Unwrapping a Review of CONFESSION by Carey Baldwin

I first experienced the suspense talent of Carey Baldwin with FIRST DO NO EVIL and then her novella, HUSH, so when Witness Impulse released her romantic suspense, CONFESSION, I knew I just had to read it. It was everything I hoped it to be and more.

***I purchased this one for my own personal reading, but am sharing my honest and unscripted review with you.

Blurb for CONFESSION:

For fans of Allison Brennan and Karen Rose comes Carey Baldwin, a daring new name in suspense, with the story of a serial killer out for blood—and the only woman who can stop his reign of terror.

They say the Santa Fe Saint comes to save your soul—by taking your life.

Newly minted psychiatrist Faith Clancy gets the shock of her life when her first patient confesses to the grisly Saint murders. By law Faith's compelled to notify the authorities, but is her patient really the Saint? Or will she contribute to more death by turning the wrong man over to the police?

Faith is going to need all her wits and the help of a powerful adversary, Luke Jericho, if she's to unravel the truth. But she doesn't realize she's about to become an unwitting pawn in a serial killer's diabolical game. For once he's finished with Faith, she's to become his next victim.

*               *                 *                 *                * 

Dr. Faith Clancy is new in town, fairly new to psychiatry but not new to tragedy, discord, secrets, and personal fears. When her only patient, Dante Jericho follows her into her office on her day off and confesses to being the Santa Fe Saint, she does what she knows she needs to do – she turns him in to the police.

Luke Jericho is not happy about being attracted to his half-brother’s psychiatrist but when he finds out that she turned in his brother for confessing to being a serial killer, he sets out to not only clear his brother’s name with Faith’s assistance but with the hope of winning her over in a non-professional manner as well.

Faith battles her own demons even as she unwittingly finds herself pulled into a dangerous game of cat and mouse with the real Santa Fe Saint. When she and Luke discover there’s more to this dangerous game than protecting patient confidentiality and discovering the truth about the Santa Fe Saint. She and Luke uncover secrets that lead them straight into danger.

CONFESSION by Carey Baldwin grabs hold of you from the first page and doesn’t let go of you until turn the last. This character driven suspense is so well put together you might think it’s real. The characters are alive with angst, suspicions, flaws, passion, and emotion that keep you turning the pages late into the night even while the creepiness of Faith’s newest patient makes your skin crawl and wishing you’d turned on more lights. But when the final twist comes, you’d better be ready.

I highly recommend CONFESSION by Carey Baldwin to anyone who loves a truly suspenseful story built on characters that leap off the page and sit in the chair with you while you read, even as the skin crawls on the back of your neck. I can’t wait to read the next one – I’m without a doubt a Carey Baldwin fan forever.

Happy Reading Everyone!

CONFESSION by Carey Baldwin, Witness Impulse, available now in print and ebook formats at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobobooks.

***click on links or cover below for purchasing information

   

Unwrapping: Review of HUSH by Carey Baldwin

Last August, four lovely authors - Tessa Dare, Leigh LaValle, Courtney Milan, and Carey Baldwin – came together to create an anthology of stories, THREE WEDDINGS AND A MURDER, to benefit the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. This anthology was available for only a short time but if you were lucky enough to get a copy, the proceeds were donated and you, the reader, were treated to four fabulous stories. One of those stories, SOLOMON’S WISDOM by Carey Baldwin, and one of my favorites, has been rewritten and is now available. It has been re-released as HUSH by Carey Baldwin, and I couldn’t have been more excited when she asked if I would read it and share my thoughts with you. A romantic suspense novella of around 95 pages, I believe it reads even better than before - which surprised me because I already loved it.

***eCopy provided by author in exchange for an honest and unscripted review.

Blurb for HUSH:

Reformed bad boy Charlie “Drex” Drexler returns to his hometown of Tangleheart, Texas hoping to make peace with his dark past and make amends to those he’s wronged. He’s also looking to reconnect with an old flame. But Anna won’t cooperate, new questions tear open old wounds and his best friend’s wife and baby disappear. Can Drex and Anna mend their broken hearts while fighting for their lives and racing to bring mother and baby home safely?

*                      *                      *                      *                      *

Anna Kincaid was, and still is, in love with Charlie Drexler, but she’s also so angry at him for leaving her without so much as a good-bye that when she meets up with him again, she is determined to resist his charm and her heart’s pleas to forgive him. When her sister, Simone, and her husband, Nate bring them together for a homecoming party, Anna is angry that her own sister would trap her that way. But something cracks in that hard shell she’s erected around her heart, when Simone tells her that it was Charlie who made up the guest list, and that she was the only one on it.

Charlie will do anything to win back his best friend, the only woman to ever claim his heart, and the woman he loves, so when he finally convinces Anna to listen to him, he thinks he’s got her charmed. She's ready to submit to his pleas for a second chance, but he's nearly defeated by his other best friend, Nate Carlisle.

Distraught, a bit drunk, and desperate, Nate barges into Charlie’s living room and pleads with Anna to tell him where his wife has gone with their infant son. Anna, as shocked as anyone, finds it hard to believe that Simone would disappear like that, especially with her young son. She begs the police to assist but the sheriff insists they’ll show up eventually. With the insistence that he be allowed to help, Charlie and Anna set out to discover what has sent her sister into hiding.

HUSH by Carey Baldwin is the early version, SOLOMON’S WISDOM, made incredibly better. With some minor character changes, stronger backstory and an expanded mystery, this suspenseful romance is everything I wanted and expected from the talented Carey Baldwin. From the beginning straight through to the mystery’s reveal, Carey keeps us on our toes with complex twists and turns. Danger lurks around every corner as someone tries to keep Anna and Charlie from finding Simone. Is it Nate? Is it someone more sinister? I love a good mystery and Carey gives it to us, all the while treating us to a wonderful second chance romance at love that renews our faith in being happily in love ever after.

I highly recommend HUSH by Carey Baldwin to anyone who loves a wonderful second chance love story that may or may not happen if the bad guys have anything to say about it. HUSH is exceptional, suspenseful, and happily, a wonderful, sexy, and sweet second chance at love.

Happy Reading Everyone!

HUSH by Carey Baldwin, self-published through Amazon Digital, available now at Amazon in ebook format. 

***click on the link or cover below for purchasing information.