Book Description
As she scans the dark pine forest, the unmistakable sound of a twig snapping breaks the silent stillness. She isn’t alone. She begins to run but she hardly has time to scream before her world goes black...
On a secluded path near Black Rock Falls, three bodies lie bloodied and still—the arrows that killed them removed, and polished penny coins carefully placed on their frozen eyes. When Sheriff Jenna Alton and Deputy David Kane are called in, they are shocked to recognise the hallmarks of an infamous serial killer. But he’s been in prison for ten years.
Jenna is convinced that the attacker knew the trio and lured them into the forest. But who would want to harm three innocent teenagers? And how does a convicted murderer fit in? Jenna knows she must question James Earl Stafford—one of America’s most dangerous killers—if she’s to save more innocent young lives.
With Stafford refusing to give answers, Jenna is convinced that a copycat killer is stalking her small town. And her worst fears are realised when a local fisherman discovers another teenager’s lifeless body floating in the shallows of a local watering hole with the same penny coins covering her eyes.
As parents panic for their children’s lives, Jenna works around the clock to track down the murderer, but little does she know that one of her own team is now being watched. Can Jenna play the killer’s wicked game and prevent another life from being taken?
Perfect for fans of Lisa Regan, Melinda Leigh and Kendra Elliot, Their Wicked Games is a nail-biting crime thriller from USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author D.K. Hood that will have you hooked from the very first page.
**Each Kane and Alton book can be read as part of the series or as a standalone**
BLOG TOUR REVIEW
Review for 'Their Wicked Games' by DK Hood.
Read and reviewed via NetGalley for DK Hood, Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous
Publication date 13th June 2023.
HAPPY PUBLICATION DAY DK HOOD!!!!
This is the eighth book I have read by this author. It is also the nineteenth book in the 'Detective Kane and Alton' series but can be read as a standalone. I have previously read 'Cross My Heart' (book 12 in the series), 'Fallen Angel' (book 13 in the series), 'Don't Look Back (book 13.5 in the series), ' Pray For Mercy '(book 14 in the series), 'Kiss Her Goodnight' (book 15 in the series) 'Her Bleeding Heart' (book 16 in the series) and 'Chase Her Shadow' (book 17 in the series) and I would highly recommend them all.
I was originally drawn to this book by its beautiful eye catching cover and its intriguing synopsis and title. The synopsis stated that this book is 'Perfect for fans of Lisa Regan, Melinda Leigh and Kendra Elliot, Their Wicked Games is a nail-biting crime thriller from USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author D.K. Hood that will have you hooked from the very first page. ' I am a huge fan of all three of those amazing authors so am looking forward to seeing if this lives up to this statement. I am also a huge fan of DK Hood and if this is half as good as 'Cross My Heart', 'Don't Look Back', 'Pray For Mercy', 'Fallen Angel', 'Kiss Her Goodnight', 'Chase Her Shadow' and 'Her Bleeding Heart' it is sure to be a page turning read. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Bookouture. I have yet to read a book published by Bookouture that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).
This novel consists of a prologue, 43 chapters and an epilogue. The chapters are medium in length so easy to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!
This book is set in Montana, USA 🇺🇸.
This book is written in a mix of third and first person perspective and the protagonists are Sheriff Jenna Alton, Detective David Kane and the killer. The benefits of books written in first person perspective are as long as they are well written it makes you feel that you are being spoken to by the protagonist and it can create more of a bond between yourselves and them. If there are several protagonists you also get to see more of what is going on. The benefits of third person perspective with multiple protagonists are that it let's you see the bigger picture of what's going on and you get to know more characters more, what they are thinking and what they are doing. It feels like you get to see the whole picture and not miss out in anything. To have the benefit of both first and third person perspective ensures you don't miss out on anything.
OMG!!! LOVE, LOVE, LOVED THIS BOOK and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE THIS SERIES!!! D.K HOOD you just keep getting better and better!!!
This book is fantastically written and had me hooked from the first page until the last. DK Hood way of writing is perfectly evocative and she has such a creative imagination!! Even with nineteen amazing books in this action packed series she is still coming up with unique and action packed storylines that absolutely grip the reader immediately from page one to the very end!!! Hood's fantastic and evocative writing skills ensured the descriptions were so vivid and realistic I felt myself feeling the fear running through me and the hairs on my arms raise. This has got to be one of the best storylines I have ever read!!!! Just when you've read the best book in this series and it can't get any better BANG DK Hood does it again!! What an absolutely torturous way to die, via a crossbow arrow!!! Just ouch!!!! Yet again poor Jenna and Kane are trying to enjoy a break away when their peace is shattered with a phone call saying bodies have been found. When they arrive at the scene to discover the victims are only teenagers things go from bad to worse and then to disaster zone when the scene starts to ring some bells from the past!!! Jenna and her team investigate the case along with Ty Carter and Jo Wells who are FBI agents and the fantastic Medical Examiner Shane Wolfe and his team. With the scene having the signature of infamous serial James Earl Stafford who is currently in prison, shiny pennies under the eyes of the victims and the animalistic way the killings happened this book really will have you on the edge of your seat, biting your nails and even covering your eyes at times!!!! Oh and did I mention the bombshell, jaw dropping and explosive twist at the end??? Well I am gobsmacked that.....
