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Next step was to create a new identity for Catherine. Then Maize helped Catherine into a disguise: Her cover would be a dinner waitress and single mom. The story for Rosie's father was that he worked most of the time in the city. One day she came home and he was gone. No note, nothing until later when he told her he was going across the seas for his company, and told her to move out here. Three weeks later, Maize drove Catherine to her sister's after her shift at the homeless shelter ended.
Since then Catherine and her daughter had been living in her family's cabin and working at Kitty's Diner. Bringing herself back to the present, Catherine decided it was time to attend to her daughter's breakfast. Catherine's stomach growled in reminder of its own needs.
Soon Catherine was in the kitchen and her daughter sat happily at the table, eating her apple cinnamon oatmeal. Joining Rosie with her own breakfast concoction, Catherine sighed and dug in. Since working at Kitty's Diner Catherine had mastered the art of cooking that could rival the Tunnel cook, William. Her desserts were her specialty. Everyday customers asked for one or two of "Margie's" special sweets. Catherine smiled and said, "What we do every Monday.
Mommy goes to work and then you and I will stock up on groceries. They brighten up the diner. Now, it's time to clean up because we'll be late if we don't. Catherine sighed as she watched the happy family. Someday , she hoped. She recited the order to Katie and in twenty minutes brought the order to the hungry customers. She was just about to take her next order when:. Johnny was a handsome man: He was in his late thirties although he acted more like some hormonal teenager. He'd moved into town last year and, to Catherine's misfortune, had become her unwanted suitor.
At first, the pain over her loss had been too much for him. Another good suspenseful story. Inside the coffin, Vincent's eyes snapped open. The writing is typical Hoag, though I have to say I hated the whole jump scare thing she had going on at the end of certain chapters. She can spin a tale of suspense like no other author. Had she stumbled, sleepy eyed, out of her own bedroom to witness her mother fighting for her life?
For some reason, Johnny couldn't take no for an answer. Even the thought of her having a long distance relationship and a child didn't send him away. He carried the idea that he could get anything he wanted, and "no" meant "maybe later. Kitty's triple stuffed breakfast burrito and your sweet smile. Besides, how many times to I have to tell you I'm not interested. Still the man showed no signs of backing down, and his hand was moving dangerously south of her shoulder blade.
Besides, my buddy said his sister could watch the little tike for us. Well you know I like 'em…". If there was one person who could scare the pants of Johnny, it was Catherine's boss, Katie "Kitty" Lockhart. She was a hot-tempered woman in her fifties, but the 5' 3'' woman was feared if you were on her hit list. Right on cue, Katie stepped out the the kitchen to catch Johnny attempting to use Catherine as a shield. In some ways, Katie reminded Catherine of her half sister, with her graying red hair, but Katie's eyes were a lighter shade of green and she didn't have an accent.
And I believe I specifically told ya'll to leave Margie alone. When he was gone, Catherine turned back to the woman who had become like family to her. Catherine had to suppress a small chuckle. Catherine continued her shift for the day, with occasional breaks to look at her daughter's artwork. At quitting time Rosie handed Katie her latest masterpiece while Catherine changed clothes.
Cleaning up her scattered papers, Katie noticed one on the floor.
Crystal Coffin (Vince and Cat novel Book 2) - Kindle edition by R. L. Tyler. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Secret agents Vince and Cat rush to North Korea to rescue the girl, but a Crystal Coffin. Series: Vince and Cat, Book 2 Tags: fiction thriller suspense espionage war china spy nuclear war north korea vince and cat vince.
She picked it up and marveled over the picture: Cathy I swear your daughter gets better everyday. Just where does she get these characters from? Katie smiled and glanced at Catherine when she emerged from changing. Then Catherine and Rosie gathered up the toddler's pictures and headed out the door. When she had first hired Catherine, Katie had been concerned about what her crazy sister had gotten them into.
Taking in someone who had almost been murdered and was still being hunted down, wasn't exactly what Katie expected. Her first impression of Catherine was that she was flighty, but after getting to know her and her story, Katie's heart went out to the poor girl. I sure hope one day you can go home to that guy of yours, Cattie. I hate seeing you look sadder each year.
Why does this seem familiar? Vincent thought as he continued to walk down the tunnel. A light appeared at the end of the tunnel and Vincent felt himself being drawn to it. When he emerged on the other side, Vincent marveled at what lay before him. He stood in a wide field of wild flowers of every shade and color. The sky was a bright blue and not a cloud in sight. What is this place? Suddenly the sound of children's laughter filled his ears. Two small lights appeared and seem to beckon him somewhere. He began to follow the strange lights until he came to a gated entry.
