5 stars out of 5
Sometimes, good things just drop in your lap. Well, make that drop in your e-mailbox; not long ago came an invitation to read advance copies of two of author Betty Rowland's books featuring Susan "Sukey" Reynolds, a civilian scene-of-crime officer with the County Police Force. Although I've heard of Rowlands, I've not read any of her books (which include a dozen or so "Melissa Craig" mysteries). This one is the second in the "Sukey" series, and the third, Death at Beacon Cottage, was offered as well.
Don't accept the offer, I said to myself. You've got enough on your NetGalley must-read and review list, I said. They're described as cozy mysteries, I said, reminding myself that cozies rarely fail to make me want to smack the foolish heroines upside the head. But in the end, I caved; after all, they're short. Better still, they sounded intriguing. And didn't I have a couple of weeks' respite in between deadlines for the rest of my to-read stack?
Well, I'm here to tell you that my words don't taste very good, but I'll happily eat them. In fact, now that I've finished this one, I'm eager to get started on the next. So much did I enjoy this one that despite my enthusiasm about starting a new book by a favorite big-name author (think: David Baldacci), I may even break my usually hard-and-fast rule of reading only one book at a time and flip back and forth between it and the other by Rowlands (having two Kindles make that easier).
One thing that swayed my opinion of this book is that it really doesn't come across as a true cozy. No foolish heroine is Sukey, for instance; yes, once in a while she pokes her nose where someone has told her she shouldn't go, but it's because there's no other good option to get something done that really needs done. Better still, despite events that threaten the tentative relationship she has with a police colleague, Jim Castle, there's none of the hand-wringing will he, won't he, should I, shouldn't I claptrap that's the hallmark of most of the cozies I've read.
Sukey's ex-husband, Paul, now is married to the very wealthy business owner Myrna - who's turned out to be a shrew by all accounts of just every family member and employee at the company or the Dearley Manor estate in which she and Paul live. Sukey and Paul's son, Fergus, makes his home with Sukey, but he sees his father regularly. Now that Myrna is openly showing her nasty side, Fergus is concerned that his beleaguered dad might do something drastic. Sure enough, one day Myrna turns up brutally murdered - and it is Sukey, assigned to take photos at Myrna's showplace home after a reported break-in - who discovers the body. As with most spouse murders - and particularly since Paul's animosity toward his wife is well known - Paul becomes suspect No. 1. Fergus doesn't want to believe his dad is responsible, but he's willing to accept the possibility. Sukey, however, knows him well, and she cannot fathom that he's capable of such a dastardly deed.
Little by little, other pieces of the murder puzzle emerge, reinforcing the possibility that someone else is the culprit. Because of the personal relationships, both Sukey and Jim are removed from the case, but that doesn't stop Sukey, at least, from doing some outside digging that unearths clues that the police - who by the way do a commendable job with the investigation on their own - might otherwise have missed.
Everything comes together at the end - along with a few surprises and the promise of a new direction for Sukey in the next book. I'm sure she's looking forward to the possibilities - and by golly, so am I.
Death at Dearley Manor by Betty Rowlands (Bookouture, May 2019; originally published December 1998); 224 pp.
5 stars out of 5
Jolly good fun!
The more books I read by this author, the more of them I want to read. No matter who's involved - Sherlock Holmes, James Bond or, in this instance, the author himself - they're clever, witty and thoroughly engrossing. Throw in a little murder, and it just doesn't get better than that.
This one is the second in what I presume will be an ongoing series featuring rather obnoxious private detective Daniel Hawthorne. Horowitz, known as "Tony" to Hawthorne, is the writer of a popular TV series titled "Foyle's War" (one of his real-life accomplishments, by the way) and somewhat reluctantly teams up with the fictional Hawthorne when the latter is called in by the police to help solve a crime. He's also writing a three-book series about Hawthorne, for which he's got a contract even though the first one has yet to be published. Now, Anthony is working on the second - so he's taking copious notes about what happens here - starting with the murder of well-known London divorce attorney Richard Pryce.
It isn't a pretty murder; Pryce was smacked in the head numerous times with an unopened bottle of very expensive wine (and then stabbed with the broken bottle). The only clue is the number 182 that's been left on the wall with green paint from an ongoing refurbishing project. But wait, there's more: Pryce recently represented the now ex-husband of a famous writer, who wasn't happy with the outcome and threatened to hit him with a bottle of wine the last time she saw him in a local restaurant.
For all intents and purposes, that would put her at the top of the suspect list. Hawthorne, though, isn't convinced. He's eager to start investigating, with Anthony's help, of course - but the local police, led by irascible Detective Investigator Cara Grunshaw, are determined to get the credit for solving the crime and insist that the "outsiders" keep them informed and stay out of their way.
