Product Description

"If you are looking for the suspense thriller of the year-look no further…you will find it in Nowhere To Hide..."Jewel Dartt- Midnight Scribe Reviews

"Joan Hall Hovey clearly takes her place among today's contemporary writers as this page-turner can compete with any mystery/suspense novel on the bookshelves.Linda Hersey - Fredericton Gleaner

"...impossible to put down until the last page is reached."-Bastulli Mystery Library

Rage at her younger sister's brutal murder has nearly consumed Ellen Morgan. So when her work as a psychologist wins her an appearance on the evening news, Ellen seizes the moment. Staring straight into the camera, she challenges the killer to come out of hiding: "Why don't you come after me? I'll be waiting for you."

Customer Reviews (20)

Chilling Suspense
As Christmas approaches, Ellen Harris looks forward to seeing her sister for the holidays. Gail is the only family that Ellen has left, and she couldn't be prouder of her sister, who perches on the edge of music stardom. Unfortunately, sudden tragedy strikes when Gail is brutally murdered in her apartment after a performance.

At first, Ellen falls to pieces and plunges into deep depression--but then anger sets in. Determined to find her sister's killer, she heads to New York and begins to question anyone who might know something about her sister's death. What she doesn't know is that she's looking in the wrong place; the killer is a little closer to home than she imagines.

Ellen's friend Myra hasn't had an easy life, but now she's settled down with a wonderful man and started a family. Lately, though, her nightmares have become more intense, and she feels as if she should remember something that happened long ago at the Evansdale Home for wayward girls--a place steeped in scandal. It nags at her until she's certain that she needs to remember before someone else dies.

In Nowhere to Hide, the suspense builds and builds, until you'll be acutely aware that something explosive is about to happen--and author Joan Hall Hovey doesn't disappoint. Not even the chocolate cake sitting on my kitchen counter could tempt me away from this gripping novel. I spent most of the night reading it because I couldn't put it down, and then I spent the next day yawning because I didn't get much sleep. Oh, but the riveting story was well worth it.

Once again, Ms. Hovey brings readers a plot that's filled with chilling thrills and nail-biting trepidation. Many moments in the story are especially creepy--like when Ellen rents the apartment where her sister was murdered. On one hand, you'll wonder why on Earth she'd do that, yet it somehow feels right. Whatever the case, Ms. Hovey makes it work.

With believable and memorable characters and an insightful look inside a psychotic killer's mind, Nowhere to Hide is one of the best thrillers I've read since reading Ms. Hovey's last book. You don't want to miss this one.

This review first appeared at NightsandWeekends.com: [...]

A decently writting thriller with great character devopment.
First the good news: This book is an excellent page-turner that keeps you reading. The author has great writing skills at spinning a thriller. In spite of the hackneyed plot, she keeps you turning those pages. Her skill at characterization is also excellent and I liked the way she wove background details about the characters in with the story--perfect way to develop the characters without being in your face or having awkward flashbacks.

Now the bad news: The book needed a really good editing. There was a misspelling right on the first page, and typos/misspellings continued throughout the book. In addition, the book suffered from poor English usage: "With a sigh, she picked up the teacup..." No one uses "a sigh" to grasp a teacup. They usually use their hand! :-( The book needed an editor!!

Besides the editing problems, I was disappointed with the "Perils of Pauline" plot. I thought these old-time plots went out years ago. You know the type from old movies in the 30s and 40s. Poor heroine is stalked by the bad guy who is a serial killer. She does "Fray Wray" all through the book, screaming, being scared and hiding in her house. Bad man finally gets her. The book finishes with her tied up in ropes while the dastardly villain (was he called "Snidely" in the Perils of Pauline?) gloats over her helplessness. Then the masterful male hero rescues her at the last minute. Like I said, pretty hackneyed.

And nobody writes book about poor, helpless heroines that need to be rescued by big, strong men anymore. It's insulting. Modern heroines may need a push or a bit of help now and then, but they solve their own problems.
I had high hopes at the beginning when Ellen starts to conduct her own investigation, and swears on TV she will hunt down the bastard who killed her sister and deal with him. But like I said, when she goes home to Maine, she degenerates into "Fray Wray", becomes totally helpless, and ends up needing to be rescued. I was really disappointed.

