An inheritance brought her more than she ever could have imagined�
Killeen Ames has it all…beauty, brains, a college softball scholarship and a rich and handsome boyfriend who has helped to stretch her college funds and fill her social calendar. He is the only boy she ever allowed past second base and now he’s her baby daddy. However, being a father was not in his short-range plans. He graduates, then he splits, leaving Killeen to decide what she wants to do about the pregnancy…and to worry about how she’s going to keep her scholarship. With no marketable skills, no job, no home and medical bills for her and the baby on the horizon, she knows she must move forward. A knock at the door of her boyfriend’s apartment changes the game forever when an attorney gives her the news of an inheritance from an unknown dead relative and another due date looming.
After traveling to Austin, Killeen walks into the meeting and is surprised to find out that the relative was actually her birth father, and he had been a popular music star who recently died of an overdose. Even more shocking are the four strangers who share the same absentee dad. He has left them a highly successful private investigation agency, Scandals. The catch is…they have to make the commitment to work there.
Their introduction to the P.I. business almost gets them killed when a bomb goes off in the warehouse that sends Killeen to the hospital. She has kept the secret of her pregnancy from everyone, including Christopher, the totally irresistible manager of Scandals. Their hot night of wild sex in the office was a one-time thing…right? She chalks up her attraction to him as just raging hormones. They have no chance of a future together. He’s gorgeous, intelligent and successful. He would never want anyone with so much baggage.
Christopher has a secret of his own. He’s been investigation the possibility that, despite popular opinion, their father’s death hadn’t been an accidental overdose. He thinks it was murder.
Even though the five siblings still haven’t accepted the fact that they have a father who made no attempt to be a part of their lives, they join together to discover the truth about his death. The search throws Killeen and Christopher together and their passion grows hotter. As her feelings for him slowly become more serious, she knows she must tell him about the baby.
After a fun day in the sun, an event happens that outs Killeen’s secret. Christopher, as expected, doesn’t take the news well. But they must continue to work together to track down a killer, especially since the killer has now focused on them.
Someone doesn’t want them to stay and take over the business. In fact, someone wants them all dead and now the decision on whether or not to be a part of the agency seems very unimportant compared to the job of trying to stop from being killed.
They set up a trap that goes terribly wrong. Suddenly, Killeen must make a big decision. Who should she save? Her baby? Christopher? Her new brothers and sisters? Their lives are in her hands.
Due Dates is the first book in the Scandals New Adult series of romantic suspense. Each book of the series will focus on one of the offspring of Roger Elliott, a famous musician who left them with a legacy they weren’t expecting. This book is about Killeen Ames who must deal with an unexpected pregnancy, an absentee baby daddy, an irresistible attraction to a hot new guy and four new half-brothers and sisters. Killer Date, the second book in this series will be released in Spring, 2014 and will tell Reno’s story.
Bonus chapters of other Kathy Clark and Bob Kat books are included
Kathy Clark has always been a storyteller. She completed her first novel when she was four years old and self-published it the same year. The Little Black Horse That Ran Away was self-illustrated and sold out of its first printing. Thanks Mom!
Since then, a total of twenty-three novels published by Dell, Crown, and Harlequin happened. With her husband Bob Wernly as a co-writer, they published (both traditionally and epub) an additional fourteen novels.
Nine of these fourteen books were self-published in the romantic suspense, young adult and erotic romance genres. The remaining five published by Random House LLC as the Denver Heroes and Austin Heroes, released in 2015 and throughout 2016.
The author team are currently developing a new contemporary romance series (with a suspense backdrop) titled Breathless. High altitude, high stakes, and high romance, the series will begin in 2017 with the first book, Fools Gold. The series is set in Cripple Creek, Colorado.
Their young adult genre series, Time Shifters, is a time travel romance-mystery series. The fifth book in the award winning series, Not My Life releases 10.18.16.
Finally, their new adult romantic suspense series, Scandals, currently has the first three books released.
With two people developing ideas, plotting, researching, writing and editing, Kathy and Bob are both busy and productive. To be perfectly honest, Kathy and Bob would rather be riding horses, sitting on a sandy beach, watching movies or plays, and playing a round of golf every few days. But the voices in their heads insist on coming out, so they keep writing.
BOOK BLOGGERS contact [email protected] for any free review copies needed or requests for blog site participation. We'd be thrilled to help you out.
