I really enjoyed this series and this installment wrapped it up with a bow, a big, beautiful red bow! The bomber has been figured out, the secrets remain secret, and Lara is safe. All the threads are put together as they should be and the ending is left with a twist so it could go off on another tangent if so deemed. This was a pleasurable read and I had a lot of fun making my way through all eight installments. Well done to all the authors!

**Received this ARC for review from the publisher via NetGalley**

I am so glad that this final book out of the eight ended the way it did - it really went out with a bang and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

The bomber made a fatal mistake underestimating Special Agent Lara Grant! With countless lives at stake, Lara and the CMU can't keep doubting each other. Taking out this killer before he strikes again is going to require full focus from the entire team. But this case has shaken their faith in each other like never before. As they struggle to rebuild their frayed partnerships, they finally hit paydirt. In the final countdown, their mark has messed up. And as Lara braces for another confrontation with evil, she'll do what it takes to make sure that his first mistake will be his last...



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This final episode does a brilliant job of wrapping up all the lose ends as well as giving the readers hints of what the next 'season' will bring. I really enjoy reading this series of books. Each episode is short enough to read in a sitting yet I am sure that overall, the word count is more then you would get from a normal book. What really impressed me was how the different authors were able to put their own touch on each episode yet it was recognizably the same characters and the same story arc.


I will definitely be keeping my eyes open for the next time there is one of these special releases featuring Lara Grant and her team. I do recommend this series to any of my readers who enjoy thrillers. This one will keep you on your toes and on the edge of your seat.


*** I received this book at no charge from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions expressed within are my own.

Tough Justice: Countdown is the eight-part second season in the Tough Justice series with Carla Cassidy writing the first and second episodes, Tyler Anne Snell the third and seventh, Emmy Curtis the fourth and sixth, and Janie Crouch the fifth and eighth. Going into this, I had no clue that there had been a previously released season, and the eight episodes had individual titles. After having read this second season, I’m itching to read the first one because I’m curious about FBI Special Agent Lara Grant, who is part of the Crisis Management Unit, especially since the events in the first season were alluded to more than once in this new season. I’d also like to see how the CMU was established and how her relationships with her partners and fellow agents developed.
FBI Special Agent Lara Grant and the rest of the Crisis Management Unit are called to the scene of a second bombing, this time leading to the deaths of too many police officers. In both cases, one individual was spared. This serial bomber is going after powerful individuals in the city, and with each threat he makes, he gives them an option: confess your dirty secrets to the public or remain silent and watch others die with each bomb that’s triggered. Lara and the team are on borrowed time, but what happens when Lara becomes the latest target of the serial bomber? He says he knows her deepest and darkest secret, a secret Lara would prefer to keep hidden. When she’s the one who needs to decide, will Lara’s choice set her free or will it imprison her to her fate?
I have to give credit to the first episode, which was written by Carla Cassidy, because it had me absolutely hooked from the very beginning. Cassidy established this almost palpable feeling of suspense and tension and the three other authors—Tyler Anne Snell, Emmy Curtis, Janie Crouch—did amazingly well as the proverbial baton was passed on from one to the other and back until we were left with a complete story that was still able to tease us about what Lara Grant had to look forward to in the next season. It was actually difficult to tell the four authors’ writing apart because everything just came together so seamlessly, leaving me impressed and itching for more of Lara in season three and to meet her in season one. 4.5 stars for Tough Justice: Countdown. ♥

I've read 8 books. 6&7 were the best. This had a decent resolution, though not one that really tied up all the loose ends. All said and done, it wasn't worth all the hours spent in reading.

Favorite Quote:

All Nick knew was that he had just started down a path where colors which had always been black-and-white would now forever be shades of gray.


My Review:

I have made it to the end of this 612 page dramatic and intriguing thriller. It was satisfying to finally learn the antecedent to the Whisperer’s revenge plot, and while the poor man did have an ax to grind - he went about it in a callous and depraved manner. His plan had been stunningly elaborate and beyond brilliant. I kept hoping to learn more about Lara’s mother’s murder, but those crafty and evil authors just tantalized me with the possibility of this feature as part of the next season of episodes. The series was intriguing and consistent – which I am sure was no easy feat to achieve while involving four different authors.

Romantic suspense is not my usual genre, but I do love mystery/thrillers--especially FBI and police procedurals. A bomber has struck for the second time in New York City at the book's opening and Lara and the team are trying to find the bomber(s?) before there is another strike. The two bomb sites (a smoothie shop and a police precinct) don't seem to have anything in common, but the type of bomb and other evidence make it pretty clear that they are related.

The final chapter in this 8-part serial wraps things up to a certain extent--at least for this crime, but leaves enough unanswered to set things up for another serial. Overall this series was enjoyable and kept me reading to find out what would happen. I may go back and read the first Tough Justice serial to see if it changes my opinion of Lara, who I ultimately found pretty frustrating in the number and scope of her bad choices. If you like mystery/thriller series and FBI procedurals with a lot of action and a bit of sex/romance wrapped in, you will likely enjoy this one.

I am really enjoying this series but it will be hard to sell to my customers as it is written by so many authors. Customers who try to buy it in the normal stores will have a problem finding all the series before they are pulled from the shelves. Unless each customer comes in my store every month to buy the book in the series, it will be hard for me to sell the series

Tough Justice: Countdown 8 – Tough Justice:Countdown is a serial by four authors Carla Cassidy and Tyler Anne Snell, Emmy Curtis and Janie Crouch. Installment eight is written by Janie Couch. This last installment is action packed. The bomber has been planning his grand finally for several months. There are still some lose ends that leaves it open for another series. I loved it that Janie could surprise me with a plot twist that I did not see coming. The villain is creepy and I am fascinated by how intelligent he is. The secondary characters are interesting enough to keep the reader intrigued to follow another series to learn more about them.

I was so thankful to get to read all 8 parts on Netgalley as I hate cliffhangers. I read them all pretty much back to back and enjoyed them all. I found myself totally hooked. I really do like Laura. And I like Nick. But never really felt connected with the other characters. This book ended with some great action!