Unknown Assailant by Lina Gardiner

October 17th, 2014 Kimberly Review 54 Comments

17th Oct
Unknown Assailant by Lina Gardiner
Unknown Assailant
by Lina Gardiner
Genres: Romantic Suspense
Source: Author
Purchase*: Amazon *affiliate
Goodreads
Rating: One StarOne StarOne StarHalf a Star

Liz Davis is being targeted. There have been minor incidents happening since her parents died a year ago in a suspicious car accident. Incidents that don’t raise anyone’s alarm but hers. The police have all but told her she’s delusional. Suddenly her life takes a near-lethal turn and she’s forced to run. She has to play dead because she has no idea who wants to kill her. Even though she tries to avoid her neighbors, she meets Jake Johnson when he helps secure a broken lock on the door of her rental property in Canada. He is handsome and trustworthy and he makes her feel safe. At least safer than she feels when she’s alone. Of course the little things happening in Fredericton are just accidents. No one could have possibly found her yet – Could they?

Unknown Assailant by Lina Gardiner offers up a fast moving cat and mouse chase that I quickly consumed. At around two hundred pages, this romantic suspense is the perfect afternoon escape. Because things are  always better when they  unfold for the reader, I am keeping the review details minimal.

Espresso review of Unknown Assailant

Imagine if you will that, someone is trying to kill you and make it look like an accident. Your friends and even the police think you might be off your rocker. This is exactly what is happening to Liz Davis. When the danger escalates she finds herself confused, scared and alone. She makes a decision to run, leaving her life behind. The tale that unfolds has her setting up a life with a new identity and unwillingly befriending her neighbor Jake Johnson. A string of accidents and mishaps leave her shaken but will Jake believe her before it is too late?

Unknown Assailant was fast paced, with a nice side dish of romance, danger and a few twists I never saw coming. Sometimes we got a little, tell not show, but overall I slipped into the tale and enjoyed the characters and plot. Liz is a tough little cookie. I loved that she kept her wits, was resourceful and did not rely on a man to safe her. Jake was sweet, and you cannot help but like him. A slow burning relationship developed and felt genuine. Gardiner developed it nicely without letting it overwhelm the intense, fast paced suspense.

Unknown Assailant is perfect for a Fall afternoon read and I look forward to Gardiner’s next undertaking.

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About Kimberly
Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. BlueSky | Facebook | Instagram

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54 Responses to “Unknown Assailant by Lina Gardiner”

  1. Lark

    Sounds like one I would enjoy – not gruesome and a slow-burning romance. Thanks for bringing it to my attention!

  3. Mary

    My brain mixed her up with another author (Lisa Gardner) for a moment, there. Like the concept of this one! And love your “Espresso Review”. Nice!

    • kimbacaffeinate

      Yes, so similar, and I like bot authors. Thanks about the review. I use to do Coffee Pot Reviews, which are two minis, but with UBB it is hard to archive them..so now I do Espresso or single coffee pot reviews. It helps to have multiple methods.

  4. Katherine

    Sounds like a fun thriller! I like the extra twist of having everyone believe Liz is crazy. Definitely adding this one!

  5. Angela Adams

    “Unknown Assailant was fast paced, with a nice side dish of romance, danger and a few twists…” These words make me want to add this book to my TBR list. Thanks for the review!

  6. Carmel

    Good on the author for succeeding in putting readers in the heroine’s shoes, that’s a great way of adding suspense to this type of story. I don’t overly care for the tell vs. show approach, but as long as that glitch was minimal this is a book I could get on board with.

    • kimbacaffeinate

      I am not a fan either Carmel, but with the length I understand why those moments happened. Thankfully it was only for plot purpose and not overdone.

  7. Heidi

    Sounds like an exciting, action packed read and what an interesting premise. Have a wonderful weekend.

  8. Berls

    Oh I like the sounds of this one! I kind if have the chills just imagining something like that. I love that she doesn’t depend on a guy to save her – that’s my kind of heroine! Thanks for sharing Kimba!

    • kimbacaffeinate

      Mine too Berls, I mean a night in shining armor is nice and all, but I like a girl who doesn’t wait or depend on one

  10. Candace

    Oh this sounds intense! And I also love that it’s short. Easy afternoon read that I wouldn’t be able to put down!

  11. Kayla

    I haven’t heard of this one but I will be adding it to Goodreads! I am a sucker for romantic suspense lately and the plot sounds intriguing.

  12. Deborah Camp

    Great little review, Kim. You know what makes your reviews so great? You know your stuff! You know what makes good writing and good story-telling and why some things work and some things don’t. You’re actually one of the most astute book reviewers online, I think!

  16. Jenny

    Stories like this always terrify me because they feel like they could easily happen. I have an irrational fear of being accused of something and not being able to prove my innocence. Or being committed to psychiatric hospital where everything you do to prove you don’t belong there only convinces the doctors more that they’re right in keeping you. *shudders*

    • kimbacaffeinate

      Agreed, but I kind of like the realism. *shudders along with you*

  17. Nick

    Oh this sounds interesting! It seems like it would have gotten a higher rating from you had there not been some telling instead of showing. Still, I’m glad you enjoyed it overall. Lovely review, Kim! 🙂

    • kimbacaffeinate

      I think it needed more depth and pages to avoid that. I quite enjoyed this, it has a nice suspenseful flow.

  18. Lily

    Oh I can’t remember the last time I read a romance suspense book but this one seems to intriguing! I’ll have to keep my eyes out for it Kimba!

  19. kim { Book Swoon }

    Unknown Assailant sounds like a fast read with just the right touch of suspense and romance! I love the theme of switching identities, and Jake sounds like a perfect match as well 🙂

    • kimbacaffeinate

      Thanks Kim. The thought of someone trying to kill me and no one believing gives me chills

    • kimbacaffeinate

      Jake was a good, stand-up guy. I enjoy romantic suspense. Thanks Quinn

  21. braine

    I think id lose my mind if this happened to me and nobody believes it. I will probably go ballistic and hunt my assassin myself & go vigilante a la Liam Neeson. I love the premise, it does have a great hook to it.

    • kimbacaffeinate

      Yeah…can you imagine. This makes for an interesting story

  22. Sarah

    I have a love for romantic suspense tat I haven’t divulged any time soon.. I need to get on that ASAP! This book sounds puuurrrfect… even though I mixed up the authors (Lisa Gardner writes some pretty scary books – kinda glad it’s not her, because nightmares). Ill have to give LINA a try! 😉

    • kimbacaffeinate

      Yes Lisa can make you sleep with the lights on. Lina’s books are intense but more mystery.

  24. Wendy Darling

    I love romantic suspense books! For a second there I thought this was Lisa Gardner, who also writes romantic suspense, how funny that their names are so similar. Sounds like a good book to pick up when I’m in the mood for something a little twisty. 🙂

    • kimbacaffeinate

      I love Lisa’s books to Wendy. This was a nice suspenseful read

  27. Melliane

    It’s nice to have a goos suspens book like that. I wonder if I tried a book by her because the name of the author is almost the same as another in this genre. Not sure. thanks for the review.