4 stars out of 5
My emotions are mixed on this book. Some aspects I liked very much; others not so much. My rating, then, is something of a compromise - but I hasten to add that above all, it's a clever and well-written plot that made me wish I had a mind half as creative as this author.
The thing is, not a single character here is remotely likable or honest, nor do any of them like or trust each other. But on the plus side for those of us on this side of the pages, finding out how and why all that came about makes for interesting reading that leads to a bang-up ending I didn't see coming - one that left me feeling a bit like I'd been sideswiped by an errant tumbleweed (not an uncommon sight in a desert, which is where the adventure comes to an abrupt halt).
Grandpa, you see, is dead and cremated but not mourned. As the sole survivors (well, except for two others who are pretty much out of the running), brothers and sisters Beth, Portia and Eddie Morgan stand to inherit a bundle. But as in life, with Grandpa there's always a catch. This time around, he's put strings on the deal; according to his iron-clad will, the "kids" must complete a cross-country road trip exactly as they did when he took them on an adventure when they were kids. That trip holds many memories for the siblings - most of them quite unpleasant - but if they want to get rich, they have no choice but to follow his instructions which, not insignificantly, include taking his cremains along for the ride. Two of the kiddies - Beth and Eddie - are married, and they've dragged their spouses along for better or worse (based on what I've written so far, I'll let you guess which description is more accurate).
As the chapters unfold, readers learn what happened on that earlier trip as well as secrets known only to the occupants of the car (and perhaps a couple of other nefarious characters who pop in and out of the travelogue). It all makes for great intrigue, although I have to admit that somewhere around the time they'd completed three-quarters of their trip, they were growing weary of the journey and I began to wish they'd just get it over with, already. But just a few pages later, the action caught fire and reignited my attention from there to the last page.
My own conclusion? Well worth reading. Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-publication copy.
He Started It by Samantha Downing (Berkley, July 2020); 400 pp.
4 stars out of 5
So far, I've read eight books by this author - on purpose. So when I got the chance to snag an advance copy of this one, I didn't even think once about requesting it. And even though it comes as no surprise, once again I'm a very happy reader.
Abigail (Abi) Coyle has returned to the childhood home she left some 20 years ago, but not because she misses the place so much. Her father has died and, as the only child, bequeathed her his house (her mother left them years ago, and her father got a divorce on the grounds of abandonment). Abi doesn't want to be here, but she needs to finalize funeral arrangements and check the contents of the house.
On the way there, wheeling her suitcase down the street next to a park, she's startled to hear car brakes squeal. The car quickly moves on - seen only as a brief glimpse - and Abi turns her attention to the side of the road. First, she sees a damaged bicycle wheel; then, something more horrifying appears: the body of a young boy. It appears he's still breathing, and Abi wastes no time calling the proper authorities. The boy is rushed to the hospital, and it turns out to be Ethan, the son of one of Abi's childhood friends.
Dad's home is nothing short of a mess, and Abi vows to avoid being in it as much as possible. But there's nowhere much better to stay, and Abi has left her job in London to come here and can't afford to waste money on overnight lodging. So, she stays in her old bedroom - now musty and dusty - while she begins to sort through all the "stuff" her father has hoarded over the years. At one time, she's certain someone was trying to get in the house, but nothing comes of it. Maybe, she surmises, someone wants to find out how much she knows about the hit-and-run driver who hit the boy (which realistically is practically nothing).
Over a period of a couple of days, Abi meets up with several other childhood friends, including an ex-boyfriend who's now married with kids (much to the chagrin of his wife). Memories start flowing back - most of them more than enough to convince Abi that she wants no part of living in this backwoods community ever again - even when she meets an intriguing new-to-her character who brings a surprise of a lifetime. Still, she's concerned about the accident victim, his family and the identity of that errant driver - clues lead to several possibilities - so she pokes around while the house is being cleaned out and readied for sale.
My only disappointment, and it's a very minor one, is that I wanted to know more specifics about what happened in Abi's childhood. It's easy to see why she's estranged from her runaway mother, but she has zero use for her father, either - and what he did to deserve her wrath isn't fully explained. Still and all, this is another of the author's don't-want-to-put-down books, and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the chance to read and review it. Good job once again!
The Child across the Street by Kerry Wilkerson (Bookouture, July 2020); 322 pp.
4 stars out of 5
I have very mixed emotions about this one - and at the end the feeling was tremendous sadness. Now if only I could explain why.
When you put two psychologically flawed grown-ups together - in this case husband-and-wife Edward and Donna Pryor - then throw in a child who is so messed up that several times I thought about calling our daughter just to tell her how much I love her - it's a guaranteed disaster. The only question is how much more damage will be done and who will suffer the most.
