Promise Not to Tell by Jayne Ann Krentz

Title: Promise Not to Tell
Author: Jayne Ann Krentz
Series: #2 in the Cutler, Sutter, and Salinas series
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Berkley (January 2, 2018)
Source: Library Find
Rating: ☕☕☕

Synopsis: A painter of fiery, nightmarish visions throws herself into the sea—but she leaves her secrets behind . . .

Seattle gallery owner Virginia Troy has spent years battling the demons that stem from her childhood time in a cult and the night a fire burned through the compound, killing her mother. And now one of her artists has taken her own life, but not before sending Virginia a last picture: a painting that makes Virginia doubt everything about the so-called suicide—and her own past.

Like Virginia, private investigator Cabot Sutter was one of the children in the cult who survived that fire... and only he can help her now. As they struggle to unravel the clues in the painting, it becomes clear that someone thinks Virginia knows more than she does and that she must be stopped. Thrown into an inferno of desire and deception, Virginia and Cabot draw ever closer to the mystery of their shared memories—and the shocking fate of the one man who still wields the power to destroy everything they hold dear.

My Thoughts: While I found the mystery interesting this book just won't stick with me in the long run.

The Good: The underlying cult theme that started in the first book moved forward during this book which I actually enjoyed even though I don't gravitate towards books with cults in them. I'm looking forward to seeing how JAK wraps it up in the last book of this trilogy but having to wait until January of next year seems like such a long wait. I liked some of the supporting characters in this book especially Anson (Cabot's dad) and Xavier (Cabot's young cousin). The pacing of the book is really good as the suspense and tension starts right away and continues to grow through out the book.

The Bad: Once again, as with the first book, I found the romance just not quite right. I didn't see their attraction and despite JAK having dialogue to support it (in the form of "I want to kiss you,") it just wasn't there. There were no epiphanies of "I can't live without you". There were no instances where I just felt they had to be together.

In addition, the mystery was subpar. Although, Cabot is a PI, and we follow his methods to investigating Hannah's death they seem to jump to conclusions a lot. Even with Cabot explaining to Virginia they can't rely on speculation as facts they seem to make some conclusions just because it fits the storyline instead of relying on just the facts. "Follow the money" makes perfect sense but to draw a conclusion that the entire thing was about money with no hard evidence seemed a stretch. Also, the number of murderers in this one, similarly to the first book, seems more complex than necessary.

In a Nutshell: So, even though these are only average reads and there are way better Romantic Suspense books out there I'm going to read the last book when it comes out. I want to read how the underlying story-arc pans out.

When All the Girls Have Gone by Jayne Ann Krentz

Title: When All the Girls Have Gone
Author: Jayne Ann Krentz
Series: #1 in the Cutler, Sutter, and Salinas Trilogy
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Berkley (November 29, 2016)
Source: Library Find
Rating: ☕☕☕

Synopsis: When Charlotte Sawyer is unable to contact her stepsister, Jocelyn, to tell her that one of her closest friends was found dead, she discovers that Jocelyn has vanished. 

Beautiful, brilliant—and reckless—Jocelyn has gone off the grid before, but never like this. In a desperate effort to find her, Charlotte joins forces with Max Cutler, a struggling PI who recently moved to Seattle after his previous career as a criminal profiler went down in flames—literally. Burned out, divorced and almost broke, Max needs the job.  

After surviving a near-fatal attack, Charlotte and Max turn to Jocelyn’s closest friends, women in a Seattle-based online investment club, for answers. But what they find is chilling...

When her uneasy alliance with Max turns into a full-blown affair, Charlotte has no choice but to trust him with her life. For the shadows of Jocelyn’s past are threatening to consume her—and anyone else who gets in their way...

My Thoughts: As a fan of many of JAK's books this one was just lukewarm for me.

The Good: The underlying plot thread which should continue throughout the trilogy is actually pretty interesting even though I don't usually care for "cult" themed novels. Max and his 2 brothers were children when their parents joined a cult. They were orphaned when the leader lit fire to the entire complex, including the barn where the children were kept. Placed in  foster care, Max, Cabot, and Jack were taken in my the cop who saved all the children. Anyway, this plot thread is actually pretty interesting as they all three believe the cult leader is still alive despite being pronounced dead in a boating accident years after the cult complex fire.

