Family secrets resurface, threatening cyber sleuth Karen Sullivan’s carefully ordered life. A week before Thanksgiving, Karen receives the first obscene phone call. The calls continue nightly and escalate in their graphic details about the dark, childhood secrets she has successfully repressed. Then the caller takes a new direction and brags about his plans to terrorize her ailing, … terrorize her ailing, eighty-seven-year-old father.
Determined to shut out the ugly past, slow her mounting fears, and protect Dad, Karen struggles to keep her life on the rails. She takes her volunteer shift at the local rape crisis center and imagines confiding the collision of past and present to her best friend. But her friend goes home ill before Karen can reveal her PTSD symptoms.
In a matter of hours, circumstances spiral out of control. A caller to the crisis center swears he’ll “hurt” the twelve-year-old girl he’s babysitting unless Karen “distracts him with phone sex.”
Is Karen paranoid or is the caller her anonymous caller? How does he know her name? How’d he discover where she’s volunteering? How does he connect Karen to Dad and to her best friend?
Events crash around her like a tsunami. She speaks with the twelve-year-old girl. Her best friend is brutally attacked. Her super home security system is breached. More twists and fast pacing ratchet up the psychological suspense.
On the edge, trusting no man, Karen must trust a rogue cop without revealing her darkest secrets. Can they stop the psycho before Karen becomes his next prey?
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The specters surrounding Karen’s dangerously damaged childhood come out to haunt, taunt, maim and kill during one of the biggest blizzards of the century.
Friends and family will not all survive, and Karen and a tarnished knight / hero cop certainly do not come away unscathed.
With torn bodies and souls left in their wake, in their own eyes and mirrors, what happens to adults who were once children damaged in ways that defy comprehension?
Death is only a piece of the puzzle, not a resolution or a full stop ending.
A powerful story that plumbs the depths of deep personal and private pains and violations, then digs deeper.
An exquisite exploration of devastating childhood pain and adult efforts afterwards.
Ready or Not – I found this suspense-filled thriller interesting, intriguing and fast paced. In addition to the good storylines and storytelling, I found man of the characters interesting and well developed, although Karen got on my nerves for a lot of the story. Wiley was a well-done and likeable character. The sicko’s identity was easy to figure out but the story was not damaged by that knowledge since Ms. Plum always provides some extra, unexpected twists to her yarns. 4*
All Things Considered – I love to read the work of this author and I enjoyed this book as well as her other books that I have read. Although I figured early on who the murderer was, there was more to the story than I expected and a couple of surprises at the end. After a bit of a slow start, this well written book became so intriguing and interesting, it became difficult to put down, I found all the characters interesting and realistic, and liked that the rock stars were not stereotypes, but real people. I giggled a few times at the words that come out of the Texan’s mouth, but not everybody hangs in TX to learn our speak. It turns out that there is another book coming out later this year and I want to read that one, too. 4*
The Early Years #1 – My first book by this author and it’s a kick. Michael makes Brooke Shield and Bettye Davis’ roles look like normal, bible study children. The story is well written but with some vulgar language and deviant sex scenes. The story moves at a fast pace and the reader is intrigued with what unfolds. I wouldn’t want to read more books like this, but I will finish the five books of this series. Interesting prologue. Minor editing needed.
The Lost Days #2 – The pain and gain and loss that come from the actions performed in The Early Years come to head in this book. Michael for all his intelligence is still a little boy that didn’t cover all the bases in his plans. His mother wasn’t at her best, either. The story is well written and intriguing. The characters continue to grow and the plot twists with surprises not expected. Interesting prologue. Minor editing needed.
The In-Between Years #3 – Another interesting and intriguing story. The characters are steady growing and still with interesting dialog. The plot manages to keep the reader interested until the last page. Interesting prologue. Minor editing needed.
The Reckless Year #4 – The intrigue and interest still abounds in this story. The reader has to wonder about Michael’s love interest, but it’s not his IQ that’s running the show here. The characters continue to develop; their dialog is realistic; and the plot while not the best of the books, is keeps the reader involved in the story. Interesting prologue. Editing needed.
The Dispensable Wife #5 – I had a few days between the first four books and this one. I didn’t care to much for the beginning of the book, several chapters of wasted words and repetition. The reader is now seeing his and her sides of the story and it takes a while for the book to become interesting. I didn’t care for the last two or three chapters; I didn’t find them interesting or flowing. Interesting prologue. Minor editing needed.
Update for The Dispensable Wife #5: As of February, 2018, I’ve had the chance to proof Broken-Hearted Many #6. While I was disappointed originally with Wife, because it changed the main characters from the first four books, I found Wife and Many were about the wife and children and their future without Michael and the secrets they carry inside themselves. So I’m changing my previous review to acknowledge that Wife is better with the addition of reading Many. I still think a better transition in Wife would not have been as shocking/distracting/confusing/pick your word to find Michael and Dimitri tossed in the background. They were the reason I was reading the series. Wife and Many fit together as #1 – #4 fit together; I just had to get used to Michael as a minor character in these books.
I found Wife on AXP and volunteered to review it, since I already owned the other four books. Since then I’ve purchased Wife.
The Boy Nobody Loved – The prequel, which I read after I read the first five books of the Misfit series. It’s a good choice to read first since it lays the foundation of Michael’s beginning years and what he lived through. The story is well written and intriguing. The characters are developing and their dialog is realistic.
Deep dark secrets abound in this psychological thriller. Multiple twists in the cat and mouse game between the characters both past and present keep you guessing. I like creepy, unpredictable characters.