Life in Death [Kindle Edition]

Harlow Drake (Author)

Book Description

When a girl that social worker Kari Marchant places in foster care is brutally murdered, she’s compelled to learn why. Her quest for the truth pits her against friends and coworkers. As Kari works to solve the horrific plot, more people die. How far should she go to learn the truth—even if it threatens her life?

When homicide detective Rance Nicolet meets Kari, his attraction to her is powerful—and the feeling is mutual. But things between them go terribly wrong when Kari’s old lover is found murdered with a letter from her in his pocket. The evidence against Kari is damning. Rance’s personal and professional lives collide. Does he blindly believe the woman he’s falling in love with or follow the evidence no matter where it leads?

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Author Harlow Drake was born in Kansas City, MO, but grew up in Denver, CO. She relocated to North Carolina five years ago with her husband, two dogs, and 16-year old twins. She shares a birthday with the notorious Napoleon Bonaparte. In keeping with his legacy, she is currently working on taking over the world. Harlow’s positive attitude and fresh take on life are her tools and conquest is certain. She spends her free time writing, dancing, travelling and defending mailboxes from her 16-year-old twins’ driving. Her debut novel, LIFE IN DEATH is a murder mystery which pulls from real-life situations from her own family history. She felt compelled to share her story with the world while offering a thrilling, entertaining, and amusing escape for readers. In keeping with her commitment to improving the lives of children, a portion of the proceeds from the sale of her book will be donated to the Boys and Girls Club in her home state of North Carolina. She loves to connect with her readers and can be found on Twitter, her Blog or on Facebook.

Product Details

• File Size: 191 KB
• Print Length: 88 pages
• Publisher: Wine Not Publishing (February 19, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B007B4S9JW
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #398,702 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars NON STOP PAGE TURNER February 20, 2012

By readtolive

Format:Kindle Edition

From the first page, Harlow Coban pulls you into the story. I don't want to give anything away, but this book takes you on a non stop thrill ride.
It is smartly written and the characters jump off the page. Again- can't give it away...but the ending made me gasp.
I did not want it to end and enjoyed every word. I was flying through it to find out the "TRUTH"...it was that compelling.
Fantastic read!!!!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Lacks Depth July 18, 2012

By Chryse Wymer

Format:Kindle Edition

This story begins with social worker Kari Marchant having discovered that a teen in foster care has slipped between the system's cracks and disappeared. Follow-up on this teenager was indicated, but never carried out. Soon after, Kari discovers that the teen has been murdered. Detectives Nicolet and Cobb begin to investigate. Some sinister elements that felt, to me, like EXTREMELY TWISTED, South American, tribal shamanism come in to play. This is a quickie read at only 88 pages, and I was gifted this book for a read-a-long. The idea of a percentage of profits being donated to a worthy charity warmed my heart and really made me want to like this book. But there is just too much wrong with it.

I'm an editor so I notice grammatical errors, missing words and letters, incorrect compound word usage, etc. like a stab in the eye. Normally, I give star reviews based on the quality of the storytelling and the writing itself. But here, I am forced to change tactics. I normally deduct one star per 7 errors. Having found 48, this would fall into the negative category before I ever reached the storytelling. The characters are so much the same that I had a hard time distinguishing between them. They are underdeveloped, and just sort of absent. The name Nicolet was particularly confusing to me since Nicolette would normally be a woman's name. I kept reading him as a woman, and since there was no real characterization to say otherwise, my brain kept having to switch it around. The plot, while it has the hint of something interesting, leaves the reader feeling like something is missing. It feels too short and underdeveloped in that parts of the story were hard to understand at all. I really believe that overall, this is the result of poor editing, and I do hope that Ms.... Drake finds someone more competent to edit her work in the future. Despite all that, there was still a little something about this story that I liked, so I couldn't bear to give it only one or two stars. Normally, authors only improve as they progress, so I'll be interested to see the second book in this series. Read more ›

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Dark Mystery June 19, 2012

By Ruth A. Hill

Format:Kindle Edition

Mystery, romance, brutal murders, and a confusing ending. This is the best way to describe this book, and this will be one of the more challenging reviews for me to write. This is also a rather short book, but I have to say that it is anything but an easy read.

