Damaged Intentions
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-03-23 21:21:38
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Mike Omer
- ISBN：B08VRNBJGM
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Candice Willman
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I enjoy a good thriller and suspense every now and again。 But I will say that I am a Pansy and scare so easily。 This book kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time。 I thought I was going to have a heart attack a few times from the suspense。 And it was written so well。 So many twists and turns that I actually never guessed or saw coming。 If you enjoy thrillers you will love this book。 The characters are so well written and it’s hard to get through some parts but it comes with the genre。
Bethany Blake
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️（4/5 stars）When I first read the synopsis of Damaged Intentions I was IMMEDIATELY sold！！ A thriller based on hostage situation by a cult？ I’m so in！ And absolutely it didn’t disappoint。 We met Abby， who escaped a cult as a child， and is living a “normal” successful life as a mother & NYPDs best hostage negotiator。 Until a cult called “The Watchers” storms the local high school， taking Abby’s daughter hostage。 Full of mystery & intrigue， Abby is forced to Negotiate with those h ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️（4/5 stars）When I first read the synopsis of Damaged Intentions I was IMMEDIATELY sold！！ A thriller based on hostage situation by a cult？ I’m so in！ And absolutely it didn’t disappoint。 We met Abby， who escaped a cult as a child， and is living a “normal” successful life as a mother & NYPDs best hostage negotiator。 Until a cult called “The Watchers” storms the local high school， taking Abby’s daughter hostage。 Full of mystery & intrigue， Abby is forced to Negotiate with those holding her daughter captive。 The watchers are an extremely paranoid and delusional group， and reading about their views was pretty unreal。 The paranoia was so extreme， and it hit different knowing groups like this actually exist in our society today。 Abby & Sam （her daughter） were really solid characters， both were realistic and believable， and I could easily see why they made the decisions they did thru out the story。 This was a Fast paced story that I was quickly drawn into。 If you enjoy:✨ Redemption stories ✨ Cults✨ Mysteries ✨ Suspense✨ Plot Twists ✨ Hostage SituationsThen check out DAMAGED INTENTIONS！ 。。。more
Vanessa （ve_xo）
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I dive into thrillers every so often， this was one I read over the weekend and I couldnt put it down！ Im all about a mama bear fending for her children。 The author kept us on the edge with the suspenseful scenes。 The plot was totally driven by the characters and it did not disappoint。 I loved the determination found in our MC， searching for her kid to the depths of where ever。 Definitely gave me an air of the movie Everly， where she has to fight her past in order to protect her present and futur I dive into thrillers every so often， this was one I read over the weekend and I couldnt put it down！ Im all about a mama bear fending for her children。 The author kept us on the edge with the suspenseful scenes。 The plot was totally driven by the characters and it did not disappoint。 I loved the determination found in our MC， searching for her kid to the depths of where ever。 Definitely gave me an air of the movie Everly， where she has to fight her past in order to protect her present and future。 Looking forward to reading more by this author！ Huge thanks for gifting me a copy。 All opinions are my own。 。。。more
Stephanie Doyle
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I've come to expect good things from Mike Omer and I am not disappointed。His inclusion of social media and conspiracy theorists in this book was exactly spot on to life in 2022。Can't wait for more from him in general and from this series in particular。Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review。 I've come to expect good things from Mike Omer and I am not disappointed。His inclusion of social media and conspiracy theorists in this book was exactly spot on to life in 2022。Can't wait for more from him in general and from this series in particular。Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Faith Hurst-Bilinski
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I really wanted to like this story。 It had all of the parts that would usually get me hooked。 Even the crazy， Q-Anon type group， seemed something intriguing at first。 However， this book meandered。 It didn’t have a the rhythm to support the story。 I found that the characters， in the end lacked the depth that would truly make me understand the motives of all of them，
Tati Alvarez
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I am not typically a fan of thrillers and suspenseful books; they are out of my normal comfort zone。 However， I did find myself interested in reading Damaged Intentions and thought the writing， pacing， and storyline was really well thought out。This book reminded me of Taken。 This badass mother is on the hunt to rescue her daughter from terrible people called the Watchers。 She has to negotiate with them if she wants to see her daughter alive， but that comes at a hefty price。 She has to face demon I am not typically a fan of thrillers and suspenseful books; they are out of my normal comfort zone。 However， I did find myself interested in reading Damaged Intentions and thought the writing， pacing， and storyline was really well thought out。This book reminded me of Taken。 This badass mother is on the hunt to rescue her daughter from terrible people called the Watchers。 She has to negotiate with them if she wants to see her daughter alive， but that comes at a hefty price。 She has to face demons from her past。Overall， this book was an interesting read and I'm glad I read out of my comfort zone。 Fans of thriller will devour this book。 。。。more
