Review: MURDER ON THE MOUNTAIN by L. R. Starr

Release August 31 2020

4 Stars

Gorgeous scenery and an endearing pair of protagonists brighten this involving murder mystery, with a seriously twisted denouement.  A bestselling L. A. mystery writer embarks on a retreat in scenic Telluride,  Colorado. The change of scenery is immensely helpful,  till she learns about a certain long-term killer who brutally fancies redheads, exactly what Daphne is.  Meeting a hunky local former homicide detective offers tons of romantic suspense, plus terror as the "Lady Red" killer discovers Daphne.

Tour Review: THE NIGHT SWIM by Megan Goldin

5 Stars

Caution to sensitive readers: THE NIGHT SWIM is both emotionally compelling and emotionally dangerous. Compelling, because you can't stop reading; dangerous, because the topics are rape and murder, and indeed the combination of the two atrocities. 

In today's climate, discussion of rape is nearly as common as the event itself. But the revelatory movements unfortunately haven't halted the crimes. Nor has it halted the horrible viewpoint of Victim Blaming.

Release August 5 2020

Tour: LIES LIES LIES by Adele Parks

5 Stars

Before I commenced reading, I expected,  possibly,  "another domestic thriller." I was agreeably surprised to find instead of ho-hum: engrossing.  The alternating viewpoints of too very unreliable (and not always self-aware) narrators at cross-purposes; the tragedies; the coping and grief and grudge-holding; especially the way that the author balances the narrative viewpoints,  so that each rather "sees through a glass darkly," nor can ever approach actual Truth; all combine into a  fictional gumbo that is quite intriguing,  and indeed, thrilling.  I'm glad I chose to read LIES LIES LIES.

Review: THE BONE FIELD by Leonard Krishtalka

5 Stars

An exciting,  thrilling,  mystery, with a plethora of archaeological details and historical background,  THE BONE FIELD is a very engrossing and complex read. As much as I enjoyed the history,  the archaeological expositions,  and the various finely-delineated settings, from Pittsburgh's Carnegie Museums to the Wyoming Badlands, once home to Dinosaurs on the Range, for me the heart of the book was the unfolding character of the protagonist,  Harry Przewalski, former graduate student, veteran,  now private investigator.  Author Leonard Krishtalka performs an archaeological dig on his protagonist 's heart and character,  much like Harry once did during his tenure as a Paleontology graduate student. Thankfully this is the first of a series, and I plan to devour them all. 

Review: CUT TO THE BONE by Ellison Cooper

4 Stars

An unusual protagonist and a bizarre set of cases are the focus of this suspenseful mystery thriller.  Senior Special Agent Sayre Altair trained in neuroscience,  but has a gift for comprehending the psychology of serial killers. A bizarre ritual killing, coupled with the abduction of a bus of STEM high school students, propels Sayre into a chaotic maelstrom. Expect a sequel,  as I don't think Sayre is done yet with Subject 037....

Tour_HE STARTED IT

4 Stars

Talk of the "Road Trip from Hell"! Think a long trip with your children or elderly relatives is tough? Be 1grateful you're not traveling with these siblings, who with their spouses are reenacting a road trip of decades ago with Grandpa, one with frequent side trips to unexpected "roadside attractions, " a trip with danger, a life-changer. WHY do it again? Oh, only for a chance at a substantial bequest.  

"HE started it?!" Yes, you can say that again. 

HE STARTED IT is a wonderful recommendation to Staycation,  and even to "Shelter At Home." Nobody wants to be on the road with this family. Nobody. 

Review: BLOOD WORK by Michael Connelly

5 Stars

I had the second in this series (A DARKNESS MORE THAN NIGHT) from the library, read the sample of BLOOD WORK (first in the Series) from Kindle, and was enraptured! So I purchased it, and my initial excitement continued.  Introducing a brand-new Series character, in a fascinating backdrop,  BLOOD WORK focuses on protagonist Terrell (Terry) McCaleb, Catalina Island native, former FBI profiler. Terry suffered a near-fatal cardiac arrest and eventually received a heart transplant. Now spending the rest of his recovered life on a heavy medication regimen,  Terry considers he has a second chance, and ponders his purpose. Then he is sought out by the sister of his heart donor, killed in a store robbery. As he eventually agrees to look into the case, he forms a friendship with a Sheriff's Deputy, becomes adversarial to an egotistical homicide Detective,  and uncovers a puzzle stretching back to earlier novels by this author.  In the process, Terry also uncovers his driving purpose.

Review: FAIR WARNING by Michael Connelly

5 Stars

[Jack McEvoy #3]

I've not yet read THE POET or THE SCARECROW,  though I intend to, so FAIR WARNING was my first introduction to Michael Connelly's series protagonist journalist Jack McEvoy. Mr. Connelly had been a journalist before becoming a full-time author,  so he knows whereof he writes. Jack is quite a person of integrity, once enduring 63 days in jail on a contempt of court charge for refusing to reveal his source. Now employed at a consumer watchdog website, FairWarning [an actual organization and website], Jack discovers a horrifying series of killings,  when homicide detectives tap him as a contact of a murdered woman. Jack knows his innocence,  and determines to track the guilty, actually a serial killer. 

