Intent to Kill by Ryshia Kennie - Review tour and giveaway

This review is done in conjunction with a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Leave a comment, or ask the author a question, for the chance to win a $25 Amazon GC. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

A ruthless band of smugglers will stop at nothing to strip Cambodia of its priceless ancient artifacts, even if it means using and killing female tourists. Journalist Claire Linton knows she’s on to the story of a lifetime. But for Claire, it’s personal too: long before her “Uncle Jack” came to the U.S., he was held captive in the nightmarish killing fields of Cambodia, and Claire senses there might be a connection between that long-ago bloody history and the dark crimes plaguing the country today.

Simon Trent is a burnt-out Interpol agent who disappeared after his last case turned fatal. But with the resurgence in smuggling and all signs pointing to the man who once escaped his grasp, he comes out of hiding to finish the job that’s haunted him for years. What he doesn’t see coming is Claire, the beautiful and headstrong reporter who may be a threat to his case—and to his heart.

As Claire and Simon reluctantly join forces to unravel a mystery that reaches deep into her family history and may be his only chance at redemption, they must fight to stay one step ahead of a brutal killer—and one step away from the dangerous feelings building between them.

My review:  Intent to Kill starts off with a bang -- hooking me right away, but then slows down immediately following the first chapter. I have to admit, if I hadn't been reading this book for a review, I might have stopped reading... and that would have been a mistake.

We spend the next few chapters setting up the dominoes for the rest of the book. We meet the players, Claire, Simon and our villain and we delve into the country of Cambodia.  I admit to being a bit frustrated that Simon and Claire spent next to no time together for quite a bit of the beginning -- when I read romantic suspense, I'm looking for the romance to start almost immediately.  Again, though, I'm glad I stuck it out because holy smokes, once the ball gets rolling, it's a fantastic story.

I understand why things started as they did, as things needed to be set up in order to work. It's a pretty complicated story with a lot going on, and most of the characters have some pretty significant skeletons in their closets.  It makes for an intriguing read.  Thankfully, once Claire and Simon do start spending time together, the romantic in me was plenty satisfied.

I've never read a book set in Cambodia before, and knew little about its history, so I was edified along with entertained. 

If you're a fan of romantic suspense, I can recommend this book -- just be patient at the beginning because the payoff is well worth it.

3.5 Flowers - This was a good book. I liked it.

The Canadian prairies are where Ryshia Kennie makes her home with her husband and one opinionated and slightly geriatric, Irish Terrier. The winner of her city’s Writing Award in 2011, her novels have taken her characters from the depression era prairies in her first book “From the Dust” to the ancient stones of Angkor Wat in her latest book, “Intent to Kill”. There’s never a lack of places to set a story as the too long prairie winters occasionally find her with travel journal in hand seeking adventure on foreign shores. While facing off a Monitor Lizard before breakfast or running through the Kasbah chased by an enraged Water Carrier aren’t normal travel experiences and might never find a place in one of her stories, they do make great travel stories. But it’s the memories of those exotic worlds, the smell of the spices, the words of a stranger, the furtive look one man gives another, that often become the catalyst for a suspenseful story with a deadly villain and an intrepid hero and heroine who must battle for their right to love or even their right to live, in a place that neither may call home. For more, visit her website at http://www.ryshiakennie.com.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Ryshia-Kennie/135659506621696?ref=hl

Website: http://www.ryshiakennie.com/

Blog: http://ryshia.blogspot.com/

Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/1400598.Ryshia_Kennie
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Intent-to-Kill-ebook/dp/B00FXXYXC0/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1382032743&sr=1-1

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/intent-to-kill-ryshia-kennie/1117165254?ean=2940148404996