Colleen
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Damaged Intentions is the second book in the series with Abby Mullen as the main character。 For what ever reason people are easily led to believe in conspiracy theories。 It escapes me， but there are many believers out there。 This book follows people in a conspiracy group using names from Lewis Carroll books as their screen names。 These people are called watchers looking for clues in posts on line。 One of the followers believes there is a threat at a local high school which is selling children to Damaged Intentions is the second book in the series with Abby Mullen as the main character。 For what ever reason people are easily led to believe in conspiracy theories。 It escapes me， but there are many believers out there。 This book follows people in a conspiracy group using names from Lewis Carroll books as their screen names。 These people are called watchers looking for clues in posts on line。 One of the followers believes there is a threat at a local high school which is selling children to be trafficked。 As the group of three believers head to the local high school to stop this from happening， things get out of control quickly as they take a few people hostage in order to view the security tapes of the school。 Abby will act as the Hostage negotiator until it is revealed that her daughter is also one of the hostages。 As she and Carver race around trying to track down who these people are in real life the new negotiator can not handle "Caterpillar" effectively and things start to deteriorate。This book is an excellent example of how conspiracy theories are created and spread to mainstream belief。 While these people honestly believed in what they were trying to stop， there is so much other nonsense they use to justify their beliefs， the rest of the nonbelievers can see there is so much wrong there is no way it can be true。 Anyone that has ever typed a message knows that rarely do people double check for spelling and hit send only to realize that it is not what they had intended to post as it anticipates the majority of the time sometime with the wrong spelling or the wrong word。 This was a fascinating plot on conspiracy theories。 The story moved at a brisk pace as it built to its suspenseful conclusion。I received an ARC from NetGalley for an unbiased review。 。。。more
Alessa Barnes
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Mike Omer！！！Hats off to you！！Wow， just wow。 A mystery and thriller story with an unexpected twist that left me speechless。 I was at my job when I was like Shut the front door！ It was unexpected and amazing。 It has you hooked since the beginning。 Abby Mullen is what you would expect of a dectective and more。 I have to say I want to read the next book already cause this will get intense， and things will turn even more interesting as Abby goes uncovering the truth。Also I want to say。。。 THIS BOOK NE Mike Omer！！！Hats off to you！！Wow， just wow。 A mystery and thriller story with an unexpected twist that left me speechless。 I was at my job when I was like Shut the front door！ It was unexpected and amazing。 It has you hooked since the beginning。 Abby Mullen is what you would expect of a dectective and more。 I have to say I want to read the next book already cause this will get intense， and things will turn even more interesting as Abby goes uncovering the truth。Also I want to say。。。 THIS BOOK NEEEEEDSS to be turned into a Series。 Would definitely want to see this on Netflix。 It would be a damn good series。I have to say I even feel inspired to write something so thrilling and intriguing like this！Amazing work Mike Omer！ Thanks for the Advance copy！Remember it comes out March 22nd！！！！ 。。。more
Angela
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Many thanks to Netgalley and Thomas &Mercer for an advance copy of this book in exchange my opinion，。It's a good and exciting story， a worthy sequel to the first book in the series。 This was a well crafted mystery with some great twists。 However it's a bit slow and some parts of the hostage situation dragged， but it is still a great read。 It kept me engaged until the end。 Well written and there are so great characters developed， humor is spot-on， and the author continues to throw in surprises at Many thanks to Netgalley and Thomas &Mercer for an advance copy of this book in exchange my opinion，。It's a good and exciting story， a worthy sequel to the first book in the series。 This was a well crafted mystery with some great twists。 However it's a bit slow and some parts of the hostage situation dragged， but it is still a great read。 It kept me engaged until the end。 Well written and there are so great characters developed， humor is spot-on， and the author continues to throw in surprises at right times。 Overall， I would recommend this book to the fans of the suspense and thriller genre。 I will be looking forward to the next in the series。 。。。more
Shanthi Ramabhadran
