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New Hampshire Mystery #3
Tar Heart
A NEW HAMPSHIRE MYSTERY
Recently transferred to the Center Harbor Police Department in the dead of winter, Detective Lucas York is on the downhill slide of a once-promising career when he's called to Squam Lake where a body lies trapped beneath a thick sheet of ice.
The victim, beautiful and respected, appeared to have the perfect life—a charming husband, an adorable baby boy, an idyllic estate a mere breath away from the lake. She also appears to have the face of a woman with whom Lucas shared a dark, lustful night nearly a decade ago, one that has haunted him into obsession.
It's been years since Holly Danes has seen her identical twin, a fact she both regrets and rationalizes. Rose had her secrets and it tore them apart, but nothing can prepare Holly for the dangerous world she must infiltrate in order to catch a killer who left no clues. Peeling back the layers of her twin's troubled past, she slips into Rose's life in search of answers. And the deadly game of cat and mouse that results traps her with the one man whose need to uncover the truth is as intense as her own. But can she trust Lucas when this case begins to stir the most volatile of human emotions in his heart?
As Lucas and Holly sift through the circumstances of Rose's increasingly disturbing lifestyle, a stunning discovery changes everything they thought they knew about the enigmatic woman. And when the killer strikes again and again, they are pulled down a deceiving trail of smoke and mirrors, unaware that someone very close to them is the murderous psychopath.
Recently transferred to the Center Harbor Police Department in the dead of winter, Detective Lucas York is on the downhill slide of a once-promising career when he's called to Squam Lake where a body lies trapped beneath a thick sheet of ice.
The victim, beautiful and respected, appeared to have the perfect life—a charming husband, an adorable baby boy, an idyllic estate a mere breath away from the lake. She also appears to have the face of a woman with whom Lucas shared a dark, lustful night nearly a decade ago, one that has haunted him into obsession.
It's been years since Holly Danes has seen her identical twin, a fact she both regrets and rationalizes. Rose had her secrets and it tore them apart, but nothing can prepare Holly for the dangerous world she must infiltrate in order to catch a killer who left no clues. Peeling back the layers of her twin's troubled past, she slips into Rose's life in search of answers. And the deadly game of cat and mouse that results traps her with the one man whose need to uncover the truth is as intense as her own. But can she trust Lucas when this case begins to stir the most volatile of human emotions in his heart?
As Lucas and Holly sift through the circumstances of Rose's increasingly disturbing lifestyle, a stunning discovery changes everything they thought they knew about the enigmatic woman. And when the killer strikes again and again, they are pulled down a deceiving trail of smoke and mirrors, unaware that someone very close to them is the murderous psychopath.
292 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 18, 2016
57 people are currently reading
560 people want to read
About the author
Mira Gibson
25 books70 followersAn author of sleuth mysteries and dark psychological thrillers, Mira can be found most days working in the sunshine of beautiful Long Beach, NY where she dreams up one-of-a-kind characters and writes intriguing stories that are filled with unsuspecting tenderness.
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Connect with Mira online!
Facebook: facebook.com/authormiragibson
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Twitter: twitter.com/miragibson
Website: MysteryRoyalty.com
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
November 26, 2016
Tar Heart
A gripping murder mystery unfolds before you eyes as you read this book a wonderfully written who done it. As well as a riveting family drama.
A gripping murder mystery unfolds before you eyes as you read this book a wonderfully written who done it. As well as a riveting family drama.
March 22, 2016
Omg! What a skillfully written, fast paced thriller with plenty of twists and turns you'll never see coming! Ms. Gibson ratchets up the tension in her latest installment from the "New Hampshire Mystery" series with her smooth flowing style of writing that will enthrall the reader! "Tar Heart" is a psychological thriller full of intrigue that will grab you from the get-go and hold on beyond the last page!
Both H/h are interesting & complex in their own rights, as well as the secondary characters. You don't have to worry about a boring or predictable story-line with this author! Always great attention to detail and vivid descriptions that will pull the reader in for an exciting, emotional roller coaster ride! I had no clue who the killer was until the very end! ... Oh, and these novels do stand-alone, but I highly recommend getting them all & reading them in order! You won’t want to miss out on these riveting page-turners!
Both H/h are interesting & complex in their own rights, as well as the secondary characters. You don't have to worry about a boring or predictable story-line with this author! Always great attention to detail and vivid descriptions that will pull the reader in for an exciting, emotional roller coaster ride! I had no clue who the killer was until the very end! ... Oh, and these novels do stand-alone, but I highly recommend getting them all & reading them in order! You won’t want to miss out on these riveting page-turners!
