DON'T LOOK by Alexandra Ivy will certainly have you glued to the pages. What starts out as a simple funeral for a once loved sheriff, explodes into a gripping, thought provoking read

Annetta Sweetko for Fresh Fiction

Complete review may be found at: https://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=72437

3.5/5
Serial Killer in a small town with a romantic twist. I normally don't read books that have a budding romance in them in the middle of a murder mystery. I like keeping the two genres separate. But I was able to get through this one. I will say it wasn't the best one but it definitely wasn't the worst. I think that if it didn't have the romance aspect to in and the main characters were somehow in law enforcement I would have been more into it. I figured out the ending pretty quick, but overall, it was still a good read and really interesting on how everything played out.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for allowing me to review this one for my honest opinion.

Ok so ordinarily I love this author's romantic suspense-although I will be honest, I usually read every single thing that she writes and love them all! But I had a really hard time getting into this one. And a hard time finishing it, which is odd. This is the first in this new series, so I was excited and it sounded interesting. But the main characters aren't investigator's or even law enforcement. It didn't seem plausible to me that they would be so into the investigation, although I guess I get it. They do have a chemistry together but on a whole this book doesn't have a ton of romance. And parts of it were really slow and I had to force myself to push through them. Now I am not saying this book is bad in any sense of the word. The writing is still phenomenal and I am sure there are a lot of people that will love it. I just think that it wasn't for me, although because I have read this first one (and love the author) I will probably still read any others in this series and hope they get better for me.

This was my first read by this author and not the last. The pace of this was perfect, enough action spread throughout to hold my interest, and enough detail to scare me. It was like a whodunit serial killer mystery with a side love story. I had no clue until the end who the murderer was, and I kind of liked that the people investigating it weren't cops. This had me totally captivated. I loved it and can't wait for the next one!

I loved Alexandra Ivy’s The Agency Series, and I was very excited to receive the ARC for the first book in her new series, Pike, Wisconsin. Ivy is a phenomenal writer, who’s story telling ability keeps you hanging on from page to page. This book was no exception. It checked off all my awesome book must have boxes. Romance ✅ Suspense ✅. Fantastic storyline ✅. Great, well developed characters✅. Action-packed✅.

When Kir Jansen returns to Pike, Wisconsin for his father’s funeral he runs into Dr. Lynne Gale, the town vet and soon discovers that she been targeted by a serial killer. As work together to solve a series of gruesome death, the chemistry and feelings between Kir and Lynne grows as they find themselves relying more and more on each other. But will they discover monster behind the kills before he reaches the last name on the list: Lynne? Read it and find out!

I love Lynne and Kir, both individually and together. They had great chemistry and an instant and deep connection and understanding of one another that added to the depth of the storyline.

Don’t Look contains a happily ever after and it currently read as a standalone. I can’t wait to read the next book in this new series to find out more about the amazing characters in the town of Pike, Wisconsin.

This is a voluntary review of an advanced readers copy received from Netgalley.

I absolutely loved this romantic thriller!! I loved it so much that it's now one of my top 10 favorite books!! Definitely a fantastic way to wind down the year by being white knuckled and heart pounding!!

My Mini Thoughts

Women's bodies are popping up all around the small town of Pike, Wisconsin, and everyone is a suspect. The killer is first shooting the women, and only women, with a tranquilizer dart and later slicing their throats. He/she knows all about the victim's pasts so the killings are personal.

Dr. Lynne Gale is suspect number #1 because the tranquilizers the killer is using are the same ones she uses on animals. Kir Jansen is also a suspect. He is back in town only to bury his father and sell his childhood home until the priest hands him a letter from his father at the funeral. Kir's dad was always convinced there was a serial killer at work, but nobody believed him.

This book was such a wild ride. I went back and forth thinking Lynne was the killer because of the tranq darts used to subdue the women, but then I thought that was too easy. So then I suspected Kir because the killings really ramped up after he came back. I won't say anymore because I may give it away! I am interested to see where book #2 takes us.

This one is out tomorrow! Thank you Kensington Books and TLC Book Tours for my #copy!

Book Rating: 3.5

Wine Pairing: 19 Crimes Cabernet Sauvignon.

