September is moving right along…it’s been a little cooler in North Mississippi this week and it looks like it’s going to get cooler. You do not see me happy dancing! 😉
Last week I read another of D. L. Wood’s suspense novels and could not put the book down! Here’s the
Back cover copy:
Some games weren’t meant to be played.
The lights are bright in New York City, but after losing her husband three years ago, all Evie Diaz can see is her mission to keep life rock-steady for her young daughter – including holding on to their little Queens apartment, the beloved nanny, and her night manager position at a luxury Manhattan hotel. It isn’t easy, and stroke after stroke of bad luck threatens to undo it all. Her one reprieve from reality is liaising with a high-stakes poker game held at the hotel, where she hobnobs with movie stars and millionaires and can, for just a few minutes, escape. It doesn’t hurt that player Kieran Carr, a handsome, confident art dealer, seems to like flirting with Evie as much as he likes playing poker.
But that all ends when trouble erupts at the game, evidence points to Evie as the culprit, and the betrayed host goes after her with a vengeance. Warned by Carr just in time, Evie runs, aided by the quietly protective hotel driver who secretly also harbors feelings for her. With the host on their heels threatening everyone Evie loves, they scramble to unravel the plot and clear Evie’s name before she pays the ultimate price for a game she never intended to play.
The first book in The Criminal Collection – a series of stand-alone suspense novels.
My take:
This book gripped me from the first chapter and I stayed up until 2 a.m. to finish it. I immediately liked Evie and wanted the best for her, but it just kept getting worse and worse. She was gritty and never gave up even when it looked as though all was lost. Besides, you have to like a woman who wears sneakers to work to save her only pair of Jimmy Choo heels that she wears because of the high-end hotel where she works.
Most of the book happens in a twenty-four hour period so it moved very fast with twists and turns I never saw coming. But it wasn’t so fast-paced that I lost sight of the budding romance between Evie and the hero. This is a book I think everyone will like!
A Criminal Game releases October 27, but you can pre-order it on Amazon at a reduced price of $2.99 right now.
Leave a comment telling me how late you’re willing to stay up to finish a book and I’ll enter you in this month’s drawing for a book from my library!
Oh, and I received an advanced e-copy of The Criminal Game, and I liked it so well I’m sending my sister a copy when it releases!
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Comments 49
I don’t like staying up that late to finish books or I pay for it the next day. Instead, I’ll sleep and if I wake up during the night, then I read for an hour or more, sometimes until I finish.
Author
I did it again last night and I’m paying today, Delores! Thanks for stopping by.
I definitely stay up late to finish a book. I do pay for it the next day, but I can’t help myself!
Author
Me, either, Nicole! Last night I kept telling myself I had to go to sleep, but it didn’t do any good. lol. I was reading The Copper Box and I’ll review it soon!
I’ve stayed up till 1 am. Can’t usually make it later. Thank you for the chance.
Author
Lucy, sometimes I don’t even realize how late it’s getting–I get into the book so deep. Thanks for dropping by.
Well, when I was younger… these days not so much. Since I’ve always been an early riser, I’m usually asleep by 9PM. I usually read a few hours before sleeping, and lately I frequently find myself waking up with my Nook timed out. Not much hope for burnt midnight oil.
Author
It’s been a while since I was asleep by 9, Tim. I don’t seem to be able to use reading as a way to go to sleep! Not if it’s fiction. Now, nonfiction…if I really need to go to sleep, I can pick up something nonfiction and nod right off. lol
The latest I stay up to read is midnight, but only if I’m off work the next day. If I stay up too late, then I regret that decision in the morning.
Author
I wish I had the discipline to stop reading at midnight, Elizabeth! Alas, I don’t so today I am quite tired. 😉
Until I finish the book…..
Author
Oh, I know the feeling, Linda! I remember staying up until 4 a.m. reading Exodus by Leon Uris when I was 15ish–decided it was too late to go to sleep and got up and got ready for school early. lol
I usually stop by 12:30 or 1 at the latest but have stayed up later.
Author
Gloria, I don’t always stay up that late, but it seems like the books I’ve been reading lately won’t let me go!
I stay up until I finish the book. Thank you for the opportunity to win one of your books.
Author
You’re welcome, Diane. It’s not altogether altruistic as I’m running out of places to put the books I buy. lol
I frequently read until 12:30 AM (I found a stopping place this morning at 12:38). Occasionally, I may continue until 2 or 3 in the morning. Often when that happens, it’s partially because I started reading after dinner and dozed for a while. Actually it gets frustrating but I can doze off anytime, anywhere.
Author
We could’ve had a discussion this morning at 12:30, Edward! I wonder if you’re taking a medication that makes you drop off to sleep? I’ve never needed a lot of sleep, but I have learned that when I only get four or five hours of sleep, I stay hungry all day!
I have had a tendency to doze off for as far back as I can remember. For years I blamed it on not getting enough sleep because I often went on no more than four or five hours of sleep a night. For the last 20 years or more, I have tried to get at least six hours a night. Somewhere, I read that we need less sleep as we get older but I don’t believe that. Most weeks, I tend to pick a day when I have nothing on the schedule and sleep at least eight hours. Regardless of the number of hours I sleep, I wake up every two or three hours.
