| Title | : | Take the Key and Lock Her Up (Deadly Games #4) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0062280929 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780062280923 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Mass Market Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 370 |
| Publication | : | First published July 22, 2014 |
Detective Emily O'Malley just stumbled upon a killer's lair—and the remains of a woman he kept locked away for years. But this killer isn't done yet. More women are missing, and all clues point to Devlin Buchanan—the man who seems to know just a little too much. Emily's instincts are rarely wrong, and now they're telling her this sexy, mysterious man is hiding something big …
As a trained assassin for EXIT Inc—a top-secret mercenary group posing as an international tour company—Devlin "Devil" Buchanan isn't afraid to take justice into his own hands. But when the hot new detective on his trail gets too close to the organization and a contract is placed on her life, Devlin does the only thing he can: he turns rogue agent and kidnaps her to save her life.
With EXIT Inc closing in and passions running hot between them, Emily and Devlin must work together to find the missing women and clear both their names before time runs out … and the key to freedom is thrown away.
Take the Key and Lock Her Up (Deadly Games #4) Reviews
-
It had potential to be a good story but it was just too rushed and it had the dreaded insta-love/lust, which I absolutely loathe reading about. The mystery was lousy. I figured it out long before the midpoint; the characters were one dimensional. I made it half way and stopped. Sorry.
-
2.5 Stars. This one had a lot of potential but it was a bit too instant with the love connection and the characters made some really dumb choices! I had a hard time buying Emily as a respected and proficient detective with some of her decisions and her lack of being able to respond appropriately under stress. Although she readily admitted to this I still struggled with it. Devlin is a very complex and dark character and again he made some questionable decisions.
I also struggled a lot with figuring out the motives of the villains. Even when given - which was very very light - it made no sense to me.
There were quite a few twists and turns - some I saw coming and others I did not. For me the action was so quick that I felt like character depth and motivation was overlooked so the plot could flow the way the author wanted it to. Not sure I will read the EXIT books as I can't imagine wanting to read about the company -
Again...my good friend told me to read ASAP. I did...in less than 24 hours I devoured this book.
This same awesome friend is the one who recommend Lena to me. I LOVE this series. LOVE.
AND this book was my favorite so far. Dev...aka Devil is hot, sexy, and a badass bad boy. Emily was a perfect match for him. Did I mention...she is a cop. Devil is not a big fan of...cops. Besides the awesome love story the mystery and action in this book were edge of your seat awesomeness. I'm chopping for the next book, CANNOT wait. I'm a big fan of coming back to a series and getting to touch base with past family and characters. The Buchanan clan are some of the hottest, badasses around. As I said I'm dying for more. There were some things left up in the air, such as Austin...eek. And EXIT's demise. Lena has set us up perfectly for the next book.
If you have not read this author...RUN! She is a must read, if you love suspense, mystery, sexy with plot twists to keep you on the edge of your seat turning pages for hours!!! READ Lena!!! -
I received an early copy of "Take the Key and Lock Her Up" in exchange for an honest review.
It will be up to the readers to decide the genre of Lena Diaz’s “Take the Key and Lock Her Up.” Diaz adds romance, mystery, suspense, and intrigue to create romantic connection between two people even if they are exact opposites of each other. Diaz’s intense romantic plot is full of twists and turns and unpredictability. Diaz introduces her two key protagonists detective Emily O’Malley and Devin Buchanan. Diaz introduces well developed support characters bringing them into the story as needed giving readers their history. These great support characters, both good and bad, come alive to help readers embrace Diaz’s story.
“Take the Key and Lock Her Up” is a complex story transitioning between the unusual history of the two protagonists. The first meeting of Diaz’s key protagonists Detective Emily O’Malley and loner Devin Buchanan was like mixing oil and vinegar. O’Malley is chasing a suspect who has a terrified Virginia Hawley as his captive in his truck. Driving on a rural road the suspect stops and runs into a building with his hostage. Diaz explains O’Malley’s lack of self-confidence and her dislike for making life or death decisions. Diaz introduces her second protagonist as Devin Buchanan arriving on the scene offering O’Malley assistance after hearing on his police scanner O’Malley’s call for back up O’Malley’s low self-confidence collides with Buchanan’s attitude and his reminding it was O’Malley needing help from him. The chemistry between O’Malley and Buchanan jumps off the pages for the first of many times in Diaz’s story line.
