Snowfall by Sharon Sala

Format: Mass Market Paperbound - Published: May 1, 2006 - 384 Pages - ISBN: 0778324001 - Published By: Mira Books

 

Snowfall

by Sharon Sala

It’s December in Manhattan. Falling snow blankets the city – and covers the body of a murdered womant hat bears a special message from a twisted killer.

High in her elegant apartment, bestselling mystery author Caitlin Bennett shivers in fear, holding the latest in a string of notes from a deranged “fan.” No longer able to endure the growing terror alone, Caitlin agrees to hire ex-cop Conner “Mac” McKee as a bodyguard.

With Mac’s protection, Caitlin begins to feel safe again. But when two more victims are discovered, each bearing a remarkable resemblance to Caitlin, they realize that she’s the target. And that a deranged killer is now coming to claim his final victim…

Review: Finished June 7th, 2006. Another great book by Sharon Sala. The characters were colourful, with personalities of their own. Caitie can hold her own, and Mac … wish he was my bodyguard! You could feel the chemistry between them. And Sharon takes you once again into the perp’s mind. I had a feeling that the obvious wasn’t the right choice, and there was something strange about another character, and I was right. It was great. I liked the last chapter, and I didn’t like it. The epilogue was fantastic, but I’m talking about the last chapter. I could understand what happened, but I wish it hadn’t turned out that way. And I’m not sure what to make of it. Hope someone reads this book so that I can discuss it, but I don’t want to post it for fear of blowing the entire ending for someone who’s going to read it. All’s I can say is that, while Caitie knew what was happening, her choice of how to deal with it was right on, and I applaud her character. A good read, a definite recommendation.

Rating: .5

Storm Warning by Dinah McCall

Format: Mass Market Paperbound - Published: May 1, 2001 384 Pages - ISBN: 1551668084 - Published By: Mira

 

Storm Warning

by Dinah McCall (pseudonym of Sharon Sala)

Time is running out for Ginny Shapiro. Of the seven smiling schoolgirls in the photo from the exclusive Montgomery Academy taken twenty years ago, she is the only one still alive. She knows that something happened all those years ago, but the memory is buried deep within her. And then it begins to come back, triggered by a sound, a single word … a voice from the past. FBI agen Sullivan Dean has the same photo and, armed with information that came too late to save her six friends, he knows that he must find Ginny before someone else does…

Review: I finished this book on Friday night, June 29th, 2007. Not part of a series, one of the 79 books I bought at the Barrie Automotive Flea Market last year.

I thought it was pretty good. Definitely different. I’ve only read one other book where the plot has to do with the mind and memories the way this one did. I thought Ginny was one hell of a woman to have to deal with what she had to deal with. And Sully was a great hero. I felt the attraction between them. The surroundings are well written, giving you a clear picture of what the character(s) is seeing. You also understand what they’re feeling, their emotions clear on the page. I thought the plot had been a great idea. 

The twist was enough to shock me… I really hadn’t seen that one coming. I was betting my last dollar I knew who it was… and I was way wrong.

I’d read a few other reviews on this book, and I was disappointed with their reviews, not McCall’s work. One guy said none of it made sense… I thought it did. Most fiction novels are exactly that – fiction. This guy’s review was making it sound like the whole concept was way out of proportion. Hunh… wonder if he did his research before blabbing off at the mouth. If you happen to read the review I’m talking about (and I don’t have to tell you who – you catch it before you’re done reading it), you’ll see what I mean.

Great story, believable characters, fantastic idea for the plot. I couldn’t have asked for better. The action was just as great, too!

Rating:

The Survivors by Dinah McCall

Format: Mass Market Paperbound - Published: January 3, 2007 - 384 Pages - ISBN: 0778324354 - Published By: Mira

 

The Survivors

by Dinah McCall (pseudonym of Sharon Sala)

When a passenger plane goes down in the Appalachians, rescue teams start looking for survivors and discover that a five-year-old boy and a woman are missing. Twenty miles from the crash site, Deborah Sanborn has a vision of two survivors, cold, hurting and scared. Over the years, she has learned to trust her gift, and she senses these strangers are in terrible danger. She sees a hunter, moving in for the kill.

