A suspenseful novel with a twist. Eight short stories, by two suspense authors, from diverse backgrounds. From opposite sides of the Atlantic these stories have been created. One author started the tale and the other ended it. No discussion, no pre-planning, but yet their stories are seamless. With just creativity and the use of writing prompts, to craft one tale, with two different writers. This anthology of suspenseful, fast paced and engaging tales covers multiple genres. From heart felt romance, crime, fantasy, and steamy historical fiction. There is a story for everyone!
Steamy Historical Crime Fiction: It was The First Time I Killed A Man.
It’s 1972 and New York’s first female serial killer Lisa Vanacilli is in the hot seat again, ten years after her conviction of murder to the first degree and innocent plea. The ruthless but sexy reporter Tiffany Low cracks Lisa for a confession… at a price. Lisa is strong, courageous and says it how it is. This story has been extended due to reader’s demand. And is only for adult readers.
Psychological Fiction: Every Time I Hear That Voice From The Basement.
George appears to be harmless. The local neighbourhood geek on the outside, married to Jolene. In reality, he’s a very disturbed man. His path crosses with Dana, the local check out girl. This is a psychological suspense story with a twist.
Crime Fiction: The Entrance To The Tunnel Is His Only Way Out.
Juan is a wanted man, and an ex-gang member on the run from Atlanta to Mexico. With a hundred grand in cash stolen from his ex-boss, he meets an unlikely fate in Mexico. A fast-paced crime fiction story.
Contemporary Romance: When His Hands Run Up My Thighs I…
Love has no time limit, age limit or use by date. Sarah now in her fifties is reunited with her long-lost love Joshua. They last had contact in 1961. In the present day, thanks to the advancement of technology their paths cross. A heart-warming and modern tale, about long distance love, that will leave you warm inside.
Suspense: We Only Said Goodbye With Words, I Died A Hundred Times:
In 1963 Russian Femme Fatale Mila Petrov is London’s top Madam. Her entertainment house is booming, she has a team of London’s strongest women behind her. Unfinished business from her past creeps up and haunts her. It’s nothing she can’t handle. A suspenseful historical tale, with a strong femme fatale.
Fantasy: The Ones Who Live At The Bottom Of The Ocean, Come To The Surface.
A beautiful coming of age story, featuring sixteen year old Zoe and her mother May-Li. Myth becomes reality, as Zoe finds out who and what she really is. Her mixed descent reveals more than what meets the eye. This fantasy story is set against the backdrop of a Greek island and Hong Kong, China.
Suspenseful Crime Fiction: Guilty As Charged, In Self-Defence
California’s sassy, tough, and likeable defence lawyer Catherine has taken on a case so high profile, if she wins she’ll become a partner of Martin Law Firm. Defending forty six year old Mrs. Chevelle. An ex Las Vegas show girl, now a Hollywood wife, on trial for the murder of her high-profile husband. She claims she’s innocent. Readers are taken on a fast -paced journey on a mission to seek the truth.
Contemporary Fiction: It’s A Man’s Man’s World:
A beautiful modern tale showing the love and appreciation of a woman. James Brown said it right when he said, “it’s a man’s man’s world, but it would mean nothing without a woman or a girl.”
Kim was born in 1983 and from London in the UK. She’s a full time romantic suspense and thriller writer, mother to a beautiful little boy, an award winning author, and the #1 best-selling author of : My Mum and Me, Messages From Beyond The Grave (a memoir), 365 Days of Writing Prompts for Romance Writers, also The Art of Self-Editing for Writers. She’s also a best-selling author of an Unsolved Mysteries Series.
As a reader she’s head over heels in love with romance, historical fiction, crime fiction, African- American, suspense and thriller genre books. As a writer, Kim enjoys creating steamy stories with a diverse and multi-cultural line up, within the romance, romantic suspense and general thriller and crime genres. Her other passions include learning about astrology, numerology, esoteric subjects, all things ‘witchy and strange’ and spirituality. When she’s not reading, or writing stories of her own fashion, make-up artistry, spending time at her sewing machine dressmaking, watching make –up and beauty tutorials on YouTube, and being a mum are things she’s probably doing www.kimknightauthor.com- author site @kimknightauthor- Twitter @kimknightauthoruk- Facebook
POP! That's what happened with this first story -- oh my!!! There's a woman who's been behind bars, and she's clearly guilty of murder. But when the reporter wants to interview her, things take quite a shocking turn! Talk about having sex at the prison... wow... this story had it all! LOVED IT... totally captures your attention, and that's why I am always drawn to books written by either Didi Oviatt or Kim Knight. When they co-write together, all the more awesome... I read their second collaboration in this series but hadn't gotten around to the first for some reason (maybe because they both write so frequently, it's hard to keep up)!
