Murder Notes
(Lilah Love, #1)

by Lisa Renee Jones

 

Released March 27, 2018

 

Available Now!
Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Paperback

 

 

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Blurb

New York Times bestselling author Lisa Renee Jones’s heart-pounding thriller of a woman’s secrets—and a past that’s about to come out of hiding…

As an FBI profiler, it’s Lilah Love’s job to think like a killer. And she is very good at her job. When a series of murders surface—the victims all stripped naked and shot in the head—Lilah’s instincts tell her it’s the work of an assassin, not a serial killer. But when the case takes her back to her hometown in the Hamptons and a mysterious but unmistakable connection to her own life, all her assumptions are shaken to the core.

Thrust into a troubled past she’s tried to shut the door on, Lilah’s back in the town where her father is mayor, her brother is police chief, and she has an intimate history with the local crime lord’s son, Kane Mendez. The two share a devastating secret, and only Kane understands Lilah’s own darkest impulses. As more corpses surface, so does a series of anonymous notes to Lilah, threatening to expose her. Is the killer someone in her own circle? And is she the next target?

Find Murder Notes on GOODREADS

 

 

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Review

4.5 stars!

Ooooh, I forgot how much I love murder mystery and this one is good. No, it’s great. Lisa Renee Jones has weaved a web of secrets and lies that is complex and completely captivating. I loved it!

Lilah Love is one of the top FBI profilers in the US. She’s good at her job but there is a reason she’s consumed with it. A tragic event in her past pushed her to become to the detective she is today seeking justice to right the wrongs of the world.

When dead people start piling up around her with a link to the past, she realizes there may be a personal connection between her and the murders. The case sends her home, back to the Hamptons where her nightmares began, and back to the drug lord she has a history with and secrets only he knows. Lilah escaped the horror once, can she escape it again?

Murder Notes was entertaining, mysterious, and engrossing, and an awesome start to a new series. I couldn’t put the book down as I read into the wee hours of the morning. The introduction to the characters and the development of the story were well thought out. The intensity and suspense were on point. I loved the mystery and the way the story unfolded, leaving us questioning everything. I don’t know who is good and who is bad, and it is driving me crazy. Each new piece of information opened up more possibilities and every page I turned, the case and Lilah’s life became more complicated.

I really enjoyed Lilah. She is a girlie-girl who loves her job and is great at it. The two don’t usually mix but it works for her. She is smart, fresh, feisty, and a total badass. She’s straightforward and blunt, but also funny with a great personality. She doesn’t play games and she is driven to succeed. When she goes all in on a case, she lives and breathes it.

I call it “Otherland,” and when I mentally step into that world, I don’t feel anything. I just process. I just profile. It’s sanity. It’s peace. It’s survival.

It was fascinating watching Lilah work the case. Combing through the evidence and trying to link the clues were exciting and I was trying to figure out who the killer is right alongside her. Everything gets more complicated the more she uncovers and the link between her and the case become more apparent. There’s a lot going on in her head and she has so many mixed emotions when it comes to being home and facing the things she’s tucked away in the depths of her mind.

What I need is to do my job, find my note writer, find my murderer, and get the hell out of the entire state of New York.

She isn’t perfect and has a past that is marked with terror, pain, and guilt. She has a darkness in her that she faces each day, especially now being back home. Lilah’s secrets are well concealed but the skeletons in her closet haunt her. Now, she is faced with the possibility that what was once hidden may be exposed and as we get pieces of her past, the intensity of the revelation was overwhelming.

With every clue Lilah finds, more questions fill her head and ours. We quickly learn there is so much more to the case than we could have imagined. There are twist and turns that make you question everyone and everything. Add in Lilah’s ex-boyfriend and you’ll want to know exactly what when down between them and who is behind the murders.

I should have fought to stay in Los Angeles and even welcome Rivera pushing me aside. But there are too many links between me, a secret I need to ensure stays buried, and these murders for me to ignore. And one of those links is Kane Mendez.

Kane is super intriguing. He’s hot, smart, and a business man whose late father was head of the Mendez Cartel. I can feel his connection to Lilah and I know he cares about her. But he isn’t entirely good and there is just so much to his story that he is still a total mystery.

Kane Mendez.
The devil—or prince—of the Hamptons depending on who you’re talking to. And since it’s me, he’s the devil.

Lilah and Kane have a past and I want to dig into all the dark grit and grime they experienced together. I know they were hot and heavy and I know hearts were broken, but I want to know it all!!

He is the devil, but then, I am no angel. He made sure of that. He touched my life forever, and I can never undo the way he changed me. And in some of those nightmares he talks about, I imagine what I would become if I ever tasted his version of temptation again. They were—are—the bloodiest of them all.

Though this book is focused mainly on the mystery, the romantic element is there, waiting to explode. There isn’t much sexy time but what is there is hot. The sexual tension is off the charts and I enjoyed the push and pull between Lilah and Kane.

I turn and head for the door, but the moment I reach for the knob, his hand is on the door above my head, his big body so damn close he’s damn near touching me. So close I can smell him. And he smells like a life I once found addictive, a life I loved and now hate.

With all of the mystery, suspense, action, and romance, I am already hooked on this series. Overall, Murder Notes is an entertaining and gripping murder mystery that leaves you desperate for more and I cannot wait for Murder Girl!

“You might be surprised how solving one crime makes everything else collide in a brilliant way.”

*ARC generously provided by the author via NetGalley*

 

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Excerpt

I scan the ocean, expecting it to turn to blood, but it simply crashes to the shore.

I turn to the house and take a step, then stop abruptly, a shadow flickering by the house. A shiver runs down my spine. There it is again. Another shadow. Someone is there. It’s then that I flash back to being on this very sand, with Kane grabbing my arms and saying, “I’ll take care of it.” And I let him, and did so without asking questions, until it was too late to change the outcome. Because I was weak that night and he was strong. But I am not weak anymore.

I pull my weapon and start running for the house, wind in my hair and face, my heart thundering in my ears, and I don’t stop until I’m staring at the blood splattered all over the patio glass, some kind of note pinned in the center. Adrenaline surges through me, but I am in my Otherworld now. I retain my cool. I walk to the patio door, using the end of my shirt to open the door, and then I systematically search every inch of the house. When I know I’m alone, I walk to my bag, pull on gloves and then walk back outside, yanking the note off the door. Returning back inside, I lock the door and pull the blinds and then I open the note. At the top is the alphabet, pasted in paper letters, with an X across the letter A. The note reads:

A is for the Apple a day that keeps the doctor away. But a doctor couldn’t help him, could he?

I KNOW.

 

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Giveaway 

 

 

To celebrate the release of MURDER NOTES Lisa is giving away TWO Lilah Love Mugs PLUS a Kindle Fire Tablet!

 

ENTER HERE 

 

The Escapist Book Blog is not responsible for this giveaway.

 

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Lilah Love

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About the Author

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Lisa Renee Jones is the author of the highly acclaimed INSIDE OUT series.

In addition to the success of Lisa’s INSIDE OUT series, she has published many successful titles. The TALL, DARK AND DEADLY series and THE SECRET LIFE OF AMY BENSEN series, both spent several months on a combination of the New York Times and USA Today bestselling lists. Lisa is also the author of the bestselling DIRTY MONEY and WHITE LIES series. Presently, Lisa is working on her Murder Girl/Lilah Love series to be published by Montlake.

Prior to publishing Lisa owned multi-state staffing agency that was recognized many times by The Austin Business Journal and also praised by the Dallas Women’s Magazine. In 1998 Lisa was listed as the #7 growing women owned business in Entrepreneur Magazine.

 

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