Hiya guys! Today we have the wonderful Parker Williams stopping by for a visit with his delicious new release Haven’s War, I was lucky enough to pin Parker down for a couple of hours and interview him, we have a great excerpt, a fantastic giveaway and my review, so check out the post and click that giveaway link! <3 ~Pixie~

Haven’s War

Parker Williams

With Haven on an extended honeymoon with Sammy, bad guys around the world are breathing a lot easier. No one is better at permanently removing these lowlifes who target children—and the brutal murder of two teenage girls makes clear it’s past time to return to work. Haven’s first assignment back results in a new family member and a renewed sense of urgency to protect and avenge the innocent.

There is nothing ‘usual’ about the business of hunting predators, but when several of Haven’s fellow agents are killed, a pattern emerges. The hunters have become the prey, tools in a bitter vendetta for a perceived wrong.

Despite years of working alone, when the target shifts to someone unexpected, Haven calls in reinforcements—a friend to stand between the family he loves and a ruthless killer. Teamwork may be the only way to win this fight—unless it’s already too little, too late.

Haven tries to approach this as he would any other assignment. Find your enemy and make sure they suffer before you eliminate them. But when a member of his team goes off-book and ends up dead, everything changes. It’s no longer a battle.

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Interview!

Pixie: Looks around sighs…. Parker Williams where are yoooouuuuuu?

Parker: Peeks at Pixie around the corner. “Here I am!”

Pixie: Stop hiding… I won’t hurt you *much*

Parker: STAHP! You tease.

Parker: It’s funny that ‘Bad Romance’ comes on now….

Pixie: *Runs cat-o’-nine tails through fingers* It’s just a ‘friendly’ chat about your new book Haven’s War…

Parker: I don’t know that I can talk about it. I’m picturing the tails now…

Pixie: Of course you can honey… I’ve got blindfolds if it helps?

Parker: For you or me?

Pixie: For you babe, I don’t want you being distracted by anything as you tell us about Haven’s and Sammy’s new story.

Parker: Works for me. I’m ready. Lay it on me. 😉

Pixie: First tell us who Sammy and Haven are (for those unfamiliar with the series)

Parker: Haven is an assassin who works for a shadow organization. His job is to protect the innocent–in this case, children–when he can. When he can’t, he’s sanctioned to avenge them however he sees fit. This usually involves screaming, blood, and some not so fun things. Well, not so fun for his victims.

Sammy is a young man that Haven finds while on a mission. He helps him get out of a bad situation, which involves taking out the woman who kept him as a sex slave from a very early age. Oh, and that person was someone he used to call Mom.

Pixie: So after the gut wrenching heart wrenching book one what does Haven and Sammy have in store for us in book 2?

Parker: There’s someone out there who is killing Haven’s fellow agents, while trying to get information that will allow them to get revenge for a perceived wrongdoing. He’s bound and determined to find this person so that they can pay, preferably in blood.

Pixie: So is Haven tasked to find him or does Haven have a target on his back?

Parker: Both. Initially Haven is sent out to find this guy, but it’s soon apparent that Haven isn’t the only one doing some stalking.

Pixie: Hmmmm does this mean that Sammy and Kelly are also looking over their shoulders?

Parker: If they’re not, they really need to be.

Pixie: So we’re looking at another intense story…. Is there as much gore this time around or is it a little less gruesome?

Parker: Oh, no. This time it’s all sweetness and light. 🙂

Pixie: Why did I just get chills down my spine???? *narrows eyes at Parker*

Parker: I’m sure I have no idea. Surely you believe me. You know how innocent I am.

Pixie: Oh hell…. It’s gonna be blood dripping from the pages isn’t it!!!!!

Parker: Oh, I’m sure you can cover it with a bandaid. (A really, really big bandaid.)

Pixie: LOL Okay so a dash of blood and gore. So knowing you as I do I take it there will also be some major scares along the way.

Parker: I will admit there might be a few things that will have people cringing. Especially if they read book one.

Pixie: Yeah It takes a bit of psyching up to open the book up… but we do have Haven’s and Sammy’s relationship to look forward to… they are still really happy AREN’T they?

