BOOK REVIEW - "COLD VENGEANCE" (RYLAND & ST. CLAIR BOOK THREE)

Can River Ryland and Tony St. Clair find the missing podcast hostess, assuming she's still alive after being missing the greater part of a year? Is reuniting River's wayward father with her Alzheimer stricken mother a good idea or a potential disaster? And will River survive the well-planned vengeance by the accomplice of a serial killer who failed killing River once and has no place for failing again?

"Cold Vengeance" is the final part of the Ryland & St. Clair trilogy. If you haven't read the previous entries - "Cold Pursuit" and "Cold Threat" - I would highly advise you read them in order, to be able to follow the story (the previous two books had cliffhanger endings). While each novel had its own story and corresponding characters, there are two overarching threads that tie the three together.

This story is steady moving - it seems slow at parts, but the menace of the serial killer keeps the edge to it. The characters are also easy to like (I'll admit, I grew to like River better through the series). 

I do recommend this book and the series, which is not a surprise because I enjoy reading Nancy Mehl - this is the 20th book and 6th series of hers I've read.

BOOK REVIEW: COLD THREAT (RYLAND & ST. CLAIR BOOK 2) BY NANCY MEHL

Can the recent arsons in small town Burlington be connected to the three Des Moines fires twenty years ago, where they caught the killer after the third house? Is the psycopath who almost killed River Ryland years ago and is currently stalking her going to achieve his goal? And was Ryland responsible for her co-worker and friend Tony St. Clair getting shot when Ryland was nearly drowned?

"Cold Threat," the second part of Nancy Mehl's Ryland & St. James series, turns up the heat in excitement, plot twists, nail-biting suspense, and excellent character development. You learn to love the main characters and Tony's family, as well as have a hard time figuring out what will happen next.

Yes, this is part two. Do you need to read part one first to enjoy the two books? Definitely. "Cold Pursuit" deals more with River's family, which is hinted at in the second though not a major part of this installment, and there's a few things that will make more sense in this book. when you read the books in order. Additionally, both books end with a cliff-hanger, connected with the person who almost killed the main characters before this series started!

I have enjoyed Nancy Mehl for years, and I highly recommend this to any suspense lover.

 

BOOK REVIEW - COLD PURSUIT (RYLAND & ST. CLAIR BOOK 1) BY NANCY MEHL

 

Does the imprisoned serial killer, who nearly killed former F.B.I. behavior analysts/current private investigators River Ryland and Tony St. Clair, have an accomplice on the loose to finish the job? And can these fledgling detectives discover what happened to a young man who vanished four years ago?

Cold Pursuit is the first of a new series by award winning novelist Nancy Mehl, introducing a pair of new protagonists. If you've read her latest series - Defenders of Justice, Kaely Quinn Profiler, and the Quantico Files - and enjoyed the edge of your seat suspense, then you'll enjoy this series as well.

Nancy Mehl is excellent in creating complex, struggling characters as well nail biting plots. Personally, the complexity and struggling of River Ryland made it hard for me to really like her at first. That changed as the story progressed. Now Tony St. Clair? I related to him basically from the start.

I'm looking forward to the next story. One unique thing about this novel: most of the time, Mehl wraps up the story, even though you know there's more development for her heroes and their relationships. This one has a bit of a cliff-hanger.

I highly recommend this novel, which I received from the publisher for my unbiased review.