March 22, 2017
Disappointing
Read Rock Spider first and loved it. Tar Heart was gravely disappointing. The plot was tedious, the characters flat and unbelievable. A four-year-old in a crib and diapers is ridiculous. Overuse of the word "smirk". If I had read this book first I would not have read another Mira Gibson book.
Read Rock Spider first and loved it. Tar Heart was gravely disappointing. The plot was tedious, the characters flat and unbelievable. A four-year-old in a crib and diapers is ridiculous. Overuse of the word "smirk". If I had read this book first I would not have read another Mira Gibson book.
January 16, 2019
Ish !
Enormously confused plot, very girly, resting on an unlikely premise... well, I could go on but why ? This thing would get past the unwitting male reader if any research on police procedure or firearms had been done by the wilfully ignorant authoress.
Enormously confused plot, very girly, resting on an unlikely premise... well, I could go on but why ? This thing would get past the unwitting male reader if any research on police procedure or firearms had been done by the wilfully ignorant authoress.
February 11, 2025
High anxiety and drama
Murder, drugs, lies, and deceit; what a family dynamic amidst the struggle to keep a young boy safe. But who are the good guys, and who is the villian.
Murder, drugs, lies, and deceit; what a family dynamic amidst the struggle to keep a young boy safe. But who are the good guys, and who is the villian.
June 17, 2016
I would give this 3.5 stars if able to. These are my thoughts:
-Pace is good, moves quickly, plot is wrapped up sufficiently.
-Writing is very good, highly detailed. The writer has an obvious grasp of her craft.
-Lots of twists and turns, surprising but believable ending.
-An overall solid read for thriller fans.
However:
-I had a hard time connecting and sympathizing with the characters - Holly, for example, lost all credibility early on when she tried the cocaine, for what seemed like a poor reason. I'm not sure I found any of them likable, which made it difficult for me to root for someone.
-The little boy, Tucker, was written being far younger than four-years-old. He "cooed" a lot and didn't talk, still wore diapers. He was written as more of a two-year-old, or younger even. His nonacceptance of Holly as his aunt and not his mother wasn't believable; kids are smarter than that. I know the identical twin plays a factor, but still, I wasn't buying it, nor was his resistance necessary, really. It's a minor detail, but I found it bothered me a lot.
-I'm not sure the "transformation" (not giving anything away) that happened was reasonable or even possible. It seemed too easy for the character to have that happen the way it did.
-At the end, I found there to be some unanswered questions:
1) What was the purpose of Roberta buying the pendant?
2) Roberta and Mary's portion of the story isn't that critical, yet, I felt like too much time was spent on them. Their impact on the sequence of events is critical, but, I don't know, I just didn't like their parts that much.
3) In the final scene before the prologue, the hero was not a surprise at all, predictable even, but how they got there, considering what happened in the scene prior, wasn't explained at all. I'm not surprised it happened, it just doesn't make sense that it did.
4) The reason for what happened to Ron Conover and his establishment is unclear, as are the motivation behind it.
-There were a couple of chapters when I found there to be some head-hopping, which made me cringe. I found myself confused at whose perspective I was in, which was frustrating. These moments didn't last very long, though, thankfully.
-While the plot is fine, I didn't find it to be much more than that - just okay. Early on, I felt it to be "safe", meaning while there wasn't anything wrong with it, there wasn't much that I found unique about it, nothing much that differentiates it from other thrillers. The story is fine, just not special.
In conclusion, although there's nothing wrong with the story, for me, I didn't love it. I want to stress that there are no major plot holes or anything, but I just didn't connect with it, for whatever reason. My experience with this one was just okay; very average. But since Mira Gibson's writing is good, I will definitely read another book of hers.
-Pace is good, moves quickly, plot is wrapped up sufficiently.
-Writing is very good, highly detailed. The writer has an obvious grasp of her craft.
-Lots of twists and turns, surprising but believable ending.
-An overall solid read for thriller fans.
However:
-I had a hard time connecting and sympathizing with the characters - Holly, for example, lost all credibility early on when she tried the cocaine, for what seemed like a poor reason. I'm not sure I found any of them likable, which made it difficult for me to root for someone.
-The little boy, Tucker, was written being far younger than four-years-old. He "cooed" a lot and didn't talk, still wore diapers. He was written as more of a two-year-old, or younger even. His nonacceptance of Holly as his aunt and not his mother wasn't believable; kids are smarter than that. I know the identical twin plays a factor, but still, I wasn't buying it, nor was his resistance necessary, really. It's a minor detail, but I found it bothered me a lot.
