Say You're Sorry (Morgan Dane, #1) in 2-3-4 Challenge

Oct 14, 2020 Jonetta rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: group-read, audiobook, romantic-suspense, 2020-in-2020, 2020-audiobook-challenge, 5000-2020, 2020-beat-the-backlist-challenge, amazon-prime

Attorney Morgan Dane is a widow with three young girls who is finally deciding to emerge following the death of her husband. It’s been a year and she’s ready to get on with her life and is considering a job as assistant district attorney in Scarlet Falls. Before she has a chance to decide, she’s asked by her former babysitter’s grandmother to help find her. Morgan gets former police officer Lance Kruger, now a private investigator, to assist her and together they find Tessa Palmer, brutally murd Attorney Morgan Dane is a widow with three young girls who is finally deciding to emerge following the death of her husband. It’s been a year and she’s ready to get on with her life and is considering a job as assistant district attorney in Scarlet Falls. Before she has a chance to decide, she’s asked by her former babysitter’s grandmother to help find her. Morgan gets former police officer Lance Kruger, now a private investigator, to assist her and together they find Tessa Palmer, brutally murdered. When her neighbor’s son Nick is arrested for the crime, Morgan volunteers to represent him as she’s convinced of his innocence.

The story begins from Tessa’s point of view as she’s being pursued by her killer so needless to say, I got hooked immediately and found it difficult to stop listening. We’re given small clues right from the beginning but not enough to deduce the killer. Morgan’s decision to represent Nick is not without consequence as the community believes he’s guilty and turns against her. It was interesting to witness the fragility of long standing relationships in these type situations when the public at large renders a verdict before the trial has even started. I was happy to see Lance again from the Scarlet Falls series and his and Morgan’s burgeoning romance is on low simmer. That’s refreshing as so often there’s an instalove rush but not here. Much time is being given as both of them have baggage to shed.

The rest of the story lived up to the promise of the prologue as the pace was rapid, the investigation compelling and the action exciting. I must admit to being caught flatfooted in figuring out the identity of the killer but also really didn’t care because the story was more engaging than my desire to deduce the villain (an anomaly for me!). The secondary characters were equally interesting and added texture to the story. This series is a spinoff of Scarlet Falls and while it stands alone very well, i benefitted by knowing a lot about Lance, the town and some other characters. You’ll enjoy this no matter but for die hards like me that are diligent about character development and reading in order, it’s something to consider. I chose to listen to the book and Cris Dukeheart delivered a strong performance. I’m committed to this format for the rest of the series with the same narrator.

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May 27, 2017 Anita rated it really liked it

Shelves: arc, mystery-thriller-suspense

Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) provided by the Author and Publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an fair and honest review.

Solid mystery and the great start to a new series. The relationship between Morgan and Lance is sweet and Lance may be my new favorite Hero. I mean what woman can possibly resist a man who loves his mother with all her problems, loves her kids and plays the piano and sings to her? I'll add in blond, buff and hot, but, really isn't that just overkill?

Morgan Dane lost her warrior ...more

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Oct 22, 2020 Robin rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2020, romantic-suspense, kindle

Morgan Dane is a widow, living with her grandfather, and has three young daughters. It's been two years since the death of her husband. Morgan is finally ready to move on with her life and accepts a job with the local District Attorney's office. When Morgan finds out that her children's babysitter, Tessa Palmer, has disappeared, Morgan enlists her friend, Private Investigator Lance Kruger, to help find her. Tess is found, brutally murdered. It doesn't take long for the local police to arrest Tes ...more

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Sep 10, 2018 Carla rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: romance, adult-fiction, audio, netgalley, mystery

Say You’re Sorry was a fantastic start to the Morgan Dane series. I have not read the Scarlet Falls series that was published before this, so some of the connections were not clear at the beginning of the book, but it did not diminish the enjoyment I had while listening to this book. The narration was well done with a lot of expression that added to my enjoyment of the story.

