Making a Killing (DI Adam Fawley #7) by Cara Hunter

 Entertaining crime thriller and police procedural. 

The first thing I should say is that this is the first of the series featuring DI Adam Fawley that I have read. So, coming in completely cold to the backstory and the characters. I didn't realize this was a followup to the first book. Regardless, I found it easy to follow even though the story twisted and turned.

The plot centers on the discovery that a child who had been considered dead, Daisy Mason, was possibly still alive and everything that the police had done prior was a mistake, including the conviction of Daisy's mother who had been in prison already for 8 hours. 

The narrative unfolds with transcripts of phone calls, interviews, emails, newspaper articles and other bits that make the procedural part of the investigation seem so much more real. There were a lot of characters that were hard to keep straight, but a helpful guide provided by the author was included at the start of the book. I thoroughly enjoy this mystery but am completely stymied by the lack of closure with that ending. If someone could help me, I'd appreciate it! yes, I like it all spelled out in a tidy conclusion. 

I was able to listen to the audio book while following along in the e-book ARC, both provided by the publishers. I liked the multi-cast performance, but often times the narrator did not change their tone or voice, or use various accents, etc. to match the character. Some were fairly monotone actually. It is particularly hard when the male voice was reading through phone transcripts as both voices sounded exactly alike. Regardless, I do enjoy the listening while reading experience.

This is the 7th book in a series. I had not read any previous books.

Tags - police procedural, mystery,  

Fever Beach by Carl Hiaasen

 Typical Hiaasen farce featuring satire, stereotypical wacko characters, and the absurd, exaggerated situations that make up his novels.

In this story, Twilly Spree, along with his love interest du jour, Viva Morales, take on right wing radicals who are dumber than rocks but bent on becoming famous since they missed out on previous insurrections. The two undermine sleazy politicians, inhibit corrupt developers, impede philanthropic billionaires who bankroll ludicrous projects to propel their true objectives behind the scenes, and protect those they perceive to be innocent. 

Except Twilly really isn't a nice guy, per se, and gets his hands really dirty while interfering in as much mayhem as he can. There are some funny moments, but sometimes the message got lost because of the many outlandish and over the top scenarios. It was predictable in the sense that the bad guys all got what Twilly thought they deserved but the people he liked made out OK. 

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC provided by the publisher. The narrator, Will Damron, did a good job of voicing the characters and using appropriate tone and inflection to provide the right note of comedy. The production enhanced my enjoyment of the book. 

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

Tags - satire, right wing radicals, sleazy politicians, politics,  

Jill is Not Happy by Kaira Rouda

 Dark domestic drama — like a train wreck.

Jack and Jill, oh my. I challenge you to find two more despicable unlikable characters. These two were definitely made for each other. Jill knows that, but Jack must be having some sort of life crisis cause he’s gone off the rails. A new woman in his life? Jill thinks not. After all, Jill knows that this is a marriage made in heaven, well maybe not there, but she sure isn’t going to let anything break them apart.

There is so much in this novel where you just shake your head at the thought of people behaving like this. I couldn’t stand either Jack or Jill as each had bad intentions. Thank heavens Jill had her special notebook to ensure Jack follows the rules. Her rules. I am guessing that many felt bad for Jack and thought Jill the worst of the pair. I disagree. He’s one of those that garners sympathy and such because people feel bad for him. The daughter, Maggie, well I do not like when any parent commandeers a child and involves them in their adult relationship no matter how old they are. Bad on Jack. For awhile I was worried (yeah I know I’m always on the bad side) that they were both going to end up in jail or kill each other. But they truly do deserve one another.

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, Marnye Young. She was OK, but honestly, it was a huge disappointment as her male and female voice for Jack and Jill were interchangeable. She never sounded like a man. This is one of those that definitely would have benefited from having a male narrator. Usually the audio enhances my enjoyment of a book but this production was not as good as I’d hoped for.

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

Genre tags - marriage, drama, murderous couple, secrets and lies, manipulation, emotional blackmail

Brain Damage by Freida McFadden

 This was a great listen while I was sick. It was funny in places and fast paced, and then heartwarming with the romance, and it just hit the spot. I liked Charlotte McKenna even when she was acting more stupidly than her brain damage should have allowed. In fact, she was pretty lame before she got shot! But, the bullet to her head was definitely the best thing that happened to her after all.

From acute injury to months in rehab, Charly finds that her memory and her disability are not easy to recover and overcome. 

