4 stars out of 5
It's been a long time since I read an entire book in a single day, but as I think about it, I'm pretty sure the last time it happened it was a book in this long-running series featuring Washington, D.C., Metro Police detective and FBI behavioral specialist Dr. Alex Cross (this is the 27th). It is also my favorite series from the prolific James Patterson, and this one was a bit more special because some of the action takes place in northeastern Ohio not far from my home.
I've enjoyed reading about Alex, his elderly grandmother, Nana Mama, and his police partner, John Sampson, right from the start; admittedly, it took me a little longer to warm up to his second wife, Police Commissioner Bree, and even Alex's kids. But by now, they're like old friends. And happily, they all get plenty of face time in this book, although much of what happens is pretty scary - one reason I didn't want to put it down (the other is that Patterson's usual short, bullet-like chapters make it extremely easy to keep going). The story begins as Alex and John are in Virginia to witness the execution of a murderer the two brought to justice. They're not too happy about the prospect, and the situation is made worse by accusations by the soon-to-die prisoner's mother (why she'd want to watch her son die in the electric chair is beyond me, but it gets across a point that will be important later in the story).
Worse, there's no rest for the wicked; the minute they get home, Bree calls them to a murder scene at which a note, ostensibly from the killer, tells Alex that the guy who's execution he just witnessed was wrongly convicted. The only clue? The simple signature of "M" - a moniker known to Alex for at least 12 years. Shortly thereafter, a former cop now in jail who's been telling Alex he was framed claims to have been visited by an old nemesis of Alex - a man whose death Alex witnessed four years earlier. Whoa - could it be that the man isn't really dead? Not possible, both Alex and John insist, trying to put that possibility out of their heads.
Other nasty acts happen and characters appear that may be tied to the mysterious "M," but all avenues of investigative exploration lead to dead ends (so to speak). Throughout, chunks of the book are devoted to Alex's recollections of situations from years past that involve current developments. And along the way, two of Alex's children - Jannie and Ali - find new interests that could lead to very successful futures. That is, until "M" turns his (or her) attention to Alex's family and turns their happy home world upside down.
The ending doesn't resolve everything, alas, but it does provide fodder for upcoming books. And as usual, I'll be in line when the next one comes off the presses. Good job!
Criss Cross by James Patterson (Little, Brown and Co., November 2019); 401 pp.
4 stars out of 5
When I started this book, I didn't realize it's the third in a series featuring Detective Dan Riley. And by the time I finished, I was bummed that I haven't read the other two. That's not because this one doesn't stand alone - it does just fine on that score, thank the author very much - but rather because I really like the character. Oh well - now I'm looking forward to reading the next one.
The story follows two abused women; Beth's suffering is largely psychological, bestowed by her cold, uncaring but wealthy husband and father of their young daughter. For love, she turns to an affair with a man who isn't shy about showing affection to her or her daughter. Catherine's abuse is both psychological and physical, the latter often turning so violent that she ends up in the hospital. In part because her husband threatens to kill her if she leaves - and in part because she has no clue what she would do even if she did - she stays in the marriage but fears the worst.
Ultimately, Beth tells her husband Evan that she's found a new love and wants a divorce; he shows little emotion even then, but there's a not-so-thinly-veiled threat that he'll use his money and power to discredit Beth and gain custody of their daughter (at the very least). Riley gets involved early on when the couple's nanny and Beth's dear friend Marta goes missing and Beth calls in the police.
Marta's disappearance remains a mystery that stymies the police, but then "things" happen to other key characters in both women's worlds that require further police investigation. The "aha" moment, if you will, comes when Beth and Catherine actually meet; at that point it's clear (or at least it was to me) how the story would progress. The only question is specifically how it will end for the two women. Of course, I won't divulge anything except to say there are a couple of twists.
Although a few parts seemed a bit repetitive and I've read variations on this plot before, overall this is an easy-to-read, fast-paced and attention-holding book. In fact, I was grateful for the holiday lull in regular TV programming that allowed me to finish the remaining quarter without stopping - simply because I couldn't wait to get to the end. Well done, and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.
The Stranger's Wife by Anna-Lou Weatherley (Bookouture, January 2020); 294 pp.
