The Raven by Mike Nappa

Nutshell: The Raven has found himself in some hot water with the Ukrainian mafia when he lifted a wallet of a well known government official running for mayor during one of his street magic tricks.  The one act triggers a series of events the Raven finds out of his hands. While he is trying to stay on the good side of the mafia, Samuel Hill and Trudi Coffey are trying to put the pieces together for what sounds like a big event called Nevermore. Leads are turning up dead-ends, but along the searching, their paths cross with the Raven and the hot water he's gotten himself in to. Will Nevermore be a dead end, or and end with someone dead?

Pro's: Another great story by Mike Nappa! A twisting plot that keeps you intrigued and wondering what is going to happen next. With Edgar Allen Poe references interspersed throughout the storyline, Nappa does a great job creating a multi-layer plot that keeps you wondering.

Con's: A bit slow to start, but you can see how the story is being built.

Recommendation: This is book 2 in the Coffey and Hill series. It can be read as a stand-alone, but there are references to the first book (Anabel Lee) which is wickedly amazing. If you like suspense, mystery, action, and a great book to read, you will enjoy this book!

Revell Publishing sent me this complimentary copy to review for them. Opinions expressed are my own.

Review of Without Warning by Lynette Eason

Nutshell: Katie Singleton is walking down a new road as part of the Elite Guardian Protection Agency, a group formed and supported by the mayor of the city. On her way home from a job that has just completed, she notices a fire happening in the vicinity of a well-known restaurant and decides to check it out. Upon arriving, she sees it is the restaurant of the uncle of one of her student's in her self-defense class the Guardian's teach. Unbeknownst to everyone standing there, this is just a chain of events that will take place over the next days to try and end the uncle's life. Katie is hired by the niece to protect her uncle, Daniel Matthews, and keep him alive. As she gets deeper into this job, her past, her trust and her heart are all on the line.

Pro's: This is the 2nd book in the Women of Justice series, but can easily be read as a stand alone book. It is a very intense, fast paced story that will keep you turning page after page to get to the end.

Con's: I found the chain of events on Daniel's life to be a bit over the top and unrealistic as to how many attempts on his life there were in such a short period of time. Very suspenseful, but a bit much. The plot of the attacker also seemed to fizzle away as the story went on. I thought that could have been used much more throughout the book.

Recommendation: if you enjoy suspense and mystery, you will enjoy the second book in this series.

Revell Publishing sent me this copy to review for them. Opinions expressed are my own.