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Scathed by Sue Coletta is book three of the Grafton County Series. I am a huge fan of the suspense/thriller genre and love my serial killers, so reading Sue’s work is a no brainer.

Look at that fabulous cover. Doesn’t it make you want to pick it up?

EJR Digital Art did a fantastic job.

Amazon  /  Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Sue Coletta has the ability to deliver a gripping storyline from the opening page and that gets me heavily involved in the outcome. I have been reading the Grafton County series since Book I, Marred. I highly recommend this series to all you thriller lovers out there.

Sage is a crime writer and her husband, Niko, is the Sheriff of Grafton County. They are the perfect couple, when it comes to crime solving. They have a son, Noah, and a couple other kids that are of the four legged variety. The dogs would give their lives to protect them and I hope that does not come to pass.

You will also meet Deputy Frankie Campanelli. She’s snarky, taking nothing from anyone and able to deliver a sharp retort. She plays fast and loose, and it’s not just with the guys. She has her four legged friends looking out for her, too. I really love this flawed character and I feel she is heading for BIG trouble. What is she hiding? She keeps digging a deeper hole and I don’t think her dogs will be able to save her this time.

Niko got a call for a 10-50, a homicide, right around the corner from their house. Sage had warned Niko about the neighbor. Along with the murder victim is an envelope and in that envelope is a riddle. Solve it or their will be another victim. The clock is ticking…

I love that Sue has created such wonderful characters of the four legged kind too, giving them big parts to fit their big personalities. These dogs will make you think twice about coming at the human characters, even though Colt had failed K-9 training. Some dogs want to be leaders instead of followers.

Her human characters carry some heavy baggage. The past has not been kind to them and if you have been reading the Grafton County series, you will know what I mean. I feel these stories can be read alone, but I would recommend beginning at the beginning.

There are multiple mysteries going on and I wonder if they will come together, or are there multiple bad guys. I will have to wait and see.

Sue Coletta slowly builds the suspense, making me race through the pages, determined not to cheat and skip ahead. She flips from character to character and that, not only allows me to see the action from each character’s viewpoint, but it also builds a sense of intense anticipation.

My only complaint…the ending of the mystery seemed a bit abrupt. Is there a bit of a cliffhanger, leaving us to continue the series in another book? Or did I read a bit of hope into the situation? I know what I think, but I will be waiting to see what Sue Coletta comes up with next. The stories are too good for the series to end.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Scathed by Sue Coletta.

4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

On a picturesque fall morning in Grafton County, New Hampshire, a brutal murder rocks the small town of Alexandria. In the backyard of a weekend getaway cabin, a dead woman is posed in red-satin, with two full-bloomed roses in place of eyes.

In her hand, a mysterious envelope addressed to Sheriff Niko Quintano. Inside, Paradox vows to kill again if his riddle isn’t solved within 24 hours.

With so little time and not enough manpower, Niko asks his wife for help. But Crime Writer Sage Quintano is dealing with her own private nightmare. Not only did she find massive amounts of blood on the mountain where she and her family reside, but a phone call from the past threatens her future—the creepy mechanical voice of John Doe, the serial killer who murdered her twin sister.

Together, can Niko and Sage solve the riddle in time to save the next victim? Or will the killer win this deadly game of survival?