Malorie’s best friend is missing. But due to her friend’s wild past, no one is worried—until another med student’s partial remains wash ashore a Seattle beach… When Malorie witnesses her best friend and roommate leave a campus bar with a mystery date driving a silver Mercedes, she suspects foul play, especially when Lani fails to return home the next day. Both women, med students in their … students in their final year at Elliott Bay University, have a lot riding on the line, but due to Lani’s wild past, no one in her family is worried. When Malorie’s fears for her roommate deepen, she turns to her Uncle Wade, a Sergeant at Seattle Homicide.
Within 48 hours after Lani goes missing, the partial remains of a brutally murdered young woman wash up on Alki Beach, and a human hand is found in a crab pot off Bainbridge Island. When one of the bodies is identified as a pregnant, fourth-year medical student, Wade believes there’s a connection with Lani’s disappearance. And, that they might be looking for a serial killer.
Malorie suspects Lani’s kidnapper is someone they know, possibly even one of their professors at the university, a prominent Seattle anesthesiologist whose wife is the president of EBU. But when Detective Blake Stephenson discovers evidence that links another suspect to the professor’s Mercedes, he and Wade must act fast to attempt a wild rescue in the middle of Puget Sound.
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A medical related mystery that kept my attention with great writing and characters. When Lani went missing, her best friend was the only one that was worried as Lani had disappeared before without issues. Malorie filed a missing persons report that wasn’t taken seriously until the body of another female student was found. It was determined that the deceased had been pregnant, but there was no baby present. Only when Malorie finds an ultrasound photo in Lani’s belongings does the search ramp up. This story kept me intrigued as to who the murderer was. Thumbs up!
Wow
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“Thriller Thursday”
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: 237
: ℎ ℎ
: 11/28/2019
: (4.5 stars)
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This is the fourth book in the emerald City Thriller series. Every book in this series can be read as a standalone. Thank you Audrey for the gifted copy.
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: In this book med student Malorie’s best friend Lani goes missing after leaving a campus bar. No one is worried until another medical student’s partial remains wash ashore a Seattle Beach.
I thought this book was fascinating. In my eyes this was a fast paced book that had me on the edge of my seat as everything unfolded. Audrey has a way of luring you in from the start, making you feel as if you are one of the characters in the story along for the ride. For only being 237 pages, this book packed a punch. I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone wanting a great Thriller under 300 pages!!!!
A can’t-put-it-down; really like the thrillers, police chases, etc!
Always love a book that is true and accurate to the place. All the Seattle references were accurate. Medical aspect was interesting. Kept me guessing through much of it. Good story.
This was a spectacular mystery with a superb surprising ending. I enjoyed helping Malorie solve the missing case of her friend Lani and others even though her family was not too concerned. It had many twists and hidden clues making the book hard to put down.
Excellent and riveting mystery
Lani and Malorie’s story was told amazingly well. The mystery went in a perfect suspenseful mood. Added on top of it, every chapter threw up excellent surprises, more secrets about the characters, which never let us guess the end result. The characters were all etched so well that their dialogues seemed perfectly natural.
Enjoyed it throughly.
Another awesome thrilling read. The culprit wasn’t who I thought it was at start. Eagerly awaiting the latest instalment of the emerald city thriller series. Audrey is most definitely in my top 2 authors
Remains of a body are found. The autopsy showed the victim was cut open as if she had a cesarean section. She was identified as Gretchen, a medical student that was pregnant. Another pregnant medical student goes missing. This is a page turning thriller that you will want to keep reading.
Viable Hostage: Emerald City Thriller was a great read by Audrey J. Cole. Malorie is witness to her best friend leaving a campus bar with someone driving a silver Mercedes. She suspects that something is wrong with the situation, especially after Lani doesn’t return home. They are both busy med students and Malorie knows that something is amiss in Lani’s disappearance even though her family doesn’t believe anything is wrong. Lani’s past as a wild child is making it so that her family doesn’t seem too worried. Malorie goes to her Uncle Wade who is a sergeant at Seattle Homicide because she knows something is wrong. A young woman’s remains wash up on a beach, they find out that there is a connection to Lani’s disappearance when the woman washed up turns out to be a med student as well. I enjoyed reading Malorie’s story and can’t wait to read more by Audrey J. Cole.