Four generations of O’Ryan men have gathered at the crash site, ready to search for the missing boy, Johnny O’Ryan. His forty-five-year-old grandfather Mike O’Ryan isn’t sure what to make of Deborah, but with the snow coming down, she’s all they’ve got to lead them through the mountains. Becuase not only are they racing against time and the elements … they’re up against a killer desperate to silence his only living witnesses to murder.

Review: Finished Sunday, February 25th, 2007. Awesome book! Once again, McCall delivers. You swear your can feel the cold, the fear of the victims; the anger, fear and desperation of the ‘hunter’; the fear, anticipation and hope of the searchers. When Deborah’s ‘gift’ appears, you can feel it happening, and with words, McCall uses them wisely, making you feel like you’re there, along for the ride, running with Johnny and Molly, feel the O’Ryan’s desperation, and the pull that leads Deborah to them. For some of the characters to find love at the same time was an added bonus, although for some, I didn’t feel a super-strong connection, but I did feel a connection nonetheless. Great book that keeps you turning the page.

Rating:

Bad Penny by Sharon Sala (‘Cat Dupree’ series Book #3)

Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages - Publisher: Mira (November 1, 2008) - Language: English - ISBN-10: 0778325962 - ISBN-13: 978-0778325963

 

Bad Penny

by Sharon Sala

‘Cat Dupree’ series Book #3

She doesn’t go looking for trouble … it just finds her

The scar across her neck ties her to the past

     Cat Dupree would love nothing more than to settle down and build a life with fellow bounty hunter Wilson McKay. But Solomon Tutuola – the man who murdered her father and slashed her throat when she was thirteen – haunts her even from the grave.

     An investigator from Mexico is tracking down the person who is responsible for Tutuola’s death – and the trail leads directly to Cat. To add to her bad luck, a junkie with a vendetta is stalking WIlson and is willing to kill anyone who gets in the way of his revenge.

     Desperate to start their future together, Cat and Wilson turn the manhunt around – vowing to do whatever it takes to find freedom from the past and the scars that have damaged them both.

Bad Penny at Amazon.com

Bad Penny at Chapters.ca

Bad Penny at Amazon.ca

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17-Nov-08 to 19-Nov-08

Review: Fast-paced, well written ending to an excellent trilogy!

Sala continues Cat’s story from the last novel. After Wilson’s shooting, they are now back at his parents wranch while he recuperates. Cat never understood how much Wilson actually meant to her until she almost lost him – and neither want to experience it again. Both have agreed to leave their bounty hunting careers behind and start fresh, with a family.

And while Cat doesn’t go looking for trouble, trouble sure finds her. First, she picks up a young hitchhicker with a bleeding nose and a fat lip. Seems she’s been taking abuse by her now ex-boyfriend and was headed for the station to buy a ticket and get out while she still could. However, the ex-boyfriend didn’t agree with that and went looking for her, continuously ramming Cat’s SUV with his truck. Thankfully, the worst were bruises.

A few days later, on the way back with parts for Wilson’s dad, Carter, a storm sweeps in, tornado and all. Cat gets caught up in it, literally. When Wilson goes looking for her in the aftermath, he finds his truck nose first into a pond. Twice he went down and back up, terrified. He can’t get the doors open; the truck is too far in the muck below. On his third attempt, he notices the windshield is gone, and so is Cat. The thought of losing her is unbearable, but he refuses to give up. Outside the pond, he finds a book, then a piece of was once her shirt, then finding Cat as she’s walking to him, completely naked and covered in muck, more bruises and cuts. Seems when the tornado sucked out the windshield of the truck, Cat was sucked out with it. All who hear/see the story believe it was nothing short of a miracle keeping her alive.

You’d think that would be enough – no way! While in the hardware store with Dorothy, Wilson’s mother, a crazy madman wielding a fun bursts in, intent on killing his ex-wife; if he can’t have her, no one can. Cat’s instincts kick into overdrive, knowing that once he shoots his wife, he’ll turn the gun on the rest of them. Pushing Dorothy down, she picks up a shovel and brains him; not once, but twice. The first to bring him down, the second to keep him down.

