Unexpected Connection
by Sue Jaskula
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GENRE: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
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BLURB:
Confident and resilient homicide detective Jennifer Scott is instinctively suspicious when her best friend’s life is disrupted by the arrival of an unbeknownst twin sister. When a murder coincides with her appearance, the mysterious twin becomes the prime suspect.
Adding confusion to Jen’s organized life is another unexpected intrusion, her handsome and sophisticated new partner, Detective Luke O’Connor. As mischievous as he is charming, chemistry between the two intensifies, threatening Jen’s reputation and testing her limitations.
As the murder investigation unfolds, the detectives are forced to back-burner their heated connection while they race against time to figure out what other long-lost family members may be involved, how they’re connected to the twins and why they’ve surfaced now.
Jennifer’s life is as calm as the life of a law enforcement officer could be. She has no love life as her life mostly revolves around work and the friends that she loves. One day, her best friend Grace has a mysterious twin sister show up at her door. Grace was adopted as a child so she is ecstatic to find her long-lost sister, but her sister’s behavior seems odd. Soon, a murder occurs and Grace’s new twin sister is the prime suspect. Jennifer must work with her new partner that she has some…tensions with to figure out who murdered Grace’s neighbor before more people turn up dead.
This thriller definitely kept me on the edge of my seat. There was so much going on in this story from suspicious long-lost twins to suspicious neighbors. Then, throw in a little bit of workplace romance. I was rooting for Jennifer to solve the mystery but I was also rooting for her to figure out what she wanted with Luke. Some thrillers have characters that I don’t really care about, but I actually cared about Jennifer’s relationship with her friends as much as I cared about her relationship with her love interest. Every time she was in danger, I was always rooting for one of her friends to come to help her. A mysterious long-lost twin definitely makes for a great story-starter!
This story felt medium-intensity when it came to the gorier sections of a thriller. I feel like you should be able to get through it, even if you don’t particularly enjoy gory books. A lot of the thrill portions of this book come from people getting sick or learning about the darker backstories of the characters. If things like sexual or physical child abuse affect you, this may not be the book for you. If you can deal with that, this story is definitely a unique thriller.
There were two things that I didn’t love about this book. The first thing was that the book was a bit slow to start and then had an information dump at the end. I’m not sure what could have alleviated this dump. I would have even preferred seeing a scene or two from the killer’s eyes rather than hearing the information second-hand from an officer at the end of the story. I also felt like I was dealing with so many characters by the time I got to the end of the book, even though some of them did not add much to the story overall. It felt a bit cluttered. These things didn’t hinder my enjoyment of the story that much, so don’t let it keep you from checking it out!
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a new thriller to read.
I received a copy of this book and this is my voluntary review.
Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 books.
EXCERPT
I was angry at myself for my body’s response that started the minute he walked up in his perfect suit. The return of his devilish grin didn’t improve my disposition. “It’s nothing,” I snapped.
“I’m good at reading people and that expression tells me you have something you’d like to discuss.”
Again, I hushed my voice, but I knew my irritation came across loud and clear. “Keep your voice down, damn it. I don’t need rumors starting from your asinine comments. We’re not going to play this cat and mouse game, Detective O’Connor. I am also good at reading people, that’s why we’re in this job. I’ve been around a few rodeos and met your smooth-talking type. The last one almost got me fired, so let’s establish a few things. I’m not a damsel in distress. I don’t need you to escort me or help me or hit on me or tell me how good I look on any given day. I don’t date cops and I don’t need you in my personal space every time I turn around. Are you picking up what I’m putting down here?”
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Author Bio
My career has spanned many years in a mix of criminal and civil law and hospital surgical administrative work. Along with my work and life experience, I hold a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English and a Creative Writing Certificate both from McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario.
I am thrilled to have had the opportunity to take early retirement and pursue a career in writing, a pursuit I have entered into with energy and enthusiasm. I am currently a registered member of Toronto Romance Writers and Crime Writers of Canada.
My husband and I share our home in Grimsby, Ontario, with our youngest daughter, her boyfriend, our dog and two cats. But I spend a great deal of time at our cottage in Kincardine, Ontario near my daughter, son-in-law and first grandson. On these shores of Lake Huron, with some of the best walking trails in the country, my imagination soars and my best stories come to life.
Social Media Links
https://suejaskula.wordpress.com/
https://www.instagram.com/suejaskulaauthor/
https://www.facebook.com/sue.jaskula
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21295570.Sue_Jaskula
Buy Links
https://bookshop.org/books/unexpected-connection/9781509236473
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/unexpected-connection-sue-jaskula/1139582405?
https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/unexpected-connection/9781509236473-item.html?
https://www.target.com/p/unexpected-connection-by-sue-jaskula-paperback/-/A-83851223
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Giveaway Information
Sue Jaskula will be awarding a $20 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thanks for hosting!
I look forward to reading this.
Thanks so much for the terrific review and for hosting me today!
It’s a suspenseful quick read with lots of twists and turns you won’t see coming! Thanks so much for stopping by to check it out, Sue