Plus the other criticism I have is the romantic interest. First Ellen has to contend with over-bearing Paul from work, a guy she's been dating who won't let her alone. But after one or two phone calls, he suddenly gives her up and starts with another woman. Hovey goes to such lengths to paint Paul as a pill, I thought surely he would become part of the plot. Like as in: Paul keeps bothering Ellen and interfering. Ellen keeps putting him off and ignoring him, so she fails to realize some of the contacts are from the killer. But no, Paul suddenly disappears (he was such an excellent jerk!), and suddenly the cop investigating the case gets the hots for Ellen and they become sweeties--all with no development! The author did introduce him near the beginning, as you're supposed to, but there was no development from stone cold, "I just met you" to red hot, "Let's get it on". I thought that could have been played up for more drama too, maybe even pulling in the Paul character.

But as I said above, the author does tell a story well, because I read it anyway. And the character development was excellent. But as soon as I picked up the book, I knew how it would come out--although I kept hoping otherwise. Maybe that's why I read it, because I wanted to see if Ellen would toughen up and actually do something to advance dealing with the killer. I kept hoping for something that wasn't there. So the beginning of the book was a lot better than the ending...

Don't Turn Off All The LightsWhen You Go To Bed
This book is right up there with the greats, in my opinion. While I think the author could have started off with more action, then perhaps after hooking the reader, gone back to the beginning, it still nonetheless is an excellent read. Once it heated up, I couldn't put it down. It was enthralling, captivating, and I was anxiously anticipating the ending.Ms. Hovey did such a remarkable job with the keeping the reader in suspense and caring about the lead character's fate.I recommend this story without hesitation.Ms. Hovey has a refreshing writing style, which I found to be clear and to the point, and as I stated previously, an absolutely marvelous ability to keep the suspense turned up high.

Synopsis:The story takes the reader into the world of orphanage girls and the depraved persons who either prey on them or allow others to. In this story, two sisters who survive life as orphans, grow up to become professionals.The oldest, a psychologist; the younger, a singer. Unbeknownst to them, the younger sister is being trailed by a sick person from their past.When she is murdered, the older sister, Ellen, finds solace in her best friend, who also happens to have spent some time in the same orphanage.As Ellen's life begins to spin out of control, she takes up the habit which killed her parents: drinking. Her best friend, Myra, who also doubles as her patient, on occasion, has been having weird dreams of which Ellen has been trying to help her figure out for the last year or so.However, after finding out about Ellen's sister's murder, the dreams come back with a rage. Myra is concerned about them, and even asks Ellen what they could mean, but Ellen is too caught up in her own nightmare to really concentrate and focus on their meaning.After Ellen challenges the murderer to come after her a police officer is assigned to protect her. She develops a great rapport with the officer, and when things seem to be less intimidating and the killer makes no further move to contact her, she convinces the officer of her safety and need for solitude. As if right on cue, all hell breaks lose and the reader is panting to keep up with the events in the story.Ms Hovey does an excellent job of fanning the flames of suspense and thrill, page after page until the very last word.

A Chiller for a hot night
Joan Hall Hovey's Nowhere to Hide, is a fast moving suspense thriller, that will keep you up all night to finish it.Ellen Morgan, who is still recovering from the untimely death of her husband, is shattered when her younger sister is brutally murdered.Her pain soon turns to rage when she realizes that this man has killed before and will probably kill again and that the police seem unable to catch him.When the evening news wants to interview her about her work as a psychologist, she uses the opportunity to challenge the killer and sets into motion a series of events that will leave you turning all the lights on and locking your doors as you breathlessly await the outcome.Ellen and her sister grew up in an abusive home with alcoholic parents that ended with her sister living for a time in a local orphanage. Ellen senses that the answers she seeks my lie in the old orphanage but before she can really begin to look into her theory, the killer strikes again. As Ellen races to discover the identity of the killer, she finds that in order to live, she has to confront a past she has tried very hard to put behind her.Hovey has created a disturbing look into the mind of a serial killer that will send chills up your spine.