Review: THE NIGHT FIRE by Michael Connelly

5 Stars

No such thing as a "case too cold" for former LAPD Detective Harry Bosch nor his recent collaborator,  night shift Detective Renee Ballard of Hollywood Division. Fresh from concluding a nine-year-old case, Bosch by serendipity acquires the Murder Book for a homicide occurring twenty-nine-years previously.  As he and Ballard delve into it diligently,  they discover overtones of LGBTQ involvement and the long-standing institutional racism and bigotry in the Department. Bosch and Ballard are like badgers, and no passage of time nor lack of evidence will deter when they are locked onto the pursuit of justice.

Review: WHAT MUST BE DONE [Jake Houser Series Prequel] by Bo Thunboe

I've long enjoyed the Jake Houser Series by Bo Thunboe.  Jake is an exceptional individual,  and as such is a special kind of detective,  one unafraid to break rules to solve cases. In this short story prequel,  he is confronted with the choice of cleaving to protocol,  or saving an abducted young girl.

Tour: NO ONE SAW by Beverly Long

4 Stars

In the second mystery starring small-town Wisconsin homicide detectives A. L. McKittridge and Rena Morgan,  a five-year-old inexplicably disappears from her day-care. Oddly,  the case bears a close resemblance to a case one hundred miles North, a decade earlier. Of course, the first forty-eight hours are crucial,  and while going sleepless to solve the case, A. L. and Rena still have to cope with domestic upheavals and elusive "persons of interest" and individuals who either outright lie or speak truth only selectively.

Review: THE REFLECTING POOL by Otto Eskin

5 Stars

Nowadays it's difficult to avoid connecting current events in Society and politics to what I read in fiction. Certainly this is the case with THE REFLECTING POOL,   which is the first in the new Marko Zorn series by Otto Eskin. What seems a simple homicide at Washington D.C.'s Reflecting Pool incites jurisdictional turf wars, which soon escalate to highest-level political interference. Additionally Zorn is caught between the Scylla and Charybdis of rival criminal organizations,  and must eventually face the metaphorical brick wall of the end of an investigation.

Tour: THE DARWIN AFFAIR by Tim Mason

5 Stars+!!

Historical Thriller 

Review:

How I devoured this special novel! Historical thriller,  factually grounded, with exciting characters and an unstoppable villain! Charles Dickens, Charles Darwin,  Prince Albert and the long-lived Queen Victoria,  as well as other historical personages and delightfully delineated fictional characters populate a plot with high-level Conspiracy,  theology vs. Science,  and implacable horror. I highly recommend THE DARWIN AFFAIR!!

Review: DEATH NIGHT by Todd Ritter

5 Stars

Back in Perry Hollow, Pennsylvania, danger ratchets high as someone seems determined to destroy the community's most historic buildings.  Arson after arson claims lives and destroys historic property.  Police Chief Kat Campbell and returned friend Henry Goss find themselves on the precipice of constant danger and fatality.

Review: DEATH FALLS by Todd Ritter

5 Stars

Welcome to Perry Hollow, Pennsylvania,  a quiet community some distance from Philadelphia, a town where not much happens--if you don't count a serial killer. Thankfully that's over with.  Now a former native son has returned.  Bestselling author Eric Olmstead is back to bury his mother, and honor her deathbed plea to "find Charlie," his older brother,  missing since age ten. Police Chief Kat Campbell and a former State Police detective get involved,  uncovering a series of homicides of young boys and a terrifying Denouement. 

Review: A MEASURE OF DARKNESS by Jonathan Kellerman and Jesse Kellerman [Clay Edison #2]

5 Stars

Clay Edison #2

I enjoyed this second in the Series by Jonathan Kellerman and Jesse Kellerman  more than the first installment, CRIME SCENE.  I think that protagonist Clay Edison seemed more endearing and well-rounded here, and I'm anticipating Book 3, HALF MOON BAY.  

Clay Edison is a Coroner's investigator in Alameda County,  California, returned to work after a temporary suspension in CRIME SCENE.  Clay is notable for his massive integrity and pursuit of justice tempered with mercy. It seems a villain has not a chance when Clay Edison sets his sights on uncovering truth and justice.

Review: THE MUSEUM OF DESIRE by Jonathan Kellerman

5 Stars

Alex Delaware Series #32

For the last couple of weeks I have been on a marathon read of Jonathan Kellerman's Alex Delaware Series (with side trips into two series co-authored with his son Jesse Kellerman). I've experienced a compulsion to ponder this quite extensive series,  and am reading all I can obtain.  So far, nary a disappointment.  Mr. Kellerman has a writing style which invites in the reader, then compels continuing.  Protagonist Alex Delaware--child psychological, part-time professor,  best friend of Gay top crime solver LAPD Lt. Milo Sturgis, frequent police consultant on the "weird" cases--is a very likable hero. Laid-back, quiet, thoughtful,  high intellect,  eidetic recall [that latter not a positive considering the types of cases on which he consults]: a fitting foil to the often bull-in-a-China-shop Milo; divergent in appearances and personalities, but fast friends, both men of unassailable integrity. 

THE MUSEUM OF DESIRE is particularly intriguing,  laced with multiple unarguably psychopathic villains, international crime, and an especially ugly historical era, rejuvenated anew in L. A.'s illusory 21st Century.