-I'm not sure the "transformation" (not giving anything away) that happened was reasonable or even possible. It seemed too easy for the character to have that happen the way it did.
-At the end, I found there to be some unanswered questions:
1) What was the purpose of Roberta buying the pendant?
2) Roberta and Mary's portion of the story isn't that critical, yet, I felt like too much time was spent on them. Their impact on the sequence of events is critical, but, I don't know, I just didn't like their parts that much.
3) In the final scene before the prologue, the hero was not a surprise at all, predictable even, but how they got there, considering what happened in the scene prior, wasn't explained at all. I'm not surprised it happened, it just doesn't make sense that it did.
4) The reason for what happened to Ron Conover and his establishment is unclear, as are the motivation behind it.
-There were a couple of chapters when I found there to be some head-hopping, which made me cringe. I found myself confused at whose perspective I was in, which was frustrating. These moments didn't last very long, though, thankfully.
-While the plot is fine, I didn't find it to be much more than that - just okay. Early on, I felt it to be "safe", meaning while there wasn't anything wrong with it, there wasn't much that I found unique about it, nothing much that differentiates it from other thrillers. The story is fine, just not special.
In conclusion, although there's nothing wrong with the story, for me, I didn't love it. I want to stress that there are no major plot holes or anything, but I just didn't connect with it, for whatever reason. My experience with this one was just okay; very average. But since Mira Gibson's writing is good, I will definitely read another book of hers.
July 22, 2016
“… described it as tar. Thick and black and sticky liquid, not yet hardened into asphalt. The heart of a killer.”
Novels with twins seem to be a popular feature lately, I can come up with a few other titles easily. This novel also jumps on the wagon and goes all the way: the focus is very much on their twinship. Some novels pull it off better than others and this one is definitely on the high end of the tipping scale.
Rose calls her twin sister Holly in the last minutes of her life. When Rose started doing drugs, Holly made the decision to step out of her life. It’s been at least 2 years since they last saw each other. Until that phone call from her sister, sounding very distressed. When Holly arrives, however, she is too late and her sister was killed.
By impersonating her sister, unintentional at first by playing dress up in her sister’s clothes, she soon understands this is the best way to get answers to the many questions about her sister’s questionable lifestyle.
The consequence is that she attracts the killer’s attention too, she can barely escape alive when there’s an attack on her own life. Two detectives are assigned to the case but Lucas knows Holly from the past. She chose to walk away from him then and she doesn’t know why but he has her back in this and helps her any way he can. Meanwhile his partner Cody is constantly sniffing around Lucas.
The author did a good job creating much doubt about the characters and letting us try to figure out how it is all pieced together. She throws in another two suspects with Mary Cole (stepdaughter of Lucas’ partner) and her friend Roberta King who had ties to the murder victims and appears to be dodgy and strange. They must be linked in some way but how?
This is a great mystery novel, with a few twists and turns that make the reader think they are on to something but I was clearly unable to determine the killer until the very end. A very good first book in this series that read away easily.
I received a free copy of this novel from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.
February 6, 2017
I did not read book one or two but that did not effect beginning the series at book three. This was a suspenseful storyline that moved along with twists and turns. Detective Lucas York is recently transferred to the Center Harbor Police Department where he is investigating a murder. However once he sees the victim he is thrown back to a time when he had a one-night stand with someone with the identical face of the victim.
Lucas is troubled with memory loss and anger over a horrendous childhood that continues to plague him. When he comes into contact with the twin sister of the victim he finds himself falling for her and out of control of his senses and mind. When the victim's husband is found murdered things get increasing difficult for Lucas because he finds himself being drawn into the madness and is considered a suspect. Will he be able to solve this mystery before he loses his mind and any chance for happiness with the one woman he loves.
This was an enjoyable read that kept me in suspense until the end of the story. I would definitely look at more books by this creative author.
Lucas is troubled with memory loss and anger over a horrendous childhood that continues to plague him. When he comes into contact with the twin sister of the victim he finds himself falling for her and out of control of his senses and mind. When the victim's husband is found murdered things get increasing difficult for Lucas because he finds himself being drawn into the madness and is considered a suspect. Will he be able to solve this mystery before he loses his mind and any chance for happiness with the one woman he loves.
This was an enjoyable read that kept me in suspense until the end of the story. I would definitely look at more books by this creative author.