Review of Nowhere to Hide
Currently living in Canada, Ms. Hovey chose to set this novel in Evansdale, a small town in Maine and home to psychologist Ellen Morgan Harris.Counseling others on problems she knows all too well, Ellen battles her own childhood demons and a predisposition to alcoholism.These, she can handle.It is grief, often underestimated as a prime motivation, which brings her to the attention of both law and outlaw.First, the premature death of her husband knocks her off balance.Then the contemptuously brutal murder of her beloved little sister, her last bit of home and hearth, drives her into a hard-edged and relentless pursuit of her sister's killer.She and the killer seem to have little choice as they follow their respective fates:the prey turns predator and the predator can't stop, even when self-interest would dictate otherwise.Hovey's realistic and understated prose carries the reader along faster and faster to a conclusion that both relieves and saddens...so many lives and so many scars.Hovey's characters are so believable that the reader closes the book after the last chapter as though returning from a visit to Evansdale.Readers who find a restrained description of terrifying events all the more chilling may see Nowhere to Hide as more thriller than mystery.In any case, we have reason to exult over Ellen's triumph and mourn her losses, in equal measure. ... Read more

Product Description

"...Written with the finesse and grace of a master...certain to keep the reader awake, turning pages long after bed time, and listening carefully to everything around them. ... a powerful new voice in the world of suspense and mystery." -Cindy Penn -Wordweaving.com

"...brilliant...a spine tingler of the first order..."Ariana Overton, Author of Tapestry

When artist Katie Summers emerged from a four-day coma, she remembered all too vividly the horror of that night—the terrifying dead eyes that had stared back at her in the rear view mirror, causing her to crash her car. But no one believed her.

Released from the hospital, still weak from her ordeal, Kate took a taxi to her remote farmhouse on Black Lake. Darkness had already fallen. There was only the wind in the trees to greet her…and the cold and empty house.

But the house was not quite empty. Something awaited her upstairs in her bedroom. Something with cold, dead eyes…

Customer Reviews (12)

Unpredictable!
I love suspenseful novels that keep you guessing, and this is one! I'm usually very good about picking the killer but EVERYBODY was suspect to me in this book.When an author can hide the killer the entire time, it's a real treat. I wasn't surprised at who it turned out to be because I knew it had to be one of the several people I suspected.

In addition to the suspence, this novel has a thread of romance.You easily fall in love with the characters and invest in their relationship.I cared what happened to these characters and cared about the survival of their relationship.

If I had to complain, I would say that I wished it was even more scary.I was expecting to be scared out of my wits but it was hard to relate to a woman who lived in the middle of nowhere with no electricity in the 90s.I think if the setting had been an apartment in the city, I would have been more likely to feel frightened because I would be thinking this could happen to me. Instead, I was distanced from the situation because I could not relate to the setting.

However, I think this is a wonderful novel and worth the read.I highly recommend!

Has The Makings of a Classic
Artist Katie Summers has not had a real relationship since the death of her fiancée, Todd. No man has ever come close to stirring her feelings the way he did. She is devastated when he is killed in the Vietnam war, but knows she must continue living. She finds a job at a local coffee shop and lives in the small town of Belleville at Black Lake in a home owned by her late aunt.

After being stood up by her boyfriend, Katie drives home in a terrible storm. She is shocked to see a pair of "dead" eyes staring at her in the rearview mirror. Her car crashes and she winds up in a coma for four days. When she wakes up, nobody believes she saw anything in her rearview mirror, especially when she claims the eyes were identical to her dead fiancée's.

As a psychiatrist, Dr. Jonathan Shea is called in to consult on Katie's condition. He finds her story hard to swallow, but he can't put her genuine fear out of his mind. Jonathan has his own troubles, as he recently requested a one-year sabbatical from his job to clear his head after the suicide of one of his patients. Still, Jonathan finds himself intrigued with Katie's situation and promises to keep a watchful eye on her.

When Katie is released from the hospital, strange and terrifying things begin to happen to her and the people she cares about. She can't figure out who would want to hurt her like this. She tries to resist the concern of the handsome Dr. Shea, but she finds herself leaning on him more often than not. She isn't even sure he can be trusted.

LISTEN TO THE SHADOWS has shades of the old gothic stories, complete with the scary old house. Joan Hall Hovey's characters are life-like and you can actually feel the fear the heroine is experiencing. Hovey's descriptions make the story jump out at the reader in this compelling, page-turner. This story has the makings of a classic.Review by Yvonne Hering

Very highly recommended
Written with the finesse and grace of a master, Joan Hall Hovey's first novel, LISTEN To THE SHADOWS, is an engrossing tale of fear and danger certain to keep the reader awake, turning pages long after bed time, and listening carefully to everything around them.

