| Title | : | Dead Girl Running (Cape Charade, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 368 |
| Publication | : | First published April 24, 2018 |
1. I've got the scar of a gunshot on my forehead.
2. I don't remember an entire year of my life.
3. My name is Kellen Adams...and that's half a lie.
Girl running...from a year she can't remember, from a husband she prays is dead, from homelessness and fear. Tough, capable Kellen Adams takes a job as assistant manager of a remote vacation resort on the North Pacific Coast. There amid the towering storms and the lashing waves, she hopes to find sanctuary. But when she discovers a woman's dead and mutilated body, she's soon trying to keep her own secrets while investigating first one murder...then another.
Now every guest and employee is a suspect. Every friendly face a mask. Every kind word a lie. Kellen's driven to defend her job, her friends and the place she's come to call home. Yet she wonders--with the scar of a gunshot on her forehead and amnesia that leaves her unsure of her own past--could the killer be staring her in the face?
Dead Girl Running (Cape Charade, #1) Reviews
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Dead Girl Running by Christina Dodd is a 2018 St. Martin’s Press publication.
Whoa! This was one wild ride!
Kellen is living a lie- or at least partially. An entire year of her life is missing- gone- no memory of it whatsoever. But, she does remember her ex-husband, and the horrific abuse she suffered at his hands. She escaped him, at a very high cost, but, she went on to become an Army officer, and is now running a resort on the coast of Washington. However, when the owners turn everything over to her for a short time, anything that could go wrong did, starting with a dead body and a smuggling ring. Toss in a few ominous connections to Kellen’s past and some very stormy, gloomy weather, and you have the perfect mix for a tense novel of suspense and a puzzling whodunit. There is even a little action and adventure and romance to round things out. But, that ending…. Oh, wow!
This story is a little complex, and there’s quite a bit going on. Kellen’s past is turbulent to say the very least, and the murder mystery coupled with the smuggling ring, on top of the fairly large cast of characters, would normally leave me feeling overwhelmed. I will admit I did have to slow down and pay close attention with this book, but I had no trouble following along. I thought the author did an amazing job of tying the threads together. I loved the guessing game, suspecting everyone at one time or another. The conclusion is a major surprise- I mean a MAJOR surprise- packing a strong, almost poignant, emotional punch. I never saw it coming. I think I gasped out loud!! I thought the story was very original, exciting, imaginative, deeply absorbing and suspenseful! I can’t wait to read the next book in series!!
5 stars -
I needed a drink, several drinks after NetGalley initially denied my request for Dead Girl Running. But after some judicious begging I was delighted to receive Dead Girl Running (DGR) from NetGalley and even more so when I finished it.
The story has several threads running through, all of them centered on former army officer Kellen Adams. Kellen has taken a job at the luxury resort, Yearning Sands, as assistant manager.
When Annie and Leo Di Luca, from the Bella Terra series, and owners of Yearning Sands leave on vacation, Kellen is left in charge of the resort.
There are few guests at Yearning Sands during the dark and stormy nights of January; most of the staff is gone too, seeking sunnier climes during this traditionally slow month.
Guests and staff who are willing to stay through this wild but beautiful time, are horrified when Kellen discovers the remains of a mutilated murder victim on the grounds of Yearning Sands.
A quiet guest outs himself to Kellen, telling her that he is an agent of a small under- the- radar government agency and that the murder could be related to an investigation he is running.
Kellen has her own issues with spouse abuse, stolen identity and a year lost to memory.
Murder at her work place is something she could really live without.
After unexpectedly having to assume the position of security director, Kellen doesn’t know who to trust. The Di Luca’s relent to Kellen’s pleas and send one of their own, Maximilian Di Luca to take over her security duties. Max seems very faintly familiar to Kellen, possibly from her lost year, but he gives no indication of knowing her.
The setting of Yearning Sands is wondrous, the wild Washington Pacific coast, mesmerizing in fair weather, but mad, bad and dangerous to know during the winter months.
On the other had the other hand, Yearning Sands sounds like a dream, every wish catered to by highly trained staff, except for that possible murderous staff member.
But then the sadistic killer could be one of the guests too. There are plenty of choices, with the stakes so high. Kellen quotes something that brings me right back something my mom used to say, “I only trust me and thee, and I’m not too sure about thee. Or me.” So fitting for Kellen’s frame of mind.
Dead Girl Running provides plenty of excitement; and no small amount of “Hmm, I never thought about that” moments.
Ms Dodd bravely tackles with gentle insight the tragedy of spousal abuse. The reader will most likely come away with a greater understanding of the victimology and understand Kellen’s search for family. Any family. Even just a family made up of co-workers.
