Tag: Mehl Nancy

Kaely Quinn’s talents as an FBI behavior analyst are impossible to ignore, no matter how unorthodox her methods. But when a reporter outs her as the daughter of an infamous serial killer, she’s demoted to field agent and transferred to St. Louis.

When the same reporter who ruined her career claims to have received an anonymous poem predicting a string of murders, ending with Kaely’s, the reporter’s ulterior motives bring his claim into question. But when a body is found that fits the poem’s predictions, the threat is undeniable, and the FBI sends Special Agent Noah Hunter to St. Louis.

Initially resentful of the assignment, Noah is surprised at how quickly his respect for Kaely grows, despite her oddities. But with a brazen serial killer who breaks all the normal patterns on the loose, Noah and Kaely are tested to their limits to catch the murderer before anyone else–including Kaely herself–is killed.

My Review:

published in 2018

Whoa! I’m stunned and my head is still spinning over that twisty-turny nosedive at the end. This might just be Nancy Mehl’s best book to date which is saying something because I adore her stories! But this one is…definitely on a whole other level.

A psychological thriller of a mystery with some of the elements of a Criminal Minds episode but without the TV series’ over-the-top ghoul factor. 🙂 For cautious suspense readers I can honestly say I can’t watch Criminal Minds without getting nightmares but I gobbled up Mind Games for all it’s deliciously shivery suspensey goodness. Fascinating police procedural with one of the most complex heroines I’ve ever met within the pages of a book!

Kaely’s backstory is so complex and intriguing. Her coping mechanisms — her profiling techniques — the brilliance that masks a touching vulnerability. And most surprising of all — her deep and abiding faith. Something that fellow agent Noah can’t understand but Kaely doesn’t shy away from sharing.

“I have a lot of issues leftover from my past. God has never condemned me for them. He just keeps leading me slowly but surely out of the dark, at the pace I need.” (p 165)

Engaging in mind games with a serial killer is the first case Noah and Kaely share but it won’t be their last. Love the way their relationship develops over the course of this book. He’s wary, she’s reserved and learning to trust each other is central to their moving forward both professionally and personally. This isn’t a romance, but I have the feeling that one is going to develop over the course of the series.

Intense, clever, exceptionally paced — Mind Games is the epitome of a page-turner! I guarantee you won’t be able to put this one down until you’ve reached the mind-blowing conclusion.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a gently read paperback copy available to anyone, anywhere in the world so…woohoo…International Giveaway!

If you would like a chance to win a copy of the Mind Games, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoread AT yahoo DOT ca. If you add an email to your comment, remember to use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it’s easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday August 30 2025.

Ex-FBI profiler River Ryland still suffers from PTSD after a case that went horribly wrong. Needing a fresh start, she moves to St. Louis to be near her ailing mother and opens a private investigation firm with her friend and former FBI partner, Tony St. Clair. They’re soon approached by a grieving mother who wants them to find out what happened to her teenaged son who disappeared four years ago. River knows there’s almost no hope the boy is still alive, but his mother needs closure, and River and Tony need a case, no matter how cold it might be. 

But as they follow the boy’s trail, which gets more complicated at every turn, they find themselves in the path of a murderer determined to punish anyone who gets in his way. With a killer on the loose set on finishing the job he started, will River be pulled back into her tormented past or finally face the demons that haunt her?

With her trademark blend of page-turning thrills and intricate plots, Nancy Mehl delivers a spine-tingling thriller that will keep readers up all night.

My Review:

‘Page-turning thrills’ about sums up this suspense for sure. From that chilling prologue to the inclusion of a disturbing ‘unsub’ POV, this one kept me on edge the whole read through. It definitely had more ‘Criminal Minds’ vibes than I am comfortable with, though the descriptions in the book don’t go nearly as far as that series did, so, phew, for that. I’d consider ‘Cold Pursuit’ on the thriller side of suspense so definitely out of my comfort zone.

I did get the feeling that this series is a spin-off of another series? So, I felt like there were things I should have known about River and Tony already. They are friends with a work history who shared a trauma and that’s given them an even stronger bond. They’ve left their jobs with the FBI to start up a new Private Investigation firm and their first case is a doozy!

This is an emotionally layered suspense with a nice balance between character-driven and suspenseful plots. Lots of moving pieces to sort through and I really like how the investigation developed, bringing truth to light and, ultimately peace to a grieving mother. There’s also a secondary plot — both in suspense and romance (I’m guessing) — that will continue on through the series.

‘Cold Pursuit’ features a suspense trope that leaves me a tad uncomfortable. I don’t want to say what it is, because it’s not stated in the synopsis, but it’s quickly evident early on in the story. Does that have you intigued? 🙂 If I’d known that would be the focus of the story, I likely would have given this one a pass. But the story is well-written and riveting – just not for the faint of heart. I need to dive into a rom/com to bring my blood pressure down.

Book provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications Inc.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a gently read paperback copy and available to any reader anywhere in the whole wide world so — YAY — another International Giveaway!

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Cold Pursuit, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoread AT yahoo DOT ca. If you add an email to your comment, remember to use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it’s easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday August 19, 2023