I did like Max and Charlotte but didn't necessarily believe in their romance completely. I liked Charlotte's quirkiness and absolutely loved the retirement home she worked at. With the retirement home came with some wonderful residents. Their appearances in the story stood out to me in such a positive way.

The Bad: While I did like the darker themes within the book (rape cases in addition to murders) I thought they were underplayed a bit while JAK was trying to pull off a believable romance. Also, the mystery was a bit convoluted as the number of murderers increased and finding connections between everything seemed a bit of a stretch.

Even though Max and Charlotte fell in love and we could see how they were heading towards this I thought it was not quite believable because of the time frame and well, insta-love. Throwing in an ex-fiancé into the mix didn't do much to propel the story forward either.

In a Nutshell: Even though this book was just an OK for me I definitely will continue the trilogy to find out how the cult story arch plays out.

 

White Lies by Jayne Ann Krentz

Synopsis....
Petite, thirtysomething Clare Lancaster is a Level Ten para-sensitive-and a "human lie detector." Over the years, she's come to accept that someone with her extraordinary talents is likely to have trouble in the relationship department. And she's even resigned herself to the fact that everyone, to one degree or another, hides behind a faςade...

And now it seems that meeting the half sister and family whom she never knew until seven months ago was a mistake. Her father summons her from California to play a role in his business empire, and Clare doesn't intend on making the same mistake twice. But after meeting Jake Salter, Archer Lancaster's "financial consultant," Clare is convinced that things aren't what they seem. Salter's careful conversation seems to walk a delicate line between truth and deception, revealing and resisting. Something sparks and sizzles between them-something more than the usual electricity between a man and a woman.

Caught in a dizzying storm of secrets, lies, and half-truths, Jake and Clare will plunge into an investigation that demands every bit of their special gifts-together they must overcome their mutual distrust in order to unravel a web of conspiracy and murder.

My Thoughts....
White Lies is part of Jayne Ann Krentz's Arcane Society books. I had read book a while back that mentioned the Arcane Society (not part of the series but mentioned the Society) it didn't go into details so I ended up confused as to what The Arcane Society was and why it was even really mentioned. This book is technically the second in the series (the first is actually a historical written under her pen name Amanda Quick) but it explained the Arcane Society so I am not confused anymore.

I have a few reservations about an author who writes a series of books switching time periods. The first book is an Amanda Quick and it is historical romance. This second book is contemporary. The third is once again an AQ historical and so forth. I have only read one Amanda Quick book and thought it was barely average. I didn't hate it, but really had no feelings about it either way. So I am a little concerned with this authors other offerings especially in a series that I might enjoy a lot (at least the ones written as JAK). I know JAK isn't the first author who has done this (Linda Lael Miller's McKettrick series comes to mind) but to alternate the time periods is new, different, a little weird. I won't rule it out though....I just wanted to mention I think it is a little strange.

Ok, so back to the book. I was impressed with book to the point that I went to the library and checked out all the rest of Arcane books that were available. I love paranormal woowoo storylines and this one was right up my alley. The heroine is a human lie detector of such extreme talent making her one of the rarest of the psychic community. Unfortunately not many human lie detectors remain ballanced because everyone lies to a certain degree. Being bombarded everyday by thousands of people lying usually drives these types of psychics crazy. Clare, in this case is such a strong person that she not only can handle her gift but has such a great outlook on lying that it surprises Jake. Jake by the way is super Alpha. Who doesn't love an Alpha Male??

This book had a great balance between romance and suspense. Krentz also was able to create characters so physically attracted to each other that I was on the edge of my seat waiting for them to bust loose and have hot monkey sex where ever they might have been. Those hot monkey sex scenes were believable and didn't feel gratuitous, nor did they take over the storyline.

There is a secondary storyline that takes place in this book too. Not only do you see the main one that carries the plot along filled with suspense and intrigue but a background one is also apparent while reading.

Clare is actually the biological daughter of one of the more poweful men in the area and with her knowledge of her father Claire also gets a sister. The sisters have an interesting relationship and I hope that it continues into other books. With the knowledge of Clare's existence, her bio dad's wife feels the betrayal of it all and doesn't make it easy for Clare in the family. This dynamic makes for interesting scenes and dialogue between all the parties involved.

Over all a good book. 4 Stars and a happy reader who is looking forward to more Arcane Society books....maybe I'll even read the historical ones by Amanda Quick.