An Evil Heart (Kate Burkholder #15) by Linda Castillo

 Another suspenseful thriller in this Amish mystery series.

Police Chief Kate Burkholder of Painters Mill is called out to a dirt road where she finds an Amish man dead from penetrating wounds, later determined to from a crossbow. As the investigation begins, no one has a bad thing to say about this 20-year-old who has been murdered in cold blood. As Kate and her colleagues continue to work the case, some disturbing information about the victim comes to light. Meanwhile, Kate is preparing for her upcoming wedding to Tomasetti. 

I've read all the prior books in this series and can't imagine this #15 as a standalone given all the backstory, but Kate Burkholder is a favorite character, and the plots are always complicated and interesting. I think the main draw to these books for me is the Amish angle. I find the details about plain life make this series stand out from most of the others with similar themes. I like the writing style and the police procedural aspect as well. Always look forward to the next installment.

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

This is the 15th book in a series that should be read in order.

Genre - mystery, suspense, crime thriller, Amish

Fear the Silence by Robert Bryndza

 This standalone mystery thriller never quite hooked me. 

Dr. Margaret (Maggie) Kendall, age 47, is a trauma surgeon at Guy's Hospital in London. When her husband, Will, is found shot dead in their fashionable home, Maggie can't believe the verdict is suicide. In her grief, she travels to Tisina, a small Croatian island, to stay in their vacation home while she sorts through things and comes to grips with her new situation. The main thing she needs to deal with is a mysterious letter written 6 years prior delivered to her by a solicitor engaged by Will -- that she knew nothing about. Apparently Will was keeping a huge secret and it's connected to a very powerful person in the UK government. 

I wish I could say this was exciting and suspenseful, but I can't. It all started out well and was, at least, fast-paced, but I could not believe how quickly the story turned into melodrama with Maggie in constant peril. Her escapades in Tisina and afterwards bordered on fantastical. The character, being a doctor, seemed quite clueless and dumb most of the time. Very one-dimensional other characters populated the narrative and much of the story was spent in Maggie's head. The "delusion" sequence put me off completely. In any event, this was definitely not my favorite. I've read all of Bryndza's other books and I hope he writes more of those. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Raven Street Publishing for this e-book ARC to read and review. My recommendation is to skip it.

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

Genre - mystery thriller

Particles in the Air (Dr. Mallory Hayes #1) by Jenna Podjasek

 An exciting pandemic thriller.

If you like medical stories dealing with a viral disease that causes death in nearly 100% of exposed persons, this is the book for you. The first in a potential new series featuring CDC medical investigator Dr. Mallory Hayes is fast-paced and suspenseful as she and fellow heroes battle biologic terrorism in the wake of a devastating natural disaster occurring in Southern California. The horrific illness originates in a FEMA camp and the Army and other personnel immediately try to help the many displaced persons as the CDC tries to trace and quarantine the infected. As the virus spreads throughout populated areas in the USA, riots and the breakdown of safety and security management cause additional problems while the death toll and infection increase. Can this be stopped?

I really enjoyed this and hope to see more of Dr. Mallory Hayes even as I hate to get hooked into another series (I prefer standalones). I am a total sucker for anything medical combined with twists and true-to-life scares. I also like it when the good guys win. 

I borrowed this e-book from my local library and recommend it. 

This is possibly the first in a new series to be read in order.

Genre - medical thriller (viral pandemic) natural disaster

The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese

 I think that this phrase pretty much sums up this book -- Life stinks and then you die.

Three generations on two continents with so much sadness and tragedy. This story was almost unbearable to read. When it all comes together in the last several chapters, I admit I found it almost overwhelming to imagine the lives of those characters and all they suffered. I don't think this book is for everyone, and certainly at 736 pages requires an investment, but I am glad I finished it.

"It's the water that connects them all in time and space... This is the covenant of water: that they're all linked inescapably by their acts of commission and omission, and no one stands alone."

What a cast of characters -- all lovingly drawn in larger-than-life descriptions that make them real in the mind of the reader. You can't help but feel for them throughout their trials and ordeals with only the briefest moments of happiness. Spanning decades from 1900 to the 1970s, life in these parts of India is full of many contradictions. Religion, family, love, land, water, caste, politics, medicine, and leprosy are just a few of the themes that make up the narrative. It's an epic and truly a literary novel written by a master storyteller.

