If You Hear Her: A Novel of Romantic Suspense: 1 (Ash Trilogy)

It was a gorgeous day as Lena Riddle walked her retriever Puck along their normal path through the woods. The weather was perfect, the company perfect, and Lena was enjoying herself as much as her dog. Then she heard...something. It was faint, like a soft grunting, and it raised the hair on the back of Lena's neck even as Puck started to balk at continuing along their path. He'd never done that before.As eerie as that experience was, it was one that eventually faded from her mind as time passed. It was an inexplicable one-off, freaky but largely forgettable. Then one night a woman's scream shattered the stillness with panicked desperation and ripped Lena from a dream.Ezra King is a cop on leave, staying in his grandmother's house in the small town of Ash to heal from his wounds and a tragedy that still haunts him. Meeting Lena definitely draws his attention away from his own problems. She is beautiful and compelling...and way more than he can handle, but that doesn't stop him from wanting to try. From wanting her.When their paths cross again at the police station, he overhears her statement about the screams that had woken her the night before. It's clear to him that the cops aren't convinced she heard what she claims to have heard, as if her blindness somehow precludes her from being a reliable witness. They thought she imagined it, or had been dreaming.Ezra isn't so sure. His cop senses are tingling. But Ash isn't a big city where violent crime is as prevalent as it is tragic, it's a nice little town where nothing ever happens and everyone knows everyone else. Where a blind woman has taken his breath away and left him shaken.Could it also be a place where something very, very bad happened to some poor, unknown woman? And if so, the person responsible may not like Lena having been witness to it. He may not like it at all. That's not a risk Ezra's willing to take.~*~I loved this series debut by Walker. It had all the elements that make a Romantic Suspense one of my favorite genres. The main characters were complex and well-defined, and their chemistry simmered and smoked on the page. The storyline balanced their romance and the threads of suspense in such a way that both plot elements were fully rounded out and meaty. It's a delicate balance, and one that many in the genre don't quite manage.Walker does flawed and/or damaged characters particularly well, and that was in evidence here with Ezra, who has the full travel set of emotional baggage dragging along with him everywhere he goes. His physical and emotional wounds help flesh out his character and explain a lot about who he is as a man and a cop. He's not perfect by any means, nor does he fall victim to that too-good-to-be-true pitfall, but his faults and moments of darkness emphasize his struggle to rise above his issues for Lena's sake and safety. I loved him a lot.And Lena is everything I adore in a romantic heroine. Strong and independent, intelligent, with a bit of a bite to her personality when warranted, she appealed to me on every level. Her blindness is a challenge she meets and beats daily, and there's not an ounce of self-pity or weakness in her even as she works around the few limitations she has. I loved her attitude.I also appreciated Walker's attention to detail in regards to Lena's blindness. In the first few chapters in particular she described things from Lena's point of view in a way that subtly but masterfully clued readers in to her lack of vision without spelling it out. As the book progresses she remained true to the basic but often overlooked fact that description given from a blind character's point of view has a very different emphasis than for one who is sighted.There were a nice group of secondary and ancillary characters with a myriad of tiny plot threads woven together between them, colored by their combined sense of familiarity and personal history, and driven by a few small external conflicts that added depth and complexity to the plot even as it flavored the whole of the story with a lovely small-town feel.Not to be outdone, the main arc of the suspense is a taut, grisly psychological thriller that Walker deftly weaves throughout the rest. It's my personal favorite of the suspense genre, which I'm sure added to this book's appeal for me. It's also a thread that spans the three books in the trilogy, so there is no final resolution to that storyline at the end of this book. Instead of making the book feel incomplete, however, Walker provided readers with plenty of story between the main characters, including a hell of a romance, and those elements allowed for a nice sense of closure at the end, even as it enticed me to pick up the next book.And I did. In fact, I have to find out who the sick, sadistic bastard is who is raping, torturing, and killing women. Walker keeps his identity tightly concealed. That, too, is a preference of mine in psychological thrillers and romantic suspense. Then again, this book hit so many of my preferences for books in this genre that I couldn't help but love the whole book. I can't wait to see how it all evolves from here.~*~*~*~Reviewed for One Good Book Deserves Another.

Between 4 & 4.5 stars.Most of the Romances I read have some kind of paranormal element. This one is Contemporary, but it is a Romantic-Suspense with a REALLY evil big bad in it. It's also different in that it's not fully contained in one book. The main relationship is, but the overall mystery will span 3 books, each with a different couple as the main focus, but still with the other characters involved. This is very different from other romances I've read and I think it really works for me. If everything had been solved by the end, it would have been too neat. Too easy. I've read a few too many Romantic-Suspense books where in between the all night marathons of fantastic sex to the exclusion of all else, the hero and heroine are also able to capture the villain who has been giving the authorities the run around for years. I'm not saying that this concept hasn't been done well (for instance, I loved Linda Howard's Dream Man), but in more than a few I haven't been satisfied with the end, mostly because there wasn't enough balance between mystery-solving and romance-building.I liked the characters. There are a lot of different POVs here (it's all 3rd person, just following several different characters), but that didn't bother me. It worked for the story. Being in the killer's head was creepy as hell. He's a sadistic torturer-rapist-killer. You don't get really graphic, explicit details, but sometimes what's NOT told is even scarier as your mind makes up the difference.Lena, our lead female character is blind with a fierce independent streak. She's worked hard for the life she's built, is fiercely loyal to her friends, and has a wicked sense of humor. Ezra is a cop on leave following a shooting - I won't spill what happened, as it's pretty crucial to his whole attitude, but I thought it worked. There were plenty of times I called him an idiot, but his actions were understandable. I bought their relationship. It's not one that starts because of the villain, although circumstances involving the mystery do bring Lena & Ezra closer together. The romance was hot - there was no skimping on that end at all.I am definitely reading the next one.