Diaz does a wonderful job describing the development of the chemistry of her two protagonists to her readers. O’Malley is a good detective with exceptional investigative skills who reacts slow to crisis issues. Buchanan is a member of an influential family whose father is a successful self-defense attorney, brother and sister with the FBI, a brother is a private investigator and his younger brother confined to a wheel chair. Devin Buchanan has a mysterious history working for a firm handling problems others couldn’t solve. O’Malley thinks he is a paid assassin.
Readers see Diaz delivering sudden changes of direction to the plot challenging both O’Malley and Buchanan. O’Malley strains to follow her ethics in her investigations. Buchanan’s methods are so unorthodox O’Malley doesn't see how they could help each other. O’Malley’s investigation seems to trip over Buchanan’s efforts to locate the person responsible for the missing women. Buchanan’s secrets keep O’Malley digging into his past and asks one too many questions sharing her theory of Buchanan being an assassin to the wrong person. Buchanan finds O’Malley’s life is in danger and he discovers his boss has put a target on his back.
Diaz’s story heats up and events start unfolding so fast readers barely have time to catch their breath. The level of danger and ruthlessness increases as Diaz helps readers understanding how much is at stake. Even with all the danger and attacks on people Buchanan cares about, Diaz shows her readers she can keep romance in the air. Diaz strengthens the romantic connection between Buchanan and O’Malley. Diaz’s readers will not be able to predict the ending of “Take the Key and Lock Her Up” nor who is responsible for all the betrayal and manipulation. The only way to learn how Lena Diaz’s , “Take the Key and Lock Her Up” ends is to read Diaz’s book. I recommend Lena Diaz’s book and consider this a must read. Diaz’s book earned 5 stars. -
Dark and twisted best describe this latest in the Deadly Games series. The bonus with this book is it also kicks off a new series.
All the Buchanan’s from the previous books are back with Devlin being the main hero of this one. Devlin’s job is a little darker than his brother’s. He is an assassin for a group called EXIT Inc (which is also the name of the new series). The author waste no time throwing you in the middle of chaos and you’re hanging on for the rollercoaster of a ride from start to finish.
This book is filled with so many twists and turns that giving away too much of the plot I fear would ruin it for other readers. All I have to say this is a very intense romantic suspense and soo worth the read. With as dark as things got in this one, my curiosity is piqued for the new series. -
Spectacular thriller that I couldn't put down! Twist after twist kept me guessing about villains and motives until the very end. This is hands down my favorite of the Deadly Games series. Devlin is masterfully woven in a razor fine line between courageous hero and dangerous assassin, a mix that kept me riveted. Emily displayed refreshing spunk and wit, a pleasant change from today's contemporary characters who rely on snark. Great dialogue, chemistry and tension kept the romantic pace at a white hot blitz. Highly, highly recommend this romantic suspense, and I can hardly wait for this author's next series!
-
Fast paced high octane story!
This book was so good! Started off fast and never stopped. Devlin was a complicated character and was written so well. And Emily's struggles with the gray areas of right and wrong were a joy to read. This is a must read for romantic suspense lovers. I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend this book. -
Couldn't take to this one at all. He was far too dark a character for me to like and she kept making me roll my eyes at her stupidity! I'm not sure about the spin off series either, but I guess I'll probably try the first one and go from there.
-
There isn't a book by Lena Diaz that isn't a winner -- and this is no exception. Her writing is really compelling and keeps you turning the pages. I'm a huge fan.