4 stars out of 5
This turned out to be an interesting book for
several reasons - not the least of which that it's set in Denmark, written by a popular Danish author and is the first of her work, I believe, to be translated for the U.S. market. It's also the first in a detective series, so I'll assume that if it does well here in the states, we'll have the opportunity to read more.
And that's fine by me. Up front, though, I'll say I never totally warmed up to either of the main characters - police investigator Jeppe Korner and his partner, Anette Werner - but then the two of them never quite seem to warm up to each other, either, so I don't feel too bad. They're very different personalities with very different backgrounds (Jeppe is recently and unhappily divorced while Anette's marriage seems on solid footing, for instance). But they at least tolerate one another professionally, and that's what's most important as the case takes center stage.
In an apartment building owned by a retired university professor turned fiction writer, an elderly tenant stumbles (literally) into the apartment occupied by two relatively young girls. One is gone and the other is home - but quite dead. She's been brutally murdered, and there's blood everywhere but no other clues. Jeppe and Anette must start from scratch, first interviewing the dead girl's roommate and her boyfriend, the building owner and her special, much younger male friend who is, shall I say, a bit of a weirdo.
The case grows even more complex as connections to other mostly nasty friends and relatives emerge and some of the dead girl's secrets are revealed. Learning that the novel the building owner is writing is more than loosely based on the life of the dead girl leads to the strong suspicion that life is imitating art (or that the elderly writer may even be the killer). Throw in a couple of other murders, and the plot, as they say, begins to thicken. In the midst of all this, love-starved Jeppe meets a tantalizing woman who rocks his world (an affair that, to my mind, seemed totally out of place and added nothing to the plot, though perhaps it's a scene that will be revisited in a future installment).
The pace picks up complete with a twist or two as the ending nears, the killer is identified and all becomes as right with the world as is possible under the circumstances. In all, it's a solid start to a new series I think will get even better - so yes, I'm looking forward to proving myself right. Thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for offering me an advance copy of this one.
The Tenant by Katrine Engberg (Gallery/Scout Press, January 2020); 368 pp.
3 stars out of 5
Actually, this isn't a bad effort overall - certainly for a debut novel. At the same time, I have to say that compared with top-rated police series writers like Jonathan Kellerman (Alex Delaware) or Michael Connelly (Harry Bosch), this one reads more like Dick and Jane.
In part that's because I just can't relate to a guy knicknamed "Brick" - even if (or maybe because) it comes as a result of his red hair. Beyond that, I'll compare it to old commercial for pasta sauce that proclaimed, "It's in there." That's true here as well, but the pot needs stronger ingredients - whether that be more adult-like dialogue, smoother transitions or more fleshed-out characters - before I can call the result delicious and, perhaps more importantly, truly be eager to read the next installment.
The main character's real name is Brian Kavanagh; at age 42, he works with his partner Ron Hayes in Washington, D.C. (somewhere I read that Ron's hair is in "dark dreads," so I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that he's African-American). Early on, they get called in when the body of a young woman turns up in the Tidal Basin; her ID can't be determined at the scene, but she's got a birthmark that may prove relevant. Not long after, Brian (yes, I really do refuse to call him Brick) and Ron get involved with the case of a missing immigrant worker at their favorite watering hole. Not long after that, the officers realize that his case and that of the murdered woman may be linked. As if all this weren't enough to keep them busy, they have to deal with a pair of police partners known to be in cahoots with a high-level muckety-muck who will stop at nothing to get his next promotion - prompting Brian to take an action that could forever change the course of his life.
Then another body turns up in another jurisdiction, making Brian suspect that a serial killer may be on the loose. That's underscored by a couple of chapters seemingly written by said serial killer, although they're inserted rather haphazardly and really don't add anything to the plot. When a man unexpectedly pleads guilty to a couple of the murders, Brian gets even more suspicious and teams up with the man's beautiful, intelligent defense attorney (oh gosh, can you guess where that will go)? Compounding the confusion, a medical examiner overlooks a crucial clue that would have stood out like a sore thumb to even the most inexperienced newbie. All that said, everything gets resolved in the end - most things satisfactorily, one not so much.