Shortly thereafter, another man dies as a result of falling in front of an oncoming train - possibly an accident, possibly a suicide and possibly a murder. After a bit of sleuthing, a connection between him and the wine bottle victim turns up - together with the death of a third man some years earlier. But does that connection have any real meaning, or is it just happenstance? At that point I had no idea, but fittingly, one of my favorite quotes from one of the late Ian Fleming's Goldfinger popped into my head: "Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times it's enemy action."
Now that I do know, of course, I'm not saying anything except that I really, really enjoyed this book. Hearty thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.
The Sentence is Death by Anthony Horowitz (Harper, May 2019); 384 pp.
4.5 stars out of 5
To the best of my recollection, I've read only one other book by Michael Koryta (Rise the Dark in 2016, to which I gave 5 stars). And "Short Story," which he co-wrote with Karin Slaughter for the 2017 Matchup compilation was my favorite of the bunch. So it was that I was delighted to get an advance review copy of this book from the publisher (via NetGalley). In fact, I stayed delighted all the way through the nonstop action; when I got within shouting distance of the end, not even this season's final episode of "Madame Secretary" could make me turn off my Kindle (well, okay, I finished up during the commercials, but you get my point).
Tara Beckley, a senior at Hammel College in Maine, is tapped to escort a high-profile keynote speaker to his presentation at the college. Although they're on a tight schedule, the visiting professor asks her to show him some of her favorite spots in and around campus. Reluctantly, she agrees - even when he decides to get out and walk. Shortly thereafter, a car comes out of nowhere, mowing down the professor and knocking Tara into a bridge barrier. When she awakes (if you can call it that), she's in a hospital bed unable to move or speak. Readers know she can think, see and hear, though - but that's of little consequence because everyone around her (except perhaps her sister Shannon) assumes she's in a coma from which she'll never recover. If they all give up on a possible recovery, what would happen next is almost too frightening for her to bear.
Meanwhile, former race and stunt car driver and now insurance investigator Abby Kaplan has been hired by the college to look into the college's potential for liability - after all, it provided Tara as an escort. To prove there's no fault, she must dig into every angle of how the accident happened. Right from the git-go, though, she learns one very important thing: The accident definitely wasn't an accident.
Thrown into the mix is a very nasty predator known as Dax and his "boss" Gerry Connors, both of whom have intense, but perhaps different, interests in the late professor and what he really was up to. Then there's Hank, Abby's boss, mentor and friend, and Tara's aforementioned sister Shannon - Tara's strongest ally. And don't count out Tara herself, who struggles to make her family and doctors believe she's still "in there." Everyone who loves her, of course, is pulling for her return to the real world. But Dax and others are watching her progress closely; if she recovers, it's likely she'll need to be silenced - this time, permanently.
Chapters flip among the various characters, holding my attention throughout and providing me with inside looks at what they're thinking before, during and after they do it. To that end, though, I must say that I marveled at how quickly and in-depth the characters figured out what was happening and how they should handle the situations. I like to think I'm a fairly intelligent person, but put me in high-stress, life-threatening scenarios like these folks faced and it would take me months to decide what to do next (by which time, of course, I'd be six feet under). Then, too, I do think the medical professionals should have been able to detect brain activity long before they did in this case.
That noted, everything comes together to make for an exciting journey that ends with...oops, almost forgot that's not my story to tell. It's the author's -- and it's a doozy. Very entertaining!
If She Wakes by Michael Koryta (Little, Brown and Co., May 2019); 400 pp.
5 stars out of 5
Finishing this book brought back feelings similar to those I had after reading the last book in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series: I didn't want the journey to end, but I wanted the journey to end. I'm not sure this is the last we'll see of rogue FBI agent Jane Hawk, actually, but if it really does mark the end of this series, it brings a bang-up ending to her battle against mind-controlling powers-that-be who killed her beloved husband and threatened the very existence of society as we know it.
It's been a heck of a ride - this is the fifth book in the series - each and every one a winner in my book (in order, The Silent Corner, The Whispering Room, The Crooked Staircase and The Forbidden Door). I will say, though, that while the books do stand alone, each builds on its predecessors, so I strongly recommend starting at the beginning if you're new to the series and want to maximize enjoyment thereof.
