I Found You by Lisa Jewell

 Enjoyable character-driven mystery.

Alice Lake finds an amnesiac man she decides to call "Frank" sitting on a beach near her house. Miles away, a newlywed's husband vanishes on his way home from work. Police reveal to the new wife that his passport is fake and the man she knows as Carol doesn't exist. 

Weaving present day mystery with a decades old seaside vacation that ended in tragedy, this novel slowly reveals the dark and unsettling connection that binds these disparate lives and answers the questions about their identities and the past. 

The atmosphere is enticing and the seaside setting with the multi timeline structure at first is a bit confusing, but it pulls in the reader. The build up and minute revelations make the book seem very slow moving and I put it down and didn't rush to pick it up again. The resolution, with all the coincidences, felt a bit too neat and almost a let down after all the information is finally exposed and the truth disclosed. I know we're meant to like the characters, especially Alice, but I'm just trying to imagine bringing a strange man who doesn't know who he is inside my home with my  kids. There was nothing twisty or surprising about the conclusions so I can't really call this a thriller. I like the author, but this one just fell a bit short for me. 

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC provided by the publisher. Yes, I'm late getting around to this one! I wasn't impressed with the narrator, Helen Duff. I wish a male voice had been utilized as well to give a more immersive experience. When the audio had to go back to the library unfinished, I just continued to the end of the book without it and no regrets.

This is a standalone and not part of any series.

Genre and tags: mystery, romance, amnesia, psychopath, murder, fake identity, missing persons 

Murder Most British (Secet Detective Agency #3) by Helena Dixon

 

This is the third installment in this cozy historical mystery series.

It’s 1941 and secret agent Jane Treen is back working with codebreaker and analyst Arthur Cilento. This time their partnership has them investigating the murder of a typist who had discovered that there were secret codes inserted into broadcast manuscripts. Jane ends up temping as accompanist to her mother, Elsa, while checking out everyone who is working at the agency. 

This one moved rather slowly and, though peppered with marginally dangerous situations for Jane, it never rose to any sort of intensity and had no real twists or surprises. It seems that Jane and Arthur are becoming close and perhaps, after about 10 more books, a romance may bloom though he’s quite sickly and I can’t see what the attraction might be. The characters spend a lot of time talking, eating, and drinking their coffee and tea without much really going on. I just couldn’t get too excited about the plot. 

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

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

Genre and tags - historical cozy, fiction, mystery, murder, 1941 war time London

Her One Regret by Donna Freitas

 3.5 stars rounded up.

To be, or not to be, a mother…

This book is sure to provide an excellent topic for any book club. The whole time I was reading it, I was thinking about how I’d frame questions and guide the discussion. Unfortunately, I think that those women who would appreciate and benefit from this book the most will be unlikely to find or ever read it. 

Lucy vanishes from the grocery store parking lot leaving behind her baby, Emma. Everyone has mixed reactions to this disappearance. First thought to be a kidnapping, the situation morphs into something else when her best friend, Michelle accidentally reveals that Lucy wanted out of her life.

Motherhood. It’s almost sacred to the point where any woman who doesn’t embrace it fully or who chooses not to participate in it at all is vilified. I know there are many women who do not like nor want children. That’s fine. And they shouldn’t be hassled about their choice. Being a mom (or a parent) is not easy and sometimes it’s a very rough adjustment. Having a child changes everything in life but more so the life of the mother (woman). Trying to explain that to those that don’t have children or to men is fraught. 

It’s a truth that is not universally known or accepted — a woman (mother) can love her children desperately but still long to go back to her life and to the person she was before.  Giving up a much loved job or career is hard. No longer having that private couple time is tough on the marriage. Lack of support with child care or begrudging help from the father is frustrating. Lots of things change when a baby is brought home from the hospital. And adjustment is not automatic as all sorts of emotions and physical issues can get in the way. 

In a way, all mothers are Lucy. When she goes missing and it’s thought to be a kidnapping, people are sympathetic. When it comes out that she might have left of her own accord due to regret and disenchantment with her life, then she’s lambasted and maligned. Expectations that a mother will never leave no matter what are engraved on the soul. In a society where women who don’t want babies are forced to have them, where birth control fails and accidents happen (or worse), then what is a woman to do when this baby comes after all. 

This is a very powerful book that I think most women will have strong opinions about and I’d love to hear them out. I realize that I am not coming from the same place as Lucy and some of the others mentioned in the novel, but I do appreciate that there are many women who feel like they did and they need to be heard and supported.

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC, both provided by the publishers. I honestly did not like the narrator, Victoria Villarreal. Her breathy voice, her speech patterns, and the choppy delivery were really irritating. She would pause between words in a sentence with her deliberate pausing distracting from the reading. Many times I had to stop the audio because I really disliked her performance. The men’s voices were terrible. So, instead of an audio enhancing a book for me, this production detracted from my enjoyment of the story. I would not recommend it. 

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

Genre and tags: book club fiction, women’s fiction, motherhood, regret, adjustment

False Witness by Phillip Margolin

 A complicated legal thriller with many subplots and a huge cast of characters.

Disbarred, imprisoned, and later vindicated defense attorney Karen Wyatt returns to her life with a lot of money won in a suit against those who framed her. As she seeks to find out the names of the corrupt officials who put her in prison, she carries on with her caseload. 

Her defendants aren’t always the best or smartest, so her work often involves meeting unsavory characters and, in one particularly nasty case, she also has to unravel a conspiracy that involves a truly vicious local gang. 

I liked the main character, who has risen above her persecution and is trying to do the right thing with her clients. She’s got some good people on her side, but always trying to find out who made her life the hell it was. There’s a lot of names and some really grisly torture scenes and the bad guys are really horrible. The chapters were short and the story moved along at a nice clip. There were several long incidences where the story goes off on a tangent, ie, the explanation of hypnotism for one and the whole alien abduction scenario for another. I really hate books that feature nasty gangs and hideous people. Mainly the plot revolved around money, laundering, and scams. 

I don’t think it’s unexpected to know that Karen gets her closure and it looks like life is going to be good for her again.

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC, both provided by the publishers. The narrator, Therese Plummer, did an adequate job of voicing some of the characters but at times all the voices sounded too similar, especially the men. She had an appropriate amount of dramatic flair that helped create an immersive experience to enhance my enjoyment of the book. 

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

Genre and tags - legal thriller, gangs, money, murder, torture, corruption 

Gone Before Goodbye by Reese Witherspoon and Harlan Coben

 Fast paced international conspiracy thriller.

Grief, betrayal, and a high stakes conspiracy entangle a disgraced former Army surgeon, Maggie McCabe, in a complicated plot involving the wealthy elite. Maggie is barely holding herself together after losing her medical license and her husband. Drowning in debt and facing an uncertain future, her former mentor gets her a super secret job as a concierge surgeon to a Russian oligarch. When she arrives at the highly secure location, she’s told that she is to perform two surgeries, take her money, and leave. Absolute non disclosure. 

I could go on with the synopsis since what I’ve read on product pages is wildly inaccurate or misleading, so I’ll let the reader find out the rest. No spoilers but there’s definitely a large cast of characters and a lot going on.

I liked the collaboration between these two authors as I have lately gotten bored with Harlan Coben who seems to write mostly the same formulaic standalones. I would love to know the extent of Witherspoon’s contribution, but, regardless, it seems to work with the two of them. I found it interesting that the main character in this was female as that is not typically the case for Coben. 

I would say this novel reads like an action film. The Maggie character is nothing short of amazing along with being beautiful and resourceful with her daring escapades. Maybe a bit too much so? The Porkchop character was almost a cliche and made for a very convenient wingman. There wasn’t much dimension to any of them, but since the main focus was twists and revelations, one can ignore that and of course logic goes out the window. So most of it was implausible, but that often happens with conspiracy stories. Emotional depth was attempted with the exploration of Maggie’s grief and her interaction with the grief bot was interesting as an aside. 

So we have a wounded heroine who, against all odds, gets the answers she needs and the closure she craved.

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book. The narrators are a full cast recording and they all did a fantastic job of bringing this book to life and creating a really immersive experience. Reese Witherspoon voices the protagonist, Maggie McCabe and her performance was nothing short of amazing. Chris Pine, Saskia Maarleveld, Peter Ganim, Suehyla El-Attar Young, Kiff VandenHeuvel, and James Fouhey voice the remaining characters (some doing multiple roles) with appropriate tone, accents, and dramatic flair. Don’t miss out! 

This is a standalone and is not part of any series. Yet. Bet they adapt it to a film or limited series.

Genre and tags: surgery, international intrigue, rich people. Conspiracy, friends, death

Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell

 A psychological study of grief and loss.

When Laurel Mack loses her favorite daughter, Ellie, a gifted 15-year-old who was the light of her life,  she drowns in grief that destroys the family that includes two older children, Hanna and Jake. Some believe she ran away but no sightings or trace of Ellie were ever found. Although the police investigated and countless appeals were made, the case went cold. 