This book was such an incredible, suspenseful, engaging, entertaining, realistic crime thriller read!!!
This book is full of lies, secrets, betrayal, obsession, blackmail, and of course… Murder!!!
This is one of the top books I’ve read and reviewed this year!!!
This is the second book I’ve read from the very talented writer, Audrey J. Cole. About two years ago I read, reviewed, and blogged about her book, “The Recipient,” which is Book One in the Emerald City Book Series and I absolutely loved it!! So, I was thrilled to get the chance to read her latest work, “Viable Hostage,” which is Book Four of the same book series.
I am a huge mystery book fan and my favorite thing about Audrey’s book’s is that she ALWAYS keeps me on the edge of my seat guessing whodunit and she is one of the few authors who actually surprises me on the killer!!! I am really, really good at guessing the killer in books, TV shows, movies, games, etc. – but Audrey can definitely beat me and shock me with her endings – and that takes skill!!!
This book is about Malorie and her best friend Lani. Malorie and Lani go out to a campus bar, Harry’s, Malorie steps away to use the restroom, and when she returns Lani is nowhere to be found. Malorie calls Lani to find out where she went, and when she answers she tells her a guy she is secretly dating is picking her up out front and not to worry or wait up. Malorie runs outside the bar and sees a silver Mercedes quickly driving off and Lani’s cell phone on the ground. Feeling annoyed about being ditched and uneasy about the circumstances Malorie decides to just head home for the night.
Unfortunately, when Lani doesn’t return home or show up for her mom’s big award event the next day, Malorie is very concerned something bad has happened to her friend. However, she seems to be the only one worried. Lani’s parents seem less bothered and figure it’s Lani just being Lani as she has a history of just disappearing for days and not letting anyone know. Heck – just six months ago she missed her brother’s college graduation because she was too drunk and too stoned. She had been gone for multiple days and her parents had even filed a police report. But not this time, if Lani was going to continue to be inconsiderate and irresponsible, they were not going to waste their time worrying about her when she was probably off doing her own thing. Malorie tries to insist that Lani had changed, she was no longer drinking or partying, she was attending her classes, and actually being accountable and turning her life around. But, Lani’s parents weren’t buying it.
Malorie decides to reach out to her Uncle Wade, a Sergeant at Seattle Police in the Homicide Department. He agrees to help her file a missing person’s report and put her in touch with the Missing Person’s Team. Unfortunately, the detectives also see that this isn’t the first time Lani has gone missing and that last time she was just out partying. With nothing to contradict Lani’s repeat behavior and that she hasn’t been missing that long the police don’t seem to take the case that seriously. It isn’t until body parts wash up on the beach that match that of a missing 4th year med student who also attended the same university as Lani, was in the same med program, has a striking physical resemblance, and a similar missing person’s report that the police began to see a pattern and start to think Lani may have been abducted by the same person that killed the victim on the beach. Could Lani have been taken by a serial killer? Or is Lani back to her old ways and just out having a good time? No spoilers here!! But you definitely will want to read this book and find out what happens!!
There is so much going on in this book!! This book has so many different layers with several plot points that are well executed and structurally sound!! I thoroughly enjoyed pulling back each layer and seeing where it took me… I thought this book was going to be a straight-forward serial killer book, but it also had deeper, intricate, complex, and elaborate story lines as well.
Audrey’s writing only continues to improve, grow, and expand with each book! I know she will be an author I will continue to read over the years!
So many exciting, intriguing, suspenseful, and thrilling moments in this book!!! I literally couldn’t turn the pages fast enough!!!
I really enjoyed reading this book and could not wait to solve the case and find out who the killer was!!
