Tag: Mills Diann

Justice can be elusive. Family secrets can be deadly. The stakes are high, and the clock is ticking in a volatile criminal case filled with unanswered questions. And Carrington Reed is running short on time to piece together clues that will solve the puzzle.

Hostage negotiator Carrington Reed is called to the scene when reports come in that fifteen hostages are being held by the Kendrix brothers in an abandoned house in south Texas. When she arrives on site, Carrington quickly learns that the brothers are armed and refuse to release their victims, a group of undocumented immigrants, until the local police identify their father’s murderer.

Working closely with Levi Ehrlich, a handsome investigative reporter who has covered some of Carrington’s negotiations in the past, she finds herself being undeniably drawn to him. Carrington digs deeper into the death of the Kendrixes’ father and begins to notice that some details surrounding his death aren’t adding up.

As Carrington investigates the brothers’ claims and tries to piece together their motive for taking innocent people captive, it soon becomes clear that they are trying to hide something and that revenge for their father’s death may not be what they’re really bargaining for after all. To protect the hostages and ensure the brothers don’t carry out the rest of their sinister plot, Carrington must get to the bottom of one family’s secret and the truth they’re trying so hard to hide before time runs out.

Award winning author DiAnn Mills delivers pulse-pounding romantic suspense about secrets, betrayal, and finding a path to forgiveness.

My Review:

Tense. Edgy. Intriguing. Mills has crafted a page-turning thrill of a read that highlights the aftermath of physical abuse and psychological trauma. So many layers to delve into! Both in the case and the personal lives of both hero and heroine.

Levi is a Messianic Jew and there are some really interesting insights into his faith that were eyeopening for me. As a man of integrity and deep faith, he’s the kind of journalist who strives to tell both sides of the story, reporting with accuracy and a godly world view.

Carrington is all kinds of complicated with a past that still haunts her and an intense life-or-death job that completely occupies all of her time and energy. Some say she might even use it as an excuse to avoid getting involved…and they wouldn’t be wrong.

When investigative reporter and hostage negotiator agree to work together on a disturbing case with more questions than answers, secrets are threatened…and so are their lives. In fact, together Levi and Carrington are “a dangerous pair. Curiosity and compassion. Always in trouble.”

Unputdownable!

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a print or ebook copy. Winner’s choice.

US – available in print or ebook — winner’s choice

Canada – available in print or ebook or audible (if available) — winner’s choice

International – ebook copy if you have a US Kindle account.

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Lethal Standoff,  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 May 24 2025

Reeling from a negotiation gone wrong, FBI Special Agent April Ramos is caught off guard when a frazzled young woman shoves a crying baby into her arms, then disappears. Worry for the child’s safety quickly turns to fear when a man claiming to be the girl’s father abducts them at gunpoint. April puts her hostage negotiation skills to use to learn more about who she’s dealing with: Jason Snyder, a fugitive accused of murder.

As Jason spins a tall tale about being framed for the killing of his business partner, April must sort through his claims to find the truth. A truth that becomes all the more evident after April overhears a conversation between Jason and the local sheriff and realizes something more sinister may be happening in their small town of Sweet Briar, Texas. But aligning herself with a known fugitive to uncover the burden of proof could cost April her job…or worse, her life and the lives of other innocent people.

My Review:

published in 2018

Wow…just…wow! Intense doesn’t begin to describe this book. Riveting right from the nail-biting opening scene and, whoa, talk about a meet-cute! How can any of this be made right? Through the cunning creative mind of the author, that’s how.

Impossible to review adequately without spoilers because the plot catapults from one tense scene to the next with enticing clues and downright stunning revelations. Danger. Corruption. Betrayal. All woven into a web of deceit so insidious it’s impossible to prove. Hence the apt title, ‘Burden of Proof’ and that burden is placed on April as she tries to sort out fact from fiction in her search for the truth.

DiAnn Mills is a masterful storyteller and I need to read more of her books. ASAP!

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a print or ebook copy. Winner’s choice.

US – available in print or ebook — winner’s choice

Canada – available in print or ebook or audible (if available) — winner’s choice

International – ebook copy if you have a US Kindle account.

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Burden of Proof, 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 April 20 2024.

There’s a killer on the loose in Galveston, targeting law enforcement officials and using a fatal injection of snake venom to take them down. Authorities have reasons to believe the Veneno gang is behind the hits, and FBI agents Leah Riesel and Jon Colbert team up to track down those responsible. Their best lead is an eyewitness ho identifies a young man dumping the third body on a church doorstep. But their suspect has gone into hiding, and those closest to him are reluctant to reveal anything that might help investigators find him.

As Leah and Jon check connections among the victims and dig deeper into movies, they discover appearances may be deceiving. Someone is desperate to keep their secrets hidden, and Leah and Jon must face their greatest fears in order to stop the next fatal strike.

My Review:

published in 2019

A riveting police procedural. There’s tension in every scene as we scramble to figure out who is behind the recent murders in Galveston. And we see it all from a boots-on-the-ground viewpoint through Leah and Jon. I love being able to work the case right along side the hero and heroine in a suspense novel, and this one is written so well.

The pacing is perfection. Mills knows how to build suspense and keep a reader anxious for more. The nuances in every interview, the frustration of not being given the complete truth, the determination to dig deeper and put seemingly random pieces together…my brain got quite the workout and I’m feeling rather smug about figuring some things out before Leah and Jon did.

I quite enjoyed the low key approach to the romance. This is the first time Leah and Jon have been partnered together, though they are acquainted. And they are both snipers which is all kinds of interesting and brings an edginess to their relationship just because of the way they handle that aspect of their job. This isn’t a fall madly in love at first sight kind of romance, rather, it develops from mutual respect, to attraction and to the idea of exploring something more. All in keeping with the rigours of their caseload and desperate bid to stop a killer.

They are both struggling with the idea of trusting a God they know very little about and their combined faith journeys added an extra dimension to the story.

I listened to the audible edition expertly narrated by Cynthia Ferrell and was enthralled right to the end.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

ebook available to anyone with a .com kindle account

US — paperback or ebook — winner’s choice

Canada — paperback or gift card for ebook or audible.ca edition

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Fatal Strike, 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 May 13, 2023. Offer open to International Readers.