gripping book with intriguing characters and a surprising plot twist or two I didn't see coming,
Highly Recommend!
ed by: Mrs, N
My Rating:While the subject matter was difficult to read about and a real ongoing horrific situation, the mystery and characters were really great.
For the first third I thought it was slow paced but then what a blast,
I like Lucas very much, It's a,for me, Secret Family Shame Stars
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May Have Mild Spoilers
Wow did Cold Secrets take me on a dark ride or what This book jumped straight into dark no wine and dine.
However I wouldn't call this book a dark read per se, just dealt with a dark theme, The opener has Lucas, an undercover FBI Agent, entering a sex slave house asking for a young girl, Toni Anderson must have done her research, the sex trafficking plot was very detailed and felt realistic, To know this kind of stuff happens in the real world gave the book an extra spine chilling factor, It was like watching Law and Order SVU, but sexier, Cold Secret had very hard to read moments, as it dealt with child sex slavery, sex trafficking, and gruesome murders, On a side note, I didn't read any other book in this series and had no problem following this book, so it can be read as a stand alone.
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Lucas Randall was all that was yummy, Brave, honorable, sexy, and caring he was a true hero, I love how close he was to the girls he saved, Lucas was playful, sweet and really wanted to save the world, I fell hard for Lucas, Ashley Chen was harder to connect to, She was hiding something and it made it hard to get a clear picture of who she really was, I could tell she wanted to prove herself and make a different in the world, However she was also cold, and closed off at times, Ashley would push Lucas away, and I didn't know why for the longest time, Which bothered me, I didn't like Lucas getting hurt even a little, Once Ashley's secret was out I totally got why she lied and hid her past and I could forgive her coldness towards Lucas,
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Lucas and Ashley had tons of sexual tension, Their connection was fast and hard, but it didn't feel rushed like a instalove, mainly because Ashley fought it for so long, When they did finally get together omg it was hot, Lucas was a beast! I loved the secondary character Alex Parker, I checked and he is the hero from book, which I plan to go back and read as soon as I can, Alex didn't play a huge role in this book but there was something about him that got me intrigued, The plot was really, really good, On the darker side but really entertaining, The bad guys were evil and creepy, even more so because there are really people like them out in the world, The only reason this book wasn't astar read for me was Ashley took a while to warm up too, The plot and Lucas were spot on and I really enjoyed this read,
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sitelink . . Cold Secrets brings us back to the dark side of justice and how sometimes lines have to be crossed to make sure the evil is put where it belongs.
The evil this time around is sex traffickers of children, The author opens the story with quite a bang with undercover FBI Agent Lucas Randall going into a brothel to rescue ayear old who had recently been kidnapped.
This group of traffickers are ruthless and dont care who they kill to keep from being caught, I am still cringing at the ages of the girls that were being used,
The
most interesting character though was Ashley Chen who works on the ciber part of crimes for the FBI, Her partner for this case is Mallory from the first book in the series, Ashley has such a strong sense of wanting justice for victims, Its not until the story unfolds that we see why she wants that and that she has been hiding some pretty big secrets,
The story moved along at a pretty fast pace and didnt hold back on the sick and twisted moments, Edge of your seat thriller from beginning to end, Wow! This one is complicated! Great plot with lots of twists, Loved it! Currently free at Amazon, . . a good time to try this author, . .
This is one of the best RS series I read, The books are consistently entertaining and well written, I wasn't too crazy about the instalust and wecan'tbetogetherbecauseweworktogether trope in the beginning but that fortunately passed quickly and we got into the meat of the story, The child sex trade plotline was definitely unpleasant, but well done, Ashley also had a pretty painful secret past that added also added tension to the plot,
Great FBI romantic suspense series, An FBI agent risks her heart and closely guarded secrets in this pulsepounding Romantic Thriller from New York Times bestselling author Toni Anderson,
Computer expert Ashley Chen joined the FBI to fight against evil in the worldevil she experienced firsthand, She has mad skills and deadly secrets, and once she starts working with straightshooting FBI agent, Lucas Randall, she also has big trouble, After years of pushing people away, she's finally falling for someone, The feeling is entirely mutual, but as Ashley intensifies her online pursuit of an international trafficking ring, her traumatic past collides with her present and suddenly Lucas can't tell which side she's on.
