As a fan of K.A. Tucker, I am *so* excited to be part of the blog tour
for her latest release. He Will Be My Ruin, an adult suspense novel,
will be released on February 2. I highly recommend it
and you can even enter for a chance to win your own copy!
for her latest release. He Will Be My Ruin, an adult suspense novel,
will be released on February 2. I highly recommend it
and you can even enter for a chance to win your own copy!
The USA TODAY bestselling author of the Ten Tiny Breaths and Burying Water series makes her suspense debut with this sexy, heartpounding story of a young woman determined to find justice after her best friend’s death, a story pulsing with the “intense, hot, emotional” (Colleen Hoover) writing that exhilarates her legions of fans.
A woman who almost had it all . . .
On the surface, Celine Gonzalez had everything a twenty-eight-year-old woman could want: a one- bedroom apartment on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, a job that (mostly) paid the bills, and an acceptance letter to the prestigious Hollingsworth Institute of Art, where she would finally live out her dream of becoming an antiques appraiser for a major auction house. All she had worked so hard to achieve was finally within her reach. So why would she kill herself?
A man who was supposed to be her salvation . . .
Maggie Sparkes arrives in New York City to pack up what’s left of her best friend’s belongings after a suicide that has left everyone stunned. The police have deemed the evidence conclusive: Celine got into bed, downed a lethal cocktail of pills and vodka, and never woke up. But when Maggie discovers a scandalous photograph in a lock box hidden in Celine’s apartment, she begins asking questions. Questions about the man Celine fell in love with. The man she never told anyone about, not even Maggie. The man Celine believed would change her life.
Until he became her ruin.
On the hunt for evidence that will force the police to reopen the case, Maggie uncovers more than she bargained for about Celine’s private life—and inadvertently puts herself on the radar of a killer. A killer who will stop at nothing to keep his crimes undiscovered.
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MY REVIEW
I’ve been a fan of K.A. Tucker’s since reading Ten Tiny Breaths back in 2014. Her story telling ability hooked me from the start and I knew I had found a new favorite author. Flash forward almost two years to when I heard about Tucker’s upcoming hardcover release of a straight-up suspense novel. Cue the excitement!
In He Will Be My Ruin, Maggie Sparks, a wealthy heiress who is passionate about aiding others in underdeveloped countries via her nonprofit organization, is devastated by her longtime best friend’s suicide. At the age of twenty-eight, Celine was living on her own in New York City, paying her bills with a day job, and making plans to pursue her passion of antiques by enrolling in a prestigious art institute. What could have gone so wrong to make the attractive young woman choose to end her own life? When Maggie arrives in New York, staying in Celine’s apartment, in order to settle her friend’s affairs, she begins to ask questions. With the discovery of a large sum of cash and the photo of a mystery man, Maggie begins to seek closure of a different sort: the truth.
Tucker has crafted a suspense novel that had me second-guessing every new discovery and suspicious of almost every character. At each turn, Maggie learned more about Celine and began to wonder how far apart they had truly drifted if she knew so little about the woman who was more like a sister than a friend.
The secondary characters were a motley crew. From a governor’s son, to a building superintendent, a nosy neighbor, a private investigator, a hacker, and a swishy antiques expert. Some knew a side of her in life and some only became acquainted with her after death. But each plays a role as Maggie pushes for answers.
I loved how the plot developed, layer by layer, as Maggie uncovered more and more of Celine’s life in her final months. I found myself wishing that I knew Maggie better, but with so much going on plot-wise it was easy to concentrate on the mystery aspect of the story. Maggie was equal parts suspicious of the circumstances surrounding Celine’s and often too trusting of those around her. And while Maggie was sometimes too trusting, I on the other hand suspected almost everyone at different points throughout the book. The hashtag #ISuspectEveryone being used in conjunction with the book’s release couldn’t be more fitting. Because even when I decided I had it figured out… I was wrong (K.A. Tucker for the win!).
Fans of K.A. Tucker, fans of suspense, and just fans of great story telling will love He Will Be My Ruin. Not to be missed!
EXCERPT
“Can tenants come up here?”
He eases himself upright until he’s sitting within the hammock, his brown suede slippers planted firmly on the cedar platform below. The blanket falls to reveal the long-sleeved cotton shirt that clings to his body. It’s nowhere near warm enough for twenty-degree weather. “They can come to the roof, sure.”
I survey the arbor gate behind me again, and the wooden lattice fence that stretches all the way around, framing this little garden. “But not into here.”
He kicks off, somehow managing to balance himself while the hammock sways. “It’s one of the few perks that comes with my job.
“And the building owner really doesn’t care? Because I feel like this would be a code infraction or something. What if there’s a fire and the tenants have to come up to get to the fire escape?” I’m rambling, but if I keep talking then it can’t get awkward and I won’t be forced back inside.
“My experience is people travel down when there’s a fire.” He chuckles as if that’s the silliest idea, his English accent making me smile. “But if they come up here, then I guess they’ll have a nice place to sit while the building burns.”
“Fair enough.” I pause. “Did Celine ever come up here?”
A shadow flickers over his face. “No. I didn’t see much of her at all, really.”
I’m not surprised. She was afraid of heights.
Silence hangs between us and I figure I have nothing to lose. I edge toward him with the tin. “Trade you…One of these for a hit of what you’re smoking.”
At first Grady meets my question with a blank stare, and I think I’ve overstepped my bounds. But then he grins, a handsome boyish grin that I never noticed before. One that makes him all the more attractive. “How do I say no to that?” He accepts the tin of cookies and then eases back into his hammock, stretching a long, toned arm out to fetch the hidden joint from a planter. “It’s big enough for two,” he offers, gesturing beside him.
Normally, I would never think of climbing into a hammock with a guy I barely know, but there’s something oddly familiar about Grady and the way he offers it. No leery glances, no winks. Nothing overtly sexual beyond his natural presence.
And I’m too drained to care about any of that right now anyway.
“This could go disastrously wrong,” I warn, stepping onto the wooden platform.
About K.A. Tucker: Born in small-town Ontario, K.A. Tucker published her first book at the age of six with the help of her elementary school librarian and a box of crayons. She currently resides in a quaint town outside of Toronto with her husband, two beautiful girls, and an exhausting brood of four-legged creatures.
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