Chapter switching, not only from perspectives but time frames, makes the story a little harder to follow. But it also allows for a more in-depth look at what is happening now and in the past, and the slower "reveals" kept me reading even when I had other things that needed done (just one more minute and I'll start dinner, honey - I promise).
As the story begins, Donna is living a want-for-nothing life in Shadow Garden, complete with housekeeper/personal assistant. But her surgeon husband, Edward, doesn't live there with her, nor does their grown daughter Penelope. When she tries to call Edward, he doesn't answer; she hasn't seen or heard from Penelope in ages and has no clue where she is. Each day, Donna grows more restless and fearful that something bad has happened that everyone is trying to keep from her. On top of that, she has trouble getting around - the result of a serious hip injury that she can't recall.
Frustrated and angry,m Donna decides to take the bull by the horns, figuratively speaking, to find out for herself what her husband has been hiding. Interspersed are flashback chapters that gradually reveal what really happened to all three, how Donna came to live where she does and why she thinks what she thinks. All of this leaves readers (or at least me) to wonder which of the three bears the most blame and doubt whether any of them ever stood a chance of normalcy. Suffice it to say this is not a pretty story and the ending, as mentioned earlier, inexplicably left me in tears. That said, the whole thing kept me hooked all the way through. Thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the pre-release copy.
Shadow Garden by Alexandra Burt (Berkley, July 2020); 368 pp.
4 stars out of 5
This book, which I snagged as an Amazon FirstReads pick, is the first in a series - and after finishing it, I'm already chomping at the bit for the next. It features Daniel Ellis, a detective in San Bernardino, California; he took over the case of a serial killer from a retired detective. The killer, Benjamin Fisher, has been in jail for 30 years or so, but so far he's refused to reveal the locations at which he hid his victims' bodies.
Out of the blue, Ben asks to see Daniel - and this time, he says he's willing to take the police to the bodies. But only, he adds, if his daughter Reni, a former FBI profiler, comes along (they've been estranged ever since he went to jail). As a young girl, Reni's father used her to lure his victims - all women - to him for the kill. Needless to say, that left Reni traumatized, with memories she can't quite pull together to make sense. Daniel, too, was traumatized as a child when his mother abruptly left him, never to return. His unspoken connection to the killer? Ever since Ben went to jail, he's been convinced that his mother was one of the serial killer's victims.
Finding Reni isn't terribly difficult, but convincing her to see her father again - even if it might bring closure to the victims' families - is another story (well, actually, it's part of this story). She's been living in the middle of the Mojave Desert, believing that some or all of the victims were buried there. Needless to say, she agrees, and the next part of the saga begins.
Much more of their journey than that I can't reveal without spoiling the story for others, but suffice it to say it's an exciting trip, with several twists (nothing much came as a big surprise, but the action kept me plodding onward right to the end). Very entertaining and a great beach read, I'd think - all that sand would make you feel like you're right there with Daniel and Reni.
Find Me by Anne Frasier (Thomas & Mercer, July 2020); 6031 KB, Kindle).
5 stars out of 5
I'm not sure how I missed the first two books in this series since I'm such a big fan of the author, but somehow they slipped through the cracks. After reading this one, though, I'll make sure it doesn't happen again (and for the record, this one stands on its own quite well). Admittedly, part of the appeal is that I share the profession of Jack McEvoy, an ace investigative journalist (well, leave off the "investigative" part - my experience comes mostly at a strictly business newspaper).
Jack's work is far more exciting; he works for FairWarning, an Internet news site that specializes in exposing fraud. For the record, this is a real nonprofit news organization (Fairwarning.org) that purports to do exactly that, and I've bookmarked it for future reference. As this story begins, Jack learns of the murder of a woman with whom he had a one-night stand a year ago. Fighting the conflict of interest potential - and his status as a person of interest to the police - his editor assigns a follow-up story on cyberstalking to him. In no time at all, he finds three other women who died of the same gruesome COD as this woman - and what's more, all of them had used the same genetic testing service to find relatives.
He's forced to team up with an experienced co-worker - a deal he grudgingly accepts - and one of his first eye-openers is that there's virtually no government oversight of the DNA testing services. One of them, in fact, is selling customer data to many other companies; what those companies do with it, or sell it to, is a concern he must investigate further. And is it possible that test results can be altered, "fudged" or switched to change the trial outcomes of murderers and rapists?
For help, he turns to a former girlfriend and former FBI agent Rachel Walling who - thanks to Jack's actions years earlier - lost her FBI job, now runs her own PI shop and is less than enthusiastic about reconnecting. But she agrees, and they make progress until one of their main sources ends up dead. Finally, patterns emerge, revealing a serial killer known as The Shrike who apparently targets his victims based on specific DNA markers. But the more Jack and Rachel learn about The Shrike, the more The Shrike learns about them. Can they track him down before he derails their efforts - perhaps permanently? Read it and see!
Fair Warning by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown and Co., May 2020); 417 pp.
