The Housemaid's Secret (Housemaid #2) by Freida McFadden

 Fast-paced fun!

This is the second book the Housemaid series and I realize I'm slow to the party with all the hype and reader awards this garnered. I enjoyed the first so thought I'd give this a try. Started it late in the evening and didn't put it down until 2 am as I had to finish before I could sleep.

This features the same character, Millie Calloway, who is lucky enough to get a position with the Garricks after getting fired by her previous employer whose baby kept calling Millie "mama". Mr. and Mrs. Garrick have a fantastic penthouse apartment and all Millie has to do is a bit of light cleaning, laundry, and cook. The money is good and Millie is excited. There is one thing though -- she has been warned by Douglass Garrick that she is not to bother his wife, Wendy, who is ill and stays mostly shut in her bedroom up on the second floor. Hmmm. Of course Millie is curious. After awhile she hears and sees things that make her suspicious that Wendy is actually hiding because she's being abused. Now this is Millie's area of expertise. Helping. What could go wrong?

Of course knowing this author's previous books well has the added benefit (?) of anticipating the crazy twists and turns that are hallmarks of her work. Some are crazy over the top, but I was fully prepared for whatever was coming. Even though predictable, I still enjoyed seeing it all play out. McFadden's books are hit and miss with me and I've even sworn a time or two that I wouldn't read any more, but sometimes you just can't avoid picking up. I'll be reading the third one too.

I really enjoyed listening to the audio book while also following along in the e-book. The narrator, Lauren Allman, does a fantastic job of voicing Millie with her accent and inflection. She fully brings the character to life and it really enhanced my enjoyment of the story. 

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

Genre - domestic drama, mystery, suspense, thriller 

Nightshade (#1 Detective Stilwell) by Michael Connelly

 The first in a new crime thriller series by this bestselling author!

Set on beautiful Catalina Island, this novel introduces a new character, Detective Sergeant Stilwell, who has been assigned to the sheriff’s substation there because of problems he had as a homicide cop in LA County, California. One of his cases is the investigation of the death of a young woman who was found wrapped in a sail bag and weighted with an anchor in the harbor. Assisted by his girlfriend, Tash Dano, assistant harbor master, and the other police officers also exiled there, he attempts to solve the murder as well as expose corruption and other crimes on this beautiful island.

I liked the action and the excellent writing that kept this moving a fast pace that I could easily devour in a single setting. The characters need to be a bit more fleshed out, including perhaps getting the first name of our main character Stilwell, but I am looking forward to a follow up installment. The details about the setting are interesting and the locale will doubtless prove that bad things happen even in idyllic places. 

I was able to listen to the audiobook while also following along in the e-book ARC provided by the publisher. The narrator, Will Damron, who always does a great job voicing strong male characters. His performance enhanced my enjoyment of the novel.

This is the first in a new series that I plan to follow.

Genre - police procedural, crime thriller, Catalina Island

Whispers of the Lake by Shanora Williams

 Entertaining psychological thriller and missing person mystery.

Rose Gibson is in the middle of finalizing a contentious divorce when her friend, Eve Castillo, a proximate cause of said marriage breakdown, goes missing. Rose and Eve haven’t spoken for months, but Eve’s sister is desperate to find her. Eve, a travel vlogger, apparently rented a lake cabin in North Carolina but is not now responding to her sister or any of her boyfriends. Despite Rose’s issues with Eve, she decides to go to Sage Hill to see if she can find out what happened. 

I enjoyed reading the NetGalley ARC e-book along with listening to the audio book provided by the publishers. The setting was interesting and the action fast paced. The mystery of the disappearance solved by an amateur sleuth facing off with bad small town cops and residents was fairly predictable. Eve’s journal entries provided the details while Rose floundered around questioning people. Rose is helped by fellow journalists and computer hackers who can get her information. In peril at the climax, the conclusion follows quickly. 

The narrators, Dominque Franceschi and Jasmin Walker, did a good job of voicing the characters and adding the dramatic flair that enhanced my appreciation of the book.

This is a standalone and not part of any series.

Genre - friendship, psychological thriller, mystery, missing person

2 Sisters Murder Investigations (#2 in series) by James Patterson and Candice Fox

 The Bird sisters are back in this second installment of their detective agency series.

Rhonda and Barbara (Baby) Bird are half sisters who have taken over their deceased father's LA detective agency. There's a huge age gap between them as Baby is only 16. This time they seem to be at odds and each sister is sort of running an independent operation. Rhonda used to be an attorney so has a lot more experience and a methodical approach to her work. She is trying to help a man accused of harming his missing wife and just might also be a serial killer.  Baby is a teenager who never behaved in any believable way and using the name Baby for her was like nails on a chalkboard. Baby has decided to help an old man who's being forced out of his lifelong home by a big bad development corporation.