For a complete list of books, screenplays, awards and more, check out Wikipedia at
Their website is at and you can sign-up for their newsletter at
Great story about finding true love with her family and lover, and of friendship and finding her true self!
Killeen, young, bright, sassy, penniless and pregnant! Oh yeah and alone, as boyfriend does a runner when he finds out!
She bags herself a job, and also get a visit from a lawyer, with very unexpected news! Her life as she knew it was about to change considerably.
After meeting Harlan the lawyer, she finds out about her birth father, and that she has half siblings, plus the bonus that is Christopher, who has been working at her fathers PI company. I have some doubts about Christopher, something doesnt add up! he is also 50% partner in the PI company.
The siblings all decide to find out the truth about their father, Roger's death as they all think it is suspicious. I loved how the siblings are getting on, especially as they had only know each other days! each of them have great personalities and all ready to have each others backs.
Killeen and Christopher start on a romantic sexual relationship, and its very explosive, but both of them try to hide it from the others! and think they pull it off! Killeen appears to be falling harder than Christopher, again he seems to be holding back!
They are onto something, as while they are investigating roger's death they are faced with a variety of atrocities, the warehouse gets bombed, almost run over, etc.
Hmmm Brandon, Killeens ex turns up at the house, to confront her, after finding out she has received an inheritance from her father, but I was so proud of her for standing her ground with him, unfortunately Brandon drops the pregnancy bomb, causing Christopher to take off!
The siblings had figured who the perpetrator is, and set up a sting party to trap him, the organising went well, they all pitched in. With Christopher and Killeen avoiding each other at all lengths. The party goes off well, although the perp didn't go for the bait, but what he did do was fairly shocking! He wanted everything and the siblings got way too close so he drugged them all, Harlan, Reno, Dallas, Tulsa, Liberty and Christopher! He was waiting for Killeen to keel over, he gave her his version of events, all the while her phone had an open line.
She did really well, but was not only terrified for her siblings, also for her unborn baby. Thankfully she manages to keep her wits about her.
This was a great story and I'm sorry I thought Christopher had an ulterior motive! although I cant wait for the next installment!
The title of this book is pretty awful but the book itself is actually pretty good.
The book pulls you in from the start by presenting the heroine in one hell of a predicament; she has no family, no boyfriend, no money, and relying on a softball scholarship to pay for college. Well, being pregnant doesn't work with her current life path and she has no support structure to help her figure out what to do next.
She is thrown a wild card in the form of an estate attorney and a whole new world opens up to her. Complete with money, a new family, a new potential career path, and a hot new guy. But it isn't all sunshine and roses. Nope, someone seems to be out to kill her and her new found family. The story focuses on the mystery and is done rather well with clues and progress but still a whole lot of questions up until the final showdown. There were also some frisky scenes between the heroine and her new love interest (who is not related to her btw). The emotional journey of the heroine was well-developed as she adjusted to each turn her life took and struggled to come to decisions regarding her future.
All in all, the only real negative things I can say about this book are the title and the premise that a bunch of women let some drugged out dude name their child after a tour stop and that he had real feelings for each of their mothers at some point (that lasted about 6 months each). While, I wasn't quite sold on this, it does make a good framework for a series as they each get to know their siblings and new lives, and tackle new mysteries through their PI firm, Scandals.
This book has such a long descriptive synopsis, I won't bother summarizing it like I normally do in my reviews...I will just jump right it.
This story pulled me in right from the start and ended up not being at all what I was expecting. Don't let the title of the book fool you, Killeen pregnancy while ever present in her mind is not the focus of this story. There is so much going on and I don't want to give anything away so I am going to be very vague. There are a lot of characters in this story, I am guessing the plan is to give each of them their own story which will be pretty great. Killeen and Christopher are the focus of this one and although I liked it, Killeen did get on my nerves at times. I get that she is dealing with a lot but sometimes she was a little annoying. And the way the pregnancy is finally revealed to Christopher and what happens with "baby daddy" I was like seriously??
My thoughts:
Quick hook or slow starter? 5 (I was hooked from the first chapter) Character development: 3.5 Level of Romance between characters: 4 Passion/Heat level: 3.75(there are several sex scenes but they are not that high on the steam factor.) Angst/Heartbreak: 4 (these two have a lot of obstacles to deal with) Cliffhanger?: Well, sort of. You are left with several answered and several unanswered questions. I am guessing Killeen and Christopher will appear in the future books in highs is series.
