Die For Me: A Novel of the Valentine Killer by Cynthia EdenDie for Me by cynthia eden
Series: For Me #1
Published by Montlake Publishing on February 12, 2013
Genres: Contemporary RS, Dark Romantic Suspense, Rom-Suspense
Pages: 358
Format: eBook
Source: Personal copy
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four-stars

She thought her fiancé was the perfect man—until he turned out to be the perfect killer…

Katherine Cole is running for her life, desperate to escape the Valentine Killer—so-called because he stabs his victims through the heart and leaves them holding a telltale single red rose. Still he tracks her to New Orleans and begins carving a bloody path to her door. But this time, Katherine refuses to run any farther. This time, she’ll do anything to stop the madman she once loved, even trust the sexy cop promising to keep her safe…

Detective Dane Black never lets his emotions interfere with his job, even as the Valentine Killer surfaces in New Orleans to stalk his prey. But when Dane agrees to protect the killer’s ex-fiancée, Katherine Cole, he can’t ignore the passion kindling between them. After a single unforgettable night binds them body and soul, Dane knows he won’t rest until Katherine is safe in his arms—and the Valentine Killer is dead.

 

I read this book on Valentine’s Day, for reasons. This is subtitled A Novel of the Valentine Killer so it seemed fitting.

Katherine Cole doesn’t like being touched. She keeps to herself, and is pretty much just going through the motions of life. She has been, for the past three years. Until there’s a murder that wakes her up. This isn’t the first death she knows inside information about either, which means that when she goes to the detective in charge of the investigation, he instantly thinks she’s his number one suspect.

Detective Dane Black doesn’t know why this slip of a woman is rousing all of his protective instincts when he should be throwing the book at her, but he pushes those feelings back. He has to focus on how she knows things that not only the public doesn’t know, but he doesn’t even know. So he cuffs her to a chair and leaves to check her story.

Until the Federal Marshal comes in and whips her out of there, leaving Dane and his partner Mac stunned.

For suspense, I give this book a 5++++ I mean, this book was intense, gripping, and suspenseful.

But the romance was more of a 3.5/4. I love insta-lust, and I love love at first sight, and I love Cynthia Eden, but I didn’t feel it with this couple until a bit later in the book. I take that back. I felt the beginnings of it, but this book is incredibly fast-paced, and since we’re moving quickly, it makes sense that they have insta-lust. But that’s where I feel it fell through. There was lust on his end, but not necessarily her end. Until she realized that she really has been just going through the motions of life, and decides then and there that she’s going to grab life and just live, because she knows the killer will find her. I like the concept of this, but I just felt it was too soon in the book. I mean, they’ve really only just met a day or two before.

But other than that, I will say that it was darker than some of her other Romantic Suspenses, yet I couldn’t put it down. There were so many twists and turns, and while the identity of the killer isn’t exactly a secret, it’s not everything you think it is, either. Intense and fast-paced, this Novel of the Valentine Killer is a good read any time of year.

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four-stars