Abduction by Cynthia Eden

Abduction by cynthia eden
Series: Killer Instinct
Published by Harlequin, Intrigue on February 21, 2017
Genres: Contemporary RS
Pages: 288
Format: Paperback
Source: Advance Reader Copy
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New York Times bestselling author Cynthia Eden has killer instincts when it comes to breathtaking suspense!

Once the town troublemaker, Sheriff Hayden Black became the teen hero who saved young Jillian West from a savage kidnapper. He never got over their brief affair. Now the ex-SEAL and the burned-out FBI agent have reunited in their Florida hometown and rediscovered their powerful attraction. But as they hunt down a long-forgotten killer, will they get a second chance at happiness? When a series of accidents begins to plague Jill, Hayden won't let her fall victim again. There's too much history between them…and too much desire.

Quick Note: This is listed as book 1, but there’s a prequel called The Gathering Dusk, and there seem to be more books in this series, both from Harlequin, and self-published, so I’m not entirely sure of the order. I mention that because the prequel and the second? third? book have the same heroine/hero. My guess is the prequel is introducing us to the cast. I just bought it and I’ll update this after I read it.

Cynthia Eden, Mistress of Suspense is back with her latest series, the Killer Instinct series. This book begins with Jillian West being abducted. She’s thirteen and the man who takes her doesn’t plan on letting her live. But a boy standing at the edge of the pier, a boy she’d just spoken to, saw everything. And he isn’t letting her get away, even if it means chasing down a serial killer.

Hayden Black fell in love with Jill that first day they met. Saving her from a killer did more than change him from bad boy to hometown hero, it saved him. But he never felt good enough for her. So when he knew she wanted to go into the FBI, the only way to make that happen was to let her go. But he didn’t realize he’d broken her heart. Joining the Navy was his way to improving himself. He needed to make himself into someone she could be proud of.

When Jill came back to Hope, FL, she didn’t expect to see Hayden. She knew exactly where his SEAL team was. So running into him on the beach where they first met was completely unexpected. Turns out she was right about where his team was, but she didn’t know he’d left the Navy and was now the sheriff.

But the man who’d abducted her took someone else. Jill and Hayden couldn’t let that go, nor could they ignore the idea that she might be the ultimate target. But can they deal with this new development in the case as well as their feelings for each other? The past is rising up again, in more ways than one, and the two of them need to put it behind them or move on. But with a break in an old case, can they do that?

This book reminds me of Ms. Eden’s LOST series, and I love that series, so this is a good thing! I think that she writes incredible serial killers. I know that might not sound like the best compliment, but seriously, nothing is worse than reading a Romantic Suspense where you know who the bad guy is within the first few chapters. Ms. Eden’s bad guys are never cardboard characters, and they’re always someone you don’t see coming. At least not right away.

I liked how Hayden didn’t beat around the bush. He saw Jill again, and went for it. He didn’t try to play it cool, or to hide his feelings. And even though Jill was standoffish at first, I liked how she realized that holding Hayden at arm’s length wasn’t possible, and their history needed to stay in the past.

This book is an excellent way to start a new series, and I can’t wait to dive into the prequel. With suspense, action, and romance, Abduction holds other Romantic Suspense books to a new standard.

***ARC courtesy of Harlequin Intrigue