Whisper in the Night (Kane and Alton #6) by DK Hood

Black Rock Falls may be a small mountain town but it has seen quite a bit of notoriety since Sheriff Jenna Alton moved there after leaving the DEA. This time, someone seems to be targeting young high school girls. First, 14-year-old Lindy Rosen goes missing from her bedroom in the middle of the night. Police attend the scene but there are no signs of a break-in and the house has a top of the line security system that wasn't triggered. Then it becomes obvious to Jenna Alton and her team (which includes Deputy Kane) that a devious killer has no plans to stop. But who is the real target?

This is police procedural mixed with low key romance and a sort of locked door mystery. Although it does feature a sadistic killer, it's more tell rather than show. I guessed the identity of the Shadow Man early and I finished just to get confirmation that I was right. The investigation requires that the detectives wade through a lot of interviews and do a lot of running around and generally being in mortal danger -- which brings me to my main gripe. Why the heck does Alton need so much protecting and coddling while she pretends to be a tough girl and doesn't eat, sleep or generally take care of herself. Kane has to do it. I don't buy it. She seems weak every time she won't go get her injuries attended to at the hospital or acts all moody -- and does she ever eat anything besides bagels? I don't know why she's the Sheriff when it seems like all these other deputies around know more about serial killers and tracking and police work than she does. She is fake tough and always ends up in a sort of victim role as a target. I'm tired of Kane with the goo goo eyes as he so admires Jenna and wants to be her main squeeze but nobody is doing much about that. Let it go already, it seems a forced token romance anyway.

I've read all the books to date in this series and I don't know that the small town can realistically have another crazy murderer on the loose. I really enjoyed the first couple of books featuring Kane and Alton as they adjusted to life in Black Falls and worked those cases together.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the e-book ARC to read and review.

This is the 6th book in a series that should be read from beginning in order.
Genre - police procedural trying to be a thriller

Conviction by Denise Mina

Dark and twisty action-packed mystery

The eternal companions of all clever women are mistrust and scorn."

Anna McDonald has two daughters with her lawyer partner, Hamish. On the morning her life implodes, she's listening to a true crime podcast and is quite surprised that she knows one of the people featured in the story. "A sunken yacht, a murdered family on board, a secret still unsolved..."
When Hamish walks out of their home with Anna's best friend and her two daughters, Anna briefly considers suicide. A knock on the door rouses her from her shock and stupor. And thus begins the quest as Anna reclaims her life and tackles the mystery of the DANA. NO SPOILERS

How can it be that I've read thousands of books but never a title by Denise Mina?! I intend to rectify that omission because I really enjoyed the author's writing style. This was fast-paced and had an unusual style -- I especially enjoyed the podcast pieces -- with an engaging and deeply flawed female protagonist in Anna (Sophie Bukaran) and her equally messed up sidekick, Findlay Cohen. Their adventure was pure fun and I raced through the pages trying to figure out how the story would end. Their travels take them across Europe in cars, trains, and planes. I loved the descriptions of the places they visited in their efforts to quiet Anna's demons.

Thank you to NetGalley and Mulholland Books for this e-book ARC to read and review.

This is a standalone and not part of any series
Genre - suspense, crime thriller, mystery

Death at Burwell Farm (Sukey Reynolds #4) by Betty Rowlands

Sukey Reynolds is a SOCO for Goucester City Police. She has a teenaged son, Fergus, and a hot boyfriend, DI Jim Castle. They often butt heads with her being so intent on getting involved in cases beyond the remit of her job. But hey, she only gave up working for the police when she got pregnant.

In this 4th outing, Sukey goes undercover at the RYCE (Release Your Cosmic Energy) Foundation after a couple of deaths seem to have ties to the place. Located at Burwell Farm, Sukey is trying to find out if a suicide and a heart attack death were in any way connected to the new age center. Although she finds the course somewhat calming, there's a murder that disrupts the course and her equilibrium. NO SPOILERS.

I enjoy this cozy mystery series and have read them all in order to date. The characters are nice people without all the pent up angst and psych damage that tend to be a staple in this genre. The stories are fast reads and provide a pleasant entertainment. I'm becoming quite attached to Sukey, her son, and DI Jim. Looking forward to the next one!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the e-book ARC to read and review.

This is the 4th book in a series that should be read from beginning, in order.
Genre - cozy mystery

The Victim by GD Sanders

When your well-laid schemes go terribly awry...

This is quite different to the usual police procedural or crime thriller in that, even though it is the second book featuring DI Edina (Ed) Ogborne of Canterbury CID, the suspenseful story also focuses on two other main characters so there are 3 different points of view in the narrative.

DI Ed Ogborne is investigating a manslaughter case in Dover -- a woman found dead in her scrupulously clean apartment as well as an alleged rape in Buttermarket. Something is not quite ringing true with the rape victim's account, even though captured in detail on CCTV.

Colin Bradshaw has never had much luck with women. He has plenty of time and money. Now he has a plan to secure the woman of his dreams. What could go wrong?

Georgina (Gina) Hamilton has worked hard to become a dentist and is possibly about to become a partner in a thriving practice. Everything is going her way until the night she meets Colin. Now that she stands to lose everything, can she think of a way out of her situation?

NO SPOILERS. This was a fun, easy and fast-paced read that kept me racing through the pages to see what these characters would do next. I found myself surprised by the twists and turns in the plot and the surprises kept coming as the investigation intensifies and events play out. The characters are the type you can actually enjoy as especially two of them can be pretty despicable. I liked Ed and wish I had read the first book though this can be read as a standalone. I'm looking forward to another in this series and want to go back and read THE TAKEN GIRLS as well.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon/HarperCollins for the e-book ARC to read and review.