Three and a half
I thoroughly enjoy this authors work whether suspense or paranormal and here she takes us to the town of Pike as Kir returns to bury his late father. Things were never exactly rosy in his family because following an accident his father hit the bottle hard but perhaps there's a lot more at stake then anyone realises !.
Lynne never doubted that she would take over from her father as the local vet and has recently broken up with her loser boyfriend. She is pleased to catch up with Kir and tries to help him as he pieces together the mystery surrounding letters his father used to receive. People start dying and whilst Kir never wanted to go into law enforcement like his father he is determined to get to the bottom of what's happening whether the sheriff wants him to or not !
Ok I enjoyed the mystery aspect here but honestly just didn't really get invested in the romance aspect here. Lynne is only apparently a few weeks out of a relationship and for me the couple whilst ok just didn't set the page on fire. Alas not my favourite by this author but nevertheless I will still keep reading her books.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

Rudolp Jansen was the Sheriff when he was injured in the line of duty. Forced to retire, he turned into an alcoholic which led to his wife and son Kir, leaving him. Kir Jansen returns to Pike, Wisconsin for his father's funeral and meets his childhood friend Dr. Lynne Gale, a vet. As their friendship grows, so does the number of bodies in town.
A serial killer is busy slashing throats and posing the bodies in different parts of Pike. Somewhere on his list is Dr Gale and Kir wants to find and stop the killer. But to do this, they have to first find the person who was sending letters to Rudolp describing the murders.

A fast paced story and I liked the romance between Kir and Lynne. Good mix of characters some believable. Looking forward to reading more of the author.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC

I will start off I really like Alexandra Ivy romantic suspense stories. This story will not disappoint even though at times readers will want to strangle certain characters that is what creates a good story telling.

The story is fast moving and readers will have to keep up with who is whom and who is dying and what is the connections.

This is book one of a new series with lots of questions and a few moments of come on really! Don't look is a great start to a new series. There are a lot of characters readers are introduced which I am sure will have bigger parts in the stories to comes.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the advance copy of Alexandra Ivy Don't Look

3.5 Stars
ARC provided by NetGalley for Honest Review
I’ve read Alexandra Ivy before and became a quick fan of her work. She writes a great romantic suspense and I was really looking forward to this book and some original ideas. Sadly it didn't completely wow me and kinda felt like every other Rom. Suspense out there. The story sped up quickly and even the relationship between the MC's went at warp speed. Living in the same town growing up, they knew of each other but did not actually know one other, so I was a bit taken aback by how quickly they grew closer and fell in love. The story-line however I really did enjoy. I think the idea of a serial killer writing letters to an old cop, one who they believed saved them and they have some type of allegiance to is fascinating. The death of Kir's father brings him back home but when mysterious murders begin occurring, Kir can't help but connect them to the letters his father has been receiving for years. He takes a personal stake in the case when it becomes clear Lynne, his love interest and local vet is believed to be the killers final kill. Kir takes on the amateur detective role especially when the local Sheriff is worse than useless. Assuming the series will continue on in the town but with who I have no idea.

This was an enjoyable read and I liked the characters. Vet Lynne Grace and Kir Jansen are pulled together when women in their small town start dying. It’s somehow linked to Kir’s dad, the towns old sheriff. Lynne is next on the list so they have to figure out who the killer is and why.
I didnt like how inept the sheriffs department seemed to be with the case. The female sheriff was completely unprofessional. And Kir appears to break numerous laws to find the killer.
I would read another book by this author but it wouldn’t be at the top of my list.
Thanks to Kensington books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
#DontLook #NetGalley

Don’t look is the first volume of the new romantic suspense series by Alexandra Ivy titled Pike, Wisconsin. The series’ name matches the town where the story is taking place.

The book stages Kir Jansen and Lynne Gale. It begins with the funeral of the hero's father, former sheriff. It is a very austere funeral: few people when he was considered a hero, many regrets in the hero's thoughts, a priest whom he does not know who officiates.
From the first page, we are therefore in the type of small American town atmosphere of which I am not at all a fan in romantic suspense. That dampened my enthusiasm a little for this new opus from Alexandra Ivy, author whom I adore.

The hero is back in his hometown after several years of absence. During all this time, he rarely had contact with his father, which he regrets now that he is deceased.
The heroine, as for her, still lives in Pike and doesn’t plan on leaving it one day. She is a veterinarian and has taken over the practice of her father who retired. The latter liked Kir's father very much and visited him often.

I really liked the romance aspect because Alexandra uses her classic frame that makes me love her stories: no unnecessary drama, a great confidence that sets in and continues despite some suspicions in the progress of the investigation, an HEA we believe in. Here, the heroes already know each other, being from the same city, without having been friends. They meet again at the beginning of the book and the attraction between them is immediate.

The suspense side begins with the death of a city resident shortly after the funeral of the hero's father. The latter understands that this has to do with letters his father received in which a stranger described how he intended to get rid of some people. His father tried to warn everybody but no one believed him for reasons which are explained in the novel. Kir also retrieves a list of initials, the first of which matches those of the deceased. The last corresponds to those of the heroine. So he quickly realizes that the heroine is going to be in danger and, faced with the Sheriff's lack of cooperation, he decides to ally with Lynne to conduct his investigation.