Review: SINGAPORE KILLER by Murray Bailey

5 Stars

Commencing with an excellent and absorbing, reader's hook, SINGAPORE KILLER unravels an unusually executed mystery starring a laid-back private investigator,  formerly a member of a secretive military arm, tasked to investigate a helicopter crash, a missing pilot, and a murdered military policeman. 

What I particularly enjoyed about this Mystery was first, the almost Feckless protagonist,  who isn't arrogant,  vain, or egotistical,  but is quite intelligent and excellent at puzzling situations; and the perception of reading a classic Golden Age era Mystery.  The Singapore and environs setting and the historical era also made the story exotic and appealing. 

Review: BITTER PARADISE

4 Stars

A Dr. Zol Szabo Medical Mystery #5

A Syrian trauma surgeon who emigrated to Canada to escape a torture-regime can only work as a barber and faces condemnation and contempt.  But when a junior barber is brutally murdered before witnesses, he enlists Dr. Zol Szabo, epidemician. Is this tyranny reaching Canada? Or something local? Dr. Szabo is also investigating a fatal pandemic. 

Review: SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE RIPPER OF WHITECHAPEL

5 Stars

I really enjoyed the author's approach. Saucy Jack is one of my historical fascinations [the Mystery of Whom? and why did "he" stop so suddenly and quickly--did he die? Did he emigrate? are all so COMPELLING!]. I really liked viewing via Sherlock Holmes' POV as a nice alteration from Dr. Watson's admittedly non-omniscient narration.  I admired the developing tension as Holmes investigates Watson's odd behaviour,  and must consider him a potential suspect.  Then, too, the Denouement in terms of the Ripper's disappearance is satisfying,  as is the  conclusion between Holmes and Watson.  Well done, all around.

Review: COLDWATER by Tom Pitts

3 Stars

COLDWATER is California Noir, pulp-ish and violent, hard-core gritty. The setting is primarily Sacramento, where one couple moved from San Francisco after a miscarriage. Gary hates his job but endures, and tries half-heartedly to quit smoking. Linda works for the State in the Health Department, considers Chinese adoption, and nags Gary about smoking--a lot. 

They live in a tract neighborhood, and when the couple across the street moves out, a quartet of mismatched criminal squatters moves in under cover of darkness. The consequence are ugly and unsettling.

Tour: THIS IS HOW I LIED by Heather Gudenkauf

EXCERPT:

Maggie Kennedy-O'Keefe

Monday, June 15, 2020

As I slide out of my unmarked police car my swollen belly briefly gets wedged against the steering wheel. Sucking in my gut does little good but I manage to move the seat back and squeeze past the wheel. I swing my legs out the open door and glance furtively around the parking lot behind the Grotto Police Department to see if anyone is watching.

Almost eight months pregnant with a girl and not at my most graceful. I'm not crazy about the idea of one of my fellow officers seeing me try to pry myself out of this tin can. The coast appears to be clear so I begin the little ritual of rocking back and forth trying to build up enough momentum to launch myself out of the driver's seat.

Once upright, I pause to catch my breath. The morning dew is already sending up steam from the weeds growing out of the cracked concrete. Sweating, I slowly make my way to the rear entrance of the Old Gray Lady, the nickname for the building we're housed in. Built in the early 1900s, the first floor consists of the lobby, the finger printing and intake center, a community room, interview rooms and the jail. The second floor, which once held the old jail is home to the squad room and offices. The dank, dark basement holds a temperamental boiler and the department archives.

The Grotto Police Department has sixteen sworn officers that includes the chief, two lieutenants, a K-9 patrol officer, nine patrol officers, a school resource officer and two detectives. I'm detective number two.

I grew up in Grotto, a small river town of about ten thousand that sits among a circuitous cave system known as Grotto Caves State Park, the most extensive in Iowa. Besides being a favorite destination spot for families, hikers and spelunkers, Grotto is known for its high number of family owned farms – a dying breed. My husband Shaun and I are part of that breed – we own an apple orchard and tree farm.

"Pretty soon we're going to have to roll you in," an irritatingly familiar voice calls out from behind me.

I don't bother turning around. "Francis, that wasn't funny the first fifty times you said it and it still isn't," I say as I scan my key card to let us in.

Behind me, Pete Francis, rookie officer and all-around caveman grabs the door handle and in a rare show of chivalry opens it so I can step through. "You know I'm just joking," Francis says giving me the grin that all the young ladies in Grotto seem to find irresistible but just gives me another reason to roll my eyes.

"With the wrong person, those kinds of jokes will land you in sensitivity training," I remind him.

"Yeah, but you're not the wrong person, right?" he says seriously, "You're cool with it?"

I wave to Peg behind the reception desk and stop at the elevator and punch the number two button. The police department only has two levels but I'm in no mood to climb up even one flight of stairs today. "Do I look like I'm okay with it?" I ask him.

Francis scans me up and down. He takes in my brown hair pulled back in a low bun, wayward curls springing out from all directions, my eyes red from lack of sleep, my untucked shirt, the fabric stretched tight against my round stomach, my sturdy shoes that I think are tied, but I can't know for sure because I can't see over my boulder-sized belly.

"Sorry," he says appropriately contrite and wisely decides to take the stairs rather than ride the elevator with me.

"You’re forgiven," I call after him. As I step on the elevator to head up to my desk, I check my watch. My appointment with the chief is at eight and though he didn't tell me what the exact reason is for this meeting I think I can make a pretty good guess.

