All I had to do was see the cover and know I wanted to tour and read Battle Not With Monsters by Overton Scott

I wonder what’s going through her mind.

What do you think?

You can read my review below and be sure to enter both giveaways!

MY REVIEW

Battle Not With Monsters by Overton Scott starts out with a SMACK of the bat against her head and the first one goes down. What the hell? My eyes popped wide open and I began to wonder how many would die in the first chapter alone.

Battle Not With Monster begins with a brutal and savage murder of a beautiful young woman and keeps going from there. When Ray goes down next, I am bummed. HUH – I didn’t even get to know him and I miss him. I grieve for him, along with Justine. She had acted without thinking in the defense of Ray, her coworker, but it had done nothing but make her a target, putting a bullseye on herself. There is an evil stalking her, intending her great harm.

Justine barely squeaks by. She has a ratty car and lives in an iffy neighborhood. She has learned to be very aware and observant of her surroundings, rarely missing anything in her immediate vicinity. She is an expert in the martial arts, a quick judge of character and situations. She is fit, working out is a routine part of her life and she is not afraid to fight. She felt she had failed Ray, felt he wasn’t the first.

Chert thought would it would be easy peasy to take her down. He had no idea what was in store for him. Would he live to regret it? Would he live? When Justine realized he was after her – she was determined to take the fight to him.

Chert does come after her. I can feel her anxiousness. We’re both frantic, trying to  figure out what to do. There is no escape, she cannot avoid the confrontation. My heart pounds, as I wait for him to enter her bedroom. Rapid breathing. Is it hers, his or mine? Waiting….the hairs on my arms and the back of my neck are standing up. I believe the dry mouth, the eyes popping out of the head, the feeling of running through molasses is hers.

Justine knows she needs more than her physical strength, she needs a weapon, a gun. As the salesman runs a line of crap on her just because she is female and not familiar with weapons, she finds him. The one who can help her. Conrad J Dalton, III – Lone Star Risk Management.

Traffickers bring young women in from foreign countries. The women are desperately looking for a better life. They are then broken, starved, raped, isolated, their families are threatened and they are even killed. They are forced to work in strip clubs and worse. It is big business, even in the 21^st century. As long as there is a demand, I am sure there will be a supply. Whether they come willingly and are then duped or if they are taken forcefully, kidnapped, does it matter? It is a tragedy either way.

Justine goes through the process of trying out and buying a hand gun. How do you feel about guns? I have thought about buying one myself. Am I reading too many thrillers? Getting to know too many serial killers? Wondering when the apocalypse will hit – a flu pandemic seems the most likely event to me, but a catastrophic failure with our food supply would not surprise me? Does my imagination run wild, or do I just want to be prepared?

Battle Not With Monsters has me visualizing Justine as the female version of Paul Kersey in Death Wish. I love those movies and cannot remember how many times I have watched them – and will again. I love a weekend afternoon when they run a Death Wish marathan. Now, that’s what I’m talking about for some good TV.

Overton Scott has done a wonderful job of creating a fantastic story with some, at times, all too real characters.  Battle Not With Monsters has all my requirements for a great suspense/thriller – a hero (doesn’t matter if it is female or male, but there is something a little extra special about the badass heroine), a storyline that creates a mission or a demand that the hero step up and take action and, of course, that feeling of tension and suspense……waiting for the next sentence to be read or the next page to be turned or the next chapter to begin.

I loved the book that I received for an honest and unbiased review and will eagerly continue the journey with Justine……and Conrad? After all, a little romance can only enhance a story. How about it Overton? What’s next?

     4 Stars – Would Highly Recommend To Others

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