MALIBU BURNING

5 stars out of 5

There are a handful of authors whose books I always look forward to reading, and Mr. Goldberg is one of them. And with this book, he once again doesn't disappoint; it's a real barn-burner. Besides that, I absolutely loved the main characters, the super-skillful arson investigator Walter Sharpe and his new partner, Andrew Walker - so much so that I'm hoping we'll see them again (and again) in a series.

For this nonstop adventure, they're hot on the trail of ex-con Danny Cole, a clever thief who, during his prison time, volunteered for the prison's firefighter squad. The work is challenging and dangerous, but to Danny, it beat being stuck in a prison cell and trying to avoid payback from people he'd scammed. But living out in the wilderness sparked not only his expertise with wildfires, but also his desire for another big payoff - along with getting revenge on behalf of a friend who was terribly wronged. Almost as soon as he walked out the prison door as a free man, he began putting together an air-tight plan and assembling his team of experts.

Chapters shift back and forth between Danny's efforts to get rich and what's going on in the lives of the arson team's effort; it's no surprise when everything and everyone come together amid an out-of-control wildfire that threatens multi-million dollar California mansions. Along the way Andrew - himself a seasoned detective - soaked up Walter's extensive knowledge of wildfires (as do readers, BTW). Good thing, because it'll take all that, and more, if they want Danny's grand plan to go down in flames.

Suffice it to say there's never a dull moment from the first page to the rather unexpected ending, whether it be chuckles, gasps or nail-biting angst over which character might not make it to the next chapter. That's another way to say this is another sizzler, and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy. Good job!

Malibu Burning by Lee Goldberg (Thomas & Mercer, September 2023); 286 pp.

THE 9TH MAN

5 stars out of 5

As a fan of co-author Steve Berry's Cotton Malone series, I was delighted to see Malone's protoge Luke Daniels, a U.S. Department of Justice Magellan Billet agent, get a book all his own. Joining forces with co-author Grant Blackwood, Berry says in the Acknowledgements, meant he'd have the time he needs to get 'er done and still work on the Malone books. Count me as one who's delighted (and for the record, looking forward to the next books in both series).

If action is your "thing," you won't go wrong with this one. It kicks in from the beginning - when old friend Jillian Stein calls to say she's in serious trouble - and he zips to Belgium to see how he can help. There, he finds a death which, apparently, isn't sufficient for a few determined killers - apparently, he and Jillian are next up. Keeping his assistance off the company books, Luke sets out with Jillian to find what her elderly grandfather and a couple of his friends were secretly working on for many years. That, in turn,  leads him to nonegenarian and Washington, D.C., "fixer" Thomas Rowland, who continues to wield power (but definitely not in a good way). That, in turn, puts the hunt - by now a collision course between Luke and Thomas, a former CIA agent - back on the official Magellan Billet books and takes him and Jillian back in time to the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

It's a battle of not only of wits, but firepower; Thomas's is virtually unlimited; but once Luke's boss, Stephanie Nelle, gets involved, the playing field levels off a bit. Still, how many battles can Luke win when he's outnumbered at every turn? Can he get to the truth - and then to Thomas - before Thomas and his for-hire goons get to him? Of course, I won't spill the beans; suffice it to say I had trouble putting the book down until I knew the outcome (which, BTW, includes a rather big, and unwelcome, surprise). Terrific book, for which I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for a pre-release copy to read and review.

The 9th Man by Steve Berry and Grant Blackwood (Grand Central Publishing, June 2023); 367 pp.

ROBERT LUDLUM'S THE BOURNE DEFIANCE

5 stars out of 5

Finally, Matt Damon has left the building. As recently as last year's Bourne Sacrifice, he was still on my mental radar as I thumbed through the pages of my ebook reader after seeing so many of the Bourne motion pictures (one reason I hate reading books after I see the movies instead of the other way around). This time, though, his image was far less noticeable. The story, though, was every bit as exciting as last year's book - and for me, the thrill of a book beats that of watching a big screen every single time.