Now, it’s 10 years gone and not much has changed as Laurel has never moved on. Then she meets a man, Floyd, and tentatively begins a relationship. It’s a shock, however, when Laurel first meets his nine-year-old daughter, Poppy, who looks a lot like Ellie. (I think you can guess where this might be going). Laurel gets close to Poppy and Floyd with some disturbing questions that bring her back again to what happened to Ellie. 

Told in a then and now format with alternating viewpoints, this is not a typical twist heavy psychological thriller as it is more a slow burn study of a mother’s trauma and grief. I can’t say as that I liked Laurel very much because her obsession with Ellie also estranged her other two children because of the favoritism. Part of the uniqueness of the plot is due to the structure when the central mystery of Ellie’s fate is revealed about halfway through. This shifts the focus from “what happened” to the more sinister “how and why” and was far more disturbing. Some extremely fractured and damaged other characters, Laurel’s new focus on Poppy as perhaps a substitute daughter, sociopathic delusion and the desperate obsession of those seeking love all combine to create a chilling, if a bit melodramatic, picture of broken lives. I found the conclusion to be overwhelmingly sad on many levels. Haunting is a good word to describe the tone of this book. 

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC provided by the publisher. The narrators, Helen Duff and Gabrielle Glaister, did a decent job of bringing most of the characters to life but were sadly lacking with the male voices. At times there seemed a bit of a miss with the accents as well. Overall, however, the production did enhance my enjoyment of the book.

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

Genre and tags - psychological fiction, mystery, missing teen, family drama, sociopathy and obsession

Five Found Dead by Sulari Gentill

 A clever homage to classic locked-room mysteries.

Fraternal twins Joe (a fiction writer) and Meredith (a lawyer) board the infamous Orient Express after he's finally cleared by his medical team after treatment for cancer. Almost immediately, things go awry and a bloody, body-less crime scene appears in the cabin next door. An interesting group of passengers form an alliance to search for the missing person who is presumed dead. The cohort just happens to included former police, detectives, spies and other investigators that make the effort seem more like an ensemble event taking place in the bar car. 

There are lots of red herrings and so many characters to keep track of that make the pacing a bit convoluted. It was an entertaining and cozy type read despite the number of dead bodies (five) and the twists did require suspension of disbelief. I had to read the ending a couple of times to make sure I actually understood what had happened. 

3.5 stars rounded up to 4 because the audio book was just that good. I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC provided by the publisher. The narrators, Katherine Littrell and Eden Gabay, did an amazing job voicing the characters with great dramatic effect and all the right accents. Their performance definitely enhanced the book and provided a fun immersive reading experience.

This is a standalone that might actually make a good series if further developed.

Tags and genre - cozy crime thriller, mystery, setting is Orient Express, murder, con man 

The Widow by John Grisham

 Satisfying legal suspense that is also a captivating slow burn mystery.

Small-town lawyer Simon Latch is barely keeping his Main Street office open dealing with bankruptcies, divorces, and simple wills. When elderly Eleanor Barnett hires him to draft a new will, claiming that she and her late husband had accumulated a multimillion dollar fortune that she controls, Simon gets dollar signs in his eyes. He’s already financially desperate and between his gambling and his own impending divorce, sees a way to take on his richest client ever to make bank. Then Eleanor gets injured in a car crash she caused and ends up hospitalized. Simon scrambles to maintain control of the vast estate with power of attorney and other legal instruments that he executes when the worst happens. Now Simon is fighting in the courts to clear his name and save himself from a miscarriage of justice.

A very satisfying and dramatic drama that is more whodunit than high octane corporate courtroom thriller. It’s more centered on a small town attorney’s moral decay and questionable ethics so is more character driven than usual for this author. As Simon tries desperately to track down the real killer, he comes into contact with some interesting people. He makes a wonderfully ambivalent protagonist as he comes off as a greedy and desperate shyster while also retaining enough humanity to garner empathy despite his poor choices. I always enjoy the courtroom scenes and the behind the scenes trial preparation and legal maneuverings. The book points out how corruptible the legal system can be and also the high temptation to sacrifice the high road for ambition and money. 

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC provided by NetGalley and the publisher. The narrator, Michael Beck, did an excellent job using a Southern drawl to lend authenticity to the locale and the different characters. The only thing that would have made it better would be to use a female voice for those roles. The production provided an immersive experience that enhanced the story and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

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

Tags and genre - legal thriller, crime thriller, mystery, murder, serial killer, poison

Final Descent by Audrey J. Cole

 Divorced pilot Claire Winslow, battling a mental health crisis with a diversion, faces a chilling nightmare when her blind date turns into a stalker. She goes to the police, but reporting him fails. Then, the ultimate shock —  he boards her flight as a pilot in the jump seat. 

This is like high altitude fatal attraction as this thriller straps you into the cockpit watching Claire unravel as nothing makes sense and she feels powerless. Along with her best friend doubting her and the copilot experiencing a health emergency, Claire sees no way out. The frustration of not being believed and her sanity doubted, Claire has to pull herself together like never before and get the plane back onto the ground. 

I typically don’t read novellas or short stories, but this was so fast paced I barely got into it before it was over. Not a lot of character development with the old sanity gaslighting trope, but it was entertaining even if predictable. I’m a sucker for an airplane story and I did race through it in a matter of minutes.

It was made even more fun by listening to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC, both provided by the publishers. The narrator, Zura Johnson, did a great job voicing the characters and the production created a dramatic and immersive reading experience. The pacing was good and I enjoyed it. 

This is a standalone novella of 90 pages. Not part of any series.

Genre and tags : thriller, pilot, stalker, custody, gaslighting 

Poison Wood (#2) by Jennifer Moorhead

 Atmospheric mystery thriller and family drama.

Ambitious and successful crime reporter, Rita Meade, goes home when a skull is found in the Louisiana forest on the grounds of the now-shuttered Poison Wood Therapeutic Academy for girls, where she was once a student. That discovery coincides with Rita flaming out in her job because she didn’t disclose her association with a woman who had contacted her for an interview related to the school and was subsequently found deceased on the beach in Florida. In addition, as secrets about Poison Wood and its troubled former students and staff are revealed, the corrosive nature of lies is revealed. 

Rita Meade is a strong protagonist and her personal connections to the murder and likely killer increase the tension and suspense as she relentlessly pursues answers while no longer allowed to be a reporter on the story. There are lots of little mysteries that need to be addressed and I liked the detail and hints provided in the diary entries of journals found on the grounds. There are lots of characters and many suggestions of impropriety in the school and in what looks like a coverup and false imprisonment because of entitlement, privilege, and wealth. Definitely kept me guessing until a satisfying conclusion. This is the second book featuring this character but it can be read as a standalone without any difficulty. 

I was able to listen to the audio book while also reading along in the e-book ARC, both provided by the publishers. The narrator, Sophie Amoss, did an excellent job of maintaining a good pace and enhancing the atmosphere of the psychological thriller. She gave distinctive voices to all the characters including appropriate accents. Her performance definitely enhanced my enjoyment of the story and created an immersive experience. 

This is the second in a series featuring Rita Meade. It can be read as a standalone without any issue. I may go back and find Broken Bayou. More a companion book. 

Genre and tags: mystery thriller and family drama, murder, girls’ school

The Missing Half by Ashley Flowers

 Two women try to work together to discover what happened to their sisters who disappeared years ago, several weeks apart, along a stretch of deserted road.

This book was a huge disappointment solely due to its appalling characters, their acations, and the utterly horrible ending. I was engaged and guessing my way through this mystery and, even though I really didn’t like Nic and felt sorry for Jenna, I was stunned at the conclusion. You’ve got to be kidding me! Upon reflection, the whole narrative now appears contrived and senseless. The relationships and the information that the two found out about their sisters became meaningless and moot. I don’t mind a crazy twist now and again, but this one destroyed my emotional investment in the plot

I listened to the audiobook while also following along in the e-book ARC provided by the publisher. The narrators, Saskia Maaleveld who voiced the main characters, and the author herself did some special sections, did a decent job of dramatizing the story. Unfortunately, their performance was unable to save the book and give me a reason to recommend it.

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

Tags and genre - mystery, missing sisters, sexual assault, murder, alcoholism, drama

The Devil’s Advocate (Eddie Flynn #6) by Steve Cavanagh

 An adrenaline shot of social commentary makes this legal thriller sizzle.

The author delivers a searing and unflinching look at the danger that is white supremacist terrorist groups — which the FBI and Homeland Security deem the biggest national security threat in the USA. In this 6th book of the series, Eddie Flynn and his team are sent into a small Alabama town in an attempt to stop the execution of a young black man who has been railroaded into a confession of murder. 

The action was nonstop and the legal maneuvers almost gave me whiplash as Eddie tries to figure out how to save Andy Dubois from a prosecuting attorney known as the king of death row because he always gets a guilty verdict and a death penalty sentence. Sunville Country, Alabama, is a cesspool of corruption with a clear and present evil that threatens to consume Eddie and his client. Andy’s sentence is a foregone conclusion and nobody is safe from those determined to convict him no matter the cost. Bodies drop because those in power won’t take no for an answer. Eddie, Kate, Henry and Bloch are trying to find one good man strong enough to stand up against shadowy group controlling the fate of the people in the town. When you can’t trust the cops or the lawyers or the judge, things look hopeless. 

