♟️ 🎯 🚓 “Counter Attack” (Pearl River #1) (2023) 🚓 🎯♟️ – Book Review

 

MY REVIEW

 

 

Series: Pearl River (Book #1)
Paperback: 384 Pages
Publisher: Revell (May 16, 2023)
Language: English
ISBN 10: 0800741625
ISBN-13: 978-0800741624
⬅️ Click Photo for Purchase Information

 

“Her next move just might be her last.
 
 No sooner has Alexis Stone been sworn in as the interim sheriff for Russell County, Tennessee, when a serial killer dubbed the Queen's Gambit Killer strikes again--this time in her hometown. Pearl Springs is just supposed to be a temporary stop along the way to Alex's real dream: becoming the first female police chief of Chattanooga. But the killer's calling card--a white pawn and a note with a chess move printed on it--cannot be ignored.

 

Pearl Springs chief of police Nathan Landry can't believe that his high school sweetheart Alexis (he refuses to call her Alex) is back in town, and he can't help wanting to protect the woman he never stopped loving. But as the danger mounts and the killer closes in, can Nathan come through on the promises he makes to himself to bring a killer to justice before it's too late.”

 

Thank you in advance to the publisher, Revell Books (a division of Baker Books), for providing a complimentary review copy through the Revell Reads blogger program. A positive review was not required nor requested, and all words are my own.

This is one of those “I can’t believe I missed it” reviews. First – my apologies to the publisher for missing this, and second – sorry to the author.

 

As a single person caregiver for my mother, I was not only caring for my mom over the time this was due; but I ended up falling ill for about three weeks. By the time I caught up – I had completely spaced this. So, that should not reflect in any way towards the author or the publisher. It is completely on me.

 

Moving on …

 

As a 20+ year fan of romantic-suspense, it is my “go-to” genre for reading. And, when it is an author I’ve read before – there’s a 100% certainty I’m going to want to read their newest book.

 

I had recently read her Natchez Trace Park Rangers series, which was my introduction to her work.

 

Like in that series, in this book; Bradley creates strong female leads who are capable of their jobs, but need protection from outside threats. Usually, that comes in the form of a love interest who doesn’t want to see his lady hurt.

 

But, in this one – she does counter the point with looking incapable of doing one’s job versus being treated differently.

 

Being that this is the first book in the series, Bradley not only has to establish the characters and their backgrounds, but tell a separate story.

 

She introduces us to:

 

🚓 Alexis (Alex)

🚓 Nathan (Pearl Springs Police Chief)0

🚓 Carson (Alex’s grandfather, current Sheriff of Russell County)

👩🏻‍🦳 Judith (Alex’s grandmother)

🍹 Kayla

💻 Phame

🚓 Jared (Pearl Springs PD)

🐕‍🦺 Mark (K-9 handler, Russell County)

🚓 Harvey (deputy, Russell County)

🚓 Madden (Chattanooga Homicide)

 

The story is told in third person from the POVs of: Phame, Alexis, and Nathan.

 

Counter Attack also has roughly two-three (2-3) arcs going on:

 

♟️ Queen’s Gambit Killer

💊 Drug-Dealing

💕 Alexis/Nathan Romance

 

As with any suspense book, there will be potential triggers that might upset some readers. This does deal with a serial killer, kidnapping, and a “suicide-by-cop”. The last one is pivotal to the serial killings and is mentioned only, not shown.

 

Bradley begins this with Phame’s POV. Phame obviously has it in for a certain female law enforcement officer, and by the next chapter, readers know it is Alexis Stone.

 

Alex, as she prefers, is at the Lemon Tree Bar. She’s hoping to lure out the Queen’s Gambit Killer (QGK). She meets an interesting person: Reggie, or rather Houdini as she refers to him when talking with Kayla. Kayla is working there, but wants to study criminal justice.

 

On the way home from the bar, Alex is accosted by George Smith. She meets up with Kayla, and between the two – Smith ends up dead, but Alex is injured. This is the second time she’s had to kill a suspect, the first one had an unloaded weapon. However, it seems Alex has gotten the Queen’s Gambit Killer. It’s a good thing, Alex was seemingly the next victim.

 

Meeting up with Reggie, or rather his C.I (confidential informant), Nathan ran into Alex. He ends up following her home and sees her get shot. Both Nathan and Alex are grateful for Kayla. Her quick thinking ends up getting her a job offer in Pearl Springs.

 

And, due to being injured, Alex stays with her grandparents in Pearl Springs. But, her stay ends up being extended when her grandfather, the current sheriff of Russell County, has a heart attack. He wants her to fill in for him, and eventually run for sheriff. Though that doesn’t sit well with two of his men, and it conflicts with Alex’s plans.

 

Still … she wants to help her grandparents since they raised her. She agrees, much as it conflicts with her plans. Nathan realizes that he hasn’t stopped loving Alex.

 

Yet, something about the death of Smith doesn’t sit well with Alex. She doesn’t think he was the QGK. And, even Nathan believes it. Alex’s first day as chief sheriff and there’s a body found – another QGK victim.

