Amazing second book in the Regan Merritt series. Ms. Brennan is at the top of my Favourite Author list. A former US Marshall, grieving her murdered son will stop at nothing to find out who killed him and why. The characters are wonderful and the story is superb. Read the book (and The Sorority Murders if you haven’t already). I highly recommend it. Thanks to NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing and the Author for allowing me to read and review this book.

Don't Open the Door
by Allison Brennan
Pub Date: Jan 24, 2023
Mira
Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.
I’ve read quiet a few of Allison Brennan’s books, so I was excited when I saw this one on NetGalley. I will say it’s a good suspenseful thriller book but it was kind of lengthy. I will also say that it wasn’t a favorite of hers that I’ve read.
However, our patrons will love it and I have already preordered it for our library.
Regan for the past 9 months has been trying to get her life back together after the shooting that killed her son. Her marriage crumbled, and she retired from the Marshal's office and moved to be with her father in Arizona. During this time, she has been avoiding facing the death of her son, until she gets a voice message from her ex-co-worker and friend Tommy. A message that claimed that he knew who had her son killed. A few hours later, Tommy is murdered at his home. She now has to face the murder of her son, her ex-husband, and what Tommy had found. 4 stars

Don't Open the Door by Allison Brennan is the second book in the Regan Merritt series. This book has a very compelling storyline. It is fast-paced and very suspenseful. The characters are well-developed. I especially liked the grit and determination of former US Marshal Regan Merritt. Nothing was going to stop her from finding out the real story behind her son's death. Even dangerous situations weren't going to stop her. This book is a great addition to the series.

"A child is shot while playing video games at home. His mother will stop at nothing to find out who did it—and why."

This is NOT what I was expecting when I picked up this book on NG. I'd categorize this as more Law & Order Organized Crime than SVU and I was really looking for SVU. Think white collar crime, rich white men covering up dirty deeds, and all the law enforcement (FBI, US Marshalls, etc). It was thrilling and definitely a page turner - I found myself dying to know what happened but was a little disappointed with the ending. Probably a bit longer than necessary with convoluted storylines.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC copy of this book to read and review. All of these thoughts are my own.

I went into this story not knowing what to expect. A suspenseful rollercoaster that was non stop action from beginning to end was what I got.

This second book in this series is emotional and sad. Corruption at every turn. Shocking revaluations come to light in an complex puzzle that that keeps you guessing. Regan Merritt is a intense and complicated character and I really hope she is developed more in future books.

While I found the storyline unique, I found it hard to follow all the characters.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the e-arc.

First I want to thank #NetGalley and #HarleguinTradePublishing for my digital ARC copy of the book. Allison Brennan is one of my favorite authors and I loved reading The Sorority Murders and being introduced to the main character Reagan Merritt. This book is the 2nd in the series but there is enough of an explanation of the backstory that reading it first or as a standalone novel shouldn't be an issue for anyone. I actually enjoyed the backstory explanations because it had been awhile since I had read the first book.
Reagan continues to be haunted by her son's murder and does not believe the FBI's explanation of motivation behind his death. Her former boss Tommy is looking into the case in hopes of bringing Reagan back into the U.S. Marshal's office or at the least back into his life. He finds a lead and calls Reagan to let her know the progress he has made but is stuck leaving a voicemail. But unfortunately Tommy is murdered before she can return his call. She then has to backtrack and follow all of his information to see what/who killed Tommy as well. The story untangles a very complicated and messy set of murders, including the murder of her son. Reagan doesn't necessarily find peace but she at least finds out the real answers.

Wow! This one is high in suspense, action, and answers. We learn what really happened to Regan's son and why. Regan is a complicated character. I felt like I was right there with her. I was so invested in the outcome of this one. I hope we see more of this series. The characters are interesting and the mysteries unpredictable. Excellent read!

Allison Brennan, I adore you...

After reading The Sorority Murders, I knew Brennan and I had just dipped our feet in what would turn out to be a long standing reader/author relationship. When a novel, like The Sorority Murders, can linger in my head long after concluding, I knew I hit the jackpot when it came to uncovering a new favorite author.

As The Sorority Murdersl hit the internet blogging stream, I knew I wasn't wrong when it came to falling head over feet for this unstoppable author.

So, when Don't Open the Door, popped up on Netgalley, I knew I had to have it!

Here we go.....

I'm not a fan of series. We all know that I have the attention span of a gerbil and commitment issues comparable to George Clooney BUT I made an exception when it came to The Regan Merritt, series.

I love Regan Merritt, I was first introduced to Regan in The Sorority Murders, and to see her story continue into this second installment I knew without even beginning that this would be a five star book, and I was not wrong.

