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Title: Ruthless
Author: Carolyn Lee Adams
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: July 14, 2015
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
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Ruthless
Carolyn Lee Adams
Simon Pulse, July 2015
ISBN 978-1481422628
Hardcover
From the publisher—
Ruth Carver has always competed like her life depends on it. Ambitious. Tough. Maybe even mean. It’s no wonder people call her Ruthless.
When she wakes up with a concussion in the bed of a moving pickup trick, she realizes she has been entered into a contest she can’t afford to lose.
At a remote, rotting cabin deep in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Ruth’s blindfold comes off and she comes face-to-face with her captor. A man who believes his mission is to punish bad girls like Ruth. A man who has done this six times before.
The other girls were never heard from again, but Ruth won’t go down easy. She escapes into the wilderness, but her hunter is close at her heels. That’s when the real battle begins. That’s when Ruth must decides just how far she’ll go in order to survive.
Back home, they called her Ruthless. They had no idea just how right they were.
When you read a book description saying it’s about a young woman being held against her will by a serial—what, killer?—you kind of know what to expect, right? Wrong, oh so very wrong. Ruthless is a book that has all the chills and thrills you could possibly want. Cozy-only readers need to avoid this one but you can’t go wrong if you love a really intense psychological thriller.
It’s one thing to find yourself in a terrible situation like this but Ruth Carver truly is a unique young woman, one who has no intention of going to her death quietly or of allowing her captor to be in complete control. She’s the woman I would hope to be in such circumstances while I know quite well I wouldn’t be. She’s not Superwoman, though, and has those moments when she just doesn’t think she can go on; it’s what she does with those moments that makes her so remarkable.
The brute that nabbed Ruth is vividly drawn and as menacing and evil as can be but I have to say the character that had the most effect on me, other than Ruth, is the ambience, the atmosphere, if you will, that creates the overall feeling of the darkness that is at the core of this man and of Ruth’s surroundings. Ms. Adams knows how to bring the reader into the scene with her words and, much like the intense cold in another wonderful book (Jenny Milchman’s Cover of Snow), this is what kept me riveted to Ruth’s battle with the evil that wants to consume her.
Looking for a nice peaceful read to while away a few hours? Not this one, not by any means, but if you want a story that might keep you up at night racing through the pages, you’ll want to read Ruthless.
Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, July 2015.
About the Author
Carolyn Lee Adams is originally from the Seattle area, breeding ground of serial killers and those who write about them. She attended USC Film School and graduated with a BFA in screenwriting. RUTHLESS (Simon Pulse, Summer 2015) is her first novel. When she isn’t exploring the dark side of human nature in her writing, you’ll find her on stage as a stand-up comedian. Because those things go together.
AUTHOR LINKS:
Website: http://carolynleeadams.com/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7391569.Carolyn_Lee_Adams
Twitter: https://twitter.com/carolynleeadams
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Carolyn-Lee-Adams/1411876522442530
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Buried Under Books 
I want to read this book!!! Great review, too
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