Labels: bookcovers, Leslie Parrish

Her Black CAT series “crackles with dark, edgy, danger.”* Now Leslie Parrish introduces eXtreme Investigations, a band of psychic investigators interested only in the cases nobody else wants—the coldest ones …

Labels: Leslie Parrish, review

Her Black CAT series “crackles with dark, edgy, danger.”* Now Leslie Parrish introduces eXtreme Investigations, a band of psychic investigators interested only in the cases nobody else wants—the coldest ones …

Labels: Leslie Parrish

A few months ago, some of you may remember that I was all gushy over Leslie Parrish's recently released romantic suspense series. Though some time has passed, that hasn't changed a bit. In fact, I'm hoping quite madly that there will be more books in the Black Cat series for us to enjoy. There are things we need to know!

I find it interesting that she's not electing to have a 3rd pen name for these books. It makes sense to me that she isn't, if the series are similar in mood and subgenre, with just a hint of something extra thrown in the mix. Personally though it wouldn't make a difference one way or another if she elected to go with a completely different name or not. The writing is what matters most to me. So here's to another awesome-sounding series being written by one of my favorite writers. It's definitely going to be an auto-buy for me.

Just out of curiosity: would you follow a favorite author into a subgenre that doesn't appeal to you?

Labels: Leslie Parrish, spotlight

Today I'm really excited to be giving away not just one book, or even two books, but all three books in the impressive Black CAT series by Leslie Parrish. I've really enjoyed these books, and I'm hoping that Leslie will continue to write more, as there are other characters I'm dying to find out more about (i.e. Brandon!)

Soooo, are you ready? Good, because so am I! It's not hard, I promise.

1. Leslie and her family love Halloween, so my question is: what is your favorite thing about Halloween? Or if you don't like Halloween, what is your favorite holiday?

2. The Black CAT books are categorized as romantic suspense. Who is your favorite romantic suspense author?

3. The Black CAT group deals with solving internet crimes. What is your favorite thing to do on the internet? (blogging, twitter, Facebook, Google, etc.)

4. Leslie loves scary movies. Do you like scary movies? Optional question: what was the first scary movie you watched?


5. Leslie started reading romances when she was around 12 years old. How old were you when you read your first adult romance and what was the name of it?

6. Leslie names her husband as her inspiration for a romantic hero. Who's YOUR inspiration for a romantic hero?

7. Some of Leslie's guilty pleasures are Nacho Cheese Doritos and diet Coke. What are some of your guilty pleasures?

Okay, that's it! See, not so bad LOL. Please be sure to answer all 7 questions to be eligible for the random drawing. Please DO NOT include your email address in your response. Thank you for stopping by!

Good luck!

Labels: contest, Leslie Parrish

Even as he devotes himself to catching the Internet's most despicable criminals, Wyatt Blackstone has become a master of detaching himself from his work. But after losing the vulnerable young agent for whom he cared deeply, Wyatt's famed icy control is starting to crack. He finds himself haunted by her beautiful image, especially now that someone has started picking off evildoers, with one brutal murder after another. Because the clues point to an absolutely impossible suspect: the woman the world thinks is gone forever...

This is the third, and so far final, installment in the Black CAT books by Leslie Parrish, and I'm really hoping there will be more because I hate to see this series end.

Wyatt Blackstone and the rest of his team are devastated by the senseless death of one of their own - Lily Fletcher. Despite working on some pretty horrendous cases, Lily was a sweet young woman who knew way too much about loss. So much so that it colored her world, and affected the way she did her job. Even though she had been walking a dangerous path, there was still no reason she should have died. She was one of the good ones...

But on a bitterly cold January day, he discovers that the horrible tragedy he thought to be true isn't, and so with the help of a trusted member of his team, Wyatt finds Lily and brings her back to the living, only to sequester her in a safe location so that no one knows she survived a madman who is still hunting for her.

But Lily is not the only "issue" that has to be dealt with. In addition to keeping Lily's wherabouts a secret, Wyatt is dealing with the fact that the man who kidnapped her has never been found, and now there's a new serial killer who's methods are eerily familiar. Plus the bureau is none too pleased with the sting operation that "killed" Lily, and heads are going to roll.

