GUILT GAMES by LJ. Sellers the first in her new series The Extractor. Published by Thomas - Mercer. Release date June 6 
Rox, as The Extractor, will only do a service if you don't mention where her office is, or what her services are. She also is expensive to hire. She only wears blue, and has a boyfriend who has made it past her quirks for 6 months. Her past was with the CIA, she lost a sister to the cult, now having treatments to alter her brain waves. New client / case find Emma Carson, is she in the cult, alive, parents just want to know. This is what Rox does, find missing people, with help from Marty. Well written, keeps the edge to the story, of how she, The Extractor works. As to the brain treatment,to notice what other people are thinking and feeling is that working for her. Then her boyfriend Kyle is he still in the picture. Another great series by Seller's. Given ARC by Net Galley for my voluntary review and my honest opinion .

3.5 stars

Meet Roxanne (Rox) McFarlane ... ex-cop, ex-CIA agent who now owns and runs her own private investigator business.  Mainly she specializes in rescuing people who have been recruited into cults, or children kidnapped by non-custodial parents.  She didn't save her sister who was in a cult and this is her self imposed atonement for that. Her stepfather, Marty, who is a retired cop is her assistant when needed.

Rox is trying to improve what she sees as her issues.  She has just started an experimental treatment to improve her atypical brain patterns.  She doesn't always identify emotions in other people ... and she has problems expressing her own.  These treatments may even help her in her chosen profession.  The only person who is not so happy with the results are her boyfriend of sorts...Kyle.. also a homicide detective.

When Rox is contacted by the Carsons, she learns their daughter, Emma, has joined something called the Sisters of Love.  Emma caused the death of her best friend while texting and driving and she really wants/needs to atone. Sisters of Love promises to give her that. It doesn't hurt that Emma's parents are also very rich.

While Rox and Marty are plotting and planning how to extract Emma, Kyle is dealing with an investigation into several murders of young women ... young women who resemble Emma.

As their cases start to meet, Rox finds herself facing a more dangerous situation that she had bargained for.  And the deeper she gets involved,  the more she faces a personal danger.

This is a new series by this author and it looks like it will be a compelling one to read.  I really enjoyed the character of Rox and I hope she becomes more fleshed out as the next books are done. Very interested in her brain treatments and how they affect her personal and private life.  Marty is a great second character and I would love to see more of him.  I would love his backstory.

The only con I came across I thought was a big one.  At one point Marty confesses that he has a terminal illness. Yet closer to the end of the story, he mentions his health .. but a completely different problem.  Minus a point for that one.

Otherwise, the story premise was a good one with an interesting take on cults and how young people are sucked in.  Looking forward to the next book.

Many thanks to the author / Thomas & Mercer / Negalley for the digital copy of this book. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Rox the Extractor is a bit rough around the edges but I expect her to win me over as the series progresses. I enjoyed the unique story-line and the various characters we meet along the way.

Guilt Game by LJ Sellers is LJ at her best.  She has flawed characters that make the best of their flaws.  This one was interesting and different.  I hope to find out more about her condition in future books.   This aside, the story was interesting about cult life and how they get roped in and how and if they escape.  There's a serial killer about and one of the victims was in the cult, so as you read, you're not sure if this is just a coincidence or not.  Lots of action and character development,  and always fast paced and never boring.  LJ knows how to tell a story and keep her audience entertained and interested.   Looking forward to the next book in this new series!

This is a new series by Ms. Sellers. I think it's off to a rocky start. The concept is good and I'm certain the series will develop as has the several other excellent series by this author. I'll have to say I'll always love Detective Jackson most, but Roz the Extractor might grow on me. Also, the secondary main character, Marty (her step-father) is a great addition. He'd just better not die on us. He's a wonderful balance to Roz's own problems, which got her into the rescue business in the first place.

Definitely a good one to put on your shelf of the many L.J. Sellers detective books. I think the next in this series will get at least 4 stars from me. Overall, I'm certainly in the Sellers fan club.

Having read many of  L.J. Sellers books and thoroughly enjoyed them (the Jackson and Dallas series as well as a few of her other stand alone books) I was very privileged to be given a free advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Guilt Game (The Extractor) is a stand alone book but is set around Eugene, Oregon, where many of her novels are also set, so some places are familiar.

I won't give any spoilers away but I will say it's an unusual story line, you hear a lot about Cults but don't know much about, but it will keep you interested from the very first pages. 

I wonder if LJ Sellers will be making this into a series with Roxanne like Jackson & Dallas?

While I was hoping for another Lt. Jackson story, Guilt Game did not disappoint me.  Rox is the “extractor.”  She rescues young people from abusive situations.  This is an extremely well written book.  It moves at a steady pace and I found it hard to put down.  The characters have definite personalities, and are easy to visualize.  My guess would be that this is a stand-alone book, but I could stand to see more of Rox and Marty in the future…even though it looks like that would be a limited future with Marty's health issue.