Meanwhile, Jimmy Franks, the man who shot Wilson is still at large and evading authorities. He’s on a mission – killing Wilson, and he’ll stop at nothing to accomplish it, mowing down anyone who stands in his way.

And while all this is going on, Homicide Detective Luis Montoya in Mexico, has been handed the Solomon Tutuola case; the man who Cat finally caught and killed for revenge in the last book, Cut Throat. He’s on a mission to find Tutuola’s killer. What he wasn’t prepared for was Cat.

This book was incredible, unputdownable, and fantastic! Not once did Cat and Wilson go looking for trouble, but trouble found them; they weren’t working on a case, they weren’t after bad men. All they wanted was to start a life of pure bliss together. But that trouble kept getting in the way. But even with all the trouble, we get good pieces of news along with sighs of happiness for them as well.

The characters are incredible! Cat, still as strong a woman as ever, finally realizing how much she really loves Wilson, and his family. She feels like a part of them, and now that Tutuola has been taking care of and her revenge is now at rest, neither are clouding her feelings anymore, and the love she feels for Wilson is deep and profound, nearly scaring her to death. Wilson, even while recovering from a near-fatal bullet wound, is determined to prove to Cat that she belongs with him and his family, that she deserves to be happy. You feel emotions so profound in this book, you choke up when Cat does. When Wilson thought he lost her after the tornado, the grief is unbearable, even to the reader. Jimmy’s determination to finish what he started is scary as hell. I’m most certainly glad I don’t have anyone like him after me or anyone I know. He gave me the creeps, big time. And even while trying to track down Tutuola’s killer, Detective Montoya has drama of his own in his life, with an upset wife, and the adoption of an 18-month-old baby girl.

Actions scenes left this reader breathless, wondering how many lives Cat actually has. And through it all, you’re rooting on Cat and Wilson. This story was incredible and the perfect ending to a wonderful trilogy. The epilogue had me smiling from the first sentence to the last. I’m so unbelievably glad that Cat has finally found happiness. She and Wilson are perfect for each other.

Rating:

The Healer by Sharon Sala

Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages – Publisher: Mira (April 1, 2008 ) – Language: English – ISBN-10: 077832544X – ISBN-13: 978-0778325444

Back of the Book reads:

IT IS A GIFT THAT MAY COST HIM EVERYTHING.

All his life, Jonah Gray Wolf has had an uncanny connection to animals and the power to heal the sick and wounded. Driven from the only home he’s ever known by those who wish to harness his gift for profit, he becomes a drifter, working in out-of-the-way towns, never staying long. It’s a lonely life, but Jonah knows he’s still being hunted – he can’t afford to get close to anyone who might learn his secret.

In West Virginia he finds Luce, a tough but beautiful loner who knows all about keeping people at a distance – a kindred soul with whom he might dare to make a life. But the hunters have caught Jonah’s scent again. Danger is coming to their mountain refuge – a confrontation that will be decided only by a force of nature.

The Healer at Amazon.com

The Healer at Chapters.ca

The Healer at Amazon.ca

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4-Oct-08 to 5-Oct-08

Review: A supernatural and touching story!

At the age of two, a little boy is carried into a small southern Alaskan town by a female wolf and left there. No one knows where the little guy is from, who his parents are. Dr. Adam Lawson adopts him and calls him Jonah. Jonah Gray Wolf. Jonah is special; he isn’t like the other children in Snow Valley. Jonah seems to be able to communicate with all animals. He can also heal the ill and the wounded with his touch.

When Jonah is older, he saves the life of a hunter who’s stomach had been ripped open by a bear. When Major Bourdain finally understands what happened, he wants Jonah all to himself. He believes that, by offering everything that Jonah could possibly desire, he’ll be able to keep Jonah with him, and drive back his fear of dying. Hunters are sent to bring him back, and everything goes wrong. Adam is murdered and Jonah is kidnapped. But that doesn’t last long. Jonah escapes and is on the run, never staying in one place too long, never growing attached to anything for fear of being taken once again.

