Savage Deception
by R.T. Wolfe
BLURB:
Busy juggling loan sharks and Amber Alerts, Detective Nickie Savage makes time when the FBI seeks her expertise with a child trafficking ring. But when Nickie discovers that the men running the ring are the same ones who abducted her as a young teen, the case gets personal.
Risking her badge, Nickie goes rogue. Luckily, she has Duncan Reed, along with his wire tapping and surveillance expertise. But Duncan also wants to take their relationship to the next level.
Now, Nickie must choose: break her own rules and risk her heart or forge ahead alone.
EXCERPT:
“This is our hotel.” Those were the only four words Nickie had spoken since Duncan picked her up at Vegas Metro. He’d expected her to be shaken after the day she’d had. He didn’t expect her to be shaking.
Heading for the elevator, he realized they were retiring to their room as the rest of the town was beginning their evenings. He heard them before the elevator arrived. Loud, drunk and male. The doors slid open to a small group of young men. They reeked of marijuana and alcohol. One did a double take at Nickie.
“The cop stripper!” he slurred. “I got your card in here somewhere.” He patted his pockets.
Nickie wore what she usually did. Button-down blouse, this one raspberry-pink, and black slacks … both tighter than most wear. She was never afraid to use her sexuality when it suited her. Her black boots had heels. Her gun was secured on her belt, along with her badge and cuffs.
Duncan saw it all through an angry haze of red.
The one patting his pockets took out some cash. The others whistled as they pulled out more bills.
Duncan stepped in front of Nickie.
“Come on, dude. Share!” they boy said to Duncan.
He wasn’t sure whose arm it was, but before he knew it a hand cupped her breast. As quickly as the arm reached her, Nickie twisted and had it wrenched behind the man’s back. “That’s assaulting a police officer you stupid piece of shit.” Her voice was eerily calm.
“Hey!” another one defended, landing a hand on her shoulder. Duncan took it, bending it back until he heard a crack. The boy bellowed in pain as his friends stepped in to help.
Fists flew and heads bobbed. They were drunk and young. That excuse wasn’t going to help them. Duncan ducked easily taking two down with solid hooks as he heard the soft heels of the security officer running toward them.
Okay before we dive into the review I’m going to mix it up a bit. I’m going to talk about the following in my review: cover, heroine, hero, plot, setting, secondary characters and overall impression to the series. A couple of other things, too. I love Ms. Wolfe. I was introduced to Ms. Wolfe’s Black Creek series when it first came out. Black Creek Burning is Brie and Nathan’s book. Flying in Shadows is Andy’s and Rose’s book. Savage Vengeance is the start of Duncan and Nickie’s story. To be honest, you don’t need to read the first two books in the series to understand Vengeance but I strongly suggest that you do just because they are awesome. I will link my reviews to them at the bottom of the post.
1. Cover: Normally I don’t mention the cover but in this case I need to. The cover girl is Nickie. I couldn’t have pick out a more perfect picture of our heroine. Oh and Duncan…yes, she nailed it. Suit and all.
2. Setting: The setting is a character all of its own. The book is mainly set in upstate New York and Ms. Wolfe takes you to a place that you wish you could live or at least visit. The “compound” where they all live is beautiful. At least in my mind it is.
3. Plot: Nitty gritty time. Where to start? As stated in the blurb, this case is personal, very personal. Again, I suggest that you read Savage Vengeance to get a better feel for this book. Ms. Wolfe does a great job of showing Nickie’s back story here but as a reader I feel like you need more of her back story. Plus, there are little things about Duncan’s and Nickie’s romance that might not ring true with the casual reader. There is no instalove but a continuation of their romance that started in the earlier book. Keep in mind that Savage Deception sets up a story thread that doesn’t conclude until much later in the series. I love that in this series. You might also think that since the series is about the same couple that there may be a comparison to Eve and Roarke. There is but this is different. While Eve doesn’t have a the family dynamic, Duncan and Nickie do and its a great addition to the book. Ms. Wolfe has nailed police procedures too. From the squad room to the penitary you get inside Nickie’s head and what she is doing. Again, this is romantic suspense and the subject matter of child prostitution and kidnapping isn’t a subject that most authors would tackle but Ms. Wolfe handles it well and I can’t wait to see what she has in store for the series. Plus what’s up with Nickie’s biological parents? Oh yes, they make an appearance. Ivanna needs to be slapped upside her head.