It can't be dictated as to when I have to go on light duty, seven months into my pregnancy, but it's probably time. I'm guessing that Chief Digby wants to talk with me about when I want to begin desk duty or take my maternity leave. I get it.

It's time I start to take it easy. I’ve either been the daughter of a cop or a cop my entire life but I’m more than ready to set it aside for a while and give my attention, twenty-four-seven to the little being inhabiting my uterus.

Shaun and I have been trying for a baby for a long, long time. And thousands of dollars and dozens of procedures later, when we finally found out we were pregnant, Shaun started calling her peanut because the only thing I could eat for the first nine weeks without throwing up was peanut butter sandwiches. The name stuck.

This baby is what we want more than anything in the world but I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I'm a little bit scared. I’m used to toting around a sidearm not an infant.

The elevator door opens to a dark paneled hallway lined with ten by sixteen framed photos of all the men who served as police chief of Grotto over the years. I pass by eleven photos before I reach the portrait of my father. Henry William Kennedy, 1995 - 2019, the plaque reads.

While the other chiefs stare out from behind the glass with serious expressions, my dad smiles showing his straight, white teeth. He was so proud when he was named chief of police. We were all proud, except maybe my older brother, Colin. God knows what Colin thought of it. As a teenager he was pretty self-absorbed, but I guess I was too, especially after my best friend died. I went off the rails for a while but here I am now. A Grotto PD detective, following in my dad’s footsteps. I think he’s proud of me too. At least when he remembers.

Last time I brought my dad back here to visit, we walked down this long corridor and paused at his photo. For a minute I thought he might make a joke, say something like, Hey, who's that good looking guy? But he didn't say anything. Finding the right words is hard for him now. Occasionally, his frustration bubbles over and he yells and sometimes even throws things which is hard to watch. My father has always been a very gentle man.

The next portrait in line is our current police chief, Les Digby. No smile on his tough guy mug. He was hired a month ago, taking over for Dexter Stroope who acted as the interim chief after my dad retired. Les is about ten years older than I am, recently widowed with two teenage sons. He previously worked for the Ransom Sheriff’s Office and I'm trying to decide if I like him. Jury's still out.

Excerpted from This is How I Lied by Heather Gudenkauf, Copyright © 2020 by Heather Gudenkauf

Published by Park Row Books

1. What is your writing process like?

I approach each of my novels with the goal of being a plotter – someone who explicitly organizes and outlines her books – but it never quite works out that way for me. I make notes and outline the plot but ultimately the characters take over and do what they want to anyway. My process is messy and meandering. Thankfully, I have a brilliant editor who is able to see through the weeds and pull out the best parts of my plots and keep me on the right path. This is How I Lied completely evolved from my initial intentions. The characters changed, the plot shifted and the final ending poked its head up near the end of revisions and I couldn’t be happier with the results.

2. Which came first: the characters or plot line?

For me, the two go hand in hand. The basic plot line comes first, and close behind comes the characters. It doesn’t matter how suspenseful of a plot I develop, if the right characters aren’t there to mold the story and carry it forward, it won’t work. Before I begin writing, I attempt to give my characters rich backstories. Often many of these details don’t make into the novel, but by fully developing their personalities and biographies, it helps keep me in tune with them as I write. Knowing the characters’ likes and dislikes, their foibles and strengths helps me to honestly and accurately determine their motivations and the decisions they make as they move through the novel.

3. How do you come up with your plots?

I’m a news junkie! I’ll scan newspapers and websites and a story will catch my eye. It can be the smallest detail or a broader theme but if the idea sticks with me and keeps harassing me to write about it, I know I’m on the right track. For my novel Little Mercies, it was an article about a social worker who ended up on the other side of the justice system because of alleged negligence with her caseload. From this I created an entirely new story about a social worker who was fighting for her own child. In This is How I Lied, I was intrigued by news stories that dealt with the use of familial DNA to solve cold cases and it became a key detail in the novel’s resolution.

4. Do you use music to help set a mood/tone for your books?

I do listen to music as I write. It varies based on the story and what I think the characters might listen to. By curating these playsets, it helps me get into their mindset. As I worked on Maggie’s sections in This is How I Lied I listened to a lot of Avett Brothers and Lumineers. For Nola, I listened to classical music and hard rock – she’s an interesting mix. As for Eve, since she was sixteen years old and living in the 90s, I listened to plenty of Nirvana and Beck.

5. Where did the idea for this story come from?

Before I started writing This is How I Lied, I read I’ll be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara, about the author’s investigation of The Golden State Killer who, for decades, terrorized northern California. This book both terrified and fascinated me and I became intrigued by how modern technology was being used to close old cold cases. For my project, I thought it would be interesting to explore how this might play out in a small town where the perpetrator thought the truth behind the crime would never be discovered.

As I was writing the novel, I learned about the developments in a 40-year-old cold case not far from where I live where familial DNA was used to ultimately convict the killer. Amazing!

