Dark Pursuit

Up until now, Crimson Eve, book 3 in the Kanner Lake Series, has been my favorite of Brandilyn Collin's books. Dark Pursuit matched Crimson Eve in intensity and often surpassed it. The characterization is deep and multifaceted. This is a book you don't want to put down. So be prepared to get sucked in. Definitely a great read.

There's a reason why Brandilyn Collins's books repeatedly top the "best of" lists year after year; in fact there are many reasons. Collins not only knows how to write very well; she also knows how to write suspenseful page-turners very well. If you can read a Collins book without becoming immersed in the story --- without clearly visualizing the setting and almost directly feeling the action --- you should probably move on to another genre. Suspense is simply not your thing. DARK PURSUIT is yet another of the author's successful suspense novels --- though this one is something of a surprising success. The book opens with two parallel stories, one about the efforts of an elderly, bestselling author to regain his footing after a car crash left him unable to write, and the second about a young woman who fears that the serial killer who has terrorized the women in her town is in fact her perfect boyfriend --- a police officer and the son of the town's police chief. Kaitlan Sering also fears for her own life now that Craig Barlow is aware of her suspicions, and so she turns for help to her estranged grandfather, Darell Brooke, the bestselling author who rediscovers his bearings as a writer in his granddaughter's dilemma. Excerpts from Brooke's current manuscript appear throughout Collins's book, offering background and motive and even more suspense. It's to Collins's credit as a writer that DARK PURSUIT works as well as it does. Unlike so many of her previous books, this one required a major suspension of disbelief; I found myself questioning the actions of the three major characters already mentioned as well as Brooke's housekeeper, Margaret, and Craig's father. I couldn't imagine a young woman like Kaitlan making some of the decisions she made, nor could I fathom Margaret's subservient relationship to the domineering and unlikable Brooke. So how does Collins do it? How does she manage to build suspense when the premise is dubious and the characters aren't exactly believable? I have no idea. What I do know is that despite those flaws, which are so uncharacteristic of Collins, I kept turning the pages and reading and wondering what on earth was going to happen. In the end, DARK PURSUIT proved to be a truly satisfying read, complete with Collins's signature twist. As always, Brandilyn Collins displays her strengths as a writer throughout the book but especially in Darell Brooke's manuscript excerpts. She did a masterful job of adopting a different writer's voice without disrupting the flow of the novel. The excerpts enhanced rather than detracted from the main story. The expert pacing of the entire book, in fact, added to the suspense. Collins's fans will likely love this book, as will suspense readers who, like me, can ignore the illogical scenarios and choose to settle in for an enjoyable afternoon with a good novel --- or an enjoyable evening, if you can handle reading a Brandilyn Collins book after the sun has set and there's evil afoot.

When Brandilyn Collins trademarked her books Seatbelt Suspense, she set a high standard for herself. For those who wear their seatbelts out reading Brandilyn's books, Dark Pursuit, her most recent novel, will not disappoint. Kaitlan Sering is twenty- years old, has reformed from a life of drug abuse and rebuilt herself. She has her own successful hair salon business, a great boyfriend, her own house, and a dead woman in her bed. Kaitlan must make a difficult decision. She returns to her estranged grandfather's house. He is the grandfather she stole from to support her drug habit, and who is known the world over for his great suspense novels. When Kaitlan discovers evidence that her charming boyfriend is the murderer of the woman in her house and two other women in town, she knows she must trust her angry, memory- challenged grandfather with her life and that of her unborn child. With finesse and skill Brandilyn Collins lures her readers into a sense of comfort knowing the grandfather will come through with the perfect pan for capturing the killer while keeping Kaitlan safe. Then she completely throws all previously perceived solutions to the wind testing to be sure the readers' seatbelts are securely fastened. From the opening page until the end the reader travels a journey with Kaitlan that will frighten and challenge. Go ahead, buy the book, open the first page . . . but first, be sure your calendar is clear, your lights are on, and your seatbelt is tight.

I have been a fan of Brandilyn Collins for several years, this book ranks up there with all of her previous books. The plot twists are more the the higways she describes in this book, I know this is true as I live in the area. The positive aspects of finding her higher power and identifying Him as Christ is great. Brandilyn has hit another homerun with this book and it has already started the rounds of other readers at my church.

Brandilyn Collins already known as "Queen of Suspense," has used her creative plotting and unforgettable characters in DARK PURSUIT to create a truly suspenseful thriller. From the moment Kaitlan Sering finds a dead woman on her bed the action never stops even when she's nearly killed by the least likely person she would have suspected. Readers will find themselves glued to their chairs almost afraid to turn the page for fear of what will happen next. Kaitlan faces many problems, but her fragile, new found Christian faith and desire for family must sustain her through this terrible ordeal. In DARK PURSUIT, Brandilyn Collins once again shows her ability to portray believable characters and realistic plots that will keep her fans on the edge of their seats. As she always says...."fasten your seat belts"...this is another thriller. Submitted by Donna Enochs