This is the first book I've read by this author and definitely not the last! Took me a little while to get into it but once I did I could not put it down! Strong female lead and other exciting characters make for an even more exciting plot!

3 stars for Karen Cleveland's Keep You Close.

I wanted to love this book - a pattern I seem to have been stuck in lately, as this is not the first read to fall slightly below expectations recently. I read Cleveland's debut novel a few months back and loved it - consequently, I probably expected a bit too much for this one.

Keep You Close focuses on FBI agent Stephanie Maddox, who is head of the Internal Investigations Devision. Stephanie is bright, dedicated to her job, and firmly believes in doing the right thing. Her biggest pride in her life, outside of work, is her teenage son Zachary, and they've always had a good relationship. Then one evening, she's picking up dishes from Zach's room, and she finds a gun - and shortly following, a fellow FBI agent shows up on her doorstep, with questions about Zachary.

Stephanie is forced to confront the past, present, and future as she scrambles to figure out what's going on and how well she really knows Zachary. Is Zachary involved in something ominous, or is this payback from some of Stephanie's past grievances? Stephanie has to keep her friends close, and her enemies even closer, as she scrambles to figure things out before it's too late..

Cleveland provides entertaining writing, but there are several flashback scenes that make things a bit confusing and sometimes feel forced. The characters are likable and pleasant, but there's not as much dimension to them as I would've liked, and again - some of the relationships feel a little forced. There's a bit of a cliffhanger ending (which may be Cleveland's trademark thing, as her first novel ended similarly) which I like, but also leaves things open to interpretation and was somewhat dissatisfying in this particular setting. However, I do enjoy Cleveland's FBI stories, and I will still happily pick up her next release too!

Special thanks to Netgalley and publisher for an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was excellent. I was hooked on page one and finished it the same day. I truly hope we have more Stephs in the world.

Keep You Close is a terrifying and fast-paced thriller in which the main characters are Russian agents one step away from taking over the United States government by killing key CIA, FBI, Senators, and other targets that one can only imagine.

The real main characters, the pawns in this chess game so complicated that even when I finished the book I could not fully grasp the plot, are FBI Special Agent Steph Maddox and her son, Zachary, who both get caught up in this shell game and twisting tale of deceit. They, as well as the other “good guy “ characters in this chilling tale are well-drawn real people, people who just might be your casually acquainted neighbor. The operatives behind this plot are nefarious, and the reader knows just enough about them to figure that out.

I can’t begin to count the number of times I thought I’d figured something out, only to be proven wrong. This is a frightening and just close enough to the realm of possible story that will keep you guessing until the very end - and one that will make you want to lock all your doors and hide out in your bed with the covers pulled over your head - while you wrestle with the insomnia that can result from reading this brilliant work of terrifying espionage.

Karen Cleveland is an outstanding writer. I look forward to reading more of her work.

I received this book as an ARC from the publisher and NetGalley.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for my review.

Keep You Close was frustrating to read, at times. I wanted to yell at the main character, Steph, for some of the decisions she made and for the times she did not speak up when she needed to. She becomes an FBI agent because of her past, but then gets caught in a trap when her past and present collide and threaten her family. The plot lines shift as often as it does in the real life American political scene. Until the end, you never really know who is good, who is bad, and who is operating out of sheer survival instinct. And even then, you're not sure.

I would like to read other Karen Cleveland books,. I enjoy her writing style.

I just could not get through this one. I just could not bring myself to like or care about the main character or the story. This was not necessarily a bad novel--it just was not for me. I will not be posting a review anywhere on this since I did not finish the book.

Another great book by author Karen Cleveland. Loved her 2017 debut book, Need to Know. K Cleveland is an excellent writer. She has written an exciting book with plot twist and turns that keep the readers interest. I found the characters to be well crafted and believable. The book has spies, agents, elected official and Russians. One element of the story I liked, the struggle of a single career mother and her family. I think this is topic a lot of women will be able to relate to.

The protagonist is a cool and calm female FBI agent, Steph Maddox. Steph is career focused and has moved up the ranks. In the process she has not spent much time with her son. When she finds out the her son is being accused of being a terrorist.

