Author Sage Quintano writes about crime. Her husband Niko investigates it. Together they make an unstoppable team. But no one counted on a twisted serial killer, who stalks their sleepy community, uproots their happy home, and splits the threads that bonds their family unit.Darkness swallows the Quintanos whole–ensnared by a ruthless killer out for blood. Why he focused on Sage remains a … remains a mystery, but he won’t stop till she dies like the others.
Women impaled by deer antlers, bodies encased in oil drums, nursery rhymes, and the Suicide King. What connects these cryptic clues? For Sage and Niko, the truth may be more terrifying than they ever imagined.
Early readers love CLEAVED…
”The title alone is the stuff of nightmares. Cleaved by Sue Coletta is the latest from the writing magic of this author.
Her characters, storyline, and imagination all meld into the perfect blend of suspense, tension, action, and emotion. Her prose sings more than tells the story. The words are crafted and woven into both subtle and shocking passages.
The intricacies of the plot will keep you guessing, and catching your breath, with each twist and turn. While the nature of the story contains some gruesome aspects, Coletta handles them with aplomb. She makes her point without gratuitous descriptions so common is less skillfully written thrillers.
This is an author rising to new levels in her craft. All of her books are good, this one is exceptional.
She takes you inside the mind of her main recurring character, Sage Quintano. You experience the story as she does. (Minor spoiler alert coming up.) As part of her research for the book, Coletta actually got inside an oil drum. I’ll leave it to your imagination why. But it should give you an indication of the commitment to excellence this author brings to her work.
Read this book. Read all this author’s work. You will not be disappointed. Terrified, scared, suffering elevated blood pressure, yes. Disappointed, no.” ~ posted on Goodreads
”The sequel to Marred, in which you’d think Sage and Niko have been through enough, but no, Sue Coletta pulls out all the stops to take you on an amazing roller coaster ride of a read. Prepare to be chuckling one minute, and then terrified the next. I dare you to read this book without becoming emotionally involved with the characters and their safety.
Perfectly paced, perfectly passionate, perfectly perplexing. If you buy one book today make it Cleaved!” ~ posted on Goodreads
”Follow Sage as she unravels this mystery from page one. You may not want to put it down. I sure never did, but seems I do most of my reading at work! I give this book 5 stars for sure! Sue coletta has done it again. After Marred and Wings of Mayhem I never thought it could get better, but she did it again.” posted on Goodreads
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Sue Coletta has a mind for murder and mayhem and she does her research well in order to do her writing justice. Reading Marred, the first book in the Grafton County series, I thought was chilling enough but after reading Cleaved, book two, it surpassed the first by leaps and bounds.
After surviving a horrible attack in her home and the loss of her twin sister at the hands of a twisted serial killer in Marred, Sage Quintano and her husband, Niko, the sheriff of Grafton County, are doing their best to get back to routine and a normal life. Aside from their two dogs, Colt and Ruger, whom they consider their children, they now have a new addition to complete their family unit, a 13-month old son, Noah and they could not be happier. However, monsters still lurking in the shadows refuse to let them have peace. After grizzly new murders occur, Niko and his police force are back in the game trying to make sense of the clues and find the madman before the body count rises. Terrifying events come to pass after Sage’s name comes up at a fresh crime scene and their life is thrown into chaos and life-and-death situations, yet again. While Niko and his deputies are racing against the clock for answers, Sage is fighting her own horrific battles when the killer threatens her family and sets his sights on her. Using her instincts and research skills, as well as her criminal role-play with Niko they work to unravel the complex and baffling evidence to find the killer before it is too late.
There are many twists and turns and a few shocking surprises woven into the pages of this suspenseful thriller. I enjoyed the many facets of police procedures that Sue sprinkles throughout the read…from the direction of blood spatter to determining the time of death by body decay and bugs (gross, but true!). It is these intricate details that really pull me in and help make the story come to life. I can picture the scenes unfolding and am totally invested in the feelings and emotions of the characters as they describe what they see and what they do. I also enjoyed the fact that Niko and Sage are not the perfect couple. They struggle with secrets and honesty, prioritizing work and family, their own emotions from past events and their relationship. I love this because it makes it easier to relate to the characters, they ‘feel real’. More details are also shared about Frankie, including tidbits from her personal life, and a shocking event I never would have guessed from her. I am extremely curious how the after effects will affect her as a person, in her job and her relationship with Niko. I cannot help but think something bad will be coming her way in the future when truths are revealed.
Cleaved will have you holding your breath and invested in the story from the first page. It is a terrifying, eerie read full of suspense, grueling murders and tragic events with the twisted mind of a killer, his heinous acts and a fascinating puzzle to solve.
Cleaved is a thriller and searches the twisted mind of a serial killer. Clues are well-developed. The main characters are Sage Quintano and her husband, Niko, from her prior book, Marred.
Excellent writing.
MARRED was a fabulous book, and somehow, CLEAVED surpassed it. The book bounces between character point of view in a perfect way to tell this story. Niko and Sage are working on their problems, but they’re also taking some things for granted. This leads to situations they could have avoided had they only trusted each other. This seems so realistic to me. Coletta ramps up the terror and puts the reader right in the middle of some terrible situations. Excited to see Frankie grow as a character and play a more active role too. Definitely add this to your reading list, and if you haven’t read MARRED add it too.
Sage and Niko are great characters with good Interaction . Lots of action as they hunt a serial killer. The secondary characters are very likable and fit in perfectly. Along with Sages son Noah we also have her two fur babies which seemed to have their own personalities. The story kept you guessing til the end . This story grabs you from the first page and keeps your interest. Sue Coletta is definitely going on my tbr list.