TALKING TO STRANGERS

4 stars out of 5

With three narrators, this one didn't strike me as an entry in a series, which usually highlights a central figure. The book is, in fact, the second featuring Detective Elise King (I read the first one as well), but here, the other two got what seemed to be just as much page time. The other two are Kiki Nunn, a journalist looking for a story that will catapult her to fame and fortune, and Annie Curtis, whose young son was murdered 16 years ago.

Early on, Elise is called to a wooded area where the body of local hairdresser Karen Simmons is found leaning against a tree - clearly a murder victim. Kiki, of course, smells her big break, so she jumps in with both feet and a cell phone to annoy the heck out of Elise. Annie's perspective is important because the place where Karen is found is the exact same place where her son was murdered all those years ago - and she's still got unanswered questions.

As expected, the story follows the murder investigation - and the private lives of the three narrators - showing the impact on all of them. All have a vested interest in seeing the case through to the end, albeit for very different reasons (some of them surprising), winding through a dark world of online dating.

Admittedly, it was a bit of a struggle for me to keep the various characters straight, but in the end everything got resolved (well, almost everything - leaving a bit to make readers eager for the next installment. Count me in!

Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy of this one.

Talking to Strangers by Fiona Barton (Berkley, August 2024); 400 pp.

CITY OF SECRETS

4 stars out of 5

I've read three other books in this series and looked forward to this, the fourth. But although I admit to staying up later than my regular bedtime to finish this one, it's not my favorite of the bunch. Oh sure, I still love LAPD Detective Margaret Nolan and her crew, but there are just too many characters in too many different places for an aging brain like mine to keep straight. Otherwise, though, it's business as usual - and that usually means plenty of action.

This one begins with the discovery of a body in what seems to have been a car-jacking; the suspicions of Nolan and her partner Al Crawford are aroused, though, when it's discovered that the victim is the founder of a pet supply company that's grown by leaps and bounds and, as a result, about to be scarfed up by an even larger company for a paltry $100 million. 

Top company employees deny any notion of fraud or foul play at the business - one of them even conducted a thorough audit in recent months. And the plot thickens when the murdered man's wife is kidnapped - with zero indication of ransom or other conditions that must be met for her safe return.

After that, things tend to get wild and crazy, with characters coming from all over the map. And while all this is going on, Margaret's infatuation with fellow detective Remy Beaudreau (and his with her) is heating up amid questions about where it should go - if anywhere. More kidnappings and close calls happen all the way up to the end, when most of the situations are resolved (with one biggie left wide open for, I hope, the next installment. I'll be waiting - and meantime, I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read a pre-release copy of this one.

City of Secrets by P.J. Tracy (Minotaur Books, August 2024); 298 pp.

TOM CLANCY SHADOW STATE

4 stars out of 5

Fighting the elements and some really nasty bad guys in the middle of a Vietnamese jungle isn't a particularly desirable topic for my reading enjoyment, I must admit. But if anyone could entice me to stick with it it's Jack Ryan Jr., the son of U.S. President Jack Ryan. He's a pretty cool dude, after all, and it's always an extra treat to re-meet his teammates at the mostly clandestine Hendley Associates - including his fiance.

The situation here is that the United States has developed a device that somehow masks airplanes so they can move in and out of other countries' air space without detection. Making more of them, though, requires hard-to-find rare earth minerals; one company, GeoTech, is a highly successful miner of these minerals. To that end, the "legitimate" business of Hendley is in serious negotiations to acquire the company for an astronomical sum. Wanting to avoid taking a financial bath, Jack Jr. is sent to Vietnam to do an up-close-and-personal audit to satisfy the lender and Hendley execs before the final handshake takes place.

But early on, it all goes sideways; Jack begins to smell a rat and demands to visit one of the company's facilities in that remote jungle location. On the way, the helicopter in which he's [reluctantly] traveling goes down, taking with it all but Jack and one other passenger. With no food, no water and no bars on their cell phones, the two must try to find their way to some semblance of safety before the jungle eats them alive (trust me, the mosquitos do more than their fair share). And that's before they meet up with some characters who seem bent on making sure they don't survive - or worse, are captured by a foreign enemy.

The whole thing is a race to the finish, accompanied by a few surprises as to what's really going on behind the scenes. The action heats up toward the end to the point that I stayed up late so as to not wait to finish the last half-dozen chapters till the next morning. Another series winner, for which I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for giving me the opportunity to read a pre-release copy (and lose a little sleep).

Tom Clancy Shadow State by M.P. Woodward (G.P. Putnam's Sons, August 2024); 374 pp.

HARD TO KILL

4 stars out of 5

In many respects, all the women I've known who battled the Big C have many things in common with Jane Smith, the star of this series. At the top of the list is a simple, yet complex fact: whether or not you have cancer, life goes on (until it doesn't). And Jane, like all of those other women, has chosen to play the best hand she can despite the lousy deal.