Overall I liked it. I read a free copy and there were several weird number placements but I am assuming that will all be fixed in the published version. There are a lot of characters so there is not as much development of Killeen and Christopher as I would have liked to have seen. Had a little more time been spent on them, this would have been a 5 star read for me. Still, I enjoyed it and look forward to the next book in the series.
I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
I received a copy of this book for an honest review.
And my honest opinion is that I just couldn't connect with any of these characters. Which is so weird cause I loved the blurp for it. But I just couldn't get into the story. I do not like to finish books half way, but 50% into the book and I just lost interest.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed this story and would happily recommend it to those who love a bit of romance, suspense, love and some steamy scenes.
This is a story about a young women named Killeen who suddenly discovers that her dad was a famous musician/P.I who had his own company called Scandals. She along with 2 half sisters and 2 half brothers all meet after he has died and have to decided whether they will stay and help run the P.I agency Scandals. Things are never that simple though and someone doesn't want them there to discover their secret and is willing to do anything to stop them.
I really enjoyed the plot and the characters in this book.
Killeen was a strong women who is going through a hard time and has the toughest decision to make. I liked that she was still able to have fun and laugh and enjoy life despite the pressure that was on her. She was so strong and brave and was someone I could easily like. Christopher was also a great character, the sexy P.I who was also friendly, flirty and funny.
All the other half sisters and brothers were brilliant as well. My favourites were liberty and Reno. Liberty because she was just so sweet and innocent and I enjoyed her experiencing new things and coming out of her shell a bit. And Reno because he's a magician who was so cool and sexy. Can't wait to get more of him in the next book.
The story line was great. Even though it was a romantic suspense story it wasn't really like anything I've read before so I enjoyed a new and interesting plot.
The story about who was behind the things going on kept me captivated and I really had no idea who it could be until they started putting the evidence together. There were some points when I thought maybe a little more could have been going on but I think that's because I wanted the story to be longer as I was really enjoying it.
I will definitely be reading the second book and I hope it includes all the characters from this story, especially concerning what Christopher and Killeen decide to do and what their future is going to be.
Overall a great story that I wished was a bit longer.
I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed this story and would happily recommend it to those who love a bit of romance, suspense, love and some steamy scenes.
This is a story about a young women named Killeen who suddenly discovers that her dad was a famous musician/P.I who had his own company called Scandals. She along with 2 half sisters and 2 half brothers all meet after he has died and have to decided whether they will stay and help run the P.I agency Scandals. Things are never that simple though and someone doesn't want them there to discover their secret and is willing to do anything to stop them.
I really enjoyed the plot and the characters in this book.
Killeen was a strong women who is going through a hard time and has the toughest decision to make. I liked that she was still able to have fun and laugh and enjoy life despite the pressure that was on her. She was so strong and brave and was someone I could easily like. Christopher was also a great character, the sexy P.I who was also friendly, flirty and funny.
All the other half sisters and brothers were brilliant as well. My favorites were Liberty and Reno. Liberty because she was just so sweet and innocent and I enjoyed her experiencing new things and coming out of her shell a bit. And Reno because he's a magician who was so cool and sexy. Can't wait to get more of him in the next book.
The story line was great. Even though it was a romantic suspense story it wasn't really like anything I've read before so I enjoyed a new and interesting plot.
The story about who was behind the things going on kept me captivated and I really had no idea who it could be until they started putting the evidence together. There were some points when I thought maybe a little more could have been going on but I think that's because I wanted the story to be longer as I was really enjoying it.
I will definitely be reading the second book and I hope it includes all the characters from this story, especially concerning what Christopher and Killeen decide to do and what their future is going to be.
Overall a great story that I wished was a bit longer.
I do love a story that has all of my favorite elements: love story, suspense, mystery and a little crime. However, this story was just alright, nothing spectacular.
Killeen is a sophomore in college, on a scholarship for softball, has a long term boyfriend and just found out she's pregnant.
As you can imagine, that talk didn't go well with Brandon, her boyfriend. He ends up ditching her, leaving her with zero dollars to her name. Now what is she to do? Find a horrible waitressing job, then surprise! A knock at the door changes her whole view on what's next for her future.