The characters are great, the writing is excellent and I did not want to put this book down so finished it in a couple of hours. I felt a slot burn building as the lies and manipulations brought Andy’s situation so close to injustice. It reminds everyone that if something that is happening is not right nor fair nor just, and you see it, you must speak up. Hard to do when faced with threats to life or liberty and that’s why evil prevailed in that small town for so long and one man got away with his bloodlust and systemic racism to persecute Black defendants. 

I was fortunate to be able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC provided by NetGalley and the publisher. The narrator, Adam Sims, did an excellent job of bringing this to life with a measured dramatic flair that really enhanced the story. His range and ability made the characters sound distinct and believable. I love the immersive experience of simultaneous listening and reading.

Thoroughly recommend. I’ve read most all of the Eddie Flynn books and though this one works as a standalone, I think you’ll enjoy more if you start from the beginning.

This is the 6th in a series.

Genre - legal thriller, white supremacists, racism, injustice, courtroom drama, action

You’ll Never Find Me (Angelhart Investigations #1) by Allison Brennan

 First in the Angelhart Investigations series is an intriguing crime thriller that was hard to put down.

Margo Angelhart is a private investigator working solo after a falling out with her family’s similar company when they disagreed about an issue with her father. She’s concentrating on two cases — one involving a possible cheating spouse and the other is helping a female victim of domestic violence escape her abusive husband. Even though they are estranged, Margo is forced to work with her family’s company when her infidelity case intersects with a corporate espionage investigation that her brother and sister are looking into. 

This was fast paced and I really enjoyed the writing style and the family interaction. I liked the Angelhart family members and even Margo who is headstrong, stubborn, impetuous, and who doesn’t mind bending or breaking the rules. The disparate plots that wove together were interesting as were the family’s methods of tracking, tracking, and figuring things out. I’ll definitely want to check out future installments in this series as there were a lot of unresolved family problems that will need to be dealt with. Also look forward to more character development and I did like the setting of Phoenix, Arizona. 

I was able to listen to the audiobook while also following along in the e-book ARC provided by the publisher. The narrator, Hillary Huber, did an excellent job of voicing all the characters though a male voice would have made it even better. The pacing was good and her performance definitely enhanced my appreciation of the book.

This is the first in a series.

Genre - crime thriller, family, abuse, murder, embezzlement, infidelity, private investigators 

The Tourists (Mac Dekker #2) by Christopher Reich

 Fast paced espionage thriller kept me engaged.

A romantic Paris getaway turns into an espionage nightmare when retired CIA agent Mac Dekker’s lover, Ava Attal, a former Mossad operative, vanishes mid proposal. Of course he is forced to plunge back into the spy world to find her and avert a massive terror plot hatched by a prince of Qatar. 

Lots of action and a frantic race through some of the most beloved landmarks in Paris as Mac tries to find Ava and thwart the disruption of a unique peace accord. These spies are quite clever and handy with weapons as they hack into computers and interrogate those who have information. I liked both Mac and Ava, but as always, some of the ancillary characters fall dead by the wayside the closer the good guys get to their objective. I liked the detail about the city and the luxury that the truly rich prince enjoyed. The love story between Mac and Ava is secondary to their high stakes pursuit to preclude a terrible disaster. Seems like the spy world is a cold hearted world and we may see another installment featuring these characters given the conclusion. The writing is excellent.

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC, both provided by the publishers. The narrator, Paul Michael, had a fantastic voice and excellent command of French with the accent to match. His fluency, flow, and rhythm enhanced the story along with his.dramatic flair. Listening made the novel so much more of an immersive experience.

This is the second in the series but the first I have read. No issue.

Genre and tags - Paris, spy thriller, Qatar prince, nuclear bomb, Mossad, CIA 

The Compound by Aisling Rawle

 Survivor/reality show thriller falls flat.

In the near future, a group of 20 contestants is taken to a remote desert compound where they will compete to be the last person remaining there for a reality television show. To win, the young adults must outlast each other in a series of group and personal challenges. They have to do tasks or manipulative performances to get basic necessities such as water along with special luxury items. The relationships of the contestants is fraught as they jockey to avoid banishment. It's survival versus spectacle in the worst way. 

The main character is Lily, who is about the dumbest in the compound. I should have DNF but I kept going hoping that things would speed up but this was very slow moving and quite boring. The premise was good but the execution missed the mark and never brought the thrills. The rest of the characters were so over the top ridiculous at times and the emotional attachments so superficial but perhaps that's down to their ages as most were barely out of their teens. This was like bad YA as I didn't identify with or like any of the female or male competitors. The pacing was off and the things that went on in the compound between the contenders seemed overly cruel at times as well as exploitative. Once the majority of the players were eliminated, the way that the remaining participants carried on trying to win just left me shaking my head in disgust. It was astounding (and not in a good way) what these young people were willing to do and say to be the last one in the compound. Materialistic and immature, left to their own devices, they became quite unpleasant. The conclusion left no doubt that this was a book I should have left unread. 

I listened to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC provided by the publisher. It was OK. I finally had to just stop and finish as I read much faster than the narrator. I wanted it to be over.

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

Tags and genre - young adult feel, reality show, romance, manipulation, sex, survivor thriller 

We Are All Guilty Here (North Falls #1) by Karin Slaughter

 Tense, exciting, and suspenseful southern gothic crime thriller. 

Two teenaged girls vanished during the North Falls Independence Day fireworks celebration. The small town in Georgia erupted and things eventually settled down when two men were convicted and put in prison. Twelve years later, another young girl disappears under similar circumstances just when the jailed man is released. Surely he’s not doing it again so that means that perhaps they put away the wrong man for the crimes. Deputy Sheriff Emmy Clifton is haunted by her missteps during the original investigation and now must work with a retired FBI consultant to unpack more than a decade of buried secrets and lies to solve the abduction and bring the latest missing girl home. 

This was so good, I couldn’t bear to step away from it. Other than annoying repetition of some statistics here and there, the writing was excellent and the fast pace kept me glued to the pages. The characters were also quite interesting and well-developed with depth and vulnerablitilies. The small town atmosphere where everyone knows each other and where there is a lot of history with the families, past crimes, and unresolved guilt makes it all a bit haunting. The evil in the bad guys is palpable. The innocence of the victims tainted by their desire to grow up too soon is heart wrenching. The blaming. Oh and did I mention the twists and surprises? It really is a well plotted story and I understand this is the first in a new series. I definitely will look for the next installment. 

There was a time when I swore I’d never read another one of this author’s books. I think many readers know why and which book. But, this one reminds me of why I liked the previous titles by Karin Slaughter. Fingers crossed she doesn’t cross my line again! 

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC provided by the publisher. The narrator, Kathleen Early, did an excellent job of voicing all the characters and giving this novel the appropriate dramatic flair. The pacing was good and I enjoyed the immersive experience of this production. 

Don’t miss out on this new series.

This is the first in a new series.

Tags and genre - this book was a lot of things: crime thriller, southern gothic, secrets and lies, murder, rape, kidnapping, abduction, family drama, pedophilia 

The Hitchhikers by Chevy Stevens

 A suspenseful thriller that kept me on edge.

Don’t pick up strangers or help people if you’re on a road trip as no good deed goes unpunished. 

3.5 stars rounded up.

The year is 1976 when Alice Bell and her husband, Tom, take off in their new Winnebago for a road trip east across Canada. They are in recovery after a trauma and want to regain closeness and intimacy in their marriage. They’re nice people. And they are certainly not prepared for the terrible events that transpire when they meet a young hitching couple, Blue and Ocean, in an RV park and campground. He’s 21 and she’s 18 and pregnant. They don’t look dangerous, but looks can be deceiving and Alice and Tom find this out when Alice discovers that the couple, whose names are really Simon and Jenny, are murderers on the run. The killers take Alice and Tom hostage and force Alice to drive as Simon continues his brutal actions at every stop on this terrible journey. 

This was a real nail biter and I was sickened by the brutality and violence and despised the two young adults who were terrorizing Alice and Tom as well as others they encounter on this trip. The psychological drama exacerbates as the story is told in dual perspectives of Alice and Jenny as they both are trying to survive. The line between victim and villain blurs at times in a Stockholm Syndrome way as it becomes clear that Simon will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Definitely dark and tense as Alice and Tom are held captive facing increasingly dangerous situations. It was even more compelling set in this time before cell phones and the internet which made escape and getting help even more difficult especially along the isolated stretches of highway and small towns along the way. It was very frustrating at times for this reader who wanted Alice and Tom to get away even though every attempt was thwarted, not to mention Tom being so severely injured and incapable. Alice was very strong and I rooted for her to overcome. I know I am meant to feel sorry for Jenny but I probably didn’t get to that level of emotional empathy for her despite her backstory.

