Laura K. Curtis

4.5 stars.

Twisted by Laura K. Curtis is a suspense-laden mystery that is full of unexpected twists and turns. This impossible to put down novel is full of unforgettable characters but it is the unfolding investigation that fully grabbed my attention and kept me guessing the killer's identity right up until the story's dramatic conclusion.

Lucy Saddler Caldwell is a successful true crime author whose next project is her mother's unsolved murder. Her return to Dobbs Hollow stirs up a lot of unpleasant memories, both for herself and the town, and Lucy encounters plenty of hostility from the townspeople as she researches her mother's life and tragic death. Lucy is pleasantly surprised by Police Chief Ethan Donovan's cooperation and his willingness to provide her free access to her mother's case files. When a woman resembling Lucy is viciously murdered, Ethan's ensuing investigation reveals a series of unsolved rapes and unexplained disappearances of women in the neighboring vicinity. Unable to easily discern the connection between the old and new cases, Ethan and Lucy are in a race against time to unmask the deranged killer before he strikes again.

Lucy and Ethan are both carrying plenty of unresolved baggage and carefully hidden secrets from their respective pasts. Lucy's secrets stem from her dysfunctional and unhappy childhood in Dobbs Hollow while Ethan's have their roots in his previous career in the Houston police department. While the secrets themselves are not too terribly horrible, it is the emotion attached to those memories that make Lucy and Ethan reluctant to reveal them. While Ethan's revelation explains how he ended up as police chief in Dobbs Hollow, Lucy's plays a crucial role in the overall storyline.

The relationship between Lucy and Ethan is non-adversarial right from the very beginning. Lucy is not very trusting of Ethan but he soon proves to her that he really is on her side. There is a definite chemistry between them but their budding romance never overpowers the mystery aspect of the plot. I enjoyed watching Lucy let down her defenses and although they were slow to confide in each other, it never adversely affected their relationship. When it comes to the investigation, Lucy and Ethan are true partners, and they never intentionally withhold information from one another.

Seventeen years ago, the investigation into Lucy's mother's death was superficial and quickly abandoned. With little to go on, Lucy begins digging into her mother's past and comes up with very surprising information that gives her a more positive viewpoint of her rather notorious mother. I liked that Lucy was able to gain a better perspective of her childhood and that the good memories finally begin to outweigh the bad ones.

The chilling behavior of two of the characters is revealed very early in the novel, but how their actions fit into the overall story is unclear. Equally perplexing are the seemingly unrelated crimes that Ethan's research uncovers. The suspect list is a mile long and there are plenty of red herrings that throw the reader off track time and again.

Twisted is a riveting mystery that kept me up long past my bedtime because I just HAD to know who killed Lucy's mom. I just HAD to know who was behind the horrible crimes that Ethan uncovered. Darn you, Laura K. Curtis, for the sleepless night but THANK YOU for a fantastic story!… (more)

1.5 stars

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review

When Evie gets the call that her aunt has broken her leg and needs someone to help take care of her Evie, somewhat, reluctantly journeys back to her hometown. Once there she deals with the old feelings of not belonging, friction with her cousin, and surprising rekindled desire for former bad boy Griff who is now the town sheriff. Griff has worked hard to turn his image around and when Evie breezes back into town he has to decide if his growing feelings for the good girl turned Vegas showgirl and current sex toy seller are worth possibly losing the reelection for town sheriff.

Toying With His Affections falls more into the women's fiction category as the story mainly centers on Evie dealing with life and family relationship issues; her romance with Griff is almost a side note, not increasing in importance until more toward the ending. As Evie spends more time with her aunt and cousin it gets revealed that Evie was such a goody two shoes because she thought if she misbehaved they would give her up while Evie's cousin Candace ended up feeling inferior because of how perfect Evie was. These three women's relationships get ruffled and smoothed out as their hidden insecurities get revealed. Evie's reputation as a scandalous show girl is mostly made bigger in her own mind but as she settles more into the town she begins to develop a feeling of belonging.

As I said, Evie's relationship with Griff doesn't really become front and center until the end. For most of the book they don't really spend a lot of time together, they go together to church on Sundays and have little twenty minute or so greet and meets. I'm not really sure why they suddenly couldn't seem to keep away from each other, it mostly felt like hey you're good looking and you keep showing up at my door and I had a crush on you in high school. Evie and Griff didn't have the spark that usually draws me to romantic characters. If looking for more of a woman coming to terms and finally resolving old hurts and issues with her family then this solidly deals with those themes.
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The book blurb for Twisted (Dobbs Hollow #1) by Laura K. Curtis, made me think that this was going to be an edgy romantic suspense story, and that was just what I wanted to read. Well, despite some 5 & 4 star reviews, I found the book to be a bit light weight and lacking on both the suspense and the romance.
Yes there was a complex multi-threaded plot, and yes there was a light-weight romance, but together neither stood out as being exceptional for me. If this is going to be a series (preview of 2nd book was included, but I didn't read all of it) then I suppose that the romance between Lucy and Ethan could develop further in a reprise/cameo type fashion – so there could be hope on that front. I missed the dark, creepy psycho behavior,that put the reader on the edge of their seat; and the twists and turns right when it should all come together in the reader’s mind – I was just bored by all that was going on. With the exception of one very brief “hinted” at gruesome murder, none of the events really stood out for me. As I think about it I wonder if there was just too much going on surrounding Lucy’s search for her mother’s killer. Maybe if there had been fewer plot threads and more development of some of the significant threads it would have been better. Then again maybe it was just me.

Overall this was a 2,75 star read that I will round up to 3 stars
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