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A suspence - thriller book for all ages。When a book is having different stories and connect at one point is always interesting and will keep the reader engaged。Mike Omer did the same in this book。 There is a online forum called Watchers， the members chat with their nicknames。 No one knows their real name。 They believe Cabal is a group which controls everything in the town/country and police is also involved in this。 They found that the Cabal and the police communicate through tweeter by passing A suspence - thriller book for all ages。When a book is having different stories and connect at one point is always interesting and will keep the reader engaged。Mike Omer did the same in this book。 There is a online forum called Watchers， the members chat with their nicknames。 No one knows their real name。 They believe Cabal is a group which controls everything in the town/country and police is also involved in this。 They found that the Cabal and the police communicate through tweeter by passing secret messages。 The Watchers group creates a thread in their forum and they analyse the messages。 One of the Watchers create a theory and make the group to believe。Three members of the Watchers group （caterpillar， Hatter， Red Queen） visit Christopher Columbus high school to save the kids。 The situation becomes Messy and they were forced to keep the Principal and two other school staff as hostages and started negotiating with the police。Abby Mullen， NYPD lieutenant deals with them 。 Unfortunately her daughter Sam and her two friends got into the trap。Did Abby managed to get all the hostages back without any casualty？ What happens to her daughter？Watchers were alive or imprisoned or set free？The book is very fast paced and the author did not allow me to keep the book down。 Each chapter deals with different situations。 When you read about Abby's personal life ， the next chapter takes you to caterpillar's life。 You expect the next chapter the author will come back to Abby's life but he talks about the happenings of the school situation。 Quite interesting。 I thoroughly enjoyed the book。 。。。more
Brooke
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**I'm not going to rewrite the synopsis， Thomas & Mercer have done that in spades （thank you for the ARC）， however I will tell you why I enjoyed the book。 I have to like the main character（s） a little bit broken is good with me， makes them feel more believable。 I really like Abby's personality， her toughness。 There has to be a mystery and if there are twist it's a bonus。 Cults have always seemed interesting to me on how people can be brainwashed to following and doing things that appear far fetc **I'm not going to rewrite the synopsis， Thomas & Mercer have done that in spades （thank you for the ARC）， however I will tell you why I enjoyed the book。 I have to like the main character（s） a little bit broken is good with me， makes them feel more believable。 I really like Abby's personality， her toughness。 There has to be a mystery and if there are twist it's a bonus。 Cults have always seemed interesting to me on how people can be brainwashed to following and doing things that appear far fetched。 Times ticking because her child is involved。。。。which made me really anxious。 Not to give too much away but this story line has Abby's past dug up。 This is the second in a series and no you don't have to read book one but I suggest you do。 I'm hoping that Mike Omer is busy writing book #3 in this series。 There are certain series I have to read and I'm thinking this series will be on that list。 。。。more
Monica Mac
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It was very exciting for me to read this， the second book in the Abby Mullen series。 I think it can easily be read as a standalone but you will want to read the first book too， it is really good！Abby Mullen is trying her best to do her job， whilst bringing up her children with a bit of （unhelpful） help from her ex， Steve。 She has a good team around her but when her daughter's school comes under siege， it takes all of her training to not want to rush straight into danger。 She has to approach this It was very exciting for me to read this， the second book in the Abby Mullen series。 I think it can easily be read as a standalone but you will want to read the first book too， it is really good！Abby Mullen is trying her best to do her job， whilst bringing up her children with a bit of （unhelpful） help from her ex， Steve。 She has a good team around her but when her daughter's school comes under siege， it takes all of her training to not want to rush straight into danger。 She has to approach this situation like any other hostage situation。 She is， after all， the NYPD's best negotiator。 Unfortunately， Abby still has to contend with her past， when she grew up as part of a cult。 She was only a child when most of the members of said cult died in a fireball but she has always blamed herself for it。 This is a very exciting and slightly different kind of book。 It is really fabulous having a hostage negotiator as the main character because it is a profession that I know nothing about。 I am learning a little bit now though。 5 stars from me。Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer。 。。。more
Pat
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4+ stars。I’m sure most of you remember a few years ago when there was a Qanon theory doing the rounds that Hilary Clinton was running a paedophile ring from the basement of some pizza place。 One guy went so far as to head over there with a gun to save the children！ I think that’s what inspired this book。 Only in the book the conspiracy theorists call themselves the Watchers and the bad guys are the Circle。 The Circle has infiltrated all levels of government， the police， you name it - so nobody c 4+ stars。I’m sure most of you remember a few years ago when there was a Qanon theory doing the rounds that Hilary Clinton was running a paedophile ring from the basement of some pizza place。 One guy went so far as to head over there with a gun to save the children！ I think that’s what inspired this book。 Only in the book the conspiracy theorists call themselves the Watchers and the bad guys are the Circle。 