Count to Ten [Mass Market Paperback]

Mia Mitchell is a detective with the Chicago Police Dept, she is the partner of Abe Reagan from I'M WATCHING YOU. Abe and Mia have been shot while on duty and Mia blames herself for not firing sooner. She thinks Abe will blame her too. Imagine her surprise when his wife jumps her not because she did not save him, but because she has not visited him in the hospital. He has been worrying non stop about his friend and partner.

Mia was raised by an abusive father, who was a cop, and she has never revealed the story to anyone. Her sister is in jail for armed robbery and only she knows the horror both lived thorough. Mia has found it hard to trust a man and at 34 has pretty much given up hope of finding a man she can love and trust.

Lt. Reed Solliday is with the fire dept. He is a widower, who has turned his home into a shrine for the woman he lost, He has a 14 yr old daughter and his adopted sister lives close by to take care of them. In the last eleven yrs he hasn't met anyone like Mia. She sets off feelings he has not had in a long time.

Both are determined not to let the fires of passion confuse them and push them into a deeper relationship. Maybe they can enjoy the fire without paying the price. They have a seriel firebug who is murdering and raping the women then burning them up in the houses. At first it is not considered a seriel. But shortly after the first body is found another house and woman are burned and raped.

The problem is finding the connection, they know there has to be one. The writing is wonderful, the police procedures fully explained, and the basic rules that all cops follow finally lead them to their suspect. But he blames them for the fact that he has been unable to complete his circle of revenge. Then he sets out to punish Mia and Reed for their interference.

This is a one sit reader. You will not be able to put it down. I really enjoyed it.

I love this author! I would give her book six stars if possible!

After being called to the scene of a horrific house fire, Lt. Reed Solliday quickly realizes that he has more than a case of arson on his hands. When they find a body inside, they quickly surmise that not only was the fire arson, but the person inside was murdered. Because of the homicide, Reed is forced to partner with Detective Mia Mitchell. At first Reed isn't too sure about Mia's capabilities as a Detective. He soon realizes that his first impressions of her were as far off the mark as possible.

Detective Mia Mitchell has come back to work after a stint on disability. In a shooting that almost turned deadly, Mia took a shot to the arm while her partner almost died. Convinced that she is at fault for not protecting her partner, Mia has punished herself for weeks while avoiding her friends and family. When she is paired up with Reed Solliday, she is determined that he will never be more than a temporary partner.

Together, Mia and Reed race to stop a killer whose violence is escalating by the day. In a series of horrifying murders, they both know that the killer won't stop until they stop him. In her usual way, Karen Rose brings the killer to life in the readers eyes, giving us insight into his thoughts. The suspense in this book will grab you from the first page and won't let you go until you finish the book. The romance adds to the book, rather than detracting from it. I finished it in one day because I could not put it down. There are many twists and turns in COUNT TO TEN. Even the secondary characters, including both Mia and Reed's family and friends, don't take away from the plot of the book. Instead, they add to it making the book even better.

Karen Rose gets better with every book she writes. Do not pass this one up!

Mia Mitchell has barely returned to work as a Homicide detective from being out on leave after being shot when she is reassigned not only a new case, but a new partner. Lieutenant Reed Solliday is a sexy Fire investigator working a nasty case of arson when the grim discovery of a burned body turns the case into a homicide. A serialist is on the loose targeting his victims and it is up to Mia and Reed to find him before any more people wind up dead.

Count to Ten is not like Karen Rose's earlier novels. It is much more of a police procedural, and less of a Romantic Suspense as categorized by publishers. The sexual tension between the two was a bit on the weak side as was the suspense. The killer was predictable and there was no climactic reveal or ending to this story. It was as if this book was written by another author entirely, because none of it read like her previous works which I absolutely rave about.

Unfortunately, I think so many romantic suspense authors today are changing formats. Maybe it is the editors making the push for a change, but many readers are unhappy with the way authors are veering from the very things that draw in their audience in the first place. I personally think that ROMANTIC SUSPENSE should be just that. An equal amount of both romance and suspense, or mystery, or crime to be solved. Count to ten is a good police procedural, but make sure you take the time, because it is 550 pages long. It's not that it is long and drawn out. All the facts present themselves in a timely fashion, but there is no fast paced, hold you glued to the pages, non-stop suspense to keep the reader engaged as KR has done in the past.

Is it worth buying?

Even with my negative review, I do think it is worth the money. Just be prepared for a different style of writing if you are a fan of Karen Rose.