Hanover House by Brenda Novak

Title: Hanover House
Author: Brenda Novak
Series: #.5 in the Evelyn Talbot Chronicles
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Brenda Novak, Inc. (September 1, 2015)
Source: NetGalley
Rating: ☕☕☕☕

Synopsis: Welcome to Hanover House….

Psychiatrist Evelyn Talbot has dedicated her life to solving the mysteries of the antisocial mind. Why do psychopaths act as they do? How do they come to be? Why don’t they feel any remorse for the suffering they cause? And are there better ways of spotting and stopping them?

After having been kidnapped, tortured and left for dead when she was just a teenager—by her high school boyfriend—she’s determined to understand how someone she trusted so much could turn on her. So she’s established a revolutionary new medical health center in the remote town of Hilltop, Alaska, where she studies the worst of the worst.

But not everyone in Hilltop is excited to have Hanover House and its many serial killers in the area. Alaskan State Trooper, Sergeant Amarok, is one of them. And yet he can’t help feeling bad about what Evelyn has been through. He’s even attracted to her. Which is partly why he worries.

He knows what could happen if only one little thing goes wrong...

My Thoughts: What a great introduction to Evelyn Talbot and her passion for Hanover House!

The Good: This is more of a novella rather than a full length book but it felt full and complete. I really liked this glimpse into Evelyn Talbot's life leading up to the finishing touches on Hanover House which will be a psychiatric facility for sociopaths in a small Alaskan town. The town folks are not too keen on the idea of this facility coming to their town but couldn't stop the development. Evelyn is a complex character molded by her past as a victim/survivor of a killer who was never caught. She now studies psychopaths and her "baby" Hanover House will help her goals of finding reason behind why killers do what they do. There is a small amount of romance within the story which should develop more during the course of the series. I liked that the romance is taking time (especially based on her past). The suspense was great as well and I can't wait to find out what happens next.  

The Bad: Even though the length of the story felt as if it were enough I couldn't help but want more. This is just my own opinion though and others may not feel the same. I also thought Amarok's character could have been fleshed out more but this should resolve itself in upcoming books.

In a Nutshell: An excellent beginning to the series and I'll definitely move on to the next book!