The Secret Detective Agency (#1) by Helena Dixon

 

Murder mystery set in 1941 England during the war.

Miss Jane Treen works at Whitehall overseeing a cadre of secret agents for Brigadier Remington-Blythe. Hard and driven, she’s a chain smoker with a serious coffee addiction. She has no desire to go chasing after missing agents out in the country out of her comfort zone, but needs must when another of her agents goes dark after being hidden away for her own protection at a safe house. She travels to Half Moon Manor to work with codebreaker and puzzle solver Arthur Cilento. He has returned from a work mission for the War Office to find a dead body in the river by his home. Could this woman be Jane’s missing agent? Thus begins a reluctant partnership as the two try to trace a complicated organization of what might be traitors to the British government. 

Let’s see — it took me quite a while to get invested in this time period and story. I didn’t immediately warm to the main characters of Jane (annoying) or Arthur (sickly) and the set up of them being forced to work together. The plot and the many different side characters seemed overly complicated and there were a lot of deaths as Jane and Arthur chased around with only the most flimsy of clues. I was definitely happy that the cat in this book had limited involvement and infrequent mention. 

The plot was convoluted and the denouement seemed rushed after all the suspects couldn’t really be interrogated. I’ll have to reserve my thoughts about where this series might be going and if I will follow it after I read the second book. Not sure this unlikely pair will hold my interest if there is more repetition about Jane’s smoking and coffee and Arthur’s asthma. I surely hope no romance between them as she seems a determined spinster and him a confirmed bachelor. Of course there is also the faithful man servant who seems to be essential to the detecting and is always behind the scenes greasing the wheels. 

I was able to listen to the audiobook while also following along in the e-book ARC, both provided by the publishers. The performance of the narrator, Kristin Atherton, was excellent. She did a fantastic job with all the voices and the transitions were seamless. Her dramatic flair made the book so much more enjoyable. 

This is the first of a new series. I am going to read the second installment shortly.

Genre - WWII Britain, 1941, secret agents, double agents, traitors, murder

All the Way Gone (Annalisa Vega #4) by Joanna Schaffhausen

 Complex crime thriller, the 4th in a series. Be sure to read the previous installments before tackling this one.

Annalisa Vega, now remarried to Nick, has left the police and formed her own private investigation business. She has multiple investigations she’s working on in this book, the most challenging being asked to ascertain whether a particular person is a sociopath and if so, if he is a good one or a bad one. This person is suspected of having murdered a woman and Annalisa’s client has written a book about him saying he’s basically the good kind — and is in fact a super talented brain surgeon. So is he, or isn’t he.  In addition, there are other cases she’s also got going including one that involves Nick’s daughter. 

For some reason I didn’t like this book and its main plot as much as I have the other three. I thought Annalisa had some serious tunnel vision and also extraordinary access to help with her investigation that I doubt most PIs would have. She was so single minded in her pursuit and it just felt wrong to me how she seemed so self righteous. I didn’t like her character as much. I think it was a mistake for her to leave the police but I can see this is moving in a different direction. The twists and revelations seemed a bit too much after all. I will likely still check out the next installment in the series, but not quite as invested anymore. 

I was able to listen to the audiobook while also following along in the ebook provided by the publisher. The narrator did a good job voicing the characters and added an appropriate dramatic flair when necessary. I find that a good production really enhances my enjoyment of a book and that was true in this case.

This is the 4th in a series that should be read from the beginning.

Genre tags crime thriller, private investigator, murder, sociopaths

Dead and Gone (Annalisa Vega #3) by Joanna Schaffhausen

 This crime thriller has multiple investigations going at once and is the third book in a great series.

Chicago police detective Annalisa Vega has her hands full, not only on the professional front, but also in her personal life. She's asked to investigate Sam Tran's death by hanging. He's an ex-cop turned PI who was a good friend of her boss. She begins by looking into Sam's current and ongoing files in the event that someone killed him because of something he had discovered in the course of his work. Meanwhile, her niece, Quinn, is having a problem on campus. She's a freshman at a local college and Annalisa's brother, Vinny, reports that he had hired Sam because Quinn has a stalker and he wants them found and his daughter left alone. That's not the only problem at the college, however. And that's not the only case of Sam's that Annalisa is chasing. Along with all of her police activity, Annalisa also needs to decide what she plans to do about/with her ex-husband, Nick Carelli.