4.5 stars.I loved, loved, this book. This is the near perfect romantic suspense novel. It is well balanced and so satisfying. If You Hear Her is Book 1 in the Ash Trilogy.Ezra King is a detective with the Kentucky State Police on leave recuperating from a near fatal shooting in which his partner and lover are killed. He continues to try and heal his mind as well as his body. Lena Riddle is a independent, well-liked chef and long time resident of Ash, who is also blind.One night, Lena wakes up to sound of screams for help coming from the woods near her home. She reports it to police, but they are skeptical that it is more than just Lena's dreams. The truth is that there is a serial killer on the loose and now it's a game of cat and mouse to find him/her before it is too late.Being the first book in a trilogy, there are more than a few characters introduced in this story. Not only do we have the main characters, but also the leads in the next two books - Remy Jennings and Hope Carson (If You See Her) and Law Reilly and Nia Hollister (If You Know Her). They are somewhat quirky characters representing the privileged, the battered and beaten, the guilt-ridden and the crazy, paranoid, scattered mind of a creative writer. Because of the underlying story that runs through all three books, instead of Book 1, it feels like Act 1 in a play. I expect that we will see the entire story unfold over the next two books and with this start, I highly anticipate an explosive conclusion.I thoroughly enjoyed the relationship between Lena and Ezra. They both bring baggage into their union. Lena, being completely blind since her teenage years, is fiercely independent and has fought hard to be that way. Ezra is guarded and feels damaged because of his trauma that almost killed him. He has crazy nightmares that keep him in a constant state of fatigue. But he is also fiercely protective of and attracted to Lena. After a few stumbling stops and starts, their mutual attraction leads to some sizzling interactions that left my Kindle on fire and me needing to stand in front of an A/C.Ash, Kentucky becomes a minor character in itself. From the dense dark woods surrounding the town, to the people who live in it, the place plays a role in setting the tone. And to me, one of the most memorable elements of the book is the moody, eerie tone of the book. Maybe because although we are involved in the story of Lena and Ezra, when we read about the serial killer, it is through his/her eyes in the first person perspective. It is a little creepy but it keeps the story taut and suspenseful.In a nutshell, for a deeply satisfying, suspenseful read, get yourself in a well air-conditioned room and read this book!

I am a long time Shiloh Walker fan. I love her writing style it seems to pull you into a story effortlessly. However, with this book Shiloh slam dunks (in a good way) you into the story.This story is full of interesting characters who are well developed. Your main couple Lena Riddle and Ezra King are strong and likable. Lena is blind but it does not define her. She is very independent with a career as a chef. I must admit that I find it very intriguing for the heroine to have a sight impairment. Then there is Ezra-a cop with a past and a tortured soul. Oh how I love a tortured hero... and he does not disappoint. When Ezra and Lena meet for the first time it was electrifying-*swoon* I was totally hooked on this couple. You can feel their chemistry from the pages. The side characters are noteworthy. I was eager to learn about them and was not upset when they got their "page" time.There is one thing in the book that bothered me a little. Just when the characters were about to recall a memory that would give the reader an insight into their past-they would suddenly say to themselves- "no I won't think about that right now". Sure when you read it as it is now it doesn't sound so bad but when each character you encounter do it and more than once-well it becomes a little annoying. It was not enough to hinder the story, yet, it was just something that bothered me. I guess you can say I was getting impatient because I WANTED to know what those memories were.And speaking of wanting to know....Oh Shiloh Walker how could you leave me hanging with so many unanswered questions? I know this is a trilogy but still!!! I think I know who the villain is-but do I really? Are you toying with me? Who is the Ash killer? Why is he doing this? Can you hear the spine breaking on the next book because I just gotta know!!If you are in the mood for a true romance thriller with a cliffhanger that will have you running over your momma to get to the next book, ....then this book is for you.

This book was really good. I really liked all the characters. I also liked the fact that Lena is blind. It's different. I've never read a book with a blind person in it before. This is the kind of book where you get multiple stories in one. Not only did we get Ezra and Lena's story but we learned a bit about Law and Hope. Then there was a little about Remy. I usually don't care for the extra stories in a book, but it really worked here. The author really sucked you in to each character's story. And they all were relevant to the main story, which is a plus.It's a bit of a cliffhanger. Not so much with the love story of Ezra and Lena, but with the murder mystery that is going on. I really thought it was going to be solved but it ended abruptly and I was like, HEY! What happened?! Of course, I immediately had to buy and start the second in the series, lol.I really enjoy this author's writing. It's different from what I usually read. But once I got used to the way she speaks, I really enjoyed it. Obviously, I'm continuing with the series. I'm dying to know who the killer is. The author is fantastic at keeping me guessing. I seriously have no idea if we've already met the character somewhere in the story or not. So, I have to keep reading to find out.