Marred

This review was first published on Kurt's Frontier.

Synopsis:

Sage Quintano is a bestselling mystery author. Three years ago, a serial killer broke into Sage’s home, and she barely escaped with her life. She survived with grave physical injuries, severe emotional scars, and devastating secrets she swore to take to her grave. Her husband, Detective Niko Quintano, accepts a position as Sheriff in Grafton County in New Hampshire. He hopes that the quiet life in Rural New Hampshire will help them heal from this traumatic experience.

Three years have passed. The painful memories of that night persist. Then a grisly murder case lands on Niko’s desk. A strange caller begins to torment Sage. Sage’s twin sister disappears, with the killer giving Sage cryptic messages. With the nightmare returning, Sage must push through the emotional jumble. She must pull together her sleuthing skills to find her sister and avoid becoming the next victim.

Review:

Sue Coletta has woven a frightening tale of mystery and sadistic murder. Sage Quintano is a mystery author with a detective husband. A brutal attack by a serial killer shatters their lives and future hopes. Sage’s husband Niko thinks that a change to quaint Alexandria, New Hampshire will help them heal. Eerily familiar murders start cropping up around the county. Sage starts receiving strange messages from the killer. The nightmare seems to be replaying itself.

Sue Coletta makes use of first person when dealing with Sage’s point of view, but third person when dealing with other people. It can be disconcerting at first, but one can quickly get use to it. The mystery of the killer and what happened to Sage’s identical twin sister, Chloe, sets an immediate sense of tension in the novel. The stress between Sage and her husband begins to ratchet up the tensions. The characters are interesting, and there are many twists in the plot before the shocking ending. There are some scenes with an esp link between Sage and Chloe. While not horrible, these should have been set up better to avoid a seeming deus ex machina. Altogether, it is a stimulating mystery/thriller.

Sage Quintano has been through hell. She is attacked by a crazed killer and now years later shes being haunted again. Niko, her husband, is a detective. He convinces her to leave Boston and move to a rural small town to start fresh, but when a killer comes to his town things begin to heat up again. Sage is now being threatened again by this man who has upped the game and took her twin sister. Now Sage has to put herself in danger to save her.

This book is a bit of a wild ride. It starts off fast and just keeps going till the very end. Its a psychological thriller filled with mysterious twists and turns on a every page. The characters are easy to fall for, especially Sage. With her dark past and her rocky present, she is a character easy to feel sorry for and get attached to. This book was definitely a late night page turner. I hated putting it down because I just wanted, NEEDED, to know what was next. 

This book had me hooked from page one. It was well written and It was filled with mystery, action, and crime. I have never read anything from this author, but I look forward to reading more in the future. Based on this book alone, I am sure I will enjoy them all.

Stunning emotional and riveting read!!!
This is a power packed psychological thriller
filled with suspense, thrills and chills around
every corner. There are twists and turns that
will keep you on the edge of your seat. The
tension was very thick and well sustained.
Sage Quintano is a crime writer. Niko Quintano
is a homicide detective married to Sage.
Three years ago, Sage was held by a serial
killer. Niko was shot in the shoulder when he
came to rescue her. Sage miscarried and has
never been able to overcome the demons that
haunt her.
And now the serial killer is back holding Sage's
sister hostage. Sage must meet his demands or
lose her sister.
The author weaves the past and present together
effortlessly. The author get inside the heads of
her characters and presents them to the readers
so that the inner workings of all her characters
are understood.
Marred is a terrifying and chilling to the bone
thriller you will want to be sure to read.
I volunteered to read this eBook. Thanks to the
author via the Facebook Mystery Thriller Week
event. My opinion is my own.