In book one of the Lilah Love launch duet, meet Lilah Love, the politically incorrect FBI agent who says what no one else dares and fears her dark side is a little too dark. Note: this book ends in a cliffhanger and continues in Murder Girl. The story…As an FBI profiler, it’s Lilah Love’s job to think like a killer. And she is very good at her job. When a series of murders surface—the victims … murders surface—the victims all stripped naked and shot in the head—Lilah’s instincts tell her it’s the work of an assassin, not a serial killer. But when the case takes her back to her hometown in the Hamptons and a mysterious but unmistakable connection to her own life, all her assumptions are shaken to the core.
Thrust into a troubled past she’s tried to shut the door on, Lilah’s back in the town where her father is mayor, her brother is police chief, and she has an intimate history with the local crime lord’s son, Kane Mendez. The two share a devastating secret, and only Kane understands Lilah’s own darkest impulses. As more corpses surface, so does a series of anonymous notes to Lilah, threatening to expose her. Is the killer someone in her own circle? And is she the next target?
The Lilah Love series:
Book One: Murder Notes (Murder Duet #1)
Book Two: Murder Girl (Murder Duet #2)
Book Three: Love Me Dead (Umbrella Man Duet #1)
Book Four: Love Kills (Umbrella Man Duet #2)
Book Five: Bloody Vows (Wedding Duet #1)
Book Six: Blood Love (Wedding Duet #2)
more
If you removed all of the ‘F’ words this novel would be a novella. Author uses it as an action word… expletive.. and any other linguistic way page after page. It becomes annoying and so over the top that ti detracts from an underlying story that could have been interesting to read.
Ok, can we all say “cliff hanger”? Because this has a huge one. I do have the next in this series, so am not too upset, but wow, I would have been. I had a problem getting into the story, but once I passed the first couple of chapters, my interest peaked. This is a convoluted who done it, many paths and possible outcomes. If you have not read this, know at least one more book is a necessity and this is an intense read.
Lilah Love is profiler who doesn’t take crap from anyone. There is a dark secret in her past which made her run from her home and her lover Kyle Mendez without a backwards glance to a field job in Los Angeles with the FBI. Now her latest case has her going back to the Hamptons. But is this just coincidental or are there larger forces at play? With an admirer stalking her and leaving her notes – is this the killer she is hunting or is this related to old ghosts haunting her? With local law enforcement lead by her brother pushing to close the case for reasons she has yet to discover, who can Lilah trust.
I’m not a huge fan of Lisa Renee Jones but the blurb of this book intrigued me enough to take a chance and I am so glad I did. I absolutely loved Murder Notes. This book had everything I look for – a strong female lead with attitude, mystery and suspense, multiple murders, deep dark secrets, a will they/won’t they love element with the local bad boy all woven together in a fast paced plot that will leave you totally confused but at the same time unable to stop reading because you just have to know what happens next. My one slight issue would be that this book doesn’t have a conclusion. Fortunately for me the next one, Murder Girl is available so I can dive right into it. The Lilah Love series has gone straight onto my one-click list.
4.4 stars
This is the first book in the Lilah Love series and it is an intriguing read. Lilah is a profiler for the FBI who is called to a crime scene that eventually leads her to face her past, which means coming into contact with her family and others in order to solve, what is discovered to be more than one crime. Through it all, someone is leaving her threatening notes and Lilah does not know who she can truly trust. Making matters more complicated is the fact that her family seems to be tied up in everything. If you enjoy reading mysteries, then this is one for you; with the understanding that it does end in a cliffhanger. I cannot wait to read the next book to see where this plot takes Lilah. I volunteered to read a copy of this book.
Lilah has a dark past and what seems to look like a dark future. While investigating a murder case Lilah has to go back to the place she never wanted to go. Back to her hometown. This book keeps your interest with the murder cases, drama between the characters, and a mystery someone leaving notes. Can’t wait to read the next book!
Love the characters and the storyline. Keeps you guessing and didn’t want to put it down.
Dayum….this book takes off like a rocket and never slows down. Do I love Lilah Love? Absolutely. She’s way beyond smart, tough, irreverent and foul mouthed. She has a dark secret that she shares with the Kane Mendez. Her love/hate relationship with him, despite the time and distance separation, endures. He protects her even from afar. Now he’s become a person of interest in her current murder investigation. She knows him well but can she trust him again?