Parker: One might say insanely so. 🙂

Pixie: Thank god! Tell us a little of what to expect in their little family, ’cause Kelly (their houseman) is like a substitute father to them.

Parker: After Haven and Sammy got married, Kelly moved in with them and keeps house for them both. Now, assuming that everyone survives book two, there may be new additions to the household.

As far as Kelly being like a substitute father, those feelings are going to come to bear in a tough way for Sammy.

Pixie: Sammy really does adore Kelly doesn’t he. Did you think, as his creator, that he’d be the linchpin that he became when he first started plaguing you to write Haven’s story?

Parker: To be honest, there wasn’t a Kelly OR Sammy when I started the story. The whole inspiration was a coworker who was one of the rudest people I ever worked with. She had scenes going through my head about ways to… um… get rid of her. Those scenes began to get stitched together, and took form in Haven. Who needed someone to take care of him. That was Kelly. And he kept pushing his way into more and more scenes, especially once Sammy was introduced.

Pixie: Soooooo lets not annoy the sweet sweet author then…

Parker: In real life, I try really hard to be mellow. Especially when I was at work, because my job required it. But when she threatened to take a manager out into the alley to beat his ass? Yeah, that all changed.

Parker: BUT! I am grateful to her for Haven, so I guess it worked out.

Pixie: Hmmmm yeah I could so see you creating some quite creative punishments then. Haven is very special.

Parker: He does allow me to turn a mirror on my…uhm…darker impulses.

Pixie: Oh please! I haven’t ever forgot that elephant video and that was just from your mischievous side, I’d hate to see your darker side!

Parker: You read book one. I think you’ve already gotten a glimpse.

Pixie: Just a touch…. I do worry about your sanity LOL

Parker: Oh, don’t worry about that. I gave it up years ago.

Pixie: I know love I know!

Parker: Admittedly, it does take something out of me to write Haven. There’s a scene in Haven’s War that shook me up so bad, I had to stop writing for two weeks while I got my head around it.

Pixie: Yeah about that… *grabs nipple clamps and whip*

Parker:  -_- What do you mean there’s a character named Pixie in an upcoming book…

Pixie: Yay! I’m sunshine and light and sweetness and sugar!

Parker: And you’ve now sent me off to find a new way to kill you…

Pixie:  <3 Love you too!

Parker: :snuggle:

Pixie: So do you see Sammy as the linchpin that brought life to Haven and Kelly? And we’ll come back to you and your evil scene later *narrows eyes*

Parker: I think the three of them need one another as they each bring something to the table that the others require. Sammy gives Haven stability that he was losing for years. He gives Kelly a much needed sense of home. And Kelly gives them love freely, as a parent would.

Pixie: Awwww…. it’s so sweet *lip quivers* now about that scene. It’s shocking and heart wrenching and OMG Parker WHAT DID YOU DOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

Parker: ME?!?!?!?! It wasn’t me. I’m innocent.

Pixie: I’ve told you before you don’t spell ‘GUILTY’ like that.

Parker: The scene you’re referencing was the toughest I ever wrote. I tried so hard to get the guys to tell me a different way to do it, but they said no, it has to be like this.

Pixie: There’s a couple of scenes like that…. so convenient to have imaginary friends to blame. LOL I must admit that you are an exceptional writer *chokes* the level of emotion that pours off the pages is just breathtaking. Just how wrenching was it to write those scenes?

Parker: The one above gutted me. And then there’s the one where… uh… something bad happens. I’m gonna miss that guy. 🙂

Pixie: That was gutting, completely gutting. I think you kinda outdid yourself in that area and I also firmly believe that if you’d been in England I would have hunted you down.

Parker: Oh, honey. If I was in England, I’d be on the Isle of Wight so I could go down to Steephill with KC and write more Secrets books.

Pixie: If you was in England you’d have stolen the Throne.

Parker: Nah, I’m not that kind of Queen.

Pixie: Oh I don’t know, I could see you in a tiara quite easily LOL

Parker: (Pushes closet door closed so Pixie can’t see what else I might look fetching in.)

