Book Title: Devil's Creek (Bittersweet Hollow Book 2)
Genre: Mystery/Thriller/Suspense
Pages: 286
Audio Run Time: 8 Hrs 15 Mins
Audio Run Time: 8 Hrs 15 Mins
Author: Aaron Paul Lazar
Date Published: 25 May 2015 (E-book)
14 July 2015 (Audiobook)
Synopsis:14 July 2015 (Audiobook)
Grace may have problems, but Anderson Rockwell loves his sassy, spicy, and slightly unfaithful wife. A recovered heroin addict who’s now struggling with sex addiction, Grace tries her best to control her inner demons. She’s relapsing less often. And when she does, she always calls, always comes home. Until this time.
The man calls himself Chandler. He found Grace on Facebook under a false name, and lured her away with promises of excitement, danger, and plenty of steam. But when Grace gives in to temptation and follows the trail, she finds herself at the mercy of a monster who knows who she really is, and whose sole obsession is revenge—on Anderson.
Time is running out for Anderson to rescue Grace from deadly danger that’s beyond imagination, before the past drowns them both for good. Because this time, it’s personal.
NOTE: This book contains explicit sexual content. For adults only!
Review:
Devil's Creek by Aaron Paul LazarMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is the second book in the Bittersweet Hollow series. I really enjoyed it!
This audio book is again narrated by Gwendolyn Druyor. I must admit that I enjoyed listening to her a lot more than I did the first book. Maybe because I became used to her reading style. She has a pleasant voice but she, whether by accident or design, made the main character Grace sound incredibly whiny. Other listeners may disagree with me.
Grace Rockwell is a complex character. I am not sure if I liked her when I first met her in Devil's Lake, though she certainly was the bravest (or stupidest) character I'd met in a book. She's Portia's (from Devil's Lake) younger sister, and had gone through hell when her older sister was kidnapped and turned to drugs to cope years before. Now clean and married to Anderson, whom she loves, she finds herself in a bind when her libido gets her caught in a dangerous situation.
Anderson Rockwell is a fantastic character. I really liked this Professor and felt that he and Grace made a strange couple. However, they say opposites attract and these two certainly have their issues. When Grace unexpectedly gets dragged into danger by an old nemesis from Anderson's past, he's terrified that history will repeat itself.
This book is told through the eyes of both Grace and Anderson. Though Anderson's tale starts many years before he meets Grace. I enjoyed getting to know Anderson better this way. However, this also confused me at first, though my confusion cleared up as soon as I realised why the author had started the story this way. Chandler is not who Grace thinks he is. He is a skeleton from Anderson's closet that has come out to haunt him. This character is incredibly creepy and totally insane. Why does this family seem to attract the loonies? Anyway, I found myself completely hooked by the intense suspense that built up though the story. There are several twists that I didn't see coming. The danger Grace faces is eerily similar to what her sister faced but, the author gave this story a sinister twist that sent a chill down my spine. Grace will need some serious psychological help for her problems (drug and sex addiction), though I am glad that Anderson is so supportive of her. Their marriage may be rocky, but they are both determined to face their demons together. That can only make their relationship stronger.
I reached the end of the book with mixed feelings. I was sad that the story ended, but happy with the way it concluded. I am now looking forward to reading/listening to the next book in the series, Devil's Spring as soon as I can.
Aaron Paul Lazar has written a fantastic tale that captured my imagination. I love his writing style, which is fast paced and entertaining. The story flowed wonderfully (apart from my issue with the narrator). I am a huge fan of this author. I am now looking forward to reading more of his books in the future.
Although this book doesn't have any bad language, there are some explicit scenes of a sexual nature. Therefore, I recommend this book to older teen readers (18+) and to adults who love contemporary romance or romantic suspense genres. - Lynn Worton
View all my reviews
Aaron Paul Lazar wasn't always a mystery writer. It wasn't until eight members of his family and friends died within five years that the urge to write became overwhelming. "When my father died, I lost it. I needed an outlet, and writing provided the kind of solace I couldn't find elsewhere."
Lazar created the Gus LeGarde mystery series, with the founding novel, DOUBLE FORTÉ (2004), a chilling winter mystery set in the Genesee Valley of upstate New York. Like Lazar's father, protagonist Gus LeGarde is a classical music professor. Gus, a grandfather, gardener, chef, and nature lover, plays Chopin etudes to feed his soul and thinks of himself as a "Renaissance man caught in the 21st century." This book has since be rereleased in 2012 as an "author's preferred edition," via Twilight Times Books.
The creation of the series lent Lazar the comfort he sought, yet in the process, a new passion was unleashed. Obsessed with his parallel universe, he now lives, breathes, and dreams about his characters, and has written ten LeGarde mysteries in eight years. (UPSTAGED - 2005; TREMOLO: CRY OF THE LOON - 2007 Twilight Times Books; MAZURKA - 2009 Twilight Times Books, FIRESONG - 2011, DON'T LET THE WIND CATCH YOU - 2013, VIRTUOSO - 2014, with more to come.) The author has just completed his twenty-first novel.
One day while rototilling his gardens, Lazar unearthed a green cat's eye marble, which prompted the new paranormal mystery series featuring Sam Moore, retired country doctor and passionate gardener. The green marble, a powerful talisman, connects all three of the books in the series, whisking Sam back in time to uncover his brother's dreadful fate fifty years earlier. (HEALEY'S CAVE, 2010; TERROR COMES KNOCKING, 2011; FOR KEEPS, 2012) Lazar intends to continue both series.