It was the suspense side that I had the most problems with, starting with the hero's intervention. Usually, the author brings us heroes who have real investigative abilities, especially as former soldiers. Here, that is not the case, neither for Kir nor for Lynne.
However, the hero behaves as if he had every right to act and is sometimes too belligerent towards the people he questions. But his only competence in the conduct of an investigation was his father who was the sheriff. Admittedly, he is very resourceful, he managed to set up a service company, but that does not make him a good detective for all that. In his desire to resolve the investigation, we understand that he has many things to be ashamed of, in particular the negligence he showed towards his father, a fact that he tends to hide especially when he accuses others of the same thing.
Fortunately, the heroine is there to make him understand things and to soften his way of acting.

The small town atmosphere is also reflected in the mostly unfriendly secondary characters, on the side of those present, victims and absent. In this story, because of these characters, whose gold medal goes to the Sheriff, the past and present of the city are not glorious. In the end, I wondered why the heroes wanted to settle there permanently.

Despite my negative points, I had a great time with this book and was surprised by the resolution of the investigation. There's no denying it, but Alexandra handled the atmosphere and the suspense well, as usual. It's just that I'm not a fan of it and it shows in my grade. This will not prevent me from reading the next book for which I have no idea who the heroes will be.

Small town police are usually pretty relaxed but not like this local Sheriff. She’s got a chip on her shoulder the size of Texas and it’s actually impeding her investigation. Kir, prodigal son returned for his dad’s funeral, and Lynne, veterinarian extraordinare, decide to partner up and solve the series of murders. Unlike normal amateurs they don’t get in the way and actually piece the puzzle together quite well. Following the clues was definitely exciting and planned so well it was easy to be fooled into believing the wrong lead. Not only do we have a fascinating puzzle but the characters are very relatable and charming. This is definitely the way to start a new series. Netgalley provided my early copy and I wrote my honest voluntary review to support this book.

3.75⭐

Don't Look nicely kicks off Alexandra Ivy's new series with a story that sees two amateur sleuths Lynne and Kir investigating a serial killer who was once in regular contact with Kir's dad the former sheriff of Pike, Wisconsin; and as stories with amateur sleuths go I thought it was pretty good. Although, I did find it quite slow in places, and I wasn't entirely convinced that two amateurs were the best people to take on a serial killer and win.

But nonetheless, I enjoyed it, and it did have a nice touch of romance, along with likable characters, a few red herrings and plenty of mystery, and it was that mystery in the end that really kept me reading.

Would recommend.

What do you do if what you thought were the mental ravings of your drunk father turn out to be true? Well you must certainly do everything you can to find out who tormented him with sick letters and keep the woman you are coming to care for immensely safe. He may not be the Sheriff his father once was, but Kir is determined to discover the truth, and protect Lynne at all costs.

This story had me excited when I read the blurb. It has the promise of the drama and suspense one loves in a story. For me it just fell a bit short and I struggled to really get into this story. The connection of me to the characters and storyline was tough. While it wasn’t for me I do hope others give it a read. It could be the best story for them.

DON’T LOOK is the first book in Alexandra Ivy’s new “Pike, Wisconsin” RS series. This is an exciting mystery and a solid romance, although the chemistry between the leads is a bit lackluster. While Kir and Lynne are appealing as individuals, and their reasons for becoming involved in the investigation are believable considering the circumstances, their relationship is lacking. Readers are presented with the facts of their attraction, but the reality of it isn't sufficiently tangible.

The serial killer plot is much more compelling. The details of the victims and their murders are well-written without any unnecessarily gruesome detail, and the letters written from the killer's POV add to the tension. It is possible to follow the clues to sort through the numerous red-herrings, and figuring out the villain's identity and motivation is all part of the fun. Good read, fans of Ivy will enjoy.

Dead bodies, red ribbons, and a mystery. Book 1 in a new series, and there was enough mystery, personal turmoil with main characters to make me wonder what road we are going down next. Kir comes home for his dads funeral he hasn't seen him in a while and connects with Dr. Gale the vet and his childhood friend. Bodies pile up and circumstantial evidence leads the woefully bitter sheriff to Dr Gale. We find troubled characters we get snippets of the emotional pain that and take a ride with Kir and Dr Gale as they seek the answers. I love dogs so it was a thrill to have the rescue shelter and Dr Gales vet clinic. Our killer is a twisted soul and even with the red herrings I had him picked, but thats ok, I wanted the whole story on the why. This is a solid read with a little romance. Thank you Alexandra Ivy, Kensington Books and NetGalley for the arc. All thoughts and opinions are my pwn and I freely share them.

I feel the ideas behind this story had such promise and were very interesting ones but the execution fell a little short. It was okay but it didn't blow me away. I kept wanting more and had to push myself to finish this.