-
I have not read that much by Diaz. Only this series and this book is the last one (as I understand it) in the series Deadly Games. I loved the first three books and they all got top score by me. These books are old fashion, romantic suspense that makes you want to stay home from work, sit in your reading nook and do nothing but read all day and night. That is how good these books have been. I must, however, say that I was a little disappointed on Diaz with this one. The story is awesome as always but I do not like the ending.
You can read a complete and
a more detailed review at my blog. -
4.5/5 serinin en beğendiğim kitabı
-
Thank you to Avon for providing me with a copy in exchange for my honest review
So Take The Key and Lock Her Up, what did I think of it, well I can honestly say I enjoyed every minute of this fast paced novel, it contains the perfect ingredients for a thrilling read, feisty heroine, hot but damaged hero, secret organisation, amazing chemistry and a didn't see it coming twist at the end.
Detective Emily O'Malley, a detective better a solving crime puzzles than thinking on her feet comes across an abducted woman and her kidnapper whilst driving home one night, she follows them to an old house where she sees them go inside but once in she finds not only no trace of the woman and her abductor, she finds herself trapped in a cell.
In that cell she makes a gruesome discovery, skeletal remains lie inside, but she doesn't have too long to dwell as what she thinks is the kidnapper comes back, aiming her gun she gets ready to attack and finds herself face to face with....Devlin Buchanan
Devlin is instantly pegged as the kidnapper but he is coming to Emily's help, hearing her call for back up on his police scanner, he has come to help her. Little do they both now that they are about to get involved in a huge web of deceit and betrayal.
The body in the cell is identified as Carolyn Buchanan, Devlin's "Mother", a woman who he loses no love for, taken in for questioning by Emily, she realises that he may have nothing to do with this woman's murder but he is definitely hiding something from her.
Devlin is an enforcer for EXIT, an organisation that is extremely shadowy, he is a bad ass assassin pretending to be an adventure tour guide, Emily does not trust him but she also can't stop thinking about him and before long they both find themselves flung together as Emily starts asking the wrong questions and repercussions are felt by them and their nearest and dearest.
Devlin takes Emily at first against her will, as he sees the danger that she is in, together they run from EXIT, and they run for their lives, will they solve these crimes that have them watching their backs and will they succumb to the amazing chemistry they have?
There is so much going on in this novel that I haven't mentioned (no spoilers!!), it is a great read and at no time did I find myself getting bored as the story is extremely fast paced, each page exudes danger as the story progresses plus you have the extremely sparky chemistry between Devlin and Emily which just makes the perfect addition to this amazing novel.
This book reminded me a lot of the awesome In Death series by JD Robb, a series that I totally love and in that I really want to hear more in the future about Devlin and Emily!
The only thing I didn't like about this book was the cover, it is probably that books of this type I am used to seeing a half naked man with a large gun on the front, this one looked like it belonged more on a supernatural book than a thriller.
This was my first Lena Diaz novel and I am excited to see there are a whole series of Deadly Games thrillers out there, I may just have to treat myself!
Take The Key and Lock Her Up is awarded 5 out of 5 -
Awesome read, kept me turning the pages!
Emily O’Malley doesn’t think of herself as the best cop in the department but she is determined to do her best as a detective. When she spots a woman reported missing some time ago in a truck, she follows the suspect to a house off the beaten track. She calls it in and requests backup but when she hears screams, she knows she must act fast or the woman may die before help arrives. The last thing she expects is to find herself locked in a cell with a dead body, and then rescued by another man who may or may not be involved in the abductions. Now she’s caught up in an investigation, which puts her own life on the line and changes her life forever.
Devlin Buchanan just wants to spend some time with his family before he goes on his next mission. When he hears a female cop put out a call for backup on his police scanner, he knows better than to get involved with the police, but can’t leave a damsel in distress. Now everything that can go wrong has and he now finds himself in the middle of a murder/abduction case, and he’s the prime suspect. Not only does he need to protect the company he works for, EXIT Inc., his family, and himself, but now the cop who he can’t seem to stop thinking about is in danger too. To say his world has been turned upside down is an understatement.