4. Secondary Characters: Again, Ms. Wolfe uses her secondary characters well. We get to see Andy helping his older brother, Duncan. Dave is back as Nickie’s captain and the two FBI agents are great, too. While there are secondary characters in this book, there aren’t alot that you have to keep up with. Oh and did I mention Nickie’s old captain that is now in jail? Nope? Again, he is explained during the jail visits. Ooooo, I was glad for those scenes. I wanted to shot him myself if I had the chance.
5. Duncan: What do you do when you are a billionaire, artist in love with a quirky, flawed and not so trusting cop? Well, you love her like there is no tomorrow, give her space, try not to keep things from her and stop hounding her about closet space. The sweetest thing that Duncan did for her was the swimming pool. Who knew that a way to girl’s heart is an indoor swimming pool? Oh and putting up with her nightmares and just soothing them away. Duncan has his own secrets and issues to deal with and he is dealing with them. But he deals with hunches and Nickie deals in facts. These two on paper couldn’t be more opposite and wrong for each other but that’s what makes them a couple. They have to work at it and even during gun fire, Nickie’s work and Duncan wanting to just make “his Nickie” happy…its perfection.
6. Nickie: OMG! In my book, Nickie is the PERFECT heroine. She’s quirky, smart, compassionate, sexy, confused, in love, damaged by her childhood, flawed and I want to be her friend. Hang out with her, talk to her, drink Diet Coke with her (well, I’d drink Diet Dr. Pepper or Coke Zero) and generally just be there for her. She has baggage. She has violent nightmares that lead to her hitting Duncan in bed. Yes, she suffers from PTSD from her 18 months of being kidnapped. She has alot to learn about being in a relationship with Duncan. Yes, she and Duncan have some bumps in the road but they truly do love each other and work on them together. She does have some trust issues but who wouldn’t with everything that she’s been through. But that’s what makes her GREAT! There is no angst, just a real woman with problems that most of us can identify with. Well, maybe not the kidnapping but the job stress, relationship issues and dealing with family. Feeling alone when you are surrounded by people.
7. Smexy Times: Yes, they are there. Some are intense, emotional but no worries about them being graphic. Ms. Wolfe knows her stuff and trust me…*wiggles eyebrows* Duncan lets Nickie know how long its been since he has seen her naked. *giggles*
8. Overall impression: PERFECTION. Yes, this book is my favorite book so far this year. I re-read Savage Vengeance, Savage Echoes and Savage Deception in a marathon one day. I had the book hangover but it was so worth it. Ms. Wolfe has a fan for life and Nickie Savage is my girl crush now. I adored her, loved Duncan and can’t wait for the next book in the series to come out.
Okay here is the fun part of the blog today. There is a free prequel called Savage Echoes. Here is the blurb, buy link and the link to my review on Amazon. Yes, I love yall to bits. 🙂
When an anonymous 9-1-1 caller claims responsibility for a missing college student, Detective Nickie Savage is hot on the case.
But she needs the help of Duncan Reed, an artist with a photographic memory, who’s also determined to cut through her aversion to commitment.
As suspects pile up and time counts down, Nickie faces an even greater challenge: losing the young woman to the same captivity Nickie endured as a child.
Harlie’s Review of Savage Echoes
R.T. Wolfe Bio:
R.T. Wolfe enjoys creating diverse characters and twining them together in the midst of an intelligent mystery and a heart encompassing romance. It’s not uncommon to find dark chocolate squares in R.T.’s candy dish, her Golden Retriever at her feet and a few caterpillars spinning their cocoons in their terrariums on her counters. R.T. loves her family, gardening, eagle-watching and can occasionally be found viewing a flyover of migrating whooping cranes.
