I love mysteries--and have been working through a new series on my reading list over the past couple of weeks! I recently had the opportunity to read and review books from the Annie Collins Mystery series by Helen Starbuck. I shared my reviews of The Mad Hatter's Son and of No Pity in Death earlier this week--and took advantage of some downtime this weekend to read The Burden of Hate. Check out the books, read my thoughts, learn about the author & enter for a chance to win a prize in the book tour giveaway at the end of this post!
Category: Adult Fiction (18+), 216 pages
Genre: Mystery
Publisher: Routt Street Press
Release date: March 2020
Content Rating: R. Several explicit sex scenes, profanity, medical scenes
How far would you go for someone
you love? How much hate would you need to commit murder? Revenge. Hate.
Fear. Not exactly traditional wedding gifts. But when convicted killer
Ian Patterson escapes from prison, operating room nurse Annie Collins
and fiancé assistant district attorney Angel Cisneros are forced to
confront these realities head on. Will Ian Patterson’s quest for revenge
toward the two people responsible for sending him to prison—Annie
Collins and Angel Cisneros—bring them face to face to settle the score
once and for all?
Find out why Kirkus Reviews calls The Burden of Hate, “A thriller that offers a master class in suspense.”
My Review
The Burden of Hate Pulls from Earlier Books in the Series. If
you read my review of The Mad Hatter's Son, you know I struggled a bit
to get into the story--then enjoyed the story line. In No Pity in Death,
the author picked up where the first book left us and kept a nice pace
as she introduced her new mystery and entwined some subplots and side
stories. Each novel is a standalone story--but, because the characters and events of previous books revisit either directly or as subplots and memories--it really is necessary to read the previous books in order. The Burden of Hate is also standalone novel--but it pulls from both books as the main characters face some old threats while encountering their latest mystery.
The Burden of Hate Was My Favorite in the Series. I didn't like Annie much during the first book--but, I enjoyed the author's settings and storytelling style. The second book continued Starbuck's storytelling and seemed to even-out Annie's shortcomings through her relationship with Angel--and the challenges she faced through the novel. This book seemed to balance everything well for me. The pace of the novel flowed well, I enjoyed the author's method of tying the past together and continuing to move her characters forward--and, once again, there was just enough light suspense to keep me interested from cover to cover.
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Book Title: The Mad Hatter's Son (An Annie Collins Mystery #1) by Helen Starbuck
Category: Adult Fiction (18+), 285 pages
Genre: Mystery
Publisher: Routt Street Press
Release date: 2018
Format available for review: ebook (Gifted Kinde, PDF), audiobook (audible download)
Tour dates: Jan 13 to Feb 9, 2021
Content Rating: R. Two explicit sex scenes, profanity, medical scenes.
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About the Book
Curiosity killed the cat, so the saying goes, and it may end up killing operating room nurse Annie Collins. Annie’s estranged friend Libby Matheisen needs Annie’s help to discover what is causing her vague, puzzling symptoms. Unwillingly drawn into her friend’s life, Annie must discover whether Libby is really ill or if there is a hidden agenda. Faced with Libby’s apparent suicide, Annie is unable to stop asking questions to uncover the truth about her illness and death. The answers to these questions don’t come without a price, and pursuing the mystery of Libby’s death threatens to end her life as well. Friends change, love betrays, and the end results are never what you anticipate. Find out why the BookLife Prize called The Mad Hatter’s Son “An outstanding debut,” and it was the winner of The National Indie Excellence Book Awards mystery category.
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Category: Adult Fiction (18+), 249 pages
Genre: Mystery
Publisher: Routt Street Press
Release date: 2019
Format available for review: ebook (Gifted Kinde, PDF), audiobook (audible download)
Tour dates: Jan 13 to Feb 9, 2021
Content Rating: R. Two explicit sex scenes, profanity, medical scenes.
About the Book
Struggling to put her life back
together after almost being murdered, operating room nurse Annie Collins
agrees to help homicide Detective Alex Frost investigate a troubling
number of patient deaths in the ICU step down unit at her hospital. Are
the patients succumbing to life threatening illnesses or is someone
helping them die? Assistant district attorney and close friend, Angel
Cisneros, worries about Annie’s involvement with Frost’s investigation,
and his concern
escalates after a person from her past contacts her. His feelings for
her, which have grown deeper, complicate everything. Dangerous enemies
are something Annie and Angel have in common. As they quickly discover,
paybacks can be hell.
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Helen Starbuck is a Colorado native, former OR nurse, and award-winning author of the standalone romantic suspense novel Legacy of Secrets, and the Annie Collins Mystery Series. She loves mysteries, suspense, romance, and any book that is well written. She’s a huge fan of books with independent, strong, women characters and, as Neil Gaiman says, “…stories where women save themselves.”
Connect with the author: Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~Instagram ~ Pinterest ~ Goodreads
Angela, thank you for the review of The Burden of Hate and the other books! Helen Starbuck
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