Pixie: (sniggers as Parker doesn’t notice the secret camera on the inside of the closet door)

Pixie: So back to Haven’s War, someone important to the boys is viciously targeted, does Haven act like we will expect him to? Does he call in aid? or will Sammy slip his leash again and go off half cocked?

Parker: I believe Haven said it was the whole cock (at least in book one). When someone close to Haven is badly injured, Haven calls in an old friend. Oscar is… uh…Yeah, I don’t even know how to describe Oscar. Perhaps this will help?

~~~

“I smiled when Oscar picked up the phone and growled his standard greeting whenever the two of us spoke. “What’s up, bitch?”

“I don’t have time for pleasantries, O. I need you.”

He chuckled. It was dark, but for Oscar that was par for the course. The man was a giant. As badass as I thought I looked, he made me feel petite. He stood six foot six and was built like a small tank. He had no neck to speak of, just a head atop a mass of muscle. In a fight between us, I think I could “probably take him, but it would be close.

“Finally gonna give up that fine ass, huh?”

“Sorry, bud. Someone’s already tapping it.”

His eyes probably bugged out when he said, “You’re shitting me.”

“Nope. We’ve been together since that mess with Valerie.”

“Yeah, sorry I missed that one. I was out of the country dealing with some not so nice people who were trying to ship cocaine into the country. When I got back, I found out about it. Wish I could have been there.”

So did I. If he had, things might not have gone to shit. I might not have… I reined in that line of thinking. Dwelling in the past was useless and would distract me from my main objective: Keeping Sammy, Kelly, and Lilah safe.

I turned my thoughts back to my friend. Oscar amazed me. He was the only former agent I knew of who still had resources that kept him apprised of what was going on. He shouldn’t have known about Valerie, but I wasn’t stupid enough to think it wouldn’t have gotten back to him.

I heard a groan in the background that definitely didn’t sound like someone was having fun. “Catch you at a bad time?”

“Just finishing up a job. I was gonna take a little longer, but I’d rather talk to you. Gimme a sec.”

A moment later, I heard the sound of a knife slicing through flesh, the gurgle of blood, and what I figured was a body hitting the ground.”

Pixie: Yes Oscar seems…. quite ‘nice’. So new characters to play with… do I hear Oscar demanding his own story as well?

Parker: Yes. And the bastard is LOUD and ANNOYING.

Pixie: Whoop! So we have a deranged killer, some new deadly characters, our adorable Haven & Sammy, our lovable Kelly, and our staunch leader Rook, heartache and heartbreak, blood and gore, is there anything else?

Parker: A new family member that Haven gets while on a mission. 🙂

Pixie:  <3 Ohhhh, Will they be an interesting addition?

Parker: I hope so. He doesn’t get any lines, but he does bring something to the family.

Pixie: So Parker, what else do you have in store for us for the future?

Parker: On July 28th I have Runner coming out from Dreamspinner Press. And book two of Secrets (An Unlocked Mind) is coming in December.

Pixie: Do you have any WIP you could give us hints about?

Parker: I got a ton of WIPS. Right now, Oscar is trying to muscle his way to the front of the pack. If you want, I’m happy to give you a very uned excerpt from his.

Pixie: Oh yes please Parker.

Parker: Eight Years Ago

They say that the mirror never lies. Well, mine was a fucking douchebag. For the first time in eighteen weeks, I dared to step in front of the damn thing and really give myself the once over. Probably shouldn’t have, because believe me, it wasn’t a pretty sight.

Across my body were jagged lines where the shrapnel ripped through me. I remember the white-hot pain as the pieces seared through my flesh. Looking at me today, you wouldn’t have guessed at one time I had been referred to as a pretty boy. Of course, this was before puberty. Dark hair with even darker eyes framed a face with soft, delicate skin that had never seen a zit in its life. I could walk in a room and heads would turn in my direction. All that changed as I matured—well, physically at any rate. My body grew thicker, the layer of baby fat increased to more than love handles. My neck, which had never really been something to speak of, disappeared between my head and oversized body. It seemed overnight I went from being a twink to becoming the elephant man.

Still, I was loved by my parents. They doted on their little Oscar, and told me that I shouldn’t pay attention to what the kids at school said, because I was lovely inside and out. I told them they should invest in a good pair of glasses. They shook their head and ruffled my hair. It made my teen years bearable to me.