R.T. Wolfe Website: http://www.rtwolfe.com
R.T. Wolfe Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/RTWolfe2012
R.T. Wolfe Twitter Handle: http://www.twitter.com/RT_Wolfe
R.T. Wolfe Pinterest Page: http://www.pinterest.com/RTWolfe
Savage Deception for Kindle: http://amzn.to/1csCr5W
Savage Deception for Nook: http://bit.ly/MyS71N
Savage Deception for iBooks: http://bit.ly/1c8IUar
Savage Deception for Kobo: http://bit.ly/1b9QkGF
What a wonderful review for a great book and series! My husband and I were lucky enough to be a part of RT Wolfe’s brilliance. She is an incredible author and I look forward to each piece of artwork she brings forth. Thank you for your support or RT Wolfe and the Nickie Savage series! I glad you saw our chemistry on the cover, we are lucky to have it!
OMG…the cover model left a comment. Haley, you and your husband are the perfect Nickie and Duncan. From his frown to the color of your hair. Some authors don’t have as much control as RT does so seeing the Nickie covers just completes the reading experience. Yes, I can be a cover snob and yes, I haven’t bought books because the covers were so wrong for the books.
Ms. Wolfe’s covers are brilliant and I can’t wait to see what yall come up with on the remaining covers.
*blushing* I’m a huge fangirl now.
Harlie
Nickie is my favorite and then Eve!
Harlie
I couldn’t agree with you more, on all counts! This is my favorite cover in the series because it really captures the characters, as you pointed out. That IS Detective Nickie Savage on the front and the expression on the guys face is so Duncan, in my mind. The fact that they’re back to back works well, too, because Nickie and Duncan are often at odds. But their making up is so fun! Thanks for sharing. I think R.T. Wolfe is majorly underrated right now and I can’t wait until the world discovers her, and you’re helping with that!
Mary and Harlie,
Can I reveal a secret? I sort of cheated with my characters. I knew before I started writing Dark Vengeance who my models would be. That never happens to authors, but did for me by freak accident. I wrote the book to fit the descriptions of married couple Michael and Haley Black. They are my models for Dark Vengeance and the entire Nickie Savage Series. I am crazy excited about my next cover reveal. I mentioned to them what great chemistry they have. Haley said, ‘Well, I hope so.’ 🙂
-R.T.
I don’t consider that cheating at all. I just love her! She fits Nickie to a tee and Duncan…the attitude. Yep, you picked well.
Harlie
They did a great job, didn’t they? We had to call our local police department to alert them that we were doing this photo shoot with a fake gun that looked completely real. It was last fall on an unusually freezing cold day. We had to warm up in a heated car mid-shoot. Haley was amazing. The photographer was awesome. I am truly fortunate.
Thanks again for having me. You are the perfect finale’ to a great tour.
-R.T.
You could never tell that it was cold. 🙂 Again, Haley is Nickie!
Harlie
Well, it’s the last day of your tour. I have enjoyed meeting you and discovering your work.
kareninnc at gmail dot com
karenh43,
It’s been nice having you on the tour. Thank you.
-R.T.
Great review and excerpt, thank you.
Rita Wray,
Yes, Harlie wrote a truly lovely review. I appreciate the kind words about the excerpt. If you read detective/mystery romance, give it a try. 🙂
-R.T.
Nice review! I’m looking forward to reading this series. This is the first I’ve heard of this author 🙂
As for the question Keri Arthur has a series out that is a paranormal series but is also a kind of detective suspense.
Thanks 🙂
Lori,
I enjoy diving into a paranormal now and then. Thank you!
-R.T.
What a wonderful review. I loved it. It was so perfect that I can hardly wait to read this story.
Hello, momjane!
It’s great to ‘see’ you. Good luck with the drawing. 🙂
-R.T.
Markia,
I’m completely flattered and humbled. Your blog is amazing and I’m honored to be here.
Thank you!
-R.T. Wolfe
You humble me with your writing. I can’t wait for the next one. I just love Nickie!
Harlie
Thanks for hosting!
Victor Bayne from the Psycop series