Blog Tour Review & Giveaway: The Kate Jones Thriller Series (1-4) – DV Berkham

BAD SPIRITS (Books 1-5): Kate Jones is on the run with a backpack full of money, intent on finding her way back to the United States from Mexico. Unfortunately, a ruthless drug lord named Salazar is just as intent on finding her, retrieving his stolen money, and making her pay for ever having left him. Is there anyone she can trust?
DEAD OF WINTER: Kate Jones is hiding out in small town Alaska when she witnesses an execution-style murder. Convinced the killers are Salazar’s men and desperate to stop them from finding her, she reports the crime to local law enforcement, hoping to put them off her trail so she can escape.
DEATH RITES: When Kate has to leave Alaska (and Sam) behind, she runs to the last place she remembers feeling safe: the North Shore of Oahu. Against her better judgment, she re-establishes old connections, and soon faces a new problem in Alek, a gifted carver and avid surfer.
Then a brutal murder and theft of a priceless artifact from a museum is discovered, and Kate’s thrown into the middle of what appears to be a violent ancient sect come to life. Her only chance of survival is to rely on her wits…
…and the ancient gods of Hawaii.
TOURING FOR DEATH: Kate Jones is hiding out from her shady past driving jeep tours through the rugged high desert of northern Arizona, determined to stop looking over her shoulder and find peace from her mistake of a gun-toting, former life. Testifying against a Mexican drug lord and a dirty DEA agent didn’t turn out to be a life enhancing choice and she’s been on the move ever since.
Now, five years have passed with no sign of trouble and Kate’s finally starting to believe she’s safe. Her current goal is to make enough money so she can get lost in the tropics when the tourist trade dies off. Unfortunately, it’s the tourists that are dying off and she may be next.

Reviewer’s Thoughts:

I’ll say one thing about Kate Jones…a lot of bad stuff seems to follow her around.

This bundle of novellas follows Kate Jones as she tries to get her life back on the right track.  Unfortunately, to do that, she must ditch her ex-lover, who happens to be a Mexican drug lord, hide from him and other drug lords, shady DEA agents and whoever else might be after her.  What’s a girl have to do get her life together?

I enjoyed books one and two.  Kate’s journey to get out of Mexico and move on with her life had me on the edge of my seat.  I felt bad for the young woman who was taken by the handsome, rich man who had her enthralled by him and his family before she ever realized exactly what he was.  I wanted Kate to make it into the US and hoped that she’d find someone in the US agencies she went to for help that wasn’t on the take.  Then as I moved into book two, I wanted friendly Alaskan police officer Sam to protect from Kate at all costs and for the two of them to have a happily ever after.

But so far, Kate doesn’t get a HEA.  Instead, she moves from Alaska, to Hawaii (where more bad stuff happens) to the Arizona where (you guessed it) more bad stuff happens.  How much can a woman take?  Honestly?  And what about Sam?  She keeps thinking about him, but he doesn’t show up in the last two books.  He says they aren’t done.  Will he show up again?  And then there is Cole from the last book.  Will Kate stick with him or will he end up like Sam…not forgotten but never to be seen again?  I would hope, at some point, Kate finally puts down some roots and begins to build a life, nothing can be this bad all the time.

This bundle was a really quick read and for those that like suspense, it has that in spades.  It will keep you on the edge of your seat and have you wondering if the bad guys are part of the drug cartel still out to get Kate or just some random crap Kate’s managed to step into.