Opening the gate, Vincent found himself standing in a rose garden. Roses of all sizes and colors lay in every direction. Years after the US liberation of Afghanistan, war still rages in the tribal areas of the mountains. From the midst of the turmoil, powerful drug lords flood the world with heroin. World leaders scream for the US to act. The president orders his two best agents, Vince and Cat, into Afghanistan to stop the flow of heroin from Kabul.
They unwittingly expose a file that could destroy the Afghan government, topple the American president, and endanger millions of lives. Also in Ebook formats. Secret agents Vince and Cat rush to North Korea to rescue the girl, but a betrayal leads them into a trap. The world teeters on the edge of war, and the fate of one girl and the long-dead Communist leader will tip the scale.
A secondary character, possible suspect: Bruce Bordain, the parking lot king of Southern California, was a big shot not only in Oak Knoll, but all the way south to Los Angeles. He had made his money first buying up and managing parking lots, then expanding into the construction of multimillion-dollar, multilevel parking structures. He owned some high-end car dealerships just for fun, and sat on the boards of McAster College and Mercy General and who knew what else.
His wife was a well-known patron of the arts, instrumental in the organization of the prestigious Oak Knoll Fesitval of Music, which took place every summer, drawing renowned classical musicians from all over the world. Utilization of tight prose in description of relationship: To people who didn't know them, Anne supposed they seemed an unlikely couple.
Vince, forty-nine, more than a little world-wise and world-weary, a man who had dedicated his life to understanding evil. And Anne herself, twenty-nine, a former fifth-grade teacher who had dedicated her life to understanding children. Yet they made perfect sense to her. Even as a child, Anne had been mature beyond her years. She had never been interested in young men.
Vince was mature, strong, full of integrity, a man who knew his own mind. A man who had no interest in wasting his second chance at life.
Efficient painting of a space with description: The space had been converted to a large work area at one end, and a gallery at the other. The morning sun poured in through a wall of windows, bathing everything in buttery yellow light. Use of a few targeted lines to elicit emotion: Mendez couldn't help but picture it in his mind: Marissa Fordham, bleeding profusely as she tried to get away. Her hands had been covered in blood, as if she had tried desperately to stem the gushing from her wounds. Her heart would have been pounding. She would have been choking on panic. Where had her child been during all of this?
Had the little girl seen it happen? Had she been roused from her own bed by the commotion? Had she stumbled, sleepy eyed, out of her own bedroom to witness her mother fighting for her life? I'd rather be shot than have to characterize that many people in quick, unique descriptions. While Hoag uses some similar techiniques, such as utilizing ages, words like "mane" of hair, etc. Yet, Hoag doesn't restrict her talented efficiency to character description, she applies it to setting, emotion, just about every novel element. Joan cultivates knowledge from across genres, applies it to the books she reads and shares her observations of master craft application with other writers here at Practiced Mastery on Savvy Authors.
May 16, Kathy Davie rated it it was amazing Shelves: My Take Oh, boy, talk about suspenseful. I actually started to suspect whodunnit, but I wouldn't have guessed the whydunnit. It was certainly an interesting look inside the head of behaviorists!
And a very sad look at the difficulties involved in telling a four-year-old that her mother has died. I just loved this quote. For such a "misfit", Zander is amazingly perceptive: Her perception is her reality. She doesn't understand who I am. People fear what they don't understand.
I think Morgan is purposely self-destructing. As for Vince, he so loves rubbing it into Mendez that he got to Anne first Milo's bigotry at the hospital is good for a laugh as well. Hard to believe people actually think this way…?? What is with the cops? Vince has someone on her doorstep to protect her, and he's useless. Hoag comes at you with such soft whiplashes A very realistic writer, Hoag blends the homey with the horrific and peoples her story with mostly pleasant people. Admittedly, some of them have issues, but they are real characters.
The kind of people most of us know in our own lives. It certainly makes her bad guys stand out! It also brings home the horror when some seemingly normal person is revealed as, well, not so normal. That poor kid, Dennis. Jesus, the best thing for him would be a quick bullet to the head, yet I feel so sorry for the kid. Reading between the lines of how trapped he feels, how unloved… Hoag is good at pulling at those heartstrings. However, would someone please take out Anne's dad?
