I am so excited to share Kristine Mason’s Perfectly Toxic.

For all you hardcore thriller lovers, this is a MUST READ!

Sooo, buckle your seatbelts because this will be a wild ride into the mind of one of the most wickedly evil villains I have ever had the “pleasure” of meeting.

Add me to Goodreads

Perfectly Toxic  by Kristine Mason

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GENRE: Romantic Suspense

MY REVIEW

Perfectly Toxic by Kristine Mason is a thriller that stars Melanie Scarlet. I love the CORE and am so excited to finally read Mel’s story. The language and sex scenes are pivotal to the story and I think Kristine handled them well.

“I think I broke her.”

With a start like that, I knew I was in for a horrific ride into the twisted psyche of Adeline. I can hardly wait to dive into all the creepiness to come, and I know there will be plenty of it. As I read along, mini movies played in my head. When I was done reading, I felt like I needed to take a shower.

Well, what can I say about Perfectly Toxic. I had three pages of notes, but it just wasn’t working for me. So…I tossed them out and here I am, just telling you about my feelings about this, hmmm, horrifying thriller and the sadistic, psychopathic, crazy as a loon villain, Adeline and her cohort, Rodney.

I laugh at Frankenstein. that was a comedy compared to what these two were up to. What they were doing goes so far past that, I am finding it difficult to put into words the events in Perfectly Toxic. The lives lost and the torture suffered under their hands remind me of the evil men behind human testing during the holocaust. Both of them belong under the jail, not in it.

The most repulsive thing of all, Adeline revels in it. She loves to watch her toys squirm. There is nothing she won’t do to get what she wants. Feelings…what are those? She sure doesn’t have any warm and fuzzy ones. She is ice cold and beware, to be near her could be hazardous to your health. She is very smart, well educated, manipulative and broken. Something is very wrong with her. OMG, she is not just a psycho, she is bat shit crazy and evil beyond words.

I love all the CORE characters, but I can relate well to Mel, an ass kicking, swamp raised, don’t look at me cross eyed kind of gal. She is the Ice Cream lady. She is also a cleaner. You need something to disappear, just contact Mel. She hides her girlie girlness behind a really sharp knife. She’s the type to stab you with the knife, then cook dinner with it. She is married to Cash, but it doesn’t seem to be going so well. They are both stubborn and have strong personalities. She hangs with men more than women and I do that too. I love that she goes to the dock when she has heavy thinking to do. The water calms her and it has the same effect on me. I have spent many a day Sitting on the Dock of the Bay…wasting time.

Mel’s cousin, Bobby turns up missing and the mystery begins.

When Mel takes Harrison to meet Cash for help, the scenario could be hazardous to Harrison’s heath, but it is laughable. The who’s dick is bigger scenario had me cracking up. Cash’s mantra to control his anger is Unicorns are magical. Imagine seeing a huge hunk of a man repeating those words over and over. His therapist had called his and Mel’s relationship – TOXIC.

Cash buys Mel flowers from the gas station just because. I can relate to that. Mr Wonderful, my hubby, brings home flowers from the grocery store. The element of realism is coming through loud and clear. I love their snarky and sensual dialogue.

Cash’s housemate is a German Shepherd named Dolly. They served in the Army together and she is the one who came home in a wheelchair. I love dogs, so I had to mention her.

Kristine ramps up the suspense as the search for Adeline takes on new meaning. Each of Kristine Mason’s stories read as the most twisted Criminal Minds on steroids episode. They are unique and original.

I am totally engrossed in the love story and then Kristine shocked me, woke me up and the pacing reached a level of urgency I hadn’t felt before.

I would love to be one of her characters, kicking ass, fighting evil and having some hot and heavy sex with a stud. What an adventure and one I only live through in Kristine’s words, hanging on each one.

NOW, we get to the best part, the last quarter of the book. I know how the story will end, villain 0 vs good guys 1 and the guy gets the girl, but, man oh man, the rollercoaster ride to get there leaves me breathless. The nail-biting, rapid breathing, sitting on the edge of my seat is the suspense reading an armchair junkie like myself lives for. I read a lot of mystery and suspense thrillers and it is books like Toxic and authors like Kristine that feed my need for thrills.

I can’t believe that the story lasted only six days. So much happened, so many emotions ran AMOK as I read, my head was spinning. I had to turn around and read it again. I would apologize for rambling on and on, but eh, I can’t help myself.

I received a copy of Perfectly Toxic by Kristine Mason in return for an honest review.

