Shattering Dawn by Jayne Ann Krentz @JayneAnnKrentz @BerkleyRomance @BerkleyPub @sophiarose1816

Posted January 15, 2025 by Sophia in Book Review / 8 Comments

Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.


Shattering Dawn by Jayne Ann Krentz @JayneAnnKrentz @BerkleyRomance @BerkleyPub @sophiarose1816Shattering Dawn by Jayne Ann Krentz
Series: Lost Night Files #3
Published by Berkley on January 7, 2025
Genres: Paranormal Romance, Suspense
Pages: 336
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
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Amelia Rivers, a member of the Lost Night Files podcast team, hires private investigator Gideon Sweetwater to catch the stalker who has been watching her. Amelia suspects the stalker may be connected to the shadowy organization responsible for the night that she and her two friends lost to amnesia—a night that upended their lives and left them with paranormal talents.

Gideon suspects that Amelia is either paranoid or an outright con artist, but he can’t resist the chemistry between them. He takes the case despite his skepticism. For her part, Amelia has second thoughts about the wisdom of employing the mysterious Mr. Sweetwater. She is wary of the powerful attraction between them, and deeply uneasy about the nightmarish paintings on the walls of his home. She senses they were inspired by his own dreamscapes.

Amelia knows she doesn’t have time to find another investigator, and Gideon is forced to reckon with the truth when he disrupts what was intended to be Amelia’s kidnapping. Now the pair is on the run, with no choice but to return to the haunting ruins of the old hotel where Amelia’s lost night occurred. They are desperate to stop a killer and the people who are conducting illegal experiments with a dangerous drug that is designed to enhance psychic abilities. If they are to survive, they will have to trust each other and the passion that bonds them.

The third leg of the Lost Night Files trilogy that caught fire with me from the opening paragraphs of the first book.  I loved the spooky, mysterious locations, the mystery, the conspiracy and intrigue, psychic abilities that needed to be controlled, and, of course the romances of the previous two books and looked forward to more of the same and a big final from this lastShattering Dawn met my expectations nicely and I enjoyed the little Easter Egg connections to previous series.

Shattering Dawn is the third book in a very connected series that must be read in order.  A new couple and their specific situation is at the forefront, but the overall series arc progressing from the earlier books is a strong part.

Amelia Rivers is the third member of the Lost Night Files podcast team and the final member of the group who went out to the desert and the old hotel only to end up with a blank spot in her memory and a psychic power that is beyond anything she had before.  Her gift is also an odd one since she has the ability to see auras and the psychic traces people leave, but only at night.  And, as bad luck would have it, the Lost Night has left her with night phobia issues.  However, when she gets the sense she is being stalked, she bucks up and hires an investigator to help her.

Gideon Sweetwater (yes for old-time Jayne Castle fans, he’s one of those Sweetwaters) is none too certain about his new client, but he knows she’s not crazy, though she comes to him with a stunner of a story and problem.  He’s been circumspect all his life and refuses to form relationships because of his own dark talent.  But, he establishes quickly that Amelia Rivers is in acute danger and doesn’t have a run of the mill stalker.  He never realized he had a connection with the women of the Lost Night podcast, but now he’s all in teaming up with Amelia to get the answers they need even while a strong enemy is equally determined the Lost Night people who are a threat get neutralized.

This read fast and I was glued to the story from start to finish.  Loved the banter between Amelia and Gideon and how they bolstered each other up as they formed a working team and a smoldering romance building as they investigated.

Readers have been in the know since the end of the first book what the Lost Night team is up against in their enemy, but I enjoyed the surprise twists that came up in this one.  I had no trouble figuring out one part of the twist, but wasn’t prepared for the rest so it was a thrill to behold there in the big climax.

Like with the earlier books, there is a lovely sense of the gothic and a layer of old-style noir that I loved for added atmosphere to the investigation and overall story.  I’m disappointed that this was it for this part of the broad Jayne Ann Krentz psychic romantic suspense world.  There are ties to the earlier Fogg Lake trilogy and one lose thread from both that and this trilogy that gives me hope Krentz isn’t finished with this overall world.  Those who love a dab of psychic talent to their romantic suspense should definitely pick up this trilogy or, better yet, start back with the older connected series.

 

About Jayne Ann Krentz

The author of over 50 consecutive New York Times bestsellers, JAYNE ANN KRENTZ writes romantic-suspense in three different worlds: Contemporary (as Jayne Ann Krentz), historical (as Amanda Quick) and futuristic (as Jayne Castle). There are over 30 million copies of her books in print.

She earned a B.A. in History from the University of California at Santa Cruz and went on to obtain a Masters degree in Library Science from San Jose State University in California. Before she began writing full time she worked as a librarian in both academic and corporate libraries.

Ms. Krentz is married and lives with her husband, Frank, in Seattle, Washington.

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Posted January 15, 2025 by Sophia in Book Review / 8 Comments


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