I'm typically a fan of this author and whomever he writes with, but this book just wasn't for me. I didn't like the characters, the plot was lame, and the actions of both women were often totally preposterous. Lots of times the sisters are in peril. Amazing escapes from attacks and terrible people. Convenient rescues. And then the ending rushed up from out of nowhere. 

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-book ARC of this but I won't be continuing the series. I obtained the audio book from the library to listen while I read and wasn't impressed with the narrator so that didn't help me to enjoy the book more either.

This is the second book in a series featuring the sisters who run a detective agency. I did not read the first. It didn't make any difference. I didn't like this one enough to go back and catch up.

Genre - female detectives, crime, murder 

Death at a Paris Hotel (Lady Swift #22) by Verity Bright

 

Blog Tour for Bookouture

Follow Lady Swift and her new husband, Detective Hugh Seldon, as they enjoy a honeymoon in Paris. 

The newlyweds are living it up in the city of love and have taken Clifford and Gladstone along to ensure the best time. Unfortunately, as luck would have it, their dinner toast is interrupted by the body of a man falling through the glass roof onto their table. Though Eleanor tries her best, the poor guy can’t be saved and he dies pressing a brooch into her hands. Now instead of sight seeing and other delights, Eleanor, Hugh, and Clifford become involved in the investigation into what seems to be theft from a museum and murder.

Now everyone knows that in the cozy mystery genre there’s a dead person in every story. So Eleanor has been quite busy for 22 installments in her story. But that’s the thing about a cozy. Everyone knows that the mystery will be solved and the good guys will come out on top and all the grisly details that many of us enjoy at times are absent. And that’s why we read them — it gives us a break and provides a sense of rightness and comfort. Eleanor and her cohort are just overly wonderful people so you totally know what’s coming but there is a sense of solace that all can be made right in the world.

I enjoy the golden age details with regard to the clothes, food, social customs, and the upper class lifestyle during that period in history. I do wish Eleanor and Hugh would have more to attend to at Henley Hall and I sense a shift in the series as perhaps they will form some sort of detective agency with Clifford. Who knows, but I look forward to whatever comes next for the happy couple and their entourage. 

Thank you to Bookouture for this e-book ARC to read, review, and recommend. It’s a great series that should be read from the beginning for best experience.

This is part of a long series and I have read them all.

Genre- historical cozy mystery, 1920s, English Lady

Note: the wife in this husband and wife team unexpectedly died recently. Hopefully the series will continue. Of course it won’t be the same, but I hope to see more of Lady Swift. 

Hidden Daughters (DI Lottie Parker #15) by Patricia Gibney

 

Blog Tour Stop for Bookouture

Another exciting installment in this crime thriller series.

Detective Lottie Parker is off to a wedding in Connemara but soon becomes involved in a series of horrific murders there. She and Detective Sergeant Boyd are meant to attend his sister’s wedding, but it seems that Grace’s fiancé, Bryan, has a secret that might derail the nuptials. 

This episode details the horrors of the Magdalene laundries in one of the most disgusting and terrible periods in the Catholic Church in Ireland. Many young women and children were sent to convents. Some abandoned by families who couldn’t care for them or didn’t want them. Others were unwed and pregnant and sent there for their sins. Too many did not make it out alive. They were abused in every way possible and those nuns and priests were never held accountable for these crimes. It was evil and unimaginable — the stories told by the survivors are difficult to hear.  Imelda Conroy is in Connemara to product a radio documentary about those women who were basically locked away in a convent there in the 1970s and 80s. 

But someone doesn’t want Imelda to reveal those details. Women connected to the convent are being murdered, scalded and burned in fact. Even though Lottie is out of her home area, she immediately gets herself involved in the investigation along with local policeman, Detective Sergeant Matt Mooney. Lottie irritates everyone involved in this case. She enrages Grace and gets herself kicked out of their house, and Boyd is over it so their relationship hits the rocks. But, she continues her singleminded focus despite all.

I have to say that Lottie is definitely a person with whom it would be tough to be in a relationship with. I think Boyd’s words to her ring true and I hope she pulls herself together or gets some therapy so that she doesn’t ruin a good thing with him. If family is so important to her, she really needs to spend more time with her people.

I love the series and looks forward to the next installment. The plots are always complex and interesting. The author doesn’t shy away from the tough stuff. Thank you to Bookouture for the ARC to read, review, and recommend.

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

Genre - crime thriller, murder, Magdalene laundries, Ireland

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,