Nancy C. Weeks

The author did something here I haven’t come across before in a series. There are two books, In the Shadow of Greed (which was releases first) and In the Shadow of Evil. The two books intertwine so closely in certain aspects that the answer to a more descriptive who, what and why of a serial killer that starts out in Greed is explained in Evil.

The timeline of Greed is March 2013 to roughly the end of November. Greed starts out with the brutal attack of a woman. This woman is Sarah Tu’s sister. Sarah is a cryptologist who works for a company that both creates and test secret codes for programs including for Department of Defense. She gets so wrapped up in her work she always misses important things she promises to do with her sister. When her latest project keeps her from getting home to her sister for a planned girls weekend away her sister Hannah is brutally attacked by a serial killer and left for dead. Hannah is left in a coma and Sarah cannot forgive herself for not being there for her sister. FBI Special Agent Jason McNeil is the one that ends up at the hospital while is brother Jared and Noah go to the scene of the crime. Jason hears Hannah in his head telling him to take care of her sister and also points out the killer when he comes to the hospital to finish the job. Even though Hannah is in a coma he forms a bond with her. He is also very attracted to Sarah but she is wears her cold as ice persona like a shield and wont let him in. After the killer is found and killed (which does not happen in this book - it happens in Evil) Jason decides he cannot be around Sarah anymore and decides to take a job in Texas. But when attempts are made on both their lives they try to figure out what’s going on. You realize this has to do with her not supporting a program at work that could have terrorist’s type ties.

I did like all the characters in the book. The McNeil family is quite large and all the men are in some form of law enforcement and work closely together. The romance between Sarah and Jason was very beautifully done. But for me I couldn’t get over the Hannah/serial killer part of the story that was such a huge part of the beginning of this book being basically brushed over (the conclusion to the killer part) and not explained until Evil. Even if I had not known about a second book coming in the series this would have bothered me. After reading both books I see that the author likes to combine two huge suspense/mystery plots at the same time for the hero and heroine. This worked a little better in the second book because we got a full conclusion to both stories. Yes there was a beautiful conclusion to Sarah and Jason saying goodbye to Hannah at the end of Greed but you still didn’t know the real reason Hannah was targeted until Evil.
… (mais)

The author did something here I haven’t come across before in a series. There are two books, In the Shadow of Greed (which was released first) and In the Shadow of Evil. The two books intertwine so closely in certain aspects that the answer to a more descriptive who, what and why of a serial killer that starts out in Greed is explained in Evil.

The timeline of Evil is June 2005 to March 2013. When the story starts out Jennie McKenzie is 16 years old and 23 year old undercover agent Jared McNeil is trying to get her way from Elias Mendoza who is a ruthless crime boss. But she wont leave without her foster brother who has come under the spell of Mendoza. What Jennie doesn’t know is Mendoza has a personal vendetta against her family who she is the last of and he is never letting her go. In the showdown of trying to get away her foster brother is killed and Mendoza gets away but not before telling her you live because I allow it.

When we jump to eight years later we find Jennie is a school teacher that recently witnessed her 10 year old student being gunned down right in front of her. She knows its Mendoza letting her know he is still watching her and she can’t get away from him. She has been in love with Jared since she was 16 but after Mendoza captured and torchuring him two years ago she vows to stay away from him for his own protection.

During the 8 years since meeting Jennie, Jared cant get her out of mind. She doesn’t know it but there is still an uncover op going on that his brother is in charge of trying to bring Mendoza down. These two star crossed lovers try to stay away from each other thinking they are keeping the other alive by doing so but when Jennie is targeted and attacked by a serial killer (the one from the first book) and one of her students is taken Jared decides he’s done hiding his feelings for Jennie and is never leaving her side again.

All the McNeil brothers play a big part in this book. We actually get a better glimpse of them in this one than we did in the first book. The whole Mendoza story line throughout the book kept you on the edge of your seat wondering if she would ever be free of this truly evil man. As with the first book there were also some paranormal aspects to this book. Jennie’s dead father communicates to Jared trying to help him stop the man he was unable to stop when he was a cop.

I liked this book a little more than the first solely because everything was explained in this book – no plot holes or unexplained things. My only complaint was the very abrupt ending. It could have used an epilogue.
… (mais)

DESCRIPTION, NOT REVIEW: Brilliant cryptologist Dr. Sarah Tu races against time to block the most dangerous Internet malware ever created, a botnet called QUALNTO. While Sarah is closed off in her computer lab, her sister, Hanna, is brutally attacked and left in a coma. As Sarah reels with guilt over not being there for her sister, a web of deception closes in, threatening her and everyone she loves.

Hanna’s condition is misleading. In her coma state, she is able to build a psychic bridge with FBI Special Agent Jason McNeil. Her cryptic messages plague Jason to keep Sarah safe.

Tough and street-smart Jason McNeil doesn’t believe in visions or telepathic messages, and he fights the voice inside his head. His first impression of Dr. Sarah Tu is another stiletto wearing ice-dragon on the war path - until he witnesses her façade crumble after seeing her sister’s bloody, tortured body. Jason’s protective instinct kicks in. He falls for Sarah - hard.

When an extremely dangerous arms dealer and cybercriminal discovers that Sarah blocked his botnet, he kidnaps Sarah. Placed in an impossible position, will she destroy the botnet to protect national security or release it to save the man she loves?… (mais)