Her dearly departed father, whom she never met, leaves behind his business and estate to her and 4 other illegitimate children. His staff comes along with those places which, low and behold, also comes with hottie Christopher. He's the manager at Scandals Investigations. He and Killeen are instantly attracted to each other. Now how are they to work together while having these feelings you may wonder? Oh, I know, by having a supposed "secret" affair. Because no ones going to guess that, right?
Anyway, this thrown together family will set out to: Get to know each other Work together Have each others backs and ... Solve their fathers death
Killeen will have to come clean with Christopher, and her siblings, about her pregnancy, and hope to high heaven it doesn't ruin everything. She will also have a brief moment of annoying dipwad Brandon to deal with.
Over All 1. Reno and Dallas, Killeen's brothers, were pretty entertaining. 2. I felt that Christopher was the only one who was written maturely. 3. I wasn't a fan of Killeen. 4. I couldn't connect with the characters. 5. I didn't find anything real story depth either and that didn't help to connect to the story either. 6. I did like the "box" her dad had with her life in it and how he kept tabs.
Baby Daddy is the first book in the series Scandal by Kathy Clark. It draws you in from the first page with its descriptiveness and powerful words. Killeen is a college student who has a lot going for her, soft ball, boyfriend, and a dream to be an Olympian. But it all gets turned upside down after a graduation party for her boyfriend Brandon and a big pink plus sign when he leaves her. Then a mysterious knock comes at her door and she soon finds herself in Texas finding out who her biological father is (now deceased) and to top it off that she has four half brothers and sisters. She and her siblings also discover that to have part of there inheritance they must work in Texas for their fathers company along with his partner Christopher. It is also here in Texas that Killeen meets her future. Will they all stay? Was her fathers death really as they say it was, or was it something more sinister? I really enjoyed this book I read it in two days. I liked how it was modern but still had a fairy tale twist to it. I mean its not like someone shows up everyday and says I found your long lost relative and they left you a ton of money. What intrigued and impressed me the most was the impact of the words it made the story more real to me. The first paragraph of the book drew me in. I liked the descriptiveness as well but at times its seemed almost too descriptive. All in all it was a good book and I would like to read the others in the series as well.
Baby Daddy (Scandals series #1) By Kathy Clark 5/5
I was very lucky and I got an ARC copy of this book to review, I was so dying to read it as the blurb was so interesting. So this book has loads and I do mean loads going on, starts off with Killeen learning the hard way that her boyfriend is a looser is the worst possible way. I just love the way all the characters had the bomb dropped on them all together at the one time and all their different reactions to the shocking news. We add to this the attraction Killeen has for Christopher as soon as she sees him. I loved the way Killeen struggles with her emotions, as she comes to terms with now having siblings, being left to make a life or death decision about what to do about her present state all on her own , and this out of control attraction she feels for Christopher she try’s very hard to put down to raging hormones. I love a good who done it and I always look for clues as I’m reading, and I was so sure I had caught who the killer was, I was wrong and that does not happen often, well done Kathy. This book is a real rollercoaster, it’s fast paced and action packed, it had me close to tears a few times, it’s funny in places as well, I’ve really taken to all 5 siblings and can’t wait to read book 2
I just loved this book and I’m anxious to read the other books from de series. This book is about Killeen who was left by her boyfriend as soon as he got the news she was pregnant and how she found out she has a family that she had never imagined. The story has the romance, the suspense and funny parts.
I really like the book the story gets you stuck in from the first page love that this book has romance,mystery and crime. Was really well written and the whole story was great
This book was not what I was expecting from the title. It was a good mystery book that had my attention from the very beginning until the end. The characters were great and I look forward to reading the other books in this series
This was an interesting romantic suspense story... in the NA genre.
This is 3.5 stars. The writing is pretty good (few typos etc), but I had issues with plot development. Also the covers could be more professional looking... the quality of the story and the series could support some investment in better cover art.
We meet Killeen the morning after she's been dumped by her long-time BF who just graduated from ASU after she tell him she's pregnant. She's pulling herself together when she meets an attorney who tells her that, if she is indeed a relative of a deceased man whom he represents, she'll could stand to inherit something. And in fact, this inheritance becomes a family she never knew about, a dead father she never knew, a lot of money, a possible business/career and someone trying to kill her (and her siblings).
