Great story! I loved this book. It drew me in from the beginning and it kept me reading through to the end. It was raw, beautiful, dark, and suspenseful. I waited for someone to catch on to Andre in every chapter.

Andre, dark, empty, alone, cold and deadly. A man who believes he is damned to hell and has no one who cares about him and he has nothing to live for. The man who does what he is told by jefe without question. He’s worked his way through the ranks of Paulo Garcia’s drug cartel and he is very dangerous. He is waiting for the day when he can get out of Paulo’s grip and try to live a normal life. He’s empty, until he meets Nicole Harris. He lives in the compound and has to put up with Paulo’s other henchmen, Jose, Diego, and Marco.

Nicole Harris, a woman who is trying to save her little brother from being killed. He owes Paulo money for drugs and is beat up and ends up in the hospital. Nicole, Nicky, thinks she can save him and shows up at Paulo’s house to pay off her brothers debt. Unfortunaley for her, she has no idea what she has just gotten herself into. She’s mouthy, feisty, and small, but she is also very protective of her little brother. They are all each other has left since her parents died in a car accident several years earlier. She also has no idea that she is short by $5000 for the dept owed by her brother. Paulo decides to keep her to take the rest of the money out of her body.

If you like a story that draws you in and has a dark side, then you should read this book. I give it 4.5 stars. I look forward to reading more books by Jennifer Bene.

Rafeal DeMarco, retired FBI Agent and secret spy on the ORUS team, now works with his brother in-law Noah as a special Security team. The group takes on all kinds of cases, all the team members are ex-agents of some sort, and they are from all over the globe. This team will fight together and they will fight for each other, even if there are some bad feelings still from a previous situation where Rafe tried to kill a few of the guys.

Diana Vandergraff, a young woman who comes from a very nasty family, but has no idea how bad they were or are, until she gets ahold of Rafe’s files and sees the information he has on her father and brothers. Now she has to try to figure out a way to stay alive and away from her brothers so that she can have the life she wants with Rafe. The team sets up a trap to get her brothers and she wants to be the bait. Rafe isn’t happy with it, but she is determined to end the hiding. She is also hoping to get the one thing she has of her mother back into her hands. The Jewel of the Sea, a large stone that had been handed down from mother to daughter on the daughters wedding day. It’s work millions of dollars, but Diana only wants it back because it is the last thing she has from her mother.

Great ending to a wonderful story. The characters in this story are so raw and powerful. Rafe and Diana were made for each other and their chemistry makes the story that more great to read. I love that Diana doesn’t take any crap and yet, she knows that Rafe will protect her at all cost to keep her safe and alive. She may look like a damsel in distress, but looks can be deceiving.

If you like a story about a strong heroine, who will put her life on the line for her hero and a hero who finds his match in life, then you really need to read the Deep Duet. I give both of these books a 5 star review, and I look forward to reading more about the lives of the team members.

Another great book by Chris Collett. Another great story about DCI Tom Mariner. This story was a bit more personal for DCI Mariner, and it showed his vulnerable side. However, it also showed his ability as a great detective too.

DCI Mariner and his girlfriend Ann are getting more serious in their relationship. It’s almost Christmas and they are headed to a Christmas pageant with members of the Police department where Mariner works. Anna wants to do a little more shopping before heading over, so she and Tom send Knox and his new girlfriend, Selina ahead and will meet them there. Just before they get to the church there is an explosion in the church and they are blasted backwards. They are the lucky ones, they are able to get up and move around. Tom goes into the see what he can do to help those who were not as lucky. It’s a devastating site when he gets in the church and it is not something he can get over quickly or easily.

Aside from this case where Mariner is trying to find out what happened and why, he is contacted by an old friend from another precinct who is working a murder case in the London area. A high-profile couple, Geoff and Diana Ryland, are killed in their limousine and their driver, James O’Connor, is found dead outside the car. The man inside the car worked for the Judicial Review Commission, the JRC. Mariner’s friend, Dave Flynn contacted him to give him some photos that were found in Mr. Ryland’s home when it was searched for clues as to who might have killed them. Most of the photos are of Tom Mariner as a young boy. Tom Mariner was raised by his mother and never knew his father, he had been wanting to know who his father was for years. Now he knows. The trouble is that it can get him killed, and almost does.

This story had a lot of twists and surprises. I love DCI Mariner and his tenacity when trying to solve a case. He doesn’t give up easily. This book left me with a few more questions than answers though, and I hope that the next book answers those questions.

This was my first book in the Genoa Mafia Series and my first book by Ginger Ring. It will not be my last though. I enjoyed this story and I love Valentina and her need for independence and distance from her family life.

Valentina Caponelli is a strong willed woman who is kind, sweet, and in love with a man that contradicts her family’s line of work. Her father is a Don in the mafia and is very protective of his daughter. She has passed the bar exam and is now a lawyer. Her father paid for her to go to law school and become an lawyer so that she could work for the “family”. The problem is that she doesn’t want to just work for the “family”, she wants to open her own law office and help people who needed her, and she wanted to work on the right side of the law. She moves to Lake Genoa, Wisconsin to open her office and continue to run her restaurant. She will still be near family, her brother Ramon and his wife Madison live there, so she won’t be alone.

Officer Ryan Donovan, a police officer in Lake Genoa. Orphaned as a child, he found himself in trouble quite often until his Uncle told him he needed to settle down and take the right path in life. He’s know Valentina since he was a sophomore in high school and has wanted her since then too. When Valentina moves to Lake Genoa, Ryan finally finds his chance to get to know her and make those wishes of having her as his come true. He doesn’t care who her father is or what her brother thinks, he only cares about her. He feels that he has to get Valentina’s fathers approval to marry her and he knows that it won’t be easy, but he will do anything have Valentina in his life forever.

These are meant to be together and it becomes pretty clear early on that they were made for each other. Even Valentina’s family can see it and she doesn’t face too much trouble when their relationship starts.

If you like stories about mafia men, strong women, mafia princesses, and kind hearted men who will do anything for the woman that they love, then you will want to read this book. There are some very dangerous men in this book, but there are also some very strong and dangerous women as well. This was a great read and I look forward to reading more of this series, and going back to read Ramon and Madison’s stories as well.