C.J. Graves

This book was really a wonderful read. I liked the pacing and depth of the story that was written with so much empathy.

The name of book, an apt name. Without adding spoilers there are two belts that is significant to mention.
The one spelled doom for the main character and the other were a liberating tool that helped her during her journey of sel-discovery and healing. The one wanted to kill her the other made her stronger.
Choosing silence as her coping mechanism, the author created a young woman of depth many can relate to.
Thank you for the freebie, I really enjoyed it.… (more)

A murder on church grounds. Two young people in the congregation involved...one dead and one the accused. Could Eric really have murdered his girlfriend? All evidence pointed to him, but his parents knew it wasn't so, and they hired a private detective.

Jayden, an army veteran, was the one hired to solve the case and to free Eric's name. She had been asked by her sister to investigate and to try to find the real killer. And boy was Jayden ruthless...if you had her on your tail, you were not going to get away with anything. :)

CROSSED is a little slow at first, but don't give up. The characters get interesting and are perfect for the storyline. Jayden definitely was different in her own way and Miss Mildred will warm your heart. Ms. Graves did a splendid job with description....you will feel like you were right there on the scene with her detailed and wonderful images. Some of the characters from Light the Way church were odd and a bit out of character for church members, but all in all the story flowed nicely. Finding out who the real murderer was turned out well even though at one point it became obvious. :)

The ending was gripping and a page turner as you feared for Jayden in the clutches of the murderers....yes plural...more than one.

If you can see yourself through some of the scenes, this book is a great mystery with a good storyline, clever plot, humor, and a few twists. 4/5

This e-book was given to me free of charge by the author in exchange for an honest review.… (more)

3 1/2 stars

Originally I wanted to read this book because of the main character’s first name. Jayden is also my older daughter’s name. Tenuous connection to be reading a book on, but I’ve done worse. Mystery isn’t always my favorite genre, but this book was worth reading.

I loved the main character, Jayden Morrow. I felt she was well-fleshed out, human and believable. She’s a former Army MP with a tour of duty in Iraq under her belt. Instead of being the GI Jane with no heart that I was afraid she would end up being, I found her to be intelligent, sassy, and self-sufficient. Tough but she had her edges smoothed out enough to be believably female. The best part had to be the last fight scene.

The side characters that I hope we’ll be seeing in next installments are the two neighbors: Miss Mildred, the elderly neighbor, and the young girl Catie Conell. I want to see more of them, and I especially want to see how Jayden’s presence helps Catie grow into a stong future woman, which you see hints of in Catie’s Halloween costume. Another side character that I’d like to see more of is Max, but he could either stay or go. There wasn’t really enough heat between Max and Jayden to make me want hem to start or continue as a possible couple.

The story was interesting, with enough twists to keep me guessing up until the end. The only downside of it was that there needs to be some slight editting of the wording of the scenes. There’s one between Adam and Jayden towards the last 1/3 of the book where the word “you’re” is used instead of “your” a number of times. It wasn’t enough to throw me off completely from the book, but it would be nice to see that changed.… (more)