The high school is this killer’s hunting ground.Girls from the local high school are being abducted. The only link between the cases is that the girls are kept for ninety-nine hours, then drowned and dumped on the doorsteps of their homes with a number nine tattoo on their back. The cops don’t know who they’re looking for but they do know that with the high school as his hunting ground this … ground this killer has hundreds of potential victims to choose from.
Fifteen year old Sophie Xander just learned that she was adopted and that her parents have been lying to her her entire life. Angry, hurt, and no longer sure of who she is, Sophie lashes out at her parents, and turns to her new boyfriend for comfort and support. But when she and her best friend are snatched off the streets her family will do whatever it takes to get her back.
** Warning: Graphic violence and themes of sexual assault/abuse **
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wow! This left me speechless after I read it.
This is much darker and intense than the others. The whole family takes a hit in this one.
The twists and turns will keep you reading until the end.
Absolutely loved it!
Another fantastic thriller by Jane Blythe!! This one was super intense and nail biting! I was kept guessing what was going to happen next and then I was hit with another twist that had me rethinking everything. Kept me on the edge of my seat
4.5 stars
I came into this book without knowing they’re eight others before it where you get to know the characters but it didn’t hinder my ability to connect to this story. Blythe weaves a dark and sinister tale ripped straight from our nightmares, especially for parents. A killer is preying on the vulnerable and stealing futures from families. As teen girls are abducted and tortured, detectives Ryan and Paige race against time to stop a serial killer…their own children are in the crosshairs.
Fantastic edge of your seat suspense. A gritty and dark story that’ll have you clutching your heart in your hand. Excellent and highly recommended.
AnnMarie – Alphas Do It Better Book Blog
This book had me hooked from start to finish. The suspense was off the charts. I was just flipping pages needing to know what happens next.
Can’t believe I’m coming to the end of this series. It’s been so good and dying to jump into book 10. Highly recommend if you love crime thrillers. Definitely not for the faint hearted though
Holy cow WOW!! does this one blow the others out of the water. The family takes a major hit this one. It’s more dark, twisted, intense, very very emotional, and pulls along till the very en. You head will spin and you heart rate will pick and when everything comes out you will be on the edge wanting to find out more. I have said it thur out this series can this family catch a break? Another amazing read and DEFINITELY can’t wait to read the last one.
Really going to miss this series when it’s over.
Second to last book and just as epic and intense.
This is one series you don’t want to miss out on.
It will continually keep you guessing until the last page.
Oh boy! This book starts off straight into the kidnapping and the action continues leaving you with your heart in your mouth, or so it seems, at times.
The ‘evil’ character in this story made my blood boil red hot with anger from the beginning and it only got worse as he progressively became worse. I seriously could have dropped a bomb on the wasted excuse for a human being. That’s how much you are made to feel reading this story, the emotions are intense at times because the writing is very detailed and so descriptive.
Be warned: this story comes with a barrel load of emotions that you seem to turn around in over and over. Mainly I think due to the fact that the victims are the characters we have come to know and like throughout the series but also because of the fabulous descriptions and the way you can easily visualise each scene. I will admit there were times when I had to put my kindle down, take a breath then continue. It is a very powerful story.
Unpredictable is one word to describe this book, the twists and turns are terrific. I will admit I was shocked at times and I may have cursed the baddie a time or two as well, that is how involved you get. Never think you know what’s going on because something always pops up to surprise you.
Bring on Ten, the last book in this sensational series.
4*
The Detectives come together again to work on another case. Unfortunately this one seems to be tied to Ryan and Paige.
Sophie is struggling after her parents disclosed some news that she found difficult to accept, Hannah is her best friend and she’s trying her best to help her.
But trusting the wrong person lands Sophie & Hannah in trouble. This killer seems to be obsessed with the number Nine but finding the connection is taking time
This series is the main reason I’m starting to read more gruesome suspenseful novels and I can say I’m loving the change of pace of this style of book. When young girls are being kidnapped and tortured and Sophie and her best friend turn up missing it’s a race against time to find them!
You can really tell that the series is almost at an end because Jane does not hold back in this one! This one scared me. As a parent, my worst fear is of something happening to my child and when the school girls start going missing and turning up murdered, it sent a chill down my spine. I actually didn’t figure out who the killer was this time until it was revealed. I was surprised! Jane definitely has unique ways of torture and murder and this book thinks outside the box! I read this book so quickly, it was that good! Can’t believe the next one is the last in the series!
I’m just going to start out by saying, OMG this book is AMAZING! Its a thriller with a mixture of YA, since you get the point of view of the teenagers, and its also got a bit of police procedural going on as well.