The Circle has infiltrated all levels of government， the police， you name it - so nobody can be trusted。One day a watcher sees a tweet from a police officer （if I remember correctly） with what looks like 2 deliberate mistakes。 He spreads the word and soon the circle， beavering away at potential meanings， is convinced that two children are to be sold at a New York high school。 This cannot be tolerated！ Three of them， codenamed Hatter， Caterpillar and Red Queen （from Lewis Carroll books） take it upon themselves to go to the school and rescue them。They blag their way in and things rapidly escalate。 Soon it is a hostage situation， a teacher has been shot and badly injured and police surround the school。 Abby Mullen， herself a survivor of a horrific cult mass killing as a child， is the chief negotiator and she is doing a great job calming things down。 Until three students， who were in the music room when the watchers arrived， attempt to escape and are also corralled with the adult hostages in the admin wing。 They have been seen fleeing on the school’s CCTV network。 One of those students is Sam （Samantha） Mullen - Abby’s daughter。 After that it gets pretty fraught。This was an excellent illustration of the dangers of conspiracy theories。 The Watchers absolutely believed they were doing a good thing。 All they wanted was to be told where the child victims were being held。 Of course this couldn’t happen because there were no child victims there。 It was a nightmare scenario and I was gripped by the story as I had no idea how it would end。 The story explained how easily many people get recruited to these causes and how telling them they were stupid was not helpful。 The characters felt real and believable and the pace never lagged。This is the second Abby Mullen book。 I don’t know how I missed the first one but this can absolutely be enjoyed as a stand-alone。 Ive read a few of Mike Omer’s books so far and he never disappoints。 Many thanks to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for the much appreciated arc which I reviewed voluntarily and honestly。 。。。more
Kiki Brosnan （Bookworm_KikiB）
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You will like this book if: you enjoy hateable villain POVs， police thrillers， and plot twists。 Plot: Abby Mullen， a top NYPD hostage negotiator， finds herself trying to empathize with delusional members of the extremist group called “The Watchers” for the safety of the hostages at her daughter’s school。 Told from the point of view of Watcher members， a hostage， and Abby， we slowly get details that may save everyone from disaster。 Will Abby’s past experience in a religious colt and her closeness You will like this book if: you enjoy hateable villain POVs， police thrillers， and plot twists。 Plot: Abby Mullen， a top NYPD hostage negotiator， finds herself trying to empathize with delusional members of the extremist group called “The Watchers” for the safety of the hostages at her daughter’s school。 Told from the point of view of Watcher members， a hostage， and Abby， we slowly get details that may save everyone from disaster。 Will Abby’s past experience in a religious colt and her closeness to the case impact her judgment？ Or will she be able to save everyone？ Some of the backstories introduced early on didn’t come into play until very late and the pacing was odd， which made it hard to emotionally connect with characters。Characters: Abby’s character growth was compelling。 There were many points of view， and lots of characters were introduced early on which got very confusing。 Omer did an incredible job of humanizing and demonizing the religious and political extremists。 I would have loved more about Abby’s love interest。 I also would have loved deeper emotions out of Alma。Setting: The school setting was descriptive， and while this school was nothing like the one I attended， it felt very relatable。 Though I forgot what city the story was set in。 Conflict/Resolution: The plot twists were incredible and had a well crafted build up， but after the plot twists things fell flat for me。 I was also confused why after one big reveal， one of the characters continues on the way they were prior to the twist。 There were a few loose ends at the end that will nag at me。 Writing: It was easy to get sucked into this book。 There is lots of telling and not showing。 I was often confused as to why we were given so much detail on irrelevant things （like the quirky dog at the beginning of the book）。 Overall/Other notes: I really wanted this book to knock my socks off， and it truly was so close in many ways。 TW: School shooting， religious and political extremism， incels。 I received a copy of Damaged intentions via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Elisa
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Another super intense thriller from Mike Omer， the second in the Abby Mullen series。 Now that we’ve established who’s Abby， her past trauma and present career as a hostage negotiator with the NYPD， we are completely invested in her cases。 There’s more information about her past as a survivor of a suicidal cult， as well as new， concrete details on her mysterious correspondent。 But the main course is a hostage situation at her daughter Sam’s school， with Sam herself as one of the victims。 The perp Another super intense thriller from Mike Omer， the second in the Abby Mullen series。 Now that we’ve established who’s Abby， her past trauma and present career as a hostage negotiator with the NYPD， we are completely invested in her cases。 There’s more information about her past as a survivor of a suicidal cult， as well as new， concrete details on her mysterious correspondent。 