ARC Review: Untouchable by Jayne Ann Krentz

Book three of the Cutler, Sutter, and Salinas series this book is the conclusion to the guys past. This could be read as a standalone their history is explained in each book with the main character personal history as the focus but to get the full effect of hatred these guys have for Quinten Zane I would recommend reading all the books. I have been a fan of JAK for years now so I’m no stranger to Burning Cove or Jack and Winter’s landlady, Arizona Snow, I was so happy to see her.  

Jack Lancaster is special he can see patterns where no one else can its one reason he makes such a good cold case investigator. Winter Meadows comes from a long line of hypnotist it’s an innate talent that also has a long line of screwing up lives so Winter reinvented herself as a meditation coach and a dream guide. Jack has vivid dreams that seem to get away from him and no doctor or sleep expert has been able to help they just think he’s delusional. Jack is skeptical about Winter when he first meets her but one session proved him a believer in her.  After a month he’s already got a handle on his dreams and when he’s in her company he’s the most comfortable he’s ever been. On the night of their first date Winter’s past comes tearing into her living room and tries to kill her. Jack manages to save her but when her attacker mysteriously dies at the hospital before he can talk to the police Jack realizes it was more than just a coincidence and it all goes back to Zane. 

Zane and Jack engage in a mental game of chess as they try and out guess the other. Zane’s plans are finally coming together but first he must get rid of Jack, Cabot, and Max but despite Jack’s lack of police training he is the most dangerous one to Zane and must be taken care of first. However Zane’s first mistake was going after Winter after that it was a back and forth struggle because this time Zane isn’t working alone and Jack and Winter are dodging two mercenaries at every turn. Up and Down the coastline Winter and Jack try and figure out Zane’s end game and how to stop him before he gets away again. 

Overall, I loved this book it was a great way to close that chapter on their past with Zane. I do hope that JAK isn’t done with them yet they are great characters and I’d like to see their business expand to include more investigators, but if not it was a great conclusion. This is written third person, you really think your being omniscient as it has a shared perspective of Jack and Winter and also the bad guys but it still manages to surprise you. I liked the uncertainty of the relationship between Jack and Winter and how hesitant they both were to start or admit anything but once they did they were all in 100% and nothing could stop them or keep them from winning.  

 **ARC provided by Publisher**

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ARC Review: Promise Not to Tell by Jayne Ann Krentz

Promise Not to Tell is book two in Jayne Ann Krentz’s Cutler, Sutter & Salinas series. This can be read as a stand-alone, the events of the first book do not reflect on these. In the first book we found out a little about the guys childhood and how they think the cult leader that ruined their childhood and murdered their mothers is still alive. This book delves into their conspiracy theory and their past so much more, namely because their newest client was also among the children saved that night. 

Virginia Troy was the youngest child that was saved that night, she was taken in by her grandparents who thought it would be best to just put everything behind her but her constant nightmares and fear of fire keep her past firmly in the present. A couple years ago she was approached by one of the survivors of the cult, Hannah was one of her mother’s best friends she became an artist the only way to exercise her demons was to paint them. Virginia is an art gallery owner and although initially Hannah went to her to sell her painting she changed her mind and just had Virginia keep them for her. But the last painting she didn’t send to Virginia she instead took a picture and mailed the camera to her and then her body was washed up on shore. It was deemed a suicide but Virginia didn’t accept that answer because the last painting was clearly a warning for Virginia that Zane was back. 

Virginia went to Cutler, Sutter & Salinas because of their connection with her past, she knew out of anyone they would believe her. Cabot Sutter decided to take it on personally he knew better than to keep Virginia out of the loop she was too invested in the problem to just be left behind and he liked her and wanted her close to him. Together they looked at the suicide and the last painting Hannah painted and all the clues but then the bodies start appearing and it seems to be so much more than just Zane’s reappearance. 

Like many of JAK romantic suspense the romance plays second fiddle to the mystery but that doesn’t take away from the romance, it was well written and both characters play off each other well and they both have lots of depth, along with the Zane conspiracy Cabot gets pulled into family issues that he never wanted anything to do with and how he deals with that really shows his true character. Their past ties them together but so much more keeps them together. 

Overall, wonderful action, suspense, and a nice mystery. I loved the romance aspect it was nice and subtle Cabot and Virginia were fantastic characters, I can’t wait for the next one.

