Just how many times can one person die? In Kill Me Again, author Maggie Shayne takes this question and turns one woman’s life upside down. The reason? To stay alive.

Olivia Dupree has not had an easy time of it. Running from an abusive relationship and taking on the identity of her murdered roommate, life seems to have settled into a semi-safe routine for her. After sixteen years, still living in fear and ready to run at a moment’s notice, Olivia trusts no one and surrounds herself with loneliness. Her greatest joys are her canine best friend, Freddy and the novels created by Aaron Westhaven, who is a writer able to seemingly see within her lonely soul. Olivia is thrilled when she learns that Aaron is willing to come out of his reclusive lifestyle to speak at a local fundraiser. However, when he doesn’t show and she is called to the hospital where an attempted murder victim is being treated, questions start to fly and answers are anything but forthcoming.

Is this man, lying in the hospital bed, really and truly Aaron Westhaven? There is no other explanation other than “yes“, when her business card appears on his body with information written on it from her. Things take a twist when there is a break-in and an attempt on Olivia’s life. Aaron escapes from the hospital and manages to get to Olivia’s house just in time. As the two secretly take off to find answers, visions begin to appear within Aaron’s dreams. Are they answers to his unremembered past or just dreams? One thing is definite, this man, thought of as Aaron Westhaven, is not who he seems to be.

As Olivia, her near human dog, Freddy, and Aaron set out to discover Aaron’s true identity, why the FBI is after him, and how to keep Olivia alive, the question of who really wants Olivia dead and who wants to keep her safe become first and foremost.

A follow-up to Killing Me Softly, Kill Me Again is an excellent stand-alone novel or one that carries on smoothly from the first in the series. Maggie Shayne delivers a superb, heart-racing adventure of life, death, truth, deceit and discovery. With pages brimming suspense, readers will have a hard time putting this one down. Once I began, I connected with Olivia and truly felt her fears and emotions. The character is so well written that the reader feels as though they are in Olivia’s shoes. Twists and turns are plenty throughout and kept me guessing. Just when I thought I had something figured out, I soon discovered that I was mistaken.

The romance between Olivia and Aaron is a tender one, with bits of electricity thrown in. The main focus of Kill Me Again is the suspense and thrills, however the underlying romantic story is delightful and heartwarming. Knowing who to trust in life is always a challenge, worrying whether or not the person you are falling for only wants you dead, can only be heart-stopping.

I truly enjoyed Maggie Shayne’s second in her “A Shadow Falls Secrets” series and eagerly await the next, Kiss Me, Kill Me due to release August 31st. ~ April