As I said early on, taken as a whole this book really is quite readable and definitely, positively shows promise - but it's sort of like a steak without much sizzle. Admittedly, this one won't make my Top 20 list of favorites for 2019, but I do thank the publisher for offering it to me to read and review.
Relentless by Shawn Wilson (Oceanview Publishing, December 2019); 368 pp.
5 stars out of 5
In an ocean filled with thousands upon thousands of novels, it's got to be hard to write one capable of coming up for air, much less rising to the top. Beyond that, staying afloat requires coming up with a different concept and writing it in an enticing manner. This one did all that and more, and I'm happy to say we got along swimmingly from beginning to end.
The official description makes the story sound complicated - and in a very real sense, it is. But while I'm not a big fan of chapters that flip back and forth among characters and time frames, used here the technique really works (although I admit to occasionally flipping back to the start of a chapter to remind myself who was doing the "talking.") Really, though, there are only three to keep straight: Leslie, who is dismayed to learn that she must split her father's inheritance with her younger sister Robin, who ran away from home a decade earlier; a woman named Mary; and Robin.
Leslie is upset at being forced to share the inheritance - she and Robin will get $50,000 each - because she desperately needs, and expected to get, all the money because she took care of her ailing father for years. Left with no alternative, she sets out to find Robin, now in Las Vegas - only to find her sister dead of an apparent drug overdose. Her father's will specifies that unless both daughters split the dough, neither of them gets any. So now what is she to do?
Fortuitously, she runs into a stranger named Mary who bears a strong resemblance to Robin - and it doesn't take Leslie long to come up with the answer. No one has seen Robin for years, and this woman is a (non)dead ringer. That leads to another question: For $50,000 - Robin's half of the money - is Mary willing to impersonate Robin long enough to allow both women to cash in? Mary's answer is yes, so back they to to Albuquerque, where the "new" Robin stays with Leslie, her loving husband Dave and their infant son Eli while they wait for the funds to be released.
As the story progresses, it becomes clear that Mary isn't the only one keeping secrets. Each chapter reveals another layer of their past and present lives and the reasons they would do just about anything to escape both (more than that I can't say without giving too much away). All in all, it's a riveting ride - and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read an advance copy.
The Better Liar by Tanen Jones (Ballantine Books, January 2019); 307 pp.
4 stars out of 5
Familiar author, new character; no-brainer, then, to snap it up as my Amazon First Reads selection for December 2019. As it turns out, it's a solid police procedural that introduces L.A. County Sheriff's Department Homicide Detective Eve Ronin, who earned a transfer after pulling off a win at her previous job that resulted in considerable media facetime. Needless to say, her fellow (literally) officers are less than thrilled that she's in their midst. For the most part, that includes her about-to-retire partner, Duncan Parone, although he's a bit more willing to accept her than the rest of the department.
At the outset, Eve and Duncan get a call to investigate a possible homicide that ends up out of their hands. That's followed by a call to investigate the possible murder of a woman, her two children and their dog - this one actually in their department's jurisdiction. The home in which the possible victims lived, which belongs to the woman's boyfriend, is a bloody mess - strongly suggesting that everyone in the house has been brutally murdered even though no bodies are found.
The rush to find out what actually happened, where the bodies (assumed to have been dismembered) are stashed and, of course, who did it is complicated by characters in animal costumes, wildfires that threaten to destroy huge portions of the California landscape and department muckety-mucks who want the case solved in record time so they'll get the glory. Leads take Eve all over the place, including to Walmart and one of my favorite lines from the book as Eve reveals that she's always "hated the lighting in Walmarts. It makes everything and everyone look like they'd walked through a downpour of urine."
In the background, she must deal with a movie star wannabe of a mother (who desperately wants Eve to attain star status of her own) and a father she hasn't seen for a decade. Those attributes, plus dealing with resentment from work colleagues, make Eve not unlike several other police heroines from other series I enjoy. I will say, though, that unlike some of them, Eve isn't paranoid and doesn't constantly second-guess all her decisions - definitely a plus in my book.
The last few chapters turn into a frenzy of activity (which I won't discuss because it could spoil things for those who haven't read the book yet). Honestly, it's almost too frantic for my tastes, but on the other hand, I must admit that from that point on I couldn't put the book down (yet another of those "Just give me 5 more minutes, honey, and I'll come to bed" scenarios). Overall, it's a great start to a new series and I look forward to more of both Eve and Duncan.