At the heart of the adventures is a secret but ever-expanding group called the Arcadians, who use implanted nanotechnology to infiltrate the minds of their victims and control their words and actions (and I won't even get into all the things they do to torture people). By this time, a large number of humans all over the country have been "adjusted," as the process is called - and it's been next to impossible to determine who's been infected (and thus, who can be trusted). Jane is determined to bring the group down, but in the process she's had to go to monumental lengths to avoid capture and hide her precious young son in the hope of keeping him safe. She's had a rough time of it in the preceding books, but so far both she and Travis - he with more than a little help from her friends - have eluded capture.
But it's getting much harder; at every twist, turn and corner are cameras loaded with face-recognition software that renders disguises like wigs and make-up virtually useless. Behind every stranger lurks the possibility of an Arcadian or a person whose mind is being controlled by them. As this story begins, Jane is researching mega-billionaire Warwick Hollister, who may be at the top of the ringleader chain. Meanwhile, oblivious to Jane's investigation, the egomaniacal Hollister is entertaining his twisted side by playing catch-and-don't-release in the snow with a terrified victim.
A few chases and near-misses later, Jane hooks up with FBI guy Vikram Rangnekar, a computer nerd with a larger-than-life crush on Jane. Young Travis, too, is facing unforeseen danger; it seems someone with an eye on a big payday has stumbled upon the boy and his identity. Jane's Spidey senses tell her he's in danger - but can she find a way to save him without losing them both (literally and figuratively)?
Don't expect me to answer; you'll just have to read it for yourself. At this point, there's nothing left for me to say except thank you to the author for an exciting series and the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy. Over and out!
The Night Window by Dean Koontz (Bantam, May 2019); 432 pp.
4 stars out of 5
Admittedly, I keep reading this series mostly as a sort of respite from books that challenge my mind in some manner - whether that be thrilling, thought-provoking or educational. The lead character here, filthy rich New York attorney Stone Barrington, is a likable chap, but over the years the books - this is the 49th - for the most part have become rather banal. Once in a while, though, a gem pops up - and this is one of them. The plot is intriguing and attention-holding, and there seemed to be a bit more of the wry humor I always enjoy sprinkled throughout the pages.
This one opens as Stone is entertaining (euphemistically speaking) his most recent love interest, Jamie Cox, at his home in England. Jamie is polishing up the book to hand off to her editor (when she's not putting her hands all over Stone, that is). As they dawdle the time away, Stone gets a call from his pal, New York Police Commissioner Dino Bacchetti, informing him that the FBI has decided not to prosecute family members for their alleged computer crimes Jamie has written about, largely because almost all the evidence was destroyed in an explosion and fire. One of the family chieftains, however, is certain that Stone was behind the explosion and is intent on payback, hopefully sooner than later.
When one of Stone's dinner guests - a well-known movie star - and his trainer meet Stone later for a gym workout, the actor takes a bullet to his backside; Stone is convinced the shot was meant for him so it's off to the mattresses (meaning other of Stone's many homes - from Key West to Maine to New York City) while Bacchetti and other cop-type friends try to gather enough evidence to ensure indictments. Rest assured, though, everyone is well entertained, wined and dined at every turn - as long as they're properly dressed for the occasion, of course.
All told, it's a rather fun romp that kept me reading almost nonstop (short chapters and not much over 300 pages make that even easier). Enjoyable!
Wild Card by Stuart Woods (G.P. Putnam's Sons, March 2019); 319 pp.
5 stars out of 5
"Full of twists, well-drawn characters and riveting suspense," they said. "Clever, manipulative, dark and disturbing," they said. What do I say? If you have but one book in this genre to read before the end of this year, make it this one. Yeah, it's that good.
Narrated by a man known only as Tobias, the plot follows his "love story" with his wife Millicent; at the beginning they were a perfect couple with a run-of-the-mill life. But before long, Millicent's job as a successful realtor in Woodview, Florida, and his as a club tennis pro turn boring; clearly, the marriage fire needs a bit of rekindling. Fanning the flames evolves into a murderous joint effort, and because they choose their victims with care, the plan works beautifully until one of the victims turns up unexpectedly.
It's only a temporary setback, though; recalling the dastardly acts of years-ago local serial killer Owen Riley (who's no longer in jail and hasn't been seen in years), Tobias and Millicent decide to walk in his bloody footsteps in the hope he will get the blame.
And get the blame he does. The local community, egged on by a persistent and competent journalist (and a little help from Tobias), is all a-titter (and a little bit scared), over the probability that Riley is back and on the prowl. Things couldn't be going better, until they don't; Tobias and Millicent failed to foresee the effect their clandestine activities would have on the lives of some of their friends and, worse, their beloved son and daughter.
So now they face yet another dilemma: What to do, what to do? It's back to the drawing board for a new plan, and the only thing they know for sure is that it won't include giving up the extracurricular fun that's brought them closer together.
