*** REVIEW *** MURDER by Ella James

The second novel in the Sinful Secrets series. 

Let me tell you now: I kill her.

I love Gwenna White more than my life. And still – I’m her demise.

****

It should have been simple. Easy come, easy go, and in between: atonement.
She was not who I’d have chosen.
Gwen was delicate and lovely: a former model with a ruined life, living loudly in the quiet of the Smoky Mountains, healing injured bears.
When she laid her hands on me, she healed me too.
That’s how it began. That’s where it went wrong.

I knew she could never be mine. But I sinned.

I sinned.

PURCHASE
Amazon

I am a big fan of Ella James and love her books, and Murder is the latest addition to my library by her.  Murder is not what I expected, and that is a good thing.  The story is interesting from the beginning and gives the reader food for thought especially regarding the men who serve in war zones. 

Murder is the second book in her Sinful Secrets Romance series.  Let me stop for a second and say if you did not read Sloth it is not necessary to read it before Murder, however, Sloth one of my top ten favorite books ever so you need to read it at some point. 

Barrett, the hero in Murder, is Kellan’s older brother.  Back to this book, it is the story of two people, Gwenna White and Barrett “Bear” Drake, who are suffering from PTSD for different reasons.  Gwen suffers because of an automobile accident that she barely survives.  Barrett suffers from injuries received while serving in Special Forces where is also lost close friends. 

Gwen and Barrett meet when he becomes her neighbor on a Tennessee mountain.  They are both very solitary people, they like the wilderness, and they don’t allow too many people into their circle of friends. 

What I love:

The story line is gripping.   It unfolds experiencing events from alternating points of view of the two main characters.  They are two drifting and damaged people trying to work through pain, defeats, and losses from their injuries.  The suspense and anxiety build from the start.  I figure out the main twist or secret quickly, but the added little wrench is unexpected. 

The characters:

Gwenna White is a woman to admire.  She is a mix of a strong core and insecure about her changes due to the accident. Her strength is her best asset.  As a rising star in the modeling and entertainment business, her dreams end due to physical changes in her appearance and loss of some motor functions.  I love how she recognizes PTSD symptoms in Barrett from her experience and reaches out to offer help. 

Gwen moves away from her family and purchases property that allows her to run a bear sanctuary.  For the few years after her accident, Gwen's life consists of just her bears.  She has a family but for the most part, she stays in touch via telephone and at holidays. 

Barrett is a former Master Sergeant in ACE (Special Forces) with numerous injuries from his last mission.  He is also living with survivor’s guilt because his closest friend died rescuing Barrett.  He is at the point in his recovery that won’t allow him to sleep because sleep brings on nightmares.   At first, he appears to be a man with a stalker-like obsession for Gwen.  His reasons unfold with the story.

 Barrett is just leaving the military and returning to civilian life.  For the past twelve years, the military and his Special Forces team are all he knows.  It is a big adjustment learning how to live with his injuries and without his team.  Both of the main characters have flaws; Barrett is a man with a secret that is ripping him apart, and Gwen is insecure. 

The comradery among men and women in the military is realistic.  The group of men in the same unit is more like family than biological families.  They depend on one another for completing a mission and often life or death.

Kellan and Cleo make an appearance in the book.  This story takes place soon after the end of Sloth but before the epilogue.  For any lover of Sloth, it is nice to see this couple even if it is only for a short time. 

The story realistically portrays the battle many people face with PTSD.  Many of the young men and women return from war zones have a difficult time dealing with their injuries, but it is deeper than that because injuries are not necessarily something that is visible.  The other issue is PTSD is not just a soldier’s fight.  Brain injury and abuse victims also have to deal with PTSD. 

What I did not like:

I love long books.  It always makes me feel like I get my money’s worth.  What concerns me with Murder is that sometimes sections drag.  If I write a review, I need to read the entire book, and it is a struggle for me when I want to skim or skip a little.  Even when the pace slows the tension does not break, and my interest stays piqued it is just that the story did not move for me.  I cannot explain it except initially I thought that the flashbacks made the story drag but looking back it isn’t that.  The flashbacks are necessary to understand what brings each character to their current state of mind.  It is more the pace of what is happening in the present day. 

I cringe a little at one of Barrett’s nicknames for Gwen.  I understand but it isn’t endearing for me.  It works for them, I guess.

A little annoyance for me is that Kellan pulled “Slothy” Kellan move.  I don’t want to give anything away with an explanation just know you will recognize it if you read Sloth.  At a minimum I want Cleo to say something like “what you did almost killed me don’t hurt someone else.”  I wanted to pull Kellan out of the book and shake him.  I will admit that he softens his comments a little, but it just put me back in Sloth and made me angry.

In conclusion, there is so much that I love about this book that I will recommend it often.  Even if you decide to skim a few pages the story is captivating and well worth your time.  Thanks, Ella James for a satisfying distraction from my real world.

 4 STAMPS

 

Ella James is the USA Today bestselling author of fourteen teen and adult romance novels. She’s a Southerner who came to Colorado and can’t say goodbye to the mountains, despite missing sweet tea, the Gulf Coast, and good barbecue.

Ella is raising two children who will probably grow up believing many untruths about everything from dragons to the necessity of wearing shoes.

To connect with Ella personally and find out more about her projects, stalk her on Facebook at facebook.com/ellajamesauthorpage. Questions or comments? Tweet her at author_ellaj or e-mail her at ella_f_james@ymail.com.

* GRAPHICS FROM eLLA jAMES' WEBSITE