Katerina Carter Fraud Legal Thrillers: Books 1 - 3

Omnibus of Gripping Conspiracy Thriller Books

By: Colleen Cross

Narrated by: Petrea Burchard

Three riveting crime thriller novels in one box set!

Crime thriller bestseller fans of James Patterson and Michael Connelly will love these heart-stopping mystery thrillers by bestselling author Colleen Cross!

Exit Strategy

Blood diamonds and a deadly secret....

Out of work and running out of money, private investigator and fraud expert Katerina Carter desperately needs more clients or she’ll be forced to go crawling back to a cubicle at her previous firm, a fate worse than debt.

So when Liberty Diamond Mines CEO Susan Sullivan hires Kat to find Liberty’s missing CFO and a large sum of embezzled money, she’s eager to accept the job. But her excitement soon turns to terror when two company employees are brutally murdered.

Game Theory

What money can’t buy, murder can.

Someone is siphoning funds from billionaire Zachary Barron’s currency hedge fund. Intent on prosecuting the thief to the fullest extent of the law, he hires Katerina “Kat” Carter, the best forensic accountant in the business, to follow the money trail. Both are shocked when it leads to Zachary’s father, Nathan.

And he’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Nathan belongs to a shadowy organization with global ties and unimaginable resources. They already control the banking industry and the media, but their ultimate goal - the collapse of the global currency market and a new world order - will soon be within reach.

Kat may be all that stands in their way. But for how long?

The organization learns of her involvement and sends a warning. She knows it will be her last - others who have tried to foil their agenda have met with violent deaths.

If Kat walks away and keeps her mouth shut, she’ll look over her shoulder for the rest of her life in a world she’ll scarcely recognize. Ignoring the threat makes her and everyone she cares about a target...or a potential traitor.

Blowout

A sinister crime lies deep underwater...

On fraud investigator Katerina Carter’s trip to a remote island aboard a luxurious yacht, she suspects the boat’s slick and charming owner is hiding a dark secret. With her cunning instinct for sniffing out malevolent cons, Kat tries to warn her friends that something is very wrong with their host and that his moneymaking scheme smells fishy.

And why is she only one who thinks he’s not being completely honest?

While exploring the island, Kat and her friends research the rumors of a sinister cult, the Aquarian Foundation, and search for buried treasure. The cult swindled people out of their money and now the same situation is starting to eerily echo their present circumstances.

When Kat’s warnings fall on deaf ears, she uncovers a horrifying truth that will place those closest to her in mortal danger.

©2019 Colleen Cross (P)2019 Colleen Cross

Needs Work

I love mystery stories but by the time I finished the second one of this trilogy. The plot just ended up being ridiculous. The main character continues time and time again to do things that no reasonable person would do, and the plot contains so many different historical criminal similarities badly revised. It’s a good attemptBut
it does it make it

A great box set at any price

I really enjoyed this box set. I did think listening to book two might have been a little bit hard (hitting a little bit too close to home) when it first started but I found I was hooked. When I finished one book I was straight onto the next one. I liked the characters and found myself caring about what happened to them.
Exit strategy
When a CFO goes missing with a sizable amount of money Kat is hired to track him down and get the money back. The problem is the missing money isn't the only problem with the company, staff are getting fired and then turning up dead, diamond mines that were once dry have suddenly started producing again, bringing the company back from the brink of bankruptcy. With money missing and share holders to answer to Kat has her work cut out for her especially as Kat's own Uncle has invested in the company. Kat also has her own problems with money that she has to keep secret because who will trust a fraud investigator that is broke and can't pay her own rent. Things turn deadly serious when a killer thinks she is getting to close to the truth but with no body believing that things aren't right and nobody is who they seem Kat has no choose but to keep investigating.
Game theory
Kat is having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that she can't cope with her Uncle as his health issues, as he slowly deteriorates before her eyes. So starting a new case is just what she needs to take her mind off her problems and her boyfriend can see a new story in the making but tracking down the missing money leads the pair to non-existent auditors, a ponzi scheme and a powerful company that is so secret that no one has heard of them, other than conspiracy enthusiasts. The trail leads them to a hotel and a meeting that you can only get to by boat, keeping it exclusive. Things go wrong and Kat finds she has to go it alone when both her boyfriend and Uncle disappear. Can she find them and find the proof that a single currency for the whole world Isn't what it is cracked up to be? and in fact it can be murder in the wrong hands.
Blowout
Kat's boyfriend has a new story he is working on and invites Kat to join him as it won't take him long to wrap it up and then they can enjoy the rest of the weekend. The trip is derailed before it even starts as a romantic get away soon changes to a group holiday to a deserted island on a very expensive yacht and Kat's Uncle and an old friend joins them. The problem is Kat doesn't trust her friends new boyfriend as he seems to slick to be true, something doesn't add up and for Kat numbers never lie. Even her boyfriend questions how jealous she is over the engagement announcement and he forgets to mention he has been taken in and invested money with the slick millionaire but after a number of accidents in caves and miss communications be falls Kat on the deserted island Kat has to keep asking question to find out what is going on before someone gets killed.
I liked the narrator and thought she did a great job with all the different characters from young to old that make up this great book.