I really enjoyed all the main characters (the bad and the good), Malorie, her Uncle Sergeant Wade, her Best Friend Lani, Detectives: Stephenson, Adams, Richards, Dr. Delaney, Luke Paulson, and Lani’s family. I liked that Malorie was smart, sweet, persistent, kind, determined, caring, tenacious, and stubborn. I remember Wade from book one, so it was great catching back up with him. Book one was a bit emotional for him, so it was nice seeing him in a good place, happily married, and about to be a dad. He was strong-willed, relentless, benevolent, understanding, and sympathetic. I liked Lani, and I totally felt for her. We’ve all done things and then had a hard time coming back from that not being judged or labeled for them. People can change. I was so sad when her parents dismissed any thought of foul play or danger and just chalked it up to her partying. It would be heartbreaking if my family didn’t take my being missing seriously. I also really liked the detectives and was impressed with their professionalism and legal accuracy. Also, I was very interested in Detective Tess Richards. Throughout the book it hinted about her brother being murdered and his killer going to trial soon. I was curious if this case had already been part of the book series or was going to be featured in an upcoming book. Regardless, I really liked the character as she seemed very smart, tough, compassionate, caring, and also a bit stubborn.
I think the author did a fantastic job on her character development as these characters were so real and personal on many levels!
This book has quite a bit of medical jargon as the main characters are 4th year med students and the killer is thought to have had medical training as well. Thankfully the author doesn’t totally overwhelm the reader by dumping long medical terminology passages, but she presents it in an easy to understand and comprehend manner, while not sugar-coating or dumbing it down.
I love the in-depth amount of research the author did while constructing this book. It is clear she is very familiar and well-versed in the medical and criminal procedural practices. The author provided so much detail and such vivid descriptions it made the scenes easy to picture. These particulars were so well-described they felt both realistic and authentic.
This book has exceptional mystery crime solving structure with enough clues and excitement to keep you guessing, but still practical and realistic.
I also enjoyed the style of writing and that there were several, but short chapters. It really helped keep the story on point, provide smooth scene transitions, and allow for the overall story line to flow.
This book had a very satisfying and an extremely realistic ending. I was pleased with the author’s take and her decision to end it the way she did.
This book has a creative story line with well executed plot points, excellent mystery thriller structured scenarios, fantastic writing style with detailed scenes, relatable characters, is fast paced, and keeps you fully engaged and entertained.
There were a few predictable scenes. However, there are still many unexpected twists and turns and misdirection’s that you won’t see coming!
This book is book four in the Emerald City Thriller Book Series. It can be read as a standalone. However, there seems to be character and story line overlaps.
All in all, I really enjoyed reading this book and would absolutely recommend it! I think all thriller, mystery, suspense readers will like this book too! So, add it to your TBR List and get to reading – you won’t be disappointed!
**Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book and have voluntarily provided an honest, and unbiased review in accordance with FTC regulations.**
This review is for the audio book.
You will become a hostage to this story until the end, it is that good I didn’t want to pause it for a second. I loved this book. I liked the suspense and spent the whole book trying to work out who the killer was. With plenty of clues I kept changing my mind and it is definitely a story you can listen to again. The characters were likeable and had you rooting for the good guys, I just hope the author plans to write about them a lot more.
When Malorie flighty room mate dumps her at a bar, she knows something is wrong. But Lani has pulled a disappearing act before and no body else is worried even when she fails to turn up for a big family event. Malorie turns to the one person she know she can always turn to her Uncle Wade. Despite his wife about to give birth the Seattle Homicide sergeant goes to the prescient to file a missing person case. Only to learn Lani isn’t the only medical student to have gone missing and both girls had the same secret. A secret that only the killer knows about, that is until a body is found. Malorie tries to carry on with her every day life but everybody she use to call a friend begins to look like a suspect and someone doesn’t want her or her Uncle looking to hard for the missing girl.
I liked the use of the male and female narrators it added another dimension to the story making it very easy to listen to and enjoyable.