As expected, this one's another nail-biter that pits Bourne against Lennon, his one-time friend who turned out to be a Russian agent and superbly talented assassin. As the story begins, Bourne is living in Paris with his lover, writer Abbey Laurent - and still trying, on behalf of his employer Treadstone, to nail Lennon (preferrably alive so he can be questioned). Then in Juneau, Alaska, a Treadstone hacker is inexplicably murdered, but not before he sends a crypic message to his Treadstone handler, Nash Rollins: Defiance. As Bourne later learns, that hacker is just one of several Treadstone agents who have been targeted for death. But who's behind it and why?

The answers to those questions takes up the rest of the book, sending Bourne on the chase of his lifetime. It's a complex plot with a ton of characters and can be a little hard to follow, although I'm happy to say, I guess, that I correctly identified the person behind the murder and mayhem fairly early on. The story goes off in so many directions that I can't provide more detail without giving away too much, but suffice it to say there are a couple of unexpected murders and an ending that's truly bittersweet (though not entirely unexpected) that leaves the door open for the next installment. All told, it's another great adventure, and I heartily thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review a pre-release copy.

Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Defiance by Brian Freeman (G.P. Putnam's Sons, July 2023); 384 pp.

A TWISTED LOVE STORY

5 stars out of 5

The title says it all: Well, most of it, anyway; stories don't get much more twisted, but I'm not sure how much love has to do with it.

At the center of it all are Wes and Ivy, who met in college and have been crazy in love ever since. I'm talkin' really crazy; apparently, they can't live without each other, but they can't live with each other, either. The first part of the book is ups, downs, scraps, fights (both verbal and physical), vendettas, one upmanships and every possible mix of those that two co-dependent idiots can muster up - to the point at which I actually said this out loud: You know, if this entire book is going to be nothing but a pair of unstable jerks yelling, scheming, making up and doing it all over again, I'm outta here.

Happily, a few pages later that started to change. As Wes and Ivy's world expands, readers start to see what's gone on (and going on) around them in an intricately woven plot (not unexpected from this talented author, BTW). Much of it happens after Ivy tries a ploy to get Wes back after their most recent blow-ups that crosses the line and puts their relationship in the crosshairs of police detective Karen Colglazier, who's like a dog with a bone. 

Mind you, no character here is anything close to lovable; all are flawed, some seriously (and irrevocably), and each has connections with Wes and Ivy that, as they're revealed, lead readers toward an ending that's, well, not exactly expected (nor, in some respects, is it satisfying). All in all, it's a riveting journey into the lives of some very disturbed people - and I heartily thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy. Loved it - and I think you will, too!

A Twisted Love Story by Samantha Downing (Berkley, July 2023); 400 pp.

THE BLOCK PARTY

5 stars out of 5

This one is so entertaining that I violated my rule of not settling into my recliner to read until everything is done for the day and the bedtime countdown has begun. Not this time, I said - the neighborhood in this riveting story is a train wreck and I'm not gonna wait any longer than necessary to find out who survives.

The scene is the close-knit cul-de-sac group of homes on Alton Road - sort of a hoity-toity bunch of families who, for the most part, have more money than they know what to do with. A few have mostly grown kids, and most aren't exactly living idyllic lives when it comes to marital bliss. They have their share of neighbor squabbles, cops being called in for one thing or another (almost always something benign), and they're known for periodic get-togethers topped by the annual block party. Then one year, the unthinkable happens - as announced on the online Community Page: there's been a murder.

Speaking of that page, I have to say it's a hoot and all too true; I belong to one of those things, and the idiotic comments by various contributors mirrors what gets posted on my real life version. But I digress.