This was quite absorbing and full of twists and turns that kept me guessing. I found it hard to put down as things started to come together with lots of good red herrings. I like the character of Annalisa as she's a by the book cop who tries to make good decisions and who also cares a lot about the families and victims. She has a complicated backstory with her ex and with her family so it is best that this series be read from the beginning as it makes much more sense that way. The writing is good, lots of action and other well-developed characters and a good set of plots. Looking forward to the next installment.

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC provide by the publisher. The narrator did an excellent job of voicing all the characters and providing great dramatic flair. This production made the book all that more enjoyable.

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

Genre - crime fiction, police detectives, murder

Holmes is Missing (#2 Holmes, Marple, and Poe) by James Patterson

 Fast, fun, and totally entertaining crime fiction.

This second in a new series is as good as the first and definitely moves Holmes, Marple, and Poe into a higher rung of my favorites. The prose is direct, clear, and crisp with short chapters, lots of action, and great characters. In addition, the plot is tight and intriguing -- kidnapped infants make for a very intense subject in a gripping thriller. I am worried, however, that Holmes has lost his footing as he tries to take himself out of their partnership.

I enjoyed this one and could barely put it down though I had many other things I was meant to be doing today. I like the relationship between the main characters and the twists and turns the story took. From the USA to London, the investigation is urgent and they are running out of time. Can they find the children and expose the criminal network in time?

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC provided by the publisher. The narrator did a great job with voice and accents for all the characters increasing the drama and enhancing my appreciation of the story. Definitely recommend.

I hope we will see more of Holmes, Marple, and Poe as there are still many more possible directions for them to go in their unique partnership.

This is the second in the series that should be readin order.

Genre - crime thriller, partnerships, kidnapped infants and children

The Unlucky Ones (Black Harbor #4) by Hannah Morrissey

 Dark and complex crime thriller.

This is the 4th and probably last in the series set in Black Harbor, a small crime-ridden town on the shores of Lake Michigan.

Hazel Greenlee returns to Black Harbor after her ex husband, Tommy, is killed inside the Mineshaft, a club/bar full of big and small time criminals. Hazel used to work as a transcriber for the local police and that's how she met and fell in love with Sergeant Nikolai Kole of the Black Harbor Police Department. She escaped the town and all the bad memories, became a successful author and was living in New York. Her return changes everything. She's dropped right in during the investigation and insinuates herself back into Nik's life. Murder. Drugs. Gangs. Money. Things go on one way in this town and that is from bad to worse.

I don't know why, but I just didn't get all that involved with this book in the series. Maybe I was tired of Hazel who just seemed like such a wrong choice as a love interest for Nik. She does one stupid thing after another and I don't see her appeal as I didn't care for her character in previous books and even less in this one. Nik was interesting and had a lot of depth considering all that has happened to him. The plot was centered on stolen drugs and the kill or be killed attitude of all the bad actors. Some of the descriptions of torture and murder were quite gory. Some of the things that happened stretched credulity, especially with regard to Hades. The nasty people were very nasty indeed. It was all just quite dismal and depressing to me. I think it ended on the appropriate note so I can say goodbye and close the book on these characters and this place.

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book, both provided by the publishers. I enjoyed the voices of both narrators who brought the characters to life and gave the production a good dramatic flair to enhance my enjoyment of the book. 

This is the 4th book in the series. I've read them all from the beginning and suggest that  you do as well.

Genre - crime fiction, detectives, drugs, murder, gangs

Look in the Mirror by Catherine Steadman

 An intense, pulse-pounding suspense thriller that I found impossible to put down.

Go into this book without any preconceived notions and avoid reviews that might spoil this well crafted story. 

Nina Hepworth, a 34-year-old literary academic, is shocked to find that she has inherited a beachfront estate on Pond Bay, Gorda, in the British Virgin Islands. Her father recently died, and though he was financially secure and left her well off, she had no idea where and how he could have had this type of money, when he had gone to this house, and why he had built it. She does what anyone would do - she travels to the Caribbean to claim her new property. 

A young nanny arrives at her next assignment. Maria has been hired for 2 weeks to care for a couple of children while their regular caregiver takes some time off. The house is modern, massive, and extremely well appointed. As Maria settles in, she’s invited to enjoy all the amenities while she waits. And she does. But days pass and the client doesn’t arrive. She gets bored, reads all the instructions in the manual, has the run of the place. She is drawn, however, to the last directive telling her not to enter the locked room on the ground floor. She does what anyone would do - she gets herself into that room.

