DARK CIRCLES

4 stars out of 5

This book pulls from hot topics of the day - an actor's coattail-riding father, a controlling manager, podcasts and conspiracy theories - to weave an engaging story that kept my page-turning Kindle finger busy.

The overbearing but highly efficient manager, Jessica, imposes her "guidance" over Olivia Reed, who's trying to salvage her reputation and renew her previously successful acting career after a tabloid-worthy disaster. Jessica comes up with the perfect solution: Send Liv to the House of Light in upstate New York, a spiritual center that touts personal growth and renewal. Liv isn't happy, but she trusts that Jessica has her best interests at heart and reluctantly agrees to give it a go.

Almost from the time she passes through the front door, though, Liv begins to question what's really going on. Those questions intensify when she meets Ava, a local woman who pops in and out of the HOL when she feels the need for rejuvenation - and who tells Liv about the mysterious deaths of a handful of women who've been associated with the facility. Although the deaths have been ruled either accidents or suicides, Ava - and now Liv - aren't believes in coincidences.

As it turns out, Ava is a podcast fan, and she convinces the eager-for-public-attention Liv to start one related to the disappearances. Using some of her old connections, Liv hooks up with a capable production team, starts nosing around and recording her findings. When the first podcast drops, it goes viral - and in that regard, the rest is history. So, too, is her stay at the HOL, from which she's unceremoniously thrown out, as well as her love-hate relationship with Jessica. Turns out the former manager is "Liv"id that her protegee would even consider a podcast without her long-time manager's approval and involvement - and she's even more distraught when Liv refuses to stop.

As Liv's investigation grows legs - with help from a retired cop who unearths a possible personal connection - action heats up all the way to the end, which brings a twist I admit I didn't see coming. All told, while I can't say I ever truly warmed up to any of the characters, it's an entertaining story - for which I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the privilege of reading and reviewing. It's got "beach-read" all over it and at least in my neck of the woods, the season's almost here - go for it!

Dark Circles by Caite Dolan-Leach (Ballantine Books, May 2022); 384 pp.

DESOLATION CANYON

4 stars out of 5

This is the second in the series featuring LAPD Detective Margaret Nolan, and it's every bit as good as the first. Maybe even better, because the first introduced me to a character I loved - Sam Easton, a former electrical engineer who has suffered from PTSD because of a deadly attack in Afghanistan when he was in the military. I hoped to see more of him, and in this book, I got my wish.

As this begins, Margaret is dealing with her own kind of PTSD as a result of her brother's death in Afghanistan and the fact that she killed someone in the line of duty. On one of her days off, she meets up with a sometimes-more-than-friend for drinks at the bar of a posh hotel. When the two wander out for a walk around the property's lake, they get a rather nasty surprise: A dead man is floating in it. Turns out he's a very successful lawyer who got rich in the international trade business.

Meanwhile, Sam's good friend Lenny has some issues of his own and asks Sam for help. Lenny, it seems, has picked up a woman and her young daughter who told him she was trying to escape from a religious retreat located in a remote part of the nearby desert. Run by a man called Father Paul, the retreat is quite popular with the rich and sometimes famous who are trying to get in touch with their inner selves. So why on earth would anyone need to run away?

That's a good question that needs a good answer - even more so when it becomes clear that the mother and daughter may still be in danger. And soon, even more questions pile up as the cases Margaret and Sam are involved in begin to merge with potentially dangerous consequences for all the characters. The subsequent investigations and goings-on kept me on the edge of my seat throughout, although I'll admit to having a bit of trouble keeping all the scenarios and characters straight for the first half of the book or so. 

The bottom line? Thoroughly enjoyable and highly recommended (it's not necessary to read the first book, Deep Into the Dark, to get the gist of this one, but since it's always a good idea to start at the beginning (and it's an excellent book as well), I'll suggest that possibility. Now, I'm looking forward to the next installment and thanking the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read a pre-release copy of this one. Nicely done!

Desolation Canyon by P.J. Tracy (Minotaur Books, January 2022); 352 pp.

THE HIVE

4 stars out of 5

Think Mary Kay Ash on steroids: Such is the life of Marnie Spellman, who made a fortune in direct sales of her bee-inspired beauty creams and lotions as well as a loyal following of believer-buyers from her farm on an island in the Pacific Northwest (with some help from TV home shopping network appearances). Marnie, it seems, claims that a swarm of bees lifted her off the ground - yes, really - and in the process encouraged her to found a cosmetics empire and teach women how to beecome the best that they can bee. To help with that, she rallied together a group of devoted worker bees dubbed (though not by her) the Hive.

