Katia Lief

You Are Next is the debut of a very complex character, Karin Schaeffer. She's struggling to continue her life after the murder of her husband and daughter by a serial killer named Martin Price. She was a police detective heading up the search for him, but once he killed her family she was no longer able to go on. When Price escapes custody, Karin knows he will eventually find her. She almost welcomes the thought that she will soon join her husband and daughter.

Karin makes a split second show more decision that will end up with her determination to either kill Price or end up dead herself. Either way, she's prepared. The first half of this book was fascinating in its depiction of the emotions and feelings of Karin, a completely broken woman. The second half is a twist heavy plot that really drives the story to it's conclusion. This psychological thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat as you anticipate both Karin and the killer’s next move. show less

This is the third book in the Karin Schaeffer series. After the trauma that filled her life as a detective in previous books, Karin is now working as a private investigator. She and Mac are married and they have a young son named Ben. Mac is suffering with the flu so on her way to the pharmacy she comes across a crime scene being working by her friend, police detective Billy Staples, who is suffering from a PTSD panic attack. He's been trying to track down a sadistic criminal, known as the show more Working Girl Killer, because he kills prostitutes.

There's another body in the same area, an eleven year old girl who is the apparent victim of a hit and run driver. When Karin goes to the girl's house to inform the family, she discovers her wealthy parents have been murdered. Karin begins to involve herself more and more with the crimes as events surrounding them continue to escalate. Before long, even her family is affected in a horrific way.

Karin is one of the most haunting characters I've ever read about. She's been shattered by death and pain and readers want her to be able to find some sort of peace. This wasn't my favorite of the four book series but I enjoy the characters and the well written story. show less

"How can you make sense of a person who confuses suffering and love, with such devastating results?"

This was absolutely phenomenal. It's a deeply moving story about a very good FBI agent named Elsa. She is the lead expert on finding kids - ones that go missing with no leads, no information and no explanation. She gets into the mind of the kids, the stalker and she finds them. But she's haunted. Being present for so many parents pain of having their children missing is draining for her.

She show more is also losing her father. She's struggling to find time to sit with him while he enters hospice care and being assigned a new case. Elsa and her sister, Tara, tag team spending time with him while Elsa also rushes off to chase the leads of the case. All the while, Elsa spends time remembering and struggling with her childhood.

This story absolutely sucked me in. The characters were believable and interesting. Even though a lot of the things held until the end weren't surprising, I did like the path through the story to get to the reveals. The crime was well done and well paced and kept me wondering how it would all work out. I liked getting to know the detectives, the agents and the families as Elsa works the case. I was absolutely sucked in and look forward to following this author and reading more of their work! show less

4.5 stars.

Last Night by Karen Ellis is a fast-paced and engrossing mystery. Although this newest addition is the second installment in The Searchers series, it can be read as a standalone.

Titus "Crisp" Crespo is the valedictorian of his graduating class and he has been accepted into Princeton. However, his bright future is suddenly in jeopardy after a racist cop targets the mixed race young man. After a night in jail, Crisp makes an ill-advised decision to go with casual acquaintance Glynnie show more Dryfus to buy some more pot from her dealer, JJ. Glynnie then drags both Crisp and JJ along with her on an ill-fated mission in Red Hook. Glynnie's parents and Crisp's mom report their children as missing and Detective Lex Cole and Detective Saki Finley work together to locate the errant teens.

Lex is fighting his demons following a horrible fight with his boyfriend, Adam. Despite these distractions, he works diligently to find Crisp. Utilizing all of the technological resources available to them, they manage to retrace many of the Glynnie's, JJ's and Crisp's stops from the night before. Unfortunately, they are a few steps behind Crisp and Lex and Saki are also stymied as they try to find out more details about JJ.

Crisp is highly intelligent but when it appears his plans for the future are ruined, he acts without thinking about the consequences of his choices. He does have a few qualms about joining Glynnie, but he ignores his doubts. The situation goes horribly awry very quickly but Crisp manages to keep his wits about him as he tries to figure out how to escape from his increasingly dire situation.

Last Night is an riveting mystery that features a topical storyline that is quite insightful. The characters are well-rounded with realistic strengths and shortcomings. Lex's situation with Adam revives painful memories and fears and he is tempted to return to unhealthy methods to help him cope. Crisp and Glynnie make some very poor choices that force them to grow up and accept responsibility for their actions. JJ's story arc is utterly heartbreaking and highlights how easy it is for at risk youths to fall through the cracks. Karen Ellis brings this suspenseful and thought-provoking novel to an uplifting conclusion. I greatly enjoyed and highly recommend The Searchers series to fans of the genre. show less