And yeah, people talk about the ending. I thought it was somewhat contrived, yes, but not unexpected. I was glad it concluded on that note. There was just a lot of violence and cruelty in the book that bothered me quite a bit and I wished the worst for Simon.  This was definitely an emotional read. 

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC, both provided by the publishers. The narrators, Lindsey Dorcas (Alice) and Moniqua Plante (Jenny) did a fabulous job of voicing the characters. Their dramatic flair, tone, believability and speaking styles definitely enhanced my enjoyment of the book. 

This is a standalone and not part of any series.

Tags and Genre - some triggers include rape, sexual assault, infant loss, lots of violence, murder, parental murder, cross country road trip, Canada, psychological, thriller 

Murder Most Haunted by Emma Mason

 Locked room cozy mystery with a humorous edge.

At her work leaving party, Detective Midge McGowan is gifted what she thinks is a truly terrible retirement present: a weekend getaway with Haunting Holiday Excursions. Along with a small group of eccentric strangers, Midge is taken to an old, purportedly haunted mansion. Of course the weather worsens and the party is snowed in. The owner of the tour has taken their phones and when someone is found murdered, they are unable to call for help. The guests are also teased by the appearance of a ghost whose sighting is meant to indicate that a death will occur. Sheltering in the house with no outside support, Midge comes into her own as she uses her long unused detective skills to uncover the killer. 

The characters in this group of misfits were well drawn and indeed interesting. Along with Midge, there’s a paranormal investigator who is recording interviews for his podcast, a doctor and his wife, a pop star just out of rehab, and the bus driver, as well as the owner of the tour. Another character is Bridie who is Midge’s wife. Midge is in her mid fifties and has a bad knee. She was never an actual case investigator but spent her career in the property room. None of them were very likable and Midge is a very odd duck, quite antisocial and probably neurodivergent. She has a tragedy in her past that has also probably affected her personality. There’s some wit and humor with the interactions. Definitely some extreme coincidence going on here with the plot. The pace is rather slow and the ultimate reveal kind of came out of nowhere which I don’t appreciate. 

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC, both provided by he publishers. The production was a full cast recording with different voices for all the main characters. This really brought the book to life and provided an entertaining and immersive experience that definitely enhanced my overall enjoyment of the book. Definitely recommend. 

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

Genre and tags: locked room mystery, murder, cozy, incidental LGBT

The Expat Affair by Kimberly Belle

 Slow burn mystery and psychological fiction.

Rayna Dumont, an American expat who fled to Amsterdam after a messy divorce, has a one-night stand with a Tinder date. When she wakes up the next morning, she finds Xander dead in the shower and hears that millions of dollars worth of diamonds were stolen from his safe. Soon Rayna finds herself stalked and followed as dangerous criminals think she knows more than she does. Her life becomes entangled with the Prins family who have huge generational wealth with their diamond house because Xander happens to have been their employee. The wife of Thomas Prins, Willow, befriends Rayna and soon the two of them are evading bad actors and trying to uncover the truth about the murder and the missing gems. 

Although the premise sounded promising, the story didn’t quite deliver the excitement, thrills, and suspense that I expected. I wasn’t really very attached to either of the two main characters who switch off point of view in the narrative. Both Rayna and Willow seemed suspect to me as both were unreliable, told lies, and kept secrets. Their decisions were questionable. Much of the action and events strained credulity and, after awhile, the whole convoluted mess of what happened with Xander and what was going on in the family and with the diamonds went on far too long. Perhaps if you’re really interested in the whole diamond industry you might find it more fascinating than I did.  I definitely appreciated the Amsterdam setting and enjoyed learning more about the city and the life of expats there. The conclusion was unsurprising.

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC, both  provided by the publishers. There were two narrators, one of whom whose voice I much preferred over the other, but neither really were that great, especially when doing the accents — oh my. Jennifer Jill Anaya voices Willow and Marni Penning voices Rayna. There were other characters they did as well and there was not enough distinction for my satisfaction. The males fared the worst. Despite this annoyance, I like listening while reading as it enhances my appreciation for a book.

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

Genre and tags: mystery, psychological fiction, murder, diamond industry, family drama

Murder at the Royal Palace (Lady Eleanor Swift #23) by Verity Bright

 

Another hit in this long running historical cozy mystery series.

Come along with Lady Eleanor Swift and her new husband, Detective Chief Inspector Hugh Seldon, as they travel to Buckingham Palace to see him knighted. As their usual luck would have it, a royal guard, Dilly Dalrymple, collapses and is carted off to the hospital where he later dies. 

If you read the previous book, you’ll remember that Hugh is resigning his position with Scotland Yard, and he, Eleanor, and Clifford are going to establish their own detective agency. Well, they get their first case when Dalrymple’s brother, Sir Leonard, head of the royal police, asks them to find out if Dilly was murdered. And they’re off with the whole household joining them in London as members of the new agency. As they all unofficially snoop around the Tower of London to find answers, they uncover palace gossip, adultery, secrets, and a hint of a long lost treasure. 

As always, the descriptions and history that surround the mystery are well researched and quite interesting. Learning about the Beefeaters was fascinating as were the facts about the Tower and its Hill by the Thames. I enjoy the characters and their interactions which are often quite witty and droll. I’m glad that Hugh and Eleanor are finally married and that their new agency seems to be taking off. The next books in the series should be quite entertaining.

Bookouture Blog Tour October 1, 2025

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

This is definitely a series that begs to be read in order from the beginning for full appreciation. 

Tags and Genre - cozy historical mystery, London, Tower of London, murder, detective agency

A Tour To Die For (The Serial Killer Guide to San Francisco Mysteries, #2) by Michelle Chouinard

Entertaining cozy mystery thriller, the second in a series featuring San Francisco tour guide Capri Sanzio.

While Capri, a true crime podcaster and self proclaimed investigative journalist, is taking her guests on a city tour, one of them claims to see a woman attacked inside a building. Although the police don't find anyone there, the woman (Leeya Styles) who lived in the apartment and had a successful art studio in the garage there, is later found dead. Of course, Capri and her colleagues Heather and Ryan, decide to investigate. There's no shortage of suspects between Leeya's boyfriend, her sister, mother, the mother's fiance, and Leeya's ex bestie. In addition, there's a connection with Capri's former husband, Todd, who always seems to be in a financial quagmire. Capri manages to connect with the police and get lots of inside information via her new love interest, SF Homicide Inspector Dan Petito.

This was quite the complicated mystery as information about the San Francisco setting, its Gold Rush history, landmarks and all past true crime lore is almost a character. In addition, a unique piece of art provides some clues. So there's lots going on in the narrative and it will keep readers guessing. It's fast paced and hard to put down. Capri is a fun main character, especially given her age ("sidling up to fifty") and she's got a colorful family story and past. I did read the previous one in the series, but am struck again by how well this author writes. She has an incredible way of stringing words together and her dialogue is amazing. Lots of twists and red herrings but it all comes together.

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC provided by the publisher. The narrator, Stephanie Nemeth-Parker, did well by giving clear and distinct voices to the characters and also because of the emotional tones she adds to her performance. With the huge list of characters in the book, this would definitely benefit from a larger cast, but she did an excellent job. The production enhanced my enjoyment of the book. 

This is the second in a series that should be read in order.

Genre and tags - cozy mystery thriller, murder, San Francisco history, Gold Rush, crime 

The Hostess by Cat Oyster

 Dark, disturbing and absorbing science fiction novelette that left me wanting more.

I did not realize this wasn’t a full length novel before I requested both the e-book and the audio book ARC from the publishers. I typically don’t read novelettes, novellas, short stories or whatever way they’re presented because I often end up disappointed that there isn’t enough depth to the story. That is true in this case for sure.

The premise is so intriguing — a young woman (the Host) lends out her body to a Guest through a virtual program run by a company known as the Leisure Life Club. They advertise that they can give the buyer or member the entire world from a chair in minutes. Of course the program is very popular and the Host has absolutely no control over who buys her body and her time. Some of the Guests play fast and loose with their purchase and Michaela and her friend, Susan, end up with unexplained bruises and other trauma, including rape. Of course this can’t be proved even though the girls request their activity logs — obviously altered to protect the Guest and the company. They are trapped even as they live well above the rest of the inhabitants of New York City in a dystopian future world that is all too believable.  

There’s some great contemporary social commentary within the narrative and I just wanted a deeper dive. Yes, lots of questions about the ending. Quite enjoyable. It is very thought provoking and scary which make for a good discussion for a book club. Definitely probes themes of body autonomy and exploitation as well as what the world of life and work might look like in a future with AI and other technology replacing what things are like today. 

Page count: approximately 58 pages. Quick read/listen but it will stay with you.

I was able to listen to the audiobook while also following along in the e-book ARC, both provided by NetGalley and the publishers. The narrator, Susan Spano, did a fabulous job of voicing the main characters and providing appropriate dramatic flair. The production definitely provided an immersive experience that enhanced my enjoyment of this novelette.