Without spoilers, let me tell you that I couldn’t even begin to guess what was going on for the longest time. It was so packed with information and action as the narrative flipped between Nina and Maria. I really l liked and became fully invested in both of the women and definitely second guessed every decision they made. No idea where this was headed as I tore through the pages trying to make sense of what was happening. I really enjoyed how everything played out because for awhile I was really afraid I was going to find it cheesy and disappointing. It was fast and fun and I recommend it.

I was lucky enough to be able to listen to the audiobook while also following along in the e-book ARC provided by the publisher. The narrator was the author and she, being a well-known actress, did a marvelous job of voicing the characters and enhancing all the dramatic aspects of the book. It was quite well-done.

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

Tags - suspense, thriller, cannot say more due to spoilers

The Library Game (#4 Secret Staircase) by Gigi Pandian

 A cute cozy mystery with a fun library theme.

First, I must confess this is the 4th book in the series but the first I have read. I think that might have put me at a disadvantage as I tried to keep all the characters and their relationships straight. In retrospect, I should have read the other three to start at the beginning. 

So this starts off with a dead body in a house that’s being converted into a niche library containing classic mystery books. The dead man was a member of the small cast that was rehearsing for a dinner theater performance that was to be given during the town’s summer stroll event and held at the house. The amateur sleuths set to solve the crime are associated with the company engaged to do the conversion. Tempest, Ivy, Sanjay, Gideon, and others (including the requisite pet — a rabbit) try to track down the killer. It’s mainly a locked room scenario with the killer having to be someone in their intimate circle of friends and acquaintances. 

This was a mix of Nancy Drew and Scooby-Doo with the hook being the concept of secret staircases, hidden rooms, and libraries. Bibliophiles will enjoy all the literary references. I’ll likely go back at some point to check out the first book in the series just for fun. 

I listened to the audio book while also following along in the ebook ARC, both provided by the publishers. I enjoyed the narrator as she used a variety of voices and accents to portray the characters. It always enhances a book when I can have this experience. 

This is the 4th book in a series that I should have read in order from the beginning. 

Tags cozy mystery, amateur sleuths, secret staircases, hidden passageways, food, romance

In the Blink of an Eye by Jo Callaghan

 Unique police procedural and crime thriller debut.

The first in a series, this book features DCS Kat Frank who has been asked to head up a pilot project at the Warwickshire Police that involves her and a select team pairing with an AIDE (Artificially Intelligent Detecting Entities) unit to investigate cold cases. It will be an experiment to see the difference between human and machine approach to crime solving. Can they learn from each other? Kat and Lock (the name of this particular unit) begin with a series of missing person cases.

This was quite interesting and entertaining as it was different to most in this genre due to the fact that Kat's main partner is basically a "glorified Alexa" as she puts it. Although the machine can rapidly crunch all kinds of data in seconds, there is no feeling, intuition, or gut instinct involved in its decision making. As the duo and the other two team members, DI Hassan and DS Browne, as well as Professor Okonedo (the inventor) start looking into the disappearances of several young adults, it is quite rocky as they try to work out strengths and weaknesses in their approach.

I enjoyed the interplay between the characters and the evolution of the machine into becoming a part of the team. Acceptance of something new is challenging for them all, and there is also the fear of humans being replaced by AI always at the back of their minds. The particular plot and investigative part of this book was actually secondary to the whole artificial intelligence aspect but was satisfactory as far as a case. I understand there are already 2 more books in this series and I do intend to read them.

I was able to  listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC provided by the publisher. I enjoyed both narrators but wish the male voice had been used for the voice of Lock just to enhance the production quality.

Seems like a series that could easily be adapted for television as well. Definitely a lot of interest in AI right now with all of the surrounding controversy.

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

Tags - crime fiction, AI, missing persons

First Wife's Shadow by Adele Parks

 A fabulously entertaining psychological thriller full of fun twists and turns.

Emma Westly has it going on. She’s 47 years old and at the top of her career as CEO of AirBright, Britain’s wind harvesting company. She’s attractive, driven, and wealthy. The only thing she lacks is companionship and love. Until she meets Matthew Charlton. Emma falls fast and hard for the handsome photographer 11 years her junior despite the warnings of her friends and some serious red flags. The biggest issue at first is that Matthew is widowed and still grieving for his dead wife, Becky. Emma can’t help but feel a bit jealous even as their relationship becomes more intense and Emma invites Matthew to move into her beautiful home in Hampshire. Woodview is absolute luxury living and they both revel in the new direction they are heading. When Matthew suggests they marry, Emma is over the moon. Has she finally found happiness. Of course not, this is domestic suspense after all. But I won’t spoil it with details as you will have to read it for yourself.