As the case escalates into a highstakes game of cat and mouse, it turns out Ashley isn't the only one with something to hide,
If neither can trust the other with their secrets, how can they trust each other with their hearts
finalist in the Book Buyers Best contest for “Romantic Suspense and Mystery with Romantic Elements.
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This edition features a brandnew cover, This book definitely started off with a bang! No lead up, no playing around, The author dumps us right into the middle of the plot and doesn't hold back any punches,
COLD SECRETS was an intense, suspenseful romantic story, Lucas and Ashley were FBI agents on a task force to take down a human trafficking ring in Boston, In the midst of their investigation, they can't fight the undeniable attraction that sparks between them,
I enjoyed the many elements that were explored to detail everything about the investigation, I even liked the fact that Ashley was so blunt when it came to racism, prejudice and racial profiling she was halfAmerican and halfChinese, I'm not sure if everything that happened would be entirely accurate, but it was definitely entertaining, There was never a dull moment and this book read like a true TV crime drama, which was awesome because that is my favorite genre to watch!
Release Date: January,
Genre: Romantic Suspense
POV: Multiplerd person
Steam:out of
Book Type: Standalone Bookof the Cold Justice series
is the best I can to.
Good and bad storyline. .
I loved the beginning of this book, It was thoroughly exciting from Lucas entering the brothel to the explosion that killed so many, Though I didnt feel the least bit sorry that the madam was killed, but I was glad he saved the two young girls,
Also, I just finished a book about two pedophiles just before this one then opened this to see it was the same kind of story, only a little worse.
This one is about human trafficking involving kids AND about the bad guy, Yu Chang whos, who was so excited because the niece who had faked her own death is still alive and he wants to screw her so badly.
YUCK! And the computer nerd who works for the bad guy was repeatedly raping theyear old girl who had been held in captivity foryears, after her mother gave her to them to pay off a gambling debt.
Again, YUCK! This was working on being good story for a while but I was beginning to think it was a little too much for me, I just wanted to get off the kids and screwing the niece and onto something else,
When I finished this book I was so glad it was over, and even though Ive readorof Ms, Andersons books this would not be one of my favorites of hers, It was just too, too much about child rape, child sex slaves, child abuse you were beat over the head with it constantly,
Plus, atLucas was sooo in love with Ashley but he was still arguing with himself about whether or not he really trusted her, Really
And there was soooo much prejudice going on around Ashley it was utterly ridiculous, Jeez, how long have American men been marrying Asian women without any problem whatsoever Youd have thought Ashley had just came over from China and been flagged as a spy instead of her being an FBI agent for the past several years.
The remarks about and to Ashley made the book less enjoyable,
The bad guys, Yu Chang, Andrew, Brandon and Rabbit were some of the most evil men Ive ever read about so Ms, Anderson did do a good job with the evildoers, Who all got what they deserved at the end,
There were a couple of explicit sex scenes in this and the Fbomb was usedtimes,
As to the narration: Eric Dove is awesome! With voices and emotions,
Stories about harm to women, children, animals and child trafficking are horrifically, disgustingly, strong NO's for me, And there was just way too much NO here for me, Too much sicko gritty detail that I just didn't care to read, Wasn't a fan of the romantic relationship either, Won't give away anything else but just didn't find it believable, Skimmed a lot of this one,
I'm sure this is lightweight as far as most readers are concerned, Just not my thing. Sex trafficking was something I would avoid to read at all times but after reading several reviews, I got the book and despite some gruesome details, I enjoyed the book and happy the perpetrators got their hellfire ever after.