It would be fascinating to learn what his childhood had been like to form such a character as his. The Story A woman's body is discovered on her kitchen floor, her almost-dead daughter draped over her. The things done to the daughter… Tony asks Anne to visit Haley at the hospital in her role as a special advocate, feeling that Anne's past experience and her education in child psychology can only help. And so it proves. Where, despite Vince's protests and the pissing contest between Milo and Maureen, the judge almost gleefully awards temporary custody to Anne.
Now it's up to the police, Vince, and Anne to solve the case and coax a witness statement from a very small, very traumatized little girl. Asides of the crime finds those friends of Marissa's also suffer new, additional traumas. Milo and her dramas. Gina and her disappearance. The secrets harbored that are revealed. And Mendez is falling in love. The Characters Anne Navarre Leone is happy in her marriage, but still suffers terribly from her kidnapping.
On the bright side, she's finally pursuing her child psychology degree. And NOT living with her jerk of a dad! He plans to quit the FBI when the case is complete and do some consulting, some lecturing, in the meanwhile, he donates his time to the sheriff's department in his new home town. He and Anne got married and they are enjoying their time together. Their experiences have taught them to grab on to life with both hands. Fran Goodsell is Anne's best friend and a kindergarten teacher at Anne's old school. He's quite a cheeky friend and is so happy for Anne.
Detectives Tony Mendez and Bill Hicks are on the scene. Cal Dixon is the county sheriff. Trammel and Hamilton are fellow cops. Tom Scott is the leader of the Search and Rescue teams. Marissa Fordham is an artist and a single mother with a four-year-old daughter Haley. A woman who did not exist four years ago. Her arts patron Milo Bordain has supported her generously for as long as Marissa existed. Gina Kemmer is Marissa's best friend. And one with a deadly secret. Everything in life is about Milo Bordain ; she's the supreme egotist. It'll blow your mind as to her response to Haley's traumas Her husband is more prosaic and both are clueless about their son Darren who runs the family Mercedes car dealershipshis parents, well, his mother in particular, are pressuring him to run for political office.
No love lost in this family. Dennis Farman is the nowyear-old sociopath from Deeper Than the Dead. All that remains of his dysfunctional family. Another argument for licensing parents. And a scary look inside the head of a destroyed child. Peter Crane is in jail awaiting his trial for kidnapping and assault.
Sara Morgan and her daughter Wendy are trying to come to terms with what happened as well even as Steve Morgan drifts further and further away. Jane Thomas is the head of the Thomas Center for Women. Arthur Buckman is the president of McAster College. Alexander Zahn is a socially challenged mathematics professor who found the body. Rudy Nasser is his teaching assistant. The Cover The cover gleams with its royal blue sky studded with clouds within its frame of bare trees with a flight of birds taking off into the distance. I think the title refers to the secret shared by Marissa and Gina.
Marissa certainly took her Secrets to the Grave. Goodreads Description- Marissa Fordham had a past full of secrets, a present full of lies. When Marissa is found brutally murdered, with her young daughter, Haley, resting her head on her mother's bloody breast, she sends the idyllic California town of Oak Knoll into a tailspin. Already on edge with the upcoming trial of the See- No-Evil killer, residents are shocked by reports of the crime scene, which might not have been discovered for days had it not Goodreads Description- Marissa Fordham had a past full of secrets, a present full of lies.
Already on edge with the upcoming trial of the See- No-Evil killer, residents are shocked by reports of the crime scene, which might not have been discovered for days had it not been for a chilling call: To assist with his witness, Haley, he calls teacher-turned-child advocate Anne Leone. Anne's life is hectic enough-she's a newlywed and a part- time student in child psychology, and she's the star witness in the See-No-Evil trial. But one look at Haley, alone and terrified, and Anne's heart is stolen. As Tony and Anne begin to peel back the layers of Marissa Fordham's life, they find a clue fragment here, another there.
Marissa Fordham never existed. In this second book, it is a year later than when the previous book left off, and this small California town is again plagued by another homicidal maniac. Where in the first book, everything flowed nicely, this book seemed more forced. There were also so many twists and turns that at times it just got boring. Hoag still mentioned the killer and "bad" characters from the last book, even though she didn't write of any progress in those cases. Hoag also had her large cast of characters interviewing and investigating each other so much I sometimes lost track of who was accused of doing what.
