A Desperate Search

Echo Lake #2

by Amanda Stevens

Something strange is going on at Echo Lake.

Detective Adam Thayer is devastated when he arrives too late to save his friend who had called for help. But a series of obscure clues brings Adam to coroner Nikki Dresden, who’s eager to determine if one of the town’s most beloved citizens was murdered. Now they must work together to unravel a deadly web of lies and greed…or die trying.

Genres: Harlequin, Romantic Suspense, Romance

250 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 11, 2020

About the author

Amanda Stevens is the award-winning author of over fifty novels, including the modern gothic series, The Graveyard Queen. Her books have been described as eerie and atmospheric, “a new take on the classic ghost story.” Born and raised in the rural south, she now resides in Houston, Texas, where she enjoys binge-watching, bike riding and the occasional Horror Night with friends.

The Graveyard Queen trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrCf_e...

http://twitter.com/AmandaStevensTX

http://facebook.com/amandastevensbooks

amandastevensbooks@gmail.com

Reviews

[Mlpmom (Book Reviewer) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has been a good series to read, super quick but still has some punch to it and depth. I love that we see old characters in new books but I do wish we would get a bit more of the characters from previous books because I really did love all their friendships and connections but still, a great read and I will be finishing the series.

[Book Him Danno · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first book by Amanda Stevens and I will admit I give HQ Intrigue as a beach book read or a throw away when you need something to read Amanda Stevens is a shining star to this company.

She story flows well the story is complete and compelling with just the right blend of what readers are looking for an more.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a advance copy of Amanda Stevens A Desperate Search

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good read. Good characters, and nice mystery solved w/ a good bit of action.

[Katie Mettner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book I've read by Amanda Stevens, but it won't be my last. The book grabs you from page one as Nikki is trying to fish a dead body out of the lake. It isn't until they flip the body over that her whole world changes. As the coroner for the town of Echo Lake, she's often faced with the deaths of people she knows, but this one was personal. Extremely personal.

Adam Thayer is a police detective from Dallas hiding out in Echo Lake at his grandmother's house. When he stumbles across the dead body in the water, he calls it in immediately, even though he knows he will be scrutinized if the body in the water turns out to be a murder victim. When he lays eyes on Nikki again for the first time in years, he's stunned to see she's no longer the 'goth girl' of summers past, but a bright, strong, brilliant doctor who will stop at nothing to avenge the death of her friend.

Adam and Nikki must band together if they're going to figure out what Charles was trying to tell them before his death. Finding clues was the easy part, figuring out what they meant before someone else died was nearly impossible. The swift and stunning conclusion of this book was wonderful and completely unexpected.

I will say that there isn't much romance in this book, but it works. Nikki and Adam work together well and you know they're starting to fall for each other, but they don't jump into an instalove relationship at the last second of the book just for grins. They decide to take it slow and easy, since they've both been hurt in relationships before and see where it leads. I hope to see more of these two in the third book, Someone is Watching, so we can find out if they do get their forever HEA. Their chemistry was off the charts, so I sure hope so!

I enjoyed A Desperate Search so much I went out and bought the paperback of Without A Trace (Book 1) yesterday. You don't need to read this series in order to understand them, which was nice since I started with book 2. If you are looking for a well written, twisting mystery with a little bit of romance to soften the blows, you'll love A Desperate Search!

[Storied Conversation · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amanda Stevens is a new author for me but I can tell yo know she is certainly on my radar. This book grabbed my attention from the get go and din't let go. The romance in this one is a slow burn sort of romance. It isn't the sudden heat that other books have but I find it refreshing here. They don't jump right into bed or anything of the sort. They take it slow so that it seems much more plausible in the story line.

Nikki is the coroner Echo Lake and she has seen all sorts of death. Even the death of people she knows but the body that comes out of the lake is more personal than ever. It's the body of her friend and she will have to team up with someone from her past to figure out what happened.

Adam is the police detective who finds the body while at his grandmother's house. When he sees Nikki is surprised as she is not the girl he once knew. Together they have to figure out what happened to Charles. He had been trying to tell them something before his death and know they can figure out the clues.