Only a few quibbles, Kateri Kwinault, Virtue Fall’s Sheriff really only makes a cameo appearance and without Stag!
Also, the ending, that lovely ending, I needed more, a lot more. It’s not a cliff hanger, I just want to continue to know Kellen’s life. DGR is the start of a new series combing Virtue Falls and Bella Terra. So I'm hoping to read much more about Kellen even as a secondary character in following Cape Charade books.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. Now to what address should I ship my first born son? -
Another great thriller from the amazing Christina dodd ! Dead Girl running is a great suspense read with awesome characters and a great plot line. It's main character kellen is so interesting and the way her mind works is cool as hell ! Their is a lot going on in this book and we don't know til almost the very end who's behind the killing,but as usually dodd is a master of anticipation,and I love it!! Even after all these years dodd still knows how to get your attention and keep you interested.💖💋
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THAT. ENDING.
THAT ENDING!!!
I didn’t see it coming!
OMG! Where is the next book? I need it right now!
Wait, what?
It will be out next year. Next year! Seriously?
OK, take a deep breath…
…..
Well, about this book... I can tell you that it had me from the opening lines of its blurb.
I have three confessions to make:
1. I've got the scar of gunshot on my forehead.
2. I don't remember an entire year of my life.
3. My name is Kellen Adams...and that's half a lie.
Yes, my curiosity was piqued instantly and I was hooked into the story from the first chapter. It was an enthralling suspense/thriller that gave me multiple thrills and chills. However, I found the plot a bit too far-fetched and there were also a few plot holes in it. Even so, I can honestly say that I enjoyed reading this book and had a hard time putting it down.
I liked the way the story was told and how it unraveled. I also liked the idea, and the plot itself had so much potential, if you ask me. I was surprised by every twist and turn of this one. And as you may know, I love reading the books with the main character(s) who has a very difficult time but finally makes it through. So, this one just simply did it for me.
As a reader, I want to read a book that makes me curious and keeps me wondering and guessing who the bad guy is all the way through. And this one was exactly what I want. I enjoyed the mystery aspect of it and I could feel the suspense oozing out of the pages. Somewhere towards the end of the story, I found myself on the edge of my seat, silently screaming, and dying to know how it would end.
The romantic aspect, on the contrary, fell flat. I was a little bit disappointed by the romance between Max and Kellen. Actually, I’m not even sure if there was any actual romance between them!
That said, I liked Max’s character. He’s sweet and very patient with Kellen. My only complaint about him is that there was not enough depth to his character. I do hope, though, that there will be more of his background in the next installment.
Well, I would be lying if I said I was totally impressed by Kellen's character. But don't get me wrong, I didn't dislike her, nor did I get annoyed with her. It was just that there was something about her that felt a bit unconvincing, and how she went form spineless and timid to tough and confident seemed somewhat contrived, at least for me. Nevertheless, she is a very complex and interesting character. She made me curious and made me want to know more about her right off the bat.
There's no denying that this was a good and riveting read and I enjoyed it immensely. However, I couldn’t rate it higher than 4 stars due to some of my issues with it.
Overall, a gripping page-turning read. A strong start to the author’s new series. -
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 / 5 rounded up!
You guys, I LOVED
Dead Girl Running by
Christina Dodd! This is an action-packed, ominous book and it deserves to be read!
Dead Girl Running focuses on a woman named Kellen Adams and a remote resort in Washington state called Yearning Sands Resort. Soon after Kellan takes a job as assistant resort manager at Yearning Sands, a dead body is found on the property while the owners of the resort are gone leaving Kellen completely in charge. But little does everyone know, Kellen is also on the run from her past which is about to catch up with her.
The writing was superb; the remote resort combined with murder, power outages, and raging storms - thrilling! I loved Kellen and the way the author mixes past and present in this book. It was a super fast read that left me wanting more. I didn't actually know it was a series when I started, but I'm glad it is and I hope book 2 comes out quick. There was a bit of a cliffhanger at the end, but nothing major enough to make me angry. I am the person that gets mad when a series ends books with huge cliffhangers and you have to wait a year + to read the next one. The ending left me anxious for the next book, but without that nasty HUGE unknown.
Final Thought: Why is this my first time reading Christina Dodd? That is all.
Dead Girl Running in 3-ish words: Brilliant, Complex, Creepy -
I've given this a D+ at AAR, so that's 2.5 stars.