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

Genre - tags science fiction, future, dystopia, mind altering, abuse, rape, trauma, technology 

Sharp Force (Kay Scarpetta #29) by Patrica Cornwell

 It’s Christmas time in Virginia, but this killer isn’t leaving any presents.

Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta investigates a serial killer known as the Phantom Slasher. The psychopath uses advanced technology and hologram ghost apparitions to stalk the victims before viciously murdering them at night in their homes. The targets are savagely attacked with a knife and also sustain deep bite wounds. There are no clues until the latest death is discovered on Christmas Day with a twist — there’s a survivor. This woman, however, is connected to Kay’s family and to a psychiatric facility on Mercy Island. 

I really enjoyed this with both Kay and Benton involved in the investigation and work side by side looking at scenes and examining evidence. Of course the rest of the gang is also involved, Lucy, Tron, and Marino doing their thing. Kay’s sister Dorothy gets on my last nerve every single time. I love the forensic and medial details and descriptions, but all of the technology and AI is almost as interesting. I was surprised, however, with how the huge build up and collection of evidence, etc. let to an abrupt denouement and quick conclusion. All of a sudden it was over. Case closed. The side plots all connected in a fell swoop. I did appreciate that most of the focus in the story was on the case but, as always, too much digression into the family relationships which I could do without. I’ve read every book in this series and always eager for the next one. Glad Kay is back working as a medical examiner and in Virginia. 

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC, both provided by the publishers. The narrator, January LaVoy, is brilliant with voices. She does a good job for both male and female characters and each has a distinctive accent and expression that sets them apart. The tone and emotion matches the story and creates an enjoyable immersive experience. This production definitely enhanced my appreciation of the book and I recommend a listen.  

This is book 29 in a series that should be read in order from the beginning. 

Genre - forensic pathologist, medical examiner, crime thriller, suspense fiction, murder, technology

Rage (Kate Burkholder #17) by Linda Castillo

 This Amish mystery series is still going strong.

In the middle of a summer heat wave, Painters Mill Chief of Police Kate Burkholder investigates the brutal murders of two young Amish men. The case leads her into probing the dark secrets and dangers lurking beneath the surface in her normally quiet community. She is forced to confront a sinister operation that goes deeper than she imagined and, once again, puts her in the crosshairs of the criminals and her life in danger.

How Kate continues to survive all the accidents and assaults she endures never ceases to amaze me. She's definitely one tough cop, and sometimes it's a bit much, but I really like her so I just go with it. I also like her husband, Agent John Tomasetti, who works for the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, and who always manages to come to her rescue at the most opportune moment. The regular cohort of Painters Mill cops: Skid, Mona, and Pickles, are there to back her up and help catch the bad actors. 

This was entertaining and absorbing and I do love a well written crime thriller and police procedural. The plot was good and always enjoy the Amish aspect of these novels. I appreciate the relationships, the characters, and the setting. Definitely always look forward to the next installment.

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC provided by the publisher. The narrator, Kathleen McInerney, did a good job with the female characters and the Amish words and phrases. I always wish that there would be a male voice to perform those roles to enhance the production. The audio provided a great immersive experience and increased my enjoyment of the book.

This is the 17th book in a series that should be read, in order, from the beginning.

Tags and Genre - police procedural, crime thriller, mystery, Amish, Trafficking, drugs, murder 

The Thursday Murder Club #1 by Richard Osman

 I read this because I’d heard a lot about it and also wanted to watch the adaptation on streaming. It was  murder light with a lot of unnecessary complexity and was a real strain on my credulity. 

This retirement home is seriously upscale and its residents really on the ball for being in their eighties. Not only that, but they have such interesting backgrounds and can acquire delicate and sensitive information from all sources. The four main members of the Club sure get around a lot and manage to outmaneuver the police team assigned to the murders the two owners of the property. 

There were way too many characters in this novel and many unneeded for the plot. It seemed to drag in places and the traveling seemed a bit much. I guess I wasn’t as taken with it as so many others, but glad I read it. Will I read future installments? I don’t know!

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

Tags and genre - mystery, murder, octogenarians, retirement community

A Very Bookish Murder (Ally McKinley Mystery #3) by Dee MacDonald

 

Blog Stop for Bookouture 9-21-2025

Come along to the small, Highland village of Locharran where a writers’ retreat turns deadly.

This is the third in the Ally McKinley cozy mystery series. Ally, owner of the Auld Malthouse B&B, is providing guest accommodations for some of the women attending, including the guest of honor, famous novelist Jodi Jones. Unfortunately, the author is found dead the first night. When Detective Inspector Rigby arrives at the scene, he suffers a heart attack and a replacement is sent to do the investigation. Of course Ally will assist in any way she can. The mystery deepens as she does some sleuthing and discovers accusations of infidelity and plagiarism leveled against the murdered Jodi Jones. One of the women attendees is indeed the killer, but which one. Then another woman is found dead.

This was generally as predictable as expected with the red herrings and the suspects being eliminated one by one. A few surprises might catch one off guard, but the conclusion is satisfying even if foreseeable. Ally is a decent character but maybe just a little too much sometimes with how she ends up everywhere doing everything around the whole town. I mean nobody is so all that all the time. Not a fan of the Ross relationship as it’s just, again, formulaic and a convenient trope. I like reading these cozy mysteries after a run of hard core thrillers just for a reset. 

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this e-book ARC to read and review. I’ve read both previous books in this series and recommend that anyone looking for a modern cozy set in the Scottish Highlands start at the beginning. 

This is the third book in the series.

Genre and tags - cozy mystery, contemporary, murder, amateur sleuth, Scottish Highlands

Her Many Faces by Nicci Cloke

 3.5 stars rounded up to 4

This was an interesting way to write a psychological mystery with a bit of courtroom drama and contemporary social commentary.

Four wealthy members of an exclusive London club are poisoned at a private party after drinking some brandy laced with a lethal dose of cyanide. Almost immediately, a waitress who served the group is arrested. Katherine Cole is charged and remanded for trial. The story is told from the perspectives of 5 men in her life. Her father, a childhood friend who has a crush on her, a man she is obsessed with and stalks, her lawyer, and a journalist. Each offers a different view of this girl.  Is she guilty? 

Without spoilers, it’s hard to define what kept me from rating this higher. In many ways, it was predictable. Because we do not hear from Katherine (who has many different names given to her by the men), it’s hard to know what to think of her other than I felt she was a messed up young woman. The parts about the conspiracy nuts was disturbing. I did not care at all for the character, Katherine, nor most of the men. There was a bit of a twist, but still ended up being predictable and somewhat of a let down after all.

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC, both provided by the publishers. The story was improved by the performance of the full cast with narrators including Sachin K. Sharma, Colin R. Campbell, Isaac Gryn, Maxim Ays, Louis Hill, Harvey Quinn and Florence Howard. Each did an excellent job of voicing the characters and providing appropriate dramatic flair. The production definitely enhanced my enjoyment of the book.

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

Genre and tags - mystery thriller, suspense, crime thriller, psychological thriller, courtroom drama, conspiracy nuts, Covid

Don't Let Him In by Lisa Jewell

 Satisfying domestic and psychological thriller.

Nina Swann is wooed by an old friend of her recently deceased husband. She's a bit vulnerable to his charms but her daughter, Ash, is immediately suspicious because Nick Radcliffe gives her the creeps. Some of the things he says don't add up, so she starts looking into to his background. 

In a nearby town, Martha, a florist with her own successful shop, becomes increasingly distressed when her husband, Alistair, keeps disappearing on sudden, extended, business trips.

If he's too good to be true, you can bet he's a manipulative and dangerous man. A very plausible tale about several women who find that their lives are intertwined through the same man who is exposed as a fraud, a sociopath and a murderer. 

This was so good that I could not put it down until I'd finished. The author is a master storyteller with the ability to construct fully fleshed out characters and a plot ripped from television serials and tabloid headlines. It rang true because this exact thing does happen to many women in all walks of life. And probably with increasing frequency because of the ability of the con artist to find and target those who are lonely or who want relationships. It's not just women, but is more often than not, that they are the ones deceived. Even though the reader knows the mind of this swindler, there is tension and concern as things start to fall apart for him. I loved how it all came together with a gratifying resolution and a fitting ending.

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC provided by the publisher. Oh wow, what a fantastic full cast on this recording. The narrators, Richard Armitage, Joanne Froggatt, Tamaryn Payne, Gemma Whelan, Louise Brealey, and Patience Tomlinson did an amazing job of bringing the characters to life and giving them unique voices and personalitiees. The production created a fully immersive experience and I highly recommend you give it a listen. Definitely enhanced my enjoyment of the book.

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

Genre and tags: con man, multiple identities, swindler, liar, murder, secrets 

Other People's Houses (DC Ffion Morgan #3) by Clare Mackintosh

 Complex crime thriller - the third in the DC Morgan series.