I noted this was published in 2016 so the author hasn't gotten to the completely outlandish over the top thriller stage. 

This audio book was narrated by Megan Tusing who did a fantastic job of voicing all the characters and giving a sensational bit of dramatic flair to the production. 

This is a standalone and not part of any series.

Tags - brain injury due to gun shot, rehab, romance 

Kill Your Darlings by Peter Swanson

 More domestic drama than murder mystery, this novel explores the history of a marriage.

Thom and Wendy have been married for over 25 years. He's a professor of English Literature and they have a grown son. Money is not an issue, they've plenty of that, and to casual observes, they seem like a close, loving couple. Except Wendy is done. She wants Thom gone. And the only way to make this happen is for her to murder him. 

The narrative is told in reverse, taking the reader backward though their lives and the different stages of their relationship. Everything hinged on something they did together back when they were in their early twenties and that secret has bound them together.  

So why does Wendy want to kill him now? 

I've long been a huge fan of this author and his twisty mystery thrillers so I expected a lot. For some reason this just didn't seem like the same writer as this story wasn't really very exciting or thrilling. I didn't care for either Thom or Wendy and honestly their lives seemed so boring as it seemed all Thom did was get drunk and act stupid. Neither had any direction or drive. Definitely both extremely self centered. I tried to get more invested, but ultimately I really didn't like it. Was there a bit of a surprise at the ending? Why, yes, there was, but it wasn't enough.

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book, both provided by the publishers. The narrator, Steven Weber, is one of my favorites and he did an awesome job of finding just the right tone and voice for the characters. His dramatic flair made the characters some alive and definitely the production enhanced my enjoyment of the book. 

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

Tags - genre - domestic drama, mystery, murder 

The First Gentleman by Bill Clinton and James Patterson

 A political and legal thriller that you won’t put down until the very last page!

President Madeline Parson Wright is about to reveal a legacy plan to overhaul the economic disaster facing the United States. As she’s scrambling to put last votes in line, her husband, the First Gentleman, is arrested and accused of committing a murder. Cole Wright, ex tight end for the Patriots, now avid supporter of his wife, is on trial for the crime committed against a former cheerleader, Suzanne Bonanno, almost 20 years ago when they were both connected to the team and they were dating, against team and NFL rules. 

Of course there are many who don’t believe Cole did it, but there are two people are determined to prove him guilty and who intend to write an expose nonfiction book covering the story. Brea Cooke and Garrett Wilson go behind the scenes, contact family and other people involved to create a narrative that will bring Cole Wright to justice. The trial promises to be epic.

There was so much going on in this book and so many different characters — some you’ll like and others who turn your stomach or rub you the wrong way. You may think you know where this is going, only to find a new twist or revelation popping up that sheds a new light on things. I loved the way the book was written and the style used by authors Patterson and Clinton to keep me hooked so that I read the book in a single sitting. Totally hooked and fully invested in the outcome. The trial scenes were great and I’m a sucker for the legal stuff so I couldn’t get enough. I’ve not read any other books by this duo but I plan to rectify that.

I was able to listen to the audiobook while also following along in the e-book ARC provided by the publishers. The four different narrators did a masterful job of bringing the story to life and the production was extremely well done. The tone, the dramatic flair, the accents, and the sound effects really enhanced my enjoyment of the novel. My favorite voices were those of the men and the voice of Brea got on my nerves at times, but overall I definitely recommend.

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

Tags and genre - legal and political thriller, murder, rape, courtroom, investigative reporting

Badlands (Nora Kelly #5) by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

 Excellent writing and fast pace make this 5th book in the series another must read.

FBI Agent Corrie Swanson and archeologist Nora Kelly are working together again. This time, they are investigating the unusual, separate, deaths of two women found in the desert. The deaths seem almost like suicide as the women had apparently taken themselves to remote areas in the New Mexico badlands. Corrie and Nora know the deaths are related when the evidence team finds lightning stones clutched in their hands. These stones, used by the ancient Chaco people, make Corrie and Nora believe that they are on the trail of some sort of cult that is involved in long extinct, and most probably evil, rituals. 

I love the writing style of the Preston and Child team and read almost everything they write together and separately. I like the two main characters, Corrie and Nora, as well as their friends, lovers, and colleagues. Nora’s brother, Skip, always a bit impulsive and immature, plays a larger role in this particular book. The narrative is straight forward and the fascinating historical details are evidence of a great deal of research. I really like when I can learn a lot from reading a work of fiction. I always look forward to a new installment in this series and highly recommend it to any fans of suspenseful thrillers.