Eight stories. One or two were average/good... but the rest total are stand-outs with murderous woman, clever crimes, intense horrors, scintillating excitement, and a whole lot more. I love seeing how these two writers merge their different styles by each taking a scene and driving the story in a different direction. Not for the faint of heart, but truly captivating is the best way to describe them. I can also see the scary side of these two women, and I'll be sure if we ever cross paths in person not to close my eyes or consider myself safe. Vengeance is a real thing, as proven by several of the leads and victims in these stories. Women know how to take care of themselves, and it's rewarding to see them get their justice.
Highly recommended. You'll enjoy this one immensely.
Eight stories of awesomeness! I love this collection so much and, yes, there may be some awesome murderous things of course! Intriguing writing, witty dialogue, and strong characters! I loved it!
The Suspenseful Collection was made of eight short stories. The two authors who created this suspenseful book are fellow bloggers and do amazing collaborations together! What's even more awesome is these two ladies created these suspenseful short stories without any disscusion and/or preplanning, one author starts the story and the other author finishes! I loved this concept and loved how they created these page turners on the opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean. This book has a story for whatever genre you are craving. The Suspenseful Collection brings you variety and page turning suspense!
I give this book 5 out of 5 stars! With this book I couldn't even tell there were two different authors writing each story. The erotica in this story had me like"Lawsy me.. Yummy" I liked that it was more on the kinky side and enjoyed the girl on girl action. These stories took me on a great ride; it warmed my heart, took me on adventures, made the hairs stick up on the back of neck, was so intense it seemed like it was written with a razor, had me in complete utter shock and had me craving MORE! I can't wait to read more of the authors' work. In fact I downloaded them all on my kindle already! I recommend this book to anyone. Thanks Didi and Kim for the ride of lifetime! You can check out my reviews at touchmyspinebookreviews.com. lovelies!
What a brilliant writing tag team these two make in this collection of short stories where variety is definitely the spice of life. There are eight stories where each author seems to get inside the other’s head because although you are told that the switch is taking place the stories have a seamless continuation the flows with one mind. Do be warned though these are sassy, sexy and very descriptive stories that doesn’t mince words, using strong language throughout and are definitely for adult eyes only. There is something for everyone in the collection from the brilliant first story where everything has a price, to romance from the past, and even fantasy based on family secrets passed on through generations. Loved everyone in its own genre. Each story is sort of coffee break length, making it a perfect book for the quick sharp reading shots you can fit in throughout the day at home, at work or travelling. There is a very modern feel to these stories in the style both authors use which works perfectly for all of these stories, including the romance from the past as it is through technology that this couple meet again. I am so delighted that this is the first collection of stories by them as more is yet to come.
I didn't think a collection of short stories could flow so naturally between two authors, but Didi Oviatt and Kim Knight did just that.
I rated each short story on how much I would like for it to be written as a complete novel. Here's my tally below that rounded to 4.25/5:
1. It Was The First Time I Killed A Man = 5 Stars (Think this may need more stars) 2. When He Ran His Hands Up My Thighs I... = 3.5 (I couldn't get with the lovey dovey romance) 3. The Entrance To The Tunnel Is His Only Way Out = 4 (Ending was very unfortunate, but I had to laugh at what happened) 4. Every Time I Hear That Voice From My Basement = 4.5 (I need to know the ending's outcome) 5. Femme Fatale = 5 (Badass Russian woman as MC; no further comment) 6. The Ones Who Live At The Bottom Of The Ocean, Come To The Surface = 5 (Just needs to continue) 6. Guilty As Charged, In Self-Defence. = 5+ (Let's just say 7; that story was amazing) 7. It's A Man's Man's World = 5 (Very emotional, easy to tear up even in that short of time)
Vastly different stories, but each one a treasure. These women know how to tell a tale, no matter what the subject. Suspense abounds. Emotions fill many of the pages. The characters are so real. I truly enjoyed every story!
An eclectic blend of suspenseful tales from several genres, this quick read contains some true gems. Unfortunately, I didn’t connect with all the stories.