This story follows two interconnected cases and a cold case. DC Ffion Morgan is investigating the death of a female estate agent found in the Awen River inside a kayak while on a work trip in Wales. DS Leo Brady, Ffion's boyfriend, is working on another series of crimes on The Hill. Residents living on The Hill have lots of secrets behind the doors of those opulent homes in the area’s most highly desired post code in Cheshire. They may be wealthy, but they definitely don’t have everything. Recently they’ve suffered a rash of home burglaries and an old, unsolved murder also happened there. 

This novel was quite cleverly plotted and, although there were a lot of characters, each seemed individual and well developed. There's more information about the relationship between Ffion and Leo. His ex wife, Allie, a wanna be member of the clique on The Hill, is also involved peripherally in the goings on. The author blends mystery and humor with a bit of social commentary as well. It all comes together with a satisfying conclusion.

I like crime thrillers and police procedurals because I like the details about the investigation process and the realistic pursuit of a criminal. The author does a great job describing the police work. The inclusion of the true crime podcast demonstrates the popularity of that media as well as how it affects the cold case inquiry. I enjoy the interaction between Ffion and Leo and their developing personal bonds. Although this could be read as a standalaone, I think it is more enjoyable having read the previous books and knowing the backstory. I'm looking forward to the next installment in this excellent series. 

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC, both provided by the publishers. The narrators, Chloe Angharad Davies, Joe Eyre, and Penelope Rawlins, were amazing. Their accents and flawless Welsh made the story more authentic. I was quite glad to have the book text in front of me at times, however, as delivery is fast. The cast created a great immersive listening experience and enhanced my enjoyment of the book.

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

Genre and tags - police procedural, mystery, cold case, podcast, murder, estate agents, social climbers, secrets, affairs, burglary 

The Girl with Ice in Her Veins (Millenium #8) by Karin Smirnoff

 A complicated and dark mystery thriller. 

This is the 8th book in the Millenium series and its third author as the books featuring Sweden’s Lisbeth Salander continue. Lisbeth is a trauma survivor and is more of an anti-heroine in most of the stories. She’s full of tattoos and piercings and definitely has her own moral code though she typically goes after any man who hurts a woman. With her fighting skills and photographic memory, she’s hard to forget or to come up against. 

In this novel, Lisbeth takes a back seat to her precocious niece, Svala, who at age 13, is already a talented writer and a confirmed environmental activist. Svala has gotten involved with a group of activists who are protesting development of new mines in Gasskas. It also happens that Lisbeth’s friend and best hacker, Plague, has been kidnapped and taken north. As luck would have it, Mikael Blomkvist, happens to get a new job revamping a local newspaper in Gasskas so those three are there together when it all goes down.

This was very slow moving at first and it wasn’t until the last part of the book that the action picked up. Not a lot of concentration on Lisbeth or her unique skills, as the shift to Svala as some kind of kid genius. Lots of deaths per usual and lots of icky people. Sometimes the writing is so ambiguous that the reader isn’t sure what is going on and so I was confused at times. Although there is as character list at the beginning, it’s hard to keep the relationships of some of the characters straight so I’d advise you to keep that handy. Also, this isn’t a book you can jump into if you haven’t read the other books in the series. I’d suggest you start from the beginning. Too much backstory.

Unfortunately, the plot just didn’t keep my interest and this is not my favorite of the series. I wanted more Lisbeth doing her thing and less about her romantic woes. Not ready for Svala to take the lead or for Lisbeth to train her up. Blomkvist is getting up there in age so we need a new guy pal to be Lisbeth’s wingman so he can get over Lisbeth and take a break. 

I tried to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC provided to me by the publisher. The narrator, Simon Vance, didn’t work for me. His voice drove me crazy and he sounded like an old man and mumbled. Everyone sounded the same and the accents for different people weren’t always that great. I had to stop listening. Usually an audio book enhances a book for me but not in this case.

This is book #8 in the series which should be read from the beginning in order.

Tags and genre, mystery thriller, crime fiction, vigilante, hacker, Nordic noir, Scandinavian, Sweden

Dead Line (Arliss Cutter #7) by Marc Cameron

 Pulse pounding crime and wilderness thriller.

In this 7th book of the series (and the first I have read), Deputy U.S. Marshals Arliss Cutter and Lola Teariki and their cohort are heading into the frigid Alaskan tundra on a manhunt for a contract killer as well as a dangerous group of assassins. The two cases are not connected, but they intersect in one of the coldest parts of the final frontier. 

One of the main “characters” in this book has to be the cold weather. Reading about temperatures going into double negatives below zero made me shiver. Everything was made more difficult because of this extreme cold as it affected not only all the people but also all of their equipment. I can’t even imagine the type of cold that the team was forced to endure in their quest to find the evil killers as well as their protected witness and his mother. All of the characters in this story were intriguing and I hate that this is the first of the stories I’ve read not knowing the backstory though the author definitely gives enough information to answer most questions. Since I want more detail, I plan to go back and pick up some of the previous titles while waiting for the next in a series that is bound to become one of my favorites.

I liked the action, the plot, and the suspense in this thriller. I was fully invested in the work done by this interagency group in this location. I have always been fascinated by Alaska and the type of people who live there. 

I love how the book has a cast of characters at the very beginning. I really appreciated being able to refer to this before I started as well as after I had finished. 

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC, both provided by the publishers. The narrator, David Chandler, did a great job with his deep, smooth voice and ability to perform various accents necessary for distinguishing between the many characters. His work definitely enhanced my enjoyment of this book and created the perfect mood for a totally immersive experience.

This is the 7th book in a series that should be read from the beginning, in order. This, however, is the first one I have read and I will definitely go back and catch up.

Tags and genre - US Marshals, assassins, Polish mob, murder, weather, Alaska, manhunt

Burned Bridges (Irene Rivers #1) by John Gilstrap

 Exciting, suspenseful, action packed thriller is the first in a new series featuring former FBI Director, Irene Rivers. 

After she brought down the President and was ousted from her job at the FBI, Irene moves her family to West Virginia and settles in the house that her grandparents had owned. Kelly is a teenager and Wyatt, age 12, is the nephew she is raising. The small family is used to notoriety and looks forward to the quiet country life. That is not to be. Events escalate after Wyatt finds the body of a young male stuffed into a shallow cave opening on their large property. Soon Irene and the kids are caught up in local politics and find that a local and powerful family controls or is responsible for almost everything that goes on in town. As the corruption and coverup extends even to the state level, Irene needs to call for some favors from some skilled friends she’s managed to hold onto since leaving the FBI. 

The characters were well drawn and there was lots of action. Irene Rivers is no shrinking violet and has a calculating mind to match the physical skills. The suspense builds with great writing that actually created tension and a sense of menace. I mean these were some really evil people. I had a hard time putting it down and read it in a single sitting. There was a lot going on in this plot and I was guessing how this was all going to come together and hoping that the good guys prevailed. Definitely a high body count and some grisly details. All in all, exactly what I want in crime fiction. 

This was really good and I can’t wait to read the next book in the series. I don’t know how it’s possible, but I haven’t read this author before, so I’m not familiar with other series or even the book where Irene exists in her FBI job. I’ll have to remedy that. 

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC, both provided by the publishers. The narrator, Natalia Payne, has a deep and husky voice that lends itself to both male and female characters. She did a good job of bringing the right tone and drama to the story and this enhanced my enjoyment of the book. I always love an immersive experience that’s provided by reading while listening.

This is the first in a new series featuring Irene Rivers.

Tags and genre - suspense, action, mystery, corruption, small town, murder

Cold Island (Tommy Kelly #1) by Peter Colt

 Atmospheric, dark crime thriller.

Massachusetts State Police detective Tommy Kelly is sent to Nantucket Island to work with Nantucket police after discovery of remains at a construction site. The bones and detritus are thought to be about 35 years old, so Tommy and Detective Jo Harris try to sift through old missing persons reports to see if they can find a match to their victim — apparently a male child. Strangely enough, they can’t find anything that helps them to identify this boy. As they probe deeper, secrets that this small community have kept for years come to light.

This was written a bit differently than I’m used to reading. Lots of minute details about the island, the  food eaten, and other tidbits that immediately made me wonder if all of that is being used as misdirection. Turns out, it was. Seems that there is a huge secret just waiting for a big reveal during the last part of the book that took me by surprise. But it did kind of seem like a gotcha and I was afraid that the story was going to go off the rails for a minute until it got back on track. Still not quite sure how I felt about that. But, the basics of this plot were good though I was caught off guard. As far as the characters, well, I need to think about them. Some of what happened was predictable and I guess I’ll need to read the second book in the series to see what happens next. And I did like this well enough to want to do that. 

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC, both provided by the publishers. The narrator, Chris Ciulla, is a Boston native so his accents were perfect in this book. He gave the appropriate dramatic flair to the personalities and characters. His performance definitely enhanced my enjoyment of the story and provided an immersive experience.

This is the first in a series.

Tags and genre - child abduction and murder, crime thriller, mystery, Nantucket Island

The Last Ferry Out by Andrea Bartz

 Somewhat predictable LGBT destination thriller.

