Nancy Mehl: Free Fall

 By Kelly Bridgewater

Someone has been abducting women with long dark hair across Virginia. When the FBI is called in to help, Alex Donovan, a behavioral analyst, is tasked with putting together a profile. She's aided by her friend and colleague Logan Hart, but he has been acting strangely and won't say why. When the kidnapper demands that Alex meet him at an abandoned amusement park in exchange for the location of all his captives, she takes the bait. But the meeting proves to be a trap, and the building she's in explodes.

 

Finding herself imprisoned with several other women, Alex works to think one step ahead of her captor. But the more Logan and the BAU learn about the kidnapper, the more they fear Alex may not make it out alive this time.

 

My Thoughts:

Free Fall by Nancy Mehl is a captivating story of the carnival craziness that fears into a huge chunk of the majorities’ psyche. The plot was well-written. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading about the Behavioral Analysis unit in this series. I hope that Mehl crafts more stories along these two series that have spoken to my suspense loving mind. The plot features more of the romance between Alex and Logan. While the romance has been building since the first novel, Night Fall, it finally comes to reality in this book, but not without its struggles. Once again, Alex is captured by the bad guy and pushed to the edge. She must rely on her training and skills to help save a number of the women who have been captured before her. One of my favorite aspects of a serial killer is the ability to empathize with the killer. I NEED to be able to completely agree and understand their reasoning for doing what they do. Mehl does a wonderful job in the opening chapter with showing why the killer captures these women and does what he does. Overall, Free Fall by Nancy Mehl is a suspenseful novel that dives into the psyche of a killer who wants revenge. Nicely managed and delivered. If anyone is a fan of suspense novels and the television series Criminal Minds, then I recommend picking up this series. Less visual than the television series. Cleaner but with the same result.

I received a complimentary copy Free Fall by Nancy Mehl from Bethany House Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating:  4.5 out of 5 stars

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Nancy Mehl: Dead Fall

 By Kelly Bridgewater

He has a deadly endgame in mind--and he's already chosen each victim . . . including her.

After putting to rest the most personal case of her career, Alex Donovan is ready to move on and focus on her future at the FBI's elite Behavioral Analysis Unit. When the BAU cofounder is discovered dead in his hotel room, the FBI is called in to work on the strangest case they've ever faced. How do you find a killer who murders his victims from a distance?

When it becomes clear that the killer is targeting agents in Alex's unit, they are ordered into lockdown, sheltered in the dorms at Quantico. Alex bunks with controversial agent Kaely Quinn, and as they work together, Alex discovers in Kaely the role model she's never had--despite being warned away. 

As Alex questions the type of agent she wants to become, things get personal when the brilliant killer strikes close to home. Now Alex will do anything to find the killer--even at the risk of her own life.

 

My Thoughts:

Dead Fall by Nancy Mehl is a twist of Criminal Minds with a taste of romance. I enjoy a good suspense novel that dives deep into the killer's perspective or mind. CSI is one of my favorite series about solving the mysteries because I loved watching the science and the evidence lead toward a captured killer or bad guy. With Dead Fall, Mehl is pretty much doing the same thing with a novel format. Alex, the heroine, was in the first novel, so she is a returning character.  The hunt for the clues to solve the mystery lead the story along. The characters acting and reacting to the different elements that kept the story moving along. The mindset of the Behavior Analyists kept me glued to the story. There was a touch of romance, but too much. Maybe something for later. Overall, Dead Fall by Nancy Mehl is definitely a book that I want to add to my bookshelf. If readers enjoy CSI, Criminal Minds, or these type of stories, then I would suggest picking up this novel.

I received a complimentary copy of Dead Fall by Nancy Mehl from Bethany House Publishers, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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Nancy Mehl: Night Fall

 By Kelly Bridgewater

Now that Alexandra "Alex" Donovan is finally free of her troubled upbringing, she's able to live out her childhood dream of working for the FBI. But soon after she becomes a member of the FBI's elite Behavioral Analysis Unit, authorities in Kansas and Missouri contact them about bodies found on freight trains traveling across the country--all killed in the same way.

Alex never expected to be forced to confront her past in this new job, but she immediately recognizes the graffiti messages the killer is leaving on the train cars. When the BAU sends her to gather information about the messages from her aunt in Wichita, Kansas, Alex is haunted by the struggles she thought she'd left behind forever.

In a race against time to solve the case while battling her own weaknesses, Alex must face how far she'll go--and what she's willing to risk--to put a stop to the Train Killer.

 

 

My Thoughts:

Night Fall by Nancy Mehl begins with a suspense moment, then readers are thrown in the action as the officer, Alex, a behavioral analyst has to find the serial killer before it is too late. The suspense centers around The Book, a book filled with lies stating that all humans are either angels or demons. The killer believes he is the one to set the final battle in place, but he has to make five sacrifices before coming to the final sacrifice before releasing the battle. The suspense was top notch. I love stories that feature a hunt for a serial killer. However, with the plot in this story, I had one issue. I did not like knowing who the killer was. His name and viewpoints were announced pretty early on in the book. I would have liked it to be a mystery. More pronouns instead of showing us who the person was. It would have made a little more of a mystery. Instead it was a hunt to find the person. I’m surprised they did not find him earlier. They knew who he was. Yes, Mehl does try to explain why they could not capture him before time, but it just felt like a cheap trick. On the other hand, my favorite part of the novel is the spiritual journey for Alex. I enjoy how Mehl made her doubt any faith, which is understandable as readers dive into the story. The spiritual journey reads true, and I can’t wait to see the end result. Overall, Night Fall by Nancy Mehl is hunt for a serial killer novel with plenty of suspense and hunting for justice. Fans of DiAnn Mills and Colleen Coble might enjoy this novel too.

I received a complimentary copy of Night Fall by Nancy Mehl from Bethany House Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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