Author: CR Hiatt
Publisher: AMB Publishing
Publisher: AMB Publishing
Publication date: March 30, 2012
# Of Pages: 351 ebook
How I got the copy: From the author in exchange for an honest review and a spot on her blog tour!
From Amazon.com
A prominent P.I. is gunned down - killed by a sniper - and it’s broadcasted on live TV.
Now, her daughter, along with her childhood pal, are thrust into a complex and riveting thriller forced to take on a secret club whose members call themselves The Privileged Ones.
Murder. Teen abductions and illegal underground parties.
They’re chased by men in ski-masks, nearly gunned down by members of a cartel, and the only way to bring down this criminal enterprise; is to crash a Mardi Gras bash and stop their private cruise ship from sailing off into the sunset.
“Their lives are in the hands of two 18 year-olds…”
Now, her daughter, along with her childhood pal, are thrust into a complex and riveting thriller forced to take on a secret club whose members call themselves The Privileged Ones.
Murder. Teen abductions and illegal underground parties.
They’re chased by men in ski-masks, nearly gunned down by members of a cartel, and the only way to bring down this criminal enterprise; is to crash a Mardi Gras bash and stop their private cruise ship from sailing off into the sunset.
“Their lives are in the hands of two 18 year-olds…”
þ Thrilling action from page one.
þ A kick ass main character.
þ Many complex mysteries tied together to be solved by the reader.
I'll be honest, the main reason I decided to give this book a try was because the cover reminded me of the types of movies that I like to watch. Movies like The Bourne Identity, Wanted, Taken, all movies where there is some mystery and the main character has to be stealthy and solve the puzzle with out getting shot by the bad guys. The first few chapters I was worried that it wasn't going to be like those movies at all. In the first few chapters we're introduced to Sydney and her friends Cody and Jaden. She seems like any other teenage tomboy. But it wasn't until she was starting to solve the case that I really began to get interested.
I was also kind of confused for the first few chapters. Not confused enough to dislike the book, but I just wished that all the subplots were connected more early on. Here are all the things the reader is trying to figure out in the first half of the book.
1. How come every few chapters are about a teenager being stalked and kidnapped?
2. Do Cody and Sydney have feelings for each other?
3. Who is Sydney's dad?
3. Who is Sydney's dad?
4. Who is the guy Sydney is paid to spy on and what is he up to?
5. Who killed her mom?
6. Why was her mom helping that girl?
7. Why does the one cop give her the creeps?
8. What is that rich family up to?
And the list goes on. While it was hard to keep everything straight, it also made it impossible for me to stop reading because I needed to know all the answers!
The second all the answers started to come out and plot points started to connect together I was so excited. It was pretty genius and very much like those movies that I mentioned earlier. I was holding my breath hoping Sydney and Cody would make it out of their missions alive.
The writing was so suspenseful and a perfect combo of dialogue and action. Sometimes books of this genre are only action and the characters don't develop a lot or they only have inner dialogue. It was kind of weird that sometimes it was written as a story and other times it was like the narrator was talking to the reader.
I loved Sydney's character. She's a tomboy and hangs out with two guys all the time. Reminds me of my senior year of high school. I was not a tomboy at all, but I had mostly guy friends. It was fun to see their relationships and how I was able to relate. Also I loved that romance was not the main focus of this book. And there was no insta-love or love triangles.
I finished the last page of the book and was frantically looking for more pages. I couldn't believe that it was over with a few important questions unanswered. I think the author is writing a sequel called Fireworks on the 4th . I can't wait to read it! Overall, if you're into action packed books or movies this is definitely something I'd recommend.
Guest Post
Interview
CR HIATT is a writer of screenplays and an author of YA action-mystery novels.
The daughter of a military veteran, CR grew up in a small town where she
became an All-American athlete. CR knew early on that she wasn't cut out for
the nine to five type of job - her tendency to day dream about adventures often
got in the way. But, being the daughter of a Navy Veteran she also knew one had
to do what was necessary to be secure, so she disciplined herself to push those
dreams aside and settled on working in the entertainment legal field. When those
dreams invaded her world once again, CR finally gave in and set out to write
her own adventures. What the heck, right. If you can't live 'em, you might as well
write about them.
The journey started after CR interviewed big city detectives about their lives on
the job; then talked with some of their victims. That resulted in her first YA series:
McSwain & Beck. The novels are works of fiction, only based on real life events,
but you can't help but wonder while reading the books which parts are true.
When CR isn't writing, she enjoys renovating houses, spending time outdoors,
catching up on her favorite books and TV shows (dedicated fan of NCIS,
Justified, Southland, Blue Bloods, Person of Interest, and Big Bang Theory) and
most importantly, spending time at the campfires with her family and friends.
Author Links:
I thought of calling out her name, but my instincts were saying to keep quiet. It took my eyes a couple seconds to adjust to the darkness. In the meantime, I had to rely on my senses and they were working overtime. The noise from the cars on the streets drowned out the sounds, but I could feel the presence of someone nearby. If it was Tamara, she wasn't letting me know. I took two more steps. POP-POP Gunshots! What the hell! I froze in my tracks and dropped to the ground. I had an instant feeling of deja-vu - the same thing happened the day my mother was killed. POP-POP.
-Gone at Zero Hundred
