This is the second book by Karen Cleveland following the stellar Need to Know. I started this book expecting the excitement of her first book, sadly I was disappointed. Single mother and FBI head of Internal Investigations, Stephanie Maddox, finds something in her son's bedroom that deeply worries her. Karen Cleveland is a good writer, but the plot and characters were lacking. I never got invested in the characters. I am a fast reader, I can read a book in less than a day if it gets my attention, this one took me a couple of days. I imagine it is hard to follow a book that received the attention of Need to Know, but I hope Cleveland tries again.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Keep you Close.

Her dream job in Washington DC, working for the FBI. Stephanie Maddox has worked hard to get to this position to expose the political corruption. Her only regret after all these years of hard work is that she has left little time to care for her son Zarachary, and her mother who has taken on that responsibility, always reminds Stephanie of this. Stephanie is a single mom and has a secret that not even her mother knows, but all that is to change when she discovers a loaded gun in her son's closet. When she tries to get to the bottom of this, she uncovers much more than she could ever imagine and her secret must come out.
This was a book that kept me reading late into the night. The characters were believable and the story had good flow.
I thank the publishers for giving me an ARC through Netgalley for my honest review.

I devoured Karen Cleveland's "Need to Know" and while I was hoping for a sequel, "Keep You Close" did not dissapoint. "Keep You Close" is a book about FBI agent Stephanie Maddox and her son Zachary, who is being set up in a terrorist plot organized by the Russians. This book asks Stephanie to make a choice between her son and her country. It is a book that I was unable to put down. I can't wait for the authors next book.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book free of charge. This is my honest and unbiased opinion of it.

Woah! What a terrifying ride! The tension in this book just kept building, and I found it impossible to put down. Not only does it bring in Russian influence and infiltration in our government, but it puts a mother in an impossible position - her child or her country. Keep You Close would make a great movie. I can think of several friends who would just inhale this book.

Karen Cleveland surpasses Need to Know with Keep You Close which is more developed and engrossing. Worth the read.

I LOVED it!!!
From the beginning chapter it pulls you in and with every page you turn you become more addicted to the story as you turn the pages faster to find out what's going to happen! It keeps you guessing and you are in suspense up until the very end when everything that is happening is finally revealed and you are BLOWN AWAY!!!! This story will give you goosebumps and have you on the edge of your seat, heart racing, full of adrenaline!
It's written very well! You definitely feel a connection! and the characters are amazing! it's a very well thought out book! and I'm definitely hoping there will be a book two!! I want more!!!!

I found this book to be original. The story line was one I haven't read yet. For that, I definitely give Karen Cleveland credit. But it took me a while to get through it and to be honest, I just couldn't connect with the characters. I enjoyed it, but not enough to pass along to my book club.

This was an FBI thrilled with multiple twists & turns throughout. You’re following I definitely found myself looking forward to being able to jump back into the book.

I enjoyed the whole FBI setting. The main character, Stephanie Maddox, finds out that her 17-year old son is being accused of terrorism in the United States. It starts making her question everything and everyone she knows. She’s racing against the clock to try to prove his innocence and find out who is setting him up.

I did get confused on some of the characters at some point -- a lot of different names to keep track of from all different time periods. Most of what I would love to comment on would be a spoiler! And I don't want to ruin this for anyone. While the ending of the book was fast, I can say I didn't figure the whole thing out -- a rarity anymore for a seasoned suspense reader such as myself.

Thanks to #NetGalley & Ballantine Books for allowing me to read an advanced reader copy of #KeepYouClose.

I loved Karen Cleveland's "Need to Know" and was excited to see that she already had a follow-up ready. The two books are unrelated, but a few elements from the first book are mentioned in passing in this book.
Once again, Cleveland's protagonist is a cool female employed in the intelligence/law enforcement community and faced by villains in high places and dilemmas with life-changing consequences.
The plot is exciting and I was hooked from page 1 and didn't lose interest throughout the story. Cleveland adds several twists and turns along the way to keep the plot hot and moving - most of them credible, but others not so much.
I end up giving the book 4 big stars for the page-turning experience rather than character development, which is not Cleveland's strong suit. I expect fans of Joseph Finder, John Gilstrap and other greats of the genre (spy/crime/polical thriller) to appreciate this book as well, although it is not as strong as Cleveland's debut.

Thank you Karen Cleveland and Netgalley for an ARC of this book for my honest opinion.
Stephanie Maddox is an Internal Affairs FBI agent. She is the single mother to a teenage son, Zachary. One day she finds a gun in Zachary's closet and then a fellow FBI agent shows up on her doorstep to tell her that her son is involved in a domestic terrorist plot. What do you do when you don't know your own child as well as you thought? In fact, Stephanie doesn't seem to know her son at all. She has always put her job ahead of her child. This story starts out strong but by the end it fell short. I couldn't ever get invested in Stephanie's character and found her unlikable. With that being said, I did like the suspense of whether her son was really involved in the plot or if there was something else going on behind the scenes.

