Collecting Innocents [NOOK Book]

Anonymous

On a scale of one to ten, with ten being the highest, I rate this book at five. This story has too many murders and abductions that I lost count. It's unrealistic, that with so many disappearences that some federal agency wouldn't step up, instead of letting some local yokel sheriff handle it. Especially where children are involved. One child abduction is already one too many. Sloonne and shawn are two characters without any real personalities, the author never gave me an insight of who they really were. They were just two people flitting around trying to solve the mysteries. It seems that this author was trying to make this story into a thrilling, page turner, can't put it down type of book. It just didn't quite make it. This author lacks the style, usage of words, and vivid imagination that makes a great read and a five star rating.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Suspenseful, Thrilling

Once again, Webb and Weaver have shown their skill and prowess at developing a suspenseful and thrilling novel. This mother/daughter duo have managed to captivate their readers by thickening the plot when necessary with many twists and turns in order to keep them on their toes. I was riveted to the page as I read Collecting Innocents and you will be too. It drew me back over and over again as I was eager to discover the threads from the past and how they would link up to the present crime. Webb and Weaver have skillfully woven a web of suspense, fear and mystery. Collecting Innocents is a must read! This second suspense novel in the 911 abductions series is a real thriller. It is a follow-up to Cruelty to Innocents where the stage was set with a series of mysterious disappearances of young children. These previous abductions always took place at the scene of an emergency situation in Aberdeen, Maryland when their caregivers were preoccupied with helping others. Due to this crisis, an emergency agency was formed by Sloanne Kelly and her fiance Shawn Tyler called Saving Angels Agency after the abduction and murder of Sloanne's best friend's daughter. Collecting Innocents is a continuation of this same plot. This time; however, not only children but also their parents and automobiles, are strangely disappearing after emergency calls from 911 Call Boxes on a stretch of highway between Florida and California on Interstate 10. These highway crimes take place in the short distance between Slidell Louisiana and Vidor Texas. The novel starts off with the mysterious disappearance of Tammy Pruett and her young daughter, Moira. There have also been two other similar abductions but no one seems to see the connection in these crimes with the exception of Lieutenant Jake Mackenzie, better known as Mac to his friends. Mac is a former employee of the Maryland, Aberdeen Police Department and well aware of the abductions that took place there just over two years ago. He has the uneasy feeling that some how or other these new crimes are connected to the past and what took place. They are hauntingly familiar and he cannot put his uneasiness to rest. Unable to convince the Sheriff and other police departments of his suspicions, he reaches out for aid from Shawn and Sloanne and their capable staff at Saving Angels Agency. The gruesome details of the cases unfold in such away that fear is instilled in everyone involved. Shawn and Sloanne once again have the opportunity to put their experienced investigative team to work. Along with the capable help of Birney Sullivan, the former news reporter from Maryland, Aberdeen, these three experts work together to help solve the case.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A Great Mystery Series

Something is very wrong on I-10. Parents who encounter car problems while riding on the interstate are disappearing along with their children. The parents all make 9-11 calls from callboxes along the interstate and that is the last contact anyone has with them. The bodies of the parents are found in a few days or weeks but the children are never found.

The police are slow to put together the cases as they happen in different jurisdictions. That's where The Saving Angels Agency comes in. The agency was started by Sloanne Kelly and her fiance, Shawn Taylor, two years ago. They were involved in a similar case and Sloane's goddaughter was kidnapped and murdered. When that killer was apprehended, the couple swore that they would spend their lives working on missing child cases. Two years later, they not only had helped put that killer behind bars, but had reunited multiple children with their parents.

Many of the individuals from the earlier case work on this one. Jake MacKenzie was a detective in the earlier case. He moved to Louisiana where the most recent kidnappings are taking place and is the first to make the connection. He calls in Sloanne and Shawn along with their friend Birney Sullivan. Sullivan is a reporter with the ability to take a news story nationwide. Together this team, along with the sheriff in Louisiana and his men, work to discover the killer and try to locate the missing children. Can they be successful against such a diabolical killer?

C.K. Webb and D.J. Weaver have created an interesting cast of characters. Collecting Innocents is the second book in their series, but is easily accessible without having read the first. The Saving Angels team is an interesting mix of people who have been affected by those who prey on children and have determined to devote their lives to making children safe. This book is recommended to mystery lovers looking for a new series to follow.