Then came the day I got home from school and found a line of police cars outside the little store we ran. I stood in shock as a policewoman hustled me to a waiting car, which whisked me away to a place for me to stay temporarily. Later they said my parents had been murdered in cold blood. Oh, the police said it was a botched robbery. The store had been hit more than once, so it was possible, I guess. Still, I was seventeen, and the life I thought I was going to have went out the window. There wouldn’t be living in the sweet house where I grew up. I wouldn’t inherit the store and grow old there like my parents. I wouldn’t find someone to love. No, that life was denied me by the rage that filled me. I hated everyone and everything.

I joined the Marines to keep from being sent to a permanent foster home. Fortunately my birthday was close enough that there wasn’t any hassle about my choices. It took a lot of time, and a shit ton of patience, but eventually the Corps gave me a new family. We were close, because you needed to have your team’s back. When they found out I was gay, not one of them gave a shit. Did they tease me? Hell, yes. Constantly. But not in a mean way. More in a ‘you’re our family and no one else gets to talk to you like this’ kind of way.

To them it was a fact of life, and I was their brother in arms. They took me under their wings and helped to shape my future. Together we worked to changed our bodies. Where I had been a hefty teen, I cultivated muscle. I was now a hulking bruiser. Six foot six, two hundred fifty pounds, and all of it lean and mean. They nicknamed me The Little Hulk, which was funny until we stripped off and went to the shower. When they saw what I had swinging between my legs, that name got changed to something a lot less flattering. Still, it was in fun, especially on the night I found Merkowitz waiting for me, desperate to know if I could get it up. I did and despite claims of being straight, he was bent over in the shower for me for my first ever sexual experience. I think it was better for me than it had been for him. I became cocky, while he endured some ribbing for the trouble he had getting over the wall on the obstacle course. We never told anyone what happened, it was never repeated, and as far as I knew, no one ever found out about it.

I scrubbed a hand over my hair. When I was younger, I’d kept it long. The weeks I’d gone without access to a barber had it growing back, curling at the ends. I preferred it shorn almost to the scalp.

The biggest change I underwent was my outlook on life. When I was younger and coddled by my parents, I thought I had a near perfect life. Turns out everything I believed was colored by the freedoms I had. I had to change because I saw how many in my own country didn’t have even the basic necessities. My country, great as it was, had little problem turning a blind eye to the realities of life. I could no longer afford to be that person.

Pixie: What a great introduction to Oscar. So Haven and Oscar are good friends and Haven calls in Oscar for aid, what kind of friendship would you say they had?

Parker: Well, they never had sex, much to Oscar’s disappointment. But they’re brothers in arms. Oscar will always come to help when asked, and if he needed it, Haven would be there for him.

Pixie: What else can you tell us about Haven’s War without giving spoilers away?

Parker: I expect a lot of people to hate me. 🙂

Pixie: *nods head* You are a bit of a sadist with Haven’s War.

Parker: I go where the boys tell me to. So I’m completely blameless in all things.

Pixie: LOL Yeah blameless, that’s you! So will be be seeing another story with Haven and Sammy or have they told you all they can?

Parker: I honestly don’t know. I didn’t think there would be a book two, but Haven whispers to me in my dreams. Unlike Oscar who bangs goddamn drums while I’m trying to sleep.

Parker: And, considering what happens at the end of book two, if there is a third, it will have to go in a new direction.

Pixie: Yippee!! I’ll just give you a gentle reminder every now and again.

Parker: Yes, I quite remember those ‘gentle’ reminders of yours.

Pixie: Now Parker, someone had to keep you on track with Haven’s story. I couldn’t let you forget about him <3

Parker: Trust me, he won’t let me either.

Pixie: Good. Now Parker tell us a little about yourself (like your transition to author)

Parker: I used to work for a hotel in Milwaukee. Was there for twenty-eight years. I was in two car accidents in a little more than a year (NEITHER was my fault!) and got hurt to the point where I couldn’t do the job I enjoyed. They shifted me over to being a glorified cashier, which I hated. During this time, the idea came about to write more. As soon as Paul saw how much money I made in royalties, and knowing how hard it was for me to find time to write, he said I should go ahead and make the leap. I did, and haven’t regretted it since.

