Kiss Me, Kill Me

Author: Maggie Shayne
Genre: Suspense/Mystery
Pages: 394
First Published: 2010
Series: 3rd book in 'Secrets of Shadow Falls' series
Series Order:

1. Killing Me Softly (2010)
2. Kill Me Again (2010)

First Line: "Carrie Overton had known her life was about to change forever."

Synopsis: Dr Carrie Overton is driving to her new job as a doctor in Shadow Falls when she sees a young woman at the side of the road who is in labour. Carrie delivers the baby but shortly afterwards the woman disappears, leaving a note with her newborn. In the note the birth mother asks Carrie to raise the baby as her own. Carrie, who is unable to give birth herself, decides to fulfill a life-long dream to be a mother. When the birth mother is murdered a little while later Carrie decides to keep the secret to herself.

Sixteen years later, she and her son Sam are still living in Shadow Falls. When one of Sam's friends goes missing the police initially think of it as a runaway issue. But when the boy's body is found and then another teen disappears the small town fears that they may have a murderer among them. When newcomer Gabriel Cain visits Shadow Falls and starts asking too many questions Carrie becomes suspicious but does Gabe have secrets of his own that he must keep to himself?

My Thoughts: This is a fast-paced suspense novel that is able to keep up the momentum and tension that is necessary for this type of book. There are lots of twists and turns, and a little romance to boot. The romance and some of the romantic writing has a slight whiff of fromage but overall it adds to the overall storyline. I actually enjoyed the relationship between Sam and his teenage girlfriend more than Carrie and her beau. I found the young couple's relationship more authentic.

At first I thought this 400 page book would be a slower read just based on the size of the book but I read this book in a little over 2 days and found it hard to put down. I did have an inkling about 'who dunnit' but the author managed to give me one last twist and I ended up guessing wrong. Love that!! :)

It's the third book in the Shadow Falls series but I found it quite easy to read this book without reading the previous two. I'm really looking forward to reading more from this author. Highly recommend.

My Rating: 4/5 stars