A man without a conscious stalks artist Katie Summers. She hasn't seen him, but she senses his presence. A tingling on the back of the neck, a flicker out of the corner of the eye, and an instinctual awareness of danger are her only warnings.

Stood up by her date late one night, Katie leaves the restaurant alone to drive through a storm to her remote country home. She doesn't notice the headlights following her. But when she does glance in the rearview mirror, the sight of a dead man's sightless blue eyes staring back at her results in a nearly fatal accident. She doesn't know, as she lies unconscious and bleeding, with her car crushed by a telephone pole, that her stalker lurks close by, watching.

After four days in a coma, Katie awakens in the hospital. There she meets Dr Johnathan Shea, a sexy, vibrant, man carrying a heavy load of guilt over the loss of a young patient. A romantic interest develops, spiced by fierce attraction, sexy intrigue and danger. But the question remains as to whether he will be enough to protect Katie from a madman.

Joan is a powerful new voice in the world of suspense and mystery. Her tight plot, well-developed characters and originality will satisfy the reader's craving for tension and danger. I certainly look forward to more novels by the promising author with great eagerness.

"...CHILLING AND INTRIGUING..."
Joan Hall Hovey's novel, Listen To The Shadows is an incredible page-turner. The suspense is so real, the characters so alive that you can practically touch them. It is a must-read for any reader of suspense. It draws you in so quickly and tenaciously, you won't be able to put it down until you're finished. You simply cannot afford to miss reading it. --

Jordan Zed, singer/songwriter

"...A SPINE TINGLER OF THE FIRST ORDER..."!
***** 5 Stars (Excellent Read)

I have to admit that I have never read any of Joan Hall Hovey's books until I read this one. Now, I'm truly sorryI didn't discover this author's worth earlier.

In Listen to the Shadows,Ms. Hovey gives us a chilling, and very believable, insight into the mindand motivations of a true sociopathic killer. Obsession, icy lack ofemotion or real feeling for another human being, and more. To say this bookis a spine-tingler of the first order is to do it a grave injustice. It isa brilliant novel that portrays just how wrong a human mind can go; to thelimits of insanity.

I won't spoil the story by telling the audience whatthe book is about or how it ends. Let's just say that if you miss out onthis one, you've missed one of the best thrillers written in thiscentury.

As well as penning suspense novels like 'Listen To The Shadows'and 'Nowhere To Hide', Joan Hall Hovey's articles and short stories haveappeared in such diverse publications as The Reader, Atlantic Advocate, TheToronto Star, Mystery Scene, True Confessions, Home Life magazine, Seek andvarious other magazines and newspapers. Her short story, Dark Reunion wasselected for the Anthology, Investigating Women, published by Simon &Pierre, edited by David Skene-Melvin.

Joan Hall Hovey is also a writinginstructor. She lives in Gondola Point, New Brunswick, Canada, in a modestbut comfortable home overlooking the banks of the Kennebecasis River, withher husband, fat cat, Sasha, and neurotic poodle, CoCo. She is currentlyworking on her third suspense novel.

Ariana Overton, Author and SeniorEditor/Clocktower Fiction.com ... Read more

Product Description
EXCERPT FROM CHILL WATERS

ByJoan Hall Hovey
http://www.joanhallhovey.com

CHILL WATERS

By

Joan Hall Hovey

It's like a lion at the door;
And whenthe door begins to crack,
It'slike a stick across your back;
Andwhen your back begins to smart,
It's like a penknife in your heart;
And when your heart begins to bleed
You're dead, and dead, and dead, indeed.
Anonymous; Nursery Rhyme
One