Lost Hills by Lee Goldberg (Thomas & Mercer, January 2019); 237 pp.
5 stars out of 5
As a rather prolific reader of books - for several years I've topped the 100 mark - it's not easy to find one that has a noticeably unusual plot or an unusually intriguing character. And since the lion's share of my reads are in the mystery/thriller genre, uniqueness is even more constrained. So it is that I'm delighted to find this series, of which this is the second installment.
Central character Paul McGrath is an interesting guy - a highly skilled former military guy who's back home in Albany, N.Y., working at the courthouse as a janitor and fancying himself a vigilante of sorts whose mission is to right society's wrongs. The case in point here involves his own father; McGrath believes he died as a result of a corrupt legal system that allowed the "murderer," a man named Alex Pardew, to go free. As McGrath pokes around in courtrooms to look for evidence that he's right - specifically a file that's gone missing - he meets a businessman who's been accused of arson. Yes, I did that, the man says, but emphasizes that it was because the man - a venture capitalist - is involved in shady deals, insider trading and otherwise bilking millions out of his clients.
Aha, McGrath says - right up my alley. So together with his former GI friend Robson - with whom he lives in his father's $40 million mansion - he sets out to investigate, with a priority on his father but the hope of seeing justice done in both cases. Along the way, he considers visiting the home in which he grew up, now inhabited by his father's former housekeeper. He hasn't purchased much furniture for the home he occupies with Robson, so perhaps, his friend suggests, he can take a few things from the other home. Just as he's about to agree, though, he learns that the housekeeper has died. Needless to say, that makes removal of any furniture much easier, but it raises other questions that may lead to answers McGrath isn't expecting to hear.
There are a few twists and surprises as the investigations proceed (complete with some awesome technology hacks by Robson and another computer-genius friend), but near the end come a frenzy of flashbacks that bring even more surprises for McGrath - and readers, of course. All in all a terrific (and, at 288 pages, quick) read and a great start to a new series. Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.
Too Close to Home by Andrew Grant (Ballantine Books, January 2020); 288 pp.
4 stars out of 5
After finally warming up to detective investigator Jessica Daniel in the 2018 Eye for an Eye series entry, I must say that after reading this one I've cooled off again. I'm not sure why, except that Jessica seems to be more of an "It's easier to ask forgiveness than permission" kind of person than I'd like her to be.
No, that doesn't mean this book isn't good - I enjoyed it thoroughly, as I have the others I've read. And for sure I love a feisty female character, and Jessica certainly is that; but sometimes she seems to go astray with little regard for the consequences (though maybe, if the ending here is any indication, she may need to start reining herself in).
The main story has an interesting twist - one that prompted me to learn more; 14-year-old Samuel is blind, but that doesn't prevent him from "seeing" his way around amazingly well. He does that by "echolocation" - using sound (generated by clicking his tongue that bounces off objects much like sonar). He lives with his mother in a simple flat in Manchester, England, and it is there that Jessica gets involved. A couple of nasty men (or so Samuel says) broke in and as a result, his mother was killed. Samuel can describe both men by his sound clues, but he has no names nor did he actually see the two. So with few clues - including a motive - Jessica and her partner Archie set out to head up the investigation.
The neighbors aren't much help; they've all moved out months earlier. The only clue Jessica's search of the flat turns up is that somehow, some way, Samuel's mother seems to have been getting under-the-table revenue. As all this progresses, Jessica gets hints that all may not be well in her department - but clues as to what might be going on are even more scarce than in the case of Samuel's mother's death.
Everything pretty much gets resolved by the end of this book except that last bit, which I'm sure will carry over to the next one - and I'm looking forward to it. I must also commend the author for coming up with some new-to-me British words and phrases - hard to do in part because I read so many books set in the U.K. and have the great pleasure of having a daughter-in-law (and her brother) who were born in London. Beans on toast? Check. Crisps? Check. Poppadum? What the heck?
No, I won't tell you - go look it up for yourself, just as you'll have to read this book to flesh out the rest of the story. My opinion? Thumbs up! Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for providing me with an advance copy to read and review.
