The One
by Audrey J. Cole
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GENRE: Thriller
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BLURB:
To save their marriage, Sloane must forgive
her husband’s affair. Instead, she tries a more tempting option—settling the
score. But will it prove to be a deadly mistake?
ER doctor Sloane Marks is shattered when she learns
her husband Ethan slept with his partner at Seattle Homicide. She considers
leaving him and joining The One, having gone to college with the popular dating
app’s billionaire founder, Brody Carr. But at forty-two, Sloane feels she has
no choice but to forgive Ethan if she wants a chance at creating the family she
never had.
Months later, Sloane bumps into Brody, who’s
recently returned to Seattle. In due time, Ethan worries she’s cheating. His
suspicions are confirmed when he learns the rich app founder took Sloane on a
freediving excursion in the San Juan Islands. When Brody’s famous wife dies in
an accident, Ethan becomes the lead investigator in her death—which he suspects
wasn’t an accident at all.
Caught between a distrusting husband and a powerful
billionaire who protects his secrets at all costs, Sloane is in a fight for her
life. And the only way out is to take matters into her own hands.
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Excerpt
Two:
“There are risks,” Brody says, “and that’s why you train and
refine your technique. But some divers have gone much deeper than me. The world
record for free immersion freediving, which is what I did, is one hundred and
thirty-two meters.”
Sloane does a quick calculation in her head. That was over
four hundred feet. It seems unfathomable.
“In free immersion, you have no propulsion equipment, and
you can only pull on the rope to assist with the descent and ascent.”
Sloane feels a shiver creep down her spine at the thought of
plunging to the dark depths of the ocean, aching for oxygen while enduring the
crushing pressure. “I can’t see why anyone would risk their life like that. For
what? Ego?”
Brody shakes his head. “Freediving isn’t about that. You do
it for the dive itself. Mentally, you
learn to succumb to the depths. Finding peace in the absence of all stimuli.
Using the lack of light and sound to go inside yourself. The freedom of being
one with the water, at a depth few people have ever reached, mastering your
fears and surrendering to the darkness by allowing yourself to be carried into
the deep.” He stares out the window at the water, as if forgetting she was
there. “When you get to about forty meters, it feels like your natural buoyancy
is reversing, and the ocean starts pulling you down. It’s a freefall that feels
like you’re flying.”
Except you’re sinking, Sloane thinks.
“It’s an inner stillness that is unlike any other human
experience. The only time I’ve ever felt pure joy. You let go of everything,
even the urge to breathe. Your heart rate slows. Some divers have recorded a
heart rate of only ten beats per minute.”
“That would induce unconsciousness.” Sloane gapes at him,
and Brody laughs.
He shakes his head. “But in freediving, it doesn’t.”
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Review: “Real connections. Lasting love” was The One’s slogan.
Sloane never even considered a dating app, especially when she was still married and still dealing with her husband’s betrayal. With the tension and distance still in her marriage, Sloane reconnects with an old classmate, who was also the founder of this dating app.
In the beginning, it was all about Sloane and Ethan’s crumbling marriage and their past, so it was slow at first. A romantic getaway to the islands and an exciting scuba diving venture leads to a moment of infidelity. As if Sloan’s marriage didn’t have enough complications?
Things get more complicated when the wife of Sloane’s lover comes into the ER as the victim of an apparent drowning. Was it really an accident? Will the police and Sloane’s cop husband suspect her involvement because of the affair?
“Brody Carr [was] a man with much more to hide than the affair.”
“Out of all the men she could’ve picked to right her capsizing ship of her marriage, why did she have to pick a murdering psychopath?”
The narrative was nicely written and the story reels you in. What other secrets will be uncovered? And who will take the blame in the end? The ending was pretty good—not as thrilling as I would’ve expected—but I didn’t really see that coming.
A captivating thriller and a good
read! Just another good one from Audrey Cole.
Rating:
4 stars
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Audrey J. Cole is a USA TODAY bestselling thriller author. She resides in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two children. Before writing full time, she worked as a neonatal intensive care nurse for eleven years.
Connect
with Audrey:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AudreyJCole
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/audreyjcole
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/audrey-j-cole
TikTok:
https://www.tiktok.com/@audreyjcole
Website:
https://www.AUDREYJCOLE.com
Amazon
Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Audrey-J.-Cole/author/B071GFZMLT
Link
to buy The One on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BPPZ7N8R
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GIVEAWAY :
Audrey J. Cole will be awarding a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC, to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
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Thank you for hosting today.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much! Glad you enjoyed The One!
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