A follow-up to "Need to Know", this book tells the story of an FBI agent, who finds out that her teenage son may be involved with a terrorist group. The author knows, how to take our basic fears and turn them up to the max. Also, she is very good at writing about uncertainty and doubt.

I don't want to go into plot details, but Cleveland knows, how to write a good thriller. What I especially liked about both her books, is that she places her characters into situations with no clear way out. The problem that Stephanie - the heroine - faces, can't be solved by overpowering or even outsmarting her enemies. It's one of those 'damned if you do, damned if you don't' situations.

The ending of the book was a bit abrupt, although clearly setting up a sequel, which I would definitely read.

Stephanie is an FBI Agent - Internal Affairs. She holds a lot of responsibility and can upset a lot of well-trained professionals in her position. Scott, a former lover of hers, shows up at her place just after she had found a gun hidden in a paper bag in her son's room. She knows that Zach is innocent of knowing about the gun (?)- that the gun had to have been placed there. But.....Scott tells Steph that Zach has ties to a subversive group and that he may see jail time. Now the Russians become involved in a counterintelligence plan. Then we bring in Zach's father, Senator Halliday, who Zach had recently found out was his father. Instead of focusing on one thing at a time, Steph comes off as not so bright and just plain incompetent at times

Steph's mother and her arguments with her were repeatedly the same thing repeated over and over.
There were too many characters brought into the story who either had no to slight relevance; some similar enough to be just confusing.

I did complete the book but I am still thinking about how it could have been reworked.

Many Thanks to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for a chance to review!

What do you do when your son's been accused of being involved with domestic terrorism? Especially when you work for the FBI. Who do you believe?

I was a huge fan of Karen Cleveland's earlier effort, Need to Know, and couldn't wait to get my hands on this one. As a mom, I had a really hard time with Stephanie CONSTANTLY putting everything before her son, despite thinking that everything she was doing was for her son. She was incredibly selfish and self-involved and I had a really hard time connecting with her. I also felt awful for her son, Zach. She never talks to him or shares anything with him under the guise of "protecting" him. Apparently to her being a parent means just being the bare minimum - an uninvolved workaholic making money so your son has a roof over his head. And really, she doesn't even seem that competent at her job. Every promotion she's gotten has basically just been to shut her up or get her out of the way.

Overall, this was a fast-paced thriller with lots of twists and turns and it kept me flipping pages late into the night. I really enjoyed the read.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

Not really psychological or thrilling, I felt for her as a mother but all the characters read so flat, protagonist included, it was hard to get emotionally invested in any other part of the story. Not my thing.

I really loved the suspense and electricity in this book. Steph Maddox has lived out her dream by becoming an FBI agent and loves the thrill of the job that she has performed for the last two decades. She is a single parent and has always juggled being a mom with being an agent. When she finds a gun, in her son's closet, she discovers that her son is deeply enmeshed in a conspiracy that will bring them both down unless she does something quickly. The book is riddled with action and taut moments that make your heart pound. I struggled to really be able to empathize with Steph and found her to be selfish and careless., although I did find the book to be well written. I would not purchase this book, or recommend to others. Thanks for the ARC, Net Galley.

I know this is an ARC and edits always need to be made, but I counted 15 errors in grammar and syntax just in the first 4 pages. That’s too many for this stage. I would expect maybe two or three per chapter, but this was downright distracting. I couldn’t continue reading. I hope these errors get corrected before publication.

I really liked this book as it has many elements I enjoy: political intrigue, scandals, FBI involvement, as well as a personal story about a mother and son that threatens to unravel with the deceit that plays out. Steph is an FBI agent who inadvertently discovers a loaded gun hidden in her seventeen-year-old son's bedroom. Moments later, another agent appears at her door accusing him of seeking out a radical group that is anti-government and is apparently planning mass attacks. Stunned, Steph must get to the bottom of this before the FBI steps in; does she believe her son or the agency that must have compelling evidence? And so begins the mystery of who's at the heart of this conspiracy. Is her son secretly someone she doesn't know or is he being set up? I enjoyed both the storyline and the characters; I'm not one of those readers who must love the characters to appreciate the book. Yes, Steph second-guesses herself a lot and yes, she often seems weak when it comes to her family, but what family bonds are never tested? Overall, I liked the tension and the shocking conclusion! On to read her first novel, Need to Know.

This book started out very strong but fell flat for me. I am so glad for the opportunity to read this.

I loved the first book I read by Karen Cleveland but this one fell a little short. It wasn't as thrilling as the first one was and though I do feel like Cleveland is a talents mystery/thriller writer, I feel like the level of intensity in the first book was a little lacking in the second book.

This was an OK book. It wasn't as thrilling as I expected. At times the plot was somewhat unbelievable & I didn't feel a connection with any of the characters. But I did finish the book & would be willing to try another book by Karen Cleveland in the future.