Wyatt has a lot on his plate, and to make matters even more complicated, he's drawn to the woman that Lily has become after her horrific ordeal. No longer the shy, people-pleasing young woman he knew before, Lily has become stronger, harder, inside and out, and he finds himself attracted to the raw, elemental woman who stands before him. He knows this time she's not going to break, but Wyatt can't give her what she needs. Never will he be the type of man to give her the white picket fence, and after everything she's been through, she deserves a shot at real happiness.

But Lily is not that woman anymore, and what she wants is exactly what Wyatt can give her. If she survives this, when she makes it through to the other side, she has every intention of showing the man she loves just exactly how good they can be together...

My thoughts:

I was so totally engrossed in the first two installments in this series, and couldn't wait to read "Black At Heart", even though I knew it might possibly be the last book (I sure hope not!). I was curious to find out about what happens to Lily, and even though I was pretty sure I knew, I still had to believe she wasn't going to really die after the 2nd book. Even though in the first two books, Lily came across uncertain and not very strong, I empathized with her after losing so much, and thought it would have been cruel to have her die in the end.

That being said, as much as I enjoyed this book, because I really did, it didn't have quite the same feel as the first two books. Here I felt there was way too much going on, between Lily coming back from the dead, the FBI breathing down Wyatt's neck, the team trying to track down the man who kidnapped Lily as well as capturing the latest serial killer, and then dealing with Wyatt's and Lily's growing feelings for one another. It's also darker; we see into the souls of two very lonely people who understand firsthand what it is to suffer the violent loss of loved ones, and who can never be content living a "normal" life. So while I wasn't expecting flowers and rainbows, the story still felt a little too grim for my liking at times. I think it was just the jarring changes Lily went through, which was totally understandable, but at the same time very sad. I suppose this is what had to happen to her in order to become the woman Wyatt could love, and to become the woman who could love a man like Wyatt.

I do think that for anyone who's read the first two books, reading "Black At Heart" is a must. We see into Wyatt's past, and he's been a character who's intrigued me since the very beginning. We watch the Black CAT team come together as a real family while at the same time using their immense talents to track down some of the most heinous criminals in existence. I love how Leslie continues to primarily focus on the job at hand, though this installment was a little different in that respect since much of the conflict existed between Wyatt and Lily themselves, and the rest fell away while these two were front and center. But it made sense for the story to play out that way in this case. Here we have two people who've known each other, who've worked together, who've gone through some tragic circumstances, both together and apart, and it only seemed right to involve them more intimately and develop their relationship on a stronger, more committed level.

I hope you all enjoyed this series as much as I did, and I'm curious to hear what your favorite story out of the three ends up being. And I am hoping and praying and begging that Leslie gets to write more about those amazing Black CATS!

Rating: **** out of *****

Labels: Leslie Parrish

After a botched investigation left him wounded and disgraced, Special Agent Alec Lambert was forced to transfer onto Wyatt Blackstone's team. This former profiler has lost his edge, buried by the guilt he feels over another agent's death. But he'll need all his skills when he realizes he's getting another crack at a case that has haunted him. A serial killer known as the Professor is now using the latest e-mail schemes to lure his victims and the Black CATs are on his trail.