FBI Profiler Lilah Love left her home in the Hamptons and moved to LA after a life altering traumatic event that is still haunting her two years later. She finds herself investigating two execution style murders that she believes are assassinations not the work of a serial killer. When she discovers a tattoo on one of the bodies that could lead back to her,Kane that fateful night and the Hamptons. Then her Director informs her there’s another murder with the same MO in New York. She is ordered back to the Hamptons her hometown when she never wanted to be again only to discover the moment she arrives there is a body waiting for her exactly like all the rest.
The bodies are piling up and someone is taunting her with letters that could expose her and Kane’s past from that traumatic night. All the while there are forces that want her gone.
Who can she trust her brother who is the Chief of Police, her father the Mayor who could be dirty, Kane her ex whom is the son of a dead mafia boss who still wants her and their chemistry is undeniable but she feels he’s keeping secrets from her? So many players in this complex, riveting, suspense filled, action packed, mystery thriller that will have you so immersed that you won’t be able to set it down. There are so many things I want to say but you need to Experience this book for yourself. There is a cliffhanger but the next book Murder Girl is already available and I’m diving in!!!!
Five riveting suspenseful
Coming back home never meant you would not get bit in the azzzzzzzzzzzz. Lilah did not expect for one of her cases to lead her back home. Back home to so much more than just family and old friends. Back home meant that she would be thrust back in her past to things she would rather not rehash. But there is someone that wants very much for her to remember and pay.
Lisa Renee Jones knows how to write a Romantic Suspense that would have you desperate to turn to the next page, devour the next chapter and hang on for the next fix. Lilah Love, FBI profiler, fits the need for a strong, smart, independent, woman that can use her mind to infiltrate so of societies most depraved.
Okay I found it to be more suspense than romance but that did not take-away from the read in any way. I found Lilah to be just what was needed. I’m anticipating her next case.
This is a highly intense, nail biting, murder mystery that’s suspense will leave you on the edge of your seat, screaming for answers, and justice for all. Lilah Love, the very sexy intense criminal profiler for the FBI is also a woman with a very deep dark past, so deep it haunts her through her career. She is at the top of her game with the nickname “murder girl.” Because of her ability to crack cases. Living in California she is called back to her homeland of the Hamptons to help them solve a murder believed to be the work of an assassin, precisely what she is stellar doing and forces her to head home and confront the demons of her past. Even though she made a commitment to herself that she would never go back she has no choice as this type of crime is her expertise.
The most significant person from her past who will always make her blood boil in all the ways one should and should not is the head of the mob, Kane Mendez her ex-boyfriend. He’s a man with ties to the mob and with a set of questionable morals. He still wants Lilah and Lilah no matter how much she wants to she can’t escape the emotional ties she has to him; their chemistry is toxic. Her past is his to own as well.
After returning and working with the Hampton police department who her brother Andrew is the chief of police who doesn’t like Lilah investigating the case. Her father, a man of stature, who is possibly behind all of this…. has her feeling off…yet she continues to do what she is charged to do…. hence while she is back there is another murder (assassination) but the bottom line is that Lilah thinks it’s possible they are all involved in some way with the murders. Trusting no one she turns to Mendez for answers, sex and a common denominator (find out who is behind these murders). He needs to clear his name.
It’s an uncanny and very uncomfortable situation because her family is clearly tied up in these murders but she unable to find the clues…. because just when she gets close they another murder occurs….
This romance suspense will leave you wanting answers and so much more, you will want to be a character in this high yielding novel of thrills, spins, twists and emotional torment. A cliffhanger that has you craving the second novel of this series “Murder Girl”
I bought this book because I got the second one for free for my honest opinion. I decided I’d rather read the first one than try to guess what happened.
I enjoyed the story line if not a little all over the place. I couldn’t seem to quite figure certain characters and the story lines until well into the book. Once I got into it, I couldn’t put it down. The main character is a weird character but she is a pretty strong female character.
The relationship between Kane and Lilah is intriguing. I enjoyed their interaction even though there wasn’t a whole of it. Their past kept me entertained and I’m excited to learn more about it.
If you enjoy a legal suspense with a little romance thrown in, you’ll enjoy this book. The writing is fast paced and the settings are distinctly laid out. I will worn you that the F word is used a lot. That is her favorite word.
The ending of this book was definitely a cliff hanger and I can’t wait to start the next book.
FBI Profiler, Lilah Love, has had to build thick wall around herself over the years. This wall provides Lilah the self-preservation she needs and craves. She has seen too much horror having helped the FBI solve countless murders; seeing the truly heinous things others can and do inflict onto their victims, day in and day out.