6. Do you find inspiration for your novels in your personal life?

I often get asked what my childhood must have been like because of the twisty thrillers I write. Thankfully, I can say that I had a blissfully uneventful childhood with parents and siblings that loved and supported me. For me, the inspiration from my own life comes in the settings of my novels – the Mississippi River, farmland, the woods and bluffs – all found in Iowa. In This is How I Lied, the town of Grotto is loosely based on a nearby town until I moved to this part of Iowa, I never realized that we had cave systems. Visitors to the state park, can literally step back thousands of years. The limestone caves and bluffs are beautiful, haunting and have something for everyone. You can take a casual stroll through some of the caves and have to army crawl through some of the others. Old clothes and a flashlight are a must! The caves made the perfect backdrop for a thriller and I was excited to include them in This is How I Lied.

7. What is the one personality trait that you like your main characters to have and why?

In looking back at all my main characters, though they are all different ages and come from different walks of life, I think the trait that they all seem to have in common is perseverance. I’ve had characters battle human evil and demons of their own creation but it doesn’t matter what traumatic events they have been through or the challenges they will face, they manage to make it through. Changed for sure, but intact and hopeful for the future.

8. Why do you love Maggie and why should readers root for her?

I do love Maggie! As a police detective, Maggie has dedicated her adult life to helping others and is a loving daughter, sister and wife and is expecting her first child. This doesn’t mean that Maggie is perfect. Like all of my protagonists, Maggie is complicated and flawed and has made some big mistakes, but ultimately she is doing the best that she can.

9. What is one thing about publishing you wish someone would have told you?

As a former elementary school teacher, I had absolutely no insights into the publishing world beyond what I saw on television and in movies – which portrayed it as a dog-eat-dog world. I have to admit, as a new author, I was very intimidated. But to my delight - and relief - the people I’ve encountered along the way– my agent, editors, publishing teams, fellow authors, booksellers and readers – all have been nothing but supportive, encouraging and kind.

10. What is coming up next for you?

I just finished the first draft of my next novel, a locked-room mystery about a reclusive writer working on a true crime book when a snow storm leaves her trapped inside her remote home, setting off a series of events that lead to a stunning revelation. It was so much fun to write!

11. Has quarantine been better or worse for your writing?

It’s been such a scary, unsettling time but I’ve found writing a nice distraction and a great comfort during this extended time at home. I’ve been able to turn off the news and get lost in my manuscript or other writing projects. It’s a lot like reading – a much needed escape from the real world.

12. What was your last 5 star read?

Julia Heaberlin has a new book coming out this August called We Are All the Same in the Dark and it has surged to the top as one of my favorite reads of the year. It has everything I love in a great thriller: a beautifully written small town mystery, with multilayered, unforgettable characters and a twisty plot. It was absolutely mesmerizing.

THIS IS HOW I LIED

Author: Heather Gudenkauf

ISBN: 9780778309703

Publication Date: May 12, 2020

Publisher: Park Row Books

Buy Links:

Harlequin

Barnes & Noble

Amazon

Books-A-Million

Powell’s

Social Links:

Author Website

Twitter: @hgudenkauf

Instagram: @heathergudenkauf

Facebook: @HeatherGudenkaufAuthor

Goodreads

Author Bio:

Heather Gudenkauf is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of many books, including The Weight of Silence and These Things Hidden. Heather graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in elementary education, has spent her career working with students of all ages. She lives in Iowa with her husband, three children, and a very spoiled German Shorthaired Pointer named Lolo. In her free time, Heather enjoys spending time with her family, reading, hiking, and running.

Book Summary:

With the eccentricity of Fargo and the intensity of Sadie, THIS IS HOW I LIED by Heather Gudenkauf (Park Row Books; May 12, 2020; $17.99) is a timely and gripping thriller about careless violence we can inflict on those we love, and the lengths we will go to make it right, even 25 years later.

Tough as nails and seven months pregnant, Detective Maggie Kennedy-O’Keefe of Grotto PD, is dreading going on desk duty before having the baby her and her husband so badly want. But when new evidence is found in the 25-year-old cold case of her best friend’s murder that requires the work of a desk jockey, Maggie jumps at the opportunity to be the one who finally puts Eve Knox’s case to rest.

Maggie has her work cut out for her. Everyone close to Eve is a suspect. There’s Nola, Eve’s little sister who’s always been a little... off; Nick, Eve’s ex-boyfriend with a vicious temper; a Schwinn riding drifter who blew in and out of Grotto; even Maggie’s husband Sean, who may have known more about Eve’s last day than he’s letting on. As Maggie continues to investigate, the case comes closer and closer to home, forcing her to confront her own demons before she can find justice for Eve.

Review: 4 Stars

A tragic reader's hook leads into a mystery that endures for twenty-four and a half years, leaving a small Iowa community unsettled and rumours rampant and undying. Three days prior to Christmas,  a fifteen-year-old girl is discovered dead inside a cavern. Accident? Homicide? Too many persons of interest are uncovered, including her wealthy abusive boyfriend,  a neighborhood sex offender, the victim's own thirteen-year-old sister--a strange and sociopathic girl. But these are not the only individuals with toxic secrets to hide. All these years later, new evidence comes to light, and the new police chief decides to send all the collected evidence to the state crime labs. In charge of the cold case, he assigns Detective Maggie O'Keefe: seven months pregnant, and once the victim's very best friend. 

A toxic morass of secrets, emotional and physical abuse, sexual predation, and an unreliable, emotionally fraught narrator,  create an unsettling novel of psychological suspense. 