But the main course is a hostage situation at her daughter Sam’s school， with Sam herself as one of the victims。 The perps are not really bad guys， but members of an online conspiracy group who’ve gone down the rabbit hole。 Someone close to me tends to believe in these conspiracies （in a harmless way）， so I really got how hard it is to disprove their theories。 The “don’t believe me， do your own research” is something I’ve heard before， so I was really concerned how Abby was going to get through to these people。 There are other complications。 I saw some twists coming， but the whole plot is solid enough that I didn’t care。 The last chapters are really very exciting。 I can’t wait for the next one， especially considering the great potential of that ending…I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased。 Thank you， #NetGalley/#Thomas & Mercer！ 。。。more
Sam king
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OMG！！！！Well another fantastically written book in this series！Where to begin。。 the twists and turns in this book I didso not expect and to be honest they took me completelyby surprise。 The hostage situation is great and the 3 that take them…。well let’s just say there were a few surprises there too！！Abby Mullen what a character she is and what she goesthrough as a person…。。 just WOW 😮 This book kept me on the edge of my seat all the waythrough and now I NEED to know what the messiah hasin store f OMG！！！！Well another fantastically written book in this series！Where to begin。。 the twists and turns in this book I didso not expect and to be honest they took me completelyby surprise。 The hostage situation is great and the 3 that take them…。well let’s just say there were a few surprises there too！！Abby Mullen what a character she is and what she goesthrough as a person…。。 just WOW 😮 This book kept me on the edge of my seat all the waythrough and now I NEED to know what the messiah hasin store for her and her family！ That's without everything else that is going on as well！！It is fabulously written and flows effortlessly through thetimeline of event’s， from past to present。 If you love a good， well written thriller it's a must read！！ I cannot wait for next book in this series！！ 。。。more
Jackie McMillan
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（3。5 stars）You can't accuse Mike Omer of not throwing everything at Damaged Intentions。 There's a cult imploding in deadly fire， conspiracy theorists conjuring up crazy theories， a school hostage situation， a murder， a would-be kidnapping。 The novel is pretty much non-stop action， bar for a few early sections where The Watchers （who are modeled on QAnon） talk amongst themselves。 I found it hard to get into unlikeable characters postulating crazier and crazier rubbish。 As the book progressed， it （3。5 stars）You can't accuse Mike Omer of not throwing everything at Damaged Intentions。 There's a cult imploding in deadly fire， conspiracy theorists conjuring up crazy theories， a school hostage situation， a murder， a would-be kidnapping。 The novel is pretty much non-stop action， bar for a few early sections where The Watchers （who are modeled on QAnon） talk amongst themselves。 I found it hard to get into unlikeable characters postulating crazier and crazier rubbish。 As the book progressed， it turned more to the life of NYPD hostage negotiator， Abby Mullen。 There are lots of helpful tips into why you shouldn't trust a hostage negotiator if you happen to find yourself armed and holed up in a high school （which I sincerely hope you don't）。 I found it interesting how quickly the conspiracy theorists were unmasked despite their reliance upon anonymous profiles （another tip right there）。 So， in summation， while Damaged Intentions isn't particularly believable because of the sheer volume of crimes， it is a fast and rollicking action read that focuses on hostage negotiation。 The most interesting part of the book is hearing how the negotiator makes the hostage taker （Caterpillar） feel like he's making the decisions by asking open-ended questions， and reframing his answers back to him。 Clever linguistics save the day。 With thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for sending me a copy to read。 。。。more
John
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I received this book through "NetGalley" Read Now program。The story begins with an unknown individual of a conspiracy group believing that he had just killed a "Circle" agent。 The next entry deals with Abby in N。C。 looking into a "Cult" massacre that happened many years earlier that she escaped from。The story shifts between the two themes until later in the book when this conspiracy group "Watchers" believe that the Circle is going to auction off children that they abducted。 The data suggested t I received this book through "NetGalley" Read Now program。The story begins with an unknown individual of a conspiracy group believing that he had just killed a "Circle" agent。 The next entry deals with Abby in N。C。 looking into a "Cult" massacre that happened many years earlier that she escaped from。The story shifts between the two themes until later in the book when this conspiracy group "Watchers" believe that the Circle is going to auction off children that they abducted。 The data suggested that this would happen at the school where Abby's daughter attended。 Once the members got into the school where they enter the admin。 area where the security cameras were located， They took 3 individuals hostage， as the rest of the school evacuated。 Abby was called to negotiate with these individuals so that the situation would end peacefully。 Unfortunately， because of certain events it wasn't going to happen。Abby， believing that her daughter was safe， began talking to the leader to get him to calm down and find out what he wanted。 This went on for several hours。 Sam， Abby's daughter， and two other students were rehearsing in the music room and did not hear the commotion。 They discovered it later and when they tried to escape， they were captured。 Once Abby learned that her daughter was now a hostage， she was removed as the negotiator and Will， another member of the team， took over。 Abby began trying to discover information which might be able to be used to end the confrontation。To discover what Abby learned， how the cult massacre came into play and what the two unexpected facts showed near the end， then you need to read this book。I received an ARC and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review。 。。。more