Lilah has sharpened and honed her skills over the years as she tries to vindicate the victims and bring the killers to justice. But when a new string of murders strike close to home, Lilah must figure out how best to balance her professional life and that of her personal one without butting heads with the family and lover she left on the other side of the country years ago.
With a calling card that keeps reappearing, threatening to bring back a secret that Lilah is desperate to keep locked away, she is faced with one inescapable truth. This killer knows Lilah. It seems personal. So, has she finally met her match?
Many view Lilah as a no-nonsense, serious, and emotionally detached woman. That may be so, but I could not get enough of her character. I found that the more I read about her, the more I wanted to know about her. Yes, she was serious, but she was also skilled, smart and tenacious. She was funny and she had to keep things light in her own way to survive in a heavily male dominated profession. I am craving to learn more about her – from what her upbringing was like, to what drove her to be a profiler in the first place.
I cannot wait to read more Lilah Love books. I highly recommend them to you as well. You will be captivated, entertained, and you will be on the edge of your seat as you too try and solve the murders that Ms. Love is investigating.
“5/5 Beaming Brains!” – Laura, Lit-Up My Mind
When I start into a book I typically don’t expect anything to surprise me anymore. I have read it all, within my cute little romance genre bubble I live in and typical limit myself too, and nothing really pulls me out of my comfort zone anymore. I read a book and love it, but could never really tell you what truly made it unique and set it apart from the other 900 books I’ve read in the past 6 years. Well let me tell you, when I first had Murder Notes land on my kindle, I was apprehensive about jumping right in, knowing it’s out of my genre, but once I did I was so enthralled with this story I just don’t even know how to review it. First off, it’s some of Lisa’s best work. It’s so out of her normal genre she even writes, that I was pleasantly surprised how great it truly was. When you get into the mystery/suspense book type, it really must be very well thought out and planned. You can’t just throw anything together and make it work. Especially with this book and the start of this series, you can just feel Lisa did her homework on this type of story and it shows so brilliantly in her words!
In the first book of the Lilah Love series, Murder Notes, we get the story from our main characters POV. She is sent back to her home town to track down a killer. Lilah is an FBI Profiler and has avoided coming home at all costs. Until her investigation leads her right back to the beaches she’s tried so hard to avoid. When back in town she is also faced with her ex, Kane Mendez. He’s a crime boss and the farthest thing from what she wants or needs in her life. The pair share a past that unfolds within this story and as things start to unravel and more bodies end up in front of Lilah, she begins to question his involvement and her own personal connection to this case.
While we see little romance in this book, it’s there in a very minuscule way. The past begins to expose itself to us as the reader and the secrets you learn about her and Kane’s past do hold something over her. She begins to question it all and wonder if she’s going to be the killers’ next victim. The whole book is very much thoughts in her head vs. a lot of dialog, which as a speed reader was an adjustment for me, but once I learned the pace of Lisa’s writing in this book I feel right into a reading rhythm that was easy to breeze through. Bravo for this original and fun suspense that kept even the most dedicated of romance readers fully captivated!
Suspenseful,thrilling , exciting…
This fantastic, sexy, high octane read is best enjoyed by going in blindly!
From the beginning, you think this fast paced psychological thriller is going in one direction but then a certain tattoo on a dead body takes you on a completely different connection.
Each page carried another piece of a complex puzzle, maybe giving you clues as to who’s behind these murders.
I was immersed in this story, nail biting and exciting I couldn’t put this book down trying to figure out the secrets and hidden clues in this read. Of course the build up was exciting and the wtf moments just kept piling up.
Lilah is the perfect heroine for this story. Beauty sexy a hooker name and a badass attitude to match her badge as FBI agent and profiler. While she’s investigating a series of murders in California , similar ones are happening in her home state of New York. Digging deeper she discovers eery similarities. As a profiler she’s sent to New York and what she discovers takes her down a rabbit hole she never thought she would fall into.
Secrets behind secrets take front and center seat in this high octane intriguing, and suspenseful psychological thriller.
The thrill of trying to find out what is happening and what is the meaning behind the mysterious notes that suddenly appear where Lilah least expects it. Who’s responsible?
Every character become suspect.
Lilah may been in over head as she learns that she can’t trust those she thought she could. There’s an underlying hint of romance bubbling but the layers of mystery and suspense, keep it from happening.
Is Kane Mendez friend or foe?
Omg, I need to know and the ending cliffhanger didn’t satisfy my curiosity.
My only criticism was that the story was so fast paced, at times certain scenes felt rushed and they were missing something. Additionally, there were so many characters entering and leaving the story at times it felt confusing.
However let me be clear that didn’t take away from enjoying the story one bit!!
