Stillwater Island (Detective Megan Carpenter #4) by Gregg Olsen

 This is the 4th in the crime thriller series featuring Detective Megan Carpenter and I would definitely advise the reader to check out the previous installments as those contain vital backstory information about the main character.

Washington State:  A mother and son are missing and, naturally, the husband is the main suspect in this current case confronting Megan and her partner, Detective Ronnie Marsh. This is typical police procedural with the detectives honing in on the bad guy but the reader knows there is probably going to be a surprise in the mix.

I like Megan and really enjoyed the interaction between the two women detectives. Megan has quite the history and is the typical hot mess as the result of her past, but she is funny and quirky about it. The narrative moves along, but I never felt any tension or suspense -- nor was I too concerned with the Parker family.

It's a solid addition to the series but just wasn't as exciting or thrilling as expected.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this e-book ARC to read and review. Looks like this is my last book for 2021 and it was nice to close out on a good note.

This is the 4th book in a series that definitely should be read from the beginning, in order.

Genre - police procedural, crime thriller, female detectives, set in USA

True Crime Story (A Novel) by Joseph Knox

 Although this book is structured and reads like true crime, this novel is a blend of mystery and thriller that focuses on the case of a missing teenager, 19-year-old Zoe Noland, who seemingly vanished from the rooftop of her Manchester University residence tower on the night of a student Christmas party.

The narrative includes excerpts of "interviews" conducted by a woman who is intent on publishing a book about Zoe's disappearance. This wanna be author, Evelyn Mitchell, starts corresponding with Joseph Knox (clever little bit of realism inserting himself) in a series of emails asking him to read her manuscript and provide a mentorship of sorts. Since these snippets jump around between all the people who were close to Zoe at the time of the event, the story sometimes seems a bit disjointed. Add in the fact that many of these interviewees are lying, exaggerating, or omitting important details and you have a large volume of information to process. Mix in the twists, the surprising revelations, and the bad behavior of some of the characters and you have a tale that is so bizarre and crazy that it's hard to put down. In all, a very unique way to tell a story though the wild denouement had me shaking my head -- what???

I found it all very entertaining, but a bit frustrating with the lack of linear structure. The main body of characters were quite unlikable and not nice people with redeeming qualities. I was drawn into the case and really wanted to know what happened to Zoe which makes the lack of a definitive answer all the more frustrating after the time invested in reading! Just like real life, sometimes you don't get the resolution you need or want.

Definitely should appeal to anyone who likes amateur sleuths or true crime podcasts/documentaries though the style might be off-putting.

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

This is a standalone and is not part of any series.

Genre - fiction that reads like true crime, mystery, thriller

Darkness Falls (Kate Marshall #3) by Robert Bryndza

 The third book in this crime thriller series finds Kate Marshall and her partner, Tristan Harper, chasing the cold case of a journalist, Joanna Duncan, who disappeared 12 years ago. Hired by the missing woman's mother, the two private detectives root through the old files, re-interview the same people, but discover that Joanna's case might also be related to the disappearance of two young gay men. It seems there might be a serial killer on the prowl.

The narrative alternates in point of view as we see a glimpse into the killer's activities. There are quite a few characters and lots of red herrings with the big reveal a bit of a surprise even if it it left me slightly incredulous. The reader learns more about Kate and Tristan and Bryndza provides some back story but it is probably best if you have read the previous two installments. At times I found the procedural details a bit slow moving, but overall entertaining.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this e-book ARC to read and review. 

This is the third in a series and should be read in order.

Genre - crime thriller

Autopsy (Kay Scarpetta #25) by Patricia Cornwell

 This thriller reminds me of the Kay Scarpetta I "met" back in 1990 when I was introduced to this character in "Postmortem." After reading that, I fell in love with this genre and continue with my love affair to this day.

It's difficult to review, with any fresh insights, the 25th book in a series. I've read most of them but fell out of love when the whole concept seemed to veer off the rails. There are characters that I like and others I am just done hearing about (*Lucy), so it was quite nice to see everyone behaving quite normally for a change. I enjoyed the fact that the author includes Covid pandemic references as well as the political and social unrest in the narrative.

Of course there's a murder. A woman has been killed and posed at the side of railroad tracks. It seems she has some connection to a top secret space experiment and Kay is brought into the loop as part of her appointment to the classified Doomsday Commission.

As per the typical crime thriller, the author includes the forensic details that I love as well as a mystery to solve. The only strange part about this book, however, was that it comes to a rather abrupt ending with all the big reveals coming in a short epilogue.

Regardless, though I like Kay and have mostly enjoyed this series, I am wondering if perhaps after all this time if she might be ready to retire. I enjoy the author's writing style and would love to read a new series with a fresh cast taking over Scarpetta's rein.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for this e-book ARC to read, review, and recommend. 

This is the 25th book in a long running series that would not work as a standalone.

Genre - crime thriller, forensics