The main characters include Alexandra Fox, her husband Nick and their high-school daughter Lettie plus a handful of other couples and kids who live nearby (such as Alex's sister Emily and her husband Ken and new residents Mandy and Samir Kumar and their college-age son Jay. Chapters are told from various perspectives, mainly Alex and Lettie, starting with the current-year's big block bash when all heck breaks loose. Then, the story backtracks to the same event a year ago, then tracks happenings and (most important) interactions among all the characters - none of whom is totally lovable, by the way - from that point to this year's party. Suffice it to say there's plenty to tell with an abundance of quirky and often unexpected twists. As the end nears, we're aware of plenty of motives, but the who - and whodunit - remains a mystery. 

Bottom line? I absolutely loved it. Exceptionally well written, fast-paced, and just plain fun, it's so far my pick for best book of the summer. Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy.

The Block Party by Jamie Day (St. Martin's Press, July 2023); 384 pp.

THE WOODS ARE WAITING

4 stars out of 5

Kind of odd that I kept turning the pages to find out what would happen next, all the while thinking it's silly for grown people to be behaving like the residents of this small, remote town in the middle of a forest do - I mean, really, catering to the demands of a never-seen man-beast who's been killing little kids for hundreds of years? In part, I suppose, I kept plugging away because I'd guessed who the real culprit is early on and wanted to get to the end and see if I nailed it (I did). 

Cheyenne Ashby left her home in Blue Cliff, Virginia, largely because she no longer could buy into the superstitions and strange behaviors of the town's residents - and especially those of her mother, Constance. The murder of three children whose bodies turned up in the woods was pretty much the last straw for her - murders all to similar to a number of others over many years that led to those superstitions and strange behaviors. Cheyenne literally ran out on her best friend, Natalie, and the guy who she'd been planning to spend the rest of her life with, Jackson Campbell.

But now, another young boy has gone missing, feared to be the latest victim of the evil forest creature; Constance has gone off the deep end with her weird behavior, and the sheriff - a close friend of Constance - wants her daughter to come home to get her back on track. Meanwhile, half the townspeople are cowering in fear, forbidding their kids to go into the woods and filling their shoes and pockets with the dirt and coins they believe will hold the evil spirits at bay. The other half are convinced that the man once convicted of killing one of the boys and set free, they claim, on a technicality, is guilty of taking the most recent child - and they're ready to lynch him on sight.

Cheyenne is reluctant, but she heads back; she's not sure how she'll deal with mom, but she reconnects with both Natalie and Jackson in fairly short order. Together, they try to learn what really happened to the missing boy and figure out what secrets the forest holds before more young lives are lost - and maybe even their own. Their efforts and thoughts are laid out in chapters told from the perspectives of Cheyenne and Natalie; some parts drag a bit while others kept me on the edge of my seat. All told, it's entertaining - and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy.

The Woods are Waiting by Katherine Greene (Crooked Lane Books, July 2023); 288 pp.

THE BONE HACKER

4 stars out of 5

Reading the latest Temperance Brennan novel is sort of like catching up with an old friend - which, in many respects, she is; I've lost count of how many I've read over the years, but it's close to all 21 of the others (and that doesn't count watching all the "Bones" TV shows). This one, I admit, didn't grab me as much - mostly, I think, because Tempe's main squeeze, former cop Andrew Ryan, doesn't appear as often as I'd have liked.

While doing her forensic anthropologist thing on some infant bones, Tempe gets called to the islands of Turks and Caicos to bring some illumination to a dead man believed to have been struck by lightning while standing on a bridge. Tempe is eager to get back home to Ryan and her cat, but other victims keep turning up under strange circumstances - like on a high-tech boat that inexplicably lost its way - that require her particular expertise so she grudgingly hangs around.

Clues turn up, including a potential weapon that may be connected to a local Jewish community, but when disaster strikes a couple of folks with ties to law enforcement, the investigations take on a whole new dimension. All in all, it's an intriguing, though complex, plot that kept me entertained throughout. Once again, I heartily thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to learn what my old friend's been up to by way of a pre-release copy. 

