Her debut suspense novel, Don't Tell, was released in July, 2003. Since then, she has published more than fifteen novels and two novellas. Her twenty-fifth novel, Say No More, was released in August 2020. Special Agent Steven Thatcher and his family are still recovering from his son's abduction six months ago during one of his cases when he lands another case involving a missing teenager. He soon realizes he's dealing with a serial killer when a second teenage girl goes missing. Meanwhile, he's trying to deal with his problems at home as his oldest son has had a personality change and is failing chemistry. When Steven meets with his teacher, Jenna Marshall, there is plenty chemistry to go around.

Don't Tell is a book about the desperate flight of a mother to keep her son safe and the need of finding someone to love. Mary Grace Winters run away from her abusive husband with their son Robbie. To protect herself and her son Mary Grace changed her name to Caroline Stewart and kept a quiet life in Chicago. However, Caroline Stewart did not realise that her safe life will change until Dr Maximillian Alexander Hunter became her new boss and her estranged husband realise that Mary Grace was not dead. The Readers of Don't Tell will follow the twist and turns with Caroline Stewart and Dr Maximillian Alexander Hunter blossom romance and law enforcement investigation into Rob Winters. Her novels, I'm Watching You and Silent Scream, received the Romance Writers of America's RITA award for Best Romantic Suspense for 2005 and 2011. Five of her other books have been RITA finalists. To date, her books have been translated into more than twenty languages. A sadistic killer stalks teenage girls and malicious mischief and threats of harm start to pile up against Jenna. Steven is captivated by her but wounded by a past that shook him to the core. He's no closer to identifying and stopping a monster and he keeps messing up the relationship he desperately wants to pursue with the first woman to make it past his shields since his wife's death. Tension and stress reach explosive levels and keeping Jenna safe starts taking priority, but his family is falling apart and his job is becoming more and more frantic. There's just so much one man can take before everything goes boom. After completing her tours with the Marines in Iraq, Molly Sutton knew she could take down any bad guy she met. But when a family tragedy exposes the dark side of her local police, she joined up with her former CO Burke Broussard, who left New Orleans PD to set up a private investigative service for people who couldn’t find justice elsewhere.Rose's characters are well-developed and engaging. She made me care about them and root for them. I enjoyed the way Caroline (aka Mary Grace) grew as a person and made her life better. Rose played out her situation perfectly from her fears to her judgments to her approach to romance. I liked how strong she was. The romance aspect was beautiful. Max and Caroline were a great pairing. Their troubles fit the story well.

Karen's books are set in different US states. The books are connected, and characters from previous novels usually make appearances, even if they are not from those places. [1] This had to do in part with the characters. Both Caroline and Max are deeply damaged from events in the past that have seemingly defined their futures (Caroline with her abusive ex; Max was involved in a car accident that permanently crippled his knees.)I think because they were so damaged and hurt by their past events it led to a fierce need to see them be happy again. Life has given them one crapshoot after another with no break in between. They deserve a shot to be a little less miserable.

Find a book you’ll love, get our Word Up newsletter

Yes, Rose conveys the fear, anguish, and terror a woman must endure in an abusive relationship. She also clearly shows the strength and determination that is needed to get out of such a horrible situation. On those counts, bravo. This was my first read by author Karen Rose, but it definitely won’t be the last. Don’t Tell is one of the best romantic suspense books that I’ve read. Domestic violence is an all too real and common theme in suspense/thrillers, but this is one of the most chilling, terrifying, haunting, and emotionally gut-wrenching accounts that I’ve encountered in books or movies. It’s flat-out fantastic, riveting, and I simply couldn’t put it down, even though there were several times that I got so upset or had such blurry eyes that it was hard to continue.

First, the hero and his mentality annoyed me. He was all over the place with the heroine, trusting her one moment, "hating" her the next...And then expected her to forgive him. I know, I know, his behavior was explained, and I got it, really, I did, but still, Ms. Rose went a little over the top with the jerk. The readers of Don't Tell will see the consequences and the devastation domestic violence have on everyone evolved. Also, in some sections of the community domestic violence against family members are overlooked or what happens between couples behind closed doors are private and not their business. The Readers of Don't Tell will learn the importance of safe houses for women and children to find a safe place after escaping from violent relationships. In the end, Josh gets caught before he can kill Jenna and his last victim, but doesn't get to go to jail since his mother, who had shot his father and brother before heading to court, kills him in the courtroom before killing herself. Not even one sane member in that family! While reading it reminded me of the movie Sleeping with the Enemy to some degree, however this story went deeper than plot of that movie. A former high school teacher of chemistry and physics, Karen lives in Florida with her husband of more than thirty years and her dog, Loki. [2] Bibliography [ edit ]Public prosecutor J.P. “Kaj” Cardozo has only lived in New Orleans for six months, and he’s already working on a high-profile celebrity sexual assault case that’s made headlines all over the country. But when his son becomes the target of a kidnapping attempt as a threat to Kaj, he is desperate to keep him safe and turns to a private investigative firm famous for their protection services. The serial killer plot is well done with some excellent twists and turns although a careful reader will find it very easy to identify the culprit. There are several parallel narratives in this book Don't Tell: the first is about Caroline Stewart, a woman who ran away from her abusive husband and is living with her son under an assumed identity. The second is the one of Rob Winters, her husband, who recently figured out she ran away and starts looking for her. The third, is about Special Agent Steven Thatcher, who got assigned the case of her disappearance and is on Winter's trail once he discovers he was abusing his wife. For a good chunk of the book, I was like... The romance is compelling mostly due to the amazing chemistry between Steven and Jenna. This makes their relationship believable despite the relatively short time span. Given his history, Steven is an extremely vulnerable hero, which may explain his trust issues and reservations where it comes to accepting Jenna wholeheartedly. Nevertheless, his jealousy can be annoying at times. Jenna is my favorite type of heroine, caring and sympathetic but also holds her own against hesitant policemen and diabolical serial killers. This is the first book by Karen Rose that went through my hands, but it certainly won't be the last. I heard only good things about her books and now I have proof they were all true.