Ray Moon
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Three Conspiracy Theorists Collide With RealityA character named Caterpillar just killed an agent of the pedophile cabal known as the Circle that controls the government， police， media， etc。 He starts removing the teeth as a mic and GPS tracker are embedded in them。 He’s not sure if the removed are the correct teeth， so he starts pulling a third tooth。 Also， he is being bugged with texts from the Red Queen。 He becomes frustrated and realizes a hammer would be quicker to destroy the mic and GPS t Three Conspiracy Theorists Collide With RealityA character named Caterpillar just killed an agent of the pedophile cabal known as the Circle that controls the government， police， media， etc。 He starts removing the teeth as a mic and GPS tracker are embedded in them。 He’s not sure if the removed are the correct teeth， so he starts pulling a third tooth。 Also， he is being bugged with texts from the Red Queen。 He becomes frustrated and realizes a hammer would be quicker to destroy the mic and GPS tracker。 From this strange start， the novel proceeds。There two main storyline threads。 The first thread has two sides。 The first side is from the aspect of the Watchers primarily， Caterpillar， Red Queen and Hatter， and each has a voice in telling their side of the story。 The second thread is primarily told by Abby Mullen in three roles， negotiator， investigator， and mother。 Once I finished the start that seem to be a puzzling and dystopian start with persons named based on Lewis Carroll characters， the above watchers arrive at a local high school with guns to rescue the young children being auctioned off。 Their situation goes south very quickly， and hostages are taken。 The tension and danger go off the chart that quickly tighten the grip on my interest。 The cat and mouse interaction between the Watchers and the police added an additional layer of tension and danger that ensured that I could not stop reading until the end of the novel。The storyline threads within the high school are narrated by each of the three watchers and Samantha， Abby’s daughter。 This slowed the progress of the storyline but gave me a better picture by seeing what was happening from several aspects that provided a rich view of the unfolding events and the actions of the participants。 The voice switching back and forth did not hinder my understanding the action in this novel。 Samantha plays a significant role in this novel that increased my reading enjoyment。 As the storyline proceeds， there are several what I call literary grenades that dramatically changed my understanding of the events and how they fit together。Besides the usual thoughts， conversations， actions to portray the B-storyline， there is one major thread that is a continuation from the first novel and will continue into the next novel。 It involves Abby Mullen’s childhood survival from the Wilcox Cult Massacre where she was one of three surviving children while 59 others died in the fire。 This aspect adds to her being a full rounded character。 This thread did intersect with a main storyline thread in an interesting way and had a surprising literary grenade in it also。 As the novel ends， this thread rises to a crescendo and is essential the main thread at the end of the novel。This novel can be read as a standalone as adequate background is provided。 Even the multi-novel thread can stand alone。 If you have read the first novel， this thread brings a new understanding to this thread in that novel。For the aspects that can turn some readers off， there are not any intimate scenes， but there were attempted assaults on women。 There were only two vulgar words but mostly rude language mixed with some low-level impious language。 Violence is presented in the more edgy as it occurs， but they are not over-the-top。 I do not believe that most readers will not find any issues with this book。What contributed to my thorough enjoyment in reading this book was the high level of suspense due to the constant threat that mortal danger could erupt and endanger the hostages。 The author used the view from both the perpetrators and victims。 The storyline even evoked some sympathy from me for one of the watchers。 By the end， all loose ends were tied up except the continuing multi-novel thread。 I have read some of this author’s works before， including his Zoe Bentley series and the first in this series。 Reading this novel has kept Mike Omer in my highest category as a Must-Read author。 I recommend reading this novel and am looking forward to reading further books and series from this author。 I rate this novel with five stars。I received a free e-book version of this novel through NetGalley from Thomas & Mercer。 My review is based only by my own reading experience of this book。 I wish to thank Thomas & Mercer for the opportunity to read and review this novel early。 。。。more
Merve
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4。25 ⭐
Jason Frasca
