excellent job keep readers guessing the truth right up until the novel’s conclusion. An overall entertaining whodunit that mystery lovers are sure to enjoy.

1 Comment

Filed under Andrea Kane, Contemporary, Forensic Instincts, Mira, Mystery, Rated B, Review, The Silence That Speaks

Review: The Stranger You Know by Andrea Kane

Title: The Stranger You Know by Andrea Kane
Forensic Instincts Book Three
Publisher: Harlequin
Imprint: HarlequinMIRA
Genre: Contemporary, Suspense, Mystery
Length: 368 pages
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

It begins with a chilling phone call to Casey Woods. And ends with another girl dead.

College-age girls with long red hair. Brutally murdered, they’re posed like victims in a film noir. Each crime scene is eerily similar to the twisted fantasy of a serial offender now serving thirty years to life—a criminal brought to justice with the help of Forensic Instincts.

Call. Kill. Repeat. But the similarities are more than one psychopath’s desire to outdo another. As more red-haired victims are added to the body count, it becomes clear that each one has been chosen because of a unique connection to Casey—a connection that grows closer and closer to her.

Now the Forensic Instincts team must race to uncover the identity of a serial killer before his ever-tightening circle of death closes in on Casey as the ultimate target. As the stalker methodically moves in on his prey, his actions make one thing clear: he knows everything about Casey. And Casey realizes that this psychopathic won’t stop until he makes sure she’s dead.

The Review:

The Stranger You Know, the third installment of Andrea Kane’s Forensic Instincts series, hits close to home for the team members when a sadistic killer sets his sights on Casey Woods. Their investigation into a cold case bears a startling resemblance to a current string of grisly murders and leads the team to a murderer already behind bars. It soon becomes apparent the murderer is targeting Casey but why? And can they stop the murderous rampage before more innocent lives are taken?

In this third outing, the Forensics Instinct team is tighter than ever and all of their previous differences have been ironed out. While all of the members play vital roles in the latest investigation, it is Claire Hedgleigh who takes center stage as her unique abilities literally give her a front row seat to the killings. Her psychic talents are brilliantly showcased in The Stranger You Know and the in depth exploration of her special skills is incredibly fascinating.

The murderer is one step ahead of Forensic Instincts for pretty much the entire novel and some of the storyline is rather predictable. The team plays right into the killer’s hand and some of their decisions fall into too stupid to live category. But in the end, all of the frustration is forgotten as Andrea Kane beautifully redeems The Stranger You Know with some very shocking and unexpected plot twists.

All in all, a pretty satisfying addition to the Forensics Instincts series. Although it can be read as a standalone, I highly recommend the entire series.

Comments Off on Review: The Stranger You Know by Andrea Kane

Filed under Andrea Kane, Contemporary, Forensic Instincts, Mystery, Rated B, Review, The Stranger You Know, Thriller

Andrea Kane Blog Tour: The Line Between Here and Gone, Excerpt and Review

Excerpt:

Still, traffic sped up and down the New York City streets. Pedestrians strolled the sidewalks. Horns honked. Christmas lights blinked from green and red to a rainbow of colors, then back again.

Click HERE to follow the tour!


My Review:

Title: The Line Between Here and Gone by Andrea Kane
Forensic Instincts Book Two
Publisher: Harlequin
Imprint: HarlequinMIRA
Genre: Contemporary, Suspense, Mystery
Length: 392 pages
Book Rating: B+

Review Copy Obtained from Publisher

Summary:

The man she loved is gone forever. The child she lives for could be next.

Each day is a struggle for Amanda Gleason’s newborn son as he battles a rare immune deficiency. Justin’s best chance for a cure lies with his father, who was brutally murdered before Amanda even realized she carried his child.

Or was he?

One emailed photo changes everything, planting a seed of doubt that Amanda latches on to for dear life: a recent photo of a man who looks exactly like Paul. Could Justin’s father be alive? The mother in her is desperate to find out. But tracking down a ghost when every second counts is not for amateurs.

Forensic Instincts is the one team up for the challenge.

A behaviorist. A former navy SEAL. A techno-wizard. An intuitive. A retired FBI agent. A human-scent-evidence dog. Together they achieve the impossible, pushing ethical and legal boundaries whenever the ends justify the means.

The manhunt is on for the elusive father. Yet the further FI digs into his past, the more questions are raised about whether the man Amanda fell in love with ever really existed at all.

Dark secrets. Carefully crafted lies. From the congressional halls of Washington, D.C., to exclusive Hamptons manors, there are ruthless people who would stop at nothing to make Forensic Instincts forget about the man Amanda desperately needs to find.

Little do they realize that once Forensic Instincts takes the case, nothing will stop them from uncovering the shocking truth that transcends The Line Between Here and Gone.

The Review:

Andrea Kane’s The Line Between Here and Gone is an enthralling thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat as the Forensic Instinct team races against time to save a baby’s life.

Amanda Gleason is desperate to save her newborn son’s life. When she discovers there is the slightest chance that her baby’s father is alive, she hires Forensic Instinct to investigate Paul Everett’s disappearance.

The mystery surrounding Paul Everett’s disappearance is complex and multi-layered. Is Paul dead? His body has yet to be discovered, but the evidence that he has been murdered is certainly compelling. If Paul is indeed still alive, who is behind his disappearance? Paul? Hs business associates? As the Forensic Instinct team searches for answers, they uncover political corruption, explosive family secrets and unexpected ties to organized crime. Various twists and turns take this story in unexpected and very surprising directions.

The Forensic Instinct unit is a very diverse group of individuals. Each person has a special skill that when combined with the other members’ abilities makes them a very formidable investigative force. The dynamics between them are quite fascinating as is the meshing of personal beliefs and various personalities. While they make every attempt to keep their activities legal, ethical lines are blurred with some members find it easy to compromise their principles in order to save an innocent baby’s life.

There is a little bit of a romantic element to The Line Between Here and Gone. Personal relationships are strained when business is mixed with pleasure. Two of the team members are attracted to one another, but they are reluctant to act on their attraction.

The Line Between Here and Gone is an intense novel with a unique storyline and memorable characters. The story is fast-paced and engrossing. Andrea Kane leaves no question unanswered as she brings The Line Between Here and Gone to its stunning conclusion.

9 Comments

Filed under Andrea Kane, Blog Tour, Contemporary, Forensic Instincts, Harlequin, HarlequinMira, Mystery, Rated B+, Suspense, The Line Between Here and Gone