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 of voicing all the characters and giving the story an appropriate amount of dramatic flair. I do wish the production had a male narrator as well as there are many male characters, but this was a fine production that enhanced my enjoyment of the book.

This is the 5th book in the Nora Kelly series and I’ve read them all in order from the beginning, but actually this would also work OK as a standalone although not ideal.

Tags and genre - mystery thriller, suspense, historical Native American, rituals, evil, FBI, archeology 

Gray After Dark by Noelle W. Ihli

 This was a tough read — the abduction, the violence, and the relentless descriptions of the days in captivity were hard to take. It was almost too much detail. I am glad to be done and take a deep, cleansing breath. I’m giving it 3.5 stars and rounding up. But be forewarned, it’s harrowing.

This is another book by the author that draws on a true story but is mostly fiction. In 1984, a 24-year old athlete, Kari Swenson, was abducted by two men in Montana. The story in this book is not that story.

Miley Petrowski is a biathlete who suffered injuries that kept her off the Olympic podium but she hasn’t given up. Even though she’s taken a summer job as a kitchen worker at the Hidden Springs Resort in the Frank Church Wilderness in Idaho, she still manages to find time to run and train for her comeback. Her best friend and fellow team member, Brent, stayed behind but will be getting in shape as well for their next attempt. Fortunately Miley has found a great trail for her workouts. Unfortunately, she’s abducted from an icy alpine lake where she swam. A father and son living off the grid in their mountain cabin have taken her captive as part of their plan for when SHTF. They need to tame her so she doesn’t escape. She thinks she’s found an unlikely ally, but no one can be trusted when these two brutal maniacs are in control. 

I know I would have lasted about 10 minutes tops in that cabin with those men. The level of trauma Miley experienced was tremendous and it was hard to keep reading about what she was subjected to in her prison. 

I was able to listen to the audiobook while also following along in the e-book. The two narrators, Megan Tusing and Will Dameon, did a fantastic job of voicing the characters and making the book come alive even more so than plain text alone. Their dramatic flair definitely enhanced the story as it was an excellent production.

PS at the end of the book, there is the opportunity to download a very short chapter that tells more about Rayna. It’s called After the Dark. It’s free.

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

Genre tags - abduction, violence against women, athletes, captivity, prepper types

Such Quiet Girls by Noelle W. Ihli

 Suspenseful mystery thriller.

Based on a true story, the 1976 Chowchilla kidnapping, this fictional novel describes a similar event. Two creepy guys devise what they think will be a fool proof crime that will net them a big payoff. They stage a road construction barrier to stop the bus taking 10 kids to a local daycare center after school. They then abduct the kids and the bus driver and bury them 20 feet underground in a shipping container they’ve sunk in a quarry where they’re both employed. Against all odds and some very bad decisions, can the children and the bus driver survive these desperate circumstances?

This moved quickly with short chapters and alternating points of view. The four main voices are of the characters Sheena (mother to Sage and Bonnie), Sage (12 years old), Jessa (the bus driver) and Ted (one of the kidnappers). I will say that I was really turned off by so much of this novel being told from the points of view of the child. I do not like to hear the voice of children in an adult novel, but that’s a pet peeve so I’m interested to see if that bothers anyone else as it did me. I would have rated the book a full star higher had so much of the narrative not been in the voice of Sage. 

Often repeated, the following mantra expresses the feelings of Jessa (a convicted felon) while buried and trying to keep it together for the children: “I accept my past, understand my present, and look forward to my future.” The kids below ground are scared, hungry, thirsty, dirty, and running out of air. Can she keep them calm? I know some didn’t like this character, but I felt for her. She was grossly misunderstood and overcame her deficits to help the kids. The ending really didn’t say what happened to the kidnappers in any great detail. I was just disappointed that the focus seemed to be on the kids which, as I’ve said, I’m not into when reading this type of suspense thriller.

I was able to listen to the audiobook while also following along in the e-book. There were 4 different narrators, some of whose voices I liked more than others. The person who did the child voice got on my last nerves as they so often do. I do not appreciate it and I don’t know which performer of those 3 females did the voice of Sage. I do feel that having the larger cast production does add more enjoyment of the book in most cases. 

Story was 4 stars but too much of the book told from the child’s point of view knocked it down to 3 for me. 

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

Tags - kidnapping of children, Alzheimer’s, suspense, mystery thriller