Cover Image: Anything for You

Anything for You

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Member Reviews

***Warning: There are triggers for sexual abuse, drug abuse, alcohol abuse and rape in this story.***

I really enjoyed this mystery. It was well written with interesting and surprising characters and a major twist at the end. Valerie Hart has her own view on the world, and it seems that nothing surprises her. She has met all kinds in the course of her work which results in her being on the cynical side and expecting the worst of people instead of the best. She is the Police with a capital P, and that is how she refers to herself throughout the book. I think that if you will give this book a chance, you will be pleasantly surprised and thrilled at the twists and turns contained in the story. Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed it, loved the ending, and was happy overall with the direction of the story. I voluntarily read an ARC of this book which was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for this opportunity.

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I had to DNF this book. This one was way too graphic and detailed during scenes that weren’t necessary for it to be detailed.

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Thank you for the opportunity to read this book. A full review will be posted on Amazon and Goodreads0

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St. Martin's Press and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of Anything For You. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

A call to the police about a would-be intruder ends in the discovery of a murder. The victim is Adam Grant, a respected San Francisco prosecutor and a man with a personal connection to homicide detective Valerie Hart. Vowing to keep her personal feelings to herself and solve the mystery, Valerie lets the investigation take her down a dark path to the eventual discovery of the responsible party.

I liked Anything For You, but I was not really fond of the character development or the predictable plot. Too many liberties were taken with regards to the police investigative process and I really did not like the ending. Valerie's past with Adam was a necessary part of the story, but the rest of her personal life just felt like filler. Overall, I was not shocked or stunned by the events as they unfolded and, in retrospect, I did not particularly like Valerie Hart herself. In a genre full of great police procedural thrillers, Anything For You just did not stand out.

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📚 Late one night, a neighbor calls the police after seeing a masked man on his property. Little does he know, this masked intruder has more to do with the family next door, where a lawyer has been killed and his wife is near death herself, than with him. As an investigation ensues, officer Valerie Hart must put her past aside in order to do her job efficiently & uncover the truth behind the mess that was left behind by the murderer.
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📚 The first third of this book was a bit hard to get past; even the opening scene was a shocker! The way in which the author wrote a woman's inner dialogue about herself and the way in which he lewdly describes a woman from a man's point of view almost made me DNF this sucker. I hated it & it made me see the author in an unpleasant light. I mean, jeeeez! 😳 However, I chose to push forward only because reviewers acknowledged it and said the police procedural was worth it. The crassness did die down and I whole-heartedly appreciated it. The investigation definitely picked up momentum and  there were parts where the author could have crossed the line again, but he didn't. 😬🙌🏼 Yayyyy! 🤭

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I didn't finish this one - it was very dark and very crude (I'm not a "clutch my pearls" kinda girl at all!). I also wasn't aware that it was #3 in a series and I'm typically not a fan of starting a series in the middle of it. The author is a very good story teller; I just wasn't drawn into the story.
Thanks to Saul Black, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

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Thank you netgalley and publisher for the early copy!

I checked out this thriller but could not connect with the writing style. I decided to put it down.

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Thank you NetGalley for the copy of this book. This book was a little too much darkness for me without a trade off that made it worth it.

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I typically really enjoy books by this publisher, mysteries/thrillers in particular, and I was so disappointed when this one ended up being completely out of my wheelhouse. I didn't really appreciate the descriptive violence due to its manipulative nature. I don't normally mind this aspect of stories, but it seemed like this was done just for shock value. The characters felt one dimensional, and I just think that the author was trying to hard to create shocking scenes, that the rest of the plot and story seemed unfinished. This will probably work for a lot of readers, it just unfortunately did not work for me.

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This was such a crazy book. While I am thankful for the opportunity to read it, it was very graphic and not something I would normally reach for. It is definitely adults only in nature. It was demonic and that is one thing that freaks me out and I refuse to watch movies about lol! If subjects like that don't bother you, then have at it! The details were very shocking. I received this book to review through Net Galley.

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This book twisted and this book turned...I did not see the ending coming, although I feel like it COULD be predictable for those of you thriller aficionados, but not for me!  What I appreciated most about this book was the side story of the detective, Valerie. 

This book is about solving a murder...or two...Valerie is on the case and has her own family drama.  This is apparently book number 3 in the Valerie Hart series so I don't know what her personal life has been like up until now, but she had some drama.  I don't feel like I missed out on anything and didn't realize it was number 3 until I pulled up the Goodreads page.  So not only do we have this mystery of who killed who, we also have a side story going on...this book was just filled with great writing!

It was easy to follow, even after I ended up deserting this book for a MONTH (shame I know), but when I picked it back up it was easy to remember everything that happened.  A big fancy prosecutor, Adam, is murdered.  His family is just in pieces over his death and then another murder is discovered...are they connected?  Oh, you'll have to read to find out.  It was a great thriller with a fun side story, again, I really appreciate that! 

4 stars. I am sure you're tired of me saying this, but I really liked reading for the mystery, as well as for the family drama and what Valerie would do.  I was in her corner and I am so HAPPY with what happens in her personal life in the end.  Aren't you just curious to know what this is all about?  Go get a copy of this book ASAP!

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Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to express my honest opinion of this book.

When I was selected to read and review this book I was so excited. I had seen many great things about this series.
While this book has very realistic characters, and many twists and turns I found myself a bit turned off by the graphic nature of this story. However, if you are not easily turned off by erotic sex scenes and vulgar demeanor this might be more than a 3.5 star book for you.

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This book has a beautiful cover and an intriguing blurb. I’d never heard of the author but I enjoyed the story and will look up more! Very good.

