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

Save Her Life (Sandra Vos #1) by Carolyn Arnold

 First installment in a new mystery thriller series.

Special Agent Sandra Vos is a hostage negotiator for the FBI. She’s divorced and has a teenaged daughter, Olivia, and an ex who works for the Hostage Rescue team against counterterrorism. The beginning of the week finds Sandra trying to talk down a man who has holed up with a bunch of customers in a pharmacy. Then she has to attend a parole hearing for a man who killed her twin brother 30 years ago. The week gets worse when 16-year-old Olivia is kidnapped. 

I had a hard time with this book. I feel like there’s no way Sandra would have been so involved in a case involving her own daughter. There were many parts of the book where I felt like I was reading a primer on negotiation and many parts of the story got bogged down by dialogue that didn’t advance the plot. I never got attached to any of the characters who were all very one dimensional. The action proceeded as expected and the ending was predictable. I don’t think I will read any further installments in this new series. 

I listened to the audiobook while also following along in the e-book, both provided by the publishers. The narrator, Kathryn Akin, did an OK job but most of the voices sounded way too much alike. This could have benefited with a larger cast or at least a male voice as there were many male characters.

This is the first in a new series. I doubt I will go on.

Genre - FBI hostage negotiator, kidnapping, murder

Witness 8 (Eddie Flynn #8) by Steve Cavanagh

 Fast paced thriller that works as a standalone.

Eddie Flynn and his colleagues are defending a doctor accused of murder while dodging a hit man or two. Eddie has an enemy in the mob boss who controls a corrupt police gang. This brings some nasty people into the mix while Eddie is trying to help acquit his client and figure out who made the anonymous call that got Dr. John Jackson arrested and charged. 

Lots of action and murders and hired killers running amok in this one. And then there’s the most evil of them all, Ruby Johnson. I despised her. And I was so unsettled by the conclusion and the inexplicable outcome of her crimes that it actually ruined the rest of the book for me. There were other situations within the narrative that required suspension of disbelief but that was the worst. No spoilers. This was definitely not one of my favorites in the Eddie Flynn series. 

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC provided by the publisher. The narrator, Adam Sims, did a great job voicing the characters.

This is the 8th book in the series. I’ve jumped and skipped around without any issues.

Genre - legal thriller, hired killers, murder, mystery

What the Wife Knew by Darby Kane

 A twisty domestic drama and thriller that kept me entertained.

This book brings dysfunctional family stories to a whole new level. The battle of the Doughertys has a cast of characters you will love and hate. Told from different points of view and in a shifting timeline, Addison Dougherty, the new wife, reflects on her short marriage to the recently deceased Dr. Richmond Dougherty. Ex Kathryn is livid at the loss of a substantial amount of money and she uses hers and Richard’s two children as pawns. There’s a great deal of expert manipulation and gaslighting going on and as the secrets and lies slowly leak out, the climax reveals a master of deception and a revenge plot that is heinous in every way. 

I can’t say too much about the characters as not to spoil the story but what a collection the author has assembled. There’s a lot more going on with several plot lines as I kept trying to guess who did what to whom and why. It was fun in a nasty sort of way with a couple of these ladies really going beyond he pale to show us who they really are. You know the quote about unhappy families being unique in the causes of their situation. Anyway, it was all good fun and I read it in a matter of hours.

I was able to listen to the audiobook while also following along in the e-book ARC provided by the publisher. The narrators, Helen Laser and Andrew Eiden, did a fabulous job of voicing the characters and giving that great dramatic flair to the production. It really enhanced my enjoyment of the story.

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

Genre and tags - domestic drama, thriller, murder, revenge

A Most Parisian Murder (Opal Laplume #1) by Millicent Binks

 Historical cozy set in 1930s Paris.

