Ivy wrote another thriller for those of us who like to peer at our neighbors with suspicion and wonder what they do behind closed doors. Before you tell yourself that your neighbors are harmless, consider Pike, Washington. This is the fourth book where murderers are roaming the town, living amongst the innocent and not-so-innocent townspeople. Psychopaths are apparently fairly common in Pike.

The Romance, as in the other Pike novels, is not the main storyline, and honestly it would feel odd if it was. The romance is secondary and just the right amount.

I wonder where Ms. Ivy will take us to visit next? Are all the murderers routed from Pike? Are its citizens able to safely live in peace now? Are property values falling yet and news shows discussing crime rates? Those are always the IRL questions I wonder in murder series- sorry. Read this!

Loved this book! These two were perfect for each other and what I loved the most was their ability to solve the mystery (even though they were not law enforcement) while finding their way to each other. I am hoping we get a spin-off series with the best friend! Delightful read as always!!!

Ok, this might be the best book in the series. I love this series; it is always full of great things, but this book goes above and beyond the norm. The cast is small town perfect, while the plot is big city perfect. I loved all the twists and turns, a few were predictable, but without taking away from the book. However the villain was not expected. Which in my opinion, makes them even better. I couldn't read this one fast enough. Well done!

DESPERATE ACTS Pike Wisconsin Book 4 by Alexandra Ivy
I am very much enjoying these romantic suspense books by Alexandra Ivy, and this is another well written, solid story that keeps you guessing how it will go until the very last. Lia is a grocery owner in Pike who witnessed a young woman jump off a railrail road bridge when she was a teenager. Kaden is a former stuntdriver and sees a report of a skeleton in Pike and is going to investigate to see if it is his dead brother's fiancee who disappeared 15 years ago. They team up together to try and get to the bottom of the mystery. This is 4 stars.

This is a voluntary review of an advanced copy.

I love the stories set in Pike, Wis! This time, we have Lia who at 15 remembers a woman jumping from a bridge railing and it has always haunted her. While, Kaden, comes back to his hometown to investigate the body found and who killed his brother's fiance.

Lots of twists and turns, and I could not put the book down! I just had to get to the end and find out who was responsible and I had a hunch but not the whole picture or the motive behind this whole killing spree!

It was great seeing Lia and Kaden together and that they got their HEA after all the chaos and evil that surrounded them.

It’s been awhile since I’ve read an Alexandra Ivy novel and I’d forgotten how quickly she ropes you into the story. We get to know Lia first, and I found her fascinating. On the surface she looks like she owns a rundown market in this small town of Pike, but as the novel goes on we find out that she’s actually an investor with resources that allow her to run this store and stay a part of this community, not needing to make a lot of money. When Kaden Vaughn shows up, he’s immediately recognized for his TV show, but there’s a determination to find this woman that’s a contrast to his Hollywood good looks and persona. I liked how these two connected not only on the surface level, but they both also cared about finding out the truth and that truth was really interesting.

I don’t want to give away any of the mystery but I do want to say that boy, there is a lot of action packed into this novel. I feel like every chapter had a moment that propelled the story forward as well as gave back story that made me care about these two main characters and this small town. It held my interest, which nowadays seems quite the feat! There are too many distractions and if a book doesn’t grab me I tend to give up. Not this one!

Desperate Acts was a quick moving, easy read. Perfect if you’re going on a short vacation or have a weekend where you can relax on the couch and sink into the story. I have read mysteries that are more detailed but I tend to like quick moving over descriptions and that’s what I got in Desperate Acts. The perfect read at the right time for me! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review and it was honest.

First I would like to thank Kensington Books for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I am a sucker for romantic suspense books/series and I am always on the lookout for new authors to try. I saw this come up on NetGalley and I was lucky enough to be provided a copy and I now have a new romantic suspense series to binge.

This is the story of Lia who saw a women jump from a bridge when she was a teenager and the experience never left her mind. Years later bones are found near the spot she saw the women and famous ex-stuntman Kaden arrives in town to figure out if the bones belong to his dead brother's fiancé. With the shared goal of figuring out what happened to this woman, Lia and Kaden work together to try to solve the mystery.

What I loved:
Lia - She is a strong and independent person who respects the tradition of the family business in her hometown of Pike but hasn't let it limit her.
Kaden - He is an ex-stuntman who would do anything to finish the investigation that caused his brother's death and take care of the people he cares about
Small town/celebrity romance - I love small town romances and they are just elevated when a celebrity is involved, its always fun to read how authors portray people from small towns reacting to a celebrity
Mystery/Twist - I read a lot of thrillers/suspense books and I love to find ones that surprise me and this was one of them. I was pretty confident in one aspect but there was a twist at the end that I WAS NOT expecting.
Part of a series - I hadn't heard or read any of the books in this series prior to reading this and I didn't feel like I missed out on anything. Bonus is there is a backlog of books I now have to add to my TBR.

To all of my romantic suspense readers out there this is a great book for you. I enjoyed the mix of the romance with the suspense with a bit more than closed door but less than a full out spicy romance. Overall, if you are looking for a new romantic suspense book/author I believe this would be a great book to try out.

This is the 4th book in the Pike, Wisconsin series but can definitely be read as a standalone. It is a suspenseful story with an ending I never saw coming. The author did a great job plotting some twists and turns that kept me glued to my seat.

Lia and Kaden are characters with hidden depths and couldn’t be more opposite the other. Lia seems to be a rule follower but as the story progresses you see her open up a bit. Kaden is an adrenaline junkie and loves the rush he gets. Their chemistry was slow burn and very subtle.

I love this series and hope to se more set here in the future. I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of this book provided by Netgalley. The opinions are my own.

DESPERATE ACTS is the fourth instalment in Alexandrea Ivy’s contemporary, adult PIKE WISCONSIN romantic, suspense series. This is thirty-five year old, former motorcycle stuntman Kaden Vaughn, and thirty year old Lia Porter’s story line. DESPERATE ACTS can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary.

Told from third person perspective DESPERATE ACTS follows in the wake of the discovery of a skeleton. Fifteen years earlier, a then fifteen year old Lia Porter stumbled across a woman in uniform, jumping off the local bridge. Fast forward to present day, and a skeleton has been discovered near the area where the woman had jumped. The local mayor declared the case closed, claiming the woman to be a suicide but Lia knew better, having watched from afar, as the woman ran for her life. Former Hollywood motorcycle stunt driver Kaden Vaughn never thought he would return to Wisconsin but the discovery of a female skeleton pulled Kaden to small town of Pike, where he would meet local grocer Lia Porter, a woman with a vested interested in the town’s discovery. Kaden Vaughn was sure his late brother’s fiance’s body had been found but the more Kaden and Lia began to unravel the secrets and lies, the target on their back, and several residents of Pike, is getting bigger by the day. As the injured and dead begin to accumulate, someone is desperate to keep secret what happened years before including blackmail and a possible connection to the EPA.


The relationship between Kaden and Lia is one of insta-lust to love; a joint venture in searching for the truth. Lia witnessed the victim’s jump to her death, and Kaden suspects the skeleton belongs to his brother’s fiancé. Working towards a mutual outcome, Kaden and Lia are pushed together as desperation forces a confrontation between the present and the past. The lone $ex scene is passionate but mostly implied.


Pike, Wisconsin is a town operated by corruption-from the judge to the mayor to local businessmen, wanna-bees and has beens looking to hide years of crimes. With every interview and investigation, another body is discovered, someone is poisoned, anyone who talked to Lia and Kaden, end up dead or injured. My only concern is the lack of any real law enforcement or FBI involvement. Two people looking for answers solve fifteen years of crime and passion.

DESPERATE ACTS is a tragic story of secrets and lies, betrayal and vengeance, power and control, murder and mayhem. The premise is intriguing and entertaining; the romance is tender; the characters are spirited and determined.



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This was an entertaining, well-written book. It was fast-paced, action packed and steamy. It held my interest and I wanted to find out what was going to happen. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more books by this author.

I really like Alexandra Ivy. Her books always have a layered mystery and a slow burn romance. She also takes full advantage of her local to add another dimension to her story. This book is part of a series but is a great standalone too. Lia is a wonderful heroine who is smart, private and isn't shy about what she wants and what she wants is Kaden. Kaden has been a success in the entertainment industry, but never cared for the phony women who inhabit that world. They make a wonderful couple who, together, solve this mystery.

As a teen, Lia witnessed a woman jump off a railroad bridge in the cold dead of night in December in Pike, Wisconsin. She searched the next day, but never found a body and assumed the woman was okay. Fifteen years later three boys discover a skeleton not far from where Lia saw the woman go over the bridge. Since the Sherriff, Zak, is on his honeymoon, the office is temporarily under the control of the nasty mayor who, for his own reasons, just wants this to go away. But, instead of going away a series of "accidents" claims more lives and the deputy can no longer ignore that what is happening is murder.

Social media is a boon and a curse. Pictures of the skeleton are posted and retired Hollywood stunt driver, Kaden Vaughn, recognizes the jacket as that of his brother's fiancée, Vanna, who disappeared fifteen years ago. He believes it is Vanna and comes to Pike to try and learn the truth and put this to rest in the memory of his dead brother. What he finds is a woman who ignites him and a mystery with bribery and conspiracy at its core. Vanna worked for the EPA and the circumstances of her disappearance were never fully explored. The deeper Lia and Kaden delve the darker and more complex the mystery of who Vanna was, and why she died, becomes.

My thanks to the Publisher and the Author for providing a complimentary digital Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this novel via NetGalley. This is my fair, honest and personal review. All opinions are mine alone and were not biased in any way.

Desperate acts is the fourth volume in the Pike, Wisconin series. Of course I’ve reviewed the three previous ones.
In my opinion, this series is quite uneven because I didn’t love all the books, but only for personal reasons, as a thriller non fan. Indeed, this series’ volumes generally tend toward this genre that I don’t read because it’s too shady. Yet from the beginning that’s exactly what’s happening. The small town effect where I feel like every inhabitant is hiding horrible things in his closet doesn’t help either.
Desperate acts is the first to receive the maximal rating from me. There’s less of the thriller side and more of the romantic suspense side, with less shady elements in spite of the setting still being the small town of Pike.

The story begins some times after the end of the previous volume. The new sheriff, Zac, hero of the previous volume, has gone on vacation with his wife and the mayor is sheriff in the interim.

The book begins by a prologue in which our current heroine, Lia Porter, comes home discreetly after having sneaked out and meets a young woman so panicked she jumps over a bridge. The first chapter takes place around fifteen years later when a body is discovered by some young inhabitants. Lia immediately thinks about the young woman she had met.

Our hero, Kaden Vaughn, is a former stuntman who made a brilliant career in Hollywood, especially in a reality show in which he was the star. He’s now the owner of his motorcycle repair shop. He had a brother who died some times before. The latter had a fiancé (that Kaden didn’t really like) who suddenly disappeared several years ago. His brother went on looking for her without the hero knowing it. At his brother’s death, while sorting through his stuff, Kaden finds all his notes and feels guilty not to have helped him. So when he learns, through social networks, that an unknown woman was found in Pike, where he knows she had worked, he goes there to check if it’s really her.

Neither Lia nor Kaden have any detective experience but each wants to check if the unidentified woman is the one they are thinking about, and if it is, pushed by guilt, they want to find the truth. But the mayor throws a wrench in the gears and refuses to listen to them.
So our heroes decide to join forces, Lia as resident of Pike and Kaden as a star people recognize, to investigate themselves, helped by the deputy sheriff off the record.

I liked the suspense side where the reader quickly has information but with some twist events until the resolution of the suspense.
As for the romance side, I always appreciate how Alexandra Ivy manages the love story and the evolution of the feelings.
Once the book closed, we have all the answers to our questions and we believe in the HEA.

I’m a little less fond of most secondary characters, that is the young inhabitants of the town, some of whom are bullies, and some adults. It’s a small town and it’s a fiction, would it not be possible to have another kind of behavior in a story? It’s the only negative point in the book for me.

I don’t know if the author intends to have another book in the series. If it’s the case, I will of course be on board as a fan of Alexandra Ivy.

Alexandra Ivy ratchets up the tension and suspense in this fourth entry to her Pike, Wisconsin series. Adding danger, a compelling mystery and just a touch of edginess, she gives us an electrifying new thriller.
A teenage Lia Porter shouldn’t have been anywhere near the railroad bridge that night. Heading home from a party, she sees a woman running away from something, but from what she doesn’t know. Now, years later, when a skeleton is discovered near that same spot, memories of that night come flooding back. Lia tries to report what she remembers to the local police, but they’re not interested, so Lia decides to do her own investigating.
Hollywood stunt driver Kaden Vaughn left Wisconsin to make his name in California. Now he’s back, determined to find out if the skeleton is that of his brother’s missing fiancé. Seemingly the only two people in town interested in ferreting out the truth, Lia and Kaden work together to ascertain what really happened that night fifteen years ago. Each discovery leads to more questions. Questions someone out there doesn’t want answered.
Lia and Kaden make an unlikely but well-matched team. The tension builds as their investigation spirals toward a startling and unanticipated conclusion. With surprising, sometimes shocking twists and turns, this story reached out and grabbed me from page one and refused to let go.