Although a misstep or two whittled her empire down a bit over the years and the members of the original Hive have scattered to the four winds, Marnie remains committed to rebuilding - and to forgetting a few dark "secrets" that marked the early years - all the while hoping and praying (to her female God) that her devotees would forget as well.

But the past seems to be on a collision course with the present, as the naked body of a young journalist is found at the bottom of a ravine. Police officer Lindsay Jackman, who is still mourning the recent suicide of her mentor-partner, is assigned to the case. In fairly short order, she learns that the dead woman was planning to write an expose of Spellman Farms and its charismatic founder. Then, she learns that another woman with a connection to the Spellman empire was found dead 20 years earlier. Could the two murders somehow be related?

Chapters switch time frames frequently, which always makes a story seem a bit disjointed to me. But the technique does allow readers to see what went on in the lives of the worker bees and at the farm at various times - all of which, of course, build up background and provide possible "connections" that in this case happen at just about every twist and turn. It's also a good way to slip in clues as to how the whole story will play out (and ultimately end). Speaking of the end, there's a handy dandy epilogue in this one that ties up loose ends - some of which were a little surprising (and at least one that was very disappointing to me given everything that happened).

All in all, an enjoyable and well-thought out story. Thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy.

The Hive by Gregg Olsen (Thomas & Mercer, June 2021); 475 pp.

THE GOODBYE MAN

5 stars out of 5

It's always a treat to see a new series from a favorite author, and I absolutely loved The Never Game, which launched this one last year. I loved this - the second - as well, albeit not quite as much, but the reason is nothing more than a personal peccadillo; the primary setting isn't, shall we say, a favorite of mine. That said, you can bet your mother's G.I. boots I'll be waiting eagerly to see what's next for self-described "reward-seeker" Colter Shaw.

As he sets out to find two young male runaways who reportedly committed serious hate crimes, he learns that the local police are on the trail as well, but with a difference: Unlike Shaw, they have no intention of capturing them alive. That doesn't sit well with Shaw, and when he and the cops find the boys, he starts to take preventive action. But suddenly, he and the cops are flummoxed when one of the boys does something unthinkable. Shaw manages to get the other boy out of harm's way, in the process learning that his cohort may have been under the influence of a cult. Home-grown survivalist and realist that he is, Shaw sets out to learn more.

As all this is transpiring, Shaw's mind remains on finding out what his late father - whose death may have been helped along by unsavory characters - was working on that seems to be connected to the growing drug trade. But most of the story's action takes place on the grounds of the Osiris Foundation, the public name for a highly secretive organization that claims to help people who are carrying around a ton of emotional baggage (a "cure" that comes with two very high price tags).

It is the nitty-gritty of that operation and Shaw's personal investigation thereof that keeps the pace moving quickly and kept me on the edge of my seat much of the way through. I also got more insights into where the quirky Shaw is coming from. In that regard, had I not read the first book, I'm pretty sure I'd have had no trouble relating to this one. Still, IMHO it's always a good idea to start any series as close to the beginning as possible - and in this case that's not very hard to do. Both are definitely worth reading, and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read advance copies of both.

The Goodbye Man by Jeffery Deaver (G.P. Putnam's Sons, May 2020); 432 pp.

COLD HEART CREEK

5 stars out of 5

If I ever made a list of my 10 favorite book "heroines," Josie Quinn would be in there somewhere. Yes, she's got emotional baggage as a result of an extremely abusive childhood, but unlike way too many other lead characters with similar backgrounds, she doesn't whimper and whine about it and gets on with her life in fine fettle (excepting perhaps those awful nightmares). That life, for the record, includes her duties as a detective in largely rural parts of Pennsylvania and Noah, a partner both professionally and personally (for the record, I like him a lot as well).

As this episode begins, Josie and Noah are called out when two bodies are found at a remote campground about half a mile from Cold Heart Creek. At first blush, it appears that they were poisoned - even, perhaps, in a suicide pact. But further investigation changes the outlook in two ways: They are murder victims, and there was a third camper at the site who is inexplicably missing.

