Cover Image: Say You're Sorry

Say You're Sorry

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

Karen Rose invites the reader to mystery and suspense as the story unfolds to reveal the villian's history and present acts of cruelty and torture. A great read that kept me in suspense.

Was this review helpful?

A true page turner that will not let you put it down. Characters that are engaging and that draw you into their story and will not let you go.

Was this review helpful?

This is a great start to a new series. I love psychological thrillers and this one did not disappoint. Fans of the genre will enjoy this extremely well-written book. Thanks to Berkeley and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Was this review helpful?

Say Your Sorry by Karen Rose was very hard for me to put down. All the major characters had interesting relationships and historys. Each was very likable and the villain was a monster. The book is light reading and I recommend it to anyone who likes entertaining adventure mysteries.

Was this review helpful?

This is the first book I've read by Karen Rose. I picked it because the description sounded interesting. Was I amazed.when it just grabbed me into the story. I started reading and didn't quit until I finished!

Daisy and Gideon, both damaged souls with amazing back stories, team up together to help catch a psychotic, but very resourceful, serial killer. There are intriguing sub-plots that make the story even more interesting. The intensity of the romance that blazes between Daisy and Gideon was a little startling but the situation, danger, and raw emotions make the romance believable.

Say You're Sorry is an excellent romantic thriller that I hope will grab you as it did me!

I will definitely be looking for more suspense books from Karen Rose!

Was this review helpful?

A thoroughly enjoyable romantic suspense book with complex characters who I was interested in learning more about and see how they developed relationships while tracking a killer. Fast paced and suspenseful, I couldn't wait to get to the end and then I was disappointed when it was over. I will definitely be looking for more in this new series!

Was this review helpful?

Book was sent to me to preview.
I thought that it sounded intriguing.

1st in Sacramento series and #22 Romantic Suspense series

Suspense starts on the 1st page
As you meet characters, descriptions will have you knowing and recognizing them.

I started novel to see if I would like it
I could not stop reading and I was late to work.
The next day, I read while I ate, painted my nails and got ready for work.
I could not stop reading until the last page.

I will be looking for more suspense books with Karen Rose!

Was this review helpful?

Review SAY YOU'RE SORRY by Karen Rose. There is a seriel killer on the loose but when he attacts Daisy and she gets away grabbing a necklace from his neck, what has it got to do with the Federal agent hired to protect her and the cult he was raised in? Great story line but a bit too lengthy with too much sexual romance for my tastes.⭐⭐⭐Three stars.

Was this review helpful?

The Silence of the Lambs meet Fifty Shades of Gray...
A serial killer is preying on vulnerable women. The only identifiable mark the killer leaves in his victims are letters, sometimes one, sometimes more, all carved into the torsos of his victims. All the letters come from the name “Sydney."

One night, Daisy Dawson, believing the man following her has been sent by her father as a protector, confronts the stranger suddenly realizing she is sorely mistaken. He attempts to take her. But despite her small stature, she fights back with her trained expertise that quickly frees her. Before fleeing the scene, Daisy also manages to grab what proves to be crucial evidence: a necklace from around the killer's neck.
We soon find out the necklace is a link to a cold case that Special Agent Gideon Reynolds has been tracking for seventeen years. Gideon is assigned to be Daisy’s bodyguard, and as a result the two become close and ultimately but quickly VERY romantically involved. This becomes pretty steamy as the story culminates.
Thus book is a slow ascent to a fast moving climax found in about the last 75 pages out it the 471.
Reader prepare to stick with it to the very end. It is worth it.

Was this review helpful?

If you like romantic suspense that is heavy on the thrills and suspense and light on the romance, Say You’re Sorry might be the novel for you.

Daisy Dawson is a sweet, creative recovering alcoholic who is trying to get her life back together. She has returned to Sacramento and some family friends, the Sokolovs, are helping her to get on her feet. She is working, attending AA meetings and making friends.

Until she is attacked and her life is turned upside down. Her friend, Rafe Sokolov, is a police detective and introduces her to FBI agent Gideon Reynolds who becomes interested in her case because it links to his own past. Daisy is now a target and her life becomes more harrowing and dangerous with each passing day. Gideon is instantly drawn to her and becomes her protector.

This novel suffered a bit from too many plot elements. Recovering alcoholic with a service animal and a father with PTSD who hides his family at a ranch to protect them. FBI agent who escaped from an abusive cult and desperately wants to find the group who ruined his life and killed his mother. Loving Russian family who wants to help everyone. Every current topic from pet adoption to service animals to LGBTQ characters to cheating spouses made for a tale with diluted focus.

But, the most difficult aspect of the book was the serial killer plot. There were so many murders. Getting to see inside the killer’s head, getting to know his victims and as the story advanced watching him indiscriminately kill so many people was just disturbing and upsetting. I almost didn’t finish. The action and pace, not just the killing, picked up towards the ending and the second half of the novel was a bit better.

Admittedly, I thought this was romantic suspense and so was unprepared for a thriller. For fans of that genre, I think this would be a solid read. I would have enjoyed this one more if it had more focus on the relationship and less focus on the killer. 2.5 stars.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Karen Rose has produced an engrossing thriller with Say You're Sorry. Well worth the read! Looking forward to more in the series.

Was this review helpful?

I've heard great things about Karen Rose and liked the sound of this one. I wasn't disappointed. This is the first book in the Sacramento series.

