The Prey

It took 2/3 of the book to come up with true action. Too much useless detail This author needs to compare her writing to John Sanford's Prey series to see the huge difference.

Our story starts with Rowan Smith, a former FBI, turned author, after investigating a gruesome Tennessee crime scene. When all of a sudden the murders that Rowan is writing about begin happening. Just as she's written then in her books. This killer is using the same names, towns and cities and occupations as Rowan has written about. Rowan's Agent gets concerned for her client, she pays for a bodyguard. Michael Flynn reports for duty, assisted by his sister Tess. Rowan isn't very receptive to the bodyguard but after the murders continue she realizes no one is safe. Tess Flynn begins to see that her brother Michael is starting to have feeligns for Rowan, so she makes a call to her brother John Flynn and informs him of the situation and he comes home to help. After releiving Michael of his duties, John takes over. John a former Delta Force Officer who has a past of his own, tries to help Rowan revisit her past and figure out who is responsible for making these murders in her books a reality, before they themselves become "The Prey".

Former FBI agent turned author Rowan Smith survived a horrifying childhood. But will she survive emotionally when someone starts killing victims exactly as she's written in her bestselling suspense books? Breaking Rowan's spirit is the murderer's goal. After that, he wants to take her life and finish the horror that began when she as a child. John Flynn is climbing out of his own darkness. Guarding Rowan is just a job until he can end a greater evil from his days as a DEA agent. But his objectives change when he falls in love with her. Nothing is as important as preventing her death from one of the smartest villains he's come across. Once I started reading THE PREY, I couldn't stop. The characters spring to life, even the minor ones, and something unexpected happens in each scene. I kept turning the pages to find out what was going to happen next. It's hard to believe this is Allison Brennan's first book. I want more! I'm eagerly awaiting THE HUNT and THE KILL.

Rowan Smith's hiding from a violent past in order to survive. An ex-FBI agent turned bestselling crime novelist, she finally has a new life when a killer makes her his prey. He commits murders in the exact form of her books, sending Rowan souvenirs of the crimes to taunt her, making it known this is personal and will only end with her death. Bodyguards, Michael and John Flynn are assigned to protect Rowan at all costs. A vow they take literally when each falls for the tormented blonde who, with each murder, teeters further toward the edge of insanity. As the death toll accumulates, everyone searches frantically for a clue to help them stop the killer. But it's Rowan who must stifle the terrors of her past and avenge the victims of these brutal murders...by going after the killer herself. If you're looking for a book you can't put down, this is it. Brennan's debut is a "killer" and this reader can't wait to read THE HUNT.

Allison Brennan's first book is a tightly written thriller with a romance that sizzles. Rowan left the FBI four years ago with hopes of finding peace in seclusion at a Malibu beach house where she's penning best selling mystery novels. She's a tortured heroine who still sleeps with her weapon and contends she needs no one. But she wakes one morning to a front yard filled with media, because a killer is using real people to recreate deaths of fictional characters in her story with grisly accuracy. The fast paced story is woven with gripping emotion, high action and tense scenes as Rowan, her hot Delta Force bodyguard and the FBI try to find the murderer before an end game is played out with Rowan as the final prey. The ending of THE PREY is terrific and the ride to get there intense. I've already ordered THE HUNT and THE KILL.

Three women have known violence in their childhood. They come together as roommates at the FBI training academy. Ten year later, their nightmares really begin. Rowan Smith left the FBI after she was assigned to a case very similar to her own childhood violence. No one really knew she left to preserve her sanity. She began a writing career and had astounding success. In fact, one of her books is being made into a movie in Hollywood. Rowan thought she had left her past behind her at last. Then a dismembered body is found in Colorado. The victim had the same name, occupation, and looks as a character Rowan wrote in one of her novels. This is followed by a second victim, again eerily similar to a character in one of Rowan novels. Michael Flynn is an ex-cop. John Flynn is a former DEA agent. The two brothers own and operate a security firm. They are hired to protect Rowan. John believes there is more to it all than they currently know. He also has some secrets of his own that he wants no one to learn of. Yet even he will be astounded as the truth comes out. And the only way to reach the truth is for Rowan to revisit the violence in her past, a past that just may kill them both. ***** It is hard to believe that this is Allison Brennan's debut novel. It is fantastic! This title is the first of a trilogy. Each woman from the academy will get her own story told. You will not have to wait a long time between the stories either. The three books come out with only a month between each. (The other two titles will be "The Hunt" and "The Kill".) I could not read fast enough to find out what was going to happen next. Highly recommended reading! ***** Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.