**ARC Provided by Publisher**

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ARC Review: When All the Girls Have Gone by Jayne Ann Krentz

I love Jayne Ann Krentz, for the exception of a few books here and there I always enjoy her books, When All the Girls Have Gone is no exception. Since JAK has switched back to her normal romantic suspense without the Arcane Society her writing has gotten a smidge darker and grittier, and I like it. It has her normal style the witty banter, exciting action, and a good mystery with some twist and turns. The romance is an easy smooth going one with the story concentrating more on the mystery and suspense aspect more than the romance. The characters, Charlotte and Max, are different sides of the same coin they are similar in how they take life one step at a time but Charlotte is an optimist and Max is more of a realist/pessimist. Max has an interesting backstory that I hope leads to more books with his brothers and adoptive father. Max is a former profiler, but during a high profile case he became obsessed with something from his own past and let it take over his life ruining not only his career but also his marriage. Now a private investigator Max has been asked to uncover the truth behind a young woman’s death. Charlotte and Max join forces and work together trying to find out how everything ties together, where Jocelyn has vanished to, why the investment club members are being so secretive, and how a serial rapist connects them all; a bunch of loose ends that end up in a complicated yet easy to unravel knot by the end.

Louise was murdered and no one seems to care but her young cousin who hires Max Cutler to find out what really happened since the police are satisfied with the easy answer that she overdosed. Jocelyn is missing and Charlotte, her step sister, is now worried that something might have happened to her since Louise was Jocelyn’s best friend. Charlotte didn’t know Louise very well but she is confident that she was murdered. Max and Charlotte start to uncover clues that lead them to believe there is a lot more to the friendship and to the investment group they were part of then they let on. Max’s intuitive and obsessive nature shows him things that everyone else over looks and it leads him right where he needs to be and where to look. Charlotte is good for Max because she understands why he does what he does she has unwavering faith in him and that’s exactly what he needs. The chemistry was there and it was strong but there wasn’t a whole lot of angst between them. They both gave into their feelings easily only hesitant when it came to what future they might have together. 

I enjoyed the dark backstory of Max and I love his adoptive father. The story leaves off on his past and the mystery behind it hopefully where his two adoptive brothers can pick up the storyline. Overall, this was a good read that is very much true to JAK’s stlye.  

**ARC provided by Publisher**

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ARC Review: Secret Sisters by Jayne Ann Krentz

Secret Sisters is another outstanding novel by Jayne Ann Krentz. It is full of mystery, suspense and a bit of romance in a typical Krentz fashion. I love her romance suspense; it always keeps me on edge and it creeps me out just a little. The book starts off through the eyes of a child molester intent on kidnapping and raping one of the two girls he is watching. Later in the story we find out more but it was a hell of a way to start of a book. Her active setting and narration always pull me into the story, and it really is reminiscent of some of her earlier works. This book is a tangled web of lies, deceit, and murder.

Madeline just inherited her grandmother’s legacy; a very popular chain of hotels and a deeply buried secret that just resurfaced. Eighteen years ago Madeline was kidnapped and almost raped by a man staying at her grandmother’s inn, luckily her best friend went running to get helped and the man was stopped before he could. But something stopped her grandmother from going to the authorities, a briefcase that was sealed up in the wall of one of the rooms. Madeline is back on the island where it all started and where it will end. She was called in by the only other person who knew where the body was buried but upon her arrival she finds him at deaths door attacked by an intruder or so say the police. The death of the grounds keeper was suspicious enough she called in her bodyguard, Jack Rayner. Jack rushes to Madeline’s side not just out of duty for the job but because he has been attracted to the woman since he first met her. Jack agrees with Maddie that it suspicious especially with what had happened their years ago and with man’s last words. He even confides that he found her grandmother’s death suspicious and has been investigating it. With that Maddie calls on her best friend, her secret sister, Daphne back to the island so they can all be safe Jack sends his brother, Abe, to bring Daphne in safely.

Several attempts on Maddie’s life are made and thankfully Jack is there to save her. All of these events are connected to the contents inside the briefcase Madeline’s grandmother enclosed in a wall; a briefcase that is now missing. Jack, Maddie, Abe and Daphne work to solve the mystery of the past and the current one. It all seems at the center of the web of deceit is the prodigious family, The Websters. The Webster patriarch made his money in the stock market. His oldest son Xavier is a psychopathic pyromaniac and the youngest is running for office. The whole family is really messed up.

Overall, this is another keeper it goes right up there with all the other books of her I own. This was a great twists and turns and a surprise WTF ending.

**ARC provided by Publisher**

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