A Cry in the Night by Kerry Wilkinson (Bookouture, January 2020); 356 pp.
4 stars out of 5
"Oh, what a tangled web we weave
When first we practise to deceive!"
--Sir Walter Scott
I've read, and enjoyed, two other books by this author. So when the publisher made an advance copy available for review, you bet your boots I jumped at the opportunity. And once again, I was not disappointed.
Chapters flash from "then" and "now" primarily for main character Alice, who runs her own successful catering business. Not one to trust relationships ever since a former fiance left her almost at the altar, she's a bit hesitant when she meets handsome and eligible Dominic. But not for long; early on, he convinces her of his love by proposing marriage - followed by asking to move into her beautiful home in London.
For the most part, happiness abounds for the first three years of their marriage - and Alice is overjoyed to learn she's pregnant. But just as she's planning the perfect Valentine's Day dinner to celebrate the news, she gets a knock at her door and it's not good news: Her husband has been in a terrible accident and is dead.
Alas, the news gets worse. Despite his plausible excuses, Alice has always been a little curious as to why Dominic has kept her from meeting his brother and mother. In fact, he may have had good reason. When said brother comes to identify the body, both he and Alice get the shocker of a lifetime: The body is the guy Alice married, but according to the brother, it's not the real Dominic.
Say what? At this point, "oops" is an understatement. Dominic's brother is certain it's not his brother, while Alice certainly knows it's the man she was married to for three years. So who is he, really? At this point, Alice realizes she's been living with some kind of liar - but he's also the father of her child. Now, the important thing is to determine who he really was.
In the end, the only option is to hire a private investigator - but a very busy and reluctant one at that. And it is at this point that I'll stop my review; if you want to learn more - and I hope you do - you'll just have to read it for yourself. Well done!
The Man She Married by Alison James (Bookouture, January 2020); 1244 KB).
5 stars out of 5
Wow! Add this one to my short list of books I really, really didn't want to put down. Absolutely loved it from start to finish.
Much of my reason for enjoyment is the in-depth, intriguing character development; each and every one has a complex, often secretive backstory, revealed as the story progresses. As might be expected, there are twists - some quite surprising - that kept me hooked as well. I'm aware, though, that some say the story has its unbelievable moments. I agree that's true to a degree; but in my mind, there's no reason a good story can't stretch the imagination a bit. I'm not reading it because I want to be immersed in total reality - in many cases, in fact, that wouldn't be any fun at all.
As this one opens, a recently orphaned girl named Ashlyn Carr has come to the elite Goode School in Virginia. She was admitted following a Skype-type interview by the dean, Dr. Ford Julianne Westhaven. The students here are highly intelligent but societal misfits, and Ash definitely fits the profile. But almost the moment she arrives, Ash bumps heads with senior Becca - the daughter of a powerful senator - who's clearly bonkers but just as clearly rules the student body with a heavy hand. The plot thickens when one of the girls is found dead - hanging from the front gates.
Flashbacks show Ash's life before her life got Goode when she and her parents lived in England, and it's not pretty. And early on, Ash (and readers) learn that life at Goode isn't very pretty either; there are secret societies and cliques, for instance, that bring out the worst in the girls who live here. Nor do the faculty and staff get off easy - they have their own secrets and peccadilloes that make life miserable for themselves and others around them.
Although Ash is talented enough to get private lessons from the school's computer whiz teacher, she can't seem to make much headway when it comes to making friends. Even her roommate, Camile - another girl who has some serious secrets to hide - turns on her. Then suddenly, the tide seems to turn when Ash receives a coveted invitation to the Attic from Becca - a rarity for a freshman and a sure sign that Ash has finally made the grade.
Or not. After all, good girls lie, don't they? A big part of the appeal of this story is trying to figure out which (if any) of the Goode girls are truthful. Thoroughly enjoyable book, and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.
Good Girls Lie by J.T. Ellison (MIRA, December 2019); 464 pp.
4 stars out of 5
Silly me: I started this one late in the day before we had a houseful of guests hungry for turkey and all the trimmings. That day, I tossed the 20+ pound bird in the oven around 10 a.m., and coupled with other "stuff" I'd made and the mountain of goodies trucked in by family and friends, it was a big hit. That made me happy, of course, but in the back of my mind I kept hoping everyone would find their way to the door before nightfall, leaving me a couple of hours to get back to reading.