Great suspense novel

Along I-10 people and children are disappearing. The parents are turning up savagely murdered, but there’s no sign of the children. Someone is keeping them, but why? No one sees the connection between the disappearances, except Detective Mac Mackenzie, and he enlists the help of Saving Angels, the countries leading agency for finding missing children. Sloanne and her crew immediately see the connections, connections all too familiar to them. But with the resistance of other Police Departments, will they be able to find and bring these children home? Or will the killer keep collecting innocents?

Collecting Innocents is the second book in this series. Nothing can kill the flow in a story quicker than too much back-story, and that’s a common issue when reading books in a series. A majority of the first few chapters is riddled with information from the previous book, and a reader can’t help wondering when the heck they’re going to get to THIS story. But the authors did a wonderful job weaving the background of the first book into this story. Not having read the first book, I was able to jump right into this one, getting enough knowledge along the way of the characters history without the flow being bogged down by too much back-story.

The authors waste no time pulling you into this story, and being a mother myself, right from the start I felt the fear; being stranded with my child in the car, then the momentary relief that help has arrived is quickly smothered by terror. And from there I was hooked.

The plot moves and a wonderful pace, fast enough to keep my heart rate soaring, yet with enough breaks that I could stop and catch my breath before they were on the hunt again. It’s in the flawless pace you feel the author’s experience in the genre, particularly as the story really heats up. The cliffhangers and the end of each chapter feed into the desire to keep reading, regardless of how late it is, how tired you are, or what you’re supposed to be doing other than reading.

I really enjoyed the characters in this book as well. All of them you’ll find have their own distinct voice, mannerisms, and personalities. The crew from Saving Angels have their own strengths and weaknesses, and together they form the perfect team, making them the ideal group to help find the children.

The ending for me was slightly predictable. However, I have spent many, many years reading this genre, so most books in this genre have a somewhat predictable ending to me. That would be my main issue with this genre (which by the way is still one of my favorite genres), you’re really only left with two options for an ending; catch the bad guy, or they don’t catch the bad guy. I won’t spoil it with which way this ending went. I will say though that the authors did a wonderful job wrapping up all the loose ends. It wasn’t the dry, run-of-the-mill, blurting out the facts manner that many other authors tend to use.

Overall this was a good read for me, one of the better ones I’ve read in a while. I felt a connection with the characters, the urgency of needing to find the children, the fear that they wouldn’t find them, they pulled me into the rush of the chase. I would recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of the genre. And I would gladly read the first book in this series and the upcoming book as well. The authors have spent a lot of time learning their craft, and their efforts show in their work.


**This is my review copied from Krazy Book Lady's blog

Keeps you on the edge of your seat

Absolutely wonderful! These ladies had big shoes to fill after writing book one, Cruelty to Innocents. I mean seriously, Cruelty was such a fantastic read I really had no idea how they would continue on with the characters and the story line that would be as good as Cruelty was. But, they did it! I loved how the main characters such as Sloanne, Birney, Shawn, Chloe, were brought back and how far they had come since the mayhem in book one. I felt like I was catching up with an old friend as I was thrown back into their lives. I also loved how the plot was intertwined with Sloanne, her past, and Patty. Once again, I laughed, shed a few tears, and had a few missed heartbeats as the suspense thickened. Everything about this story seemed so real, I just could not turn the pages on my e-reader fast enough.

Sloanne and Shawn reprise their roles of owners of Saving Angels, the investigative agency with the main focus on finding missing children. They are known all over the country because of their work and track record. It was nice to see how Sloanne's long time friend Chloe has taken her life back and is working for Saving Angels and has found some happiness in her life since the loss of her daughter Danni...and is also planning Sloanne and Shawn's wedding! I will say this... there are lots of bits that I will not tell you about because I don't want to spoil the fun! ;)

Plenty of surprises await in the pages of Collecting Innocents. Picking up where Cruelty left off but also a well written, suspense filled book that could stand on it's own and at only $2.99 it is a steal for such a great read! I feel so honored to be chosen by the author's to read the ARC...the only bad thing I have to say is that I am ready for book three! Like, right now! I'm not sure how I will be able to wait!

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