Welcome to Burning Cove, California where 1930s Hollywood glamour conceals a ruthless killer…

Vivian Brazier never thought life as an art photographer would include nightly wake-up calls to snap photos of grisly crime scenes or headshots for aspiring male actors. Although she is set on a career of transforming photography into a new art form, she knows her current work is what’s paying the bills.

After shooting crime scene photos of a famous actress, the latest victim of the murderer the press has dubbed the “Dagger Killer,” Vivian notices eerie similarities to the crime scenes of previous victims—details that only another photographer would have noticed—details that put Vivian at the top of the killer’s target list.

Nick Sundridge has always been able to “see” things that others don’t, coping with disturbing dreams and visions. His talent, or as he puts it—his curse—along with his dark past makes him a recluse, but a brilliant investigator. As the only one with the ability to help, Nick is sent to protect Vivian. Together, they discover the Dagger Killer has ties to the glitz and glamour of Hollywood royalty and high society. It is a cutthroat world of allure and deception that Vivian and Nick must traverse—all in order to uncover the killer who will stop at nothing to add them to their gallery of murders.

My rating:  3.75 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. I read this book as part of Bout of Books 28!

It’s been awhile since I’ve read an Amanda Quick book, but this one was a great one to pick back up on! The author did an awesome job of transporting the reader right into Old Hollywood. I felt like I was on the scene of one of those noir films, everything classic drama and black and white. And while that was one of my favorite parts of the novel, overall I can’t say that this book was one of my favorites. It was good and I loved the atmosphere and ambience that the author infused into the novel. But I thought the pacing could’ve been improved a bit, it felt a tad slow to me. And there wasn’t all that much chemistry between Nick and Vivian, nor was there all that much tension through the suspenseful parts of the story. There was enough of it to keep the story interesting but there wasn’t enough to really keep me on the edge of my seat. I still really enjoyed the novel and the world it transported me into and I would recommend it, especially if you love old noir films!

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