There's nothing much to say about the hero, Lucas, He was a great guy from page one to the last but the heroine, Ashley, . . Wow, just wow. The author did a fantastic job writing her, from the blurb itself you'll guessed that she was hiding something but when the truths were finally revealed, . . I was a bit dumbstruck, The romance aspect was not much,that was totally okay with me as the thriller/investigation aspects were engaging,
Really good read, fast paced, and thrilling!
Ms, Anderson has certainly done her research on human trafficking and pedophilia as sick as that seems/is, Well written and hard to put down, No spoilers here, read the book, for that matter read the series!
andthumbs up! Another super read from Toni and a great addition to the series.
I have read and loved this entire series and this book did not disappoint, While I have loved this book it does contain human trafficking and sexual slavery so it may not be for everyone but if you have read and enjoyed the previous books you will want to read this to.
i just loved it and can't wait for the next book Loved thisth book in Toni Anderson's "Cold Justice" series! ARC
FBI Agent Ashley Chen has a secret and its a big one.
This secret is why she leads a solitary life and keeps her colleagues at armslength, Her latest assignment takes her to Boston to assist in the investigation of a sex slavery/human trafficking ring, This puts everything Ashley is protecting on the line, Further complicating the matter is this hardtoresist agent, Lucas Randall, Lucas is a straight arrow who has to make some tough decisions during the course of this case that makes him uncomfortable, One of his biggest puzzles is Agent Chen, He knows she is hiding something, but at the same time, he cannot help his attraction, Is she a part of the problem or a part of the solution
If there ever was a knight in shining armor, it would be Lucas Randall.
You may remember him from A Cold Dark Place, He is an FBI agent out of North Carolina, He is the quintessential agent, Handsome, wellbuilt with an AllAmerican quality, he attracts women, but he is no player, He is in Boston following up on a lead for his case when he is roped into an undercover operation, He is part of a sting to take down a sex slavery ring, Things get ugly pretty quickly and he saves one of the captives, but other law enforcement lives are lost, He is determined to find not only the perpetrators, but the leaders of this illegal international trade,
The chemistry between the two main characters is sizzling, The author always manages to take two seemingly incompatible personalities and make them combust, Although the attraction is immediate, true feelings do not come easily to Ashleys heavily guarded heart:
The kiss had been a rare act of whimsy on her part, a way of satisfying her curiosity.
A way of exorcising her interest in the man and putting out the flames that had started to burn between them, Reality never lived up to fantasy, Disappointment was comforting in its familiarity,
Both Lucas and Ashley have to fight for this relationship, Ashleys secrets threatened to derail whatever is developing between the two of them and her reasons for keeping distance are valid, But this is a romance, so, of course, we have a happy ending!
One of the things I like most about this series is the struggle the protagonists go through to do the right thing.
Situations getting a little murky, especially when they are chasing evil villains, Nothing is ever fully cut and dry and sometimes compromises are made, Even Lucas, who has the best of intentions, does not escape unscathed, Like in real life, answers are not always easy, and it the struggle to reconcile competing values is what makes the characters truly human,
I also give kudos to the author for diversifying her leading characters in the last two books, The hero in her last book, Darsh Singh, is an Indian from Great Britain and Ashley is an interracial American born of part Chinese descent, Toni Anderson acknowledges the challenges faced by an Asian American woman in law enforcement, There are small, subtle details included that highlight her unique experiences, For example, it is not always clear what part of a persons culture and experiences influence a decision: That ingrained need for parental approval never left no matter how old she got.
She didnt know if it was because she was an AsianAmerican female or because she was an insecure orphan, Whatever it was, it sucked, It adds an additional layer that is relevant and wholly appreciated,
This romantic suspense rolls out in a very clever manner, The plot is as twisty and turny as San Franciscos Lombard Street, There is plenty of tension and excitement, Even though it is early in the year, I already know that Cold Secrets is on my top books for the year, Yes, it is that good,
Originally posted at sitelinkScandalicious Book s, .