The Shaking by Kerry Peresta ~ Review

The tremors began at dawn-violent, betraying shudders that stole her consciousness. This time, the seizure left blood on the garage floor, a bemused realization that alcohol was not her friend, and an ultimatum from fiancée Sergeant Hunter Faraday: Rehab or we call off the engagement. His voice, steady as a sniper’s breath, named the facility-Woodlawn Acres Wellness Center. Safe. Discreet. But deep down, private investigator Olivia Callahan suspected the slick brochure he’d given her masked the stench of corruption.

She wondered at the cautious steps in the night. Forced over-medicating. Mysterious meetings with the small-town mayor and his meek wife. Then her best friend, Callie, hit her with the news of her husband’s parole and his ultimatums regarding their daughter: “I’ll be Daddy again,” he’d texted. “Even if I have to bury you to do it.”

Desperate to leave the rehab facility to help Callie and return to her firm, Watchdog Investigations, she checks the daily onslaught of pills, spitting them into a worn, hollowed-out paperback, nodding through daily therapy sessions, mapping the facility at night, and unearthing clues in locked closets with a stolen keycard. Then, one afternoon, the glint of a syringe. The orderlies with dead eyes called it “stabilization.” Now, she’s positive the forces arrayed against her are unwavering in their resolve to preserve their secrets. In a chilling moment of clarity, she realizes that this time, her indomitable will and the ever-valiant Hunter Faraday might not be enough to save her.

Genre: Thriller, Suspense
Published by: Level Best Books
Publication Date: August 26, 2025
Number of Pages: 304
Series: Olivia Callahan Suspense, Book Five

Book Link: Amazon

This is book five of the Olivia Callahan Suspense series, and as someone who has read and loved all four of the others, when the Kerry Peresta herself asked if I wanted to review The Shaking, I of course said yes!

Returning to the characters I’ve come to know and love was like coming home to good friends. I was immediately pulled in and emotionally invested, just like every other time.

The Shaking is just as suspenseful as the rest, full of shady characters, surprising twists, and tangled secrets. But in my opinion, this one had even more emotional pull. Olivia has been through so much. Each book has challenged her in ways that would cause any strong, independent woman to break. She’s had the rug pulled out from under her, betrayed by people she deeply loved and trusted, and forced to rebuild her life from the ground up.

Except… with all that challenge also comes pain. And when pain is ignored, it doesn’t disappear, it festers. Instead of facing it, Olivia numbs herself with glass after glass of wine until her friends begin to worry. Watching her struggle was heartbreaking, but it also made her seem deeply human, real and relatable in all the right ways.

The mystery in this story runs deep. The tangled web that Olivia and her investigative team uncover is gut-wrenching. With each layer revealed, the crimes become more heartbreaking, more personal, and more impossible to turn away from.

As with every book in this series, The Shaking explores relationships, broken trust, and inner strength. People are often not who they seem, and when the truth comes out, you have to have enough of yourself intact to withstand it. Olivia may be reckless and stubborn at times, but she also embodies incredible tenacity and resilience, something every reader can take inspiration from.

Thank you Kerry Peresta for letting me review another of your excellent books!

Author Bio:

Kerry Peresta is a suspense novelist, and her releases include The Deadening, The Rising, The Torching, and The Crushing, books one-four in the Olivia Callahan Suspense series; and Back Before Dawn, a standalone thriller, all published by Level Best Books Publishing. Her magazine articles have appeared in Hilton Head’s Local Life Magazine, The Bluffton Breeze, Lady Lowcountry, and Island Events Magazine. She spent twenty-five years in advertising as an account manager, creative director, editor, and copywriter. She is past chapter president of the Maryland Writers’ Association and a current member and presenter of Hilton Head Island Writers’ Network, South Carolina Writers Association, Pat Conroy Literary Center, International Thriller Writers, and the Sisters in Crime organization. Kerry is the mother of four adult kids, a flock of grandkids, and three cats. She and her husband moved to Hilton Head Island in 2015.