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Saturday, October 15, 2022

Review: Desperate Act (Pike, Wisconsin #4)

 Desperate Act (Pike, Wisconsin #4)

Alexandra Ivy

Blurb:

Teenager Lia Porter shouldn’t have been anywhere near the railroad bridge that night. Sneaking home after a party in the fields outside Pike, Wisconsin, she glimpsed a woman in a leather jacket, running in terror. Lia puts the incident from her mind—until a body is found near the same spot fifteen years later, wearing the same jacket. The police rule it a suicide. Lia knows different. The woman she saw was trying to save her own life, not end it. But whatever she was fleeing from found her first . . .

The stranger who arrives at Lia’s store shares her suspicions. Hollywood stunt driver Kaden Vaughn has come home to Wisconsin to learn the truth about what happened to his brother’s fiancée years ago. The leather jacket, the timing—he believes the dead woman is Vanna, and that Lia may be the only person who can help. Together they retrace Vanna’s steps, but the more they dig, the darker the secrets become.

The killer is still out there, stalking the streets of Pike again, willing to do whatever is necessary to keep the truth locked in mystery. One by one, all those who know something about that night must be silenced, until there is no one left to tell . . .


Themes:  Contemporary

Rating: 4 stars

Heat Rating: 

Review:

One just can’t go wrong with a spine-tingling murder mystery, especially one that has been lingering for over fifteen years and has haunted two families and a small town that continues to have problems with corruption, serial killers, and dangerous residents. I have found myself more and more intrigued by Alexandra Ivy’s romantic suspense, though I remain partial to her paranormal series, but my favorite is definitely this series. This latest story begins with a young Lia sneaking young after a party she should never have been attending, but she can’t find any proof that she truly saw a woman murdered until fifteen years later when a body is found in the same area and she recognizes the clothes on the body. Hollywood bad boy Kaden Vaughn also recognizes the leaked photos of the clothes on the body and he comes to town to aid in the investigation, insisting that he can be of help.  He knows that the body is his late brother’s fiancé and is determined to find out the truth of what happened to her as a last favor in honor of his brother.  But as Lia and Kaden team up to find out the truth of what happened all those years ago secrets begin to unravel and they soon find themselves at the center of a dangerous conspiracy, one that could cost one or both of them their lives.  There is someone out there determined to silence them and make sure their secret never comes to light, but if they trust in one another and the connection they’ve found in the most unlikely of circumstances, there is the smallest chance they will survive to find the happiness they’ve both always wanted. Kaden was a great character, badass and determined to honor his brother’s memory by solving his finance’s murder, but he was also determined to make sure that Lia stayed safe. He was strong, smart, sweet, kind, and loving even when there were moments, he was just that little bit lost as he was confronted with Lia’s small-town mentality.  I enjoyed seeing him slow down and accept that he doesn’t always have to be going 90-to-nothing in order to be contributing, but can instead just be standing still and ultimately still be happy.  Lia was an enigma on the surface, but her motivations were pure and once we got to know her, she was a great character too.  She’s stayed in her small town, giving up some of her own dreams in order to support her community and make sure that they have what they need, but she has made a real difference.  She is intelligent, witty, dogged, and resourceful as she looks into the past with Kaden.  The heat between these two was one that sneaks up on them but I enjoyed watching them succumb to their passion as they fell in love.  I am looking forward to more in this series, because really who know that there was such a seedy underbelly or killers, corruption, and darkness in the middle of nowhere Wisconsin. Keep it up, Alexandra!

*eARC provided by publisher (via NetGalley) for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review.  No compensation was provided.

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