Can I just say how much I absolutely love this series? I thought the first one was amazing but this one totally caught my attention right from the first page and I was hooked. I'm not a huge reader of romantic suspense, but I think I might have to change that. Leslie Parrish's Black CAT series is one I can't rave about enough. Just when I think I might have figured it all out, she throws another wrench into the mix and I have to start all over again, and it's that suspense that kept me glued to the pages. That and the fact that she creates believably flawed characters who are smart and clever, and - I can't believe I'm saying this like it's a good thing - spend more time actually solving the case instead of ripping each other's clothes off everytime they're alone. I get that the adrenaline and sense of immediate danger can be a seductive aphrodiasiac, but when the characters are too busy hittin' it and the bodies are piling up left and right, I lose all respect. Leslie blends the perfect level of fear and urgency with a potent level of tension and attraction to keep readers on their toes and impatient to see where this is going next. With a secondary plot carried over from the first book, "Fade To Black" - which is not required reading before "Pitch Black" but it sure does help - intertwined with the current case involving the Professor, Leslie writes an engaging, absorbing story that is sure to please fans of romantic suspense, as well as those new to the genre looking for something refreshing and/or relevant in today's society. As we become more and more connected, what with the advent of new and advanced technology all the time, internet crimes are sure to become more and more prevalent, especially when we don't have that face-to-face contact - body language - to use as an additional filter when getting a vibe off another person. Working for a financial institution, we see people who fall for these fraudulent claims rather often, so to take it to the next level and turn it into a gage of human behavior is fascinating to me. It actually makes a bizarre kind of sense.

As in "Fade To Black", I liked the characters in this book quite a bit. Not just Alec and Sam but also the other agents on the CAT Team. It seems they are all damaged in some way, and the little pieces into their lives we see just makes me crave more. There is unfinished business left over which I'm sure is to be resolved in the 3rd (and hopefully not final!) installment.

Those who are looking for more of a romantic storyline won't necessarily find it here, but for me, I'm satisfied in the slow buildup of the relationship between Alec and Sam here because for one thing, it's not the main focus of the book. We learn a lot about Sam especially, and why she's so gun-shy, and we see what Alec has been through just prior to being assigned to the Black CAT team, and together their painful pasts forge a connection that builds slowly with the more time they spend together, trying to solve this particular case that they feel personally drawn to for different reasons. I really appreciated that their relationship isn't rushed, but evolves naturally. It totally makes sense within the construct of the story, and allows the reader to concentrate on the case at hand, and the crucial undertaking of capturing a formidable opponent.