I’ve risked my life with only three hours of sleep after a good read. I try not to do it often though . Btw I saw your new cover in the newsletter. Its beautiful!! ❤️
Author
Thanks, Jessica. I am so excited about the cover. I didn’t get it in time to post it on the blog today, but it’s coming Tuesday! I think I got 4 hours sleep last night…
I hope you get to recuperate some of those hours this weekend .
Author
Actually, Jessica, I did! I took the weekend off. But back to work tomorrow on the 2nd book! Thanks for stopping by.
Some books are just too hard to put down, but I do put them down after I keep saying to myself just one more chapter then I’ll go to bed, well, I stop after about 1am or so, I just have to make myself do it so that I won’t pay for it in the morning. This book sounds intriguing and like a very good page turner! The cover looks full of suspense. I will be adding this book to my TBR list, because it sounds like a book I would love to read! I Love good page turners. Thank you for sharing your book review. Have a Great weekend. Gods Blessings.
Author
It is definitely a page-turner and with great characters! Thanks for stopping by.
I have stayed up til 1:30 or 2:00 but just a few nights ago I woke up at 1:30 and couldn’t get back to sleep so I read til 3:00.
Love your new cover! Can’t wait!
Author
For some reason I have a hard time reading after I go to sleep, Paula. It’s like I can’t see as well. Or focus. lol Thanks for stopping by.
I’ve read her other books and imagine this one is equally good. I am retired and like Tim said I can stay up reading until I wake with a black screen on my IPad Kindle app.
Author
I don’t think I’ve ever done that, Christine. 🙂
One thing I learned when I was working was to budget my time. The most important thing, health-wise, is not to skimp on sleep time, so you don’t suffer the consequences. So, if you are a night reader, discipline yourself to stop at a chapter break as close as you can to your shut-eye time. Your body will thank you. Of course, you can always pick up the book again early in the morning to start your day. 🙂
Author
Good advice, Tim. If you have self-discipline. lol. And I do on a lot of things, just not always when it comes to reading.
I’ve read her other books and imagine this one is equally good. I am retired so I can read until I fall asleep, wake up and read some more.
Author
That’s great, Christine! I don’t know that I’ll ever retire…but it would be nice to sleep in sometimes! Thanks for stopping by.
I usually will stop reading by 1:00am but have gotten involved with one and it was 4:00 am before I finished it
Author
I understand, Shelia. Totally! lol. Thanks for stopping by.
Wow! This sounds like a book to start on Saturday morning–NOT before bedtime!
Author
Definitely, MS Barb…unfortunatley bedtime is the only reading time I get. lol
I’ve stayed up until 3 a.m. reading many times but lately I get too sleepy!
Author
I usually get wound up, Joan. It would help if I got sleepy! Thanks for stopping by.
No matter how good the book is, I fall asleep trying to read late night in bed. But I’ll finish it eventually!
Author
That just doesn’t happen to me unless it’s nonfiction, Sally Jo. And Happy Birthday yesterday!
I can’t stay up as long as I used to, so the latest is by 11pm. After that, I just can’t focus and my eyes start drooping. But most times anymore, my light is off by 10:30. I think it’s because I get up early and am exhausted by the time I head to bed! so
Another good sounding book to put on my want-to-read list
Author
It seems the longer I stay up, Trixi, the more wound I get until I crash. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by.
Well, I’m late this time commenting, but I regularly stay up till 2, as evidenced by the times I often comment on your posts, Patricia! I don’t know what my latest time was, though. Maybe three or four. Sounds like an awesome book! And Edward, I read in “Why We Sleep” (an awesome book by a scientist who studies sleep, though he is an evolutionist, and I am not!) that “the older you get, the less sleep you need” is a popular myth, started because it can be difficult for older people to go to sleep early and stay asleep. Many wake up every few hours. Turns out, older people tend to nap right after dinner, oftentimes accidentally, and then they simply can’t sleep, cause the hormone that induces sleep has been depleted by the nap. The waking up regularly can be partly due to that and needing the bathroom regularly… It was a fascinating book!!
Author
That sounds like a fascinating book, Monique. I don’t have any trouble staying up after dinner…it’s waking up at 3 a.mm most mornings and not being able to go back to sleep.
Oh, that’s awful! I hate lying awake when I really want to be asleep! Must be hard!
Author
Thanks, Monique. I try really hard to go back to sleep because if I get up that early, once I’ve been up an hour or so, my energy really leaves me and I feel draggy and foggy the rest of the day. 🙂
I try to not stay up late to finish a book…but…well, I don’t always do so well with following through.,..lol. It does depend on what the book is, because sometimes I just HAVE to finish the book, and yes, then it does get late. But, I do pay for it the next day. 🙁
I look forward to reading this book!
Author
Rosalyn, I always pay the next day, some days more than others. lol.