Edge of Darkness: The Cincinnati Series,...

1. Great characters: Meredith is a child psychologist but also suffers from depression. She has self harmed and attempted suicide in the past. She still struggles at times and it made her a very believable character. Adam is a recovering alcoholic who struggles daily. Again, this made him relatable and flawed.
2. Fun supporting characters: their circle of friends is filled with fun people. Kate, the FBI agent who knits, Clarke, Meredith's video game creating grandfather, Diesel, the hacker. They add a lot of depth to the story. I can't wait to read more about them.
3. Location: As a citizen of Cincinnati, I loved hearing about places in my town! It was great when she would mention Fountain Square, Columbia Parkway, etc.
4. Suspense/Mystery: The plot revolves around a truly horrific act-human trafficking. The story is well written though and Rose doesn't exploit the topic for shock value or anything. You really feel like you are solving the crime with them. The entire book takes place over a weekend and you get glimpses into Meredith, Adam, a young hooker named Linnea, and the bad guy.
5. Heartbreaking: Linnea's story had me in tears. This was a problem because I was listening while I drove. Driving and crying are not a good mix. But, man, its impossible to not care about this girl!

• POV: 3rd
• Tears: yes
• Trope: second chance romance, police/FBI
• Triggers: forced prostitution, child molestation, and human trafficking are all part of the story. None of the acts are detailed. Most of the story occurs after these situations took place and focus more on the after effects
• Series/Standalone: stand alone
• Cliffhanger: none
• HEA: yes with epilogue a few weeks into the future

Edge Of Darkness

Adam Kimble has been slowly crawling out of the dark hole that's been his life for the past year or so, ever since he witnessed a little girl slaughtered live, on his computer screen. He also desperately needs Meredith Fallon (in more ways than one), but has been keeping his distance in order to actually deserve her. Then someone makes her a target, and Adam will do anything to keep her safe, to keep her alive...Even if his year "of atonement" isn't over yet.


Another intense, thrilling, gut-wrenching book in Karen Rose's opus. This is what she does best, really. This perfect mix of thrills and chills, twisted suspense, and emotionally (and sometimes physically) scarred characters that somehow manage to find one another when the time is right, and then have to keep each other safe in order to have a shot at the life they deserve.

This story concludes (I think) the Cincinnati arc of this interconnected series with the big loose end left from the previous three books, namely the kingpin, the elusive supposed cop that terrorized a young girl instead of helping her.
Turns out, this person really exists, is even more evil than everybody thought, has fingers in more pies than previously believed...And the reveal of this person's identity is both a shock and a relief to at least one person involved in the investigation.
I must say I figured out who it was a little over halfway in, but I didn't mind. I was looking forward to seeing how they'd catch the bastard, and what would happen at the climax. Yes, Ms. Rose does her suspense well.

Her other forte are her characters. People you both want to hug and smack around at the same time. Flawed, layered, with real-life issues...I knew there was something off with Adam from the start, but I never suspected it ran so deep. Yet his issues were rather well-balanced with the issues of his heroine, Meredith. What a coincidence these two characters, that were so adept at wearing masks to hide what was truly going on, both having deep psychological issues, found each other and turned out to be perfect for one another.
Yes, the fit was a bit too cookie cutter perfect, but the romance still worked out nicely, because of the similarities and their "shared issues". And yes, in the end, I was glad they found one another.

Turns out the only uncoupled characters are Sloan and Dolores, Dani and Diesel (as star-crossed romances go, this one takes the trophy), and agents Troy and Quincy. I really hope Ms. Rose revisits the Cincinnati characters in the future (as she did with most of her Chicago crew in this book, which was a bit much, if you ask me), so we get to see these "loose" characters get their shot at happiness. :)

Yep, I liked this one, despite the overabundance of characters. They were mostly old friends, and well, the story itself was strong enough to sustain it.

A week after being shot in Alone in the Dark, and after three years spent deep undercover in a drug- and human-trafficking ring, Special Agent Griffin "Decker" Davenport, wakes up from a medically induced come, determined to tell someone the last important information he'd heard before his cover was blown. That someone happens to be Special Agent Kate Coppola, who's spent the week by his side, listening to his tapes, talking to him, and knitting.

But someone doesn't want Decker to wake up and spilling secrets, despite not knowing just what secrets the agent knows. As far as this shadowy figure is concerned, Davenport is just another loose ends in need of snipping, but luck, or the Amazon warrior of the female agent by his side, won't allow Decker to be snuffed so easily, and soon more and more loose ends appear.

It's up to Decker, Kate and the rest of the Cincinnati crew to tie the loose ends together, and maybe finally unravel the mystery.


Karen Rose remains one of my favorite suspense authors. Although everything happens during the span of just a few days, there's just so much going on, so many side-plots that end up tying up together in the end, propelling the main plot forward, that make the reader "loose the sense of time", making the story appear to happen during a much longer period.

This last installment in her loosely connected "main" series with old characters, or loose ends popping up from time to time, is no different. Well-structured, tightly-plotted, and with a spot-on pacing that is deceptively slow while building momentum for that last desperate dash toward the finishing line, it nicely ties into the previous book, finishing off where it began, tying up those few loose ends that have been plaguing the FBI and CPD for the past week (in book time) and this reader for the past year.