The first book didn't feel this way to me. One thing I can say is that I really didn't see the end coming until the last few chapters as the book was winding up. Even though this book wasn't as good as the first, I'm still going to read the third in the series to see if there is any real conclusion to the murders in the first book. I also want to see how the author can fit in any more murders in this town! I also want to see how many more times Anne Leone can be stabbed and still live.
I won't say anything else about that topic but if you have read this trilogy May 31, Angelica rated it liked it Shelves: Marissa, a single mother which, as I'm given to understand by the introduction, was a VERY scandalous thing during the 80s in America , is found brutally murdered and mutilated, creating an upheaval in the idyllic small town of Oak Knoll. Still recovering from the events in the previous book, Vince Leone, Tony Mendez and Anne Leone are called in to investigate.
Once again, it is entertaining, but I'm left a bit disappointed. But, this time, not just because the raging feminist in me was left wanting. It has a lot of suspense and a bit of mystery, and it is well-constructed, but way too similar to the first book. It's basically the same story, she only changed the characters around a bit. They are well-written enough. Nothing special or outstanding. Nothing too bad either. She did try to play with how the people were reacting to the fact that a seemingly peaceful small town was plagued by horrific events.
Still, it's a bit of a stretch to have all these crimes happening in the same place. Not very lyric, but not complicated and obscure, either. A few gay men. She plays with the idea of outing, too. She does write female characters better than most. They're very complex, with their own reasons and feelings. Still, there's a subtle internalized misogyny permeating the words that is very bothersome after a while. First of all, this is the second time she throws Anne under the bus to have Vince rescue her.
Sure, usually Anne can take care of herself, but the constant putting women in danger to create suspense for the men who have to save them is getting old to me.
This is also the second time we have a woman who's narcissistic and self-absorbed causing trouble for everyone. I'm not denying that women who are self-absorbed and narcissistic exist, or that they're capable of causing trouble, but when you surround them with "good" women who take care of their men and are selfless to the point of self-destruction, you're sending the message that women are supposed to put other people especially men and children above themselves.
Add to that the fact that everybody in the book defines healthy romantic relationships as a man's ownership over a woman and you have a very toxic book, especially when it tries to pass as feminist writing. Knowing the Score, by Kat Latham Nov 07, Laura de Leon rated it really liked it Shelves: OK, calling this book a fun read, or an entertaining one doesn't quite send the right message.
It's a compelling mystery, with some great characters. It's also quite disturbing, deliberately so. Secrets to the Grave looks at several aspects of violence, starting with an extremely brutal murder of a young mother, and the attempted murder of her 4 year old child. Several other characters are brutally attacked, some characters are living with the results of previous violence-- some recent, some from OK, calling this book a fun read, or an entertaining one doesn't quite send the right message. Several other characters are brutally attacked, some characters are living with the results of previous violence-- some recent, some from childhood long past.
I started to list all the characters I liked, but decided not to bother. The book is full of generally likable but interesting people. If Vince and Anne walk a little too close to the too good to be true line, they have enough personality and struggles to keep them worth reading about. The children are a large part of what makes the book interesting and disturbing. Disturbing, due to what 4 year old Haley has been through; disturbing, due to what 12 year old Dennis has done, and even more, what he'd like to do.
Again, each is an intriguing character on their own well, as much so as a realistic 4 year old can be , and they way they work into the events of the story builds on that. The supporting cast of police officers and suspects and other people of interest were varied in situation and personality. I admit to having some trouble keeping track of the names of some of the characters-- I think this is my weakness, and it is one that came back to bite me toward the end of the book. Until then, I could keep the characters straight by context, but a few references at the end left me with the sinking feeling that I wasn't quite sure who was being referred to.
I'd recommend paying closer attention that I did to this aspect. Another detail of this story that interested me was the choice of setting it in the s. I occasionally wondered if the only reason for this decision was to avoid computers and cell phones. Mostly, it didn't matter, but occasionally it seemed like the author was winking at the readers, about things we know or take for granted, but which weren't yet part of the lives of these characters.
In addition, there were a couple of points where I was pulled out of my reading, wondering if this or that detail was authentic to the time period. Probably they were but it still disrupted my reading to think about it. If you like a violent but thoughtful mystery with well thought out characters, check out this book. Oct 10, Gloria Bernal rated it really liked it. They live in a fictitious suburb of Los Angeles. Both his parents expired in book 1. He is an evil boy that enjoys hurting people.
Anne has taken it upon herself to meet with him weekly at the facility and try to help him avoid going to a juvenile correctional facility.