★★★★✩

I was right. I love when I’m right. I love when I’m reading a whodunit and the author gives me tons of suspects and my first instinct is the right one. It feels awesome!! Anyhoo, part II picks up right where the last book left off and the author turned things up a notch. The Sandman is hitting a little closer to home and Nola loses her mind. Between her cop brother and his squad beefing up security and Voss putting his many skills to use, she still thinks she knows better than them. Arrrgggh!! So frustrating…

She’s lucky that Voss is so gaga over her.

She is poetry and madness wrapped in fire. An unreachable paradise for a soulless bastard like me.

But it does work out in the end, because Voss is just that badass.

The stumps where his arms and legs used to be are healing nicely, where I’ve cauterized the flesh, but his eye sockets appear to be leaking white pus, and his skin feels hot when I set him down on the plastic sheet beside his bed.

Sounds so yummy! This story was full of twists and turns and even in the end, it still feels like there could be so much more. This duet was my first read from Keri Lake and she’s found a new fan in me!

★★★★✩

Nola is a single mom, struggling to make ends meet, trying to give her son the best life she can. Her son is miserable and now mute after witnessing his father’s murder. Unbeknownst to her, she’s caught the attention of the cities latest serial killer, The Sandman… a killer Voss seems to know very well. In order to finally catch this killer and put him down, Voss needs to get close to the next potential victim. What was supposed to be all business soon turns into so much more when Nola embodies everything Voss never knew he wanted.

This was my first read from Keri Lake and she has me stunned! I was on the edge of my seat the entire time, trying to figure out what would happen next. Between the cat and mouse game the killer has going with Voss and new victims turning up right and left, I wanted to see if I could guess who the killer was. But every time I think I’m close, something happens to leave me in doubt. I still think I’m right though. I loved getting the perspective of the killer. While his voice made me cringe and want to cleanse myself, I couldn’t get enough of his sickness. Hey, don’t give me that look! I’m also a little bit in love with Voss. He’s former military and is now employed to ‘take care of things’. He’s got a special set of gifts that only make him hotter in this fictional world.

Bring on the next book of this duet! Let me scare myself some more, constantly looking over my shoulder, and protecting my eyeballs from any and all threats. I can’t stand Nola and her irrational behavior and illogical thoughts, but I love how perfect she is as a victim. I wonder how Voss will protect her and if he’ll be able to save everyone in the end. ★ Fingers crossed!! ★