Ooops I can't tell you!!! That would just be spoiling it wouldn't it? So if you want to know what the twist is, who the killer is, why they are killing and much, MUCH more you will just have to grab your copy of this epic thriller today!!!! Needless to say I absolutely LOVED the storyline, LOVE this series and LOVE this amazing author!!!. This book is absolutely perfect for any crime lovers as you are literally reading about crime, twists and murder!!! It just does not get better than that!!! Just seriously, I cannot say how brilliant all this book was!!! The storyline is packed with tension, suspense, murder, tension and filled with twists and turns. I was absolutely shocked when everything was revealed and was not expecting it at all!!! I genuinely thought for once I had actually worked out who it was in this amazing series but YET AGAIN DK Hood proves me wrong!! A HUGE congratulations to D.K Hood, it is getting harder and harder to shock me but you did it well!!! The twist at the end just OMFG!!!! D.K Hood has obviously done her research on police procedurals which is yet another bonus as I've read many crime novels where the authors make massive mistakes due to not doing enough research.This is an absolutely unputdownable page turner and I cannot wait to read the previous and future books in what is one of the best series I have ever read!!
Although this is the nineteenth book in the series I would have had absolutely no problems reading it without the others. Any details or events that have previously happened are mentioned in just the right amount of detail to let a new reader know what has happened and yet not too much to bore a previous reader.
I absolutely LOVED meeting these amazing characters again and they are all realistic and I became completely invested in them. They have become like friends to me I feel like I have got to know them so well and every time I meet them again I am landed and every time I have to say Goodbye I am gutted I have to wait to greet them again. They really are one of the best teams I have ever met and I certainly would not like to get on the wrong side of them!!!!I love that Jenna is such a strong female lead that has history and has been through so much but doesn't cower and stands strong. I have enjoyed watching her relationship with Kane has evolved and I am looking forward to going back to how they met and moving forward to see where it goes especially in regards to what happens next!!. Kane is another fantastic character that I became invested in and I adore how protective of the team, and especially Jenna, he is. Kane is someone I would move to the other side of the world of I did something to upset him!!! Kane and Jenna would do anything and everything to protect each other and THAT ladies and gents is true love and I feel honoured to have watched it develop so much!!!
The team dynamics worked well and I also enjoyed getting to know more about Rio, Wolfe and Rowley and I look forward to meeting them all again. I must say my favourites have to be Duke and Zorro though!!!! What an absolutely fantastic addition, I just love it when animals play such large parts in books. Regardless of whether you love or hate any of the characters they all work perfectly to make this storyline an absolutely addictive, explosive page turner!!! The majority of the characters have become like friends to me and I'm always sad to say goodbye never knowing when I'll "see" them again so I really hope the next book is being written as I speak. Hint hunt 😉 DK Hood!!!
Congratulations D.K Hood on yet ANOTHER HUMONGOUS success!!! Very rarely an authors books get better but you have certainly mastered it!!! I cannot wait to get stuck into more of your books and this is exactly why you are one my favourite crime authors!!! Here's to your next guaranteed success 🥂
This book is definitely in my top 5 and considering I've read 1000's this is a HUGE achievement!!! This series is also in my top 3 ♥
Do not start this until you have cleared yours schedules as you will not be able to put it down!!
Overall an absolutely addictive, heart racing and unputdownable crime thriller that will keep you up all night.
Genres covered in this novel include Crime, Thriller And Mystery Adventures, Noir Crime, Women Sleuths, Police Procedural, Serial Killer Thriller, Romantic Suspense, Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Women's Popular Fiction, Organized Crime Thriller, Murder Thrillers, Suspense Thriller, Noir Fiction, Womens Psychological, Crime Thriller, Mystery ,Thriller & Suspense Literary Fiction, Serial Killers and Thriller amongst others.
I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of Lisa Jewell, Rachel Abbott, K.L Slater, Melinda Leigh, Carol Wyer, Lisa Regan, Kendra Elliot, T.M Logan,The Housemaid, The Family Across The Street, The Family Upstairs, Criminal Minds, The Widow, The Housewarming. and anyone after an addictive, gripping, must read page turner.
319 pages.
This book is just £2.99 to purchase on kindle and £7.99 in paperback via Amazon at time of review, which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!
Rated 5 /5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.
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Author Bio
D.K Hood is THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, USA TODAY, and #1 AMAZON Bestselling Author of the Detective Kane and Alton Series, with over one million copies sold.
Her spine chilling, fast paced serial killer thrillers revolve around Sheriff Jenna Alton and her ex- special forces Deputy, Dave Kane. As the main characters fight crime, their secret pasts are never far away. Set in and around the fictional backwoods town of Black Rock Falls, Montana, known locally as Serial Killer Central, D.K 's imagery takes the reader into the scenes with her. Given the title "Queen of Suspense" by her reviewers, D.K 's writing style offers her readers a movie style, sizzling fast thrill ride.
Her Broken Wings-voted #1 Best Thriller and Of All Time by The Book Authority.
Where Angels Fear-voted Best Detective Books Of All Time by The Book Authority.
Her Broken Wings- Best Audio Book of All Time by The Book Authority.
Be Mine Forever- Finalist Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Awards 2022
Translations available in French, German and Russian
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Purchase Links
Amazon UK: https://amzn.eu/d/6cil1Q7
Amazon US: https://a.co/d/1NO2CO2