The topic was still horrifyingly chilling, the dealing with the case and its ramifications, especially for the victims, but not less so for the investigators, vividly portrayed with an uncanny realism that prevented the book, despite it being fiction, from descending into sensationalism or "flowery" prose.
This topic is real, things like that do happen, and although not everybody can be saved, those few who can be do count, and the stress and toll it takes on the investigators (be it by having to watch videos that make them die inside every time they do, having to inform a grieving family of the truth, having to dig for and uncover remains, or haying to accept the fact the trail got cold and they never will have the answer or justice for the victims) should not be trivialized. In her books Ms Rose doesn't trivialize or patronize, but offers a realistic, and because of that sometimes horrifying, view of fictionalized (in terms of her books) events that could very well be real (and sometimes are, although reality has a tendency to be even more horrifyingly brutal).

I like her voice, I like her style, and I like her stories because they make you think about the world outside of your own little cushy "reality".

And yes, I like how she writes her characters. Leading and secondary ones. There's depth, there are layers, there are deep (or not so) seated issues, there are scars, and there are (dark) pasts. It's what makes her characters realistic, what makes them so similar to a person one can encounter walking down the street everyday. Yes, the characters are fictitious, but they're not superhuman, they don't have super powers, they're breakable like us. They're human.
I especially liked the humanity in our present hero, Decker. The guy was built like a Sherman tank, he was growly and grouchy, but he had a tender streak a mile wide, a strong protective instinct, and he wasn't ashamed of letting his feelings show (Diesel being right there along for the ride, and I can't wait to read his book, which will hopefully be written soon).
And, as is her uncanny ability to do, Ms Rose offered Decker the perfect heroine in the form, style, and spunky, yet vulnerable despite her better judgment, of Kate Coppola. I liked her in previous books as a supporting character, Deacon Novak's best friend, but I loved her in her own book. I loved seeing behind her tough facade to the woman she was underneath, the woman Decker brought to the forth.
And their romance, despite happening in a blink of an eye (read about the timeline above), worked. Yes, they were both starved of touch, starved for affection, but it didn't feel just physical, I could see them slowly developing feelings for one another, how those feelings deepened and grew (which isn't easy to write, judging from what I've been reading lately), but I especially liked that they didn't fight it, but accepted it and took it in stride.
Less drama, angst and "romantic" conflict leave more time for the actual plot.

Another wonderful book.

When FBI Special Agent Griffin "Decker" Davenport wakes from his coma, he is desperate to find the missing children he knows are in danger. At the end of his last investigation, when he thought it was all over and justice had been served, he discovered that not everyone had been rescued, but he was shot before he was able to tell anyone.

Special Agent Kate Coppola has recently moved to Cincinnati. She says she's chasing a promotion but she's actually running away from heartache. She's found the recordings from Decker's time undercover and has been at his side in the hospital while she tries to put together the pieces of the crime he was investigating—and what connection it has to his own mysterious past.

When someone tries to kill Decker in his hospital bed, he and Kate realise that the children are not the only ones whose lives are threatened, and that they must stop at nothing to hunt down the perpetrators. And danger is waiting in every dark corner.

I believe Karen Rose is quickly becoming one of those authors that I can list among those romantic suspense writers that are among my favorites like Kay Hooper, Tami Hoag, Janet Evanovich, and Sue Grafton.

Karen has the ability to balance both suspense and character plot in just the right portion to include the emotional ying yang as readers are taken along for the ride and witness the horrors and the triumphs, highs and lows of our favorite Decker's journey.

That also includes Kate's journey as both she and Decker gain more intimacy and someone to lean on when the tolls their careers have taken leave them needing someone to confide in.

For new readers I would suggest picking up the previous book since both Decker and Kate are in the previous book and their sort of initial relationship building period is established there.

It took me awhile to finish this book because there is just so much craziness and heartbreaking content that it was hard for me to take in for long periods of time. Reader be warned there is a lot going on with both Rose's good guys and her bad guys. Take the time to keep up because you're going to want to read this one. For a dual layer redemption and fear read this is a fantastic book. I highly recommend it.

Karen Rose

This title will be available for purchase on February 7, 2017!

 

 

 

 

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Krissy's Bookshelf Reviews received a print copy. All thoughts, comments and ratings are my own.

Krissy's Bookshelf Reviews received a print copy in exchange for an honest review from Berkley Publishing.

 

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Homicide Detective Scarlett Bishop has seen enough bad guys slip through the cracks and too many innocent victims go unavenged to know good doesn't always prevail. So far she’s been able to lock away her rage and her vigilante fantasies. That lock is about to break.

Former Army Ranger Marcus O'Bannion is a fierce champion of victims’ rights. His secret past gives him good reason. He believes he’s seen the depths of human depravity, but then his investigation into the murder of a young girl who once asked for his help lures him and Scarlett down a dark, dark road—and straight into the crosshairs of a dangerous, powerful underground ring that deals in human trade. To stop them, Scarlett and Marcus have to be just as cunning and just as ruthless. But first they have to make it out alive.

My Review:

Karen Rose is quickly becoming a new favorite. Her books are seriously gritty and hard content to swallow when you're sensitive to the gruesome. The human trafficking topic is one that is sensitive for me so it was hard to get through this book which in turn cost me a lot in time in trying to finish this book.

That time was worth investing because the characters that carry the book are phenomenal. I love them.

I enjoy the intimacy and the heat that comes along with the suspense in this book because both are balanced out equally the emotions are intense for both the readers and the characters.

Pay close attention because this book has a lot of span. Its fantastic.

My Rating:

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Note: I received a digital copy in exchange for an honest review from Berkley Publishing