#Review - Or Else by Joe Hart #Thrillers #Suspense

Series: Standalone
Format: Paperback, 254 pages
Release Date: April 1, 2022
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Source: Publisher
Genre: Thrillers / Suspense

A secret love becomes a fatal affair in a twisting novel of suspense by Wall Street Journal bestselling author Joe Hart.

When novelist Andy Drake returns to his hometown to care for his ailing father, a reconnection with his childhood friend Rachel escalates into a secret love affair. For Rachel, struggling to maintain the facade of a picture-perfect life, it’s an escape from an emotionally abusive marriage. Then Andy receives an anonymous note warning him to end the affair. Or else.

Whoever’s been watching is going to make Andy pay. Weeks later, Rachel’s husband, David, is shot to death. Rachel and her two young sons vanish without a trace. One misstep, one careless reveal, and Andy could look as guilty as sin. Clue by clue, as his investigation into the mystery unfolds, Andy discovers that he and Rachel weren’t the only ones keeping secrets.

Nothing in this quiet neighborhood is as it seems. No one peeking from behind the curtains of their homes can be trusted. And the worst is yet to come. Because David isn’t the only one who will die.

Joe Hart's Or Else begins with mystery/thriller author, Andy Drake, receiving a note telling him that they know about his affair with his next door neighborhood Rachel and to stop Or Else. Andy returned home to care for his father who is in the early stages of dementia and to work on his next book. He reconnected with his childhood friend Rachel six months ago, but things don't out the way he expected. Besides the note, Rachel's husband David is shot dead and she and her children go missing. Andy knows if he comes forward with the note and truth of his affair, he'll become the number one suspect.  

Not trusting the police, Andy takes it upon himself to try and find out what happened to David, and in turn, where Rachel and the children have gone. Things fall apart from there as Andy is consumed with finding what happened to Rachel. Then Andy's friend Mary Shelby, the church secretary who was like a second mother to Andy, is kicked dead by her horse. Soon thereafter, David's business partner Ryan Vallance is found dead. What in the hell is going on here? The setup of the loop neighborhood where everyone knows each other's business, including a man who may be tied to the mafia. 

There are so many unknowns amongst the neighbors, that you don't know who is involved, and who isn't. There were a lot more players in this mystery than Andy originally thought and once the layers were drawn back, it was strange how everything looked. David isn't alone in his investigation. His sister Kel is deeply involved in getting to the bottom of things. His relationship with Kel has always been strong to the point where their older brother felt jealous of the relationship. When you lose both your younger sister, and your mother, things have a tendency of changing who you are as a person. 

Here is what I will end my review by saying. Stick to the end. Decide for yourself how you feel. This is where I say that I am never going to intentionally point spoilers. The ending is twisted, and a head scratcher. 

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Saturday #Review - The First City (The Dominion Trilogy #3) by Joe Hart #Dystopia

Series: The Dominion Trilogy # 3
Format: E-Galley, 444 pages
Release Date: March 28, 2017
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Genre: Science Fiction, Dystopia

In the thrilling conclusion to Joe Hart’s Dominion Trilogy, Zoey discovers who she truly is—and who she must become.

Zoey has only ever known a world with few women and a society capable of unimaginable evil. Now she’s about to learn she may be the only hope it has for salvation.

After she and her companions flee a vicious attack, barely escaping with their lives, Zoey finds herself faced with a new threat: video evidence suggesting she is the mother of an unborn baby girl—and the key to mankind’s survival. Knowing that her former captors will stop at nothing to control the power that lies within her, Zoey sets out on her own for the last American city, Seattle, in search of answers. But a new enemy awaits her there, and the truth she seeks may lead to her destruction as well as that of all humankind.

This stunning finale, hailed by bestselling author Blake Crouch as a “rapturous, thought-provoking, [and] impossible-to-put-down thriller,” begs us all to consider what we would do when asked to choose between humanity’s survival—and our own.

The First City is the third and final installment in author Joe Hart' The Dominion Trilogy. The story begins pretty much right where The Final Trade left off. Zoey has been on one emotional rollercoaster ride after the other since escaping from from a government (NOA) run camp for women. None as emotional as what happened at the end of the last book. Now, Zoey must once again put herself on the road to discovering whether or not that information is real, or just another way for Vivian to grab Zoey and keep her under her thumb.