Pixie: And neither have we 😉 You have a partner in crime for some of your stories, the delightful K.C. Wells, how well do you write together? I mean do you ever not agree with how a character is turning out or the direction the story is going in?

Parker: We do. But it’s fine, because she’s usually right. (Damn her.) So I’ve learned to listen…somewhat.

Parker: Plus she finally (FINALLY) after years of begging, is giving me Rob’s story, so I gotta Snoopy dance for that!

Pixie: A Snoopy dance… ah yes very adult of you.

Pixie: Well Parker, with more plans in the works for yourself and with K.C. (my condolences KC) how exactly do you always seem to be on FB??? *snigger*

Parker: I schedule my breaks accordingly. 😉 And I do check in once in a while, because I don’t want to miss anything, but I spend a lot of time writing, especially when I’m working with KC, while Paul and I are out shopping.

Pixie: You two do a lot of driving around, Oh do you still hunt Pokemon? LOL

Parker: No, Paul wasn’t having fun with it. With the upcoming changes, I’m going to try to talk him into it again, because I do love sitting down by the lake to write.

Pixie: So I think we should wrap this up now, but before we go is there anything you want to tell the readers?

Parker: YES! I want to thank you for giving me a chance. Whether you enjoy my books or don’t, I very much appreciate the fact you were willing to try my stuff. You don’t know how much it means to me. 🙂

Pixie: Parker it’s been lovely chatting with you and on your best behaviour too! I want to thank you for taking the time to stop by MMGBR and share stuff with us and the readers.

Parker: Thank you for letting me be here. I had a great time. 🙂 (And for the record, I’m ALWAYS on my best behavior. Sometimes it’s good behavior, sometimes it’s bad, but it’s always my best.)

Pixie: I know honey, we just never know which side of you is going to show up 😉

Parker: It keeps life interesting. Best wishes to you and all your viewers! :HUGS: to you all.

Pixie: Thanks sweets, we’ll always be here if you ever want to pop back again for a visit <3

Excerpt!

PROLOGUE

He glanced up at the evening sky. A haze enveloped the quarter moon, giving everything an ethereal glow. Though the night would be considered sultry, it lent itself to romance, walking hand in hand with someone you cared for, sharing whispered words, promises that might last an evening or be the foundation for a lifetime commitment. These people had no idea how quickly something like love could be ripped away, how those things said to one another would be worth less than the air you spent on saying them.

He shook his head. Now he needed to focus, not lose himself in memories of what might have been if things had been different. God, how he wished things could have been different.

The street could only be described as quaint. Small houses, each nearly identical to the next, but with a few tweaks that marked them as individual. The place he focused on had a small flowerbed, bursting with a variety of a flower he knew, but couldn’t recall the name. Tulips, maybe?

The slate gray siding, the maroon shutters on the windows, and the solar-powered pathway to the door that lit up in beautiful colors at night. The overall effect could only be described as charming. A lot of love went into making the house something special. It reminded him of what he’d lost.

He’d taken refuge in a house across from the home for six days, getting the lay of the land, taking note of the occupants’ arrival and departure schedule. Then every night, he drifted off, thinking about the place. It had been a dream of theirs, to own a little farm of their own, where no one would send them off to the corners of the world to handle problems. And for one very brief instant, they’d achieved it. But that dream had died in more ways than one. One day it was there, the next it was gone, as ephemeral as if it had never existed.

He tugged the collar of his black jacket and wished for a cool breeze. The earlier rain had sent the humidity soaring, and sweat was building up under his bulletproof vest, matting the sparse hairs. What he wouldn’t give for a tall glass of iced tea about now. He tried again, lifting the bottom of the vest up, hoping to let a little air in to cool him down, but nothing helped. He glanced at his watch. He’d need to make his move tonight. No way could he stand to be in this place any longer. The memories and wistful dreams alone threatened to drown him, but this heat had him sweating to the point where even he could smell himself. When he grabbed a coffee at the convenience store down the street while his target was out, the man behind the counter had a hand on the phone. Probably thought he was a vagrant. He sure as hell looked like one. He hadn’t showered in days, and his dark blond hair felt greasy to the touch. The beard he’d grown over the last year hadn’t seen a razor either. He looked like shit.