Review: THE SECRET OF BONES by Kylie Logan

5 Stars

THE SECRET OF BONES is Book 2 in the intriguing and heartfelt Jazz Ramsey Mystery Series, starring a Cleveland admin assistant who trains Cadaver dogs and works at a Catholic girls' preparatory school.  Although I amaze myself admiring a protagonist who is a professed "non-reader," I find this Series really fascinating. The characterizations are deeply realized and the mystery plots are quite intriguing.  [In this one, seriously twisty!] I also enjoy the Cleveland settings,  both historic and contemporary.

Review: THE SCENT OF MURDER by Kylie Logan

5 Stars!

A delightful and heartwarming Cozy Mystery,  the kind a reader can settle into and pull around oneself like a warm quilt on a chilly night, THE SCENT OF MURDER is the first in a series starring private school admin assistant and cadaver-dog trainer Jazz Ramsey of Cleveland.  Rife with history,  cultural,  contemporary settings,  and heartfelt emotions,  the Series reminds me vividly why I love the cozy subgenre. 

A college student. a promising photographer, is discovered deceased by a cadaver dog whom Jazz is dog sitting. As the young lady was a former graduate of the preparatory school that employs Jazz, she's intrigued sufficiently to commence her own investigation,  to the chagrin of homicide investigator, ex-boyfriend,  Nick.

Review: A DEATH AT EASTWICK by L. C. Warman

5 Stars!

A DEATH AT EASTWICK, although not quite a "locked room Mystery, " has elements of such and is engagingly compelling.  I was quite intrigued early on and definitely kept those pages turning as first one possibility,  then another, yet another,  erupted, with multiple deaths and crimes and so many motives.  The author excellently kept suspense and tension ratcheted high while not telegraphing outcomes. My intrigue maintained throughout.

Review: YOU WILL NEVER LEAVE by N. L. Hinkens

5 Stars!
What an exceptionally taut, twisty, scary mystery! Actually,  a Suspense thriller, a psychological thriller,  a treatise of human Evil, deceit, selfishness. Also PTSD issues examined, domestic violence,  abuse, Trust, betrayal: a veritable cornucopia of human failings. I remained on the metaphorical "edge of the seat" from almost the beginning, as the surprises and shocks were frequent! I loved  the twistiness of the plot in this veritably "locked room" Mystery,  where the environment in which the characters found themselves [almost as if herded there] confined them, inescapably,  and Nature seemed to conspire with human Evil to trap them too. A one-sitting, breathless,  read. I am so gratified when a novel affects me so strongly.

Review: CASTLE SKULL by John Dickson Carr

4 Stars

Originally published in 1931, CASTLE SKULL,  a classic from the early 20th Century's Golden Age of Mystery,  is the third of four novels featuring Parisian sleuth Bencolin. This new edition contains also a Bencolin short story,  "The Fourth Suspect. "  Bencolin's classy mannerisms,  wealth, and ability to unravel puzzling mysteries will appeal to readers of Christie's Poirot and Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes.

Review: THE RED HOUSE MYSTERY by A. A. Milne

5 Stars

Almost "everybody" knows A. A. [Alan Alexander] Milne as the author of the beloved Winnie the Pooh books. But Milne was also a prolific writer of suspense during the "Golden Age of Mystery." Like Mary Roberts Rinehart,  his mysteries are "mysteries of manners," set among the landed gentry of England in the early twentieth century,  a time when society,  culture,  and worldview were in a state of imminent collapse [witness the Great War], yet landed nobility persevered as it had for centuries.  Adherence to the cult of self, classism, manners and etiquette,  and the rest of the world be consigned to oblivion [except of course for the necessary,  but essentially "invisible," servants and tradesmen]. THE RED HOUSE MYSTERY is intriguing both for its "locked room mystery" (literally), for its endearing and thoughtful characterizations,  and for the amateur sleuth pair who endeavour to puzzle it all out.

Review: A NOISE DOWNSTAIRS by Linwood Barclay

5 Stars

TWISTY!! That's the most descriptive term for this mystery. Throughout was the tension of Supernatural vs. Psychological Disorder: is it Real? Delusion? Ghostly? Then the unrolling of the multiple denouements. Who guessed? Not I. Author Linwood Barclay never telegraphed the unraveling of the mystery, and to discover the actual facts just blew me away. Excellent!

Review: THE BAT by Mary Roberts Rinehart

5 Stars

Sometimes termed "the American Agatha Christie" with good reason, prolific mystery author Mary Roberts Rinehart studded the Golden Age of Mystery with her exquisite "mysteries of manners," referencing the long-gone Gilded Age when the wealthy owned mansions and "took" country houses for the summer season, when law enforcement didn't yet know from DNA and Forensic Science. A clever, nay, a genius, criminal could succeed magnificently.

I was blessed as a child to devour the novels of Mary Roberts Rinehart, who immediately became my favorite author of Mystery, and THE BAT was my very most favorite. Even rereading today,  Mrs. Rinehart's writing remains compelling and her gift at character delineation and evolution exact. A frightening mystery rolls out without reference to erotica or profanity or gore. Amazing. 