Do I recommend it -- yes. I will be thinking about this book for a long time and look forward to discussing it with my book buddies.

This is a standalone work of literary fiction and is not part of any series. 

The Bone Jacker (Temperance Brennan #22) by Kathy Reichs

 Another well-crafted installment in this entertaining crime thriller series.

How appropriate to read and review this ARC while in the midst of watching the show "Bones" from start to finish. I'm on Season 11 and can't help but shake my head as the characters on television are only loosely based on those in these books. And by that I mean, the books are so much better! In fact, I really like Tempe a whole lot more on paper. 

I'm a real sucker for medical details of any kind and I love that about this series. Since the author knows her field, it translates to excellent clinical descriptions. The main plot of this one grabs immediately -- Tempe is examining bones thought to be related to the disappearances of young, good-looking men on the islands of Turks and Caicos. The only thing the men have in common is that they came to this Caribbean paradise and vanished. In addition, Tempe rides along with a local detective to a really strange death scene: a luxury boat is floating near shore about 600 miles off course and all of the passengers are dead. Nothing is wrong with the boat's systems. None of the victims has obvious injuries. As usual, there are several different tracks of investigation going on and Tempe gets involved.

I always look forward to a new installment in the series, this being one of the few that I still try to keep up with. Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for this e-book ARC to read, review, and recommend. 

Sure, you could read this as a standalone, but why? Try the previous 21 first!

Genre - crime thriller, mystery, forensics

Strange Gods by Peter J. Daly

 A murder mystery and thriller set in Rome and involving the leaders of the Catholic Church. 

Something is seriously wrong in the top echelons of the Catholic Church. When the Archbishop of New York is shot dead while performing a funeral, he becomes the 6th Cardinal to die in suspicious circumstances. Are these deaths connected and, if so, who is responsible?

The Vatican asks for help with an outside investigation, and Nate Condon, a young New York attorney, is recommended by Cardinal Michael O'Toole, the head of the Vatican's missionary office. Nate dutifully travels to Rome to begin asking questions and sussing out the situation. What he finds is a hornet's nest of lies, corruption, organized crime, and murder. 

This was excellent — and a totally unexpected read that was slipped into my TBR by a good friend. Not just for Catholics, but for anyone who is interested in the inner workings of the men who hold the most powerful positions in the Catholic Church. Although the plot is fiction, the descriptions and details of the lifestyles of those who run the business of the church are vivid and accurate. The dire situation currently confronting the Catholics has led to declining membership and loss of faith by many previous faithful. This would make a great novel for a book club as there are many aspects worthy of debate and discussion. 

I recommend it. 

This is a standalone and is not part of any series

Genre - mystery thriller, Rome, religion, Catholic Church, fiction

The Only One Left by Riley Sager

 "At Hope's End, the past is always present." 

3.5 stars rounded up.

This mystery thriller had more twists and turns than a wild rollercoaster! Just when you think you have finally gotten the real story and have figured it all out, there's a new disclosure taking you by surprise. The narrative definitely kept me glued to the pages as I tried to make guesses about the truth. I'd say I didn't quite predict it all.

With a menacing Gothic atmosphere, the house named Hope's End is practically a character itself. Once a magnificent cliffside mansion, it's now barely hanging on to the edge, teetering and threatening to tumble into the ocean below. It's where the murders occurred. 

In 1929, when the Hope family lived there, their wealthy peace was shattered when then 17-year-old Lenora Hope was thought responsible for the killing of her parents and younger sister, Virginia. Circumstances prevented an arrest or conviction, and Lenora never left the house again. No one knew what happened there that night.

Then, in 1985, Kit McDeere, a caregiver, is hired to give nursing care to Lenora, in her seventies, who is confined to her room and bed after a series of strokes has resulted in her needing assistance with activities of daily living. She cannot speak but she is able to "talk" with a typewriter. And... the tales she tells leave Kit reeling. But Kit is not sure she can trust what she's reading. 

No spoilers. Suffice to say that this was a fun, fast read. I grew to like Kit more as I got to know her better. The others in the story were also interesting as the layers of the past fall away in the revelations. 

Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Dutton for this e-book ARC to read, review, and recommend.

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

Genre - Gothic mystery thriller