Unwrapping: Review of FIRST DO NO EVIL by Carey Baldwin

I opened my email one day and discovered a wonderful treat from debut author Carey Baldwin. She had sent me an eARC of her debut novel, FIRST DO NO EVIL, Blood Secrets Book 1 from Samhain Publishing, releasing June 26, 2012. It seems I was the first person to enter her first contest on her brand new website - love being in the right place at the right time. Added bonus, she's a debut author and you know how I love debut authors.

Blurb for FIRST DO NO EVIL:

One killer is in her blood. The other is in her house.

There’s a killer lurking in Dr. Skylar Novak’s family tree: the gene for breast cancer. That’s why her brilliant brother invented the Bella vaccine. But even if the miracle drug protects her from the cancer that took her mother’s life, it can’t save Sky from the flesh and bone evil stalking her in secret.
When the killer strikes, detective Daniel Benson finds himself in the wrong place at the right time. The bold detective manages to save Sky’s life…just in time for her to return the favor. Survival leads to seduction, and Danny risks everything—his career, even his life, to keep Sky safe. But will the buried sins they uncover cost him her heart?
Danny’s strong arms may hold her close, but only Sky can stop the terror that’s coming next…

Product Warnings
Contents include: One heart-melting hero—good luck getting this delicious detective out of your head. One reluctant heroine—wielding a Glock was never on her to-do list. One crazed villain—an entire flock of baa baa black sheep won’t be enough to put you to sleep. And a lifesaving vaccine with one deadly side effect—murder.

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Dr. Sky Novak is no stranger to crime or the aftermath but when months later she is confronted with the idea that she may be next or her brother, Garth, she turns to the one man she hopes can help her make sense of things.

Detective Danny Benson puts his life on the line all the time as a cop but when he entered Jolene's diner that cold morning he hadn't expected to meet Sky Novak or come quite so close to death. In the aftermath, while rehabilitating, Danny starts questioning the events of that day. That day that Jack Spurlock robbed Jolene's, held Neveah Flores at gun point and threatened to kill Sky if her brother didn't sit down and shut up. For a robbery, it was all so atypical that Danny couldn't let it go.

It isn't difficult for Danny to convince Sky that this was no ordinary robbery for she had already started to question the coincidences between the Halloween night that her father was killed and this Halloween robbery that left her fiance and the criminal dead, Danny severely injured and Neveah too frightened to return to work at the diner. There was one thing that tied both events together - Skylar Novak. Was there a serial killer behind both events? Was Sky the target or only those around her? As Sky begins to examine her world and the world of those around her, more questions are raised than answered. As Sky begins to worry for the safety of others around her, her own feelings for Danny begin to go far beyond trust and safety. When she asks him to teach her to shoot a gun, he gladly agrees on the condition that she tell him the truth about everything. It's this truth that pulls them closer and opens the door to things that might be best left unknown.

I wish I could tell you more but if I do, I'll ruin the read for you. FIRST DO NO EVIL by Carey Baldwin is an action-packed, grab you by the throat and not let you go until the very end, story! This being her debut novel, Carey Baldwin has hit an A+ grade. She's created great characters and a plot that twists and turns so many times that when you start to see it come together, you'll smack your forehead and say, "why didn't I see that coming?" I am a little disappointed, Carey, that you actually used the word snuck ... sorry, English major in me that makes me cringe at such slang.

FIRST DO NO EVIL, Blood Secrets Book 1 by Carey Baldwin is a romantic suspense that will have you gripping your ereader while worrying if you're going to be able to sleep after turning off the light. There's nothing like a well-plotted serial killer on the lose story to give you chills and heighten your senses. Throw in a hot sexy detective and a doctor heroine whose no shrinking violet and you've got yourself one excellent, steamy romance filled spine tingling suspense that you won't soon forget.

I highly recommend FIRST DO NO EVIL by Carey Baldwin for anyone who loves suspense, a killer on the loose who when revealed makes your blood run cold and a heroine who will have you cheering when she shows her true iron self. I am looking forward to seeing what comes next in the Blood Secrets series and Carey Baldwin is definitely now on my list of authors I read.

Happy Reading Everyone!
(Don't forget there's still time to win a signed e-copy of THE WHITE SWAN AFFAIR by Elyse Mady at the Wacky Wednesday post and I'll be choosing 2 new winners in the A WARRIOR'S PROMISE by Donna Fletcher giveaway since 2 past winners never responded. All will be announced in a special post on Saturday - stay tuned.)

FIRST DO NO EVIL, Blood Secrets Book 1 by Carey Baldwin, Samhain Publishing, release date - June 26, 2012 in ebood format.