Speak No Evil by Allison Brennan

I used the random number generator to select a book for me to read and it actually selected the last book in this trilogoy by Ms. Brennan. Me, not being able to read books out of order, I decided to read the first one. I have always enjoyed her books, but this one was probably my favorite. I rate it an A-.

From Amazon:
Silence is deadly.The murder of eighteen-year-old Angie Vance was exceptionally vile–her mouth was sealed with glue, an obscenity scrawledwas across her skin, and she was suffocated in a garbage bag. The killing seems personal, so police detective Carina Kincaid focuses her efforts on the victim’s much older ex-boyfriend, Steve Thomas. But without physical evidence, Carina can’t make a collar or a case. She also can’t stop Sheriff Nick Thomas, the prime suspect’s brother, from conducting his own unwelcome investigation. Though Nick is still scarred and unsteady from a recent confrontation with a serial killer, he’s determined to prove his brother’s innocence. But his confidence is shaken when he learns of Steve’s dark side, and when a friend of the murdered girl meets a similarly gruesome fate. With no time to lose, Carina and Nick work together to trap a psychopath, before another unlucky woman faces an unspeakable end.Evil has spoken. Now see what it can do.

This was everything a good suspense novel is. The reader gets to get inside the killers mind without revealing the identity, there are enough clues for the reader to discover who the bad guy is, and the romance does not overtake the mystery. I don't mind romance in my suspense books, but just hate when it takes away from the mystery and all of the suspense. This book had a very sadistic killer and the author does a great job explaining, but not excusing, why the killer is the way he is. All of the characters were likeable and there wasn't the usual misunderstanding that you sometimes find in romances. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to more in the series.

I hope I will be able to get into some more reading time this afternoon, but I have a lot of stuff I need to get done. I need to get laundry done, redo my bullentin board for work, vacuum again, and start prepping my stuff for summer school. I have had a fun weekend though, and have been out and about, so it is time to get down to business. I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend and managed to get some great books in! Happy Reading!