I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
This review was originally posted on Wickedly Romance

[PepperP0t · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ostensibly, Detective Adam Thayer is in Echo Lake renovating his grandmother’s house for sale while he recuperates after being wounded in the line of duty. Adam decided to recuperate there because his fiancée betrayed him and a friend asked for his help finding ‘something dark and mysterious’ in town. Now that friend is dead.

No stranger to death or even mysterious death, coroner Nikki Dresden is nonetheless flabbergasted to find her latest dead body was a respected pillar of the community and her mentor. Nikki’s eyes are drawn to the stranger that found the body as she listens to the sheriff jump to conclusions and decides to give the stranger the benefit of a doubt.

Adam and Nikki treat each other warily when they meet by chance in a deserted insane asylum looking for clues. With some memory prodding, the pair remember they’d met as teens the summer one of Nikki’s classmates went missing. When the pair notice someone stealthily approach their perch a myriad of feelings, thoughts and fate ignite.

Intrigued by their mutual friend’s murder the pair agree to unravel that mystery along with the sinister message he sent to Adam. Along the way, they stumble across a trove of mini-mysteries that hold as many questions as answers that do nothing to stop Adam’s feelings from softening toward Nikki while her mind and heart battle.
Rating: 4stars

[Kate Vale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second in the Echo Lake Novel series, in which ME Nikki Dresden is shocked when her mentor is found drowned in the lake when he should have been at a medical conference. Her encounter with Detective Adam Thayer, in town to see to his grandmother's house and recover from wounds suffered when he was working in Dallas on a case, opens up the possibility of teaming with him to find out if the good doctor's death was really an accident. She suspects not, but when both she and Adam become targets, it's clear that the darkness surrounding the town may be more than the doctor's death.

And what Nikki uncovers and then is told proves that people aren't always as they seem. Thank goodness the doctor's clues didn't come too late to save both Adam and Nikki.

[Naava · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author does a huge disservice to this book (and really the whole series) by wrapping everything up in a neat bow in just 15 pages. The answer of who is the murderer is obvious all along, but rather than have characters wonder about this character and dig deep for the reader, the author tries to lead the reader down other paths only to literally wrap it up in the last 9% of the book (according to my kindle). It is lazy and bad writing. I do not recommend this book nor the series as a whole.

[GONZA · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am still convinced that Amanda Stevens is one of the best scary author around and her series "The graveyard queen" was impressive. Unluckily here she has to write too fast and there is no place for romance, but the story is still worthy.

Resto convinta che Amanda Stevens sia una delle scrittrici "di paura" migliori in circolazione attualmente, a riprova di questo porterei la sua serie "La regina dei cimiteri". Purtroppo peró per la Harlequin deve riassumere la storia in poche pagine lasciando quindi poco spazio, o quasi niente, alla storia d'amore, ma come giallo non é niente male.

THANKS NETGALLEY FOR THE PREVIEW!

[Dsbook · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book in this Hq Intrigue series. I have enjoyed this series and a waiting for the last book.

[Harlequin Books]

Categories
Suspense, Thriller, Romantic Suspense
Miniseries
An Echo Lake Novel (Book #2)

[Harlequin Books]

Categories
Suspense, Thriller, Romantic Suspense
Miniseries
An Echo Lake Novel (Book #2)

[Angel Hatfield · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a decent read. It was a quick read. The characters were likable and the overall plot was good. I recommend.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amanda Stevens is one of my favorite writers. Echo Lake #2. Damn good mystery even though I am reading them out of order. enjoy.

[Louisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed reading this book, it was a great mystery, and I can't wait to finish out this series!

[Beatriz Oliveira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amanda Stevens is a brilliant writer, that’s all.

[Maria Lokken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice sequel. Edge of seat writing.

[Linda K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great mystery thriller

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

It had been a while since I had opened one of this author's books and then realized my favorite series of hers was the graveyard one. Did not put the two together at first duh me any ways loving Harlequin I jumped right into this one because their intrigue have all the ingredients you look for. The coroner is Nikki whom when she is called to a scene is soon astonished on whom it is. She also notices the stranger whom is familiar in a way. Adam is watching and realizing there is something going on when whom has called him is no longer able to talk. They soon get together and compare notes with also working together to find out what happened and what is going on. This author will lead you down a path you follow with the chemistry building also. Watch out though through it all you will be blown away when Nikki will see first hand a twist that blows us all away.