Hestood near the ancient gnarled apple tree that for years nowhad produced only sour, wizened apples, waiting for her.The hot thick air hummed with the chirping of crickets.Behind him, an occasional fat June bug bumped against thescreen door, drawn by the night-light.Now and then a carpassed by, seeming only to emphasize his sense of aloneness.Not much traffic on Elder Avenue since they built thethruway.
Three houses down, Nealey's oldblack lab set to barking excitedly at something - a raccoonscavenging in a garbage can, most likely, but it could justas well be shadows.The mutt had a game leg and was as deafas his mother's turquoise plastic crucifix that hung on thewall above the TV.The old man oughta have him done awaywith, put the damn thing out of its misery. Maybe I'll do itfor him one of these days, he thought, a grin playing at onecorner of his cruel mouth. As he retrieved the pack ofcigarettes from his jacket pocket, he heard Nealey's dooropen, heard the old man's low, gravelly voice call the doginside.
He gazed up at the starry sky, grinfading as he envisioned Marie and that hotshot kid in thefruity white blazer slow dancing under these very stars.Bodies molded together, the kid's hands moving over her,groping... his breath hot in her ear...
With amuttered curse, he shook his head as if to banish the image,checked an impulse to crush the pack of cigarettes in hishand.Instead, he struck a match against the tree, but hishand was unsteady and it took a few tries before he managedto get it lit.Leaning his back against the tree he closedhis eyes. The rough bark of the tree stabbed like jaggedstone through his thin nylon jacket. He sucked smoke intohis lungs, exhaled slowly, trying to calm himself.
He wasn't usually a heavy smoker, but fourhours later, when he finally heard the car drive up, a smallmound of butts had accumulated beside him on the ground.With slow deliberation, he mashed this latest one out too,and rose to his feet. Although stiff from sitting, at thesame time a power born of rage surged through his veins likeelectricity.
Music drifted through theopen, car window - a soppy Manilou ballad about a girl namedMandy.Above the music, her laugh floated to him, high andlilting as wind chimes.Mocking him. The flirtatious notein her laugh made his throat tighten, his hands curl intofists at his sides.But it was the maddeningly long silencethat followed, while the music went on playing, that madehim want to fly at them, yank them both out of the car andbeat that scummy kid with her until he had to crawl homethrough his own blood. He wanted to do it. He saw himselfdoing it.
It took all his will to remain whereh ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Superb Tale of Terror and Suspense...
CHILL WATERS

"CHILL WATERS is a taut thriller, woven with uncanny magic..." Cindy Penn, [...]


"...Joan Hall Hovey is a female Stephen King... a stunning, multi-layered, modern-day gothic, told with the unforgettable style and grace of a true master of suspense..." Rendezvous Magazine

... a chilling hold-your-breath-as you-turn-the-pages novel of such depth and credibility, it's hard to remember that it's fiction and won't be headlined in the daily news..."Evelyn Gale, All About Murder Reviews.

"...CHILL WATERS is a well-written suspense that will have your locking doors, turning on all the lights..." Hattie Boyd, Scribes World

"... Joan Hall Hovey has penned as good a thriller as I have ever read...a superb tale of terror and suspense that puts her right up there with the likes of Sandford and Patterson..."Ingrid Taylor for Small Press Review

"...Fans of Mary Higgins Clark will enjoy this author! I was on the edge of my seat the entire time ... Great story..." Detra Fitch, Huntress Book Reviews

A winner!! With her usual ability, the talented author has caught the sense of menace and carried it throughout... a taut, chilling tale..Highly recommended."Anne K. Edwards, [...]

"... a taut thriller that combines well-drawn vivid characters with an engaging plot? ...a magnetically likeable heroine... Rachael's transformation from walking wounded to feisty survivor will leave you cheering."Kristin Johnson, [...]

"Joan Hall Hovey clearly takes her place among today's contemporary writers as this page-turner can compete with any mystery novel on the shelves..." Linda Hersey, Fredericton Gleaner.
... Read more

Product Description
NOWHERE TO HIDE

SHE DARED TO CHALLENGE A MERCILESS KILLER

EPPIE WINNER~BEST THRILLER

Raised in an atmosphere of violence and unpredictability, Ellen and Gail Morgan have banded together, survivors of a booze-fertilized battleground, forming a fierce united front against an often cold and uncaring world. When their parents are killed in a car crash, Ellen becomes the mother figure for Gail.

When fifteen years later Gail is brutally raped and murdered in her shabby New York basement apartment, practically on the eve of her big breakthrough as a singer, Ellen is inconsolable. Rage at her younger sister's murder has nearly consumed her. So when her work as a psychologist wins her an appearance on the evening news, Ellen seizes the moment. Staring straight into the camera, she challenges the killer to come out of hiding: "Why don't you come after me? I'll be waiting for you."