I enjoy a good mystery or romantic suspense novel and have been lucky enough to find some fantastically good authors in the genre who are now on my ‘must read’ list. I’m always on the look-out for the next addition, so I eagerly picked up Christina Dodd’s Dead Girl Running, the first book in her new Cape Charade series, hoping for an intense, exciting and complex read – aaaaaand, well, let’s just say I don’t think I’ll be adding Ms. Dodd to that list of ‘must read’ authors on the strength of it. The book turned out to contain a myriad of hackneyed tropes and plot points (and plot holes) that made it seem as though the author had too many ideas and, instead of undertaking some judicious pruning and concentrating on the one or two strongest ones, decided to throw everything at the wall and see what stuck. What we end up with is a classic ‘base-under-siege’ type plot, a too-good-to-be-true, dull heroine, a lot (dare I say – too many) of barely two-dimensional, stereotypical secondary characters, and writing so clichéd in places that it made me wince – or laugh, which I’m sure wasn’t Ms. Dodd’s intention.
Kellen Adams was a captain in the army and served in Afghanistan before returning to the US. She has recently taken up a position as assistant manager at the Cape Charade resort in coastal Washington state and is determined to make it her home. When the resort owners – the elderly Leo and Annie di Luca - decide to take a holiday for the first time in ages, they leave Kellen in charge, confident in her ability to keep things running smoothly. It’s a quiet time of year, there are not many guests booked in, so it’s just a case of keeping things ticking over until the di Lucas return. That is, until some decomposing human remains are discovered on the grounds, which are identified as belonging to the previous assistant manager, Priscilla Carter, who disappeared without explanation less than six months earlier. It’s impossible to keep something like that a secret from the staff and guests, and the atmosphere at the resort becomes one of fear and suspicion; everyone is a suspect and Kellen isn’t sure who she can trust.
We learn early on that Kellen isn’t actually who she says she is; she’s an abused wife whose husband tried to murder her (and died in the attempt), and who is still looking over her shoulder for any sign that her his family might be catching up with her. She’s also the survivor of a gunshot to the head - something I found hard to credit – which caused her to lose a year of her life; she was in a coma for all that time, and after waking up confused and fearful, ran from the hospital and to an army recruiting office. We’re asked to believe the shot to the head is the reason she now has a unique mental ability to acquire, store, process and recall information, but I’m still wondering how it didn’t simply blow her brains out… Whatever the case, having both incredibly traumatic and dramatic events happen to the same person seemed to me to be taking things a bit too far. I understand that this is the first book in a series, but in spite of all the things that have happened to her, Kellen is not a well-defined or interesting character, and I couldn’t warm to her or find anything to draw me in.
The same is true of the secondary characters, of whom there are a lot; they’re poorly defined and stereotypical, and there’s no time for the author to flesh any of them out or give them actual personalities. We’ve got a former movie star, an upbeat, preppy personal trainer of the type you want to strangle, a bitchy hostess who is bitter that she was passed over for Kellen’s job, an enigmatic (though hot) guest who says he’s an author (he isn’t) and a handful of Kellen’s army buddies now employed at the resort – and that’s less than half the list. There has to be a fairly large pool of suspects to make the identity of the villain hard to guess, but given that there are no clues pointing to that person, I can’t see there was much of a point. In any case, the reveal comes out of the blue, but not after Kellen jumps to a completely wrong conclusion as to his identity so fast it made me wonder if I’d skipped a few pages.
The mystery plot, concerning the smuggling of valuable artefacts off the coast near the resort is interesting, and when the book concentrates solely on this aspect of the story, it’s a good read and I was eager to keep turning the pages. But that doesn’t really happen until well into the second half of the book, and doesn’t last for long; after that, we’re back in the land of the clichéd and utterly ridiculous, which then culminates in a completely unbelievable plot twist that contradicts something explicitly stated earlier on in the book.
I’m not sure whether to categorise Dead Girl Running as ‘mystery’ or ‘romantic suspense’ because it doesn’t really fit either. If it’s a mystery, it’s very simplistic and quite clumsily done; if romantic suspense, there’s pretty much no romance and not much suspense, so that doesn’t fit either. The writing is generally solid, although there is a LOT of telling rather than showing, and this is especially evident in the way we’re shown Kellen’s supposedly unique mental ability working. Whenever she meets someone, we get a ‘note card’ of what is supposedly going through her head, which lists background data on that person and her feelings about them – which is, I suppose, an easier way of disseminating that information than actually spending time on developing that character and letting the reader get to know them; it smacks of lazy writing.
In short, Dead Girl Running is deader than a dead duck dead in the water. Give it a miss and pick up something by Rachel Grant or Loreth Anne White instead. -
I received this book for free from the publisher (Harlequin) as part of their bookstagram publicity campaign.
I give this book 3.5 stars which rounds up to 4.