Until he meets Luce. Lucia Maria Andahar, a woman who lost her entire family in a car crash and runs from relatives to get away from her uncle’s unwanted advances. She invites him to stay with her, even if only the night. A warm place to stay and a hot meal in offering as a thank you for rescuing and healing her dog, Hobo. But there’s a spark between them, and the feeling grows between them.

Luce has a stalker who wants her, Jonah has hunters after him. And while Jonah is thankful to Luce’s landlord, Bridie, for a job, he stays with Luce, falling in love while trying not to. When Luce’s stalker gets too close, Jonah hunts him down. A school bus crashes and Jonah heals the children, shocking the little town. And now Jonah knows: when the hunters finally catch his scent, he’s not running this time. This time, he’s fighting back.

An incredibly moving story. I’ve never read a character as selfless as Jonah. Even while running and hiding, he still cares for those around him, human and animal alike, never thinking twice. Strong in mind and body, Jonah does what he needs to, to get the job done. What he didn’t count on was finding someone like Luce.

Luce is suffering from loneliness as much as survivor’s guilt. She still can’t understand why she survived the car crash that took the rest of her family. But Luce also lives in fear. It seems she has a stalker, one who’s getting bolder in his little notes. What she didn’t count on was finding someone like Jonah.

The magnetic pull between Luce and Jonah is incredible, you feel it come off the pages as you read. And the more Jonah helps people and animals alike, performing healing after healing that seems almost miraculous, the more you fall for Jonah. He doesn’t see the healing as a miracle. To him it’s just something he can do, something he can use to help when he can.

The story is incredibly touching. He hunts down Luce’s stalker and brings him in. He fights back with the help of animals so that he’ll never be hunted again. The love between them is quiet and unbelievably strong. Great actions scenes well spaced. Just enough scenes of the past to completely understand the situation. I couldn’t have asked for better.

Rating:

Cut Throat by Sharon Sala (‘Cat Dupree’ sequel Book #2)

Cut Throat by Sharon Sala ‘Cat Dupree’ sequel Book #2 <LABEL>Format:</LABEL>Mass Market Paperbound  <LABEL>Published:</LABEL>November 1, 2007  <LABEL>Dimensions:</LABEL>352 Pages, 4.21 x 6.62 x 0 in  <LABEL>Published By:</LABEL>Mira  <LABEL>ISBN:</LABEL>0778325075  He killed her once… Throat slashed and left for dead next to her murdered father, a thirteen-year-old girl vows to hunt down the man who did this to them—Solomon Tutuola. Now grown, bounty hunter Cat Dupree lets nothing— or no one—stand in the way of that deadly promise. Not even her lover, Wilson McKay. Their sexually charged encounters leave McKay wanting more, but Cat is determined to keep her distance. She doesn’t need a man making emotional demands, not now, when revenge is near. Suspecting that Tutuola is still alive, despite witnessing the horrific explosion that should have killed him, Cat follows a dangerous money trail to Mexico, swearing not to return until she’s certain Tutuola is dead—even if it means destroying her very soul….

2-Jan-2008

Review: I got to the end of this one and the first words that popped into my head were, ‘uh, what?’

I thought the book was pretty good. It continues right from the ending of the first book, Nine Lives, so if you haven’t read it, you might want to read that one first.

Same characters, some new. I really liked Wilson’s family. Remind me very much of my own. And I’m glad Cat realized what she now has.

*Spoiler Alert* Don’t read the underlined unless you have read this book! I thought her revenge was going a little far for me. Not that she got it, but how it came about. I don’t know… I just don’t think I’ve read a character go so far before. But then again, if she hadn’t had the crap kicked out of her, Wilson wouldn’t have had an excuse to take her home to his family. So I guess that evens each event out.

I rooted for Cat and Wilson; Cat – so she could finally put the past behind her, and Wilson – so that he’d have Cat right where he wanted her, right where she needed to be.

Now, however, the ending was rushed, and I loathe a rushed ending. And with what happens – okay, I’m sorry, but had I been the character, I’d have kicked the author’s butt. After all the crap that Cat had been through, for the author to just throw that part in there … I thought Cat deserved better. (shrug) Read for yourself and let me know if you agree with me.

Rating: