SPENT IDENTITY

Annalisse Series, Book 2

by

Marlene M. Bell

Genre: Mystery / Suspense / Light Romance

Publisher: Ewephoric Publishing

Date of Publication: December 11, 2019

Number of Pages: 378

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A body, a disappearance, just another hot summer in upstate New York.

It’s July when antiquities appraiser Annalisse Drury reaches her family’s small-town farm to consult with the trusted aunt who raised her. She learns that her beloved homestead—the one she expects to inherit—is for sale. While Annalisse reels at the betrayal and her shattered dreams, the Walker Farm ranch manager discovers a corpse in the barn. Officials close the suspected murder scene, and Annalisse seeks refuge with her aunt at Alec Zavos’s rural estate in New York’s Catskill Mountains.

Then Aunt Kate vanishes.

Annalisse solicits the help of Greek tycoon, Alec Zavos, even though their rocky romance has dissolved into routine separation. What began as hope on Crete nine months ago has eaten away at Annalisse’s hope for a future with him.

In Spent Identity, Annalisse and Alec come together for the second time and find themselves in the center of not one mystery, but several. Where is Kate, and why sell her farm now? Is the dead man a coincidence or a clue to the aunt’s disappearance? John Doe’s identity may hold needed answers to solve the puzzle before Kate’s unstable health issues make her rescue impossible. The clock ticks, and a vengeful murderer is in charge…

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I’m not sure where to start with my review other than to hold on to your seat because it is going to be a fast and furious ride!

This is the second book in the series and while it could be read on its own, it might be best to pick up the first book to get a feel for the characters and the background.  The book provides plenty of details to lay a foundation for what occurred in case you choose not to read Stolen Obsession, so it isn’t an absolute must.

The story picks up with Annalisse and Alec and their relationship.  Let’s just say things are a little rocky, not because they don’t care for each other, but that life is getting in the way and someone might need to make some changes to his work life.  I can’t imagine what it is like to be part of the elite class and the security measures that need to be in place to keep people safe.  But sometimes it isn’t the unknown that causes a problem, it can be someone in your own family as Annalisse discovers.

Annalisse and Alec’s characters are still developing.  I’m not sure if I could be friends with Annalisse because she has a tendency to let things slip out that shouldn’t be said out loud, at least not to those that are in the room.  She even admits to having a big mouth, so at least that is progress.  Plus, bad luck seems to follow her and I’m not sure I want to be around her in case it rubbed off on me!  Alec was left to fill some big shoes but it is getting away from his passion as a veterinarian.  Unfortunately, it has blinded him to reality and he is close to losing what he holds most dear to him.

Now for the wild ride – Annalisse’s Aunt Kate goes missing, there is a car wreck, Kate’s son is selling the farm from under Kate, there is a kidnapping, someone unexpected appears from nowhere, and so much more.  And all of this happens within a week.  It is non-stop action and kept me turning the page until well past my bedtime.  I think that if all of this was happening to me I would need a vacation away from everyone to decompress.

The mystery kept me intrigued and on the edge of my seat.  There were so many possibilities for who was involved and why that I never guessed correctly until all was revealed.  Some of it was very surprising, but some I guessed earlier in the book but not fully.  Not everything is wrapped up in a nice bow at the end, there is still a cliffhanger or two and hopefully, those will be addressed in the next book.

This series is not one to miss and I can’t wait until the next book comes out to see what happens next for Annalisse and Alec.

We give this 4 paws up.

Marlene M. Bell is an acclaimed artist and photographer as well as a writer. Her sheep landscapes grace the covers of publications such as, Sheep!, The Shepherd, Ranch & Rural Living, and Sheep Industry News. Ewephoric, her mail order venture, began in 1985 out of a desire for realistic sheep stationery. A color catalog of non-fiction books and sheep-related gifts may be requested on her website, Texas Sheep.

Marlene and her husband, Gregg reside on a wooded ranch in beautiful East Texas with their dreadfully spoiled horned Dorset sheep, a large and lovable Maremma guard dog named Tia, and Hollywood, Leo, and Squeaks, the cats who believe they rule the household — and do.

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GIVEAWAY!  GIVEAWAY!  GIVEAWAY!

$350 PRIZE PACK / ONE WINNER

Autographed copy of Spent Identity & companion notebook, Mary Poppins-style bag (18×13” tapestry carpet bag with leather trim, handmade in Israel), $100 Amazon gift card, and 18” freshwater pearl necklace. 

JANUARY 7-17, 2019

(US ONLY)

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