I cannot wait to find out what this amazing author of mysterious sexy thrillers has up her sleeve!!
4.5 stars.
Lilah is one of the most complex and traumatized characters I have read in a while. She has one secret she shares with Kane Mendez and it is so damaging they would both end up in jail.
She is the top profiler for the FBI assigned to catch a serial killer who has a particular method of killing. Little did she know when she was given this assignment she would end up back in New York after years of avoiding anything to do with her family and her ex Kane. This killer is sending her messages and everything she holds dearly is in danger.
I was caught up in this story from the first chapter. I love complex characters who are strong enough to understand their dark psyche and yet continue to function while hiding their secrets. I can hardly wait to read the next installment of this story. Lilah has a puzzle to put together if she is to catch her killer… her life is in danger as well as Kane’s and perhaps even her family. What a ride!
I am voluntarily reviewing this book. I thank the author for sharing a copy with me.
Murder Notes by Lisa Renee Jones is the first book in the series, Lilah Love. Special Agent Lilah Love is a FBI Profiler and Detective. When she specifically is called to investigate a sting of murders there is more going on than meets the eye. As the murders begin to have a connection to her own life she is pulled back home to a place and people she left behind.
Lilah’s story is deep and complex and as you read you learn more about her and her past as well as her connection to Kane Mendez, the local crime lord’s son. Murder Notes is a suspense, crime-thriller, novel with a side of hot sensual romance. Nothing in Lilah’s world is simple and everything more you learns gives more questions than answers as we are led along twists and turns.
Overall I liked Murder Notes by Lisa Renee Jones and Lilah’s character. She is complex and interesting, passionate and driven. Even when the book ends there is more to learn since Murder Notes is just the beginning of Lilah Love’s story.
Murder Notes is a captivating and consuming murder mystery that will keep you on your toes and keep your mind spiraling.
Lilah love left behind her home and her past lover over two years ago and is now a FBI agent. When a series of murders in LA lead her back to her hometown, Lilah is forced not only to face her past but to face the possibility that her life could be in danger.
I kept my recap pretty basic for the simple fact that I want readers to go into this without much expectation. From the blurb, you know that there are a series of murders and that somehow Lilah is connected to them. What we get from all of this is a history that is do deep rooted in the Hamptons that it’s easy to question every single person in Lilah’s life. No one is off limits and the entire time I felt like every one was a suspect.
I like the way Jones wrote the store to keep you captivated and to keep you guessing. Just when you think you have everyone figured out, something changes that and you are back to square one again.
Without giving anything away, I’m just going to say that it’s been a while since I’ve been so intrigued by someone as mysterious as Kane Mendez. I didn’t get enough of him in this book and I’m dying to get my hands on the next one. Not only to find out answers but to just get more of him.
“I could say no. I should say no. But he is the answer to the storm inside me that hasn’t been answered in far too long. And he owes that to me.”
If you are looking for a romantic suspense that gives you a feisty FBI agent with a dirty mouth of a sailor who has a lot of men from her past and present that give her a run for her money and quite frankly test her nerves every single second, then Murder Notes is the book for you!
Lilah Love is a FBI profiler. She is investigating multiple murders that eventually point her back home to where she is from. Kane is her ex and who saved her one night from someone who tried to kill her. But who else saw what they did that night? Who can she trust? I love the mystery and suspense. I love Kane who protected her and has been ever since that night. Lilah doesn’t take crap from anyone and is one badass women but who is trying to take her down? I can’t wait to read the second book! Book given to me by author.
OMG, this book was amazing. It kept me on my toes and I loved it. First time reading from this author and I can’t wait to read more from her. This definitely left me hanging and I can’t wait for book 2.
Lilah Love is a badass FBI agent. She doesn’t take crap from anybody. She does an awesome job at profiling all of the murders. She moves away from her hometown and family and then ends up back there to work on a case. She is haunted from her past but that doesn’t stop her from being a strong, independent woman.
Kane is Lilah’s ex lover. He is sexy, dangerous and protective. He is so protective of Lilah. He wants to be more with her but she can’t do that again with him. They get one another.
There was a lot of characters in this book. Each one of them adding more to the story. The author added these characters at the perfect spot in this book.
Definitely recommended this book!! ARC provided by Netgalley.
Book 1 Reese and Cat
I received this book as an ARC reader but I give my honest opinion.
A book called One Night Stand and you think you know the story before reading. That is the Authers talent, it’s not what you think you you don’t know the story at all. It made me laugh, angry and smile. It’s a must read!!!