Ultimate Fear by Kristine Mason is another awesome novel in the CORE series.
If you haven’t read any of her work, you are missing out on a fantastic romantic suspense writer.
An angel in the Book of Life wrote down my baby’s birth. And whispered as she closed the book, “Too beautiful for earth.”
Author Unknown
CovertoCover Designs: Kari Ayasha.
MY REVIEW
The doll on the cover is pretty creepy, spine tingling. I found out, Kristine plans all her covers ahead of time. I love them all. They are simple and uncluttered, speaking loudly to me – danger, Will Robinson, danger.
I am very bad. As soon as my copy hit my Kindle, I dropped everything to begin reading! Kristine’s writing keeps me on the edge of my seat, hardly able to contain myself.
Blood – the very first word in the book. This is why I love Kristine Mason’s writing. I know it’s going to be bad, but I am loving the bad……and the good I know will come. I am riveted from the very first word and it never lets me go.
My notes are so long, I don’t know how I am going to condense them down into a coherent review. I want so much to let you know the horror, heartache, anger and rage that someone goes through when the worst thing a parent can imagine happens. Some people isolate themselves, while others need the comfort of those close to them.
The POV shifts back and forth and I love being able to see through each characters eyes.
Wayne and Dimples are some messed up people. After he told her she could no longer have children, he promised her he would do whatever it took to make her happy. The only thing that would make her happy is to ‘replace’ their Elton. His promise took him so far over the line, he will never find his way back.
Detective Jessica Donavan works murders and suicides, since the kidnapping of her daughter, Sophia. It has been six years, two months and four days. Jessica had let the tragedy drive her and Dante, her husband, apart, instead of closer together. She is stubborn, full of rage and anger, unable to see past it. She seemed real to me. Who knows how we would react. Would we be able to see past our own pain and be able to help our mate cope?
Dante has gone from a badass SEAL to a Ghandi wannabe.
I love Dante. He is so patient with Jessica, taking her abuse and rage in stride, hoping they will find their way back to each other. He bends over backwards to show her that she is his world. Dante had been the first recruit into CORE – which is second only to the FBI and CIA. He always finishes what he starts.
Jessica had left the house. The memories were so bad, she couldn’t cope with them. She refuses to accept that, even though she can’t live with Dante, she can’t live without him either.
Jessica would call to remind Dante to water the garden. Was that her excuse to stay in touch? I love the fact that Dante had put a timer on the sprinkler system for the garden, but he kept it a secret and used it to lure Jessica home, at least long enough to check on the garden.
Even though they live separately, Jessica kept in touch with another CORE employee, Rachel, their resident computer guru. Rachel kept her updated on missing children.
Dante thinks she is in deep psychological trouble, until he discovers she spends all her extra time, not just, looking for Sophia, but hunting down other missing children. She had been saving some, telling no one. She couldn’t hug her child, so she was determined to enable others with get their lost kids back. She has discovered a serial kidnapper. They will work together to chase him down.
I am already seeing their future. All the CORE men are sexy and deliciously yummy, all you want in an easy to love man package.
I loved the shower scene, each on different sides of the curtain. It seemed real. Their need to protect themselves, made it impossible for them to let down their defenses and communicate. Sometimes it is easier to if you are not face to face. Of course, we knew they will get back together, it is a romance suspense after all. The way Kristine has them work past their insecurities seems so real.
Kristine describes Jessica’s brown/green eyes to a Matuka fishing fly. Now that is some descriptive writing that enables us to visualize them. Funny Kristine, a fishing fly? LOL
Photo from english fly fishing flies website
Kristine can segue from a deep passionate kiss in the here and now, to a gruesome crime scene they had visited earlier, seamlessly. It is writing like this that keeps even a lengthy book, so hard to put down. I can only read for so many hours before my eyes start crossing or my hubby says “Is that all you’re gonna do all day? Read? Life is too short, so let’s go out to the beach for dinner and a sunset.” Well, I can’t say no to that.
When the stories converge, an urgency comes with it. A woman and her child’s life hang in the balance. The kidnappers have Chloe. I have good feelings about the drug addicted pregnant prostitute. Sometimes we can walk through the Gates of Hell and come out better than we entered.
