RELEASE DAY: Watch Me by Jody Gehrman

Watch Me by Jody Gehrman

A Gripping Psychological Thriller

For fans of dark and twisty psychological thrillers, Watch Me is a riveting novel of suspense about how far obsession can go.

Kate Youngblood is disappearing. Muddling through her late 30s as a creative writing professor at Blackwood college, she’s dangerously close to never being noticed again. The follow-up novel to her successful debut tanked. Her husband left her for a woman ten years younger. She’s always been bright, beautiful, independent and a little wild, but now her glow is starting to vanish. She’s heading into an age where her eyes are less blue, her charm worn out, and soon no one will ever truly look at her, want to know her, again. 

Except one.

Sam Grist is Kate’s most promising student. An unflinching writer with razor-sharp clarity who gravitates towards dark themes and twisted plots, his raw talent is something Kate wants to nurture into literary success. But he’s not there solely to be the best writer. He’s been watching her. Wanting her. Working his way to her for years. 

As Sam slowly makes his way into Kate’s life, they enter a deadly web of dangerous lies and forbidden desire. But how far will his fixation go? And how far will she allow it?

A gripping novel exploring intense obsession and illicit attraction, Jody Gehrman introduces a world where what you desire most may be the most dangerous thing of all.

Add to Goodreads

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Google Play

I love the uniqueness of this cover. It’s a great glimpse into what this book is going to be about. The broken glass over the image of the woman is creepy. However, once you look at the broken area and notice the dark night with a man’s image it takes on a sinister feel. That is exactly what I got from this book… dark and sinister hiding in plain sight! I’m always excited to read the debut thriller book of an author. I feel like we’re gonna get some fantastically-enjoyable nights from Miss Jody Gehrman!

One of the main characters, Kate Youngblood is an author of a pretty successful book. After 10 years of marriage she is a recently divorced woman who’s struggling a bit with her husband falling for younger women. Kate is currently teaching at a small town college. She feels herself being drawn to a student. Finally, she’s remembering that heat, that passion that’s been lost for so long. Here Kate is, all of a sudden, falling for a younger man… a student, no less! She’s feeling sexy again… feeling that sizzling heat again for a man… a much younger man!

Our lucky young student, Sam, is just as infatuated with Kate… maybe a bit more so. Kate might be struggling with her infatuation but Sam is all on board and completely and utterly smitten. But Sam has a bit of a secret. He’s been in love with Kate for years and has been plotting his way right to her. Sam is completely crazy about Kate, and I mean that literally, not figuratively. I love how slowly, but surely, Jody Gehrman breaks down Sam’s character and shows us his true obsession.

What a disturbing read from Gehrman! I was delighted that this was her debut into thrillers, it sure didn’t read or feel like one. The dialog between the main characters was fantastic and the alternating POVs pulls you into their minds and makes you think.  I love how we are given bit by little bit of the two flawed characters. Completely enthralling read!

I received an ARC of this book with the hope that I will leave an Unbiased Opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that... my opinions.

 

Jody Gehrman is a native of Northern California, where she can be found writing, teaching, reading, or obsessing over her three cats most days. She is also the author of eleven novels and numerous award-winning plays.

Her Young Adult novel Babe in Boyland was optioned by the Disney Channel and won the International Reading Association's Teen Choice Award.

Her plays have been produced in Ashland, New York, San Francisco, Chicago and L.A. She and her partner David Wolf won the New Generation Playwrights Award for their one-act, Jake Savage, Jungle P.I.

She is a professor of English and Communications at Mendocino College.

 

Website | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube

RELEASE DAY: The Other Girl by Erica Spindler

THE OTHER GIRL

BY ERICA SPINDLER

A horrific crime. One witness—a fifteen year old girl from the wrong side of the tracks, one known for lying and her own brushes with the law.
Is it any surprise no one believed her?

Officer Miranda Rader of the Harmony, Louisiana PD is known for her honesty, integrity, and steady hand in a crisis—but that wasn’t always so. Miranda comes from the town of Jasper, a place about the size of a good spit on a hot day, and her side of the tracks was the wrong one. She’s worked hard to earn the respect of her coworkers and the community.