The characters were well-developed and intriguing. I enjoyed the chemistry between Gideon and Daisy and was rooting for them to take it to the next level. He is an FBI investigator and is assigned to her case. They both have a history that haunts them, and as we learn the pieces of their past, we learn what makes each of them tick. I will be reading the next in the series.

The villain was also very compelling and we find out his background later in the story. Let's just say he had "issues".

The story moves at a quick pace as we follow Daisy's case, her romance with the hottie Gideon, and the oh-so creepy killer.

If you like to mix it up, this one is a good pick.

Was this review helpful?

I’ve been a huge fan of Karen Rose since her first book came out. So much so that when I was given the chance to read her upcoming book through Netgalley, I jumped at the chance even though 99% of my “reading” is done with audiobooks these days. I jumped right into this one and it did not disappoint!

Rose creates compelling and memorable characters, both heroes and villains, and this is no exception. Both Gideon and Daisy have had issues, major issues, in their pasts and discovering these piece by piece helps to make the story compelling. The villain of the piece is likewise multi-faceted and new things are uncovered about him throughout the story. We also touch base with some familiar names from Philadelphia and Baltimore, and get a look at an old friend from Chicago. I love the way that Rose’s characters interweave and interact. That said, this is the first book in a new series and can completely be read as a stand alone. You don’t need to be familiar with her other works or characters as all of the key players are really introduced to us here for the first time.

I look forward to picking up the audio for this when it comes out. If it’s like her other works, it’s worth revisiting no matter what format you choose. I highly recommend this title. And if this is your first foray into her work, do yourself a favor and check out her other titles.

Was this review helpful?

I*t's amazing that most of this book takes place over just a week's time. The action is non-stop and keeps you reading. I liked the way Gideon and Daisy clicked right away. They both have pasts they are trying to leave behind, and that helps them bond. While a serial killer is after Daisy Gideon finds there is a link to his own dark past and vows to protect Daisy at all costs. It was interesting to watch their relationship develop through the twists and turns the case takes. Be aware there is evil aplenty and some people die that you wish didn't. Overall it's a great thriller.

Was this review helpful?

Say You're Sorry by Karen Rose. I liked the premise of the book, the serial killer and cult theme. That the police department was able to work with the FBI was a plus. Most of the characters were very likeable and reliable and a couple definitely crush worthy. Can see that this is a basis of a series, many characters were introduced many with interesting backstories.

I felt the villain switched back and forth from vile to timid and calculating to clueless which didn't seem to ring quite true.

Daisy's relationship with Brutus was off putting. That poor dog was petted bald nearly every other chapter........I though therapy dogs provided more interaction with their people, not just there to pulled out of their bag and being stroked to baldness. At least "Mutt" had a personality and could see him doing his heroic save.

A bit too much of the swearing especially from the women. I honestly don't know of anyone who uses the F word that much in everyday life.

A good read but a bit rough going in parts.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

Was this review helpful?

When I signed up for the arc, I thought it was just a thriller- it wasn't until I came here to enter it that I saw it was romantic suspense, which really isn't my thing. I decided to soldier on anyway, because I was intrigued by the plot description.

Yeah. Romantic suspense isn't my thing. I just find all the descriptions of how hot the leads are/make each other to be so eye-rolly that I am automatically tired of any scene they are in together. And since they are the leads and they are hot for each other, that's a lot of scenes.

Also, the serial killer lost all credibility for me when he realized that his latest victim had been a single mother of a terminally ill child and he felt bad. Come on. (note- if I wasn't so annoyed by embedded gifs in reviews so much, there would be one of Gob right here).

Thanks to NetGalley for an e-arc of this book in exchange for a review.

Was this review helpful?

I would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for this advance copy, unfortunately I just couldn't get into the book and wasn't able to finish it. I have read other books by the author and enjoyed them though.

Was this review helpful?

I love Karen Rose's serial killers. They are vile and twisted and captivating to read. This first book in her Sacramento series reminds me of her earlier books which were the best. Along with the serial killer she also introduces a secondary plot of a religious cult which looks like it will continue through this series.

Fans of the previous series will recognize Daisy Dawson from the Maryland series. She was the step sister of Taylor and her father Fredrick now works as a PI for Clay Maynard. I liked that even though this book starts off a new series it still has strong ties to the previous. Daisy was a very complex yet strong woman who even with vulnerabilities like anxiety and staying sober could more than take care of herself and was a heck of a shot with a gun.

The hero was new. FBI Agent Gideon Reynolds brings with him to the story not only his sister but also his surrogate family,the Sokolov's, who I feel are going to be the backbone of this series.

This was a great start to what looks to be a fantastic series set in and around Sacramento. I cannot wait to see whose story is next and to get more info about the cult.

Was this review helpful?

Just the right combination of romance and suspense to make Say You're Sorry a great beach read. The main characters, Daisy and Gideon, have undeniable chemistry, and the story has plenty of plot turns to keep readers engaged. I see the potential for a sequel in the future :)

Was this review helpful?

Say You’re Sorry is my first Karen Rose book and it definitely won’t be my last. I am dubbing her the “Queen of Romantic Suspense” from now on. This book has it all. Hot FBI guy, damsel in distress (who can kick butt), and a creepy serial killer. Had me hooked from page one. Edge of my seat suspense, start to finish.

*ARC provided by NetGalley for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?