If you love to read spine chilling crime novels with a romantic theme included, then ‘Against All Odds’ by Kris Bryant, Maggie Cummings, and M. Ullrich is the book for you. The story is about two women, off duty police officer Peyton Clarke and real estate agent Tory Stevens, who happen to meet in a bridal shop as they are being fitted for bridesmaid dresses. Unfortunately, while they are there, a deranged killer named Bradley Richter enters the shop looking for his ex fiance and kills everyone in the store except Peyton and Tory. I won’t go any further in the tale, but I will mention the killer feels that his work is not finished when he later finds out there were survivors.
The book is written in the first person narrative with all three of the main characters telling us what is happening and what they are feeling throughout the novel. Each chapter is told by a different character, and the reader is told which character is speaking at the beginning of the chapter.
I’m not usually a big fan of first person narrative, but the authors did an excellent job with this format. I loved being in the minds of Peyton and Tory, seeing their feelings for each other grow. I will admit there were moments I wanted to yell at them to look out, don’t go there, or watch what was happening around them; you know, kind of like yelling at the character in a horror movie to turn on the stupid light when they enter a dark room. Being in the mind of Bradley, the killer was really chilling. I actually felt icky reading those chapters. That’s a good thing. It means the authors did their job and made me see him as the insane psychopathic killer he was.
The authors did a fantastic collaboration with this book. It can’t be easy to write as a group and make the writing consistent throughout the story, but that is exactly what these ladies did. The flow of the plot and the voice was perfect. The building of the suspense to the climax of the story was spot on. I”m in awe of these authors’ skills.
If you love a good crime story/romantic thriller, you won’t find a better book than ‘Against All Odds’.
I received an ARC from Net Galley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.
Rainbow Reflections 