That's because within the first quarter or so of the book, I was hooked. Chapters shift from present day to 1991, when four young friends - Heather, Gia, Becca and Rachel - formed what they called the Dead Girls Club because they loved to read and talk about all things macabre. Becca in particular was quite talented when it came to making up stories that sounded totally real; her best (or worst, depending on your belief in the occult) was about a centuries-old wicked witch called the Red Lady. Becca's took her determination to prove that the Red Lady was more than a figment of her imagination to extreme lengths - alienating her friends and culminating in her death (not insignificantly, by Heather's hand). Heather, of course, never admitted what she'd done, Becca's body was never found and ultimately another woman convicted of the crime and sent to jail.
Fast-forward to the here and now, when a happily married Heather is a psychologist who helps troubled girls at the Silverstone Center - perhaps a compensation of sorts for her acts some 30 years ago. She's totally lost touch with the other two childhood friends, but when she gets an envelope in the mail that contains a necklace she thought (make that hoped) was gone forever, the past suddenly looms over the present. Heather becomes convinced that someone - one of those childhood friends, perhaps - knows what really happened to Becca and wants to see Heather punished.
Other clues that someone wants to "out" Heather start to appear, and that's when I started to become less enchanted with her. I've never cared for extreme paranoia, especially in female characters; and while Heather's concerns are for the most part understandable under the circumstances, she does, to put it mildly, start to over-think what happens every single minute of every single day. But she doesn't stop there; instead, she goes to extreme lengths to find out who's behind it all, doubting anybody and everybody in the process, including her loving husband.
Bit by bit, the truth begins to emerge, with everything coming together near the end as a few surprises are revealed. I'm not sure how happy I was at the conclusion of Heather's journey, but I'll certainly say it was for the most part an exciting trip. I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read an advance copy.
The Dead Girls Club by Damien Angelica Walters (Crooked Lane Books, December 2019); 282 pp.
4 stars out of 5
For openers, methinks Francis the Younger has cut many of the ties that bound him Francis the Elder. For years, both my husband and I have been devoted fans of Dick Francis, and since his death we've kept up the tradition by reading every single book by his son Felix, who did a more than passable job at maintaining his late father's style and focus on characters who were almost totally immersed in the sport of kings. This one marks a noticeable departure, and I must say I enjoyed it thoroughly.
That's not to say I don't understand the disappointment expressed by some readers; the main character here, William Gordon-Russell, on occasion has been a rider and works as a volunteer to help uphold the rules at the track, but anything beyond that has been reined in. The book begins as Russell, an actuary by profession, is notified that his beloved wife Amelia had been murdered. That's hard enough for him to take, but making matters much worse - for Bill, at least - is that Amelia's ne'er-to-well brother has told everyone within shouting distance that Bill is the murderer.
In fairly short order, just about everyone, including the police, believe Bill should be arrested. He loses his volunteer job and most of his friends and relatives, and it soon becomes clear that the only way to prove his innocence is to find the real killer. In Bill's mind, at least, the only candidate is (you guessed it) the brother-in-law who's doing everything he can to get Bill arrested for the crime.
The whole thing is a first-person account as told by Bill, which allows him to digress on several occasions to rather in-depth explanations of things around him, such as how the court system works in England. Truth is, I learned quite a lot, but in all honesty I'd have enjoyed it more had those instances been a little less long-winded. All in all, though, it's a very enjoyable romp with a few twists and a "Lady or the Tiger" ending. Bottom line is this: If this book really is an indication of a new direction, I'm all in.
Guilty Not Guilty by Felix Francis (G.P. Putnam's Sons, November 2019); 384 pp.
It's been a long time since I read an entire book in a single day, but as I think about it, I'm pretty sure the last time it happened it was a book in this long-running series featuring Washington, D.C., Metro Police detective and FBI behavioral specialist Dr. Alex Cross (this is the 27th). It is also my favorite series from the prolific James Patterson, and this one was a bit more special because some of the action takes place in northeastern Ohio not far from my home.
