Val Conrad

I received this book as a Library Thing Early Reviewer book. This is part 5 of Echoes of Like Souls where right at the beginning the author admits she feels she has not completed the story of two of the characters Julie (the cop) and Amber (her step daughter). I believe it would have been either easier to work through this book if you had read the other 4 in the series or, there was a who's who in the front, because I got easily confused with brothers, step fathers, and other characters show more popping up and down like targets at a showground. Whoever is committing these murders really has got a lot to get through, but it is not just a trail of bodies left, but tragedies of other forms arise. The book is set behind the background of 9/11 and Julie's stepdaughter has gone missing in New York where her boyfriend has taken her and where she is watching the towers be hit, worrying where he is. I liked that the novel was set at this point of American history, it actually showed a more intimate image of the 9/11 attacks than what was being shown on the television world wide. But, the story moves on and it becomes clear the serial murderer thought captured in previous books is still out there, or possibly activated by the death of his mentor. Good, but read the other books. show less

Life’s secrets have a way of surfacing at the most inopportune time. Julie Madigan’s past comes to the fore when she is the victim of a bomb explosion while on the site of a murder investigation. Madigan, a medical examiner in Michigan was running from her past as officer with the New Mexico State Police and from her abusive husband who she killed in self-defense. Her past was revealed during her hospitalization when she had to explain the scars on her body, identifying the reason her show more neck had a jagged knife wound from ear to trachea.
While her friends and new employer struggled to grasp the significance of the subterfuge, a murderer was sending messages to Madigan, making a game out of her inability to solve the next death even with hints as to how it would happen. This mysterious game-playing killer knew more than anyone else about her past, the how and why are what is so cleverly bought to light until the skillful penmanship of debut author Val Conrad. Struggling to maintain her relationships and her life Madigan is forced to endure more than anyone should have to in order to eventually expose her private monster.
Conrad’s expertise in the field she writes about is obvious and her familiarity with the geographical areas she takes us to give this novel the finite touches to make the subject as real as possible. This was a page turner that had me on the edge of my seat. show less

I had mixed views while reading the book. I thought it started off promising with a murder mystery but then things got of course. The story then jumped to finding Amber who took off to New York only to get caught in the tragedy of 9/11. Then Julie trying to figure out who Ethan is, girl getting killed by a horse, various deaths and then another murder similar to the beginning of the book. I felt as though the story could not stay on track and I found myself jumping pages and not missing a show more beat. I missed the part that this was part of a sequel and maybe I need to start with book one. show less

The honeymoon isn't over even when Julie's new husband calls to tell her he is a father and the mother of his teenage daughter, Amber, has been kidnapped and they need to take Amber temporarily. It turns out that Zach's ex-partner at the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) held a grudge. But now Zach's dead and it is up to Julie to end it once and for all.

Romantic who done it.