When he heard the hum of an engine on the quiet street, he crouched down. Though his patience had long ago come to an end, he needed to see this through. He would wait as he’d been trained, even if every fiber of his being rebelled against the idea. Still, he was an assassin, and he had a job to do.

The woman—Sarah, according facts he’d assembled—slid from the driver’s seat, her blond hair pulled back into a ponytail. She laughed at something the other occupant shouted, then opened the rear door of the van. It took several minutes for her to get set, then she stepped away as a ramp slid down to allow the man in the back to wheel out and be lowered to the ground. She bent over and kissed him, then walked to the passenger side where she took a baby from the car seat. She held the child up, and then blew a raspberry on his belly, which caused the kid to laugh and wiggle. Regret tore through him. He wished there could be another way, but two months ago he’d approached the man—Daniel Tollifson—there had been angry words exchanged, as well as the threat of police involvement. He couldn’t allow that, because there would be no one else to take down his ultimate target.

He forced himself to focus on the here and now. He needed to remain detached. Better to not let facts like these intrude on his mission—a few weeks ago, he’d gone to Daniel, begging for information. He’d been rebuffed. That wouldn’t be the case today.

If the man wouldn’t help him when he asked, then he’d have to find another way to get his message across. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a photo of a man whose smile had never wavered. Terry had been his whole world, and then had been ripped away from him in a matter of moments. All he wanted had been the name of the person responsible. Why couldn’t Daniel see he wasn’t asking for much? How would he feel if it had been his wife? Or his child?

Daniel disengaged himself from the ramp, and Sarah started to come around to the other side. It had to be now.

He’d run out of tears a lifetime ago, but again he wished he had another alternative. He didn’t. He raised the rifle and peered through the sights. The woman and baby had gotten too near the man, and he refused to hurt the innocent. Not like Terry had been. He lowered his weapon.

He waited while the two were engaged in conversation. She touched her husband’s face, then bent down to blow a raspberry on his cheek, which had them both laughing. She held out the baby to him and gestured to the chair. He frowned, shook his head, and waved her off. She laughed and stuck out her tongue, dodging the swat he attempted to lay on her ass, then strode to the house, singing something loud and only slightly off-key. Her husband yelled something about the neighbors, and she merely laughed. He could see the obvious love the two of them shared, and that made what he had to do even more difficult.

Regret tore through him. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, no longer sure who the sympathy was for.

She opened the front door, and her husband began to roll toward the house. Now would be his chance. Despite his misgivings, he had to take it. He again raised the rifle, closed one eye, and locked in on his target. The wheelchair stopped at the curb, and the man tried unsuccessfully to move it. He called out to Sarah, an edge of frustration in his voice. She laughed and took eight steps toward him when the trigger of the M24 he held in slightly trembling hands depressed, and a loud bang split the quiet suburban street. Less than a second passed before Daniel’s head exploded, blood and other materials spattering his wife and child. For a moment, she stood there, eyes wide. She gripped the baby close to her chest, and then screamed.

Before the echo died away, he had already scurried off into the night.

It wasn’t a perfect shot. He could hear Terry cursing at him, making him do it again and again until he got it right. But Terry had died, and though two years had passed, he would finally be avenged.

Daniel Tollifson had been the first, but there was no doubt he wouldn’t be the last. Though he didn’t want to kill anyone, there had to be a penalty for those who refused to help him get justice for Terry. He needed to track down and eliminate the person who’d been responsible.

No matter who had to die in the process.

Safe Haven series!

Haven’s Creed

(Safe Haven #1)

An act of violence destroys his family and ends the life he knows. To escape his haunted past, he joins the military, where, as a sniper, he is trained to kill with precision and detachment. When a covert organization offers him a new purpose, he becomes Haven, an operative devoted to protecting the innocent when he can and avenging them when he cannot.

After ten years of battling the evil in the world, the life no longer holds the attraction or meaning it once had, and he’s ready to walk away. Then he meets Samuel, a young man forced from the age of twelve to work as a sex slave. If ever a man had a need for Haven, it is this one.