I always have a hard time with rating thrillers. I’m pickier with them than with other genres, and I usually end up rating them somewhere in the middle which is exactly what happened with this book (hence my 3.5 stars).
I loved how the book started off. The opening chapter was really good and helped set up the overall plot line well.
The succeeding chapters, were a bit of an information dump. You get the main character’s backstory and get introduced to a ton of characters. I had a hard time keeping up with all the characters and who they were.
The mystery was very interesting so I was eager to keep reading. I found that I really enjoyed the writing style. Christian Dodd is an excellent writer. I had just finished reading a not-that-great chick lit book before picking up this book, so the writing in this was a nice change.
The book kind of stalled a bit towards the middle, but picked up tremendously towards the end. There was a lot of action in the last 70 pages. However, there were some scenarios towards the end that didn’t feel very realistic so I didn’t love that.
The book does end in a slight cliffhanger, so I am interested in reading the next book.
Overall, this was a well written thriller, but it did have its flaws. -
This was my first experience from Christina Dodd. I'm not usually a fan of romance and I felt that this would have been a stronger book if some of the romance was taken out.
It was an enjoyable read for the most part but I felt like there were some aspects that were very unrealistic to me. The way that some of the information was presented in the book was a tad bit like reading cliff notes or like a police report. Ehh. this was a tad annoying to me.
There also was a TON of information presented in the novel and it left me confused with the information at times and was hard to follow.
I also was not too impressed with the villain and was hoping for more twists/turns to the thriller.
Thank you to Harlequin and Netgalley for the advanced arc.
Overall 3 stars for me on this one.
Publication date: 4/24/18
Published to GR: 4/15/18 -
The story had some promising leads but soon it unraveled into a shambles. The narrative style didn't click with me because I'm not a fan of forced dialogues as a device to feed information and the author laid it thick throughout, conspicuously producing a tale that never moves on its own. Even when not providing background or explaining characters’ traits (because this book is a clear-cut example of all telling and no showing) the dialogues were awkward and unrealistic. Add to the mix many two-dimensional characters, a hodgepodge of storylines, lots of plot holes, contrived coincidences, plot turns which strained my credulity and a final cliffhanger…well, it wasn’t a pleasant experience.
Reading this novel felt like being in the passenger seat of a learner's car, sometimes too fast or too slow and more often all stomps on the brake, engine revs and jerks. As a consequence, the rhythm of the story was inconstant and I felt very disconnected from it, to the point that I wasn’t able to read without frequent pauses and distractions.
This impossibility to engage translated into a growing frustration and unfortunately progressing with the pages my hopes for some saving grace evaporated. I still wonder how this book failed so spectacularly on all fronts barred none.
I seriously decided to abandon the book about 10% in, I couldn’t relate and each new character sounded flat and stereotyped: there are the vapid fortune hunter, the abused brainwashed young wife, the bossy perfect cousin, the scarred veteran with big drama issues and top-notch sundry abilities (of “He doesn’t hit me. He, um, disciplines me when I need it.” wife fame), the jealous, stuck-up rival at work, the loathsome in-laws…along with a huge cast of exaggerated characters which would be fun in a comedy but not in a romantic suspense/mystery story (I say it because it’s shelved as such. The mystery part doesn’t take center stage and the romance was stilted).
“I’ve never seen blue eyes spark quite like that.” He leaned forward. “May I kiss you?”
Naturally the characters showed little personality and as the number of subplots multiplied, inconsistency ruled: for instance, the hotel staff barely feeling affected by the murder news, Kellen’s remarkable physical and leadership skills which are rarely backed up by her actions, or the cab driver’s reaction to Cecilia’s request at the accident scene, or the policeman removing human remains from a discovery site without calling for backup, or the loquacious manly tough hero. Their behavior has no credibility at all.
"Since when had Kellen become a fanciful idiot?"
The beginning, probably. She and I together.
30% in I decided to finish the book because I believe in commitment, but truly, my suspension of disbelief was jeopardized and I couldn’t accept the flow of events. It was hard going.
At the 40% mark the male protagonist (head of an underreported government agency) gives a detailed spiel about his life, motivations, line of work and secret mission to the female protagonist. They had just met; it was completely out of the blue: scene set, dialogues on.
Halfway I seriously started to rethink my decision but then I thought I was probably better off finishing than keep stopping to write this review, because what was not working was piling up and it was useless to remark any further.
Long story short: 75% in I could not believe what I was reading. Far-fetched, much? And I'm complimenting here. 88% in, I was aghast, was there even a connection between one paragraph and the next?
Plot what plot indeed. Too many plot ideas contributed to the chaos, sure, but even the main storyline was messy. The final twist was too much. Ok, done.
A nice blurb unsupported by storytelling, planning and characters cannot ever make a good novel. At least there weren't any typos that I could detect and the cover is nice, but sadly this about sums up what I liked about this novel.
“We’re going to talk. I’m going to fill you in on the situation.”
Leo gestured him in. “Go, sit down with Annie and listen.”
“You might as well come in,” he said. “Let’s talk.”
“If you would shut the door, we need to talk.”
“After this is over, we’ll need to talk.” -
I'm in a reading slump right now. This one was another fail for me. DNF Chapter 15.
Spoilers ahead:
I already didn't care for the prologue. And that's a bad sign.
I did no like Kellen. She, the former Cecilia, was responsible for the death of her. Only because she didn’t want to tell her about her real abuse, about how her husband killed her unborn baby and nearly herself. How he would never let her go.
And then she leaves Kellen to deal with such a dangerous man. And then her husband kills Kellen. They both could’ve fled the scene. But no Cecilia needed photographs. In a death and life situation, you’re glad if you come out alive, with your cloths on your back.
I found her to be a doormat and uninspiring and a coward. Selfish. And I didn’t care that she did a 180 and joined the military and was a Captain everyone respected. Blah blah blah. I don’t believe in this. There’s no way she did such an 180.
The story takes place in a luxury resort, catering to the wealthy. They have a reputation to uphold. The staff behaved very inappropriate. Chatting and discussing private things while on the clock and with guests nearby. Gossiping, being rude, always talking to each other and open hostility towards other staff members. Even if it's off season, some things don't have to happen. It read like a group of children doing everything but what they're supposed to do.
It also got on my nerves that there were no capable staff anywhere. Everyone discussed this, that they had unprofessional staff members and they couldn’t find replacements. Every department needed more capable workers, but nothing was done about it. They just complained.
I found the writing style to be very unique. And not in a good way. I hated the "reports" on all the characters that appear in the book. And they are so many. Everyone was described in a military fashion, with skin color and heigh and how Kellen viewed them. It was efficient, but lacked any personal connections. It was really boring to read. And I really don't need to know about every little worker bee on the vast property.
Kellen was once again a doormat. One of the staff members pushed her to exercise together, even if Kellen didn’t want to. Kellen didn't like the woman very much, but what does she do? She agrees and lets herself be pushed around. How hard is it to say no?
Then there is the problem with the corpse. No one is afraid. They are just curious how she died and who did it. But no one thinks the killer will kill again. No one fears for their safety. The investigation isn't going forward. All is very unprofessional. Taking pics with the mobile and then moving the corpse around. The police chief is really incompetent. Don't like reading about such things.
I don’t like one character in this book. Not one. That never happened before.
So I'm out. -
Wow! This is my first CD book. Anita recommended it to me and I loved it! The story does go back and forth from one part of the h's life to another, but with good reason. I never guessed who the main villain was nor did I expect the big reveal at the end. Leaving us with a cliffhanger and anxious to read the next in this series.
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I’m so disappointed! I had my high hopes up that this was going to be a great book,but it fell short in so many ways. It was confusing. The characters sucked. They were just so uninteresting! And the names...The Shivering Sherlocks?? Temo? Destiny? Nils Brooks? Carsen Lennox? Waddington Lykke? Vince Gilfilen? Axel Rasmussen? The name of the resort was Yearning Sands in Cape Charade. Yearning Sands???? I would NEVER book a vacation at a place called Yearning Sands!
There was way too much going on and it could not be corralled cohesively, so as the book went on, it got even more of a loosey goosey all over the place tale. It was as if the author was trying way too hard to produce her story and was pulling ideas (and names) out of a bag, left and right, trying to using them all.
The setting (an Oceanside resort) was promising but the owners of the resort who went away for vacation and left Kellen in charge; their communications between each other were vague and distant and false, and honestly, I felt it was just filler material. The book would not have lived or died with it or without it. It would have been best for everyone if Kellen was not able to get in touch with the owners at all, until they returned instead of reading this drivel. At least it would have been a little exciting for them (and us) not knowing what all was going on at the resort in their absence until they returned.
There was a brief cameo appearance of our beloved Sheriff Kateri Kwinault,but again, pretty much filler. Her presence in the book could have been expanded to create way more excitement in the story.
Every time the main character, CeeCee/Cecelia/Kellen, met someone, she had an index card filled out where she wrote her feelings and sense of the person and their character and their job role at the resort or what their purpose was. Ok, who does that? Was that thrown in to be “unique?” It really was rather lame. We know she was shot in the head once and had a big memory gap, but the concept was lacking.
The archaeological statues and other descriptions of old history artifacts were interesting, though not a lot of it. But I’ll give that a plus, as it kept me reading.