It was the First Time I Killed a Man This historical read from the 50s/60s didn’t work for me. Lisa Vanacilli sits on death row, the first woman tried and convicted of capital murder in the state of New York. Lisa is a tough, unapologetic Brooklyn girl who speaks in the vernacular and tells the reader her horrible childhood with her pathetic parents, and her poor choices in men are what sealed her destiny. I didn’t buy it. I never believed Lisa was who she claimed to be. Yes, she has killed, but even that felt like she was playing a role. Lisa felt more like an Aileen Wournos-caricature to me. Perhaps Lisa’s persona was false vibrato because she knew she’d never leave prison alive. I don’t know. She just didn’t gel with me. Tiffany, the tough-as-nails-reporter looking for the story to take her to the big time, fell flat for me. I never felt hunger or drive from her. Like Lisa, Tiffany was manipulative and knew how to work a situation to her advantage. But a hard-hitting journalist? No. Tiffany agrees to Lisa’s ‘conditions’ to get the backstory of ‘the first time she killed a man.’ It felt more like Tiffany was asking for a lasagna recipe. This vignette had additional scenes added, but they did nothing to help me like either woman or the story. 2 Stars
Every Time I hear That Voice from the Basement George is a quiet unassuming fellow with bottle cap glasses and an obsession with the number four. His shrew of a wife, Jolene, emasculates him every chance she gets. Because… George has obsessive-compulsive disorder. And he’s schizophrenic. And he’s a murderer. She doesn’t know about that part of George. George lives for the voice in the basement. It belongs to his dear Anna, who will never leave him. He meets Dana, a cashier at his local market, and wants to keep her forever too. Dana will have other ideas about that. This is a very good story! George’s OCD thoughts/actions are spot on! The story got rocky for me during the scenes between George and Jolene. While I found the climax of one of those scenes hilarious, it felt off to me when everything went back to ‘normal’ afterward. Jolene didn’t seem like the type of woman who would tolerate such behavior from a man she doesn’t even respect. A later scene with Dana didn’t work for me either. It wasn’t bad; however, I feel the scene could have been fleshed out more. 3 Stars
The Entrance to the Tunnel is His Only Way Out I can’t say much about this two-scene read without giving anything away, but the plot twist is golden! I’m still freaked out! 5 Stars
When He Ran His Hands Up My Thigh Second chance romances are always sweet and this one was thirty years in the making beginning in the era of WWII. I wish I could say I felt the chemistry between Sarah and Joshua. Sarah was a contradiction of herself—I love Brian, I love Joshua—and Joshua felt plastic. The two former lovers shared a sweet romance decades ago, but TO ME, it didn’t feel strong enough or passionate enough to still be burning a lifetime later. 2 Stars
We Only Said Goodbye with Words – I Died a Thousand Times Mila Petrov’s strong female character was exceptional! Making a life for herself from nothing when life was hard for everyone. Still not sure if Mila did the bidding of others because she had no choice or because it was exactly what she wanted. 4 Stars
The Ones Who Live at the Bottom of the Ocean Come to the Surface So much potential here for an engrossing in-depth read, but as a short story it wasn’t fleshed out enough for me. There wasn’t enough of a familial bond with the three females and Ceto simply came off as a mean, old hag. May Li’s reflections annoyed me. She’d kept the family heritage a secret from her own husband, yet I felt no urgency or danger of discovery. She allows her teenage daughter to stroll off down the beach simply because “It’s time.” Meh. 2 Stars
Guilty as Charged, In Self-Defense I liked Catherine for the most part in this read. I felt she should have made a decision one way or another about Dean and get over herself. The plot twist with Mrs. Chevelle was spot on! And the relationship she’d had with a famous author added to the story. Then Catherine went and ruined it for me. When her co-worker’s assistant (Becky) said she didn’t want to shadow him (Dean) for a future legal career because he tried to touch her, Catherine said, “What, you don’t like it? Every woman in here wants his hands between their legs, are you kidding me?” Wrong response, Cat! Being in a position of authority over the mousy young woman and not knowing her story (is Becky a rape survivor or victim of abuse?), Cat’s response was heartless at best, asinine at the least (uh…it’s the workplace and women get treated bad enough already), and totally contradictory to her OWN internal thoughts! Consider your membership to the Sisterhood revoked, Catherine! 3 Stars
It’s a Man’s Man’s World Honest and bittersweet. Dale’s remembrances were heartfelt and the gift given him on one of the worst days of his life was amazing. 5 Stars
8 different stories - one for every genre, written in 2 parts by 2 pairs of seamless hands
The first story is about a female murderer in dead row is very strong (sex abd language wise) and not for the weak of heart. Lesbian warning too if you care about that.
The next one is a great horror story about a troubled mind. This like many of the other stories ended too soon. My favourite of the bunch.
The crime one was the least successful and the one about the court room was nice even though predictable, still all the rest were very cool. The fantasy one about the mermaids clearly deserved their one series of books.
It's the perfect book to have the first contact with the author in the various styles.