For the first few chapters of the book, I was really mesmerized. The author had me right there. Although the murder described was quite horrid and brutal, I was somewhat intrigued. I am sure that the kind of "murder ring" described in the book that find its inspiration from Eastern practices is something that occurs without anyone's knowledge. I was sickened to read about the rituals described, but I also wanted to see the perpetrators come to justice.

Unfortunately, the book began to get very confusing as it continued. I was able to figure some of the characters out and how they figured into the story, but there were definitely some holes that just did not make sense. I so hoped that everything would get worked out and explained by the end, but it really was not. And I was highly offended by the epilogue. As far as I am concerned, murder is murder--no matter if it justified or not. It is one thing if you kill in self-defense or accidentally. But pre-meditated murder is something that should never go unpunished.

I was offended by the flagrant use of profanity. While I do not like profanity, when it is used and if makes sense, I can excuse it. Not so, here. And the sex scene did not even seem to make sense.

You might wonder why I gave it a 3-star rating if there were so many thing I did not like. Well, I would say that the author does have a talent, and the premise behind the book is somewhat intriguing. I also think that some people may find the book really interesting.... Perhaps if the book had been longer, it may have even been better.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I was not financially compensated in any way, and all opinions are 100 percent mine. Read more ›

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A Fast-Paced Chilling Novella April 3, 2012

By Jersey Girl Book Reviews / Jersey Girl Sizzling Book Reviews

Format:Kindle Edition

Kari Marchant is a social worker who has dedicated her life to improving the lives of children at risk. When one of her kids, Patience Dolo is found brutally murdered, Kari knew she had failed this one, and she vows to find out what happened. Homicide detective Rance Nicolet and his partner Rudy Cobb are investigating the murder of Patience Dolo, and when they interview Kari, sparks fly and there is an instant attraction between Kari and Rance. While Kari is searching for the truth in the murder of Patience, she gets too close and other people she knows are murdered, which puts doubt of her innocence in Rance's mind. Is Kari involved in these brutal murders, or is someone trying to set her up?

Life In Death is a fast-paced chilling novella that will keep you sitting on the edge of your seat. The storyline has a lot of twists and turns that keeps the reader riveted and guessing what will happen next. There are a lot of characters in the story, their individual complexities are intriguing, but there are so many characters and plot changes that a reader can become easily confused. The description of the murder scenes are brutal and chilling, which is exactly what true murder mystery fans crave, and this story has plenty of that. The only thing that didn't sit well with me is that some of the subplots didn't make sense to me, I would have preferred if the story was a full length novel, but then again, perhaps the author is just whetting our appetite for her next installment of this series.

Life In Death is the author's first novella, and with that being said, I think she does a good job of writing a story that provides the reader with enough suspense and intrigue, that they will want to read the next books in the series.... Murder mystery, suspense and thriller fans, give this fast-paced little novella a chance, it will provide the thrills and chills that you crave!

Disclaimer: At the request of the author and GFP, a copy of the book was sent, at no cost to me, for my honest review. Read more ›

More About the Author

Author Harlow Drake was born in Kansas City, MO, but grew up in Denver, CO. She relocated to North Carolina five years ago with her husband, two dogs, and 16-year old twins.

She shares a birthday with the notorious Napoleon Bonaparte. In keeping with his legacy, she is currently working on taking over the world. Harlow's positive attitude and fresh take on life are her tools and conquest is certain.

She spends her free time writing, dancing, traveling and defending mailboxes from her 16-year-old twins' driving.

Her debut novel, LIFE IN DEATH, published on February 20, 2012 on Amazon for $2.99, is a murder mystery which pulls from real-life situations from her own family history. She felt compelled to share her story with the world while offering a thrilling, entertaining, and amusing escape for readers.

In keeping with her commitment to improving the lives of children, a portion of the proceeds from the sale of her book will be donated to the Boys and Girls Club in her home state of North Carolina.

She loves to connect with her readers and can be found on Twitter, her blog, or on Facebook