I was able to figure a lot of the unraveling on my own. However, I did not see the surprise ending coming. That was kinda thrown out there, out of the blue, to make the ending impactful. And I just didn’t feel it or believe, the ending.
Two stars of disappointment from an author I’ve enjoyed before. I don’t know what went astray with the plot development and the writing on this one. -
Three stars.
Army veteran Kellen Adams takes a job as assistant manager of a remote holiday resort on the North Pacific Coast. Kellen is on the run, from an abusive husband she hopes and prays is dead. She also has a twelve month gap in her memory. When the owners leave the resort in her care, Kellen is sure she will be able to cope. But that was before she found a woman’s mutilated and murdered body. From then on, every guest and employee ends up on her suspect list. More so when she uncovers a smuggling ring. Tension mounts as more lives are lost and missing artefacts are uncovered. Will the lie at the heart of Kellen’s life be exposed?
The story moves at a good pace mostly, though I did find it dragged a bit in the middle. The plot works well, yet I did feel that towards the end it tended towards the far fetched. However those quibbles aside, this is an enjoyable read with largely likeable characters. As well as the murder and mystery, a romance weaves its way through the narrative.
This is the first of a series so it could be interesting to see how the others play out. This is an interesting start. At times the writing seemed to jar a little but overall an enjoyable read that should appeal to many. Certainly one worth a look for those who like mysteries. -
Very compelling with lots of mystery going on.
Kellen is running from a year she can't remember + from a husband she prays is dead. She moves to hide away and starts a new job as an asst. manager of a vacation resort on the North Pacific Coast. While trying to stay hidden she discovers a woman's mutilated body and she then begins investigating first one murder and then another.
Enjoyable, I’m looking forward to the 2nd in this new series! 4 ☆ -
Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) provided by the Author and Publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an fair and honest review.
I have read a lot of Christina Dodd's books, she is an auto read for me and I love her stuff. This is a spin-off of the Bella Terra and Virtue Falls series, sort of. She is one of those authors that I don't read the blurb. I wanted to be surprised as I read the book and I was absolutely blown away by this book.
Unique, inventive, captivating - this plot is all that and part Gothic, part assumed identity, part amnesia victim, part who done it and totally fascinating. The heroine is a survivor and the plot is slow to give up her full story, which makes you just want to know all the more.
Kellen Adams has been the assistant manager of Yearning Sands, a high end destination resort on the Washington coast for a few months. She has been many things in her life and lived many places and all she wants now is a place to call home. At Yearning Sands she has been hiring her friends, Army vets, to try and do that. It is January and the slow season so the owners, Annie and Leo De Luca, are taking their vacation to visit relations in California. They leave Kellen in charge and the remaining staff, some of whom really resent her, have few guests to care for.
When the head of security takes off on vacation too, Kellen is concerned to be in charge of that area also. But, as a former Army Captain, she rises to the task until a body washes up on shore and a dark and deadly side of Yearning Sands is revealed. The De Lucas' decide to send their nephew, Maximilian De Luca, to aid with security and something about Max has Kellen's memories of her past resurfacing. Kellen knows someone at the resort is a smuggler and a sadistic killer and with few people she can trust, Kellen will have to discover who that person is. -
Perilous, twisty, and sophisticated!
Dead Girl Running is the first novel in a new series by Dodd that introduces us to Kellen Adams, a skilled, determined young woman with a past rife with secrets, violence, and memory loss and a present filled with stolen artifacts, ruthless smugglers, and dead bodies.
The writing style is intricate and intense. The characters, including the hardworking, scarred heroine are multi-layered and mysterious. And the plot, including all the subplots, unravel and intertwine into a compelling tale filled with mixed emotions, red herrings, deception, abuse, manipulation, romance, friendship, and murder.
Dead Girl Running is an intelligent, entertaining, action-packed tale that has all the elements you look for in a romantic suspense novel and is an excellent start for the new Cape Charade series.
Thank you to Harlequin Books for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
All my reviews can be found on my blog at
https://whatsbetterthanbooks.com -
Christina Dodd did it again. Created a woman character who is complex, smart, strong, weak, amazing. Kellen’s story has just begun and, wow!, what a beginning!!
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Dead Girl Running is the first book in the Cape Charade series. As the blurb shows, there are three confessions that Kellen Adams makes, she has a gunshot scar, lost memory to a year and her life, and that only part of her name is the truth. These are critical facts and help to set up the story that continues after the prequel, Hard to Kill.