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Quite an impressive read with multiple twists keeping the reader attracted。 Clever， humorous， satirical writing， contrasting with the suspense of the story line。 The timeline changes back and forth， which seemed confusing， but after a bit， makes perfect sense， a clever formula to present the storyline。Read this！ If you have started and are unsure if you want to keep going， give it another chapter or two， it will grab you！
Mags
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4。5⭐Damaged Intentions may be the second Abby Mullen thriller， but it's my first introduction to the series and author and what a thrilling page turning introduction it was， and honestly I never once felt like I was missing out having not read the first。 But it's now firmly on my list of books to read。 As this was such a gripping， detailed， at times horrifying yet totally convincing tale， and as the story progressed the tension really ramped up， which I loved， and it made it such a rush to read。 4。5⭐Damaged Intentions may be the second Abby Mullen thriller， but it's my first introduction to the series and author and what a thrilling page turning introduction it was， and honestly I never once felt like I was missing out having not read the first。 But it's now firmly on my list of books to read。 As this was such a gripping， detailed， at times horrifying yet totally convincing tale， and as the story progressed the tension really ramped up， which I loved， and it made it such a rush to read。 Which is why I would happily recommend Damaged Intentions to others。**I was kindly provided with an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review** 。。。more
Brittany Shields
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This was a great sequel with the same suspense and humor that marked the first one！Book One， A Deadly Influence， left us on a cliffhanger （Uh… I just started writing hangover， maybe that’s how it left you， who’s to say…） and this book picks up two months later。 As with the first book we have two plot lines。 The first is the continued thread of Abby Mullen， cult survivor， trying to figure out what happened the night of the infamous fire and who she’s been communicating with via text， having just This was a great sequel with the same suspense and humor that marked the first one！Book One， A Deadly Influence， left us on a cliffhanger （Uh… I just started writing hangover， maybe that’s how it left you， who’s to say…） and this book picks up two months later。 As with the first book we have two plot lines。 The first is the continued thread of Abby Mullen， cult survivor， trying to figure out what happened the night of the infamous fire and who she’s been communicating with via text， having just discovered it’s not the person she thought it was。 The second is the driving force of the book— a group of conspiracy theorists known as The Watchers is convinced a sex-trafficking ring is happening at a high school and attempts to ‘rescue’ the kids but find themselves in a standoff with the police， holding hostages， and slowly spiraling into chaos。 Hence- damaged intentions。 Good intentions can help people but they can also kill all of mankind。 （That is a dramatization that does not depict any scene in this book but is nonetheless worth pondering。）Abby Mullen is their negotiator and we are reminded that Mike Omer has been subtly equipping us as readers on how to become fluent in negotiating techniques。 Thanks for looking out！ I’ve been practicing on my kids and if I could just get the ‘keeping my voice calm’ aspect down， I think I could give Mullen a run for her money！Omer has created great characters， his humor is spot-on， and he continues to throw in surprises at just the right times！My one critique is some of the content— swearing and some descriptions of the perv’s activities。 Don’t really like reading that。 But overall I’ve really enjoyed this series and am looking forward to more of his books！BONUS:Also， using my powers of observation I have figured out his method of titling his books and have taken it upon myself to offer suggestions for his next books that I think he will find most helpful should he ever read my phenomenal review。 - Destroyed Identity （boring but compelling）- Dissected Imposter （this could get gruesome）- Dented Impala （I’m envisioning an epic car chase which may make a better screenplay than a book）- Deducted Income （hello white collar crime）- Dedicated IRS （a surprise look into the real people behind the curtain of hate）- Delineated Integers （a math genius murderer？）- Dropped Icees （the biggest disaster I could think of）- Disgusted Idiots （I have no ideas for this one but I’m sure we could come up with something worth reading） Thanks for reading！ Visit my book review blog and share all my awesome book reviews to your social media so more people will read them。 kthanksbyeeeeAnd come follow me and book friends！Facebook: www。facebook。com/shelfreflectionPinterest: www。pinterest。com/shelfreflectionblog**Received an ARC via NetGalley** 。。。more
Theresa
