Customer Reviews

Crushed Ice (Urban Renaissance)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Crushed Ice tells the story of Truth, a character who lives in the shadows and operates outside the law. Because of his chosen profession, very few people know his real identity. He is a master of disguise and manipulation. He's fascinated with a woman who was blinded in a horrible accident caused by him. This book is a thriller. It has murder, suspense, schemes, cons, and lies. It leaves readers on the edge until the very end. Eric Pete fans will enjoy seeing their favorite characters from previous novels. I hope Truth will make an appearance in future books.

Who is Truth? Raised by a single mother struggling to make ends meet, Truth is introduced to the world of manipulation by Jason North. In Truth's profession, no one knows his identity, wearing many disguises to bring havoc to the lives he's being paid to destroy. But someone is out to kill him and now it's a race against time to get them before they get him.

Utilizing one of his many disguises, Truth pretends to be an author to gain the affection of Collette, a frequent visitor of their neighborhood bookstore. Despite being blinded from a horrific accident, Truth finds her beautiful and captivating. Their unique attraction is more than meets the eye.

There are many questions: why is Truth's life in danger? Who is determined to unveil his true identity? Who can he trust? Is it because he knows too much or is it because of the many lives he's destroyed?

As I was reading CRUSHED ICE, I thought I knew what was going to happen next, but as soon as I turned the page, a new twist had taken place. Although, I enjoyed the suspense of not knowing, I would have like to see just a little bit more action. With an impressive story line of murder, schemes, and suspense, CRUSHED ICED will leave readers caught up until the very end.

Reviewed by Sharon Lewis
of The RAWSISTAZ(tm) Reviewers

This book was my second for this author, I went in expecting this book to keep me on high like, "Lady Sings the Cruels" did. I have to say that as I was reading the first pages of this book I was like, oh boy, I'm not gonna be able to say the good things that I said about the first book from Eric Pete. I wasn't sure If I could get through it or not, but then chapter seven happened also known as page 29. This is when the story had me. I thought to myself YES! Now I can face Eric again!

I already knew going into this story we were going to get some action from the characters in Lady Sings The Cruels, Jason North and Natalia. So I knew some of the people going in and that brought me a little comfort, but I still didn't really get a feel for Natalia in this story....I see her in another book?? Maybe?? This was not a long book by any means and once I started getting into it wasn't long before I finished this 226 paged book.

Chris or Truth Whatever his name is, was like 007! He was wearing disguises, paying people to play rolls in his setups, dodging bullets and leaving people wondering what just happened or just plain dead. The person that left my jaw dropping was Collette. I thought that was lovely relationship she had with Truth, until the truth came to the light. I was blown away by all the twists and turns, I felt like I was on a roller coaster and when I thought he ride was over there came another hill to go up and come down on. You meet Sophia, who is Collette's cousin, or is she? She ends up exposing Collette for who she really is let's us in on a plan that until that point we had no knowledge of. Jason doesn't let us down with his antics. Penney Antnee was also brought from "Lady Sings the Cruels" and he had some interesting things revealed about his character. From the beginning to the end, I was left with thoughts like, dam I didn't see that, or she did what, or I thought whatchamacallem did that, no I thought she was the one, wait a minute he was involved too, and she had me fooled the whole time? It just kept coming till the end!

I don't want to give anything away because it will ruin it for you. Eric, this was a success and I will pass this to a friend. So if you haven't read this book hold on for the ride and don't forget to put your seatbelt. The ride won't be that long because you won't want to put this down until your done.

Truth North's is a professional con-artist. He is paid to uncover and expose dirt on his targets. He was raised in the "game" by his mentally unstable mother and his corrupted Uncle, Jason North. One of Truth's earliest jobs went terrible wrong and an innocent woman was injured. Although Truth is a self-proclaimed psycho-path he admitted he felt remorse for what happened to the woman. Several years later he meets and befriends Collette and they meet up every week at a coffee shop. Truth develops feelings for Collette and even thinks about retiring from the game for her. Collette introduces him to her cousin, Sophia. Sophia claims she is broke and jobless. She tells Truth that she is so desperate that she is willing to do anything to get back on her feet. So when Truth is in a bind he calls up Sophia to be a player in a "game." She warns Truth that she recognizes his "game" but he fails to resist the temptress, break his own game code and sleeps with her. Sleeping with Sophia is mistake number one, falling for Collette is mistake number two. Truth's emotions cloud his judgment and he continues to make mistakes that not only put his life in jeopardy by Collette's life as well.

In spite of all the evil Truth has done somehow I found myself rooting for him. Cheers to Mr. Pete and how he let Truth's attempt at redemption play out. That was perfect. Jeers for the secret between Truth's mom and Jason. That revelation was a major let down and just silly. Mr. Pete could have been more creative and done so much more with that story line. Besides the first chapter, I did not like the way the flashbacks were handle. The time line for the book was off, it didn't add up. Also I would have like to learn a little more about Truth's early life, for instance how did he become fluent in so many languages if he never went to school.

All in all, I would definitely recommend this book. It was a light, quick and great read. I hope Mr. Pete is penning a sequel and hopefully he brings Collette back with a "package."

Crushed Ice is a good thriller with murder,suspense and lies. Will keep you interested especially when the master the man of many names and disguises becomes the one someone wants dead

Im sorry, I tried reading this book and it was really boring to me. I just could not get into it. This is a Mystery and Im not into them... This book might be good for those who enjoy a good mystery, but to much of nothing and beating around the bush for me... Sorry... I give it a 1 star...........

Most books I have read use the first 50 pages or more setting up the plot. Not CRUSHED ICE. From the first page you are deep into the story. I really appreciated this. It was a fast ride strategically sprinkled with key names and nuances throughout. I love the flashbacks. It reads like a movie. Get snug and fasten up because you are definitely in for a ride! Nicole from La

Very good book. It made me look for other books by him but I didn't find any. It was on time and in excellent condition.

Just finished reading what Im calling a "grown folks read". Erotic thriller with enough twists and turns to make it into my top reads for 2010. LOVED Crushed Ice by Eric Pete. I HOPE this is a character that has many more stories to tell.