After losing her husband in Iraq, Morgan Dane has returned to her hometown of Scarlet Falls to raise her three girls with Say You’re Sorry was a fantastic start to the Morgan Dane series. I have not read the Scarlet Falls series that was published before this, so some of the connections were not clear at the beginning of the book, but it did not diminish the enjoyment I had while listening to this book. The narration was well done with a lot of expression that added to my enjoyment of the story.

After losing her husband in Iraq, Morgan Dane has returned to her hometown of Scarlet Falls to raise her three girls with the help of her family. This story picks up two years after Morgan returned home. She has been offered a job working at the DA's office when her life is thrown into chaos. Her young neighbour has been accused of murdering her old babysitter. The family can not afford a top notch lawyer, and on impulse, Morgan offers to take his case pro bono. She is sure that he is innocent. Recruiting an old boyfriend and ex-cop, who is now working as a PI, they begin their investigation to prove Nick innocent. The only way to do that is to find the real killer.

Morgan is an incredibly strong and brave character, in fact some may think she is rash and impulsive. She also has a great sense of loyalty for those she cares about which is how she ends up involved in this case at all. I love that, as busy as she is, she still makes sure she spends quality time with her daughters. Lance is dealing with his own issues. He was shot while still working on the police force and even though he enjoys the leeway he has working as a PI, he misses his prior job. I really enjoyed the working relationship Morgan and Lance have. They feed off each other well and Lance is very protective of Morgan. I will be watching to see if they develop a romantic relationship as this series moves forward.

The mystery surrounding Tessa's death and the disappearance of another girl was intriguing. There were several suspects over the course of the book which led to constant twists and turns. Each of these suspects often revealed another secret in Scarlet Falls. I suspected several people, but never actually the person figured out the killer until just prior to the reveal. Some other readers thought the book was slow, but I felt the pace was just right. I listened to it in one day and didn't want to take any breaks, as I was pulled right into the story. This book is listed as a Romantic Suspense, but I think it was more Suspense Mystery, as I mentioned earlier, perhaps the romance is yet to come. I recommend this story to Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, or Romantic Suspense lovers. If you have kindle unlimited, the audio version of this book is available for members right now as I write this review. ...more

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Oct 18, 2020 Lauren rated it really liked it

Shelves: widow-widower, small-town, private-investigator-security, legal-eagles, romantic-suspense

Say You're Sorry
4 Stars

Series note: This is book #1 in the spin-off from Scarlet Falls. While the thriller plot is standalone, the characters are introduced in the previous series, and their backstories are essential to the characterization.

An exciting romantic suspense with an appealing couple and some gripping scenes. Nevertheless, there are one or two issues that prevent this from being a 5 star read.

Morgan and Lance's slow-burn romance is sweet, and the fact that they want more from each o ...more

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Jul 01, 2017 Charlene rated it really liked it

Shelves: friends-recommendations, mystery, parenting, black-ops-navy-seals, suspense, series-by-author, public-library, adult-themes, rated-not-reviewed, crime

I especially liked the pace this author took with the story. I plan to read the next book in the series when it comes out. Glad to find an author new to me whose book was well written!

I did not remember that I read this book in 2017, in paperback.

I read it in Kindle format in 2020, and I would say overall the rating would be 3.5 stars, rounded up to four.

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Mar 28, 2019 Sharon Kallenberger Marzola rated it really liked it

Shelves: favorites, emotional, police-procedural, series, new-series, military-exmilitary, lawyer

Update: This time I listened to the audio book. The narrator is decent but she isn't in my top ten. I will admit that her style has improved since the Scarlet Falls series. I'm looking forward to listening to the rest of the books in the series.

3 stars for narrator
4 stars for story

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Morgan Dane comes from a family of cops. She has a career of prosecuting criminals successfully. When her husband is killed in Afghanistan her grief takes over. Now as a single mom, Morgan makes career changes to ...more

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