Phone calls flood the station, but all leads go nowhere. The police investigation seems doomed to failure. Then it happens: a note, written in red ink, slipped under the windshield wipers of her car, 'YOU'RE IT.' Ellen has stirred the monster in his lair … and the hunter has become the hunted!

"If you are looking for the suspense thriller of the year-look no further…you will find it in Nowhere To Hide..."Jewel Dartt Midnight Scribe Reviews

Excerpt

CHILL WATERS

WHAT IF EVIL VISITED THE ONE PLACE WHERE YOU FEEL THE MOST SAFE?

Following the breakup of her marriage, Rachael retreats to the old beachhouse in Jenny's Cove, where she once lived with her grandmother. It is the one place where she had always felt safe and loved. Devasted and lost, Rachael longs for the simplicity of her childhood.

But Jenny’s Cove has changed. From the moment of Rachael’s arrival, a man watches. He has already killed, and mercilessly will do so again. Soon Rachael becomes a target for a vicious predator whose own dark and twisted past forms a deadly bond between them.

And sets her on a collision course with a crazed killer.

"...Joan Hall Hovey is a female Stephen King... a stunning, multi-layered, modern-day gothic, told with the unforgettable style and grace of a true master of suspense..." Rendezvous Magazine

Excerpt

LISTEN TO THE SHADOWS

SOMEONE WAS STALKING HER. NOW HE'S FOUND HER...

When artist Katie Summers emerged from a four-day coma, she remembered all too vividly the horror of that night - the terrifying dead eyes that had stared back at her in the rear view mirror, causing her to crash her car. But nobody believed her. Even the enigmatic and disturbingly attractive psychiatrist, Dr. Jonathan Shea, implied that she had made the whole thing up. Or dreamed it.

Released from the hospital, still weak from her ordeal, Katie took a taxi to her remote farmhouse on Black Lake. Darkness had already fallen. There was only the wind in the trees to greet her...and the cold and empty house.

But the house was not quite empty. Something awaited her, upstairs in her bedroom. Something with cold, dead eyes...

"...a work so accomplished, so fluid and so suspenseful it is difficult to believe it really is a first novel!"-Felix Griffin - Rave Reviews, NY

www.joanhallhovey.com
Award-Winning Novels:
Chill Waters
Nowhere To Hide
Listen to the Shadows

Non-fiction: Write Your Novel ~Audiobook


... Read more

Product Description

LISTEN TO THE SHADOWS

SOMEONE WAS STALKING HER. NOW HE'S FOUND HER...

When artist Katie Summers emerged from a four-day coma, she remembered all too vividly the horror of that night - the terrifying dead eyes that had stared back at her in the rear view mirror, causing her to crash her car. But nobody believed her. Even the enigmatic and disturbingly attractive psychiatrist, Dr. Jonathan Shea, implied that she had made the whole thing up. Or dreamed it.

Released from the hospital, still weak from her ordeal, Katie took a taxi to her remote farmhouse on Black Lake. Darkness had already fallen. There was only the wind in the trees to greet her...and the cold and empty house.

But the house was not quite empty. Something awaited her, upstairs in her bedroom. Something with cold, dead eyes...

"...a work so accomplished, so fluid and so suspenseful it is difficult to believe it really is a first novel!"-Felix Griffin - Rave Reviews, NY

www.joanhallhovey.com
Award-Winning Novels:
Chill Waters
Nowhere To Hide
Listen to the Shadows

Non-fiction: Write Your Novel ~Audiobook ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A riveting thriller ~ packs a terrifying punch! Rave Reviews
"... a riveting thriller that will leave you breathless. Hovey is a master of this genre..." Deborah Shlian, Author of Wednesday's Child, Shou