K has 2 weeks to figure out what she wants to do relative to the inheritance and it gives her time to get to know her sibs and try to come to grips with her pregnancy (by a man she realizes she never loved)...not to mention the attraction she feels towards the handsome Christopher.
She meets Christopher, a protege of her father who has helped to track down each one of her half-siblings and we learn that he became smitten with her/her profile during the course of the investigation. I found this creepy...especially after he tells her that he's been in love with her since he started the investigation. Kinda yuck.
I needed to know more about Killeen in order to connect with her -- her mother and step father are dead -- but how, why, isn't she still affected by this? She's a junior and doesn't have a major, she has a deadbeat bf, very few friends despite the fact that she was on the softball team, and a bun in the oven. But she seems so disconnected that I couldn't relate.
I had big issues with the pregnancy story (which doesn't get resolved) - I found it completely unnecessary to the story as a whole... and her character development leaves a lot to be desired. She's lost, but she's a strong young woman, or so we're told/shown a lot throughout the book.
There's also a "running joke" throughout as the siblings investigate their father's death that other young people they meet might also be siblings or that there may be others out there and those they find out aren't really siblings say "he was just like a father to me" -- wasn't as funny as creepy.
The synopsis makes it out that this focuses on the romance between Killeen and Christopher, but the most intriguing part of this is the half-sibling angle and the relationships she begins to develop with the others! Tulsa is definitely interesting as she seemed most in need of help and received the least assistance from the father. What the heck happened there?
The Christopher relationship seemed thrown together, rather than the crux of the story. There wasn't enough meat in the relationship for me. He also wasn't particularly romantic. They were big on the sex, but not on substance.
Killeen is doing great in college. She's the star of the softball team, makes good grades and is beautiful with a wonderful boyfriend Brandon. Everything is perfect until she informs Brandon she's pregnant and his response is to leave for Paris. Killeen isn't sure what to do next when Harlan an attorney from Austin shows up. Turns out, she has two brothers and two sisters from a country music father she never knew the identity of. He recently died and instructed his attorney to contact each heir and give them their inheritance. He also left instructions for them to have the opportunity to work at Scandals the PI agency he formed which he named after his old band. Killeen's new siblings are great, but they quickly realize their dad was killed and someone wants them to die next. Things heat up between Killeen and Chris, the manager of Scandals. She knows she needs to tell him about the baby, but she never seems to have the courage. There's a bomb, attempted hit and runs, attempted kidnapping, poison and ex boyfriends.
I enjoyed this story. It started out a little slow, but picks up once all the kids finally meet each other. All of them are named after the city their parents met while their dad was touring: Killeen, Reno, Dallas, Tulsa and Liberty. Chris is a nice guy and you'll find yourself pulling for he and Killeen to be together while they try and track down the truth about their father. The next book in this series will be about Reno with appearances from the other siblings now all working at Scandals.
I received this book from the author in exchange for a honest review.
3.5 Scandalous Stars!
I have to admit, the title of this book made me giggle but a bit skeptical.
It did take me a bit of time to get into the book but once everything was set up I started to enjoy the story.
I always like to wait a few days after I read a book before writing a review. I find that after some time apart my true feeling about the book reveal themselves. I realized I became attached to the characters, specifically Killeen since this was her story but I enjoyed seeing all of Roger's kids embracing each other as family. This book had a little bit of everything: some laughs, a few titillating scenes, some mystery and suspense. Overall I thought it was a well rounded, enjoyable, simple story. I am interested in reading the next book in the Scandals series!
The time came where her life was changed forever due to circumstance. We see Killeen struggle with changes that are beyond her control. The father she never knew died, the boyfriend abandons her, and she's pregnant. Christopher is the one who knew about Rogers children especially Killeen. He has wanted her since the beginning and now that she is here he has no idea what to do with her. As they try to navigate these troubled times we see that truly they are made for each other.
You really can't judge a book by its cover. I thought that this book would be a simple, light romance. Wrong! Well written, good plot, and, of course, a complicated romance. All of these things made for a very good read. Highly recommended.
There are just some books that click from the beginning until the end. I think the beginning was a little weak, but as the story continued, it became better and better. Loved the characters and looking forward to reading the next.