This book was intense and wonderfully well written. The action, suspense, and romance are very well balanced. If you like medical suspense you will love this book.

This book pulled me in from page 1 and kept me reading late into the night. This book has it all; action, mystery, and just a touch of romance. Lana is a girl whose whole world is about to turn upside down when a small metal object is found implanted in her head. Then along comes Lieutenant Lance Kipling starting a long adventure to learn where the chip came from and the truth about Lana's past.
#RedCicada #NetGalley

RED CICADA by GREGG LUKE is a suspense novel that takes place in Fort Collins, Colorado in 2011. The characters are well defined and the plot is fast paced - so much so that I read the book in one sitting! It is a really great read and one I highly recommend to anyone who enjoys good suspense.
From realizing things are not as they seem, to questions about her past and her beloved father, to suffering from migraines and finding out she has a metal disc in her head, Lana Baker’s world is turned upside down, Lieutenant Lance Kipling, who is following a cold case in which her father was involved, comes to her rescue. There are Russian thugs after her, which makes the story even more sinister and exciting.
I loved Red Cicada and I am sure you will too.
I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Covenant Communications. The opinions in rhis review are completely my own.

The copy I received to my Kindle is not easy to read, the paragraphs and sentences are chaotic. After the 50th page I gave up reading. The story is exciting and interesting.

#redcicada #netgalley

This was an intriguing suspenseful storyline, I enjoyed reading it! Full of adventure and mystery.

Thank you Netgalley, Covenant Communications, and Author Gregg Luke for this ARC.

So, you go in for a general check-up, routine, you're not expecting anything out of the ordinary . . . until your doctor asks when you had brain surgery. Uh . . . you didn't. So, how in the world did that disk get in there? Whoa!

This book starts in suspenseful mystery and it ends in suspenseful mystery. Every page was utterly entertaining and totally gripping. I will definitely be looking for more from this author.

I really wanted to like this book. The premise of finding something foreign in your body and not knowing how it got there had me intrigued. Unfortunately, I found the dialogue to be often unnatural and not how you would expect the characters to speak based on their life experiences and occupations. The character growth and relationships are way too predictable and feels formulaic. I also found the hospital scenes to be very unbelievable, coming from a family with several members in the medical profession. The ending I felt was rather anti climactic and considering the current environment where conspiracy theories abound, suggesting another, even fictitious, feels ill advised.

This book was loaded with espionage, and suspense with interesting characters. It does show human nature at its best and worst. Good guys and bad guys galore. Throw in a little Russian intrigue and you have a great book.

Imagine you're getting a routine check up, and the doctor asks you what your brain surgery was for, and you go all: »What brain surgery? Never had any!«, and he goes: »Sure you did. There's a metal plate in your skull. It even has a russian inscription!«

That's not exactly how this tale starts, but not far from it either. Immediately this tale cast a spell over me, and together with Lana I started to wonder about the how, and the when, irrevocably followed by those other questions: by whom, and why? And also that most important question, gripping me tightly: what the heck?

You know, »what the heck« is not necessarily a bad question. On the contrary, with regards to mysteries it is a most welcome question (provided the novel answers this question during the course of it's tale). And the best part is: It's just the start of this story, which gets curious and more curious as it unfolds.

And when the military enters the play, the suspense kicks in. Suddenly it's not just about a disk in a skull, it's about life and death! And our heroine does something very sensible: After getting a bad start by falsely trusting the wrong person, she starts to distrust everyone. And honestly, I would have done the same thing!

I mention this because it makes our heroine Lana very relatable to me, and that's important. Over the course of the story, we'll be taking alternativ viewpoints between her and Lance, and both characters are actually well developed. When sharing their thoughts, I had the feeling of dealing with real people.

What was a little downside was the villain - a Russian straight outta a collection of cliches. It was a wonder he was able to charm one or two people, as everything about him screamed »I'm the bad guy!«!

**********

So, in the end, it's s suspenseful and solid thriller, you could even end up reading it in one sitting (it's fast paced enough). Besides the cliche villain, there is a rather expected and predictable twist about Lana's father that can be seen from miles away. Which brings my rating to 4 excellent stars. Thriller fans won't be disappointed, I think.

Disclaimer: I've received a free Advanced Reader's Copy and are leaving this review voluntarily.

You will keep saying ‘just one more page’
This book will absolutely pull you in and not let you go! Within the first few pages you are so involved in the story you seriously won’t want to put it down. Lana was raised by her father, moving from town to town as he followed sales leads. He raised her to be self-sufficient and able to handle her every need for herself but one thing he stressed was no x-rays of her head and preferably no doctors. But everything changes the day she collapses and has a seizure brought on by a migraine at work and wakes in the Emergency Department of a local hospital. The doctor is concerned as to what was causing Lana’s frequent headaches and when she begins seizing in the hospital, the doctor runs a diagnostic x-ray. Only to discover, to Lana’s astonishment, that she not only has had brain surgery but has what appears to be a small disc in the back of her head. Before she can even grasp that revelation, Lt. Lance Kipling appears in her hospital room and after some discussion announces he wants to take her to a military hospital in part for her protection. With in an hour of his leaving, a hospital employee came in, got here strapped into a wheelchair, wheels her into the parking garage and kidnaps her. From there it just gets better. This is a great read and I highly recommend it. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the copy. This is my review and all thoughts are my own.

Solid, action-packed thriller that was VERY hard to put down. I read it in almost one sitting. I was sorry when it ended! A young woman saddled with migraines for years has the big one that lands her in a hospital. She has very little history, medical and otherwise, to go on, and insists on no x-rays or MRI. When a man shows up with a wheelchair and straps her in, takes her outside to a van instead of down the hall for more testing, mystery and intrigue begin, and don’t stop until the last page. Lt. Lance Kipling is working on a cold case involving a former Marine with possible ties to the Cold War. He goes on the chase of his life, to save the woman from nefarious beings, and helps the lady make peace with her (new to her) past. I can’t wait to read more from this author!
Thank you to Netgalley, Gregg Luke, and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I loved this book! It grabbed me from the first page and never let go - I read it all in one sitting. The storyline seems crazy and yet so relevant to the times we live in. I loved the author's intro explaining the event in his life that lead to this book's premise - it made me feel even more invested in the story and excited to see what happened. The suspense, the mystery, the intrigue - I loved every single minute of this wild ride!!