4 stars out of 5
After a rough couple of chapters that almost caused me to pack it in, this one took off - and kept me flying through the pages until the end. It's the first of what I assume will be a series featuring filthy rich former tech CEO and FBI Special Agent Will Parker, whose ego is exceeded only by his computer savvy. Put another way, he likes himself far more than I liked him (to which, of course, he'd say, so what?)
I'd also caution that if you're a total Luddite, this may not be the book for you. I'm probably somewhere in the middle - relatively undaunted by "everyday" devices like computers and cell phones and at least familiar with most techie jargon - but I admit to being a little confused about some of the finer details here. Basically, as I see it, Will left his uber-successful company and joined the FBI after a coding error resulted in a young woman's death. He can't seem to forgive himself for the error; whether that's because he truly believes he caused her gruesome demise or simply can't deal with the fact that he screwed up is a matter of conjecture, but for the purposes of this review, I'll go with wanting to compensate for the death.
Will gets a call for help when a murder happens at a Comic Con event; no big deal on its own, but the murder seems to be connected to a radioactive quantum computer - known as the Unicorn - that Will's company had sealed the deal to purchase when it went missing in a disaster. Needless to say, Will wants that Unicorn back - partly because it could wreak untold havoc if it fell into the wrong hands and, I presume, partly because his company owns it and would stand to reap substantial profits by bringing it back where it belongs.
At the Comic Con, he works mostly with local homicide detective Dana Lopez, who is (as expected) extremely competent, drop-dead gorgeous and has psychological issues similar to Will as well as FBI agent Thomas Decker, who gets off on being pushy, stubborn and generally a pain in the neck. Will soon learns that the murder victim may have been in possession of the Unicorn - at least, he was trying to auction it off on the Dark Web - and that there are high-stakes bidders who will stop at nothing to win, even if it means other murders and a kidnapping all too similar to the one that prompted him to ditch his company a few years earlier.
Sorting everything out makes for an action-packed chase that comes to an exciting end with more than a few bits, bytes and twists in between - as well as the most on-target words of advice I've read in a while (social media privacy complainers take note here), to-wit: "If you don't pay for the product, you are the product."
All told, I'm intrigued and totally down with trying the next book (well, except for one note to future copy editors: Puleeeze - unless you're British - there's only one "e" in the word "judgment"). That said, thanks to the publisher for offering me a copy in exchange for an honest review and introducing me to a solid new series.
Broken Genius by Drew Murray (Oceanview Publishing, June 2020); 336 pp.
5 stars out of 5
True story: A college history class was so bad that I changed my major to avoid taking another one - and changed the course of my career (for the better, fortunately, but that's another story). Suffice it to say I'm not a history buff. So why in the world would I even consider reading a book like this?
Good question, and three answers come to mind: First, I'm familiar with, and respect the work of, the authors; second is an enticing title and description. The third is perhaps happenstance; being mostly stuck at home to avoid catching the deadly COVID-19 and thus having time to read more books than usual, I simply needed a break from the mystery/thrillers that I favor almost to the exclusion of other genres.
Now that I've finished this one, I've come to a couple of conclusions: First of all, this is a well-written, easy-to-read and informative book. It also made me realize that I should venture outside my reading comfort zone more often. Put another way, maybe - just maybe - I don't hate history nearly as much as I thought I did.
As the subtitle suggests ("The Secret Plot to Kill America's 16th President - and Why It Failed"), there was a little-known plan to assassinate Abraham Lincoln before he could be inaugurated - in fact, as he traveled to Washington, D.C., for the event. It's no secret that many Americans, especially those in states that supported slavery, weren't happy with Lincoln's election. While at the time he didn't promise to abolish slavery outright, he was personally against the practice and said he would not support slavery in new western states that wanted to join the Union. Apparently, a few fringe groups - perhaps forerunners to today's Ku Klux Klan - decided that the best defense was a good offense. They would, they vowed, prevent the newly elected President from even getting a foot in the Oval Office door.
The story reveals their plan and the subsequent investigation of it, led by noted detective Allan Pinkerton, as he and his team infiltrate the groups to learn specifics and, most important, develop a plan of their own to foil the instigators. Readers then follow Lincoln and his traveling companions as they almost literally inched their way toward the nation's capital city (transportation was, shall we say, a bit slower then than now; at one point, lacking a railroad bridge over a river, rail cars had to be disconnected and ferried across the river to be reattached on the other side). Stops in cities large and small, like Cincinnati and Westfield, New York - the latter home of the little girl who, we all should recall, suggested to Lincoln that he grow a beard to improve his appearance - add a different and welcome dimension to the events of the days. Just as an aside, I must say I'm familiar with Westfield for a very different reason - it's the site of Barcelona Harbor (Lake Erie) and a unique lighthouse we've visited and photographed many times.