The search for clues makes a significant stop at a fenced-in section of private property called The Sanctuary, a haven for societal misfits who, according to commune leader and property owner Charlotte, need to find themselves. Although all the residents are willing to answer questions, Josie and Noah are pretty sure they're not being totally honest. Then, on the drive home, Josie nearly collides with a very pregnant woman staggering out of the woods - who proceeds to give birth in Josie's car. When she's finally identified and hospitalized, the woman claims to have been kidnapped two years ago and held captive in some of the remote caves that dot the region. The plot thickens even more when a young girl Josie met at the commune turns up dead.

Admittedly, there are bits and pieces that stretch credulity a bit, but overall this is a book I really didn't want to put down and could have finished in a day had the facts of my personal life not intervened. And while I have read and enjoyed other books in the series, this one stands quite well on its own. I do thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy.

Cold Heart Creek by Lisa Regan (Bookouture, December 2019); 1969 KB).

THE FAMILY UPSTAIRS

4 stars out of 5


Sometimes, an otherwise intriguing, well-thought-out plot just seems to get lost in the shuffle. That happens here, with a cast of characters too large to keep straight (some of whom go by different names at different times, making for even more confusion). Mix in shifting time frames from past to present, and you've got a recipe for a story that's frankly not as enjoyable as it should have been.

But I can't overlook that great story; despite having to keep notes on who's who and when, I was captivated by it. It begins as Libby, adopted as an infant and now age 25, learns that her birth parents have left her their posh house in Chelsea that's worth millions of pounds. In that she's nearly destitute after getting out of a bad marriage, she wants to see the house, but first she must figure out how she'll pay for the trip with her two young children and a dog. 

We also meet Harry Lamb, who narrates much of the book. He and his sister are the children of the house's owners, Henry and Martina. As youngsters, Harry and his sister lived a life of luxury, attending the poshest of schools, eating only the best foods and enjoying their beautiful, loving parents. Until, that is, a woman named Birdie flies into their lives - and everything goes to you-know-where in a handbasket from that point on. Early on, readers learn that 25 years earlier, Libby was found in her upstairs crib at the Chelsea home, well-fed and happy - while downstairs lay the bodies of Henry, Martina and an unidentified man (thought to be a communal suicide).

What happens at the house from that point on is detailed throughout the "then" chapters; it certainly isn't pretty - and it results in some surprises for the characters (and by extension, readers). It also brought to my mind the question of why neighbors never noticed that anything had gone awry, but then maybe residents of England - especially in such grandiose neighborhoods - prefer to keep to themselves. I'd like to think we'd fare better if someone like Birdie (and in short order, her "friends") invaded our home.

By the end, readers have learned what horrors that house held for way too many years (despite what the title implies, upstairs is only the beginning) as well as what's happened to those who managed to escape and a hint that the future could be even worse. Overall, well done - and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-publication copy.

The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell (Atria Books, November 2019); 349 pp.

PROMISE NOT TO TELL

4 stars out of 5

This complex, intriguing story spans more than 20 years - from the time eight young children are rescued from certain death in a barn fire deliberately set by the leader of a cult to which their parents belonged to the present, when death once again stalks the survivors. Now, one of them - an artist whose work is in an art gallery owned by another of the survivors - commits suicide. Virginia Troy, the gallery owner, suspects the death was murder; to test that theory, she hires the private investigation firm owned by Anson Salinas, a former police officer and the man who rescued the children all those years ago.

Back then, Anson adopted three of the surviving boys; one of them, Cabot Sutter (also a former cop), now works with his adopted father. Early on, Cabot and Virginia take a closer look at a few of the victim's paintings that depict the cult fire; they suggest that sociopathic leader Quinton Zane, who reportedly was killed in a boating accident years earlier, may in fact be among the living. Still other clues from the paintings suggest that the cult held many more secrets  - one of which is that cult members may have embezzled a substantial amount of money right under the leader's nose.

Apparently, those secrets aren't so secret anymore - and bodies of those who may have learned the truth are starting to pile up. Can Cabot and Virginia (who, surprise, surprise, have taken a strong liking to each other) get to the bottom of things before they themselves become victims? It's a race to the finish, with plenty of action and surprises right up to the end. 

Speaking of which, it makes sense to me that this book deserves at least one follow-up. If and when that happens, I hope the publisher will once again grant me the honor of reading an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. Very enjoyable!

Promise Not to Tell by Jayne Ann Krentz (Berkley, January 2018); 336 pp.)