This is the second book in the series featuring Jane, a hard-driving, highly successful defense attorney on Long Island. I did not read the first - heck, given the underlying subject, I was a little reluctant to read this one - but at no time did I feel at a disadvantage. The only reason I felt sort of lost here and there is that there are so many characters that I hard a tough time keeping them straight. The story begins after Jane's client, Rob Jacobson, was acquitted of murdering a family. But the victory celebration was short-lived when another family is bites the dust - and guess who is charged with their murder?

Jane learns of his arrest via a phone call from Jimmy Cuniff, her best guy friend, former NYPD detective who serves as her private investigator on cases. In part because she never really knew whether or not Jacobson actually was guilty the first time around, she's reluctant to take the case, but then she's always up for a good courtroom tussle. She gets the okay from her current squeeze, local veterinarian Dr. Ben Kalinsky, whose "good guy" vibes zinged off my credibility scale much of the time.

Although most of the folks around Jane try to convince her she's wasting her time and exhausting her limited physical capabilities by defending someone who doesn't deserve it, she waffles between thinking Jacobson is guilty and not guilty. As her investigation progresses she realizes there are characters out there who have a vested interest in taking him down for good this time. They also make it clear that they don't want Jane and Jimmy to be sticking their noses in other people's business - and that everyone around her is fair game if she doesn't quit the case.

More than that I can't reveal, but I can say the action doesn't take much of a break from beginning to the ending, which sets up a scenario for the next installment. I'll be waiting - and meantime I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to get to know this hard-driving, multi-faceted character.

Hard to Kill by James Patterson and Mike Lupica (Little, Brown and Co., July 2024); 371 pp.

THE BROTHERS KENNEY

4 stars out of 5

After reading and enjoying several books by this talented author, I certainly consider myself a fan. Even if I weren't one before, though, this one would pretty much seal the deal even though it didn't end the way I'd have preferred.

Sean Kenney's older brother, Michael ("Kick") died on his 39th birthday - according to the police, a suicide by gunshot. But Sean, once a hotshot track runner who's been estranged from his brother and largely with his ex-wife Meghan and their two daughters, doesn't buy it. Despite having a relatively solid reason for his disbelief, though, nobody else in the family including their sister Katie and Michael's widow, Jenny, will even entertain the notion that he could have been murdered.

Still, Sean persists; basically, the story follows his attempts to prove that he's right. Along the way, he rehooks up with old flame Rachel - who once was involved with Michael and is at least willing to discuss the possibility. She even offers the services of her firm's private investigator to give more legs to Sean's investigation - which includes family members (okay with me since I didn't find any of them to be someone I'd want to go have a beer with).

The devil is in the details, of course, and also of course, I'm not at liberty to explain them. All in all, the story was engrossing all the way to the end, and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review it.

The Brothers Kenney by Adam Mitzner (Blackstone Publishing Inc., August 2024); 240 pp.

SPIRIT CROSSING

5 stars out of 5

This is a wonderful series I wish I'd learned about sooner; this book, the 20th, is only the fourth for me. Former Chicago cop Corcoran "Cork" O'Connor, who's part Irish and part Anishiaabe Indian, early on left the Windy City for remote Aurora, Minnesota; his wife, Rainy, is a Native American who maintains close ties to the local reservation - including to her great uncle, Ojibwe healer Henry Meloux (is he really 100 years old or older? Well, I for one believe it).

These days, Cork still runs a local burger joint and helps with the new Iron Lake Ojibwe Tribal Police. His three children are grown, and his young grandson Aaron, a.k.a. "Waaboo," already is showing signs of becoming a healer like the elder Meloux. His abilities are evident as he visits a hidden blueberry patch with his grandfather and "sees" a shallow grave amid the bushes that turns out to be connected to the missing teenage daughter of a local politician. Cork, ever helpful, thinks Waaboo may be helpful in ferreting out more details; Waaboo's mother, though, is less than enthusiastic about encouraging her son's newfound talents.

Into the mix come Cork's daughter, Annie, who's visiting for a while for her brother's upcoming wedding. She's brought her partner, Maria Lopez, a nurse with whom she lives in Guatemala. But the wedding isn't the only reason for her visit; she's got a secret she doesn't want to share with anyone, let alone her family - yet she knows she must.

The plot turns timely as locals stage ongoing protests against construction of a pipeline that would carry crude oil over local sacred wetlands of Spirit Crossing to a refinery on Lake Superior. The highly charged situation brings with it the real possibility that someone will get hurt - perhaps even someone from Cork's family. And once word gets out about the grave Waaboo sensed, the child's life also may be in danger from the person or persons who are afraid he'll be able to "see" them as well. Other issues of the day such as human trafficking and police investigations that go nowhere when the victims aren't lily white rear their ugly head as well, making for even more nasty and life-threatening situations.

As always, books in this series are a pleasure to read (well, given the topics, perhaps "pleasure" isn't quite the right word, but you get my drift). I heartily thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy of this one. Well done once again!

Spirit Crossing by William Kent Krueger (Atria Books, August 2024); 336 pp.