One of the more curious scenes in the book, actually takes place as the story opens. It is a scene that goes back to when 3 month old Zoey was first brought to the NOA, where she is placed under Cleric Simon's care. But, what's most intriguing is that Lee, the boy that Zoey fell in love with, has been there from the start. This curiosity makes you wonder if Vivian was actually telling the truth about Zoey, and also about Lee for that matter. Can Zoey really be the KEY? Sorry to be vague, but keeping spoilers out of this book is pretty important.

Zoey's journey brings her to Seattle. Seattle is where the story is picked up by Lee, oh yes, Lee is still alive, and finding that keeping his actual identity a secret, is becoming even more important when the city is attacked by a character named Hiraku Hashimoto. Hiraku truly gave me the creeps because of the story that he tells Lee and the way he focuses on Zoey. On one hand, there are some good things about him, and then there's the part where he wants to destroy NOA for his own personal goals, and keep Zoey for himself because of a twisted encounter with fate. 

His determination to collect any and all surviving women in the states, including Zoey, is rather creepy, and ends up with Lee and Zoey reuniting with Merrill and his group. At this point we understand that Zoey may be the most important person in the world, which is why Vivian is so insistent on getting her back. Zoey, who left her friends & allies behind after Merrill told her not to in order to discover truths on her own. Zoey, who eventually unravels truths about her parents, and whether or not they actually survived or not.

Author Hart puts a hurt on this story in a huge way. I can't tell you how emotionally drained this book made me before the final scene was revealed. There is plenty of action, plenty of cruel twists and turns, and a shocking revelation that I never thought I'd be right about. 

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#Wednesday Review - The Final Trade by Joe Hart (Science Fiction/Dystopia) @AuthorJoeHart

Series: The Dominion Trilogy # 2
Format: Paperback, 339 pages
Release Date: September 13, 2016
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Source: Publisher
Genre: Science Fiction>Dystopia

Zoey is not the woman she once was. She’s watched her friends die at the hands of their captors, been hunted, and returned from the brink of death. Now she must find the truth about who she is.

In search of the family she never knew, Zoey learns of personal records stored in an Idaho missile silo that may contain the information she and the other women seek. With the help of her group of newfound friends, Zoey travels to the missile facility, but among the records, they uncover information that leads to an insidious and horrific new foe: the Fae Trade, a macabre carnival of slavery and pain.

Zoey’s journey into the darkest parts of the human psyche brings her perilously close to the ever-thinning line between good and evil, and the final cost in her quest for justice might be her own humanity.

“Sometimes the smartest decision is the last one you want to make.” 

The Final Trade, by author Joe Hart, is the second installment in the authors The Dominion Trilogy. The story takes place (6) months after the events of The Last Girl. As a summary, this series takes place in a not too distant future. A future that saw a pandemic called "The Dearth" spread world wide. It is now a world where only boy baby's are born, while girl babies are sent to a militaristic compound run by the National Obstetric Alliance, or worse. It is a world where women are a valuable commodity to be sought out, traded for, or sold into slavery. 

As the story opens, the author offers a brief glimpse into the past. This glimpse is key because it has everything to do with Zoey, and who her parents were (although the author doesn't give us any hints as to who they could be.) Are they still alive? How did Zoey end up at ARC? We simply do not know. But, it is the one thing that drives Zoey so hard to find answers after being held for 20 years while also being promised to meet her parents when she turned 21. Zoey has some issues hanging over her head. While she escaped along with Rita and Sherell, she's the reason why others didn't.

In the present, Zoey chases after a spy who got too close to the camp where she, Merrill, Sherell, Tia, Rita, Eli, Ian, Chelsea, and Newton called home. Zoey has been training hard, learning how to shoot, and healing her once broken body thanks to Merrill, Ian, and Chelsea. Sometimes she pushes herself too hard. In the ensuing chase, Zoey learns that there is a place called Riverbend Missile Silo (Southern Idaho). As the group arrives, they discover that Riverbend may hold key answers to Zoey, Rita, and Sherell's parentage, and they also learn about something called the Fae Trade. 

