Monster in the Closet

Karen Rose

Aug 2017 · The Baltimore Series Book 5 · Sold by Penguin

About this eBook

The New York Times bestselling author of Every Dark Corner returns to Baltimore, where a father-daughter reunion puts innocent victims in the sights of a stone-cold killer…

Baltimore PI Clay Maynard routinely locates missing children for clients, but his own daughter—stolen by his ex-wife—has eluded him for years. Until she turns up right under his nose…
 
Since she was a child, Taylor Dawson believed the lie her mother told her: that her father was a monster. But now she has a chance to get to know the real Clay while doing real work as an equine therapist, which includes helping two girls whose mother was brutally murdered. She might even find something deeper with her boss’s handsome son, Ford Elkhart, whose eyes are so haunted. But just as Taylor feels her life opening up to new family, work, and friends, a danger lurks in the darkness—one that will show Taylor the face of true evil…

Ratings and reviews

MONSTER IN THE CLOSET is a lot different from the previous book. It’s slower paced and very emotional. The book follows two storylines: a young child witnessing a heinous crime and a young woman interning at an Equine therapy farm with ulterior motives. I really enjoyed watching both of them unfold and intersect. The story takes us back to Baltimore where we get visits from previous characters and a few surprise cameos. This book can easily be read as a standalone. Having not read any of the Baltimore books, I am now curious to find out more about all of these characters. Some stuff goes down in the book that is very heart-wrenching and emotional. I definitely recommend tissues when getting into the story. I’d like to say more but I just… can’t! It’s a romantic suspense for a reason and I definitely don’t want to ruin the mysteries! The story is enjoyable but ended way too soon. As always, I cannot wait to see what Karen Rose has in store for us next! ***I voluntarily read a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and feelings are my own***

Jazzie is 11 years old. Coming home from school she finds her mother dead on the floor ... and her killer rooting around in the closet. Jazzie does the only thing she can ... she hides behind a large chair and holds her breath. Weeks later, Jazzie becomes a part of an organization that provides horse therapy for kids who have been victims of serious crimes. She has no spoken a single word since finding her mother's body ... and she's never told what she knows. Taylor Dawson is interning at Healing Hearts with Horses, as part of her becoming a practicing psychologist. And while Taylor makes a small connection to Jazzie, Taylor has her own secrets. She's been asking questions about a man who also works for the organization. She has just come from California, so why would she be asking about a man who resides in Maryland? I have always enjoyed this author's Romantic Suspense stories. This one is about 95% suspense and the rest is romance. The author has written a book full of the characters of some of her previous books. So although a part of a series, this serves extremely well as a stand alone. The reader learns early on who the killer is ... and just how monstrous he is. He decides that Jazzie must be silenced before she tells what she knows, as well as her therapist, Taylor. The book is suspenseful, exciting, and full of characters that have chosen to become a family. All of them have endured and overcome personal tragedies to come out relatively normal on the other side. 5 Stars for the book ........... 5 Stars for the series! Many thanks to the author / Berkley Publishing Group / Netgalley for the advance digital copy of this book. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

This is one of those books that is very difficult to get through. I love Karen Rose's writing. Her stories are usually very touching and touches on issues in a way that makes the reader feel involved. Her stories are fast paced and very active. Therefore, this book came as a surprise. It's poorly written, the story jumps like crazy and keeps on losing my interest with the characters long explainations throughout. It doesn't make sense to me why this story was included in this series. Very disappointed and am hoping the last book of this series is not terrible like this one.

About the author

Karen Rose is the award-winning, #1 international bestselling author of some twenty novels, including the bestselling Baltimore and Cincinnati series. She has been translated into twenty-three languages and her books have placed on the New York Times, the Sunday Times (UK), and Germany’s der Spiegel bestseller lists.