Deadly Ties by @maggiethom2 #bookreview #thriller #excerpt #giveaway

Title: Deadly Ties

Author: Maggie Thom

Published: May 17, 2016

Genre: Suspense/Thriller

~ Synopsis ~

She went to jail for the right reason but the wrong murder…

With her mom in the hospital from a recent attack, Kyara has to wonder if her grandmother’s recent release from jail isn’t behind it. Pulled from her quiet, content life, Kyara finds herself on a mission, not only to find out who put her mom in a coma but who just might have a lifetime of secrets to hide.

Snooping into what’s going on, seems harmless until Kyara meets Ryan, and discovers who he really is. Unknowingly, they have stirred up a long forgotten past, one that some will go to any lengths to keep hidden.

Secrets spanning thirty years may never come to light unless they can solve the deadly secret, now buried beneath the golf course and stay ahead of those trying to kill them.

How many more people will die before the lies are unraveled and those who are guilty, decide that killing an entire town, isn’t too far to go to hide their dirty past?

Amazon ~ iTunes ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Kobo

~ My Review~

Deadly Ties reminds me of one of the BBC detective shows – to which I’m unashamedly addicted. There are numerous characters and initially it’s very confusing as to who is who and where do they all fit in anyway? At the start, I certainly didn’t like any of those characters either. We first meet the grandmother and – by her own admission – she doesn’t seem like the nicest person. And then there’s Kyrara who just seems a bit weak and bitter, not to mention scatter-brained. The Jespersons were naturally awful, but then again, they were supposed to be. Between the confusion and dislike of the ‘good guys’ in the book, it took me some time to really dig into the story.

The story itself is quite good. It’s in-depth and there are lots of different tangents – murder, industrial espionage, a cover-up of epic proportions – this book has got them all. Some of the ‘lies’ are obvious while others are not revealed until the very end. And there’s definitely suspense. Just who is going after whom? And how many of the characters are evil? You’ll have to read the novel to figure it out. I liked the addition of a bit of romance between Kyrara and Ryan as well. It allowed the reader to take a break from all the suspense and confusion.

The writing itself could use a bit of tweaking. There are quite a few grammatically errors as well as some repetitiveness. Unfortunately, these issues distracted from the story itself.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes a good whodunit with lots of action.

~ Excerpt ~

“God, that was close.”

“Too close Betty. What are we going to do?”

Betty looked at Cynthia for a moment before turning and walking over to the heavily draped window, lifting the corner to peak out. The sun was just spreading its light over the horizon. Even though she was technically free, she was still imprisoned indoors as there were still people she didn’t want to know she was back. The situation had gotten out of control. She hadn’t expected that Kyara would do something so stupid as to go and explore at night time. Sam had damn near killed her and Ryan. She hadn’t expected them to be there. Things hadn’t quite worked out how she’d planned.

“I don’t know.”

“Well that backfired. We got Ryan and Kyara involved. We had to know that turning thirty-year-old gravestones was going to bring out some pretty nasty ghosts. There are still those people who don’t want others to know what happened. The lies. The people who died. The people who will die, if something isn’t done. They don’t want people to remember, why Tumor town originally was called Joje.”

“I know. I thought I had things under control. Obviously, I don’t. I need to talk to…” Getty looked at her friend, who was more her sister than anyone.

“You’re not going to tell me who your contact is. Really? After all we’ve been through together.”

“I just can’t. I have never kept anything from you ever before, so please know there is a good reason. It would shock you. So let it go for now okay?”

“I hope it’s not someone, who’s going to make you pay in some ungodly way.”

Betty smiled at her friend as she walked over and pulled her into a big hug. “I missed you.” She hadn’t allowed herself to cry in eighteen years but the lump in her throat let her know that she was closer than she wanted to be.

“I missed you too.”

Betty pulled back and sat down at the table and waited until her friend had sat down as well.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t get you out.”

“Don’t Cynthia. We both know who put me there. You know what’s funny about all of this, I had always believed it was Jeb who had killed Richard. I’d always thought he’d figured out who had killed his brother and had wanted payback. But what if it wasn’t him?”

“Why are you questioning it now?”

“Well eighteen years gives you a lot of time to think. Too much time. I realized that I did have one or two more enemies. Someone else could have killed Richard. The question is who? And why?”

~ About the Author ~

Award winning author, Maggie Thom, grew up in a house full of books and often made weekly trips to the library to get more. Reading was her go to, when it was too cold outside to play. She started experimenting with writing at a young age letting her imagination take her away on many adventures. Maggie has written everything from technical writing, to nonfiction, to fiction for children, youth and adults, along with poems and short stories. She finally settled on her love of puzzles, mysteries and roller coasters and now writes suspense/thrillers that will take you on one heck of a ride. Author of The Caspian Wine Series – Captured Lies and Deceitful Truths with Split Seconds to be out late 2016 – and her other published novel, Tainted Waters (2013 Suspense/Thriller Book of the Year through Turning the Pages Magazine). Her latest novel, Deadly Ties, to be released early 2016.

Her motto: Read to escape… Escape to read…  Her motto: Escape to read and Read to escape.

“Maggie Thom writes a fast paced thriller laced with romance that keeps the reader interested and on edge!” InDtale Magazine

Contact Links

Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Blog ~ Pinterest ~ Goodreads

 ~ Giveaway ~

  a Rafflecopter giveaway