The Bone Hacker by Kathy Reichs (Scribner, August 2023); 336 pp.

THICKER THAN WATER

4 stars out of 5

This is an entertaining story that held my attention throughout despite thinking to myself every page of the way how much I would not want to be friends with either of the two main characters, sisters-in-law Julia and Sienna Larkin. Nor, for that matter, did I have much rapport with Julia's husband Jason, Sienna's brother; he spends most of the book in a coma, but since much of the story centers on him, I learned enough to know he's not my kind of guy. 

Julia and Sienna are close friends and business partners; Julia and Jason have a mostly grown son Aiden. Jason has been working long hours in the hopes of earning a promotion; getting it becomes problematic with the brutal murder of his boss (among other things, his lips were sewn shut). All possibility of a promotion becomes totally out of the question when, a few days later, Jason has a devastating car accident that results in a medically induced coma and the possibility that he won't recover. Things really take a turn for the worse when the police determine that Jason is the primary murder suspect - but of course, he has no way to defend himself.

So, that task falls to his two ardent supporters, Julia and Sienna. Both are loyal to the core; Jason, they agree, couldn't possibly be the killer no matter what the evidence shows. Well, maybe not no matter what; as the investigation heats up - and some of what Julia recalls about Jason's actions of late (ones she's never shared with her bestie even though they share everything) - Julia begins to suspect the cops may be onto something.

And that, of course, begins to fracture the tight bond between the two women; Sienna refuses to consider the possibility that Jason played any part in the murder. As the story progresses, readers get alternating perspectives from both, complete with additional backstory clues that suggest their friendship may not have been as tight as even the two of them once believed. And speaking of belief, the ending left me shaking my head a bit; humans filled with as much angst, self-doubt and troubled pasts as Julia, Sienna and Jason don't suddenly turn into trusting, accepting people without help from a skilled therapist and/or heavy duty medication. With these three characters, I'm not even sure a shrink or drugs could turn the tide.

But suffice it to say everything is resolved in one way or another, and the whole story is well-thought-out and good enough that I took it to bed to finish because I was too engrossed to wait till morning. For the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy, I heartily thank the publisher, via NetGalley (and the author, of course, whose previous books I have enjoyed).

Thicker Than Water by Megan Collins (Atria Books, July 2023); 316 pp.

BLIND FEAR

5 stars out of 5

Wrongfully disgraced Finn is back - hiding out in Puerto Rico, still dealing with memory issues (or lack thereof) and trying to find out who smeared his good name before the powers-that-be find him and, at best, stick him in jail for the rest of his life. I first "met" the guy a couple of years ago when I read "Steel Fear" - an excellent book, BTW - and loved him, flaws and all. There was no shortage of action in that one, and it spilled over into this one and doesn't slow down.

Finn's need for anonymity takes a hit early on, when the elderly blind man he's working for's two grandchildren, Pedro and Miranda, go missing. The authorities are convinced they drowned while swimming in treacherous waters, but those who knew them well - including Finn - believe something more sinister happened: the probability that they saw something they shouldn't have. But what?

Sure enough - no spoiler here - the kids are alive; their self-sufficiency and street smarts help keep them alive and readers get to follow their attempts to stay that way, but it's a struggle that's about to get worse with the onslaught of a dangerous hurricane. Meanwhile, Finn has to take chances he's rather not, like venturing into the heart of Puerto Rico where the likelihood he'll be recognized increases exponentially and trusting people he really doesn't trust, to get to the bottom of their disappearance (and, more importantly, get them back home). 

It is, of course, a race to the finish, but who wins I won't say. Terrific book for any season, but if there's a beach calling, consider taking this one along. Meantime, I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for letting me meet Finn once again by way of a pre-release copy. Now bring on the next!

Blind Fear by Brandon Webb and John David Mann (Bantam, July 3023); 416 pp.