Title: Say Goodbye
Series: Karen Rose's Interconnecting Books, Sacramento, CA
Author: Karen Rose
Read copy: eBook (Kindle)
Published: August 3, 2021
Publisher: Berkley
ASIN: B08MQM5G89
For decades, Eden has remained hidden in the remote wilds of the Pacific Northwest, "Pastor" keeping his cult's followers in thrall for his personal profit and sexual pleasures. But the Founding Elders are splintering, and Pastor's surrogate son DJ is scheming to make it all his own.
When two of Eden's newest members send out a cry for help, it reaches FBI Special Agent Tom Hunter, whose friend and fellow FBI Special Agent Gideon Reynolds and his sister, Mercy, are themselves escapees of the Eden cult, targeted by the Founding Elders who want them silenced forever. The three have vowed to find the cult and bring it down, and now, they finally have a solid lead.
Neutralizing Eden's threat will save captive members and ensure Tom's new friends can live without fear. But when his best friend, ex-Army combat medic Liza Barkley, joins the case, it puts her life—and their blossoming love—in danger. With everything they hold dear in the balance, Tom and Liza, together with Gideon and Mercy, must end Eden once and for all.
My rating:
When Hayley and Graham's mother brings them into the Eden cult and marries pregnant Hayley off, the brother and sister's only thought is escape. They contact Hayley's boyfriend by e-mail, but Eden is moved that same night. Unable to locate his girlfriend, Hayley's boyfriend contacts police, who don't believe him, and then the FBI, where Special Agent Tom Hunter offers a friendly and understanding ear. He knows they're close to finding Eden and this just might be the final nail in the coffin.
And then DJ Belmont rises from the dead, determined to get rid of Tom's new friends, Gideon and Mercy, Eden's two escapees, for good, and everybody knows the clock is ticking. The end is near...
Whoa. Who would've though the "gofer" would end up being the most vicious of them all. The path to Eden's final reckoning was littered with bodies, friendly and not. The ride was intense, gripping, chilling and terrifying at times as more and more of DJ twisted psyche was revealed. His goals were clear and he was willing (and able) to go to any length to achieve them.
The problem was the "romance". The road to it was long, winding and rather cringy, slowing down the incredible momentum of the suspense plot. Whenever the scene changed from DJ and his murderous self to Tom and Liza, the pace came to a screeching halt and then plodded forwards. I guess I preferred them as friends, I didn't really feel any romantic vibes between them. I found Liza rather petty and childish, punishing Tom for not giving her what he really had no idea she wanted or needed and she knew he couldn't give her, while he was simply a blind fool for not seeing the signs or acting on his supposed feelings earlier on. The slight retcon of his feelings and their relationship once the guy finally pulled his head out of his ass might've provided the necessary explanation and sparkage, but it was too late to salvage everything, since the angst dragged on for far too long to begin with.
Once the two got together (in the last few chapters of the book!), they were cute, sweet and hot, and the "added value" of the romance thrown into the mix at the last possible opportunity served as added incentive and thrill factor to the final showdown, but I simply cannot get past the feeling they were more like friends with benefits than real lovers.
The rest was pretty much spotless. The action, the thrills, the danger...And I loved the big character reunion as the entire Sacramento crew we came to know in this trilogy worked together to save their own and dismantle Eden for good. And that last little "cameo" at the party was a real treat for a reader who's been reading KS's books from the very beginning.
4 stars, bitchslappable heroine/hero, bodyguard/military/merc/gov/cop/spy, contemporary, contemporary romance, Karen Rose, suspense/mystery/adventure/thriller
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