I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I grabbed Till Death, but JLA is usually a 1 click author for me! Till Death is a stand alone romantic suspense about a girl who was nearly killed by a serial killer known as the Groom. The story starts 10 years after she managed to be the only living survivor of the killer. She has come back to her hometown in West Virginia and is trying to reclaim her life and her dreams.
Sacha is a very interesting character. She was raped and beaten while held captive by the killer and she is the only survivor. As soon as she healed from her wounds, she packed up and moved away to try and escape the constant reminders. For 10 years she never came back to WV. But, her dream has always been to run her family's Inn. She is determined to get her dreams back. She also left behind Cole, her boyfriend at the time of the abduction. He is still in town as well and comes running as soon as he hears she has returned. Cole is super swoon worthy! He is probably my favorite thing about this story!
So, once Sacha moves home, strange things begin to happen to her, and other women are abducted. The new killer follows the Groom's pattern. There are several red herrings to try and keep you guessing as to who the killer is and there is no shortage of suspicious people! There is the coach at the high school, the really rude mayor, and more. Honestly though, I found the identity of the killer to be VERY obvious. I guessed it quite early on. So, while that wasn't the suspense that kept me reading, I did still wonder if the killer would get to Sacha and if she would survive. There is a little bit of totally unnecessary relationship drama thrown in at one point that just pissed me off. It was just sort of like "Oh hey, here is this big thing I have been keep from you even though I know you are not sure about our relationship as it is". Totally just added drama when they didn't need to be any.
Overall the story was engaging! I was sucked in because I wanted to see how it all played out! Even though I guessed the identity of the killer early on, there are still lots of questions that had to be answered and that suspense and tension kept me reading/listening!
The audio is great. Its narrated by a female and she doesn't 'over do' the male voices. She was easy to listen to and didn't distract me from the story! Thats the best kind of narrator!
- POV: 1st (Sasha)
- Tears: no
- Trope: mortal peril, second chance romance
- Triggers: Sacha's time with the Groom is mentioned in flashbacks; she is raped and beaten
- Series/Standalone: stand alone
- Cliffhanger: no
- HEA: yes with a nice epilogue
Saving Mercy by Abbie Roads, 72 hours by Bella Jewel, After Dark by Cynthia Eden...then you will probably like Till Death!
See full review on The Book Disciple