The title is apropos as Kellen is indeed running, she is running from a brutally abusive husband that vowed to kill her. She was in the service, homeless and more. Now she has a fantastic job at the Yearning Sands Resort. That is, however, until she learns that the owners have gone on vacation and left her in charge. She was hired as the manager, now she is also the head of security. When part of a woman's dismembered body is discovered and any serenity Kellen thought she had is gone
Although Kellen had lost part of her memory, there is the rest of her life to consider. Kellen is living a lie and it is imperative that no one find out her true identity and what she has done over the years. Can she solve the murder and keep the staff and guests at the hotel safe, all the while keeping her past a secret?
Kellen has developed a certain quirk, she catalogs everyone, to the point of determining whether or not they are friend, foe. Also, Kellen has never felt safe after the trauma that caused her to choose to live a lie, so with the goings on at the resort, she never feels safe. Could she herself still be in danger?
I will admit now that I have read each book published to-date, so I know what has happened to Kellen thus far. This is mentioned as readers were left with a cliffhanger with the prequel, so the danger began on page one. This continued without letup, with twists and turns and a lot of red herrings until the murderer was revealed. Although that did eventually happen, things did not settle for Kellen, thus another cliffhanger no doubt left readers reeling. I personally could not have been more shocked.
This thrilling read is definitely part of an amazing series, one that I read until there were no more offerings available! Now I am forced to wait. The next books in the series are Families and Other Enemies and What Doesn't Kill Her (available now), and Hidden Truths and Strangers She Knows, both set for release later in 2019. -
Wow! I love Ms. Dodd's books. I loved the characters in this book (actually I like the characters in most of Ms. Dodd's books). She creates unique and authentic characters and seldom relies on stereotypes.
The plot was really good and I had a hard time putting it down to go to sleep. Will definitely be continuing this series. -
I've always been a Christina Dodd fan and loved the Virtue Falls series. Now we are at another resort on the gloomy Pacific Coast. Kellen has a wound on her forehead and is missing a year of her life. We also know an employee of the resort witnessed smuggling in the cove and finds a severed hand. Chilling. When she goes missing, we hope she managed to get away. Kellen arrives at the resort to train as the new manager. She has a military background but is not who she seems. There are a lot of questions here and it takes a while to get answers. Add in two hunky guys and we have romance as well. Written with Dodd's usual flair, you won't be disappointed in this new series.
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*Source* Library
*Genre* Thriller
*Rating* 4.0
*Thoughts*
Dead Girl Running is the first installment in author Christina Dodd's Cape Charade series. Former Army Captain Kellen Adams has taken a job working as an assistant manager at a resort called Yearning Sands. Kellen is someone who is basically a computer on two legs. She can remember every thing about a person after meeting them. She can remember the location, schedule, and qualifications of every employee at the resort. What she can't remember is a year of her life, or why she has what appears to be a gunshot scar on her forehead.
*Full Review @ Gizmos Reviews*
https://gizmosreviews.blogspot.com/20... -
Gah! Hero's magical peen cures heroine's infertility. I have a theory why but the author chose not to address it.
Info dumps! 2 large ones early on and smaller ones scattered throughout.
The romance was slow burn, which I enjoyed, but then we got a surprise which, for me, killed the development of the romance. There was a happy ending of sorts but also kind of a cliffhanger.
With the revelation of the hero, Kellen being hired by her current employers is both sweet and creepy, just a bit stalkerish.
I figured out one of the bad guys early on. Other bad guys were simply over the top and unbelievable.
What I liked:
The story was compelling and twisty. I kept reading to see what would happen. I liked Kellen, for the most part. Some of her behavior was iffy but I could mostly understand why she did it. It had Gothic elements as well as weather bound and trapped.
Good representation of PoC although that was mostly the secondary characters. The heroine Kellen is a mix of Caucasian and American Indian but can apparently pass for white and was raised white. It's unclear how recent or far back the Native American part of her family is and frankly seemed to be nothing more than a plot device, eg her late husband's family was horrified she wasn't pure. But the secondary characters were a good mix different ethnicities and we have one character with a prosthesis. There is one lesbian but her sexual identity is quickly erased which was disappointing. Okay, I guess this was a mixed bag of good and bad representation. On the whole, it was more diverse than a lot of contemporary romances but it could have been better.
Overall, I enjoyed the story and stayed up most of the night reading it. But it had problems and the magical, infertility-curing peen pissed me off big time. I'll try Dodd again, but with lower expectations. -
A solid thriller with some really enjoyable twists and an ending that I didn't see coming. An engrossing, fast-paced, page turner of a read.
Thank you to Harlequin and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this title. -
Goodness! There was a LOT going on here; however, it was excellent. I never saw the big reveal coming! Great beginning to a new series. Looking forward to the next book.