Lazar's books feature breathless chase scenes, nasty villains, and taut suspense, but are also intensely human stories, replete with kids, dogs, horses, food, romance, and humor. The author calls them, "country mysteries," although reviewers have dubbed them "literary mysteries."
"It seems as though every image ever impressed upon my brain finds its way into my work. Whether it's the light dancing through stained-glass windows in a Parisian chapel, curly slate-green lichen covering a boulder at the edge of a pond in Maine, or hoarfrost dangling from a cherry tree branch in mid-winter, these images burrow into my memory cells. In time they bubble back, persistently itching, until they are poured out on the page."
In 2009, Kodak gave him up for grabs, and during the year off before he landed in his coveted new job with KB America, he had time to explore and reconnect with his environment. Little did he know that several trips to the Adirondack Mountains would reawaken his passion for that part of the country. Two new books were written in that time frame, starting yet another mystery series, Tall Pines Mysteries. The first two combooks in the series, FOR THE BIRDS - 2011 and ESSENTIALLY YOURS - 2012 have been winning literary awards. Keep an eye out for SANCTUARY (2014), and MURDER ON THE SACANDAGA (2015), coming via Twilight Times Books.
In between all the novels, Lazar found time to issue three writing guides based on his many years of writing advice blogs, entitled WRITE LIKE THE WIND, volumes 1-3. These are available in eBook and audio book.
In his twenty-first book, Lazar has jumped genre. THE SEACREST - OCT 2013 -, a love story, is poised to capture hearts across the globe.
The author lives on a ridge overlooking the Genesee Valley in upstate New York with his wife, mother-in-law, two dogs, and cat. He finds grandfathering one of the most precious and important times of life, and spends as much time as possible with Julian, Gordon, and Isabella.
Lazar maintains several websites and blogs, was the Gather Saturday Writing Essential host for three years, writes his monthly "Seedlings" columns for the Voice in the Dark literary journal and the Future Mystery Anthology Magazine. He has been published in Absolute Write as well as The Great Mystery and Suspense Magazine. See excerpts and reviews here:
www.lazarbooks.com
www.murderby4.blogspot.com
www.aplazar.gather.com
www.aaronlazar.blogspot.com
Contact him at aaron.lazar@yahoo.com.
Twilight Times Books by multi-award winning author, Aaron Lazar:
LEGARDE MYSTERIES
DOUBLE FORTÉ (print, eBook, audio book)
UPSTAGED (print, eBook, audio book)
TREMOLO: CRY OF THE LOON (print, eBook, audio book)
MAZURKA (print, eBook, audio book)
FIRESONG (print, eBook, audio book)
DON'T LET THE WIND CATCH YOU (print, eBook, audio book)
VIRTUOSO (~2014)
MOORE MYSTERIES
HEALEY'S CAVE (print, eBook, audio book)
TERROR COMES KNOCKING (print, eBook, audio book)
FOR KEEPS (print, eBook, audio book)
TALL PINES MYSTERIES
FOR THE BIRDS (print, eBook, audio book)
ESSENTIALLY YOURS (print, eBook, audio book)
SANCTUARY (2014)
MURDER ON THE SACANDAGA (~2014)
STANDALONES
THE SEACREST (coming fall of 2013)
WRITING ADVICE:
WRITE LIKE THE WIND, volumes 1, 2, 3 (ebooks and audio books)
Aaron Paul Lazar writes to soothe his soul. An award-winning, bestselling Kindle author of three addictive mystery series, writing books, and a new love story, Aaron enjoys the Genesee Valley countryside in upstate New York, where his characters embrace life, play with their dogs and grandkids, grow sumptuous gardens, and chase bad guys. Visit his website at http://www.lazarbooks.com and watch for his upcoming Twilight Times Books releases, SANCTUARY (2014), and VIRTUOSO (2014).
AWARDS:
Double Forté
* 2012 ForeWord BOTYA, Mystery, FINALIST
Tremolo: cry of the loon -
* 2013 Eric Hoffer Book Awards: Grand Prize Short List
* 2013 Eric Hoffer Book Awards: Honorable Mention, Eric Hoffer Legacy Fiction
* 2011 Global eBook Award Finalist in Historical Fiction Contemporary
* 2011 Preditors & Editors Readers Choice Award - 2nd place Mystery
* 2008 Yolanda Renée's Top Ten Books
* 2008 MYSHELF Top Ten Reads
For the Birds
* 2011 ForeWord Book Awards, FINALIST in Mystery
* 2012 Carolyn Howard-Johnson's Top 10 Reads
Essentially Yours
* 2013 EPIC Book Awards, FINALIST in Suspense
* 2013 Eric Hoffer Da Vinci Eye Award Finalist
Healey's Cave
* 2012 EPIC Book Awards WINNER Best Paranormal
* 2011 Eric Hoffer Book Award, WINNER Best Book in Commercial Fiction
* 2011 Finalist for Allbooks Review Editor's Choice
* 2011 Winner of Carolyn Howard Johnson's 9th Annual Noble (not Noble!) Prize for Literature
* 2011 Finalists for Global EBook Awards
Terror Comes Knocking
* 2013 Global Ebook Awards, Paranormal - Bronze
For Keeps
* 2013 Semi Finalist in Kindle Book Review Book Awards, Mystery Category
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