I really enjoyed this and had to read it in one sitting as I couldn’t put it down wondering what would happen next. Although a teeny bit predictable, I did enjoy the revelations and the surprises along the way. The narrative is told from several points of view and that definitely puts all the perspectives in place to change what the reader thinks is going on. I liked the writing style even as I wasn’t sure what I thought about the characters since my initial opinions were challenged by new discoveries. I think it best to go into this without any preconceived notions so don’t read too many reviews ahead of time.

I was able to listen to the audiobook while also following along in the e-book ARC, both provided by the publishers. The narrator did a great job voicing all the characters with the appropriate dramatic flair and expression. This definitely enhanced my enjoyment of the book as it was a quality production.

Enjoy!

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

Tags - schemes, relationships, drama

Close Your Eyes and Count to 10 by Lisa Unger

 Fast paced and action packed suspense thriller was a fun read.

A celebrity influencer and owner of Extreme Games and Insane Challenges, Maverick Dillan, and his team are setting up another challenging game and looking for just the right contestants. This will be a hide and seek type of game with a million dollars as the prize. Those selected travel to the remote Falcao Island to a run down, old hotel crumbling into ruin at the edge of a cliff. But, aside from the game that will be live on WeWatch, there’s a hidden agenda for this stunt. 

Lots of interesting characters and points of view in the narrative with some time shifts. Some I liked, others were suspect, and a few I knew right off were bad news. I wasn’t quite sure how this was going to go and I’ve read a few of these that feature influencers going somewhere to compete in a contest. I wanted to like it, and I did. The writing was good and the atmospheric setting descriptions created the right mood for the story. Some of what happens was predictable but there were some pleasant surprises along the way to a satisfying conclusion. 

I listened to the audiobook while also reading the e-book ARC, both provided by the publishers. I enjoyed the narrator but she definitely lacked enough depth and range to do the many different characters. Most of the male characters all sounded the same and there were some sketchy accents, but in general, it was satisfactory. This is one of those that could really have benefited from a larger voice cast to enhance the production.

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

Tags - games, online games, social media, challenges, criminals, family

Crash Course: Accidents Don't Just Happen by Julie Whipple

 If you're about to take a flight, this is a book you might want to avoid. I admit to feeling some serious trepidation about my upcoming air travel.

In this day and age, airplane travel should be safe. Over the decades of improvement in quality and design of planes, intense training of pilots and crew, and a commitment to inspection and maintenance, we should be able to rely on a plane to take us from one place to another without incident. In light of recent events, yes there are things completely out of control of those in the air or on the ground, but most air accidents occur long before the airplane goes up. Pilots and crew are human, air traffic controllers make mistakes, and important fixes and directives don't get proper attention. The primary mission of the industry still needs to be focused on safety. Often it is not.

This book is mainly about a specific plane crash, the aftermath and effects on the survivors as the few litigants who weren't bought out line up to get justice. The tragedy ultimately is that not enough changes have been made by the airline companies to mitigate the potential for another air disaster.  

When United Flight 173 crash landed in a neighborhood in Portland, Oregon, in December of 1978, 10 people were killed. The airline immediately leapt to the conclusion that it was pilot error as Captain Malburn "Buddy" McBroom indeed allowed the plane to run out of fuel. Was it because of defective gauges or was the main reason due to him being distracted by landing gear that he could not determine was locked and down. In any event, the drama surrounding the crash and the resulting legal case for punitive damages brought by one of the survivors kept the crash in the news for years. In a travesty of justice, awarded damages were overturned, lessening the sting for United Airlines and allowing them to sidestep major responsibility for the crash.

If you don't get angry when you read this and if your heart doesn't ache for all of the people on the plane and on the ground that night, then you didn't pay attention. It's the age old case of a huge company putting profits and the easy way out ahead of passenger safety. And the scariest thing is that none of us know, because of lack of transparency, whether or not the airlines are taking safety and maintenance as seriously as they must.

This was an excellent book narrated by Heather Henderson. She did a fantastic job of bringing the characters to life and delivered the story with just the right touch of indignation and empathy. I believe the author is the daughter of one of the lawyers in the case brought against United Airlines on behalf of one of the survivors. 