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I subscribed to "My Book Box," a monthly subscription which sends me two books a month. I received "Dead Girl Running" this month. I might not have read it, otherwise. This was a superb thriller, which kept me biting my nails! The book wraps up with a poignant ending. GREAT READ!
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I can’t believe how much I love this series!!!! I actually read book 2 before this one but it’s still been an exciting journey and I can’t recommend these books enough! I can’t wait for the next one to come out!
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Christina Dodd deals with a lot of tropes in this book, which is both its strength and its greatest weakness. Dead Girl Running features a battered wife running from her past and a former marine with a unique mental ability. But the catch is that both tropes are wrapped up in the same person.
Dead Girl Running doesn’t have much originality in its plot or characters (or even setting) aside from the fact that there’s a lot going on. It seems like Dodd had about twenty ideas for a book, and rather than sifting through them and picking one or two to focus on, she decided to use them all. This in itself isn’t a bad thing. Using a lot of different character and plot ideas could work, but she stretches herself too thin. The book has the bad-ass marines, the typical cozy mystery novel setting, a murder mystery party (which, sadly, was barely covered), spies, and the list goes on.
That said, there are a lot of characters in this book. They’re all very two-dimensional, since the book isn’t nearly long enough for Dodd to be able to flesh most of them out in any meaningful way. I understand what she was doing – it was somewhat of an Agatha Christie-type mystery, and the killer had to have been someone in the resort—so she needed a lot of characters. But did she need that many characters? My answer is no, but it might depend on your perspective. Some characters barely get any screen time, and they’re typically stereotypes – like the womanizer pilot, the mysterious and elusive author, or the preppy yoga trainer. That said, the logic behind why the killer had to have been someone on the island was faulty, and that was just one of many plotholes that took away from enjoyment of this book.
Kellen Adams has an interesting backstory and one of the strengths of the novel was the flashbacks. It was a brief respite from all the telling instead of showing. For the rest of the novel, Dodd spends a lot of time telling the reader about various characters’ backstories and their personality characteristics, most of which was promptly forgotten as soon as I flipped the page. Kellen’s backstory, however, is one of the aspects that kept me reading. Past Kellen was more fleshed out, and she had a fascinating storyline that almost could have made up an entire prequel book. I particularly liked how gradually present-day Kellen regained her memories over the last year. Dodd executed this aspect of the story very well, even if it was buried in other the rest of the plot.
Dead Girl Running is relatively fast paced, aside from the myriad of characters and information dumps that slow the reading down. It has a lot of plot twists, some of which don’t make too much sense, but they keep the plot plunging forward, so there are rarely any lulls in the action. At approximately page 195 I realized that this book was meant to be a romantic thriller. If you’re interested in romance coupled with intrigue, this book isn’t for you, because the romantic interest is only introduced over halfway through the book. The romance is a little forced, if only because of how quickly it had to develop.
This book started off at five stars, with one of the most compelling first chapters I’ve read in a long time. It then dropped off to three stars as dozens of characters with little to differentiate between them were introduced and the plot started to lag. It dropped down to two stars as the tropes became solidified and the ridiculous plot twists began to emerge. Even the final twist at the very end of the book had me shaking my head in disbelief, since it was directly contradicting something that had happened earlier in the book. Ending a book with a gigantic plot hole is not a good idea, since it caused me to fall into the abyss, and I’m unlikely to read another Christina Dodd book anytime in the near future.
2 stars.
*I received a copy of this ARC from HQN in exchange for an honest review.*
You can find my book blog and this review at:
https://powerlibrarian.wordpress.com/ -
I was immediately drawn into Dead Girl Running and enjoyed every page from start to finish.
The cover and the blurb are fabulous!
Since I'm a travelholic, the way the hotel and location were described had me wishing to visit that resort even if a dead body was found on the beach.
The characters were believable and leaves me hoping that this will be a series so I can get to know more about them. I'm also wanting now to go back and read her other series because I noticed the connections to her other characters and books.
Do I recommend this book - absolutely! Enjoy the read! -
Will publish review closer to publication date, but want to encourage readers to enjoy previous books by Christina Dodd prior to latching onto this one. This "ties in" loosely with her Virtue Falls books. I think "Dead Girl Running" works as a standalone novel, but then again I have read the previously mentioned series.
For those who HAVE read previous Christina Dodd books, dive into "Dead Girl Running" and enjoy. Excellent book! -
Thanks to the publisher for this review copy!
I was invested enough in this story to overlook SO many things that just made me shake my head in wonder......it was campy and a little ridiculous but I read the whole thing and don’t figure out the “who done it” before it was revealed. Not sure why it is marketed as romantic suspense though?? Virtually no real romance!