Or not.
My conclusion? Whew! It's a thrilling ride - and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review it.
My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing (Berkley, March 2019); 384 pp.
4 stars out of 5
A book series is akin to comfort food for me. Why? Because I read so many pre-release books by authors unfamiliar to me that are sort of like buying a pig in a poke (no disrespect intended), it's a wonderful respite from anxiety when I can return to an old friend. Accordingly, finding a promising new series is a special treat - as is the case with this one. Now that I've finished, I'm looking forward to meeting the main character, classical pianist and budding detective Riley Forte, again (and again and again).
At the outset, though, I wasn't so sure; having lost her beloved husband and young son two years earlier, Riley remains so stuck in the throes of grief that she can't finish her "comeback" concert and is barely able to function without help from her ever-at-the-ready friend Teren. A fan of weepy, self-questioning female characters I'm not (one reason I read very few cozy mysteries). But as the story moves along, Riley starts to take charge of her own life and becomes a character I not only like, but want to read more about.
Three main scenarios kick off the plot: An on-the-prowl serial killer who has spent many years perfecting his craft, a geologist who strives to be known as the man who saved Seattle-area dwellers from a killer volcano eruption and Riley's struggle to return to some semblance of normalcy. That did make it a bit hard for me to keep all the characters straight early on, but after reading quite a few books that take this approach, I figured (correctly) that at some point the threads would be woven into a single fabric.
The geologist actually gets his wish; Mt. Rainier is, in fact, set to blow any second - and his warning comes soon enough to allow most folks to get out of the way. Among them is Riley, who ends up isolated at Mountain Vista, about 80 miles from Rainier's deadly spews. Her buddy Teren, a few neighbors and hunky detective Nate are there too - separated from his partner Rick. When mutilated bodies turn up, the Mountain Vista crowd are stunned to learn that the killer is in their midst as well. Rainier's deadly fallout makes communication with and travel to the outside world impossible, though, so Nate knows he must catch the killer before he (or she) catches them and grudgingly accepts Riley's help.
Overall, it's quite a ride, complete with some surprises. Within the first few chapters, I narrowed the killer list down to two, but I didn't find out for sure till near the end (and yes, one of my picks was spot-on). It's an engrossing tale, and now that Riley has her head together, I'm hoping to see what her future holds. Many thanks to the author for offering me a copy to read and review.
Nocturne in Ashes by Joslyn Chase (Amazon Digital Services LLC, July 2017); 394 pp.
5 stars out of 5
Oh my. With close to 30% of the book left to finish, nothing stopped me - not even the nail-biting finish of a March Madness basketball game that determined which team would head for the Final Four. Filled with more than a few characters I really didn't much like (and trusted even less), it was simply impossible for me to turn off my Kindle without learning who did what and why.
The story centers on the lives of three middle-school girls - Cora, Violet and Jordyn - all of whom exhibit the best, and more often worst, behaviors that constantly reminded me of what a saint our daughter is (she's a middle-school teacher who absolutely loves working with kids that age, bless her her heart). Readers also get to know the girls' extended families - brothers, sisters, moms and dads - all of whom are, shall we say, less than perfect.
Early on, the girls sneak out of their small town to an abandoned railroad yard late at night, but the situation turns sour when Cora is found on the tracks. Her arm is damaged and she's been stabbed multiple times, even on her face. Violet turns up nearby in a state of shock, and Jordyn is nowhere to be found. Immediately, questions arise: What were the girls doing out there at such a late hour? Why did they lie to their parents about where they'd be that evening? And of course, who hurt Cora? No one wants to believe that anyone from the town - and certainly not a family member - could have done such an awful thing. And then there's that frightening urban legend thing; but nobody (well, almost nobody) believes that one either.
Chapters shift from perspectives of the girls and their families and time periods, gradually revealing events and emotions and leading up to that late-night foray that ended so disastrously. In a very real sense, it's a sad commentary on how stressful middle-school years can be, but mostly it's a riveting story you won't want to put down. My thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy. Highly recommended!
Before She Was Found by Heather Gudenkauf (Park Row, April 2019); 368 pp.
Sometimes, good things just drop in your lap. Well, make that drop in your e-mailbox; not long ago came an invitation to read advance copies of two of author Betty Rowland's books featuring Susan "Sukey" Reynolds, a civilian scene-of-crime officer with the County Police Force. Although I've heard of Rowlands, I've not read any of her books (which include a dozen or so "Melissa Craig" mysteries). This one is the second in the "Sukey" series, and the third, Death at Beacon Cottage, was offered as well.