I should have seen the ending coming sooner, but I was so into what I was currently reading to look very far ahead. I was totally absorbed in this horrific story.
Ultimate Prey, Book Three of the Ultimate Core Trilogy is Lola’s story. Lola, is Dante’s partner and he is supposed to be training her. He is a bit neglectful, because he is spending so much time helping Jessica locate the serial kidnappers. I am eagerly awaiting the opportunity to read what’s up with her.
Sometimes we have to lose something to find what it is we’ve been really looking for.
“Always…and forever?”
How could she not realize she was his everything.
“Until the day I die.”
I received Ultimate Fear from Kristine Mason in return for an honest and unbiased review.
5 Stars – Would Buy It For Them (lol)
Are you afraid of the laundry room?
The laundry room evokes many emotions for me…frustration, disgust and, yes, fear. I’m afraid of what lurks inside, especially during football season. The shoulder pads that smell like sweaty, dirty boys, the jocks that had been tossed on the floor, the muddy, stinky cleats. This room frustrates me because I have baskets to house the football equipment, only my three boys can’t seem to grasp the concept that everything has a place. This room disgusts me (remember the jocks?). But am I really afraid of my laundry room? Okay, fear is a strong word, but I do dread going in there. Since it’s the easiest way to get to the garage, I have no choice but to face what I truly dread.
My three-year-old daughter doesn’t fully understand the concept of fear, but she’s finding things that do scare her and I’ve had to find ways to reassure her that, for example, the sounds at night are just crickets singing (she’s still unconvinced and refuses to sleep with the window open). Then there’s my middle son who won’t go to sleep with the window open because what if a robber uses a ladder to climb the roof and comes through his window (I’m seeing a trend with open windows)?
I recently Googled how to overcome fear and came across several articles that all gave similar advice: A: Analyze your fear and define it. In other words, what’s your fear and what triggers it? How does it affect you? Is it dangerous or life threatening? What would be the outcome if you faced your fear? B: Don’t let fear control you. Numb yourself to those fears and confront them. C: Don’t allow your fear to hold power over you. One site I looked at suggested to “make your fears a source of fascination” and discover why your fear holds so much power over you.
When I was a kid, like my middle son, I was afraid of someone sneaking into my room, and terrified of horror movies. I could remember hating Halloween because horror movies would be airing during that week. I would become physically sick when I checked the Sunday paper TV guide and saw that Halloween or Jaws was going to be airing. Don’t even get me started on The Exorcist. That fear stayed with me until college. I can’t remember what the course I’d taken was, but I do remember that the professor had analyzed The Exorcist as a way to give the class a better understanding of how subliminal messages can affect people and, in the case of this particular movie, arouse fear. If you pause The Exorcist at certain points in the movie you’ll see these creepy flashes of a white, skeletal face. The first time I saw it, my skin crawled with unease, but it did waylay my fears to a degree and it turned my fear of horror movies into a fascination. I began watching them, studying them and had come to love them. Now when I put on a horror flick, I’m ready, waiting and wondering…will this movie scare me? Some do, but most don’t. Slasher films are meh, demonic ones? Well, those tend to scare the crap out of me. The Paranormal Activity movies had me very tense. I think taking ordinary people, living in the burbs and having strange things happening in the house is beyond creepy.
Now, I don’t write horror. I write romantic suspense. But one of the great things about a good horror movie is the suspense. You know something is going to happen. The music is telling you to prepare yourself (or in the case of Paranormal Activity it’s the time stamp on the video camera), and yet when that scare moment happens, I still get all jumpy.
I might be over my fear of horror movies, but I have plenty of other fears. Bridges and heights terrify me. Going past my knees in ocean or lake water, being stranded on the side of the road late at night with nothing but woods surrounding me and no cell phone reception. But if you want to know what really scares me…it’s in my latest release Ultimate Fear (Book 2 Ultimate CORE). I’ll give you a hint. I’m a mother of four.
So…what’s your ultimate fear? One day next week I’ll be posting more of mine on Facebook and Twitter and asking people to tell me what they fear the most. One commenter will receive a signed copy of my new release Ultimate Fear. So like my Facebook page or follow me on Twitter. Tell me what scares you and enter for a chance to win a copy of my book. I’m anxious to read what people fear the most…dying, the dark, spiders, snakes…or maybe what lurks inside your laundry room?
