Cuando tenía cinco años, Olivia St. Martin vio como un hombre secuestraba a su hermana mayor, a la que no volvería a ver viva. Tras la detención del asesino, y durante los siguientes treinta años, se ha dedicado en cuerpo y alma a su trabajo en el FBI, intentando olvidar la tragedia. Pero ahora nuevas pruebas demuestran que el hombre que está en la cárcel es inocente, y que el asesino de niñas sigue suelto y continúa matando. Sin autorización de sus superiores, Olivia se traslada a Seattle, donde han aparecido más cadáveres. Allí colabora con Zack Travis, el policía local que lleva el caso. Entre ambos surge pronto una atracción poderosa y callada, pero Olivia está dispuesta a pasar por encima de sus sentimientos, y de su propia carrera si es necesario, para detener al hombre que más odia en el mundo.

The Kill
3.5 Stars

As a child, Olivia St. Martin witnessed the kidnapping of her older sister - an act that destroyed her family. As an adult, Olivia joined the FBI and became a forensic scientist. Now the man Olivia helped convict has been exonerated and Olivia realizes that her sister’s killer is still out there and still killing. When she learns of a series of similar murders, Olivia put her career in jeopardy by posing as a field agent and lying to the investigating officer, Detective Zack Travis - a man that she is also falling in love with.

The third and final installment in Brennan’s Predator series is another fantastic thriller. Unfortunately, the romance is, once again, much weaker than the suspense.

The mystery is the highlight of the book with a villain who is as evil and vicious as they come. The investigation and forensic details are interesting and add an element of realism to the plot.

Zack starts out as a typical judgmental and territorial cop who dislikes having the Feds in on his case. As the investigation continues, he and Olivia grow closer and he begins to acknowledge her contribution and respect her work. That said, Olivia’s secrets ultimately get in the way and undermine their relationship.

Olivia is a troubled heroine and while her past goes a long way toward explaining her problematic actions in insinuating herself into the investigation, it does not mitigate the fact that her behavior puts a damper on the romance as the reader is constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop.

In sum, an exciting and gripping thriller but the romance feels forced. ( )

Children are missing. Children are dead. All the victims have something in common. They are all blond, and all between the ages of 6 & 9. This has been going on for 30 years and innocent men have gone to prison. Olivia puts her FBI career on the line to find the real killer. A very good book. Really hold your interest. ( )

Overall Rating: 4.85 // Action: 4.0 / Emotion: 4.7 / Romance: 4.5 / Sensuous: 3.0 / Suspense: 4.0 // Laughter: 1 // Tears: 6 / Teary: 1

The Kill: 4.85:
An un-put-down-able, re-read-able book because: {1} Allison Brennan is a favorite author; {2} Romantic Suspense is a favorite sub-genre; and {3} Brennan is a very talented storyteller who can quickly draw her readers into a romantic and suspenseful story and keep their interest all the way through the book. Except that this story went on a bit too long after the exciting 'this should have been the big finale' scene.

Hero: 4.0:
Zack Thomas: A Seattle Homicide Detective who is sexy, protective, caring, confident, determined and every romance reader's dream come true:

If there was one thing Zack Travis knew, it was women. When to touch. Where to touch. How to touch. (page 79)

Heroine: 4.5:
Olivia St. Martin: The strong-willed, intelligent director of Trace Evidence and Materials Analysis at FBI's Virginia-based laboratory who hides her compassion, obsession, and determination behind a façade of ice. It was easy to identify with Olivia and understand her emotional angst.

Story Line: 5.0:
What an exciting premise around which to revolve a story. A little girl loses her big sister to a killer and from that moment on her life is never the same. Through science, she is driven to find justice for all victims of crime. When she finds out she helped incarcerate an innocent man for killing her sister, she stops at nothing to find the actual killer. She poses as an FBI Agent to insert herself into the Seattle Police Department's investigation of a serial killer -- believing him to be the man who killed her sister.

Action: 4.0:
The story begins to soar as Zack and Olivia head up the investigation into The Seattle Slayer. The action in this book, however, is more in the line of police procedural events than exciting adventurous scenes such as car chases and the like.

Emotion: 4.7:
Brennan is amazing as she weaves such deep emotion into a story about a monster. The emotion in this story is rich for several reasons. {1} Who cannot help but hate a serial killer who rapes and kills little girls? {2} Brennan richly details the devastation that the families of the slain girls experience -- concentrating on Olivia's crumbling steel walls of control.

Romance: 4.5:
The awareness that arched between Zack and Olivia was never left in doubt. Zack was attracted to Olivia in spite of the "don't touch" signals she broadcast. Olivia's walls of emotional protection began to collapse and a deep romantic connection built as she spent more time with Zack.

Sensuous: 3.0:
Brennan knows how to include spice, heat, passion and emotion in her love scenes.

Suspense: 4.0:
The suspense was constant and became more intense as the story progressed. Brennan painted such a complex, controlled, astute picture of The Seattle Slayer and his ability to evade detection, that she had readers wondering how Zack, Olivia and their team were going to catch this slippery predator.

Secondary Characters: 4.5:
Brennan seems to really get into the heads of her supporting characters. She did a phenomenal job of making both The Seattle Slayer (the true villain) and Brian Harrison Hall (the circumstantial villain) very multi-faceted. Although not as well developed as these two men, the other supporting characters in the book came to life with concise descriptions and minimal appearances. It was nice to get a picture of Quinn and Miranda Peterson's future when they were included in the story.

See Wolf Bear Does Books (http://goo.gl/FNd55E) for a more in-depth, detailed review of The Kill. ( )

The trilogy started with The Prey, continued with The Hunt, and finished with The Kill. Allison Brennan saved the best for last with The Kill. Olivia is a flesh-and-blood, three dimensional character. Her trials and tribulations are real and heart-wrenching. When she realizes that her testimony has allowed a killer to go free for 30 years she will stop at nothing to see him brought to justice. Her career and life are put on the line as she does her all to catch a killer. She is aided in her pursuit by a Seattle cop, Zack Travis. She falls into danger and into love. Brennan finishes up this trilogy with a bang. ( )