First book by this author looking for similar ideas and authors.. loved it could not put it down reminds me of a Lisa Jackson book and I love HER

The protagonist, Samantha, in this book is a psychic who experiences violence and death from inside the victim's body, an original concept for a thriller, however, the rest of the plot, although filled with plenty of violence and action, lacked any surprises. The characters were likable, especially the psychic Stefan, and the poor injured dog, Soldier. The story moved along nicely until the end, where it was wrapped up in one chapter, but resolved non-the-less. This was a entertaining, easy read with a little romance thrown in and worth the time invested. I'm looking forward to seeing how Samantha's powers evolve in the next book. ( )

Samantha is trying to deal with her 'gift'; she goes into the mind of people being violently killed, including suffering the physical assault (temporarily). The police don't believe her, until she meets Detective Brandt Sutherland. Her experiences prove to be true, their mutual attraction undeniable.. all while hunting down a serial killer.

I enjoyed this one - a creative story line, enough romance (and sex) to make the book appeal to fans of that genre, and enough evil goings on to appeal to a darker side. I'll be looking at others by this author. ( )

It only gets two stars, because I liked Soldier (dog), and it was free.

Otherwise? The writing was middle of the road at best, the story was convenient and contrived. Portland is a relatively big city (nearly 2 1/2 million in the metro area), the chances that the cops mom would live at the senior center she has a connection to, as well as the killer having a connection to is nil. The whole thing was asinine.

I will not read on, and if it weren't to fill a slot for a challenge I wouldn't even have finished the 250 pages...

Also, there is no Portland General Hospital. Use Google, dear author, it's a useful tool. Part of the fun of reading a book placed in your old home town is all the lovely moments of recognition. I doubt this author has ever been there. If they have, you'd never know it from this. :/ Little annoying things like him belonging to the "East Precinct", but being in the downtown office...um, nope. City center is on the west side. Or, her living 1/2 an hour from the "Oregon Coast", but making it to the police station in 20 min? Yeah, not possible. Takes 20 min to get two miles on HWY 26, which is the ONLY way into the city from the coast. Takes 2 hrs to get from Portland to the Coast, IF 26 isn't a disaster, which it always is, day/night and every day of the week. Dumb stuff that would've taken very little research. Lazy. ( )

Synopsis:

What she doesn't want...is exactly what he needs.

Shunned and ridiculed all her life for something she can't control, Samantha Blair hides her psychic abilities and lives on the fringes of society. Against her will, however, she's tapped into a killer--or rather, his victims. Each woman's murder, blow-by-blow, ravages her mind until their death releases her back to her body. Sam knows she must go to the authorities, but will the rugged, no-nonsense detective in charge of tracking down the killer believe her?

Detective Brandt Sutherland only trusts hard evidence, yet Sam's visions offer clues he needs to catch a killer. The more he learns about her incredible abilities, however, the clearer it becomes that Sam's visions have put her in the killer's line of fire. Now Brandt must save her from something he cannot see or understand...and risk losing his heart in the process.

As danger and desire collide, passion raises the stakes in a game Sam and Brandt don't dare lose.

My review:

This book was immensely enjoyable. Even though the identity of the killer was revealed, it still kept me on the edge of my seat. This is the first book that I have read by Dale Mayer, and I was very impressed. I will be reading more of her books! ( )