Thank you, NetGalley and Ballantine for the opportunity to read and give an honest review.

Keep You Close by Karen Cleveland
Keep You Close
by Karen Cleveland (Goodreads Author)
M 50x66
Lou Jacobs's review Apr 17, 2019 · edit
really liked it

What's more important .... allegiance to your job and country or love for your son... such a dilemma faces FBI agent Steph Maddox. Steph has worked hard and endured multiple slights and pitfalls to rise in her position in the FBI. She is recently promoted to Head of Internal Investigations Section and her world is turned upside down when a colleague from the domestic terrorist section ( and previous boyfriend) indicated there is evidence that her son, Zachary, is involved in a shadowy network of radical anarchists. The Freedom Solidarity Movement has been on the Bureaus's radar for several year ... and fear they are actively targeting multiple high ranking government officials. Supposedly they have an email from ZacharyMaddox345 to FSM's recruitment email address. And, Steph finds a gun in Zachary's closet that he denies is his. As a single parent she unfortunately has made sacrifices in her relationship with her son to achieve the trust and respect and high ranking position in her profession. Many an important event in his life have been missed or neglected. She knows he is being set-up in retribution to her professional actions or perhaps secrets that she has kept since her internship days with Senator Halliday.
Cleveland proves to be an excellent storyteller and weaves an immersive complex tale involving internal and external threats to both herself and country. Consideration is even given to a possible convoluted plot involving the Russian government. A sense of all pervasive suspicion and paranoia ratchets up the tension. Multiple possibilities are presented .... retribution from criminals and even other professionals ... all whose lives have been destroyed because of her dogged investigations .... OR are the Russians behind this? The denouement leads to a complex and twisted but unexpected finale.
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Publisher's for providing an Uncorrected Proof of this excellent thriller in exchange for an honest review. This is my second helping of Cleveland's prose and will certainly come back for more.

I received a free e-copy of Keep You Close by Karen Cleveland from NetGalley for my honest review.

FBI agent, Stephanie Maddox, is a single mother of Zachary, her teenage son. One day, while cleaning her son's room, she finds a loaded gun. Another agent show up and Zachary is soon being accused of being associated with a terrorist group. A terrorist group that is planning mass attacks.

Does Stephanie really know her son? Is she being blinded by being his mother? She now has to decide whether she is going to believe her son or the agency she has worked at for twenty years.

An intense read with lots of twists.

An interesting read from Karen Cleveland, lots of twists and turns and I must say I didn’t see the ending coming. Not exactly a thriller, more suspenseful.

***I received an electronic ARC from NetGalley for a fair and unbiased review of this book

Karen Cleveland's first book- Need to Know was my favorite book of 2018. Keep you close should be in my top 5 of 2019-another great showing! I identified with this book on a few levels- I'm a single mom who will do anything for my children, and have had to fight to be taken serious in my career as well. And that is where the similarities end... Stephanie is on the fast track in the FBI after a daring and dangerous stint fighting against the mob in Chicago. When the mob turns and threatens her son and livelihood, she accepts a position at headquarters in DC and is recognized for her pragmatic and loyal work. She has some secrets in her past that seem to follow her wherever she goes and she starts questioning everything around her- even her own son. When her son appears to be involved in a terroristic group, she puts her life on the line to find the truth and protect him at all costs.

The book was great, but frustrating! I literally yelled at Stephanie a few times during the book- she is like a dog with a bone and so tunnel visioned that she made some questionable decisions. She also is not the greatest communicator and the relationship with her son and mother was agonizing at times.

I loved seeing a powerful woman fighting against the enemy (in this book, you aren't sure who the real enemy is most of the time)- there are some current political themes throughout and another tense Russian angle. I can tell that Karen Cleveland has a background in government affairs- both of her books ring true with their descriptions and the situations are so realistic that it makes the books even scarier.

5 stars - Can't wait for the next book. Fingers crossed it will be a sequel to Need to know.... Karen Cleveland, you are one of my favorite authors next to Harlan Coben, John Hart, and Lee Child - amazing author!

