Face Off (Evelyn Talbot Chronicles, #3)

by Brenda Novak

This is SILENCE OF THE LAMBS meets Karen Rose...

New York Times bestseller Brenda Novak's third novel in the Evelyn Talbot series sees the return of psychiatrist Dr Evelyn Talbot in her purpose-built facility housing America's most terrifying psychopaths.

Over twenty years ago, Dr Evelyn Talbot was scarred for life when her teenage boyfriend Jasper Moore tortured her and left her for dead. And she fears one day he will return to finish what he started.

Evelyn has tried to move forward and turned her trauma into her life's work. As a leading psychiatrist at Hanover House in remote Alaska, she is confronted with psychopaths and danger every day. She delves deep into their minds, despite the horrors that hide there, trying to figure out why they do what they do.

When a woman goes missing from a nearby cabin, Evelyn immediately believes one of the Hanover House killers might be involved. But something about the case brings familiar and terrifying memories back to haunt her. She fears the truth may be closer, and darker, than she first imagined.

Look for the other gripping novels in the Evelyn Talbot series - Her Darkest Nightmare, Hello Again and the prequel novella, Hanover House, available now.

• ISBN10: 1472241010
• ISBN13: 9781472241016
• Publish Date: 29 November 2018 (first published 28 August 2018)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Headline Publishing Group
• Imprint: Headline Eternal
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[Nadz@Totally Addicted to Reading]

Face Off by Brenda Novak is the third book in the Evelyn Talbot Chronicles. I have been following this series from the beginning and I found this installment to be most exciting and intense of them all. This was the point where a notorious serial killer has his most desirable prey in his grasp. The one victim who managed to escape twenty-two years ago. He just needs to find the right moment to make his move where we would have the ultimate showdown between hunter and prey.

Evelyn Talbot was focused on her work at Hanover House and her relationship with Amorok, but she was not settled. Anxiety plagued her as she waited for the day when the terror from her past, Jasper Moore, will catch up to her. What she did not know was the terror was closer than she could imagine. Hiding in plain sight, Jasper has managed to infiltrate Evelyn and Amarok's life without their knowledge.

From the beginning, I found Evelyn to be an inspiring character. I admired her strength and determination. To have experience such a traumatic event at the hands of a psychopath but was willing to work with such persons on a daily basis to learn what made them tick.

I loved how patient Amorak has been with Evelyn. Their relationship has grown, however, uncertainties and family drama on Evelyn's part had the potential to derail it. These two could not get a break.

Jasper was the focus of this story. I got a glimpse of his personality in the previous installment, however in Face Off I had the chance to delve deeper into his mind. Narcisstic and sociopathic to the core, you cannot help but fear for everyone he encounters..

There was a lot happening in this installment to keep everyone on their toes. A tourist has gone missing, a mystery Amarok has to solve. Then there was his ex who would do anything to rekindle their relationship and Evelyn’s sister who had her own share of drama came for a visit. This visit led to Evelyn making a major decision, which would likely affect both her personal and professional life.

Conclusion/Recommendation
I loved how nicely Jasper's story ended and Evelyn and Amarok can finally enjoy their relationship to the fullest.

I enjoyed the series, and I would recommend it to fans of romantic suspense.

Narration
I enjoyed the narration by Therese Plummer. This isn't my first time listening to her narration. She did an excellent job with a great cast of characters. The way she portrayed each one was on point.

[Linda]

This review was originally posted on (un)Conventional Bookworms
*I received a free copy of [title] from [publisher] via Author. This has in no way influenced my voluntary review, which is honest and unbiased *Face Off was a good story, but I have to admit I’m starting to think Evelyn will never ever find any peace. And it took quite a bit of suspension of disbelief to get that she could go through so much and still be sane.



I really enjoy Evelyn and her thoughts on what makes a psychopath a dangerous person. However, in Face Off, I just started to feel a bit tired because Evelyn can never catch a break! She never had a moment of peace, between her one-time boyfriend from her youth, and Amarok's ex who was trying to get to Amarok any way she could.

The overall story in Face Off was very exciting, especially because I as the reader knew who was after Evelyn now. And we got glimpses into his thoughts and how he was planning to recapture her. Face Off really did make it so he had to show his face in the end - and there was a show down in a way. But that also felt a little rushed to me.

The secondary mystery was good, even if the readers knew who was behind the murders, seeing how Amarok worked to find him was very well done. All in all, I enjoy this series, even if Face Off made me want some kind of relief for Evelyn.

Of course, Novak knows how to do romance, and I really enjoyed all the interactions between Evelyn and Amarok, especially as Evelyn trusted both herself and him more and more as time went by.