This is a standalone nonfiction title. Not part of a series.

Tags - airplane crash, pilot error, technical details, investigation, legal case

Murder at the Loch (Ally McKinley #2) by Dee MacDonald

 

Amateur sleuth and bed and breakfast owner Ally McKinley is back in this second book in a new cozy mystery series set in the Scottish Highlands.

Out on a walk with her dog, Ally is stunned to see a body in the loch. The young woman was on her way into the village to marry a local bartender. Was this an accident or murder? Meanwhile, the local Earl, Hamish Sinclair, is introducing his fiancée as he announces an impromptu wedding up at the castle. A few close friends are invited to the actual ceremony, but most of the villagers show up for the after party. Even though Hamish is in his 70s and his beloved, Elena, is half his age, people are more or less pleased for him. Except perhaps for Hamish’s cousin who is in line to be the next earl bar Hamish having children with Elena. When she is dead under suspicious circumstances the morning after the wedding, the whole of Locharran is stunned and the gossips are trying to pin the murder on just about anyone in town. Are these two deaths related?

Ally is busy snooping around and asking lots of questions of the possible suspects. She’s aided by her boyfriend, Ross, as they attempt to solve the crime. I was way ahead of Ally and had the bad actor identified fairly quickly so this was quite predictable. 

The story line is OK but nothing extra special and although I like that it is set in current day and Scotland, the most interesting part is that the amateur sleuth is 68 years old. Some will find this far more entertaining and engaging. 

Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the e-book ARC and offering this opportunity for a blog tour.

This is the second in a cozy mystery series.

Tags - older amateur sleuth, Scotland, murder 

Murder in the Scottish Highlands (Ally McKinley #1) by Dee Macdonald

 Murder mystery set in the Scottish Highlands and featuring a 60ish widow who has moved to the village of Locharran from Edinburgh. 

Ally McKinley decided she wanted a change after retirement and fell in love with an old malthouse. She had it made over into a bed and breakfast and is just having her first guests when one of them is murdered and left outside in the courtyard. Wilbur Carrington, an American, was found dead with a skean dhu (a dagger) in his back. He’d been investigating old church records because he believed he was the rightful Earl of Locharran. The current earl, Hamish Sinclair, isn’t too worried about the claim but the villagers are quite concerned about the possibility of losing their jobs and tied homes. So, who killed Wilbur and why?  Just as Ally begins her own earnest investigation, Wilbur’s brother, Tyler, and his fiancée, Mamie Van Nuyen, arrive on site to do their own sleuthing since the local police aren’t working hard enough to find the killer. 

This was OK but nothing unusual or remarkable. The story was predictable and not suspenseful. Of course Ally gets a pet — seems to be the current trope for all female amateur detectives to have an animal — and there’s even a romance. It’s set in modern day and the setting is interesting but the characters were uninspiring. Lots of small village gossip and stereotypes. This is the first in a series. I’ll try one more. 

Thank you to Bookouture for this ebook ARC to read and review.

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

Tags - cozy, murder, amateur sleuth, sixties, romance, Scotland 

Message Deleted by K. L. Slater

 Psychological thriller and family drama.

Saffy Morris is waiting for an interview when she receives 3 messages from her old best friend, Leona. The messages sound like Leona is in trouble. But, then they all disappear and show as deleted. When Saffy rushes to the home of her friend, Leona says she doesn’t know what Saffy is talking about. She didn’t send any messages. Hmmm. But then later, Leona, her husband Ash, and their daughter disappear. The door is left open, the fire alarm is going off, and there’s blood on the floor.

This was a slow build with lots of back and forth narration between the 3 main female characters: Saffy, Leona, and Poppy (Saffy’s younger sister). They’ve all known each other since childhood and there’s a lot of past between them. Some of it connected to what is happening in the now. So multiple narrators and time shift make this a bit unevenly paced. The history is dangled without full reveal until the very end in a somewhat underwhelming conclusion. There are some twists along the way and the reader gets a feel for where this is all going. 

I never really felt too invested in the story as it was all so contrived. I didn’t like any of the characters really so there was that lack of empathy as well. The whole “why” and “who” just fell flat for me especially for the motivation. I’d say this was OK but definitely not gripping and it took me a couple of days to get through it because I just wasn’t that interested.

Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for this ebook ARC to read and review. 

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

Tags: revenge, drama, psychological thriller