– See more at: http://magicalmusings.com/2014/08/21/guest-author-kristine-mason/#sthash.bupGgOWp.dpuf
Are you afraid of the laundry room?
The laundry room evokes many emotions for me…frustration, disgust and, yes, fear. I’m afraid of what lurks inside, especially during football season. The shoulder pads that smell like sweaty, dirty boys, the jocks that had been tossed on the floor, the muddy, stinky cleats. This room frustrates me because I have baskets to house the football equipment, only my three boys can’t seem to grasp the concept that everything has a place. This room disgusts me (remember the jocks?). But am I really afraid of my laundry room? Okay, fear is a strong word, but I do dread going in there. Since it’s the easiest way to get to the garage, I have no choice but to face what I truly dread.
My three-year-old daughter doesn’t fully understand the concept of fear, but she’s finding things that do scare her and I’ve had to find ways to reassure her that, for example, the sounds at night are just crickets singing (she’s still unconvinced and refuses to sleep with the window open). Then there’s my middle son who won’t go to sleep with the window open because what if a robber uses a ladder to climb the roof and comes through his window (I’m seeing a trend with open windows)?
I recently Googled how to overcome fear and came across several articles that all gave similar advice: A: Analyze your fear and define it. In other words, what’s your fear and what triggers it? How does it affect you? Is it dangerous or life threatening? What would be the outcome if you faced your fear? B: Don’t let fear control you. Numb yourself to those fears and confront them. C: Don’t allow your fear to hold power over you. One site I looked at suggested to “make your fears a source of fascination” and discover why your fear holds so much power over you.
When I was a kid, like my middle son, I was afraid of someone sneaking into my room, and terrified of horror movies. I could remember hating Halloween because horror movies would be airing during that week. I would become physically sick when I checked the Sunday paper TV guide and saw that Halloween or Jaws was going to be airing. Don’t even get me started on The Exorcist. That fear stayed with me until college. I can’t remember what the course I’d taken was, but I do remember that the professor had analyzed The Exorcist as a way to give the class a better understanding of how subliminal messages can affect people and, in the case of this particular movie, arouse fear. If you pause The Exorcist at certain points in the movie you’ll see these creepy flashes of a white, skeletal face. The first time I saw it, my skin crawled with unease, but it did waylay my fears to a degree and it turned my fear of horror movies into a fascination. I began watching them, studying them and had come to love them. Now when I put on a horror flick, I’m ready, waiting and wondering…will this movie scare me? Some do, but most don’t. Slasher films are meh, demonic ones? Well, those tend to scare the crap out of me. The Paranormal Activity movies had me very tense. I think taking ordinary people, living in the burbs and having strange things happening in the house is beyond creepy.
Now, I don’t write horror. I write romantic suspense. But one of the great things about a good horror movie is the suspense. You know something is going to happen. The music is telling you to prepare yourself (or in the case of Paranormal Activity it’s the time stamp on the video camera), and yet when that scare moment happens, I still get all jumpy.
I might be over my fear of horror movies, but I have plenty of other fears. Bridges and heights terrify me. Going past my knees in ocean or lake water, being stranded on the side of the road late at night with nothing but woods surrounding me and no cell phone reception. But if you want to know what really scares me…it’s in my latest release Ultimate Fear (Book 2 Ultimate CORE). I’ll give you a hint. I’m a mother of four.
So…what’s your ultimate fear? One day next week I’ll be posting more of mine on Facebook and Twitter and asking people to tell me what they fear the most. One commenter will receive a signed copy of my new release Ultimate Fear. So like my Facebook page or follow me on Twitter. Tell me what scares you and enter for a chance to win a copy of my book. I’m anxious to read what people fear the most…dying, the dark, spiders, snakes…or maybe what lurks inside your laundry room?
– See more at: http://magicalmusings.com/2014/08/21/guest-author-kristine-mason/#sthash.bupGgOWp.dpuf
Ultimate Fear by Kristine Mason
SYNOPSIS
When a deranged mother’s grief drives her to replace her dead son over and over, obsession leads to murder…
Chicago detective Jessica Donavan will never stop looking for her missing daughter. Her obsession has destroyed her marriage, but the search is the only thing that helps keep her sane and her mind off of everything she’s lost—her husband and her baby girl. When she uncovers a string of unsolved disappearances and reappearances of a number of baby boys, Jessica turns to her soon to be ex, Dante Russo, a former Navy SEAL turned investigator for the private agency, CORE, to help her fit together the pieces in this perplexing puzzle. But as Dante helps her, she realizes just how much she still craves his support—and his touch.