What's interesting about this book, is that it is way, way darker than the previous book. It is apparent that Zoey is also becoming the de facto leader of the group. But, Zoey still needs answers, and she is willing to go to the darkside in order to find them. This means making some hasty and unwise choices while leaving others behind. This means traveling to Riverbend. This means putting down without emotion or regret anyone who harms her friends who have become her family. This also means that Zoey and a few others will end up traveling to one of the stops on the Fae Trades way to Seattle, aka the Last City. 

This is where we meet Wen. Wen is traveling along with the Fae Trade. The Fae Trade is a traveling carnival that travels coast to coast. We also meet the Elliot & Sasha Preston who operate the traveling circus known as Fae Trade. Wen is a cook, but she is also a slave and food taste tester for the Preston's. She also has plans to escape with a guard who she befriended. While she may have some sort of freedom, she can't go anywhere outside of the Trade alone for fear of being picked up by a man who wants his own personal slave.

The Final Trade has a whole lot more violence than the first installment. In reality, it all lays at the feet of Zoey who is responsible for a large majority of killings, and bloodshed. It is also her actions that lead to one of the more violent scenes in the entire novel. One could honestly say that this book is about who Zoey wants to become. Does she want to become a killer? Or, does she want to become a beacon of hope for others? Can she hold her unit of friends together, or will her actions be the death of everyone she's come to love?

“Some things are too heavy to manage on your own. Certain burdens will break a person if they insist on bearing them alone.” 

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#Saturday Review - The Last Girl by Joe Hart (Dystopia, Science Fiction)

Series: The Dominion Trilogy # 1
Format: E-Galley, 371 pages
Release Date: March 1, 2016
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Source: Publisher
Genre: Science Fiction, Dystopian

A mysterious worldwide epidemic reduces the birthrate of female infants from 50 percent to less than 1 percent. Medical science and governments around the world scramble in an effort to solve the problem, but twenty-five years later there is no cure, and an entire generation grows up with a population of fewer than a thousand women.

Zoey and some of the surviving young women are housed in a scientific research compound dedicated to determining the cause. For two decades, she’s been isolated from her family, treated as a test subject, and locked away—told only that the virus has wiped out the rest of the world’s population.

Captivity is the only life Zoey has ever known, and escaping her heavily armed captors is no easy task, but she’s determined to leave before she is subjected to the next round of tests…a program that no other woman has ever returned from. Even if she’s successful, Zoey has no idea what she’ll encounter in the strange new world beyond the facility’s walls. Winning her freedom will take brutality she never imagined she possessed, as well as all her strength and cunning—but Zoey is ready for war.

The Last Girl is the first installment in Joe Hart's The Dominion Trilogy. Set in a not too distant future, the story features 21-year old Zoe, no last name, who is one of a few females to have survived a pandemic that has prevented women from giving birth to female babies. After the dust and violence of a rebellion has settled, Zoe and other girls were taken to a secretive conclave deep in the heart of Washington State. Zoe and the other girls are basically hostages of an organization called Advanced Research Compound and the National Obstetric Alliance.

They are told they are being "protected" for their own good and the good of humanity. They are forced to go to school on a daily basis where they are indoctrinated into being mindful and well behaved young ladies. Of course, this concept is highly disturbing since the girls are basically in a prison where they get 3 meals, a job to work, and one hour of daily exercise. On the bright side, when a girl turns twenty-one, she is supposed to be given an induction, freedom, and the ability to meet once again with their parents.

This is an unusual story to review. There are so many things to talk about. Each female has their own "Cleric" who is supposed to watch over them. Some are better than others. Zoe's is Simon who just happens to have a son, Lee that she may or may not have a romantic interest in. There are a whole lot of situations where Zoe has to stand against bullying and harassment from the other girls and guards who are looking for something more than she is willing to give.    

I loved Zoe's feistiness, her skeptical nature towards those who are holding her hostage, and her protective nature towards a girl with severe difficulties named Lily. Zoe is perhaps the only character who has made plans outside of the complex and isn't afraid to express herself in ways that may rile others. So, when she gets the opportunity to escape, she does so. 

If I might be so blunt, this escape sequence was amazing. I loved the danger, the action, and the unknown that Zoe has to face now that she is outside. When she later meets some survivors who have not had the best lives since the plague and ensuing wars, she knows she has found a home. Yet, she knows that she can't leave the other girls behind. Not Lily, not even the bullies who would rather kill her.

Yes, I am looking forward to the sequel called The Final Trade which is supposed to release September 13, 2016. 

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