Thursday, 15 February 2018
Release Date: 6th September 2017
Publisher: King Park Press
Publisher: King Park Press
Genres: Psychological Thriller / Romance
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Will a
reckless moment from her past come back to haunt her?
Devastated
by the death of her husband, Colin, in the London bombings on July 7, 2005,
Katherine Murphy-Whithorn builds a wall around her heart determined to never
let anyone in again. Settling in to a comfortable routine, her life becomes
mundane, until five years later when someone from her rebellious past returns
to the city and begins stalking her.
As the
curtain falls on 2010 her first love, Jared Martin, walks back into Katherine´s
life. Despite him being her first love, he must tear down the barrier she´s
created to protect herself. Finally seeing a second chance of a life with him,
Katherine couldn´t be happier until another cruel twist of fate strikes. The
helicopter returning from the Alpha Ecosse platform, on which Jared is a
passenger, ditches in the North Sea. Can he survive the ordeal?
Will they
get their chance for happiness? Or is fate still not done its dirty deeds?
Katherine’s stalker may have his own agenda.
EXTRACT
While Katherine fumbled with her key, the
handsome man’s steely blue eyes bored through her. A bead of sweat formed at
the base of her skull and slowly trickled down her back. She became
cotton-mouthed. No longer a silly teenager, why did he still have this effect
on her after all this time?
When she finally managed to keep her hand
steady enough to insert the key and turn it, he spun her around and mashed his
mouth on hers. His tongue teased her lips open and he pulled her to him. Her
pulse quickened and she let herself melt into his strong arms, those years
apart, non-existent.
“If we don’t soon go for that drink, I won’t be
responsible for my actions.” His voice was husky.
At that particular moment, Katherine wanted
time to stand still. Pressed against him was a place she could spend the rest
of her life. She nuzzled her head into the hollow at the crook of his neck and
hugged him tighter. He caressed her forehead before disentangling himself from
her grip and wrapped his arm around her.
The tang of the salty North Sea and fumes from
the ships in the harbour
lingered in the heavy air. Those smells, while powerful, couldn’t mask the
seductive aroma of men’s cologne. When they dated before, he wore Hugo. Was he
wearing that now? Held next to his muscular body and inhaling his scent,
Katherine lost her balance and toppled into him when one of her stiletto heels
slipped into a crack between the cobbles. Despite the streetlights, shadows
formed. The gaps between fixtures were dark. No wonder she twisted her ankle.
“Are you all right?”
“Just a bit clumsy. You would never know I walk
this street every day in these boots. I feel like an arse.” Her cheeks burned
from the heat of her blush.
***
He emerged from the shadows and leaned on the
wall of the cinema. This man who kissed her was so cocksure of himself. That
man would be removed from her life. She was his and only his, for the taking.
The fiery red haired beauty would not be stolen from him. She belonged to him.
Of that, she could be assured.
More people appeared on the street and he
slinked back into the darkness to remain invisible.
Kat owns a book shop (I like her already!) and completely out of the blue bumps into an old flame when he helps her assistant carry a heavy sign. She is totally shocked at seeing Jared again. He was her first love when she was a teenager but her parents objected to him and whisked Kat away to live abroad. Kat moved on with her life and later married Colin when she returned to the UK. However, she's now a young widow, struggling to come to terms with Colin's death and the circumstances around it.
Both Kat and Jared struggle with the range of emotions they feel at seeing each other again and that passion that was once there is reignited again. However, before they have any hope of taking their relationship forward, both must deal with their own personal demons. However, both are unaware that lurking in the shadows is someone who means to do Kat harm. His obsession with Kat is driven by the voices in his head and he must have her.
I really enjoyed this book. Its the type of book that makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. Kat's stalker is constantly there, observing her every move and she doesn't even know it! Melanie Robertson-King has managed to create an atmospheric book that gave me the creeps at times! I love a book that can do this! There's lots of drama and a little bit of mystery going on. My only bug bear is that I think some of the sentence structure could be improved slightly but over all this is a fantastic piece of writing from a writer who seems to be able to write in different genres and deliver a brilliant story each time. I'm becoming a huge fan!
The love story between Kat and Jared is an interesting one. I will admit to instantly disliking Jared at first. I thought his character was aggressive and too driven by his emotions. However, I did forgive him a little when I learned of his traumatic childhood and how he was haunted by that. And, I did feel Kat accepted it a little too easily. That being said, as the story developed it was easy to see how each of the characters clearly needed one another and in spite of their shaky start I did come to like them. Both matured and developed throughout the story and the strength they give to one another only served to annoy the hell out of the stalker. What a crazed individual he was! It was frightening to think that a person could be observed so closely and not even know. A recommended read if you are looking for something thrilling and creepy with a good old fashioned romance thrown in.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Melanie
Robertson-King has always been a fan of the written word. Growing up as an only
child, her face was almost always buried in a book from the time she could
read. Her father was one of the thousands of Home Children sent to Canada
through the auspices of The Orphan Homes of Scotland, and she has been
fortunate to be able to visit her father’s homeland many times and even met the
Princess Royal (Princess Anne) at the orphanage where he was raised.
Melanie
began her professional writing career in non-fiction. She published eight of
her articles. One graced the cover of an international publication. At the same
time, she continued to develop her writing voice: short stories (both fiction
and non–fiction) as well as novel-length work.
Her debut
novel, published by 4RV Publishing, A Shadow in the Past, came
out in the summer of 2012. Melanie even made the trip to the Kansas Book
Festival in September to celebrate the launch of her novel. She met her
publisher and editor face–to–face for the first time, along with two other
authors from the publishing house.
Other
works by Melanie include a compilation of short stories, The
Consequences Collection; a
children’s chapter book geared to ages 7–11, Tim’s Magic Christmas; and a short novel set in a fictitious Eastern Canadian haunted house, The Secret of Hillcrest House. Her short story, Cole’s Notes, was included in EFD1:
Starship Goodwords, published by Carrick Publishing, 2012.
The
sequel to her debut novel, Shadows From Her Past, came out in the summer of 2016. She released her latest novel, YESTERDAY TODAY ALWAYS, in September 2017.
When
she’s not sequestered in her cave writing, plotting or editing, you’ll find her
out about. In addition to writing, she loves to travel, prowl through
cemeteries (the older the better), and photography.
Cole’s
Notes has been re-edited and has
been released as a free read through her website and blog.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RobertsoKing
Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6543072.Melanie_Robertson_King
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ca/robertsonking/
About me: https://about.me/melanierobertsonking
Celtic Connexions Blog: https://melanierobertson-king.com/wp02/
Website: https://melanierobertson-king.com
Thanks for hosting me, today, on your blog!