Eve Parrish is a new to me author, and Her First Mistake is her debut novel…as Eve Parrish. It bothers me when an author writes under different names. In old time publishing, I get it. It was probably the publishers that pushed an author to have different pennames for different genres. Myself, I don’t think it is necessary. If I love what an author is writing, I’ll read anything by them. Yeah, I might not rate it as high from one genre to the next, e.g. romantic suspense and plain romance. It would take something special about a plain romance to get a 4 or 5 rating from me. That being said, I enjoy 3 star reads all the time and do recommend them.
Well, I got off on a bit of a rant there, so let’s get back to the real reason we are here…Her First Mistake.
MY REVIEW
The eerie cover first caught my eye and as I investigated further, I saw – serial killer. I’m all over that. I have a fascination for serial killers, whether fact or fiction. I love teases and the Prologue did it’s job. I’m hooked.
“I’m a bad boy.” With a start like that, I think I may have issues stopping long enough to…well, whatever.
It is not bad enough they have a kidnapper, a rapist, a murderer on their hands, the Saxon County Sleeper is all three wrapped up in one and he is back with a vengeance.
Nina Viken is a detective for Saxon County, a single mother, and familiar with serial killers. She has blow after blow delivered to her, and gets up stronger each time. Her father is a convicted murdered and he says he knows who the serial killer is. The killers past is textbook, foster homes, abuse…
The book has a twist as Rayna enters the scene. Her spidey senses are sent tingling when her friend goes missing…and she wants answers, even if she has to find them herself. I love her and would hope to have a friend like her if I ever went missing.
I love reading a book with flawed, damaged characters and seeing we have a serial killer on the loose, it’s no surprise that we have one of them here. Most characters have baggage they carry, but they are caring, loyal, loving people, doing the best they can.
I love the turn the book takes at 50%. And Livie…she is so darn cute, but, aren’t most little kids?
There is a time or two where I didn’t like what NIna did or didn’t do, but I get it. That’s how we create suspense for a rousing ending. And then…another twist. Hmmmm, you are making me work for this Eve. We have plenty of suspects. My mind is bouncing around, using a process of elimination to find the last one standing. AHA…it’s you!
I felt Her First Mistake by Eve Parrish was a three star book through half of it, but the more I read, the the more the suspect list grew, the more twists that came up, the more I got involved, I knew I needed to bump it up. Good job Eve.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Her First Mistake by Eve Parrish.
GOODREADS BLURB
Her First Mistake is a serial killer thriller with a female lead and mysterious love interests.
Detective Nina Viken is no stranger to the ominous clues serial killers leave with their discarded victims.
It’s a typical method used to taunt and torture the authorities who are ruthlessly hunting them down.
This time though, everything seems a little too close to home.
When Nina gets a call that a dead body is being pulled from the Hollow Pointe Ravine, intuition tells her she’s going to have her work cut out for her. Upon arriving at the crime scene, she sees various photographs scattered along the ground. The photos feature completely nude women–bound, shackled, bloody and bruised.
At first it looks like it’s just another sick and twisted murderer on the loose…
But upon examining the body, Nina sees the signature of one of the East Coast’s most notorious serial killers–The Saxon County Slayer.
As if the pressure of finding him before he kills again wasn’t enough, Nina gets a call from her father–a convicted murder himself–saying he knows the identity of the infamous serial killer.
With little evidence to point her in any other direction, Nina begins to look into her father’s claims.
Regardless of whether her father is telling the truth or not…
The Saxon County Slayer is back.
And this time, he has a vendetta against Nina.
A vendetta that he will stop at nothing to satisfy.
ABOUT EVE PARRISH (Victoria Ellis)
Meet Victoria Ellis: Victoria Ellis writing as Eve Parrish
Victoria Ellis started out writing primarily thrillers but slowly transitioned into both poetry and contemporary romance.
Now, she is a multi-genre author that publishes Psychological Thrillers, Suspense, and Romance novels. She is also the author of two poetry collections.
Victoria has a penname, Gemma Stone, for her upcoming romance novels that she plans on releasing. It was important to her to separate romance from thrillers. Be on the lookout for more Gemma Stone news in 2021 and 2022!
Victoria is the founder of Cruel Ink Publishing, LLC.
She resides near Chicago, Illinois with her husband, newborn daughter, and an abundance of animals.
Connect with Victoria Ellis:
- Website: https://authorvictoriaellis.com
- Newsletter: https://bit.ly/3eGWHdi
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authoreveparrish/
- Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19144039.Victoria_Ellis
- Amazon Author Page: https://amzn.to/3GfD4Wm
- Reader Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thebookcultbyvictoriaandcady/
- BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/victoria-ellis
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/victoriaellisthrillerauthor
This sounds like quite the page-turner!