  5+++++ Stars

BLURB

What do you get when you mix a mad scientist, a psychopath, an ice cream lady and a repo man? Something perfectly toxic…

Melanie Scarlet is a knife-wielding badass who knows how to dispose of a body, and make evidence disappear. But Mel, a.k.a., the Ice Cream Lady, draws the line at one thing: she refuses to live with her husband, Cash Maddox, unless he quits the repo business that nearly got him killed—no matter how much she loves him.

To thaw Mel’s heart and convince her to leave the Everglades and move back home to Tallahassee, Cash is finally ready to retire from his adrenaline-fueled job…until homeless men begin vanishing. As Mel investigates the disappearances, Cash’s temper goes into overdrive when he realizes his wife has been keeping a dangerous secret from him. She’s been doing more than scooping ice cream—she’s a cleaner for the underground criminal investigation agency, Above the Law.

Mel isn’t the only one with a secret. A scientist has created a drug that will cure psychopaths by deadening the urge to dominate, hurt and murder. To prove his chemical combination works, he uses the homeless as test subjects. He breaks and scrambles their minds, turns them into killers, then tries to fix them. But what if the scientist creates a killer he can’t fix? A true psychopath he can’t control? As Cash joins Mel and the ATL crew, they learn firsthand, the results could be…toxic.

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EXCERPT

“You’re seriously not staying here?” Since she’d left him, there hadn’t been a time that she hadn’t stayed with him when she’d returned to Tallahassee. And those times had been great, until the topic of their marriage and his job had come into play. Then they’d fight, she’d leave and they wouldn’t speak for weeks. A vicious cycle, but one he’d become familiar with—until now. She was changing things up on him, and he didn’t know how to react. He did, but his therapist would likely have a frickin’ stroke.

“Well, you’re seriously not going to change and I seriously want a divorce. So, yeah. I think it’s best if I stay at a hotel.”

He pulled her close. “Stay with me.”

Her gaze dropped to his mouth. “No.”

He pressed his body against hers and slid his hand along her rear. “Give me a few days.”

“I’ve given you two years,” she said, breathless, her gaze shifting from his mouth to his eyes.

She had him there, and he had nothing to counter her argument. She had given him two years, and he arrogantly figured she’d eventually come back to him.

“You’re right,” he said honestly.

“I’m right?”

He nodded and walked her backward. “I don’t want a divorce, but we can’t keep going on the way we’ve been.” He pressed her against the foyer wall. “Give me the time you’re here to prove we can make this work.”

“I’m here to find Bobby, not deal with our marriage.”

“I know, baby. We’ll find him. I promise. I’ve already put word out on the street that we’re looking for him.” He leaned closer. “Just give us a chance.”

Her eyes filled with tears again. “I can’t keep doing this. It hurts too much.”

Knowing he was hurting her left him hollow and shameful. “I’m sorry.”

She punched him in the arm. “You’ve said you’re sorry more times than I can count. Do something about it.”

He kissed her.

She pushed him away. “Not with sex.”

“That’s right. You have your period.”

“I lied.”

“And I just want to kiss you.”

She stared at him, her eyes unreadable. “Sometimes I hate you,” she said, then shoved her hands through his hair and captured his lips.

His therapist would tell him to end the kiss, that they weren’t solving anything, only prolonging the hurt. His therapist could go fuck himself. He had his woman in his arms and she was kissing him. Running her hands through his hair in that possessive way he loved. Pressing her breasts against his chest as if she couldn’t get close enough. Skimming her tongue along his in a way that him hard and ready.

The damned horn beeped again. Mel tore her mouth away from his, then gave him a push. “I’m leaving.”

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ABOUT KRISTINE MASON

Kristine Mason is the bestselling author of the popular romantic suspense trilogies, C.O.R.E. Shadow and Ultimate C.O.R.E. She is currently working on her next trilogy, C.O.R.E. Above the Law, along with a series of Psychic C.O.R.E. novellas.

Although Kristine has published a few contemporary romance novels, she focuses most of her energy on her romantic suspense stories, which she loves for their blend of dark mystery/suspense and sexy romance. She is fascinated with what makes people afraid, and is famous for her depraved villains whose crimes present massive obstacles for her heroes and heroines to overcome.

Kristine has a degree in journalism from Ohio State University and lives in Northeast Ohio with her husband, four kids, and two dogs. If she’s not writing, she’s chauffeuring kids, gardening, or collecting gnomes. Oh, and she makes a mean chocolate chip cookie!Connect with Kristine on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/kristinemasonauthor, Twitter https://twitter.com/KristineMason7 or email her at authorkristinemason@gmail.com. You can also find out more about Kristine’s books at http://www.kristinemason.net

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GIVEAWAY

Kristine Mason will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN to two randomly drawn winners via rafflecopter during the tour.

ENTER THE RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY HERE

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