Romain Fornier’s ten-year-old daughter Adele was kidnapped and murdered four years ago. When Frances Moreau, the man believed to have killed her, got off on a technicality, Romain shot and killed him sending Romain to prison for a year and a half for the crime.

Sixteen years ago, Jasmine Stratford’s eight-year-old sister Kimberly was also kidnapped. Jasmine watched Kimberly walk out the door with a stranger thinking he was another of their father’s workers.  But Kimberly never came back.

Jasmine and her two friends Skye and Sheridan run a charity organization called The Last Stand. They help victims of violent crimes.   Jasmine is a criminal profiler and has some psychic ability that helps her solve crimes.  When Jasmine receives an anonymous package in the mail with a note attached saying, “Stop Me” in blood, she heads to New Orleans, where the package came from.  There, she meets the now reclusive Romaine Fornier. Jasmine believes Adele’s and Kimberly’s cases are similar and asks Romain for help.  Romain wants to keep the past in the past, but when the evidence begins to reveal that Jasmine may be right, and the killer may still be out there, he reluctantly becomes Jasmine’s partner.  Danger lurks around every corner. Will Jasmine and Romain find the killer before Jasmine becomes the next victim?

An exciting mystery, a twisted killer, and a sensual romance make Stop Me the kind of book I love to read. Stop Me is a very intense and often dark story that kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. Jasmine is very guarded. Her emotions are almost mechanical at times, especially in the beginning of the story. Her dysfunctionality is a direct result of the effect her sister’s kidnapping had on her and her family. Because of what Romain suffered through, he brings a lot of baggage to the table as well. His family and his daughter’s murder took a huge emotional toll on him. I really liked Romain and Jasmine together.  From the moment they met I thought they were a perfect match. Romain’s struggle to cope with his feelings for Jasmine are genuine and tangible. There are some really great moments in Stop Me. Some are sensual, some are romantic, and others are very creepy. The villain is as psychotic as they get. Ms. Novak did an exceptional job getting into his mind and allowing the reader to see what makes him tick.  I loved that aspect of the book as much as Jasmine and Romain’s slow progression toward a loving relationship. The dramatic ending of Stop Me fits the story perfectly. I can’t wait to read the next book in The Last Stand series!