Customer Reviews

Love Me to Death: A Novel of Suspense

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am a huge fan of Allison Brennan's suspense novels and am happy to say she is back in her "thriller game" with Love Me To Death. So much about this book was classic Brennan: fast pace, nail biting suspense, never-saw-them-coming plot twists. The ending was absolutely amazing. But, for me, this one was even better than previous books because of the wonderful hero, Sean Rogan. He's strong - even arrogant and alpha -- without ever being a jerk. And Lucy Kincaid is a perfect match, even with all her serious baggage. I read this one in two days and have already preordered the next one.

Six years ago, Lucy Kincaid met a seemingly nice man on-line. When they finally met in person, he proved to be a psychopath. He attacked her, but she survived while her molester died.

Since the assault, Lucy dreams of becoming an undercover FBI agent. In the meantime in DC waiting for the feds to call, she works obsessively as a volunteer for Women and Children First! Her role is to lure web predators and other sex offenders into traps. However, Lucy becomes concerned with her endeavor when she realizes several of those she busted have been executed since leaving prison. A friend and business cohort of Lucy's concerned brothers, private investigator Sean Rogan, tries to keep her safe. They are attracted to one another, but are hesitant to act on their feelings. Meanwhile Lucy probes the connections that seem chaotic, but at the same time the FBI is scrutinizing her actions as she is more than just a person of interest in what is believed a serial killer's vendetta.

Love Me to Death is a taut "FBI" romantic suspense thriller starring family members from Sudden Death and Cutting Edge. The story line is fast-paced but driven by obsessed Lucy who is stunned to realize someone is following up on her efforts to capture sex predators by killing the psychopaths. Although purposely serpentine with surprising but fun chaotic misdirection and red herrings that confuse the heroine (and readers), this approach enhances the investigation that Lucy and Sean conduct. There are also a ton of support characters who can overwhelm the reader at times trying to remember who's who, but this also adds to the fog of a convoluted inquiry as Allison Brennan provides a tense twisting thriller.

Harriet Klausner

So I still have some unanswered questions, however, I now AB will answer them in the next two books. This was a great start to the Lucy series. Sean and her are a great pair. Plus it wasn't clogged with to many Kincaids. Lucy sure has grown up a lot. The jury is still out on Noah, as I kept calling him a jerk, up until the end. The overall bad guy was not who I expected, which was great cause I thought I knew in the first five pages. Can't wait to see Patrick shine in Kiss Me, Kill Me.

I am a big fan of Allison Brennan and was so anxious to read this story. "Love Me to Death" did not disappoint. Lucy Kincaid is one of my favorite characters and I was so pleased to learn that Allison was doing a series featuring her. Once I started reading, I could not put it down until I knew who, why and how as the story twisted and turned. Aside from the non-stop suspense, I love how the relationship between Lucy and Sean developed. My favorite scene was the ice skating scene...and of course the amazing ending!
Allison, in my opinion, this is another winner!! I can't wait to read both the novella coming out in a late January (Love is Murder) and the full story, "Kiss Me, Kill Me" (out in late February) and what's up next for Lucy and Sean. I am also looking forward to Patrick's story and hope it's not too far on the horizon.

Loved this book...Been following the Rogans, Kincaids and Carusos for a while! This was a very suspenseful story! I thought I knew "who it is" but was SO wrong! Great twists! Highly recommended!

With sheer determination, Lucy Kincaid has beaten the odds. A one-time victim, she's worked tirelessly to rebuild her life, focusing on her goal of joining the ranks of the FBI despite the lingering anxiety ingrained from a brutal attack and kidnapping six years prior. She survived and in a fitting twist of fate, made certain that her attacker didn't. She'll do what it takes to never be a victim again and try to help those that unwittingly step into predators' paths.
While waiting for word on her FBI application, Lucy spends her free time volunteering at a victim's rights group and surfs the web undercover to smoke out re-offenders. But as in any good story, the best laid plans never go smoothly. When Lucy discovers that the criminals she's entrapping become murder victims themselves, the FBI takes a brand new and very different look at Lucy. Now everything's in jeopardy, family, her future, maybe even her life.
With her freedom and future now in peril, she joins up with Sean Rogan--daredevil and security expert--and they work to track their slippery prey. Now here's a guy we'd love to meet. Street smart and facing unfamiliar territory as he discovers that he wants Lucy to be his, he doesn't see the damage that she feels deep inside and he'll do anything for her. However, someone is watching them both. A cold-hearted killer has his violent eyes on Lucy. Her only means of escape? Perhaps another fight to the death.
Three circling threads braid this story together: Lucy's past, the vigilante-murderer of parolees and the stalker. With so much evil surrounding her, it's a sad state of affairs when the good guys begin to appear suspicious.
A fan of Allison's for many years, you always know what you are getting...a great story with love `em or hate `em characters and perfectly placed plot twists in every book.

Reviewed by Shannon Raab for Suspense Magazine

Lucy Kincaid was kidnapped and savagely brutalized six years ago. Lucy killed one of her attackers but can't seem to escape the stigma that now surrounds her because of her past. She now works for Women and Children First an organization that attempts to protect women and children from sex offenders. Lucy searches for cyber criminals, specifically sex offenders that have been paroled to see if they've returned to their criminal ways. Lucy's greatest hope is to become an FBI agent but her dream is in jeopardy when another of her past attackers is murdered and evidence points to Lucy.

