What Doesn't Kill Her

What Doesn’t Kill Her by Christina Dodd takes us to Willamette Valley in Oregon where the Di Luca Winery is located. Kellen Adams (aka Cecilia Adams) is adjusting to living at the Di Luca Winery with Max Di Luca, their seven year old daughter, Rae and Max’s mother, Verona. Kellen lost a year of her life while in a coma from a gunshot wound and she then disappeared upon awakening. She is now the mother the precocious Rae and no clue how to relate to her. Kellen misses working and Max finds her a job that will give her time away to think about the future. Nils Brooks hires Kellen along with Richart Movers to transport a mummy head into the Olympic mountains to a reclusive man for authentication. Kellen can tell something is off as show more soon as they pick up the artifact. Her suspicions are soon confirmed, and Kellen finds herself in the mountains without a vehicle or a phone. However, Kellen does find a stowaway. Rae decided to join Kellen on the trip so they can bond. Thankfully, she did leave a note behind (of sorts) for Max and Verona. Kellen must get the artifact along with Rae and herself up the mountain to the Restorer (as the man is called) without being killed by the armed men following her. Come along for Kellen’s adventure in What Doesn’t Kill Her.

What Doesn’t Kill Her is a well-written and engaging romantic suspense novel. It is fast-paced with plenty of action. While What Doesn’t Kill Her can be read alone, but I highly recommend reading Dead Girl Running first. The summary just does not do Kellen’s situation justice. Rae is the highlight of What Doesn’t Kill Her. She is an active, intelligent and sassy little girl. Her witty dialogue will have you chuckling along with her obsession for pink, purple, heroes and her princess dolls (the poor dolls). Rae has just found her mommy and she has no intention of a lack of bonding get in the way. These parents are going to have their hands full with the spunky and mischievous Rae. Kellen should have known not to take a job from Nils Brooks. He deserves everything Rae, Max and Kellen dish out. I started reading What Doesn’t Kill Her and just kept going until I reached the end. The book is character driven with plenty of action. Christina Dodd created developed characters that suit the story. I can understand why Kellen hid under the bushes to avoid Rae at times as well as the large Di Luca clan. There is a funny scene where an event is planned under the same bushes. Avid mystery readers will be able to pinpoint the evildoer, but I loved the chase. I like that when bad things happen it is not described in gory detail. There is foul language sprinkled throughout the book (just letting you know). I do want to warn readers that we are left with a cliffhanger at the end of What Doesn’t Kill Her (and we must wait until October). I am giving What Doesn’t Kill Her 5 out of 5 stars (I loved it). I enjoyed the suspense, action, intrigue, humor, mystery and romance in this thrilling adventure. Not many writers can create a book that makes a reader feel a range of emotions. I cannot wait to read Stranger She Knows when it releases in October. Buckle in for another exciting adventure with Kellen and her sidekick, Rae in What Doesn’t Kill Her. show less

4.5 stars.
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 show more 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. show less

This is a fantastic romantic thriller. I laughed and cried. I did not put this down until I was done. This is the second book in this series and it just keeps getting better. You will want to read the first book so you remember all of what happened to Kellen. I love the characters throughout the story, especially Kellen and Rae. Rae is such a breath of fresh air. The author definitely has children or was great at the research. I so recommend this book. I received a copy of this book from the author for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.

This one was a little slow to start but once the action started it was fast paced. I was disappointed that Kellen was no longer at the Yearning Sands Resort because I liked it there and I enjoyed the people. It didn't really matter in the end anyway though. There's more character development in this one as Kellen learns to deal with the newly acquired daughter that she doesn't remember giving birth to. This is a good addition to the series and is pretty much what you would expect from a Christina Dodd novel.

All in all, a great page turner filled with twists, turns, and suspense. This would be good for fans of Karin Slaughter. A definite must-read recommendation.

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

As this Cape Charade series has progressed, Kellen Adams is still coping with a memory gap from a year of her life due to a bullet in her brain. It is now years later. She has recently discovered that during that trauma she actually gave birth and recently met her 7-year-old daughter Rae. She learned that the man she fell in love with after escaping the clutches of her terrifying and brutal husband, Max, fathered her daughter. It was while pregnant that Kellen was actually shot in the head. At one point, Kellen left the hospital, and this was after being in a coma, and fell off the grid.

Max has found her, but it didn't mean that the three would be able to become a happy little family. During Kellen's time away, she show more joined the Army and hasn't quite become herself. As a matter of fact, she really doesn't know who she could possibly be in life. In the previous novels, we learned that after her husband attempted to kill her, she assumed her cousin's identity, thus changing her name to Kellen. At some point, she met Max. Now, seven years later, Kellen has to come to grips with even new changes in her life. How can she become a loving mother to a little girl she never knew?

After learning about Rae, in a state of utter shock, Kellen takes off and ends up in the wilderness and the path is borne for her to start over. However, danger follows closely on her tail and it seems that the running that she started might never come to an end. Someone is still trying to kill her and one might wonder how many lives this one woman has.

What Doesn't Kill Her is a thrilling tale of suspense and mystery, with romance and family seamlessly blended in. Just as each book before, we are left hanging with another cliffhanger. I cannot imagine what is now in store for Kellen. Other books in this series are Hard to Kill, Dead Girl Running and Families and Other Enemies, all available now. To follow later this year are Hidden Truths and Strangers She Knows. show less

I love mystery books, and although I never read the first book, I was enthused reading and rapidly reading to help Kellen uncovers her memories.