It's been 7 years since Tucker was forced to kill Jason, his brother to stop him from murdering Tucker's girlfriend Dawn. Jason was a mass murderer known as the Iceman. He would torture his victims then put them in a freezer, alive, to die. Now Tucker is with a special unit in the FBI. All the members have a personal connection to a serial killer, a boyfriend, family member or friend who was a killer. When a victim turns up in New Orleans that matches the exact MO of the Iceman, Tucker's unit is asked to assist by the local police.

Dawn and Tucker have great chemistry but the characters have a lot of obstacles to overcome. This book has romance, hot sex scenes, suspense, mystery and plot twists you won't see coming. I certainly didn't see the ending coming. Make sure you have plenty of time to read when you pick this one up because you won't want to put it down. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

Three and a half
This started with such an incredible idea that I immediately felt thrown into this story. It's very hard hitting and so twisted that there's a moment or two when as a reader I really questioned who really is the bad guy! Then the story moves forward in time and we catch up with the Icemans one and only surviving victim Dawn as the man she once loved Tucker ( aka the Iceman's brother! ) turns to her as it appears there's a copycat killer or is there?
So ten years later and still this couple pine for each other but will they get a second chance? The author really aims to confuse her readers here as there's no proof that the Iceman isn't still around and everything points to him coming back from the dead and finally catching up with Dawn. Yet the reader knows that Tucker carries a very dark secret and after all didn't his brother claim they worked together? Yet Dawn wants to believe in Tucker no matter what her eyes tell her.
We first met Tucker in the previous book After the Dark when this ex Seal played such a pivotal role in securing a happy resolution. I think that's possibly what I missed here. I'd imagined Tucker as an action hero type and yet here I just didn't see it. Plus the odd romance really didn't quite convince me. Sorry but Dawn whilst trying so hard not to be a victim just didn't quite feel real to this reader.
What does work is the killer and the way he goes about terrorising Dawn. Yes she's a pawn in his plan that involves those around her but as the author throws around red herrings it's quite possible the reader has already guessed who but not why!
Tortured heroes and second chance romances are very appealing but unfortunately this time as I'd built Tucker up so much in my imagination ( think McGarrett in Hawaii Five O ) I'd expected a lot more gun toting action packed scenes. Still as a suspense driven story it really works although it's the heart wrenching truths that Tucker reveals, the vulnerabilities of this couple as they push ever forward that I will remember
I voluntarily read an advance copy of this and these thoughts and comments are my own honest opinion

‘Before the Dawn’ is a bit more predictable than Cynthia Eden’s first book in her Killer Instinct series, with a copycat serial killer (with a specific MO) that is typically a trusted ally. But it’s also a second-chance story, where a couple separates for more traumatic reasons than usual—in this case, where neither really didn’t seem to be in a good place to be together—only to be brought back together when a copycat killer emerges.

Romantic suspense—of the thriller kind—and I have a certain relationship: the story unravels as the clues go out while I do the guessing whodunnit game. It’s always fun and entertaining and the stranger and more shocking the twists, the more memorable it is for me. Despite this, the predictability factor, or at least how far into the book I get before guessing who the perpetrator really is, isn’t the only criterion for my rating and/or review of the book. In this case, I had my suspicions but Eden does throw out red herrings that do cause you to doubt your own conclusions.

What frustrated me however, was the push-pull that always comes when both Dawn and Tucker try to rationalise their own feelings away from each other and that sex came rather inconveniently before several truths were brought to light. Such delay tactics simply added to the layer of unrevealed secrets that tainted the relationship before when all they had to do was to sit down and put things out in the open before letting more bodily needs come into play.

‘Before the Dawn’ is an absorbing read nonetheless, even if Eden’s heroes and heroines in all her series do inevitably meld together, bound by the similarities in their tortured backgrounds and hidden pasts. And this probably makes this book less of a standout than it really is because it’s not easy to differentiate between her plots and characters after a while. I’d love to continue this series however, as much as I’d love to have Eden’s protagonists who are somehow more memorably unique in their own ways.

really liked this book.

The FBI's goal is simple stop a sadistic manipulative killer.

This story takes sibling rivalry to the next level. Before the Dawn features several amazing characters, most of which are suspect.

Once again Cynthia Eden has delivered a story that exceeded this loyal reader's expectations. The author pushes against the dark incorporating all of my favorite psychological elements. There are lots of incredible moments - mixes of emotion and violence. However, the best moments were when the protagonists revealed their vulnerabilities.

I recommend you not miss this story!

Full review to be published online in mid July.

BEFORE THE DAWN is the continuation of the series about FBI profiler Samantha Dark and ex-SEAL Blake Gamble. Samantha is having a very bad day, and Blake is there to witness the meltdown. One of the characters that ties these two together is a man named Cameron Latham. But that’s not all there is to this mystery. It’s also a great showcase as to the ingenious mind of Cynthia Eden.

There are scenes where two stories are going on. This is a reminder that when trying to solve a mystery, paying attention is a must. Some would think that this would get confusing but it’s more like a teaser that just builds the anticipation. It will have you on the edge of your seats and not wanting to put the book down.

It was a fine line as to which I liked better and that just shows what a great job Ms. Eden has done. I really liked the mystery of the secondary character. But he just made the two main characters shine. My problem became that it took my attention away from Samantha and Blake because I wanted to know what was coming next. I like how I get my happy ending before I even read the Epilogue. But it did leave me wondering if I will see Samantha and Blake again.

BEFORE THE DAWN is a great read; and I’m looking forward to reading more of this highly entertaining RS series by Cynthia Eden.

Wow! Loved the suspense, intrigue and the drama of this story which was by an author I have not read before and a series I'm now 200% interested in!

I liked how the story jumped right in. I was fully invested. I made the mistake of reading the first page at a time it was impossible to sit down and keep going... I couldn't wait to get back to it and find out who the killer was.

I was questioning if Tucker was involved, although deep down I thought unlikely but i liked how it could have been possible. I liked the flashbacks - or sidebacks - not sure what you call them when the main story is occuring and then there's a snippet of what the bad guy is doing. I liked how all the characters were established and the preview of the next book at the end of the story - OMIGOSH!

A suspenseful and drama filled tale of a killer on the loose, trying to establish who he is while time runs out and watching long lost love get a second chance.

Loved loved loved it!