April 28, 2016
How dark our emotions can be as a result of our past.
This is a great mystery novel, which is full of twists and turns that make the reader think s/he knows the answer and then it twists. I was unable to determine the true killer or killers until the very end. In the meantime, the descriptions of the places and the players are so vivid and thorough, the reader can feel like s/he is there also.
Identical twins, Rose and Holly, are the subject matter of this tale and keep everyone confused as to who is who. For Rose, add a charming husband, an adorable son, and an idyllic estate on the edge of a lake. They are in a portion of the US where the winters are severely cold and the snow deep. Holly is determined to find who killed her sister and why. She had been estranged from Rose for two years and she is appalled at what she finds out about Rose’s life and everyone who had been a part of it. The story is so fascinating and moves so fast, that it is easy to read it in two or three days.
I was given a complimentary copy or an honest review.
This is a great mystery novel, which is full of twists and turns that make the reader think s/he knows the answer and then it twists. I was unable to determine the true killer or killers until the very end. In the meantime, the descriptions of the places and the players are so vivid and thorough, the reader can feel like s/he is there also.
Identical twins, Rose and Holly, are the subject matter of this tale and keep everyone confused as to who is who. For Rose, add a charming husband, an adorable son, and an idyllic estate on the edge of a lake. They are in a portion of the US where the winters are severely cold and the snow deep. Holly is determined to find who killed her sister and why. She had been estranged from Rose for two years and she is appalled at what she finds out about Rose’s life and everyone who had been a part of it. The story is so fascinating and moves so fast, that it is easy to read it in two or three days.
I was given a complimentary copy or an honest review.
April 30, 2016
"A Great Psychopathic Suspense"
This is a very exciting, fast-paced thriller. I didn't want to spend time on my kitchen duties! It totally captured me: great writing style, startling characters, and suspense. It begins with Rose Wythe's body being found floating under the thin ice of the nearby frozen lake. Her twin sister, Holly Danes has found her. Two detectives have been assigned to the case: Det. Cody McAlister, who is not trustful of his partner, Det. Lucas York. The twists and turns lead to clues as to who the killer is, but it changes and throws deeper thoughts for the reader to learn the truth. Read to the end; it's another knock-out for the author!
This is a very exciting, fast-paced thriller. I didn't want to spend time on my kitchen duties! It totally captured me: great writing style, startling characters, and suspense. It begins with Rose Wythe's body being found floating under the thin ice of the nearby frozen lake. Her twin sister, Holly Danes has found her. Two detectives have been assigned to the case: Det. Cody McAlister, who is not trustful of his partner, Det. Lucas York. The twists and turns lead to clues as to who the killer is, but it changes and throws deeper thoughts for the reader to learn the truth. Read to the end; it's another knock-out for the author!
April 11, 2016
If you like staying up way past your bedtime to try and figure out the killer then read this book. You will find yourself constructing a detective's murder diagram in your head while you are folding clothes or washing dishes trying to catch this killer. It will keep you on your toes from chapter to chapter.
Warning the book does have adult language and some sexual situations but it adds to the story and does not cheapen it in any way.
Warning the book does have adult language and some sexual situations but it adds to the story and does not cheapen it in any way.
December 8, 2016
A MUST READ if you love a great psychological, mystery plot.
I liked this book in the beginning but loved it by the end. A real "can't put down" book. Also, I'm gonna start looking for other books by this author. I really like her writing style, very easy to follow the story.
I liked this book in the beginning but loved it by the end. A real "can't put down" book. Also, I'm gonna start looking for other books by this author. I really like her writing style, very easy to follow the story.
April 18, 2016
Enjoyed
Enjoyed very much except for the fact it is 3a.m.! I couldn't put it down till I had finished it am now on my to book #4
Enjoyed very much except for the fact it is 3a.m.! I couldn't put it down till I had finished it am now on my to book #4
November 12, 2016
Interesting
This was a good suspense book.I guessed who the killer was but other parts I didnt. I recommend this book
This was a good suspense book.I guessed who the killer was but other parts I didnt. I recommend this book
November 24, 2016
5 stars
I chose 5 stars because the story was extremely well written with unusual twists and turns. It definitely held my interest from start to finish.
I chose 5 stars because the story was extremely well written with unusual twists and turns. It definitely held my interest from start to finish.
December 24, 2016
Good read
Good book to read. Had interesting twist and characters with turning events. I would suggest this for a good read.
Good book to read. Had interesting twist and characters with turning events. I would suggest this for a good read.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews