Seconds to Live (Scarlet Falls #3) in 2-3-4 Challenge

Sep 15, 2020 Jonetta rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: romantic-suspense, audiobook, 2020-audiobook-challenge, 5000-2020, 2020-finishing-the-series, 2020-in-2020, group-read, 200-comp

Wildlife biologist Mac Barrett is working in the jungles of Brazil when he gets the call to return to Scarlet Falls as his father’s health has deteriorated. He’s attacked before he makes it home but manages to get there despite his serious injuries. However, they take a toll after visiting his father and he has an accident on the way to his cabin, caused by him attempting to avoid the body of a woman in the middle of the road. Rookie Detective Stella Dane comes upon the accident and an unconscio Wildlife biologist Mac Barrett is working in the jungles of Brazil when he gets the call to return to Scarlet Falls as his father’s health has deteriorated. He’s attacked before he makes it home but manages to get there despite his serious injuries. However, they take a toll after visiting his father and he has an accident on the way to his cabin, caused by him attempting to avoid the body of a woman in the middle of the road. Rookie Detective Stella Dane comes upon the accident and an unconscious Mac but the body of the woman is gone. Based on his description, she appears to be the missing woman Stella is searching for but she’s unsure whether to trust Mac’s recollection.

Of all the Barrett siblings, Mac is the one who seemed the most opaque and I finally learned why. There’s a lot more to him than I’d imagined, which made this one of the many reasons why I enjoyed this story. One other is the return of Stella Dane who is dealing with the mental repercussions from her involvement in a shootout detailed in the last story. She was a patrol officer and is newly promoted to the detectives rank but suffers from personal doubts and anguish from that debacle. Mac and Stella team up on her current investigation involving the abduction of two women but their personal attraction began when he was last home. I loved how they didn’t pretend it wasn’t there and faced their feelings head on. They were incredibly well matched even though I didn’t see that in the last story. Both are two vulnerable people who don’t shy away way from any of their issues and rely on each other to work through them.

I don’t want to minimize the importance of Stella’s case as it was grim and evil. It was always in the background when it wasn’t the main focus of the moment and what was done to the victims was cruel and insensitive. One more unexpected surprise was the adjustments made by the narrator who abandoned those ridiculous male voices she created in the two earlier books. No distractions at all this time and I actually enjoyed her performance! I’m glad I stuck with the audiobook version because she helped keep the story exciting with great pacing. This was a wonderful end to the series and I’m glad to begin its spinoff, Morgan Dane, set up nicely here.

Posted on Blue Mood Café ...more

27 likes · Like · see review

Sep 08, 2020 Robin rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2020, romantic-suspense, kindle, 2020-series

After two days of exhaustive travel, Wildlife Biologist Mac Barrett hurries home only to be told his father has died. Grief stricken, Mac wants to be alone. While driving to his cabin in a storm, he swerves to avoid a naked woman laying on the road and crashes into a tree. After extracting himself from his jeep, Mac can't find the woman. Detective Stella Dane listens to his story and believes him. Mac's description of the woman matches that of Dena Miller who was reported missing earlier in the ...more

11 likes · Like · see review

Sep 19, 2020 Anita rated it really liked it

Shelves: romantic-supense, kindle-own

As the final book in the Scarlet Falls Trilogy, "Seconds to Live" is a great wrap to the trilogy. I especially like the honest relationship between the hero and heroine. It was great that two character recognized their attraction and didn't play games with each other. I also liked that the baddie was not reveled until close to the end. This was a solid romantic-suspense.

Mac Barrett is the youngest child in the Barrett and bore the burden of growing up with a disabled dad and a sick mother. He es ...more

8 likes · Like · see review

Oct 19, 2018 Carla rated it really liked it

This is the third book in the Scarlet Falls Trilogy and it is Mac Barrett's story as well as Stella Dane's story. Stella is a newly promoted detective and she is on the case of missing and murdered women. The first victim was a highschool friend of Stella's. She does not want the second kidnapped woman to become a murder victim, but time is running out. Meanwhile, Mac returns home from the jungles of South America after being almost killed by drug runners. He is also told that his father is dyin ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Sep 16, 2020 Lauren rated it really liked it

Shelves: romantic-suspense, tortured-hero, female-detectives, serial-killers, scholarly-hero

Second to Live
4 Stars

Returning home from Brazil to see his father one last time, wildlife biologist Mac Barrett crashes his jeep to avoid the body of a woman in the road on a dark and rainy night. When he comes to, the body is missing , but police detective Stella Dane is convinced it matches the description of a missing woman. Can Mac and Stella stop a vicious madman before he takes his next victim?

The final installment in the Scarlet Falls series is gripping from the first page. Mac epitomizes ...more

5 likes · Like · see review