 

It’s also becoming clear, the QGK murders have something to do with Phillip Denton’s death when an article is found on the Pearl Springs body.

 

Nathan then gets some information about a drug meeting at the high school. En route, Alex’s Tahoe is hijacked. Phame is sending a message – they can get to her at any time.

 

They then learn Reggie/Houdini is Nathan’s C.I by the name of R.J.

 

Alex then becomes the victim of a near-miss shooting. Obviously someone is trying to get to her. But, is it Phame or someone else?

 

Alex also has her hands full with Mark and Harvey, two men on her grandfather’s department who want the job she has.

 

As she and Nathan dig deeper into the QGK, they learn about a connection to Phillip Denton, yet they can’t quite place it. They also begin to fall in love with each other. That could be devastating for Nathan who doesn’t want to leave, and Alex, who doesn’t want to stay. She’s also wondering why she has to give up her dream for it to work.

 

But, as her Gram points out – the Lord has his plan for us all. And, Alex knows that, will she have time to accept it?

 

Bradley keeps the reader’s attention from the beginning to the end with twists, shocks, and turns in this cat and mouse chess game that comes to a startling end.

 

It was startling, but not surprising.

 

To be quite honest, as soon as one character started popping up too much, I was suspicious. Though, I was wondering about two-three (2-3) others.

 

I will say that when the big “reveal” came for not only Phame, but the “shooter”, I wasn’t too surprised and had it figured out. I like how Bradley kept it in play though. I was sort of hoping I was wrong. I did enjoy the twist that Bradley had for the serial killer. It was interesting that Alex thought it might be a woman, but then seeing how bloodthirsty the killer was, she re-thought it.  

 

Unlike some books where the antagonist and their motives are not revealed until the middle or near the end of the book, Bradley sets it right up front in the beginning. That right there gave away the plot, but yet it didn’t. For me, I wanted to keep reading to see how this was going to play out. I wasn’t disappointed at all. It was interesting to see the characters try to figure it out and how Phame operated and the Denton connection.

 

The ending with the drug situation was pretty much a few short chapters (some not even a page long) before getting wrapped up. There were a few surprises in the middle of that though.

 

This did have quite a few chess terms and moves mentioned. I’ve never played chess or seen the Netflix series referenced. The closest I’ve come to chess is owning a chessboard (only because it was a gift), and of course watching HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE and seeing Ron play Wizard’s Chess. I concur with Hermione, that’s barbaric! (If you’ve seen it, you know).

 

That said, it might help the reader to know a bit of the game to understand the killer’s moves. However, that was the ONLY thing that really hindered my 100% enjoyment of the book.

 

There were a few moments of humor sprinkled in. I had to relate to Pete not carrying diet drinks in his diner, especially with the kind of food he served. Having worked at a few pizza places, I did have to shake my head at some of the orders: multiple pizzas (4+ toppings), cheesy bread, cinnamon sticks with … 2-liters of Diet Coke. My take was “if you’re going to order and eat all that, why not go for the gold and get the regular Coke”. This was a recurring laugh with the staff we had.

 

That said …  

 

Even though this took a few days to read (more because I wasn’t able to devote too much time to it), it was definitely a “can’t put it down” type of read. I was drawn right in. The fast-paced action and short chapters really kept my attention. By the last 70 pages, I had to stay up a bit past my bedtime as it was quite gripping and riveting. I HAD to know how it ended. The entire story was an edge-of-the-seat suspense ride even with my “suspicion”.

 

Despite being the first of the series, the story arcs are mostly wrapped up by the end of the book leaving no huge open ends heading into the second book (other than the Alexis/Nathan romance). However, I am looking forward to the next book in the series. I am wondering if it will be a 4-book series like her other series were.

 

Bradley gives NO clue or even a teaser into the next book, so, it will be a surprise when the information is released. I do want to see if Mark gets a story as well. He actually surprised me.

 

Fans of the author and those who enjoy the romantic-suspense genre are sure to enjoy this book.

 

While it is distributed by a primarily Christian publisher, the faith-themed tones are pretty mild and not overly preachy. They are in a mild and subtle manner.

 

 

 

RATING: 

 

4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Goodreads 

 

4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Bookbub 

 

4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Personal Rating (see rating explanation in this blog: https://readingexcursions.blogspot.com/2020/01/rating-system-2020-changes.html; update: https://readingexcursions.blogspot.com/2022/07/what-goes-into-my-reviews-2022-edition.html)

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 

Patricia Bradley is the author of Standoff, Obsession, Crosshairs, and Deception as well as the Memphis Cold Case novels and Logan Point series. Bradley is the winner of an Inspirational Reader's Choice Award in Romantic Suspense, a Selah Award; and a Daphne du Maurier Award; she was a Carol Award finalist; and three of her books were included in anthologies that debuted on the USA Today bestseller list. Cofounder of Aiming for Healthy Families, Inc., Bradley is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Sisters in Crime. She makes her home in Mississippi. Learn more at  www.ptbradley.com. 

 

You can follow her on the following social media accounts:

 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/patriciabradleyauthor/

 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ptbradley1/

 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/PTBradley1

 

 

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