So lets just get that part out of the way, Don't Open the Door, is without a doubt, a five star read.

Now, back to the good stuff...

I will first start out by warning you, I doubt you will be able to sleep with the lights off after concluding. I know I sure wont be. The twists just kept on coming. The "jaw dropping" moments happened so often I barely had a chance to pull my jaw off the floor from the one before. The conclusion? There is no way you could even anticipate this ending! This book will gut punch you over and over again.

If you thought The Sorority Murders was good (and it is!!!) you need to run on over to your favorite bookstore and pre-order Don't Open the Door. If you have not read an Allison Brennan, novel ...... what are you waiting for?

This was my first book to read by this author but won't be my last. This story will keep you on the edge of your seat the entire time. Highly recommend this one!

How do you recover from the death of a child and when you believe it's your fault.

Regan for the past 9 months has been trying to get her life back together after the shooting that killed her son. Her marriage crumbled, she retired from the Marshal's office and moved to be with her father in Arizona. During this time, she has been avoiding facing the death of her son, until she gets a voice message from her ex co-worker and friend Tommy. A message that claimed that he knew who had her son killed. A few hours later, Tommy is murdered at his home. She now has to face the murder of her son, her ex husband, and what Tommy had found.

Allison Brennan always leaves her readers wanting more. It is like peeling an onion only to find another layer of intrigue and what lengths a power driven machine will go. It involves corporate greed, politics and the love of a mother. Each layer reveals more Regan's fortitude and her relationship with her ex. Regan's character is black and white but she has vulnerability and loyalty that I find what I love in a thriller.

A special thank you to Harlequin Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

I started ‘Don’t Open the Door’ and got about 2 to 3 pages in and stopped – I just felt like I might have been missing something so I went back and read ‘The Sorority Murders’ first, which was already on my TBR list.
‘The Sorority Murders’ provided a little bit of background, but I really wouldn’t have missed much if I just continued on with ‘Don’t Open the Door’.
Plot was well thought out, characters were likeable. Regan Merrit will definitely be one of my ‘automatic read’ series. After all the tragedy she faced in this book it will be nice to see how she starts to over come in it subsequent books.
This book was suspenseful and provided good closure to this part of Regan’s story.

I didn't care for this story as much as I did previous. It seemed it was a bit confusing in its narrative.
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this arc

Suspenseful and jaw dropping! Starts off with a bang!
This is wonderfully written and tugs on your heart strings while instilling serious suspense and terror.
A deep dive into corruption and uncertainty. No one is who you think they are and nothing is as it seems, this one keeps you guessing. Full of breakneck speed twists and turns to an amazing finale.
Wonderful characters!
A+

Have read every single one of Allison Brennan's books. I always have to carve out time as I know it will be un put down able and this one didnt disappoint. Thanks for the advance read

I enjoy this new series by one of my automatic to read authors. This is the 2nd book in the series about former United States Marshall, Regan Merritt. You don’t need to read the 1st book in the series to know the basis of the series, but I would suggest you do, just because it is that good! Regan is on the search for answers as to who killed her son months before, and the why.. The answers are not easily forthcoming but they do come. I was riveted to the ending, knowing that the answers would help alleviate some of her misgivings, wondering if her job really was the catalyst for his death. You will not be disappointed!

This was an average read. This was also my first experience with this author. I liked the premise of the book, and enjoyed the mystery of why the son was killed. I will say I felt that the book was too long, it felt like at a certain point, the book was just dragging on. I also disliked the multiple point-of-views. I think the book would've been better if told from one POV. Overall, I enjoyed the book and am appreciative that I received this ARC copy.

Don’t Open The Door is a tangled web of deception, grief and lies. When US Marshall, Tommy, dies while doing an unauthorized investigation into the death of his former partners child, the FBI quickly jumps to conclusions about what happened. However, his former partner, Regan knew there had to be more to the story. How was her sons death connected to the death of her former partner? Was this all really her fault?

I have read a few from this author and honestly none of them completely encapsulated me in grabbing my attention. I did not read the first book to this series tho I didn’t feel completely lost I was able to follow along. I think it would have been a great advantage to have read it. It did have a nice small twist at the end that was a plus in my eyes! It’s a very well described story and a good true crime and justice.

I'm not too sure how to feel about this one. I was SO confused when I first started reading it and I was getting the characters mixed up. The confusion lasted for quite a while, but then I got into the hang of it. I thought there was a good amount of suspense in the book, but not as much as I'd normally want.

The character were subpar and they didn't really stick out to me. I liked the main character, Reagan, but other than her, I felt little to nothing about the others.