From the opening pages, YOU WILL BE HOOKED!
You get many points of view here…which oddly isn’t confusing, that’s how well written this book is.
The characters are well developed. There are times when I wanted to smack a few of them, but you will be invested in all of them. Even, as I said when you wanted to smack them silly..cough cough..Sophie..
Sophie is a character that brings up a lot of conflicting feelings. She’s in a some ways very typical of the average teenager. It actually had me googling later on about when to tell your child they are adopted.
The one thing that I really found great about this book is the way she kept the identity of the killer a secret until the end. It was really a shocker for me when things started to be revealed. Though in hindsight there are some things that should point to the killer. (So I might just be a little daft with this one)
I can’t begin to say how much I enjoyed this book. I can only say, if thrillers are your thing. You can’t miss this one. I’m going back to read the other books in the series
Someone is targeting girls from a local high school and it is up to Detectives Ryan Xander and Paige Hood. It hits close to home when Paige realizes that her daughter, Hayley, has tutored one of the girls.
Yet the killer seems to be infatuated with the number nine and the detectives know they are running out of time when another girl is taken.
Unfortunately for Ryan and his wife Sofia they are having their own problems with their daughter Sophia who recently discovered she was adopted. Now she is acting out and sneaking out with her older
boyfriend, Dominic.
Can Ryan and Paige figure out who the killer is before he strikes again?
This is another great book in the series and I have loved watching all of these characters grow over the series
I liked in this book that there was so much from the younger characters who we had gotten to know in previous books but this centered around the family drama between Ryan, Sofia and Sophie as well as
Paige, Elias, and Hayley due to Hayley and Sophie being best friends. I liked that part of it stemmed from Sophie learning about her biological parents and how she reacted to the news.
The killer was definitely a smart one and had everything meticulously planned out and was so smart about every detail. He was cold and calculated and I felt so sorry for the girls as they knew what was
coming. The twist surprised me for sure and then it made me wonder and I had a few guesses!
I thought I had some guesses but then an event happened and I changed my mind.
It was interesting seeing Dom’s reaction to Ryan and how he wanted Dom away from Sophie. I
understood why he didn’t want her dating him but Dom seemed to truly love her. Although I was very grateful that Hayley was trying to talk some common sense into Sophie!
My heart started breaking part way through the book and the pinkie fingers made me so sad!! I completely understood why Ryan and Paige did what they did and I was so shocked that nobody got hurt in that exchange.
I was somewhat sad at the end when we learn about the killer as I was disappointed for personal reasons but the fish part was terrifying!! I was proud of a certain character though for his actions!
Looking forward to the last book! By Rebecca
I absolutely love this series! There’s a serial killer about targeting young high school girls, but not just any girls, they are just working up to getting the daughter’s of two very specific detectives. This book is highly intense and addictive. I am looking forward to the next (last-boo hoo) book in this series.
First I have to say that I am sad to see that we are almost at the end of the Count to 10 series by Jane Blythe. She is the one and only author that I keep coming back for more of the dark side. In Nine, I was not sure if I could get through it all because how high alert my emotions were. My heart was pounding so hard that I took a couple of breaks. I did not and could not rush through this book. Jane will have you explore the dark side of the world and the monsters that creep in the shadows. She shows us they do exist.
These characters I have adored since One and forth. I remember a conversation with Jane when she had written Two, the characters were different from One. But as the books went by, their worlds intertwined. These characters become near and dear to your heart.
Sophia….I love that girl dearly but as a mom, she had me on the edge with all the danger she is going through. Nine will grab you by the through and make your hairs stand up. I was on a rush all the way through the end. Now my only question left, what will Jane bring us with the final book of this series?
Holy moly, Nine is the ninth book in the Count to Ten series by Jane Blythe is another fantastic to the story. It is thrilling and suspenseful, haunting and chilling and will have you on the edge of your seat from start to finish and your heart will be beating double time. The action and mystery, mayhem and murder is addicting and the storyline and the characters will hold you captive. The twists and turns are plenty and you don’t see them coming. The characters are well developed and I fell in love with each and every one of them who star throughout the other books in the series. Jane is a great author who writes books that have it all danger and drama, murder and mystery, secrets and lies and evil murderers who love the thrill of those they hold captive and their pain. Jane Blythe is a master at weaving her stories and is not afraid to show the pain and horror, suffering and mayhem that invoke so may feelings and intense emotions.
If you love a good murder thriller, then Jane is your girl and this book is one you will not want to walk away from. I can’t wait for the next book. This page turner will keep you rooted to your seat and I found myself finishing it in one sitting. This is one series and one author to keep on speed dial.