"...a gripping style that wrings emotions from everyday settings. Oh and by the way ...is your door locked?" Linda Hersey - Fredericton Gleaner


~~~~~~~~

"Joan Hall Hovey packs a terrifying punch as her first novel, 'Listen to the Shadows', spins a chilling tale of revenge, murder and madness..." Jill M. Smith - Rave Reviews, N.Y.


"...a blend a various genres...will appeal to fans of romance, gothic and suspense novels. Hovey's scenes focusing on this deranged psychopath are razor sharp, and one is reminded of author Ruth Rendell." -Evening Times Globe, Saint John, NB



"LISTEN TO THE SHADOWS has shades of the old gothic stories, complete with the scary old house. This story has the makings of a classic." Reviewer, Yvonne Hering

"...This one will put goosebumps all over you...chilling. I read it during a thunderstorm and found myself jumping several times. Excellent!" *** Huntress Book Reviews

"Written with the finesse and grace of a master ... a powerful new voice in the world of suspense and mystery..."Cindy Penn -Wordweaving.com

"Have you ever read a book that grabs your attention by the first sentence and never lets go? LISTEN TO THE SHADOWS is exciting, tensed, with elements of mystery, fear, and courage so masterfully woven in one masterpiece that I can't believe this is the author's debut! Grab a copy now, or you'll be missing a great read..."Defelah Morgan - Reviewer's Choice Award

"In Listen to the Shadows, Ms. Hovey gives us a chilling, and very believable, insight into the mind and motivations of a true sociopathic killer... a spine-tingler of the first order..." Sharpwriter.com -Novelist, Ariana Overton ...Author of Tapestry

... "plenty of suspense ...I had to ask my husband to accompany me to the bathroom that night! Finished it in one sitting....great plot, realistic characters and a surprise twist at the end. ..." Reviews by Sandi Cummins

"...This is a book that will stick with me for a long while, as I was reading it my heart would beat fast and the hair on the back of my neck stood straight, and to me that is the true sign of a good thriller. When you read this one make sure that the lights are on and that all your doors are locked..." Myshelf.com-Pam Stone

"...a work so accomplished, so fluid and so suspenseful it is difficult to believe it really is a first novel!"-Felix Griffin - Rave Reviews, NY


... Read more

Product Description
CHILL WATERS

WHAT IF EVIL VISITED THE ONE PLACE WHERE YOU FEEL THE MOST SAFE?

Following the breakup of her marriage, Rachael retreats to the old beachhouse in Jenny's Cove, where she once lived with her grandmother. It is the one place where she had always felt safe and loved. Devasted and lost, Rachael longs for the simplicity of her childhood.

But Jenny’s Cove has changed. From the moment of Rachael’s arrival, a man watches. He has already killed, and mercilessly will do so again. Soon Rachael becomes a target for a vicious predator whose own dark and twisted past forms a deadly bond between them.

And sets her on a collision course with a crazed killer.

"...Joan Hall Hovey is a female Stephen King... a stunning, multi-layered, modern-day gothic, told with the unforgettable style and grace of a true master of suspense..." Rendezvous Magazine

... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Winner of the Bloody Dagger Award
"CHILL WATERS is a taut thriller, woven with uncanny magic..." Cindy Penn, [...]


"...Joan Hall Hovey is a female Stephen King... a stunning, multi-layered, modern-day gothic, told with the unforgettable style and grace of a true master of suspense..." Rendezvous Magazine

... a chilling hold-your-breath-as you-turn-the-pages novel of such depth and credibility, it's hard to remember that it's fiction and won't be headlined in the daily news..."Evelyn Gale, All About Murder Reviews.

"...CHILL WATERS is a well-written suspense that will have your locking doors, turning on all the lights..." Hattie Boyd, Scribes World

"... Joan Hall Hovey has penned as good a thriller as I have ever read...a superb tale of terror and suspense that puts her right up there with the likes of Sandford and Patterson..."Ingrid Taylor for Small Press Review

"...Fans of Mary Higgins Clark will enjoy this author! I was on the edge of my seat the entire time ... Great story..." Detra Fitch, Huntress Book Reviews

A winner!! With her usual ability, the talented author has caught the sense of menace and carried it throughout... a taut, chilling tale..Highly recommended."Anne K. Edwards, [...]

"... a taut thriller that combines well-drawn vivid characters with an engaging plot? ...a magnetically likeable heroine... Rachael's transformation from walking wounded to feisty survivor will leave you cheering."Kristin Johnson, [...]

"Joan Hall Hovey clearly takes her place among today's contemporary writers as this page-turner can compete with any mystery novel on the shelves..." Linda Hersey, Fredericton Gleaner.
... Read more