Lia Porter was 15 years old when she snuck out of her house to attend a party. Thoroughly bored with her friends behavior sitting around a fire freezing and drinking cheap beer, she decides to go home. Part way home, she sees a woman running from town and suddenly she goes over a bridge.

Skip ahead fifteen years and Lia has a small grocery store in Pike, Wisconsin and has invested her money in other businesses. Her employee comes to work late one day. He explains that his friends have found a hidden, skeleton, human body.

Kaden Vaughn, a former stunt driver in Hollywood sees the news and believes that the body is the fiancé of his brother. He goes to Pike to investigate. There he meets Lia. Together they work the clues to try and solve the mystery.

Desperate Acts by Alexandra Ivy is a well written, fast paced murder mystery book with some romance. I loved Lea and Kaden. Their book is a great addition to the author’s Pike, Wisconsin series.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced readers copy.

Another solid addition the Pike, Wisconsin books. This one wasn't my favorite. Nothing wrong with it, I just didn't really care for the story. With that being said, it was well-written, fast-paced that kept me guessing.

The Pike books can be read as a stand-alone.

Thank you #netgalley and #kensingtonbooks #zebra for the eARC.

Desperate Acts (Pike, Wisconsin Book 4) by Alexandra Ivy is a murder mystery that the authorities want to rule as a suicide. Fifteen years earlier Pike, Wisconsin local, Lia Porter had seen a woman running from something or someone wearing the same leather jacket found on the deceased. She is sure that it was not a suicide. Also former stunt driver Kaden Vaughn is looking for answers since the skeleton found is his late brother’s fiancée who had disappeared.

Someone does not want the truth to be revealed concerning this woman’s death. As usual Pike, Wisconsin is a place to read about but a hazardous place to live. Lia and Kaden team up finding themselves in danger as they seek to find out what really happened. Two great characters working together who could find love if they live long enough. The flow of the story constantly moving in the direction to solve when a major twist too. The fourth book in the series but one that is stand-alone.

An ARC of the book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley which I voluntarily chose to read and reviewed. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This story was absolutely mesmerizing and I could not stop reading it. I have read many books by this author and have never been disappointed. This book, however, may be her most compelling story to date.

Fifteen years ago while walking home from a party, Lia encountered a woman who was distraught and ran off toward a bridge.

Now remains have been found at the base of the bridge. With the sheriff of their small town on vacation,. the mayor is acting sheriff. He knows more about the remains than he is letting on..

Kaden sees the story about the body and, based on the picture, thinks it may be his late brother's fiancee who disappeared 15 years ago. He heads to Pike, Wisconsin to investigate. Howev er, there are people in town that would like the truth to stay a secret, no matter what extremes are needed.

This books keeps you guessing till the very end. There were so many plots twists and people who could have done it. It was a great book with plenty of suspense. I highly recommend it!

A good suspense story with a hint of romance. I liked the characters in this book. Both Lia and Kaden were interesting and likeable. I liked the pace of the book. There were enough characters to give us a good number of suspects. The ending had a good twist and was resolved with a satisfying ending. I read this book without knowing it was part of a series. The book is standalone, and I enjoyed it fully without having read the previous books. I will likely go back and read the other books since I like the author's style of writing. I received an advance copy from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

I am fascinated by the town of Pike, Wisconsin. The skeleton of a woman is found near the railroad tracks. Could the body be that of his brother’s long missing fiancée? Kaden Vaughn buried his brother five years ago, without knowing what happened to his fiancée. He leaves for Pine, Wisconsin to see if the skeleton is Vanna. Lia Porter runs the family grocery store in Pike, more as a benefit to the community as she has other interests. Learning about the skeleton, she remembers a woman who was running in that area years ago. Kaden is a well-known stunt driver and his appearance in Pine arouses curiosity and something more ominous from some of the locals. He feels an immediate sense of connection to Lia as they work together to find out what happened fifteen years ago. Someone wants him gone from Pike as threats towards both he and Lia continue. Someone won’t stop at murder to protect their secret. Pulse pounding action and a surprise twist at the end! I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (paytonpuppy)