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Anything for You was released by St. Martin's Press on November 12, 2019. I was given a copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

One summer night, a neighbor calls in about an intruder next door. When police arrive, they find it's Adam Grant, a very well known prosecutor. Cue Valerie Hart, tasked with finding the killer while trying to ignore her connection to Grant. Everything points to an ex-con he jailed years ago, but is that really the truth?

Knowing this was the third book for homicide detective Valerie Hart, I read the first two prior to this one. I think that's probably why this one was just okay for me. I liked her in the first two books. She was flawed, but real. This book just made it seem like she was settling into cultural norms, acting like people expected her to. I kind of hated it. I wanted her to be the same "hungry for her career" detective she was in the first books. It bummed me out a little.

This book sounded really promising. That being said, I was left wanting more. The plot was a good enough story, but I felt the ending was a little lackluster. If you don't mind darker and more violent books, I'd say definitely look into the first two. If I had the choice to read this again, I'd pass.

🌟🌟/5 Stars

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This book was not for me. Maybe others will like it. I felt that the glaring descriptive incest/rape/child abuse was only for the wow factor and had no bearing on the story. It was crude and should of contained a trigger warning.

The story was choppy and hard to follow. I found the characters one dimensional .

This was the first book I have read by this author and I will not be picking up another book by her.

Thank you for the opportunity to read Anything for You.

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Anything for You is the third entry in the Valerie Hart series, written by Saul Black, a pseudonym of British author Glen Duncan. The novel reads well as a standalone and I felt that I had not missed details due to not having read the others in the series. I found the first paragraph off-putting but was rewarded for sticking with it: it’s not often that a murder mystery completely stumps the reader. The book deals with sexual assault and incest, difficult subjects certainly but unfortunately, part of the world we live in. Homicide Detective Valerie Hart investigates the brutal murder of Adam Grant, a San Francisco prosecutor, and the attempted murder of his wife, during a home invasion. Because of the victim’s profession, an ex-con is soon suspected and the search is on for him and an unknown blonde woman associated with him. This is a tough book to read but well-worth the time. Highly recommended. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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This is the third book in a series using the character of Valerie Hart, a complex, female detective who is a bulldog when it comes to solving difficult homicides. Her latest case promises to be a doozy. An apparent home invasion leaves Adam Grant, a prominent attorney dead in his bedroom, and his wife Rachel Grant with stab wounds deep enough to require surgery. Evidence at the scene very clearly points to a former convicted felon who after some digging appears to have connections to Adam Grant through a case he worked many years ago. While the case is airtight, the alleged murder has vanished without a trace. Until his mutilated corpse is found in an isolated part of the Reno desert. Always one to follow her intuition, Valerie continues to dig through evidence in a case where only one woman appears to be common denominator between the deceased and the accused, a mysterious blonde named Sophia. This is a continuing storyline, but I don’t think there is a need to have read the first two novels to keep pace with this story. This story has a dark, and twisty plot. There is a lot of development into the villain in the story, and the motivations leave room for us to be surprised. Novel should be appealing generally to fans of crime mysteries and cop procedurals. Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced copy. Review posted to Goodreads, LibraryThing, and Amazon.

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Valerie Hart is sent to investigate a home invasion , where the husband is murdered and the wife seriously injured. Thus begins a heart stopping adventure that keeps the reader questioning Valerie's judgment and safety. This third installment in the series featuring Valerie Hart is one that is well worth reading. There are enough clues that the situation surrounding the murder begin to reveal the plot solutions about half way through the book, but the reader is left with enough doubts to keep her interest up until the very end!

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I liked this book, but I didn't find any of the characters really likable. The lead homicide detective was not a very nice person, I know from reading that she didn't have a very good life, but she just wasn't someone I could find anything redeemable about. I did like the story and the way things unwound. I liked how it ended for Rachel.

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Police officer Valerie Hart knows how to track a killer. It’s in her blood. So when San Francisco prosecutor Adam Grant is murdered in his own home, and his wife is badly injured as well, Valerie is on the case. The initial investigation turns up the DNA of a recently paroled ex-con throughout the house, but he has disappeared, so Valerie has to keep digging.

As Adam’s wife and teenaged daughter (thankfully not at home that night) try to recover from their trauma and grief, Valerie quietly puts together a string of clues that lead to a gorgeous blonde known only as Sofia. Her frustration at hitting brick walls throughout the case is magnified by the frustration she is feeling at home. She and her husband are trying to have a baby, and so far, they have not been successful.

But Valerie has secrets. She has a past with the victim, Adam Grant. She has chemistry with the brother of the missing ex-con murder suspect. And she’s not at all certain she has what it takes to be a mother. But as the killer remains elusive, it’s clear that Valerie is not the only one with secrets.

Anything for You, the third in Saul Black’s Valerie Hart series, is a dark and troubling story of women coming to peace with their past and finding a way to move forward into a new future. This is not a lightweight cozy that you can set aside casually (not that there’s anything wrong with that—I love those too). But this book gets its hooks into you and refuses to let up.

There are some dark stories in this novel. It looks at some of the worst places in humans without flinching. But there is also honesty, truth, and grace in unexpected places. If you like a police procedural with a dark side, then Saul Black is your man. If you’re craving a story that shows off a smart woman kicking up dirt and taking names, then Valerie Hart may be your new heroine.

I really loved Anything for You. It wasn’t an easy book to read, but it was well worth it. I recommend this one for a cold winter afternoon, while you’re deep under a warm blanket with something tasty to drink nearby.

Galleys for Anything for You were provided by St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley, with many thanks.

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