The Body Market by DV Berkom - Review and Giveaway

This review is in conjunction with a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will be awarding a $20 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via the rafflecopter at the end of this post during the tour. Click the banner above for other stops on the tour.

A retired assassin is called in when a celebration south of the border turns into a nightmare.

Everything's for sale...

Former assassin Leine Basso is hired by a wealthy Beverly Hills power couple to find their missing daughter, Elise, who was last seen partying with her boyfriend at a club in Tijuana. At first, police believe the two teenagers are the victims of a carjacking. But when Leine finds their missing vehicle with the boyfriend’s mutilated body inside, and the local cartel warns her away, she knows if Elise isn’t already dead, she will be soon, or worse.

In the lethal world of organized crime, there’s always a worse.

As Leine races to uncover the reason behind Elise Bennett’s disappearance, she must also battle the powerful interests fighting to keep her from the truth.

MY REVIEW:

I really enjoyed this book. You can tell that it's part of the series (in fact, I discovered it's book three of the series--the first two being Serial Date and Bad Traffick.  However, it is definitely a standalone.  The author gives enough clues so you know there is a backstory you don't know, so there's also enough character development within the story itself that you don't feel like you are missing anything.

I really liked the main characters in this book.  Leine is tough, but she also has her tender side, and I like her scenes with Santa-- it really shows that side of her.

The book starts off right in the action and gives the reader a first-hand look at Leine Basso's style and toughness.  This book is very much a page-turner and I could not wait to find out what happened--and the ending was not quite what I was expecting.  Now I have to go back and reread the book to see what clues I might have missed!  I'm also going to be picking up the first two book in the series--I think I might just have found a new auto-buy.  4 flowers and, thanks, Ms. Berkom, for a good read.

Now enjoy an excerpt:

The first man seized him by the arm and shoved him away from the car and onto his knees, aiming a gun at his head. With the weapon still trained on Josh, he reached inside the car and unlocked Elise’s door.

“No!” Elise screamed as the second man wrenched the door open, grabbed her by the hair, and yanked her out of the car. She landed hard on the gravel beside the Porsche. A sharp pain lanced down her leg, followed by the warm, sticky-wetness of blood.

Elise didn’t have time to gain her feet before the man grabbed her around the waist and lifted her off the ground. She kicked and squirmed and tried to rake his face with her nails as he dragged her away from the car, losing one of her shoes in the process, but the man never faltered. The moment before he shoved her into the back of the open SUV, Elise managed to twist around and look back at Josh.

Shoulders shaking and head bowed, his wristwatch glinted in the moonlight. A light breeze ruffled his hair.

“Take my car. I promise I won’t report it if you let me go,” he pleaded with the man in front of him.

“I thought you said it wasn’t your car,” the man replied with a smile as he moved behind him.

“I lied. I’m scared. Please don’t kill me. I—I’m only eighteen.” Sobbing now, Josh put his hands up as though they were playing a game and it was time to quit. Elise held her breath. Overwhelming fear tightened her chest and spread to her throat, the nausea in her stomach gaining momentum.

Before she could utter a sound, the man aimed the gun at the back of Josh’s head.

And fired.

DV Berkom is a slave to the voices in her head. As the author of two popular thriller series (Leine Basso and Kate Jones), her love of creating resilient, kick-*ss female characters stems from a lifelong addiction to reading spy novels, mysteries, and thrillers, and longing to find the female equivalent within those pages. 


Raised in the Midwest, she received her BA in political science from the University of Minnesota and promptly moved to Mexico to live on a sailboat. Many, many cross-country moves later, she now lives near Seattle, Washington with the love of her life, Mark, a chef-turned-contractor, and several imaginary characters who love to tell her what to do.

Buy Links:

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Body-Market-Leine-Basso-Thriller-ebook/dp/B00P31LAT6

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Body-Market-Leine-Basso-Thriller-ebook/dp/B00P31LAT6

Global Amazon Link: http://bit.ly/bodymkt

iBooks: http://bit.ly/thebodymktiBooks

Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/bodymktBN

Smashwords: http://bit.ly/bodymktSW

KOBO: http://bit.ly/bodymktKOBO

Social Media Links:

Website: http://www.dvberkom.com
Blog: http://www.dvberkom.wordpress.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DvBerkomAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/dvberkom
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/dvberkom/
Google+: www.google.com/+DVBerkom

Amazon Author Page:
US: http://amzn.to/oMUb1Z
UK: http://amzn.to/pBwClD
Smashwords Profile: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/dvberkom

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