Dante is still in love with his wife and would do anything to have her back in his life again. He’s been miserable since she left him to deal with the grief over their daughter’s abduction, never understanding how much he grieves as well. When Jessica tells him about the case she’s working, he jumps at the chance to take part in her investigation. He’s hoping not only to save their marriage and ease his personal pain over the loss of their daughter, but also to stop a serial kidnapper from taking another victim.
As Jessica and Dante work side by side, pregnant women begin to turn up missing or dead, and they start to uncover the consequences of another woman’s unfathomable grief. The childless mother doesn’t just want a baby. She wants a newborn straight from the womb.
And when forced to confront the dark and twisted perversion of a mother’s obsession, can Jessica and Dante find their lives again…or merely more death?
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AUTHOR BIO AND LINKS
I didn’t pick up my first romance novel until I was in my late twenties. Immediately hooked, I read a bazillion books before deciding to write one of my own. After the birth of my first son I needed something to keep my mind from turning to mush, and Sesame Street wasn’t cutting it. While that first book will never see the light of day, something good came from writing it. I realized my passion and found a career I love.
When I’m not writing contemporary romances and dark, romantic suspense novels (or reading them!) I’m chasing after my four kids and two neurotic dogs.
I’VE BEEN RUNNING A “CONTEST” ON MY WEBSITE. JOIN MY NEWSLETTER AND HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO WIN A $50 AMAZON GC.
Website / Email: authorkristinemason@gmail.com, / Facebook / Twitter
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Click on a cover below to pick up an Amazon copy of a Kristine Mason novel now. If you are a thriller and suspense lover, this is an author you want to get to know.
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GIVEAWAY
Kristine Mason is having a fantastic giveaway on her website. Four signed copies of the suspense/thrillers listed below are up for grabs. Visit her WEBSITE to enter.
Ultimate Kill by Kristine Mason
The Collector by Nora Roberts
When Day Breaks by Maya Banks
Finding Kate Huntley by Theresa Ragan
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Check out my reviews for Kristine Mason’s novels…….so far.
My 5 Star Review for Ultimate Kill
My Review of Shadow of Vengeance
My 5 STAR Review for Shadow of Danger
My 5 STAR Review for Shadow of Perception
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If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
Look on the right sidebar and let’s talk.
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Descriptive writing is one of my favourite styles, however that cover is super creepy, and I’m worried that this story’s vivid details might give me nightmares. That shower scene you mentioned though sounds like it was really well executed, and you know how much I love me some good man-candy. Hehe You’ve given quite the dilemma this morning, Sherry!
LOL I love that you’re torn between nightmare and man candy!
Thank you SO much for this awesome review. I grew a little emotional as I read through some of your comments. You took me back to when I was writing the book, and I couldn’t help remembering how some of those scenes had affected me on so many different levels. That shower scene was one of them. The night I wrote it I was locked away in a hotel for the weekend for a solo writing retreat (Mother’s Day gift from my husband!). It was around 11:00 pm when the scene started playing out in my head. I wrote like crazy, shut down the laptop because my fingers wouldn’t cooperate and my eyes were crossing…the next morning I read through it, expecting it to be crap lol. I was pleasantly surprised it wasn’t!
You brought up the olive Matuka fishing fly…I’ve been hanging on to that description for years. My husband loves to fly fish and when we first started dating, he told me my eyes reminded him of an olive Matuka fishing fly. At first I didn’t know how to take the compliment–not the most romantic description–until he showed me the fly. 🙂
Thank you again for this wonderful review and for featuring my book. BTW, your husband is right. Life IS too short. I couldn’t pass up dinner by the beach and watching the sunset, either!!
Hi Kristine. WOW. I love your comments and am so happy you stopped in to shar you thoughts with us. I had a great time writing the review. I had so many notes and so much I wanted to share, but I kept telling myself, leave some mystery for the readers. LOL