When Miranda and her partner are called to investigate the murder of one of the town’s most beloved college professors, they’re unprepared for the brutality of the scene. This murder is unlike any they’ve ever investigated, and just when Miranda thinks she’s seen the worst of it, she finds a piece of evidence that chills her to the core: a faded newspaper clipping about that terrible night fifteen years ago.

The night she’d buried, along with her past and the girl she’d been back then. Until now that grave had stayed sealed . . . except for those times, in the deepest part of the night, when the nightmares came, of a crime no one believed happened and the screams of the girl they believed didn’t exist.
Another man turns up dead, this one a retired cop. Not just any cop—the one who took her statement that night. Two murders, two very different men, two killings that on the surface had nothing in common—except Miranda.

More evidence emerges, and Miranda finds herself under the microscope, her honesty and integrity doubted, her motivations questioned. Alone, the way she’d been all those years ago, Miranda realizes she must face her past to find the truth—before it’s too late. For her . . . and the other girl.

 Goodreads

BUY NOW

AMAZON | AUDIBLE | iBOOKS | BARNES & NOBLE 

INDIE BOUND | KOBO | WALMART | NOOK

 

Erica Spindler

A New York Times and International bestselling author, Erica Spindler's skill for crafting engrossing plots and compelling characters has earned both critical praise and legions of fans. Published in 25 countries, her stories have been lauded as “thrill-packed page turners, white- knuckle rides and edge-of-your-seat whodunits.”

SUSPENSE – ERICA’S TRUE CALLING

Raised in Rockford, Illinois, Erica had planned on being an artist, earning a BFA from Delta State University and an MFA from the University of New Orleans in the visual arts. In June of 1982, in bed with a cold, she picked up a romance novel for relief from daytime television. She was immediately hooked, and soon decided to try to write one herself. She leaped from romance to suspense in 1996 with her novel Forbidden Fruit, and found her true calling.

Her novel Bone Cold won the prestigious Daphne du Maurier Award for excellence. A Romance Writers of America Honor Roll member, she received a Kiss of Death Award for her novels Forbidden Fruit and Dead Run and was a three-time RITA® Award finalist.  Publishers Weekly awarded the audio version of her novel Shocking Pink a Listen Up Award, naming it one of the best audio mystery books of 1998.  

Erica lives just outside New Orleans, Louisiana, with her husband and two sons and is busy at work on her next thriller.

Check out more of Erica's work HERE

Facebook | WEBSITE | TWITTER | GOODREADS | PINTEREST

This was my first Erica Spindler book, and what an introduction it was! I was pulled in by this story and flew through it in about 2 days! I’ve glanced at the other Erica Spindler books and it seems she has a large following and is pretty consistently rated at least 4 Stars. That’s important to me! I’ve added Erica Spindler to my TBR books… when I get some down time (haha) I’ll be sure to revisit some of her previous stories. 

The Other Girl starts of extremely strong. A popular English professor is found murdered with some evidence left behind to make some people think he wasn’t well liked for his manly ways! Miranda, the lead detective, is an interesting character. She’s smart but lacking a bit since I stayed step-by-step with her. So why is this professor who is liked by all, killed in such a way? Let’s not leave out the fact that daddy is a prominent and wealthy man in the area… he’s also playing the Captain like a puppet. That drove me insane, I like good strong characters and the captain made me want to smack him around!

This was such a gripping read… you’ll feel like you’re on this roller coaster ride that shoots from the past and whirls into the present. Yeah, I was able to guess who the killer was fairly early, I am a lover of thrillers after all, I found the story to still keep me enthralled, interested. I really like the short snippets of the past tossed in… just when we’re getting elbow deep into the story Spidler will take us back to the past and leave us wondering.

I found The Other Girl to be very well plotted and an extremely entertaining read. There were points within this book that I was rushing through the pages wondering what was going to happen next. I’ll give you some of it being pretty obvious, and some other being fairly funny, but it still had some good twists and some good character development. The characters were well developed with a realistic dialogue. I could really relate to Miranda and her back and forth with her partner Jake. Nothing is a secret in a small town! I found that I wanted to know more about Miranda and Jake.

I received an ARC of this book with the hope that I would leave an Unbiased Opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that... my opinions.