Karen Cleveland has knocked it out of the park again, keeping me reading until late in the night to find out how the issues in her latest thriller are resolved. Stephanie Maddox is a mother and an FBI agent in internal affairs. Her whole life is upset when she is told that her son is suspected of being part of a terrorist group about to launch an attack in the U.S. Steph is determined to prove that what is suspected about Zachary is not true and that the whole thing is a plot by her enemies. The book is a wild ride, following Steph on her quest to prove the innocence of her son and to trap the evil doers before they can create more mayhem. The fact that Russians are involved makes the story more compelling since the Russians and their interference in our elections has been front and center in the recent elections. Cleveland takes that news story to greater heights and pens a scary story of their influence in the government and the law enforcement agencies. There are a lot of characters, but the main ones are memorable and so evil that you don’t care if something bad happens to them. I was so drawn into the story that I was practically a cheering squad for Steph by the end of the book. The conclusion is explosive and unexpected, just as in her previous novel NEED TO KNOW. The author’s knowledge of the FBI and CIA make her book believable and awe-inspiring. This book makes Karen Cleveland a force to be reckoned with in the genre of thriller!

Back in 2017, I gave four stars to Karen Cleveland’s Need To Know, a thriller featuring a strong female protagonist. Happily, thanks to Random House-Ballantine and NetGalley, I was given the opportunity to read an advance copy of Ms. Cleveland’s next book, Keep You Close, in exchange for my honest review.

Once again, we have a strong female protagonist, this time a single parent named Steph whose long days (and nights) on the job as an FBI agent have made her focus more on her work than on her son, Zachary. One day, as she is cleaning Zach’s room, she comes across a loaded gun hidden in his room. That same day, another agent shows up, accusing Zach of being associated with a radical anti-government group that is apparently planning mass attacks. Stunned, Steph has to decide whether to believe her son or the agency that has been her primary focus in life for twenty years.

And interesting plot, with fairly well-drawn characters. Steph’s constant second-guessing of herself was a bit much, but necessary to the plot. There are some shocking twists, and an ending that I found very unsettling — also plenty of domestic drama, and it’s a solid four stars.

I love Karen Cleveland's style ---- her mysteries are compelling and always have a very surprising conclusion.

"Keep you Close" flows, and keeps you at the edge of your seat!

I enjoyed this book about a female FBI agent who's at the top of her field, but with large sacrifices to her family life.

I was very excited to read Karen Cleveland's new novel, Keep you Close. I was a big fan of her debut novel, Need to Know. The book starts out with a bang when FBI agent Steph Maddox discovers a gun in her son's closet and then finds out that he is a suspect in a plot by an anarchist group. What's a mother to do? Protect her son or her country? It was an exciting premise, however I found the story line convoluted and hard to follow. The story ends abruptly without tying the plot lines together. Ultimately, I was disappointed with her sophomore effort.

The book definitely caught my attention in the beginning, but it did struggle to keep me hooked throughout. I thought there were some areas where it became pretty unrealistic/far-fetched. But overall it was a good read!

I’m still trying to decide how I feel about this book. It seemed like a lot of the situations were a bit far fetched but overall the story still kept me wanting to know what was going to happen next. A lot of the other reviews mention how amazing her first book was. Since I did enjoy this one I know I need to get my hands on her first fast!

Steph and the overall book were readable. This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I’d likely be willing to try another one because the writing did keep my interest.

Having read and loved the author’s first book, Need to Know, I was highly anticipating her second novel, Keep You Close, and I was not disappointed. The plot centers around a single-mom FBI agent and her teenage son. The agent finds a gun in his room, and soon discovers her son is thought to be involved with a domestic terrorist group. The action starts quickly, and never lets up. There are no lulls here, the events occur at a breakneck pace, and continues until literally the final page. This is quite a page-turner, you root hard for the good guys, and there’s no fluff. And I sense a second book in this series. Well done!

Karen Cleveland had me hooked with her first book, "Need To Know," and I couldn't wait to dive into this one. However, it didn't catch my attention nearly as much as her first book. Not that "Keep You Close" is a bad book, the plot keeps you interested and wanting to know what really is going on--it just didn't have the oomph of the previous novel. But, if you're looking for a quick, plot-driven novel, this will fit the bill.