This is the second in a series featuring DI Eina Ogborne but the first one that I read.
Genre - police procedural

The First Mistake by Sandie Jones

"Trust is a funny thing; it takes such a long time to build, yet it's broken in a second."

Alice and Nathan Davies have a thriving business and two young daughters. They live and breathe their work and have big plans for an exciting new development in Japan. Alice was married before, to Tom, the love of her life, and has finally been able to deal with his tragic passing and has moved on with Nathan so invested in everything.

Alice had some issues in the past but has finally made a friend, Beth. The two women share secrets and all is well until...NO SPOILERS.

This novel of psychological fiction and domestic drama is narrated by Alice and by Beth. Since you know this genre, you expect some twists and a savvy reader will figure out where this is all going fairly quickly. The story moves along at a fast pace and is quite convoluted by the end. Although I couldn't really relate to either woman, and though I can't understand why people don't speak up, confront and ask the big questions right away, I did get that both women were damaged by their pasts. You'll be able to zip through this in a couple of hours.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for this e-book ARC to read and review.

This is a standalone and is not part of any series.
Genre -- domestic drama and psychological suspense

The Honeymoon by Rona Halsall

"It's all about guilt...the poisonous emotion was the common denominator, a deadly catalyst..."

Dan Marsden woos and marries Chloe in a whirlwind courtship that lasts about 2 months. The first signs of trouble appear as the two are boarding their plane for the honeymoon. Chloe had dreamed of the Maldives but suddenly she learns that they are actually going to Menorca. What?? Turns out that this is not the first time Dan has taken her by surprise, and when they arrive at their destination, Chloe finds out that nothing is anything like what she had expected. Dan has just informed Chloe that they are not going back home to Brighton after all. NO SPOILERS.

I really enjoyed the fast pace and the writing in the first half of the book as tension built and I was trying to figure out what was actually going on. It was fun guessing about Dan's motives and getting annoyed with Chloe because she's got to be pretty stupid as she dithers about and makes the dumbest choices a woman could make. Since I couldn't relate to any of the characters and the whole crazy plot, I really had a hard time at the end as everything is revealed. Unbelievable to a degree that defies even my superpowers of suspension of disbelief when reading psychological fiction. Alas, I was disappointed with the explanations and the conclusion. The most interesting part of the novel was the description of the island as I had to go find it on a map. It definitely was a book that begs to be read in a single sitting.

I've read other books by this author, and I'll give her next book a try. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this e-book ARC to read and review.

This is a standalone and is not part of any series.
Genre - domestic suspense fiction

A Face in the Crowd by Kerry Wilkinson

Lucy is having a hard time making ends meet these past years. She's stuck in a dead-end job at the local supermarket making barely better than minimum wage and has a load of debt from when events 5 years ago basically changed her entire life. One evening on the bus home, someone puts an envelope containing money into her bag without her seeing who it was. She knows she shouldn't keep this new-found jackpot, but starts spending it anyway despite knowing that soon she'll be called to account. NO SPOILERS.

This was a quick read, but there were no surprises here. I didn't really connect with the main character of Lucy and way too much of the narrative focused on her dog, Billy. The story will require some extreme suspension of disbelief. I was a big disappointed by the payoff with the "big reveal" and the explanations without ever having felt much tension or suspense.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this e-book ARC to read and review.

This is a standalone and not part of any series.
Genre - drama, not especially a thriller

The Child Before (DI Finnegan Beck #2) by Michael Scanlon

DI Finnegan Beck has been banished to Cross Beg after an incident at his former post in Dublin. He's adjusting to life in the Cross Beg Garda Station and attending AA meetings. In this second book in the series, Beck and his team are confronted with the slashing murder of a young female in a car out on a lonely road. The biggest problem is that Beck notices that there is a car seat in the back of the vehicle, but no baby. This is classic Irish police procedural with the investigation throwing up clues and suspects and lots of questions. NO SPOILERS.

There is a lot going on in this story and it becomes complicated quickly. In addition, there's a whole second narrative involving the disappearance of a baby from the isolated Kelly's Forge, a Clachan of a superstitious and closed community in 1954. The reader knows there must be a connection to the current case, but it is a long time before any can be made. In between the forward action of the plot are long sections of description and detail about the area, history and landscape.

Beck is an interesting, but not really likable, character. He's brash, standoffish and obviously ridden with personal demons. Alcohol is his main friend, but he's trying to stay on the wagon. I think it may be too late for professional counseling to help him come to grips but I still am hopeful for his redemption. The reader sees glimpses into the other charcters' personal lives but they are still mostly just names on the page at this point. Perhaps they will be developed more in future books.

I enjoyed this and was able to finish it in a couple of hours. I'll want to read future installments in the series. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the e-book ARC to read and review.

This is the second in the series and I suggest you read them in order.
Genre - Irish police procedural

Bold Lies (DI Kelly Porter #5) by Rachel Lynch

What if a drug could be created that would save millions from the misery of substance abuse? And who might not want that to happen?

A body is found shot to death in a boathouse at Derwent Water. Two scientists are killed in a hidden lab in East London. Are these deaths related? DI Kelly Porter has the case in the Lake District but travels to London to work with her old flame, DCI Matt Carter. This is a complicated investigation that involves the upper levels of the government and a pharmaceutical giant. NO SPOILERS.

I really enjoy this police procedural series. The characters have definitely grown on me and I can relate to Kelly Porter -- she's a woman who has her act together, is tough when she needs to be, and can handle her job without doing stupid stuff. The other important aspect of this series is the setting: the Lake District descriptions make me want to visit and I love the details of the area. I suggest that these books be read in order to get full appreciation. I know I'm looking forward to another!

Thank you to NetGalley and Canelo Books for this e-book ARC to read and review.

This is book #5 in a series. Best to read in order.
Genre - police procedural