More than that I'll leave for other readers, saying only that I enjoyed the book immensely; just the revelation that heretofore mostly boring history actually could be interesting was enough to make me happy. But I also learned a lot - just ask my husband, who endured my interruptions of, "Wow, honey, did you know..." until he gave up and started reading the book for himself (bless his heart). I should also note that substantial documentation and sources are included at the end of the story (helpful for those who might like to learn even more).
All told, I highly recommend this book - even if you aren't a fan of history, it's likely you'll think of it in kinder terms after you read this. Kudos to the authors for undertaking such a meaningful project!
The Lincoln Conspiracy by Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch (Flatiron Books, May 2020); 448 pp.
5 stars out of 5
Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of man? The Shadows do! And now, having finished this wonderfully creepy thriller, so do I.
Perhaps more to the point, the evil lurks in the dreams of man - or specifically in teenage Charlie Crabtree, a bully with a sinister streak who, some 25 years ago, coerced a couple of friends into believing that they had the power to not only control their own dreams, but live in the dreams of the others. Quickly, the situation escalated from bad to much worse; two of the boys, led by Charlie, gruesomely murdered another youngster. One was caught, sentenced and sent to prison, but Charlie escaped and hasn't been seen since.
One of Charlie's original cohorts, Paul Adams, realized that Charlie was up to no good; although he'd stayed with the group to protect his best friend, he turned away not long before the murder that rocked the small community of Gritton Wood. It's close to Featherbank, the setting of the author's first novel, The Whisper Man (and if you haven't read that one, hie thee hither to get it immediately; it, too, earned a 5-star rating from me and is one of the best books I've had on my Kindle in a while).
As this one begins, Paul - who was so traumatized by the murder than he left home for college and hasn't returned in 25 years - reluctantly comes back to see his mother (they've kept in touch regularly by phone, but not in person). Her dementia is worsening, and a recent fall at her home led to complications and pending death. Paul's misgivings about returning home already have him on edge, especially since he decides to stay in his childhood home that backs up to a dense wooded area known locally as the "Shadows." But ominous things his mother says, other things that unexpectedly go bump in the night and a discovery in the attic make him eager to turn tail and run. But they also make him curious, especially after he meets police Detective Amanda Beck; turns out she's investigating the murder of a child that bears a striking (pardon the pun) resemblance to the murder of Paul's childhood friend. Is there a copycat killer out there? Or is Charlie still alive and back in business?
The answer comes via an engrossing rest of the story, which includes a few unexpected, and zingy, twists. Of course, my lips are sealed; I'll say only that I read this one almost in one sitting (I just couldn't manage to stay awake to finish what would be another hour, but right after my walk the next morning, I was at it again). In short, it's another highly recommended winner from this very talented author. Thanks again to the publisher, via NetGalley, for providing me with an advance copy to read and review.
The Shadows by Alex North (Celadon Books, July 2020); 336 pp.
4 stars out of 5
When emotionally damaged people find each other and start to play games, it can be hard to find a winner. Such is the case here as three "adults" and one child - all with serious issues - come together trying to live in their own special world. Instead, they end up in a world of trouble.
Emily is a loser - if you don't believe that, just ask her. The actress wannabe just flubbed her umpteenth audition, lost her office temp job because she's so inept, and was kicked out of her apartment - all in one day. What's more, she's burned so many bridges between herself and her parents that she can't go home again.
Her boss at the company that just fired her, Scott, is on the surface a highly successful financial CEO who's married to a beautiful wife, Nina. Nina and their mute young daughter, Aurelia are living in secretive luxury in France. Even as he brokers deals, though, Scott is terrified that something he's been trying to hide will spring up and destroy his precious family. Suddenly, he sees an opportunity, and its name is Emily. Yes, she's flawed; but Scott is convinced that they're the perfect flaws to complement those of his wife and daughter, and adding her to the family as his wife's personal assistant will bring the stability they all crave.
Or not. Yes, the vast property is eye-popping, the money flows freely and Emily is enchanted with Nina. Even the shy Aurelia takes a shine to Emily (more like a dull luster, but for this child, that's saying a lot). But the longer she lingers, the more Emily starts to think something's amiss (not the least of which is no access to WiFi or cell phone service). Nina's reaction to accidental visitors instills even more doubts in Emily's mind about what she's signed up for.
Also clear, though, is that if Emily asks too many questions - or ventures too far from the complex - the consequences may be dire. Put another way, she's not sure she really wants to stay, but she's afraid of what might happen if she tries to leave. All told, an intriguing, hard-to-stop-reading book, and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.
The Safe Place by Anna Downes (Minotaur Books, July 2020); 368 pp.
My emotions are mixed on this book. Some aspects I liked very much; others not so much. My rating, then, is something of a compromise - but I hasten to add that above all, it's a clever and well-written plot that made me wish I had a mind half as creative as this author.