Review: THE SPLIT by Sharon Bolton

3 Stars

Antarctica is my favorite unseen location in the entire globe, and I've admired Sharon Bolton 's novels from the beginning.  So I had really high hopes and expectations for THE SPLIT. Divided majorly into three sections,  with the first and third set on Antarctica's incredible South Georgia Island,  and the center section set in Cambridge,  England.  From the first section we expect a Suspense thriller including a lot of "Man vs. Nature" scares (of which there's plenty) and the third section is purely psychological thriller.  The center section,  in Cambridge,  is more psychological plus police procedural plus murder mystery. 

Oddly, the center section left me out in the cold. I kind of wish the author had just stuck to Antarctica and used Cambridge as backstory. 

Review: THE BOY FROM THE WOODS by Harlan Coben

5 Stars

Harlan Coben knocks another out of the ball park! I wish this could be followed by a sequel: who doesn't want to know the "truth" about Wilde--his real background,  his lineage, and the "results" of his DNA test? I mean, a lot of intriguing possibilities here. I also found the ending--unexpected; and certain of the events throughout, both current and as related of the past, perturbing and disturbing.  For the most part, it was a "who can you trust?" story. But my interest was maintained throughout. 

Now, please bring on that sequel. 

Review: BAD TRUST by Michael A. Kahn

5 Stars

A really admirable, feisty, and unusual character of integrity is the protagonist of this compelling legal series. I'm really thankful to have discovered this Series through NetGalley and plan to read all. St. Louis civil attorney Rachel Gold, Chicago native, confronts a brace of puzzling cases, one of which leads to a murder, the other to serious physical threats against herself. I particularly enjoyed not only the dual plot, but the deep issues involved, the characters and their evolution/devolution, the humour and character interplay. Also significant is the religious background of Judaism, including the concept of "blood libel" and its ugly, too prevalent, history. Much integrity here. Additionally, Rachel's law partner is Trans, adding a new layer of intrigue and interest. I could definitely spend a week or so binge-reading this entire series.

Review: SOME CHOOSE DARKNESS by Charlie Donlea

5 Superb Stars

Charlie Donlea erupted from the publishing gate an accomplished author, so no surprise what a riveting novel is SOME CHOOSE DARKNESS, the first in an electrifying new series,  starring an unusual protagonist, forensic reconstructionist Rory Moore and partner Lane Phillips, founder of the Murder Accountability Project and inventor of an algorithm to recognize and identify homicide trends. Rory has a rather unique mind-set, in some ways akin to Asperger's Syndrome, so her work is almost all mental, psychological, intuitive, or research. Herein is where the novel becomes really complicated and also profoundly disturbing. Without spoiling, I'll just say that Rory is suddenly and unexpectedly thrust into a case from 1979, and author Donlea so capably delineates the autistic genius housewife who different mental organization identified the killer plus a pattern reaching back a decade, at least. It is following her and learning how she had bern treated all her life and watching as unwittingly the noose of danger tightens around her, that I found so incredibly perturbing, unsettling, painful--and tremendously engrossing. 

SOME CHOOSE DARKNESS was released in May 2019; Book Two, THE SUICIDE HOUSE, will be released in July 2020.

Review: THE STAIRCASE MURDER by Susan T. Parker

5 Stars

North Carolina coronavirus patient said she was infected despite staying home for the three weeks leading up to her diagnosis last Thursday, a report said.

Review: NO WOODS SO DARK AS THESE by Randall Silvis

5 Mystery Stars

From a horrifying explosive beginning to a heartwrenching conclusion,  NO WOODS SO DARK AS THESE is an engrossing and twisted mystery starring former Pennsylvania State Police detectives Ryan DeMarcos and Jayme Matson, now "unofficial consultants" and privately investigating. In the midst of all their own personal turmoil, both shared and individual, past and present,  the partners are called in to assist in the State Police investigation of a multiple crime scene in isolated woods. Author Randall Silvis possesses a noted gift for lyrical imagery and for depth psychology.  The villain fooled me,  in that I was focused on a certain avenue of villainy. I was incorrect,  so that was a pleasant surprise as I didn't "know all" in advance; and discovering unexpected turns was certainly true of the ending as well.  I anticipate learning where the author might take this Series from this point forward.

Review: LITTLE CREEPING THINGS by Chelsea Ichaso

5+ Stars!

Wow! LITTLE CREEPING THINGS is a totally engrossing mystery which gripped me from Page One. Yes, it's YA, but let me tell you,  Cass, Gideon, and others deal with issues many adults would fear to take on. The author ramps up the psychological input throughout, and continues to also view it sociologically (peer constraints,  public opinion,  family favoritism), and there was not a boring moment to be found. 

In addition was the "CLUE" type of scrolling through villain possibilities: Is it--? Or is it--? Or no it must be--? You get the point. Not a "locked room," but very Agatha Christie-ish nonetheless.  So glad I chose to read this. 

Tour: THE FINAL DECEPTION by Heather Graham

Excerpt: 

PROLOGUE

CRAIG FRASIER BREATHED IT IN BEFORE HE COULD STOP himself; the bloodcurdling scent of burning flesh.

Human flesh.

Flames still skittered over the body—an accelerant had been used. As he stood there in the small dark alley, he heard others rushing in: Mike Dalton, his partner, and patrol officers. He heard the sirens; the fire department was coming.

But there was no saving this victim.

Craig was already tamping the fire out; an extinguisher would make the work of the medical examiner more difficult.

But he knew what the medical examiner would find.

The victim had been strangled, then the tongue had been cut out. And then the eyes had been gouged out. Death had occurred, mercifully, before the fire had been set.