Yet nothing about this growing relationship is one-sided. Sammy gives Haven a stability he’s never known, and Haven becomes the rock upon which Sammy knows he can depend.

When Sammy reveals something about the enemy Haven has been hunting for months, Sammy fears it will destroy what they’ve built and he’ll lose his home in Haven’s heart.

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About Parker!

Parker Williams believes that true love exists, but it always comes with a price. No happily ever after can ever be had without work, sweat, and tears that come with melding lives together.

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Review

Title: Haven’s War

Series: Safe Haven 02

Author: Parker Williams

Genre: Contemporary, Dark Thriller

Length: Novel (232pgs)

ISBN: 9781941841501

Publisher: Parker Williams (26^th June 2017)

Heat Level: Low

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ 5 Hearts

Reviewer: Pixie

Blurb: With Haven on an extended honeymoon with Sammy, bad guys around the world are breathing a lot easier. No one is better at permanently removing these lowlifes who target children—and the brutal murder of two teenage girls makes clear it’s past time to return to work. Haven’s first assignment back results in a new family member and a renewed sense of urgency to protect and avenge the innocent.

There is nothing ‘usual’ about the business of hunting predators, but when several of Haven’s fellow agents are killed, a pattern emerges. The hunters have become the prey, tools in a bitter vendetta for a perceived wrong.

Despite years of working alone, when the target shifts to someone unexpected, Haven calls in reinforcements—a friend to stand between the family he loves and a ruthless killer. Teamwork may be the only way to win this fight—unless it’s already too little, too late.

Haven tries to approach this as he would any other assignment. Find your enemy and make sure they suffer before you eliminate them. But when a member of his team goes off-book and ends up dead, everything changes. It’s no longer a battle.

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Review: This book is part of a series and must be read in order.

Haven and Sammy have been taking it easy and Haven is wondering if he’ll ever be ready to return to work. Saving the innocent is something Haven’s been driven to do and with Sammy there to support him he knows that what he does is necessary. There’s something heading their way, someone is slowly picking agents and their family members off and it’s up to Haven and his friends to put a stop to a deranged killer before it’s too late.

Holy damn, Parker Williams has outdone himself this time around. Haven’s War takes a very personal turn as Haven and the guys are targeted, and even Haven wonders if he can keep them all safe.

We are compelled by the opening scenes to keep reading this story, right from the onset it grabs you by the throat and drags you along as you keep turning page after page… all the while a sense of dread and danger build up as you realise the very real danger Haven, Sammy, Kelly and Rook face this time around.

Reading this story isn’t easy, Parker Williams sends us on an emotional roller coaster from happiness, despair, anger, glee and frustration. Our hearts are torn out by what Haven and Sammy face, we shake our fists at the authors sadistic muse and we feel a secret glee when the baddie gets just what he deserves.

We find ourselves fascinated by the characters as they become real in our minds, they are so fully realised that the depth to them makes their journey your journey. We see the continuing love between Haven and Sammy; their relationship is just perfect for them. And we see the growth in their little family as Kelly settles in more as the father figure.

There are some scenes that are tough to read, I mean really tough, there isn’t the level of danger to the innocents like in Haven’s Creed but by God the level of danger that heads straight Haven’s way is astounding. Yes there is quite a bit of blood and gore, devastating loss and senseless violence but damn this is one fantastic read.

I can’t delve into the story because this is really something that you need to read yourself (make sure to read Haven’s Creed first though), and yes there will be times that you shake your head in pure *what the fuckery* and seethe as you wonder how quickly you can hunt down the author and skin him alive (although, he does need to write more books in this series first).

I recommend this to those who love darker grittier stories, who adore damaged characters who manage to find their way in life (even if it is as a killer), who admire characters who come to life, and a shocking storyline that won’t let you take a break.