Lena Diaz writes amazing, page turning, edge of the seat suspense blended with just the right amount of romance filled angst and attraction to keep any reader thoroughly content but in TAKE THE KEY AND LOCK HER UP, I think she takes us to a whole new place.
TAKE THE KEY AND LOCK HER UP by Lena Diaz is exciting from page one, captivating in how deeply developed the storyline is, and we can’t help but fall for the hero bad boy, Devlin Buchanan. She puts us knee deep into the action right from the start and I wouldn’t want it any other way. This is a keep-you-up-reading-way-past-your-bedtime good read. I have to admit to reading until I actually dropped my reader because I couldn’t keep my eyes open another moment, that is until I was so close to the end I could taste it, and then I pulled a I’m-going-to-read-till-I-finish night. I finally closed down my reader at 4 AM. Of course, that was after I read the teaser from Lena’s next series starting with EXIT STRATEGY, where - There’s more to EXIT Inc. than meets the eye… I can’t wait!!
I highly recommend TAKE THE KEY AND LOCK HER UP by Lena Diaz if you love a fast-paced, action-packed thriller, which guarantees to keep you on the edge of your seat and turning the pages all while trying to figure out whodunit. By the way, I figured out who the killer was, but Lena caught me on the motive. Good one, Lena. There’s nothing better than a thriller that really does keep you guessing. Loved it!
Purchased this one for my own personal reading but sharing an honest and unscripted review. -
Take the Key and Lock Her Up is apparently the final book in the Deadly Game series, which can be read as a stand-alone. I have not read the other books in the series as such I am unable to make any comparisons.
The story started out with a bang and continued at that pace until the very end. This is a fast paced read that kept me on the edge of my seat and had me turning the pages as I was eager to find out what was going to happen next.
There were so many twists and turns and it was not easy to figure out who was the villain. Just when think that you had it figured out the author throws in something else that takes you on a different track.
The main characters were likable and were easy to connect with. Detective Emily O'Malley is really cut out to be cop, but she had mad skills when it came to conducting investigations which led to her closing quite a number of cases. She felt that she had to be constantly proving herself as such she was intent on solving the case of the women who had gone missing and who were then murdered.
In the midst of following a lead she came in contact with Devlin Buchanan, a mercenary who worked for Extreme International Tours Inc (EXIT). He came to her rescue when the suspect had locked her into an abandoned building. She was torn as she was not sure of his connection to the murders coupled with the fact that she was attracted to him.
The chemistry between these two was undeniable. The banter between was entertaining. Emily knew that Delvin was hiding something and being the tenacious person that she was,she did not plan to stop digging until she found out what it was. Her tenacity, however, would land her and Devlin in some serious mess.
The ending was not what I expected. There are still some unaswered questions that I was hoping would have been addressed, this however did not take away from the story.
I enjoyed every suspenseful moment of this book and as a result I am now compelled to read the other books in the series.
This is a must read and I highly recommend it to persons who love romantic suspense.
I received a complimentary copy from Edelweiss in exchange for a honest review. -
Lena Diaz is a rising star in the romantic suspense genre. This Deadly Games series keeps getting better and better. You will find that you can't stop turning those pages.
Emily O'Malley is a newer detective on the Savannah police force and she is investigating the disappearance of kidnapped women. Devlin "Devil" Buchanan comes to her rescue when something goes wrong with her investigation. Unfortunately, as time goes by, it becomes obvious that this case does have connections to Devlin and the people that he cares most about, including Emily, are all in danger.
Devlin is the mysterious Buchanan brother, you will have met some of his brothers in the previous books. Because of his job with a covert group called EXIT, he stays on the fringes of his family because he feels like an outsider, due to some long ago family issues. Yet when he meets Emily, he is drawn to her and can't help seeing other possibilities in life. Emily is in turn drawn to him even though she feels like she can't trust him. One of her problems she has been having with her job is that she has trouble finding the ability to rely on her instincts and that causes her to make mistakes. But she is strong and honest and together she and Devlin find they are in danger and on the run as they try to solve who is setting Devlin up.