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I received a free digital ARC from Thomas & Mercer via NetGalley。 This second book in the Abby Mullen thrillers continues to expand on Abby’s history growing up in a cult， however it also puts Abby front and center in her profession as an NYPD hostage negotiator。 Abby is in the middle of a negotiation that spans most of the book and it quickly becomes quite personal involving her daughter’s high school as well as her history in the Wilcox Cult。I quite enjoy Abby Mullen’s characterization as well I received a free digital ARC from Thomas & Mercer via NetGalley。 This second book in the Abby Mullen thrillers continues to expand on Abby’s history growing up in a cult， however it also puts Abby front and center in her profession as an NYPD hostage negotiator。 Abby is in the middle of a negotiation that spans most of the book and it quickly becomes quite personal involving her daughter’s high school as well as her history in the Wilcox Cult。I quite enjoy Abby Mullen’s characterization as well as the secondary characters， including Abby’s daughter and the conspiracy theorist Watcher’s attacking Abby’s daughter school。 I’m thoroughly intrigued by the descriptions of the hostage negotiation process。 I found this second installment more forced in intertwining major plot points， but I was so invested in the characters that I can let my issues slide。 I’m now anxiously awaiting the next book in the series。 。。。more
GirlWithThePinkSkiMask
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WOW！ Still debating between rounding the 4。5 up or down。。。 I'll sleep on it。 Review to come。 WOW！ Still debating between rounding the 4。5 up or down。。。 I'll sleep on it。 Review to come。 。。。more
Heather Chase
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I read the first book in this series back in November。 I couldn’t wait for this one to come out， I was hooked on Abby Mullens story。 In the last couple months I haven’t been able to get that book out of my mind， so I requested an Arc from Netgalley。 Now I have the dilemma of already wanting the third book before the second book is available for purchase。 Damaged Intentions is well written， keeps you on the edge of your seat， and has wonderfully developed characters。 The way each character is wri I read the first book in this series back in November。 I couldn’t wait for this one to come out， I was hooked on Abby Mullens story。 In the last couple months I haven’t been able to get that book out of my mind， so I requested an Arc from Netgalley。 Now I have the dilemma of already wanting the third book before the second book is available for purchase。 Damaged Intentions is well written， keeps you on the edge of your seat， and has wonderfully developed characters。 The way each character is written， I feel as if I’m experiencing every thing along side them。 There are plenty of twists and turns that you don’t see coming。 The references are genius。 These are the first books I’ve read by this author。 I am curious to check out his other works， but my TBR is already so long as it is。 。。。more
Beth
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I'm so intrigued by cults so this series was always going to be a winner for me。 I did go back and make sure to read book 1 first and I would definitely recommend reading them both just to get more of Abby's history。 Plus I did prefer book 1。 I found this one a bit slow to get going and some parts of the hostage situation dragged， but it is still a great read that kept me engaged until the end。 I had no idea how or if they were going to be able to diffuse the situation。Abby is such a badass and I'm so intrigued by cults so this series was always going to be a winner for me。 I did go back and make sure to read book 1 first and I would definitely recommend reading them both just to get more of Abby's history。 Plus I did prefer book 1。 I found this one a bit slow to get going and some parts of the hostage situation dragged， but it is still a great read that kept me engaged until the end。 I had no idea how or if they were going to be able to diffuse the situation。Abby is such a badass and her daughter has obviously inherited some of that。 I enjoyed getting to see more of her family。 We also got more of an insight into the Wilcox cult and it's leader as well as how difficult it is to get out of a cult and what she had to go through as a child。 I really hope the ending means we are getting an Abby Mullen & Zoe Bentley crossover。 I definitely need more from this seriesI received a copy of the ebook via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review 。。。more
Liz
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As someone with a relative that believes the QAnon theories， Damaged Intentions hit a little close to home。 Because “the Watchers” in the story are obviously based on the QAnon nut jobs。 And Omer totally gets how they think。 I’ve heard some of the exact same phrases that are used here in the book。 But the real draw of this story is Abby Mullins。 She’s overcome a past that also centered on a cult of nut jobs。 And now， she’s not only a police detective， she’s the mother of a high schooler being he As someone with a relative that believes the QAnon theories， Damaged Intentions hit a little close to home。 Because “the Watchers” in the story are obviously based on the QAnon nut jobs。 And Omer totally gets how they think。 I’ve heard some of the exact same phrases that are used here in the book。 But the real draw of this story is Abby Mullins。 She’s overcome a past that also centered on a cult of nut jobs。 And now， she’s not only a police detective， she’s the mother of a high schooler being held hostage by a few Watchers。 She is just a great main character - doing her best and stressed to the max that every decision is the wrong one。 Sam is another great character。 She’s her mother’s daughter。 Scared but able to maintain a level of cool。This was a well crafted mystery with some great twists。 I will be looking forward to the next in the series。 The way the book ends， I’m thinking the next book may include Zoe Bentley。 I would advise starting with the first book in the series to get the full flavor of Abby’s background。 My thanks to Netgalley and Thomas &Mercer for an advance copy of this book。 。。。more
Emma Reid
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