Lucy's under suspicion and needs help. She turns to Sean Rogan. He works with her brother at RCK Security. As the evidence begins to look grimmer, Lucy and Sean uncover more murders that may be connected. The closer Lucy comes to discovering the plot the more danger she puts herself in. The more Sean is around Lucy the more enamored he becomes but is Lucy ready for a relationship after everything she's been through? There's a target on her back now; will she get a chance to find out?

Love Me To Death is a thrill-a-minute suspenseful ride to the last second. Lucy Kincaid is a smashing, intelligent woman that readers can look up to. This woman is tough as nails and has a heart of gold. She's been through devastating trauma but has moved forward to fight for other victims. Sean Rogan is a known playboy but Lucy tempts him in ways no one has before. He sees not only the strong fighter but the soft woman inside Lucy. These two make an adorable and very real couple. I thoroughly enjoyed watching these two fall for each other.

Allison Brennan has written an engrossing suspenseful mystery. Ms. Brennan's characters have been extensively plotted. They all have layers and layers of depth, even the villains. The villains are particularly nasty in Love Me To Death! The glimpses you get into the villains psyches are gruesome and shocking which only propels the story further. Instead of being a turnoff these horrid villains hypnotize you even more with their wicked ways making Love Me To Death a one of a kind mystery. Love Me To Death is an extremely well written novel! I felt as if I was a part of the story I could feel Lucy's emotions fly off the pages. I shared her pain, pleasure, terror, and relief. Love Me To Death is a non-stop adrenaline pumping novel that leaves others in the dust. Lucy is my new Hero!!

Miranda
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

I must admit that I downloaded this based on the reader, Ann Marie Lee, as I have found her to be one of the best readers of audio books ever. I stumbled across her years ago when one of my kids was given an audio book that she had recorded (Ophie). We listened to it on a long car drive and found ourselves wanting to get back in the car to keep listening. Since then I have searched for audio books that she has recorded and have NEVER been disappointed, even when the story might not be so great. Love Me To Death was no exception, and while I typically look for books that are not suspenseful, I quickly found myself hooked on listening. This is a great read (listen) and I am anxiously awaiting the sequel which fortunately will be read by Ann Marie.

May contain a spoiler 3 stars just because I finished it. And even though I knew she would be ok, I found myself rushing to read on. Had some of the intensity of a James Patterson The solo anonymous diabolical observer. A great treat, considering I have a growing list of stopped in the middle books. Why not 5 stars. The flowers. They should have double ID'd who sent the flowers. I find it detracting to make such a blatant mistake which I saw at the time Same as in grade c horror films. Nevertheless I kept rushing to read on to see the details Anyway thanks Allison Brennan for the surprise read. It was my introduction to your work. This review is also posted on GOODREADS.

A tale of suspense and deep darkness of the soul. Allison Brennan brings readers a story that will captivate them from beginning to end in Love Me To Death.

Upon beginning Love Me To Death, I was hooked. The suspense and action is constant throughout the entire story, taking the reader on a journey of unending twists and turns.

It has been six years since Lucy Kincaid was brutally raped, tortured and nearly killed. Through it all, she has come out strong and determined to save others from ever suffering as she once did. With the dream and goal of becoming an official part of the FBI, Lucy works for an undercover victim's rights group, whose main goal is to put rapists and attackers, out on parole, back into prison. What Lucy did not count on were the guys she "set up" through online chats, to end up dead. Exactly who is taking matters into their own hands and why are they making Lucy look like a suspect?

If she didn't have enough to deal with, Lucy discovers there is a stalker on her tail, and the terror of six years ago, which constantly haunts her, comes thrusting forward relentlessly. The one glimmer of light, filtering through the nightmare, is Sean, Lucy's brother's partner in a security firm. Sean is set on protecting Lucy, no matter the consequence, and will stop at nothing to keep her safe. As the flame soars between Lucy and Sean, the twisted and menacing mind of evil gets closer to Lucy and her dream of a "normal" life. Can she be saved before spiraling into an eternity of darkness and endless torment?

Love Me To Death focuses on a very real and very terrifying epidemic - online predators and sex offenders. This is not a book that can be read light-heartedly, nor without having a cruel reality thrown in the reader's face. However, this realism creates a memorable and hard-to-put-down read. The story is solid and I really enjoyed the characters. Particularly the strength and courage of Lucy and the sturdiness and love of Sean. They are both incredibly real and strong characters that work well off of one another, as well as together. I also enjoyed Kate, Lucy's sister-in-law, whose care and love of Lucy makes for a wonderful support system as well as an added dimension to the story itself.

While I greatly enjoyed the story weaved by Ms. Brennan, I do have to be honest in saying that as I read Love Me To Death, I often felt as though this was actually a continuation of a prior story. I did a bit of searching and did not come across anywhere that mentioned this book being a spin-off of another or part of a series, so I am not exactly sure what to think of this aspect. This prior story, did unfold throughout the main story, however as I read, I often felt questions popping up in my mind, as well as feeling as though I was missing something, somewhere. I am not sure if this was intentional, on the part of the author, as a way to draw the reader in and make them continue to read to try and figure the questions out? Whatever the reason, it did take a bit away from the story, for me. While I loved the characters and plot, I was unable to completely feel as though I was within the story, for reason of lacking information. I do enjoy Allison Brennan's writing style and her ability to create a fantastic story, so I still recommend Love Me To Death to readers looking for a great suspense story, however I did want to mention my trepidation on the background story, to make future readers aware of it. Overall, Love Me To Death is a great read and held my attention from start to finish.