When her fiancée, Eszter Farkus, dies while visiting a quiet island in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico on a 3 week trip, Abby decides to travel to Isla Colel herself to retrace Eszter’s steps and meet the people she had spent time with before her death from anaphylactic shock. The island, decimated by a hurricane, has no real tourism and only a few expats live there forming a transient community. Abby meets them, trying to understand what happened, and finds that things aren’t adding up. Everyone is hiding something and keeping secrets. Abby starts to believe that she hasn’t been told the truth of what Eszter was doing on the island and how she died.

This was quite slow and nothing happened as Abby shuffles around chatting up the people who knew her girlfriend. I didn’t really like any of the characters and there really was no tension or suspense as they were talking, talking, talking. Abby doesn’t speak Spanish which makes it hard for her to question the locals, and she’s not certain that Rita, Pedro, Amari, and Brady are being truthful. How did Eszter come to find this place and was she planning to come back home to Abby and get married? It really wasn’t very compelling and the plot was quite thin. No surprises.  The conclusion was disappointing. 

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC provided by the publisher. There was a cast of narrators for this production including Dani Martineck, Imani Jade Powers and Natasha Soudek. But no male voice. I disliked whomever voiced the Eszter character but the others did alright considering the lack of real drama and uneven pacing. I usually enjoy the immersive experience of doing the formats simultaneously, but I did end up putting the audio aside and just read the last couple of chapters.

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

Tags and genre - destination thriller, expats, LGBT, island

The MYsterious Case of the Missing Crime Writer by Ragnar Jonasson

 Cliffhanger ending is unsettling and makes this Nordic noir mystery a bit unsatisfactory for me. 

A famous Icelandic author, Elin Jonsdottir, has gone missing. Detective Helgi Reykdal is assigned the case, probably due to his love of books but also because he has demonstrated some real ability with investigations. The novel is told in multiple timelines that bring in subplots about Helgi’s past relationship with a bad girlfriend, Elin’s personal history, and Helgi’s predecessor, Hulda, whose fate is unresolved since she has also vanished without a trace. 

The plot is complex and has a classic mystery style but the pacing was somewhat slow and there didn’t seem to be a lot of detecting or police work done to solve the case. So many different things going on and absolutely no progress made to answer several questions. And what about Anita? I hate cliffhanger endings and always feel cheated as it makes the novel seem incomplete. Definitely sets up for the next in this series (this is the 3rd book) but who likes waiting?

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC, both provided by the publishers. The narrators, Cicely Whitehead, Jane Slavic, and Rufus Wright, did an excellent job of voicing the characters and bringing them to life. The special effects, ie the tape recorder, also enhanced the listening experience. I enjoyed the full cast performance that increased enjoyment of the book. 

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

Tags and genre - Nordic crime fiction, mystery, missing persons

The Surf House by Lucy Clarke

 Absorbing and suspenseful destination thriller.

Bea has had it with her structured role and work as a model. On a photo shoot in Marrakesh, Morocco, she rips off her couture dress, grabs her backpack and takes off for the souks and what she hopes will be an escape from her regimented life. After a crazy and dangerous encounter, she befriends a woman, Marnie, who takes Bea to a surfer's clifftop paradise guesthouse that she co-owns with her partner, Ped. It's a diverse community but all are there for the surf and for the nomadic lifestyle they call freedom. But some are hiding secrets and, in fact, wasn't there another girl there on her own a year ago who left one day and was never seen again? Savannah's brother, Seth, arrives at the house in search of her. 

Told in a past and present timeline and from multiple points of view, though primarily that of Bea and Savannah, the pace is fast and the tension builds as this perfect world starts to unravel. Although i didn't care for many of the characters, I did empathize with some. I liked the writing style and the way the author used the setting to create atmosphere that enhanced the suspense as well as the desperate nature of the situations. She captured the spirit of the young people yearning for something they can't really identify or name that makes them continue their wandering. 

There is a lot about surfing in this book, and I know nothing about that sport, so it was interesting and I could see how these young adults chase the waves for the sheer purpose of emptying their heads even as many have no ambition or other focus in mind. People and things can become an obsession. Bad decisions can have calamitous consequences. Hiding from the truth doesn't make you complete or turn things right. Betrayal is deadly. There are twists and turns, some predictable given the typical course of this genre, but I relished the process and the revelations. 

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC provided by the publisher. The narrator, Sarah Slimani, did an excellent job bringing the story to life and giving her characters individual accents and personalities. She gave a theatrical flourish to the production that really enhanced my appreciation and enjoyment of the setting and the story.

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

Tags and genre - travel, Morocco, surfing, young adult community, missing girl, mystery, atmosphere, thriller 

Murder Takes a Vacation by Laura Lippman

 Entertaining cozy mystery.

Mrs. Blossom, in her late sixties and a widow, finds the winning lottery ticket in a parking lot. The money changes her life as she decides to take advantage of her new found wealth to find a reason to experience this period in a new way on her own. She books a river cruise in France and takes along her childhood friend. But, from the beginning of the trip, unusual things start happening and soon she’s involved in a mystery involving a stolen artifact and possibly murder. 

I loved this main character with her comfort in her body and in her own ability to change so that this period in her life will allow her to continue to be happy despite her losses. The way she interacts with people she meets, her generally positive attitude, and her self perception combine to make this introspective as well as poignant. There is some humor as well, and lots of cultural references as well as a nice description of her tour of France and its iconic sights.

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC, both provided by the publishers. The narrator, Kimberly Farr, did an excellent job with the French word pronunciation and the accents. She brought a great deal of tenderness to the main character’s voice and appropriate dramatic flair when necessary. The production definitely enhanced my enjoyment of the book.

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

Tags and genre - cozy mystery, cruise, France, Murder, stolen artifact,

All This Could Be Yours by Hank Phillippi Ryan

 Fun, fast paced suspense thriller.

Tessa Calloway has written a sensational debut novel about a woman who follows her dreams and achieves happiness and fame. She's riding on her wave of success, making all the bestseller lists, and is on a whirlwind book tour, visiting a new city each night. Although sad at leaving her husband, Henry, and her two children at home in a new house she's really not lived in yet, she's holding it together despite the early wake-ups to catch planes and the late nights after bookstore appearances and book signings. It becomes clear, soon enough, that Tessa -- used to adoring fans -- has a stalker who is not one of those. Tessa has a secret and this person wants it outed.

This was a slow burn as the situation got more tense and I was unable to put the book down as I frantically turned pages wanting to find out who and why. I loved the author in an author story premise and the details about what a book tour is actually like. The main character was believable and her responses to the situation seemed realistic and appropriate. As the tormentor got closer, the more Tessa realized she was not in control of the story and decided to use her the voice of her own book's character to take it back. The writing was good and the conclusion satisfying.

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC, both provided by the publishers. The narrator, Sarah Mollo-Christensen, did an excellent job of voicing all the characters. She provided a great sense of building tension and keeping me engaged. Her dramatic flair enhanced my enjoyment of the book. I loved the immersive experience of listening while reading. 

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

Tags and genre - suspense, mystery, author on tour, stalker, secrets in past 

The Billion Dollar Ransom by James Patterson

 Fast and suspenseful crime thriller.

Planned down to the second, simultaneous kidnappings occur in 3 different locations. A billionaire’s wife is taken outside a beauty salon. His two children are hauled off a private bus, and his oldest son and a starlet are surprised in their room at a luxury resort. The ransom demand is quick to follow. One billion dollars is demanded for their safe return. An ambitious FBI agent, Nicky Gordon, leads the hastily assembled task force that includes her sometime lover,  LAPD Detective Mike Hardy. As the police try to track down witnesses and mount a manhunt, the kidnappers stay a step ahead, leading the cops to believe that there’s a mole inside the investigation. 

This was action packed with lots of twists and turns. The kidnappers, known only by numbers, are committed to their jobs because they want their share of the money. There are lots of characters and with the short chapters and focus on the details of the kidnapping and hostages, they are not really fleshed out much and fall into somewhat of the cliche category. It was just a fun plot with plenty of bad guys and red herrings. It was an easy read that took me only a couple of hours and provided a nice escape.

I was able to listen to the audiobook while also following along in the e-book ARC provided by the publisher. The narrator, Cynthia Farrell, did a great job voicing all the characters and providing appropriate dramatic flair. Her pacing was spot on and she did well with accents and both male and female voices. Her performance definitely enhanced my enjoyment of the book.

This was a standalone and not part of any series.

Tags and genre - police procedural, crime thriller, suspense, mystery, kidnapping, ransom, hostages, murder

The Oligarch’s Daughter

 Riveting action packed spy thriller.

Paul Brightman, a successful hedge fund trader on Wall Street, is flying high when he meets and marries the daughter of a Russian oligarch. He subsequently ends up working for Arkady Galkin, Tatyana’s father, in his investment firm. Despite his misgivings, he is successful but ends up stumbling upon some evidence that Galkin is breaking the law, is corrupt, and coming crimes. The FBI approaches Paul who agrees to spy. Things go awry and Paul has to go into hiding. He steals an identity and moves to a small town and works in obscurity as a boat builder. Unfortunately, his past comes calling 5 years later and he has to run. 