The corpses haunted his dreams. Burned shells, some flesh and soft tissue remaining, charred and clinging to the bones, mummy-like. The mouth in the blackened skull was agape, and those empty, soulless eye sockets seemed to be staring up, as if they could still see, as if they stared at him in reproach…

Why hadn’t they caught the killer sooner?

He heard a rustling sound. Looking across the alley, Craig saw a shadow moving. Leaving the corpse to others, he took off like a bullet. He pursued the moving shadow at a run…running and running for blocks. The city was a blur around him.

He reached apartments on Madison, with a coffee shop and a dress store on the first floor, just as the gate at the street entry to the residential units above was closing. He caught the gate, and he reached the elevator in time to see what floor it stopped on. He followed.

And again, as he arrived, a door was just closing; he didn’t let it close.

And there he was: the Fireman, still smelling faintly of gasoline, ready to sit down to a lovely dinner with his family. About to say a prayer before the meal…just a husband and a father, and a man who looked at Craig and calmly said, “So, my work is over. But I have obeyed the commandments given me, and I will go with you.”

Why did you take so long? The corpse again! In Craig’s dreams, the corpse was back, animated, flying at him like a ghostly banshee, issuing a silent scream.

Craig opened his eyes.

He didn’t awake screaming or startled—he didn’t jerk up. It was almost as if he always knew it was a dream, reliving the day the Fireman had gone down.

He’d had the dream several times before. But, now, it seemed as though it had been a long time. Weeks. He’d thought he’d ceased experiencing it altogether. He’d been doing all the right things: quietly seeing a Bureau shrink a few times, following their advice. He hadn’t told Kieran Finnegan, his fiancée, about his recurring nightmare, and while she was a criminal psychologist working with two of the city’s finest criminal psychiatrists, he’d made a point of not telling her or her bosses.

He’d thought he’d settled it on his own. It was a little strange and sometimes intimidating being in love with someone who studied the human psyche, and he hadn’t wanted Kieran worried about him or trying to analyze him.

Why the hell had the dream come back?

He felt Kieran shift against him. He pulled her into his arms and she rolled, crystal eyes opening wide when she realized that he was awake.

And aroused. Kieran’s tangle of auburn hair was a wild mass around her face, emphasizing her eyes and the quick smile that came to her lips.

“Ah!” she murmured, feeling his arousal against her.

“Your fault,” he accused.

“Well, thankfully. What time is it?” she asked with a soft whisper.

He laughed. “Quickie time, or time for a quickie,” he said.

Her smile deepened, and there was something so sensual about it that it never failed to increase whatever he had begun to feel.

In her arms, in the liquid burn of kisses here and there strategically placed, in the swift—and intense—blaze of arching and writhing and thrusting, all else faded.

After, Craig headed for the shower. He was an FBI agent in the Criminal Division of New York City’s branch of the FBI. He could be satisfied in having brought down several killers. But there would be more; a sad fact of the world and humanity. He was blessed to have his job, his vocation, and it was time to go to work.

He shoved the dream into the back of his mind.

Whatever his day held, he’d already seen the worst that this world could offer.

Little did he know.

THE FINAL DECEPTION

Author: Heather Graham

ISBN: 9780778309437

Publication Date: March 31, 2020

Publisher: MIRA Books

Buy Links:

Harlequin

Amazon

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Social Links:

Author Website

Twitter: @HeatherGraham

Instagram: @TheOriginalHeatherGraham

Facebook: @HeatherGrahamAuthor

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Author Bio:

Heather Graham is The New York Times and USA Today best-selling author sold her first book, When Next We Love, in 1982 and since then, she has written over two hundred novels and novellas with about 60 million books in print in categories of romantic suspense, historical romance, vampire fiction, time travel, occult, and Christmas holiday fare. Graham earned high praise for her New York Confidential series, including a starred review from Library Journal which called it, “Intricate, fast-paced, and intense, this riveting thriller blends romance and suspense in perfect combination and keeps readers guessing and the tension taut until the very end.” For more information, visit her at TheOriginalHeatherGraham.com.

Book Summary:

Witness the thrilling conclusion to the beloved New York Confidential series, in THE FINAL DECEPTION (MIRA Books; March 31, 2020; $26.99). Kieran and Craig are about to take on their most chilling case yet as they hunt for a deranged serial killer who has escaped from prison to satisfy his need to kill again.

When criminal psychologist Kieran Finnegan was released from her responsibility of counseling the brutal serial killer known as The Fireman, once he was incarcerated, she was relieved to escape the tendrils of his twisted inner world. The chill she received from her sessions with him has stayed with her despite trying to leave him in the past. However, some demons refuse to remain behind bars. When her FBI agent boyfriend Craig is called to a gruesome crime scene that matches The Fireman’s MO, news begins to spread that he’s escaped from prison.

And he remembers Kieran...

Amid a citywide manhunt, Kieran and Craig need to untangle a web of deceit, privilege, and greed. They suspect that those closest to the killer have been drawn into his evil, or else someone is using another man’s madness and cruelty to disguise their crimes. When their investigation brings the danger right to the doorstep to the once safe haven of Finnegan’s Pub, Kieran and Craig will have to be smarter and bolder than ever before, because this time it’s personal, and they have everything to lose.