Book Review: Cold-Blooded Liar by Karen Rose + Excerpt

Karen Rose is kicking off an exciting new series with Cold-Blooded Liar. Hang onto your seats because this was an intense story with an awesome build that had me hooked until the very end! Check out my review below and read an excerpt from the book.

Cold-Blooded Liar (The San Diego Case Files #1) by Karen Rose

Brace yourself for a scorching new series from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Karen Rose, where San Diego means sun, surf, sand…and serial killers.

Sam Reeves is a kindhearted psychologist who treats court-ordered clients. After one of his patients—a pathological liar—starts revealing plausible new details from a long-unsolved serial murder case, he’s compelled to report anonymously to the SDPD tip line, though his attempts to respect patient confidentiality land him facedown and cuffed by the aggressive (and cute) Detective McKittrick.

San Diego homicide detective Kit McKittrick loves the water. She lives on a boat, and when she’s not solving crimes with the SDPD, she’s assisting her foster sister with her charter fishing business or playing with her poodle. But there’s nothing that intrigues Kit more than a cold case, so when an anonymous caller leads her on the path of a wanted killer, she’s determined to end the decade-long manhunt.

Sam is soon released but goes home with both a newfound distaste for the SDPD and a resolve—not unlike Kit’s—to uncover the truth. Kit and Sam repeatedly butt heads in their separate investigations but are forced to work together to find one of the deadliest serial killers the city has faced in years.

4 out of 5 stars

Cold-Blooded Liar was a wonderful mystery-suspense story with a great build. I was hooked as details emerged and clues clicked into place. I enjoyed the tension and pull between Kit and Sam and am looking forward to where they will go from here.

From the first chapter, I was excited for everything to unfold. It was filled with emotion and intensity that gripped me. I liked learning bits and pieces about Sam and Kit over the course of the story. Sam's such a good guy but in a bad spot which puts him at a disadvantage with Kit. She is a workaholic that wants to save everyone and she's got trust issues. When their paths cross, it's slow going in the romance department even though the attraction is there because they have so much stacked against them. This did not feel like a typical romantic suspense story, it was more focused on the mystery and the romance element was very low-key.

I loved the details, the hints, the build, and the drama. I liked the smaller stories that were intertwined as well. This was intense at times and heartbreaking because some incredibly bad things were happening. It was the development as everything came together that had me holding my breath the last few chapters. It was incredibly well done with a fantastic ending pertaining to the mystery.

I really liked this and thought it was an awesome read, I just didn’t think it had a very good balance between the romance and suspense elements. The romance was there, with the looks, longing, and light mention of feelings but the story is very much about the mystery happening. Sam and Kit don’t get a true HEA, it’s more like a baby cliffhanger that’s setting them up for more in the next story.

The overall story was amazing and had me guessing until the end. So, I loved it, but I needed more romance. That being said, I was caught up in everything and I thought it really was a great read!

Complimentary copy received from Berkley Romance.

Longview Park, San Diego, California

Monday, April 4, 5:30 p.m.

Kit pulled the handkerchief across her nose and mouth as she watched the two CSU techs meticulously uncovering what was, indeed, a grave. Based on the odor, the body had been there awhile.

They'd arrived at the mystery caller's coordinates to find that the ground had settled somewhat, creating a slight depression that measured five and a half by two and a half feet.

Ground-penetrating radar had shown a body.

The victim had been small.

Kit slipped her hand into her pocket, finding the little cat-bird figurine. Stroking it with her thumb. Please don't be a child.

"I hope it's not a kid," Baz murmured, echoing her thoughts.

All homicides were difficult. Even drug dealers murdered on the street had been loved by someone. Were missed by someone.

But the child homicides were a completely different level of hell.

She looked away from the grave to where Sergeant Ryland, the CSU leader, was making a plaster cast of the only footprint they'd found in the area. It was a man's shoe, size eleven.

"You got anything for us, Ryland?" she called.

"I just might."

She and Baz walked from the grave site to where someone had stepped off the asphalt path, leaving the single footprint in the strip of ground between the path and the field of grass.

Ryland finished pouring the plaster over the footprint, smoothed it out, then set the timer on his phone. "Thirty minutes for the plaster to set. Come see the photos I took of the print while I wait." He retrieved his camera and beckoned them closer. "There was lettering on the sole of the shoe-likely a brand name. I can't quite make it out in the photo, but I'm hoping to get detail from the plaster cast."

"So it'll be seventy-two hours or so," Baz said and Ryland nodded.

Kit leaned closer to the screen. "Can you zoom in on it?"

Ryland did, handing the camera to Kit. "I can make out what looks like a Y at the end of the brand name, but-"

"Sperry," Kit said. "Sorry to interrupt, Sergeant. I recognize the logo. They're Sperry Top-Siders." She gave him back his camera. "My sister runs a charter fishing business and sometimes I first mate for her on my days off. A lot of her customers wear them."

Ryland studied the photo. "You could be right."

She was, Kit was certain. "Trouble is, that's a popular shoe. I've even got a pair."

"So do I," Baz said. "Tracking those will be nearly impossible."

Kit shrugged. "But when we find the guy who owns these shoes, we can put him at the scene. Any way to get a weight estimate on the wearer?"

Ryland shook his head. "Ground's too hard. Barely enough sinkage to get the plaster cast. I'll let you know when I have something definite."

"Detectives?" one of the techs at the grave called, his tone urgent. "Something over here you need to see."

"Thank you, Sergeant," Kit said, then approached the grave alongside Baz, schooling her expression. If it was a child's grave, she would maintain her professionalism. She'd let herself react later, when she was alone.

"Victim's a postpubescent female," the tech said when they were graveside. "The ME will be able to give you a better age than I can, but I'm guessing somewhere between fourteen and eighteen."

Feeling Baz's eyes on her, Kit reassured him with a quick glance. She was fine.

He always worried about her reaction when the victim was the same age that Wren had been when she'd been murdered, but after four years as a homicide detective, Kit had seen far too many victims who'd been Wren's age. It never got easier.

She hoped that it never would.