There is a lot going in in this novel and as Paul tries to escape his pursuers, he has no idea whom to trust. Many different characters that may or may not be helpful to Paul and his life is in danger. He has a few contacts from his past and ends up in an unlikely reunion with his father. Although quite a complex plot with twists and turns, it is full of great espionage spy and counterspy details. Very hard to put down, I was turning the pages trying to figure how all the loose ends tied together and hoping Paul was going to find some helpful good guys. I could not put this down so read it all today in a matter of hours.

Excellent writing and the type of expertise on a subject that can only be done by someone who knows what they’re talking about. Finder does a great job with political intrigue and especially the Russian conflict and involvement in geopolitical activities. 

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC provided by the publisher. The narrator, Mark Bramhall, did an excellent job of voicing all the characters and adjusting his tone and pace to match the different parts of the story. His accents added to the ability to differentiate between the many Russian and American characters and he brought a nice dramatic flair. His performance definitely enhanced my enjoyment of the book.

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

Tags, genre - Russian spies, FBI, CIA, Wall Street, Investment firms, oligarchs, off the grid, murder

Forget Me Not by Stacey Willingham

 Suspend disbelief as you ease into this mystery thriller evoking the hot, humid, lazy days of summer.

Claire Campbell is called back home after her mother is injured. She had left South Carolina when her older sister went missing 22 years ago. The case was closed and the convicted killer in prison, but Claire is still haunted as they never did find Natalie’s body. Once back, Claire has nothing to say to her mother and is uncomfortable in the house where she’d grown up with Natalie. Trying to get some closure, Claire visits a vineyard where her sister had briefly worked as a teenager one summer. Adrift after quitting her job as a journalist, she decides to work at Galloway Farm where she will help pick the grapes and receive free room and board. Almost immediately, Claire finds a hidden diary in the ductwork of her cabin (she’s either a slow reader or it’s really thick) that chronicles how a young woman named Marcia came to live with the owner of the farm. Over the space of a couple of days, all the secrets are revealed. 

This was somewhat of a slow burner as it seemed to take ages to get to the action. There were so many coincidences that the whole set of events seemed contrived and stretched credulity. I didn’t care for Claire who definitely is easily led and is a poor judge of people not to mention jumping to some erroneous conclusions. Once the chips start to fall it really gets complicated and the revelations seem a bit over the top. The conclusion was a bit underwhelming after all.

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC, both provided by the publishers. The narrators, Helen Laser and Karissa Vacker, did a good job of voicing the characters and giving the story a suitable dramatic flair. The production definitely enhanced my enjoyment of the book.

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

Tags and genre - missing girls, cult, murder, secrets and lies, southern setting

With a Vengeance by Riley Sager

 This locked room mystery runs off the rails.

The  year is 1954 and Anna Matheson has invited six people on a luxury express train journey to Chicago. These are the people who destroyed Anna's family and ruined her life 12 years ago. She has collected her evidence and now wants vengeance; Anna has a plan. Her scheme goes awry shortly into the journey, and from then on, tables are turned and nothing goes according to her agenda. 

Although the premise sounded good, it was flawed from the beginning as there seemed no reason to host this train journey. But I love trains and so I picked this up expecting something quite different to how it all turned out. I totally understood Anna's reasons for wanting revenge, but the execution of exacting that just seemed like a waste of time, effort, and money. Since all went to heck quite quickly, it became obvious that her method of obtaining validation and causing the perpetrators of the events that brought down the Matheson family to suffer didn't come to fruition. 

All the characters with their history and misdeeds was repetitive. Her moments with each alone didn't really get Anna what she was wanting and sometimes it seemed like all she did was move up and down the train endlessly. I would have loved lot more info about the train and less about the people. The appearance of one unexpected character was first one thing and then abruptly quite another and it was a huge plot hole. All the attempts at making this twisty -- who was the killer -- also went on far too long. In short, the story bogged itself down and got mired in its own attempt to deliver shocks and surprises. When Anna steps out onto the roof of the speeding train in a snowstorm, I lost interest as it led to that ridiculous ending. I surely hope there are no sequels planned.

I have been hit and miss with Sager for awhile. He used to be an automatic want to read but now I need to be more judicious. I appreciated the effort in setting the book in a time period without technology so there was no magic hacker ah ha moments, etc. but overall, it just didn't work for me.


I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC provided by the publisher. The narrator, Erin Bennett, did a good job voicing the characters and her performance definitely enhanced the story and gave a bit of dramatic flair despite the drawbacks noted above.

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

Genre and tags - locked room mystery, luxury train, 1954, WWII, murder, revenge

The Spider to the Fly by J.H. Markert

 Definitely a dark and twisty thriller — beware if you’re afraid of spiders!

Ellie Isles runs a true crime network that is focused on discovering the identity of a serial killer known as the Spider. He kills his female victims using poisonous spiders. She begins an intense investigation when one of the victims is found to be her exact double. While doing a deep dive into the backgrounds of the victims, she begins o connect with memories of her past. In addition, several people in her current life now, including her therapist and her neighbor, may also have ties to what happened to her as a child.

There is a lot going on in this book and it can get confusing with all the twin sets and relationships. Definitely difficult to figure out who are the good people and who are the bad, and why. This gets pretty scary with the truths coming to light and the magnitude of all that happened to the children. There are a lot of characters to keep track of and quite a bit of unexplained events that leaves a lot of unanswered questions by the end. But, it’s still quite shocking and intense. The perspective of the killer and also the time jump to before times give some insight. The conclusion seemed a bit rushed and left me a little disappointed because I always want to know a lot more about the why of these disturbed minds.

I was able to listen to the audiobook while also following along in the e-book ARC, both provided by the publishers. The narrators, Wayne Mitchell, Xe Sands, and Vanessa Moyen were a mixed bag for me. I don’t know who did which female voice, but I don’t care for a deep, gravelly female voice and it sounded wrong for Ellie. Sometimes the male voice doing a particular character was growly. I appreciate that there were both male and female cast members for the production. 

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

Genre - serial killer thriller, murder, spiders, twins, experiments, child abuse

Murder in Paris (Kitty Underhay #21) by Helena Dixon

 

The 21st installment in this cozy historical mystery series is a delight.

At the behest of her grandmother, Kitty and Matt are taking her to Paris for a visit with an old friend, Eliza DeTourner. A bit of sightseeing and some marvelous food are on the program, and to top it off, they've all been invited to a private fashion show at the House of Dido. It seems that Eliza's handsome son, Julian, is in love with one of the models, Simone, and he's eager for them all to meet his beloved. All is going perfectly until Simone is found dead in the dressing room immediately after the show. How can it be that everywhere Matt and Kitty go, a dead body turns up?  Of course they involve themselves in the murder investigation with plenty of suspects to question and even more secrets to unravel.

I really enjoy this series and reading another one is like taking a nice little break from current times. The characters are very well-developed and readers have been there for all the changes in them and in their personal lives through the previous mysteries. If you love the description and details about life in England and on the continent in the 1930s, you will really want to check out this series. I think it best to start from the beginning so that you can get the completely backstory to appreciate where the characters are at now in their relationships. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this e-book to read, review, and recommend.
Blog Tour Stop 8-28-2025

This is the 21st book in a series that should be read in order from the beginning.

Tags - murder, mystery, cozy, historical fiction, jealousy, 1937, private investigators 

Framed in Death (Eve Dallas #61) by J.D. Robb

 Another excellent and absorbing book in this long running crime thriller series.

When an author reaches book #61 in a series that features the same characters I can imagine it’s hard to create something new and different, but JD Robb always manages to do just that. This series is as fresh and fun as it was since I began reading it many years ago. Though many of the same characters are still featured, they keep changing and growing to hold my interest in their welfare and their lives.

In this novel, Lt. Eve Dallas and her cohort are on the hunt for a serial killer who fancies himself a great artist. Unfortunately, he has no talent, but his ego is such that he is using murder to create a sort of immortality. He is determined to receive the accolades and fame he knows he deserves, and nothing will stop him. 

I enjoyed this immensely as always. The futuristic setting, the details of that life in New York City, the cool toys, and such make it fun. The snark between the characters provides humor as they interact and that whole dynamic is a huge part of the success of this series. The plots are always well developed and the writing is excellent. I could do without the descriptive passion scenes but oh well, I know some like that. Yeah, Eve and Roarke are still going hot and heavy. Always a good blend of mystery and their personal lives entwined as they investigate. 

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC, both provided by the publishers. The narrator, Susan Ericksen, always does a fantastic job of bringing all the characters to life with her dynamic performance. She captures different accents to help differentiate between the characters and brings the right amount of dramatic flair. A well done production on audio always enhances my enjoyment of a book. 

This is #61 in a series that is best read from the beginning in order.

Genre - crime fiction, police procedural, futuristic, murder, art