The Honourable Opal Laplume and her mother operate a millinery shop in Marylebone, London. Opal loves designs and her mother sends her off to Paris to do costume headdresses alterations on the showgirls for a new production that actually will star and feature her cousin, Clementina Lalonde, at the fabulous Casino de Paris. Unfortunately, tragedy struck before her arrival when one of the dancers,  Valentine Beaumanoir, ended up dead on the street below her hotel balcony. No one knows how it happened and if it was suicide, accident, or murder. Amidst all the drama, Opal makes friends with the assorted characters involved with the show as she tries to parse the clues after yet another person dies. 

This was mostly a satisfactory debut but something was missing or it was just that the character of Opal didn’t really feel realistic given the time period and setting. I didn’t warm to her. I’m still trying to figure out how big that tube of red lipstick was that someone could use it for drawing and writing so often. Also, and here we go, I’m tired of the new cliche where all of these amateur lady sleuths have a pet and far too much of the narrative is focused on it. The mystery was OK and some of the story drug a bit, but it was solved as you’d expect it to be while also having the inevitable peril for the main character. I may or may not try another installment featuring this character.

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book, both provided by the publisher. The narrator, Antonia Beamish, tried her best to do all the different accents from plummy English, to Cockney, to French with varying degrees of success. She also had to do all the male characters, which was hit and miss. As always, this audio book would have benefited from having a male narrator as well. I enjoy how a good production enhances my enjoyment of a book.

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

Genre - cozy, historical, showgirls, Paris, famous 1930s personalities, art, design, fashion

Whistle by Linwood Barclay

 It’s so hard to keep order and balance in the world…

I’ve long been a fan of this author, and when I saw he had tried something new with this book, a supernatural chiller, I thought I’d give it a go. Even though I’m more a modern thriller and suspense fan, I decided to check it out with high hopes. I ended up disappointed. 

The narrative jumps back and forth in time and point of view so it took quite a while before the dual timelines merged. I confess to enjoying one part of the story and its main characters much more than the other. Hint: events in the town of Lucknow, Vermont, the police chief there, and the townspeople were much more interesting and believable. The premise of trains and malevolent forces was enticing because I really like model trains for one, and I was curious as to how these special trains worked.  

I didn’t like Annie right off the bat and Charlie, her 7-year-old son, totally pushed the outer limits of my credulity about what a 7 year old can do and understand even with a supernatural force at play. I was so bummed by the conclusion. This little mean person inside of me wanted a far different end for Annie. OK, I won’t spoil it for you. But a completely different conclusion would have really enhanced my enjoyment of the book. 

Ultimately, I think Barclay should stick to the genre he’s best known for writing and I’ll continue to be a fan. It’s fine to try, but I’m not the audience for supernatural phenomena so this book might have just been a bad choice. It could have been a 4, however, had the right characters made it out alive. 

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC provided by the publisher. The narrator, Eva Kaminsky, did an OK job of voicing the characters but her most stellar contribution has to be when she makes the train sounds! It’s a shame that there wasn’t a male voice to do part of the narration as that would have boosted my listening pleasure.

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

Genre and tags - supernatural chiller, train sets, death and chaos

The Retirement Plan by Sue Hincenbergs

 Totally enjoyable with many twists and laugh out loud moments.

I was definitely needing something different and am so happy I picked this up. I enjoyed the story — three middle aged women sick of and disappointed in their husbands and their lives — decide to hire a hit man to get rid of the men so that they can head off on exciting adventures like their newly widowed friend Marlene. Things don’t go quite as expected. There’s drama, intrigue, and twists in the plot as the women discover exactly what they’ve set in motion. 

I enjoyed the characters and the anticipation of what was coming next in the story. The author kept me guessing and the dialogue made me chuckle. Who says late middle age has to be dull and that your marriage is as bad as you think. It was just a fun read.

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC, both provided by the publisher. The narrators, Kiiri Sandy and John Pirhalla, did a fantastic job voicing all the characters and bringing them to life. Their accents and dramatic flair really added to my enjoyment of the book as the production was very well done. 

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

Genre and tags - cozy, murder, hit man, theft, mystery, dark humor