Beg for Mercy is the first book in Jami Alden’s Dead Wrong romantic suspense trilogy. I will start off by saying that I love this author’s voice, the writing is so easy to read, and I just sink into the prose and let the story take me along for the ride. This, for me, is romantic suspense “crack” – although I really enjoyed it, I know there were some inconsistencies, a few plot holes, and the big one: the heroine not recognising the voice of the killer, even though she knew him.
Putting those few things aside – and funnily enough I can – this book was addictive reading. The first book I read by Alden, Guilty as Sin, was exactly the same, although I will say that I didn’t notice any glaring plot holes and inconsistencies with that one. Beg for Mercy is an exciting read with steamy, sexy romance.
Megan Flynn has spent the last three years trying to prove her brother, Sean, is innocent of the crime that has him on death row. The night she thought her relationship with her cop lover, Cole, was just about to get serious, Cole is called to a crime scene where Sean is arrested and charged with murder. Megan’s life is turned upside down, as the guy she cares deeply for believes her brother is the killer without doubt.
Three years on, Megan is still trying to find the one piece of evidence that will prove Sean’s innocence once and for all, and with only six days to find it, Megan goes into overdrive, putting her life, and others, at serious risk, especially when she becomes the prime focus of the killer.
I found the relationship dynamics between Megan and Cole to be great. Their sexual chemistry is off the charts, and the fact that they are trying to resist it just makes it that much more satisfying when they eventually give in. I liked both characters too. Megan is fiery and brave (albeit that sometimes turned into stupid) and Cole is strong, sexy, but at first a little too rigid with the rules. But as the story progresses we see both of them relinquish some of their rules. Cole becomes a little more flexible and Megan begins to rely on Cole for a certain amount of help. The sex scenes were ultra sexy, and I loved Megan and Cole together.
As well as Megan and Cole, we also get a few chapters from the view point of Sean, and we get to see where his head is as he sits and waits to die. I really felt for him and I was pleased to know that the next book in the series is his. It will be interesting to see where his story will take him.
As I’ve already mentioned, some of the plot was a little silly, but despite this the tension and suspense was pretty high. I knew, as I do 99% of the time, who the killer was, but it was fun to watch the author try and lure me off the scent by throwing out a few red herrings, but I’ve been around the block a few times to know a red herring when I see one 
However, overall I really enjoyed Beg for Mercy and give it 3.5 Stars
Hide from Evil basically begins where Beg for Mercy ends. The story arc of Nate, the Seattle Slasher, is still ongoing, even though it’s not about Nate himself. We learn that the corruption sinks a lot deeper than anyone imagined. This time, however, we follow Sean, the sexy guy cleared of all murders, and Krista, the Deputy PA that had originally put him on death row.
I was really looking forward to this instalment. I liked Sean a lot from what I read of him in book one, and I couldn’t wait to get started. The fact that his love interest was Krista made the connection between the two even more interesting. How can Sean feel anything, let alone fall in love, with the woman who not only worked tirelessly to put him behind bars and on death row, but also believed, without a doubt, that he was the Seattle Slasher.
The action and suspense is here in spades as it was with the first instalment, however I felt this time it did get a bit bogged down with too much detail. Sometimes my mind wandered when the characters were sifting though endless files online and talking things out to try and get their heads around what was going on. I definitely appreciate that the author was trying to give a balance of intrigue and romance, but sometimes the detail went on for too many pages. The ending was great though, and I loved the tension that the climactic scene created.
The romance was brilliant. I loved Sean and Krista, even more than Megan and Cole, which is saying something. The dynamics between Sean and Krista were just so good from the start. Sean detested Krista for what she did to him, and watching his feelings evolve and the passion grow was just so delicious. Krista’s guilt was eating her up inside for getting it wrong, and trying to come to terms with it has been difficult for her. Plus, once she starts to get to know Sean while on their journey together to find out the truth, she realises that this man could never hurt a woman let alone brutalise, rape and murder them. Her guilt is palpable and I loved that about her. Both her and Sean were very realistic characters which made their romance even more enjoyable.
The time they had together was pretty brief in between so much going on plot wise, but when they were together it was steamy, sexy, basically everything you want from a romantic suspense. We also meet a few of the other characters we first came into contact with in Beg for Mercy. Namely Jack and Talia, who are also the hero/heroine for book three.
Because the romance knocked my socks off, I give this instalment 4 Stars. If the detailed suspense aspect was toned down a little I have no doubt my rating would have been higher.
The third and final book in this trilogy, Run from Fear, jumps a couple of years on from Hide form Evil. This time we catch up with Talia and her sister Rosario, and of course sexy Jack. Since the take down of David Maxwell’s empire, Talia has been able to live out in the open, although she doesn’t broadcast who she is. She now works as a bar manager and her sister is at Stanford. Things are pretty good.
Unfortunately it all change for the worst as Talia stars to receive gifts from her past that bring a cold chill to her bones. It’s a past she’s tried hard to forget, but someone out there doesn’t want her to. Although there are two threads to the suspense plot, as we find out their are two unconnected baddies, for one of them we really don’t find out why they did the things they did, but we do get to know who both baddies are.
I can’t say I loved this book as much as I did the previous two, it was addictive reading as always, but I thought it was the weakest instalment plot wise, and there were a couple of irritating characters, namely Rosario, who just acted too dumb for an 18 year old, and Talia’s friend, Susie, who was too selfish for words. I did like both Talia and Jack as our hero and heroine though, and I believed in their relationship and budding romance. It did take a while for the romance aspect to get going, but I understand it had to be handled lightly due to Talia’s past and what happened to her.
I enjoyed how protective Jack was of Talia and her sister and how much he wanted to keep them safe. I also liked how he kept his feelings for Talia in check because of her history. He is thoughtful, caring and just an all round nice guy. But he also has a quick temper, and although it’s never aimed at the women in his life and never would be, any threat to them would be dealt with his fists and without remorse. Jack is a bad boy but with a soft center.
I was disappointed that we didn’t get to see any of the characters from the previous books as it would have been nice to see how they were doing. The conclusion to this instalment was a little rushed with respect to the suspenseful plot and the romance. I would have liked it to be drawn out for a few more chapters at the end but there was a definitive conclusion, and it was pretty cute. 3 Stars
Overall Verdict
The Dead Wrong trilogy is an exciting, suspenseful, sexy read, even with its faults. I’d definitely recommend this series to fans of romantic suspense. For me, Alden is now firmly on my ‘must read’ list.
Overall Rating: 4 Stars
Beg for Mercy / Hide from Evil / Run from Fear by Jami Alden
(Dead Wrong #1, #2, #3)
Romantic Suspense
Headline Eternal (2012)
Paperback: 400+ pages