There are lots of twists and turns in this exciting story and the action is non-stop. As is the chemistry between Devlin and Emily. One thing that will keep you wondering is the EXIT group that Devlin works for. Are they the anti-terror group they claim, or are they something else all together? -
From the very beginning, this book had my attention and as I got further into the story, my attention never once wavered. I couldn't have stopped reading this even if I wanted to (and I didn't want to), this book had me on edge trying to figure out what was going to happen next. In this book, set in Georgia, we meet Detective Emily O' Malley. The story starts off when Emily notices a terrified looking woman who is sitting in the passenger side of a pickup truck as someone who has been missing. Emily is a detective for a reason, she's good with clues and reasoning but not so good under pressure as other cops might be. Emily decides to follow the pickup truck and try to rescue the missing woman. Let's just say, it doesn't quite work out like she hoped. Emily, ends up being locked up in a prison-like room, with a dead corpse. Devlin, or "you can call me Devil" Buchanan comes to her rescue. Devlin rescues Emily from the prision only for them to later find out, the corpse is connected to Devlin. Thus beginning a suspenseful journey in finding answers.
This book has so many twist and turns it will have you on the edge of your seat, holding on for dear life. Lena Diaz did a fantastic job writing this book and the details she described, made you believe you were in the shadows watching the story unfold. This would make a great movie...just saying! Looking forward to reading more things by Lena Diaz and can't wait for her next story. -
An action-packed adventure of espionage, double agents, car chases, shoot-outs, murder – and that’s just the beginning of the story. Newly minted Detective Emily O’Malley is the black sheep of her medical-career family, but she has some issues with her chosen profession. She doesn’t make the best decisions under pressure.
EXIT Inc agent Devlin Buchanan has long trusted his instinct. It’s saved his life over and over again in tight situations. ((spoiler alert)) Now it appears he’s being targeted by his employers, and he has no idea why. Worse, the sexy cop he stumbled into won’t let it go. She’s clearly outclassed by his peers, but she’s also good at figuring stuff out.
Almost immediately, Devlin kidnaps Emily for her own good, and then these two strike sparks off each other as they try to figure out what the heck is going on. -
From the very beginning the suspense is real. Detective Emily has you wondering what will happen next, but has you wondering if she can really do her job right. Quite funny her inner thoughts. Her life is quite an adventure with this case, but everything turns when she meets Devlin. His hot and strong, but who is he really a cop... just a man she is attractive to... or is he a secret... What is EXIT Inc? Can these two work together or will they kill each other? Read this to find out! Filled with action, suspense, romance did I say ACTION already!? A MUST READ!
-
I was a little surprised by this book. You were reintroduced to characters from the other books in the series but the story didn't follow the same line...not quite the serial killer concept of the other books. I enjoyed the characters and the book and can see where the author is using this story to progress into another series. Although the book didn't leave you with a cliff hanger it did leave some loose ends and the feeling the story isn't over.
-
Take The Key And Lock Her Up was a fast-paced, edge of your seat thriller that I just couldn't put down! This book kept me guessing through-out. I love it when I can't quite figure out "who dunnit"
I really liked Emily's attitude, without it she wouldn't have made a good detective. Devlin was just plain hot! Together they were perfect.
I really must go back and check out the rest of the Buchanan men! -
This book was so good! Started off fast and never stopped. Devlin was a complicated character and was written so well. And Emily's struggles with the gray areas of right and wrong were a joy to read. This is a must read for romantic suspense lovers. I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend this book.
-
I do have to say, I enjoyed all 4 of these books. He Kills me, He kills me not got 5 stars. The rest received 4. This one in particular, did not stay to the serial killer side, though I did love it just the same. Hopefully, this author comes out with some more books in the near future
-
Hiç de serini son kitabıymış gibi bitmedi.Ben beşinci kitabı belerken birde baktım dört sonmuş.Yazar öyle bir son yazmış ki sanki devam kitabının da hikayesi belli bir sonraki kitapta işlenecek konuda budur der gibi bitti.
