If I Should Die (with bonus novella Love Is Murder): A Novel of Suspense (Lucy Kincaid Novels Book 3)

Yes this one was a page turner. Sean and Lucy..WOW...Awesome outcome. There was so many twist and turns. Holding you breath kind of stuff.

Book 3 in the Lucy Kincaid series finds Lucy and Sean away on a "sort of" vacation. They're trying to help friends figure out who is vandalizing their new resort and preventing it from opening on schedule. What starts out as a vandalizing case which leads them to a 17 year boy that started the fire at the resort, opens up all kinds of secrets that the small town of Spruce Lake has been hiding for years. There are plenty of reasons that people don't want the resort to open on schedule, a resort that would bring, hopefully, many tourists into this small struggling town. But along with an increase in people, brings more eyes into this town to potentially catch on to all the dealings that have been going on that involve quite a few players, and that's what made the suspense portion of this book very interesting to me, and set it apart from the first 2 books in the series.We get the POV of the worst of the enemies in this story. We know from the start that the bad "guy" is really a bad woman, a psychotic woman, as we're able to get inside her head and her thoughts for most of the story until we actually meet her on page. What I enjoyed most about the suspense storyline was that involved the town, literally. Everyone looks guilty of something at some point and it takes a lot of twists and turns to finally find where the line is drawn and see who ends up on the right side of the law, or the bad side. There are a few people who want to stop all the craziness in their town, and are driven by vengeance. Not only do Lucy and Sean need to connect all the clues, that start when Lucy finds a body in one of the abandoned mines outside town, but they have to figure out who they can trust, how the past is impacting current events and how they're supposed to stop a crazy woman.Lucy and Sean have to call in Noah (who I hope gets his own series told one day), Lucy's brother Patrick, along with other government agencies, as a lot of hands end up being in the pot due to everything that's been going on in Spruce Lake. Drugs, money, fire arms, murders, it impacts everyone there in some way and Lucy and Sean find themselves right in the middle of it, in no time.**********...Lucy saw her real fears, the ones she kept buried, in their full light; Loss, loneliness, and helplessness.She had been so alone, even with her family surrounding her, until Sean walked into her life and taught her how to live and laugh. She was no longer lonely, in the deep, weary existence she'd had for years.Love was a risk. Sean made it look so easy when he told her I love you. Yet when she looked at him, he was waiting. He was scared she didn't love him back, no matter how confident he was that she did. He needed her to admit it, because he knew she wouldn't lie.**********Lucy and Sean's relationship draws me into each of their books. Sean is the first man that Lucy's been able to let in and get close to since her attack years ago, and Sean doesn't take that lightly. He loves Lucy with all his heart, tells her often and Lucy really struggles with expressing her emotions. There were a few times I wanted to shake her, to get her to just say the three little words that would have meant the world to Sean, but while she does love him, it just scares her. It disappoints Sean, each time she stumbles over the words, but ultimately he loves her and he will wait for as long as it takes to hear her finally say them.Noah plays a very strong role in the story, and it was important for Sean to work through his own feelings when it came to Noah and Lucy working together. There's nothing between Noah and Lucy, but it showed a small insecurity for Sean, and having Noah around and being forced to work with him to bring down the enemy was essential and Sean's able to come to terms with the place Noah has in Lucy's life. Like I mentioned above, Noah is a secretive guy, Lucy even says as much when she thinks about how much Noah knows about her, but in return, she knows absolutely nothing about him. There's some hinting that Noah had a past relationship that didn't work out because of his job and his commitment to working for something that he strongly believes in, and I really hope we get his full story after Sean and Lucy's series comes to an end.I really loved the mix of the emotional relationship between Sean and Lucy and the intricate suspense plot that has a lot of players, a lot of people to keep straight, who's related to who, who is or was friends, and who needs to watch their back. This is a really nice edition the Lucy Kincaid series and I'm glad it'll be extended for another three books. A great read for all fans of romantic suspense.Blog Rating: 4/5 stars

Some people just aren't cut out for vacations. This third book in the Lucy Kincaid series is my 16th Allison Brennan novel. Wow! It doesn't even feel like that many! "If I Die" is an action-packed suspenseful novel with lots of nail-biting moments. There are a lot of characters in this book and it keeps you on your toes wondering who are the good guys and who the bad guys are. Allison Brennan is always great about writing a smart plot that isn't too predictable and always has a few surprises. Her knowledge of the criminal mind is on point (and kinda scary). :)I'm loving getting to go along for the ride as we watch Lucy grow and develop, emotionally and career-wise. My husband bought me the next 3 Lucy Kincaid books as a present - Best. Present. Ever.

I Love Sean and Lucy!!A vacation is what they decided that they had needed most after their last escapade. They Decided to go Spruce Lake and enjoy the peace and quiet. Sean knew the guys who were trying to open up a new cabin resort and they had asked him to come look at their property and discuss security at the lodge. They had had a few problems with vandalism.Now as they wake in the morning discussing going hiking after breakfast they smell smoke. The lodge was on fire. Sean hears an ATV revving up to leave and he goes after him while Lucy goes to help with the fire.And so begins the story of a new murder mystery! Very exciting!

I've read several allison Brennan novels. This is another Lucy Kincaid series. Brennan weaves previous story lines into each, just a bit, so if you read out of order, you can still follow along. I do recommend reading in order, though, as she goe into depth with character development, and you'll be confused if. You read out of order. I'm giving it a 4, which means very good, to me. I give 5's to books that blow me away. It's really good, and I'll continue to read the others in this series. Definitely worth reading!!

Ms. Brennan writes books in threes. What makes it nice for the reader is that you really don't have to read them in order. Of course, I do. She really has written a series that has unforgettable characters. Lucy Kincaid is flawed, but her past horrible experience makes her such a strong character in the present. She found a soul mate with someone who is also flawed, but their love for each other makes each book better and better. Good characterization. Interesting plots...

Another enjoyable evening reading Brennans twists and turns. I like the fact that the plot twists well but doesnt leave you paging back thinking you missed something. This author is always very good at leaving a little something undone at the end to merge forth into the next story. There are at least a half dozen characters in this book that you would like to see a resolution for be it good or bad, even possibly picking up a story down the road with a juvenile character as he ages. Looking forward to whats next.

The language in the book is not to my taste. When I grew up people didn't use "gutter" words and swear as much as seems to be accepted today. The more it is used in literature the more acceptable it will be.

This book is pulse-ratcheting romantic suspense from Allison Brennan. It delivers intense action, multifaceted characters and a truly creepy bad guy.

I can't praise the Lucy Kincaid novels enough. I won't rehash the story here as there are synopsis already. I would highly recommend these novels to anyone. Enough action that there is always something going on, and everything feels very relevant to the story. No long sections of useless information or monologues that I had to trawl through as other novels have been guilty of.The characters are believable and developed enough that they have real depth and you feel for them every step of the way. Plenty of romance to keep Lucy and Sean's relationship interesting and give the reader their romance fix.Plus, the story unfolds gradually throughout the book. The reader puts pieces together as the characters make revelations. It's not simple to put the finger on who did it straight away, even though we hear from the perpetrators early on.Take your time, give it your full attention and let the story draw you in. Recommended.

boring!