I highly recommend this book.
This story took me by surprise. It pulled me in from the beginning and I could not stop reading until the end. The premise for this story was interesting, and I loved how the clues actually did lead you in the right direction if you paid attention. I cared about the main characters, and my heart broke when one did not make it through the story. I highly recommend this story.
I received a copy of this story through Goddess Fish Promotions, and this is my unsolicited review.
Quinn is a medical student, when her roommate goes missing, nobody believes her but her uncle is a police Sargent and he follows up for her. Turns out she’s not the first… Who is kidnapping young women? Why?
Read and find out!
Malorie and her best friend and roommate Lani are med students at Elliott Bay University. One night they decide to go out to a bar on campus Malorie goes to the bathroom and when she returns Lani is gone. Malorie texts Lani and finds that she is outside waiting on a ride, Malorie is like you are leaving without telling me? Lani explains to her why she is leaving and not to wait up on her that she will be home the next day.
Malorie goes outside hoping to catch Lani before she leaves but Lani is nowhere to be seen but she does see a car leaving the parking lot and assumes that was the ride Lani was talking about.
When Lani doesn’t show up the next day like she said Malorie is the only one who seems to be concerned. Malorie with the help of her uncle who works at the police department goes with her when she decides to file a missing person’s report. No one believes that Lani is missing until the body of a woman washes up on shore a few days later. Further investigations show that Lani is not the only woman attending Elliott Bay University that is missing.
Once I picked up Viable Hostage I couldn’t put it down. It grabbed my attention from the first page and never let go. The suspense alone had me hooked not to mention all the twists and the secrets that it held onto right until the very end. It kept me guessing the whole way through. I would begin to think that I had it all figured out but then another twists was slammed in my face and I was right back to guessing. I love books that like feeding you little tidbits at a time just enough to keep you wanting to know more.
I believe I have read all the books in the Emerald City Thriller and I must say that I have loved each and every one of them. Each book just gets better and better. I fell in love with all the characters and their stories and can’t wait for the next book in the Emerald City Thriller series.
I highly recommend Viable Hostage to all thriller, mystery and suspense fans.
This medical thriller was a good mystery book. Wade gets involved when his niece suspects foul play, and suddenly it’s looking like a serial killer is on the loose. The suspects were well written, and there were some good obstacles keeping us from finding out who the killer was. A solid whodunit read.
I enjoyed this book from page one to the very end, it kept me guessin and wondering who did it. It had good character build up and a believable back story j definitely reccomend this book.
I just loved this book, I was hooked from the gt go and left guessing and changing my mind as to who was the bad guy. There are plenty of red herrings and twists that keep you hooked as well as need to know whats going to happen to Lani as well as Malorie as the more the book progresses the mess you know if anyone is going to get out to this alive. The underlying story of Malorie and her Uncle Wade’s relationship was great as well as it gave even more depth to Malorie as well as connect with her as well as Wade and others even more. This was the first book in the series I have read and loved it so much I have brought book one and will be making my way through that and the other 2 books to get up to speed on the series!
Definitely a must read if you love gripping edge of the seat thrillers. A very intriguing and suspenseful plot with interesting characters will keep those pages turning as you try to figure out the whodunit. Very well written with well developed characters make this a story I highly recommend reading.
This book kept me guessing who the killer was. I had guessed right but then changed my mind. It is a suspense filled thriller you will not be able to put down. Malorie and Lani are bffs, roommates and post grad med students. Lani goes missing during a Saturday night out and Lani is the only one concerned. She files a missing person report with the help of her uncle who works in Homicide. The cops take the case seriously when the body of another college student missing 3 or 4 months washes up on the Washington shore. That student’s autopsy showed a baby had been removed from her uterus and she had been allowed to bleed to death. She was probably 22 weeks pregnant. Malorie searches Lani’s room and finds an ultrasound picture showing her 22 weeks pregnant. The police are racing the clock. Are there more missing women? Where is the baby? Can they find and save Lani?