Series: Romantic Suspense #27; San Diego Case Files #1
Genre: Romance Suspense
Publisher: Berkley Publishing
Release Date: Feb. 28, 2023
Big thank you to Berkley Pub. for an advanced readers copy!
Brace yourself for a scorching new series from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Karen Rose, where San Diego means sun, surf, sand…and serial killers.
Review:
Psychologist
Sam Reeves is deeply disturbed after a court-ordered client - a pathological
liar - starts talking about a 'pretty young thing' in a park. Sam
can't break doctor/patient confidentiality, but he's compelled to make an
anonymous phone call to the San Diego Police Department telling them of a
potential grave site in a park. He leaves his message for homicide
Detective Kit McKittrick because of her reputation to stand for victims no
matter what. After a second alarming session during which the patient
becomes belligerent and threatening toward Sam and a potential new victim, he
phones in another tip via a payphone to McKittrick hoping to remain
nameless. Unfortunately for Sam, a short while later, he finds himself a
suspect, spread-eagled on the floor of his apartment with Det. McKittrick
slapping handcuffs on his wrists. After being released for lack of
evidence, Sam begins an ill-advised investigation of his own in an effort to
protect his own hard earned reputation and livelihood as a reputable
psychologist and overall decent human being. When more girls are murdered
with the same m o (modus operandi), it
becomes apparent that a serial killer dating back a couple of decades is back
in action. Evidence begins stacking up against Sam, and he doesn't have
any believable alibis. Det. Kit McKittrick is inexplicably drawn to
believe Sam, cutting him some slack much to the surprise of her partner and
co-officers. Kit's instincts and gut are telling her something is off
about this investigation, and she won't stop until justice is served.
Karen
Rose's Cold Blooded Liar is a fantastic introduction to a new
spin off series, San Diego Case Files. Rose renders a dark tale of the
abuse and horrific murders of young teenage girls over several years, all with
dreams of becoming big time actresses. McKittrick suspects this is the
bond that the killer uses to draw them into his lair. Readers are quickly
transported into the story through the terrifying sessions of a killer with his
psychologist and the investigation. Tension escalates quickly and the
tone is dire as the police always seem to be one step behind the killer even as
the media is one step ahead. As in all of this author's books, the small
details are extremely important. As a reader, I've learned to look for
and follow the small crumb trail the author sprinkles throughout her stories as
they prove to be important later on.
Cold Blooded Liar is a tense, complex,
emotionally charged story that kept me turning pages in an effort to figure out
what I was missing . . . who is the killer? I felt sure of who it wasn't,
but while there are a couple of possibilities, I couldn't zero in on the person
I thought was the most likely suspect and that's due to Rose's expert
manipulation of both characters and readers. Characters are convoluted
and well developed and are introduced with just enough background information
to draw you in, and yet remain elusive enough to peak readers curiosity -
leaving this reader looking forward to what happens in future books in this
series. Fans of the Romantic Suspense series will enjoy appearances by
past characters. As for the romance, there's a strong attraction between
Kit and Sam, but as readers quickly learn, the baggage Kit carries makes her
skittish about relationships which results in her attempting to hold Sam at
arm's length. I loved the final line of the book with its implications
that we'll see more sparks between this couple in future books which can't come
soon enough. Highly recommended to fans of suspense and
psychological thrillers. You don't want to miss this one!
Synopsis:
Sam Reeves is a kindhearted psychologist who treats court-ordered clients. After one of his patients—a pathological liar—starts revealing plausible new details from a long-unsolved serial murder case, he’s compelled to report anonymously to the SDPD tip line, though his attempts to respect patient confidentiality land him facedown and cuffed by the aggressive (and cute) Detective McKittrick.
San Diego homicide detective Kit McKittrick loves the water. She lives on a boat, and when she’s not solving crimes with the SDPD, she’s assisting her foster sister with her charter fishing business, scuba diving, or playing with her poodle. But there’s nothing that intrigues Kit more than a cold case, so when an anonymous caller leads her on the path of a wanted killer, she’s determined to end the decade-long manhunt.
Sam is soon released but goes home with both a newfound distaste for the SDPD and a resolve--not unlike Kit’s--to uncover the truth. Kit and Sam repeatedly butt heads in their separate investigations but are forced to work together to find one of the deadliest serial killers the city has faced in a decade.
OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
www.karenrosebooks.com
Internationally bestselling, RITA-award winning, author Karen Rose was born and raised in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, DC. She met her husband, Martin, on a blind date when they were seventeen and after they both graduated from the University of Maryland, (Karen with a degree in Chemical Engineering) they moved to Cincinnati, Ohio. Karen worked as an engineer for a large consumer goods company, earning two patents, but as Karen says, “scenes were roiling in my head and I couldn't concentrate on my job so I started writing them down. I started out writing for fun, and soon found I was hooked.”
Her debut suspense novel, DON'T TELL, was released in July, 2003. Since then, she has published fifteen more novels and two novellas. Her seventeenth novel, ALONE IN THE DARK, will be released in 2016.
Karen's books have appeared on the bestseller lists of the New York Times, USA Today, London's Sunday Times, and Germany's der Spiegel (#1), and the Irish Times, as well as lists in South Africa (#1) and Australia!
Her novels, I'M WATCHING YOU and SILENT SCREAM, received the Romance Writers of America's RITA award for Best Romantic Suspense for 2005 and 2011. Five of her other books have been RITA finalists. To date, her books have been translated into twenty-four languages.
A former high school teacher of chemistry and physics, Karen lives in Florida with her husband of more than twenty years, her two daughters, two dogs, and a cat.
COLD-BLOODED LIAR by Karen Rose
Berkley Hardcover | On sale February 28, 2023
Excerpt:
Longview Park, San Diego, California
Monday, April 4, 5:30 p.m.
Kit pulled the handkerchief across her nose and mouth as she watched the two CSU techs
meticulously uncovering what was, indeed, a grave. Based on the odor, the body had been there
awhile.
They'd arrived at the mystery caller's coordinates to find that the ground had settled somewhat,
creating a slight depression that measured five and a half by two and a half feet.
Ground-penetrating radar had shown a body.
The victim had been small.
Kit slipped her hand into her pocket, finding the little cat-bird figurine. Stroking it with her
thumb. Please don't be a child.
"I hope it's not a kid," Baz murmured, echoing her thoughts.
All homicides were difficult. Even drug dealers murdered on the street had been loved by
someone. Were missed by someone.
But the child homicides were a completely different level of hell.
She looked away from the grave to where Sergeant Ryland, the CSU leader, was making a
plaster cast of the only footprint they'd found in the area. It was a man's shoe, size eleven.
"You got anything for us, Ryland?", she called.
"I just might."
She and Baz walked from the grave site to where someone had stepped off the asphalt path,
leaving the single footprint in the strip of ground between the path and the field of grass.
Ryland finished pouring the plaster over the footprint, smoothed it out, then set the timer on his
phone.
"Thirty minutes for the plaster to set. Come see the photos I took of the print while I
wait". He retrieved his camera and beckoned them closer. "There was lettering on the sole of the
shoe-likely a brand name. I can't quite make it out in the photo, but I'm hoping to get detail from
the plaster cast."
"I'll be seventy-two hours or so," Baz said and Ryland nodded.
Kit leaned closer to the screen. "Can you zoom in on it?"
Ryland did, handing the camera to Kit. "I can make out what looks like a Y at the end of the
brand name, but-"
"Sperry," Kit said. "Sorry to interrupt, Sergeant. I recognize the logo. They're Sperry Top-
Siders." She gave him back his camera. "My sister runs a charter fishing business and sometimes
I first mate for her on my days off. A lot of her customers wear them."
Ryland studied the photo. "You could be right."
She was, Kit was certain. "Trouble is, that's a popular shoe. I've even got a pair."
"So do I," Baz said. "Tracking those will be nearly impossible."
Kit shrugged. "But when we find the guy who owns these shoes, we can put him at the scene.
Any way to get a weight estimate on the wearer?"
Ryland shook his head. "Ground's too hard. Barely enough sinkage to get the plaster cast. I'll let
you know when I have something definite."
"Detectives?" one of the techs at the grave called, his tone urgent. "Something over here you
need to see."
"Thank you, Sergeant," Kit said, then approached the grave alongside Baz, schooling her
expression. If it was a child's grave, she would maintain her professionalism. She'd let herself
react later, when she was alone.
"Victim's a postpubescent female," the tech said when they were graveside. "The ME will be
able to give you a better age than I can, but I'm guessing somewhere between fourteen and
eighteen."
Feeling Baz's eyes on her, Kit reassured him with a quick glance. She was fine.
He always worried about her reaction when the victim was the same age that Wren had been
when she'd been murdered, but after four years as a homicide detective, Kit had seen far too
many victims who'd been Wren's age. It never got easier.
She hoped that it never would.
Excerpted from Cold-Blooded Liar by Karen Rose Copyright © 2023 by Karen Rose.
Excerpted by permission of Berkley. All rights reserved.
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