If I haven't said it enough already, I'm going to repeat myself one additional time here and strongly encourage you to pick a copy of this book. I, for one, want to continue reading this series after book 3, and I'm hoping everyone else will, too. It's really gotten me excited for more romantic suspense, and I think Leslie's deft hand with the genre is going to take her far. I think others will agree once they've given it a try.

~~~ Leslie was gracious enough to do an interview with me, and I plan on having that up in the next few weeks, sometime before the release of "Black At Heart". It was a lot of fun to think up interesting questions, and I hope you tune in for that. You just never know what else I've got planned *g* ~~~

Rating: ****3/4 out of *****

Labels: Leslie Parrish, reviews

A group of elite FBI special agents has been brought together to form the Cyber Action Team aka CAT - and they have one mission: to solve internet-related murders.

From his years in the FBI's violent crimes unit, Special Agent Dean Taggart has learned firsthand how vicious people can be. But this is the worst he's ever seen. Eight victims have been murdered, their final moments captured on film and shown on a secret Web site called Satan's Playground. And a madman who refers to himself as the Reaper is auctioning off their means of death.

When the investigation leads Dean to the small town of Hope Valley, he enlists the help of sexy and capable sheriff Stacey Rhodes, who's dealing with secrets of her own. It's too late to save the latest victim, but Dean and Stacey will have to work fast, because the Reaper's next auction is about to begin...

I'm a regular visitor over at Plotmonkeys, and so I was rather excited to see Leslie Kelly was writing a new romantic suspense series under the name Leslie Parrish. Obviously these were going to be very different books, so it made sense to create a new name and website to suit the mood and feel of the CAT books.

So when RNTV sent out the list of July books for review, I was relieved that "Fade To Black" was on the list and no one had yet laid claim to it. Well I took care of that right away! And now, after reading it, all I can say is: lucky me :) Here we go...

In the first few pages of the story, we see that the killer is just in the middle of his first kill. And we also discover that he has decided to videotape his victim's final moments. Despite his mostly calm demeanor, this is not a cold, unemotional murder; the killer is remembering cruel taunts and digs he's suffered, and lashes out against his prey with all the rage and impotence that's been building for years. This is his revenge. Now he had finally found his place, and what he was meant to do.

Seventeen months and several deaths later, the bloody crimes have been discovered, and on the internet of all places. Now it was up to CAT, a specialized division of the FBI who deal with cyber crimes, to stop a maniac before he kills any more people. Using video footage from the eight deaths uncovered, Special Agent Dean Taggart follows the trail to Hope Valley, the small town where the first victim resided, and teams up with the very dedicated and very female sheriff, Stacey Rhodes. Working side by side to stop a madman straight out of one's worst nightmare, Dean and Stacey keep hitting a brick wall, because now the time between murders is becoming shorter, and despite the Reaper having less time to prepare for his kills, the trail isn't getting any easier to track.

Stacey knows what it's like to live with the haunting images left over from a gruesome tragedy. That's why she's returned to Hope Valley, where she doesn't have to deal with such horrific acts of violence. But now it seems such a crime has come to her town, and she has to not just help track a brutal killer who keeps upping the bloody stakes with each crime, but also deal with the aftermath of grief when the crime hits so close to home. If that weren't enough, there's also the having to deal with the distracting presence of the sexiest man she's ever known on a daily basis. Sensing a mutual attraction, Stacey decides the only thing to do is act on it, and decides on a temporary fling is just what's needed to help her relax and maybe even forget, for just a little while, the horror of the man they are tracking.

But before Dean and Stacey can figure out where their feelings are headed, the team must try and stop the Reaper from commiting his most disturbing murder yet. Time is working against them, and if they don't figure out who is responsible for these heinous crimes, the results could be more devastating then they can deal with....

My thoughts:

Not too much. Not too little. It was just right. What I mean is, there's not an abundance of gratuitous violence, there are no TSTL characters, and the hero and heroine don't drop everything to have raging hot sex everytime someone dies. I'll admit, I kept waiting for something bad to happen, like Dean all of a sudden morphing into a complete jerk or that Stacey forgets she's a competent policewoman, more than capable of taking care of herself and her town, but wilts under the intimidating glare of the hero. But it never did. Whew, how wonderful that was to experience: regular people who acted like you hoped they would.

Probably one of the best things about this book is the way the heroine is written. Stacey is exactly the kind of woman I would want to be. She's strong, brave, intelligent, and she comes with a boatload of common sense. She's also very forthright and can hold her own against any man, even one that hates her guts. She doesn't cower behind Dean when the hint of danger is lurking about. Definitely not the helpless female type is our Stacey (who unfortunately spells her name wrong :P). In fact she's the one that initiates their fling, figuring there's no reason to wait for the guy to make the first move. In fact that's just her way - she is definitely a take charge type of person, and even when it comes to sex, she's not afraid to put herself out there. I think it impressed the heck out of Dean, too.

And speaking of which, the perfect match for her is a guy just like Dean. Sure he's got baggage - ex-wife, a kid he hardly gets to see, vast experience with solving violent crimes - but he's got his head on straight and he knows what's important. Above all else, he loves his son and will do whatever it takes if it means he can spend more time with him. And then he has this rather adorable crush on Stacey - his heart stops whenever he sees her - yet he plays it cool. He doesn't act like a chest-beating bully with something to prove.

I think Leslie did an amazing job of bringing these two people together and letting them simmer but not boiling over and make a complete mess. The action was suspenseful enough to keep me turning the pages yet not too gory and explicit that I had to close my eyes or put the book down. She also kept me guessing as to the identity of the killer, as several possible suspects were paraded throughout the story for very legitimate reasons, so I appreciated that it wasn't immediately known, at least to me, who was commiting the crimes. It made the action more suspenseful and heightened the level of urgency to catch him. And the story was told in such a way that the existence of such a place like Satan's Playground is completely believable, and probably does actually survive out there in the real world (shudder), which makes this book even more compelling.

I am definitely recommending that you give Leslie's new series a try. I'm so excited that she decided to branch out into the suspense genre, and am thrilled that this first story worked so well for me, and I'm sure many other readers. There was just a little bit of a lag about 3/4 of the way through, but it was just minor compared to how much I really enjoyed this book. I think she's going places. Kudos to Leslie :)

Rating: ****1/2 out of *****

Labels: Leslie Parrish