Strong female lead!

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

I truly enjoyed all three of these books. It is clear the author did a lot of research to build the main character. Kat is an intelligent ,strong lead character that I found myself routing for throughout the books. The third book seemed a bit out of place in the series, but on it's own was a good "read". I look forward to finding more Cross books.

The narrator did a fantastic job breathing life into these characters. Easy to listen to and I never had a question which character was "acting" at any given time. Truly enjoyable. Would opt for this narrator again in the future.

Fraud

I had listened to the 1st book and was happy to have the other 2 in the set. Enjoyed the books.

5 stars thrice, definite must reads is my advice!!

This book had three Katerina Carter fraud investigation stories. 

Katerina Carter (“Kat”) is a forensic fraud investigator that has left her firm to start her own forensic investigation business. 

As an accountant myself, i found these stories completely intriguing. I absolutely loved how the so called "boring" profession has been developed into an exciting and heroic one! If you are not an accountant, do not worry! Everything is cleverly explained throughout the story so you you will not feel lost. 

Story 1 – Exit strategy 

Kat is broke and when she is hired to find a missing CFO and a significant amount of embezzled money, she accepts the case even though she has bad feelings about the situation. During her investigation people are murdered and she uncovers diamond laundering, false identities, and criminal mafia bosses putting her in grave danger. 

Kat has multiple almost deaths on the story, and there are a number of twists and turns making you go on so called "wild goose chases" in your mind as to who the guilty party(ies) are. You will not find a quiet moment with this one! Its full of thrilling moments throughout! 

Absolutely love it!! This book should be made into a movie its so good!! 

Story 2 – Game Theory 

A billionaire hires Kat to investigate his hedge fund embezzlement. She uncovers a secret company trying to control the world financial markets, a company that will stop at nothing to keep its secrets. During this investigation, Kat also tries to uncover who has stolen her uncle’s money, while he is suffering from Alzheimer’s. 

Very fiesty story with additional emotional elements to keep the base story going. Very cleverly written and super enjoyable!! 

Story 3 – Blowout 

While cruising on a luxury yacht, Kat suspects the owner of dodgy dealings. When arriving at the island destination following the cruise, Kat and her friends learn of rumours of a cult cheating people out of their money. No-one believes Kat about her concerns so she must uncover the truth before those closest to her get hurt. 

Very interesting story with fascinating facts revealed throughout. The story unravelled just at the right pace to keep me interested throughout. 

Overall 

The stories are action packed and exciting. There is also comedy interwoven throughout to add a bit of variety to the seriousness, as well as family drama varying the fast pace of the stories. The various aspects in Kat’s personal and professional life are masterfully interwoven and very cleverly thought out.

Petrea narrated all the books very well, and it was great to have continuity for the first three in the series. She varied the character voices very well. 

Overall, the books are very enjoyable, suspenseful and riveting, each a masterful multidimensional puzzle uncovered perfectly through the story. They can all be read as stand-alone stories but I would absolutely recommend them all! 

Note: This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this objective review voluntarily.

The protagonist is too naïve to be a private investigator

I barely made it through the first of the series after considering quitting a couple of times. The protagonist is either too naïve or stunningly blinded by emotion. Now, maybe this gives us a window into the way other people think and that can be of value but I can’t believe someone like this would stay in business for very long.

So interesting and fun

Who knew stories involving money scams could be so creative and entertaining? I loved the variety of characters and talent of the narrator. It was hard to stop listening. Characters were well developed and defined by narrator. The second story got a little complicated for me. It seemed longer than it needed to be to me as well. The books had been recommended to me and I was given free codes to listen.

Do not waste your money

This book was terrible I have read better from a high school student. The author tries too hard and comes across as weak. She does not hold your attention at all. I was going to ask for my money back I am surprised the author go someone to print this crap. It must be a relative that agreed to print it. I only read one of the stories....and barely made it that far. This was a total waste of money and time.