THE LIST

5 stars out of 5

Well, one of my favorite authors has come through again - most likely, at around 14 years, setting a record for the longest time a book sat in a drawer before being updated and actually seeing the light of print. It just goes to show, I guess, that excellent writing is timeless.

The story itself could have been taken straight from a John Grisham playbook; the relatively young lawyer at the heart of the story in many ways seemed interchangeable with Mitch McDeere, who kicked off Grisham's popular "The Firm" series that debuted in 2010. But the hero here, Brent Walker, is definitely his own man (even if he's not quite sure who that really is). He's just left his 10-year job in Atlanta to return home to central Georgia small-town Concord to take the job of assistant general counsel at Southern Republic Pulp and Paper Co., which accounts for the lion's share of the local employment base. Originally, he left right after his soon-to-be ex-wife died, almost smothered in guilt that somehow he was responsible.

But after his father's unexpected death - he was retired from his long-time job at the paper mill - Brent's mother's health is failing and she needs his help. So, he packed up his things and returned to the family home and a new job that puts him right at the start of negotiations for labor contracts with all three of the company's unions. The lead negotiator, Hank Reed, is an old friend; but can they maintain that close relationship when they're now on opposite sides of the bargaining table?

As it turns out, that's not their biggest concern. It seems that the three company owners, over a period of years, engineered and put into practice a deadly plan to keep the self-insured company financially afloat (unbeknownst to either Hank or Brent, of course). But one of those owners - in fact, the one who originally devised the plan - is in the midst of his own health crisis. And not only does he want to unburden his soul before he exits this world, he wants to take down his partners in the process.

For their part, Hank and Brent are free to deal with their changing relationship and Brent's rekindled one with Ashley, who happens to be Hank's daughter. But that all changes when that third partner seeks private help from Brent and Hank's illicit sleuthing in company computers turns up a list of numbers neither of them understand (and certainly were never expected to have in their possession). That, in turn, puts Brent, Hank and their families in the sights of some very powerful and dangerous people who wll do anything to keep their good thing going.

It's a wild ride right up to the end, and while I can't provide details, I can say I'm very happy that the author decided to save the story from the circular file. It's definitely a winner in my book, and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to get in on the action by way of a pre-release copy.

The List by Steve Berry (Grand Central Publishing, July 2025); 384 pp.

THE KINGDOMS OF SAVANNAH

4 stars out of 5

Ever since I read John Berendt's wonderful book, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, I've had a bit of a fascination for the city of Savannah, Georgia (the heat, humidity and rumors of creepy-crawly things in the Spanish Moss trees notwithstanding). Couple that with a love of the mystery/thriller genre, and I was delighted to get my hands on a copy of this book (that it arrived in paperback format instead of Kindle notwithstanding).

It turned out to be an intriguing, engrossing story, although I must say the sheer number of characters - no matter how interesting they were - was a chore for my aging brain to keep straight. At the center is Morgana Musgrove, one of Savannah's prominent ladies, who has four adult children who also play significant roles. Inexplicably, the elderly Morgana oversees a detective agency and is hired to do some sleuthing on behalf of a wealthy developer who's been arrested for the murder of a local man.

At the same time, a well-known local woman has turned up missing - a woman who often is called in to do archeological digs to make sure properties under development don't contain remains of the past (mostly meaning dead bodies). One person who's especially concerned is Jaq, Morgana's granddaughter; she hears tales that the missing woman has found some kind of "treasure" on a nearby island - one rumored to have been inhabited by a long-ago generation. Whether the woman has been kidnapped or is in hiding because of it remains a mystery - one Jaq is determined to solve as she probes the city's historic past that includes an extensive maze of sewer tunnels that for the most part are known only to the homeless. Along the way, Jaq looks to others for help getting to the truth; problem is, it's nearly impossible to know who to trust - and all the evidence suggests the answer is no one.

All in all, well worth reading and a revealing look inside the city's dark history. Thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy.

The Kingdoms of Savannah by George Dawes Green (Celadon Books, July 2022); 304 pp.

BLOODLESS

 5 stars out of 5

Wow - this one sure took a turn for the bizarre! And the ending? Well, I'm still in shock. The ending, of course, I can't reveal. As for the bizarre, with this series - this is the 20th book - it's pretty much to be expected, although maybe not quite this much.

The story begins with the 1971 disappearance of D.B. Cooper, who, threatening the flight crew with what turned out to be a fake bomb, collected a ransom of $200,000 and parachuted from Flight 305 that started in Portland headed for Seattle (which is, for the record, a true story). Readers may (should) suspect that this has some bearing on the tale that follows, when FBI Special Agent Aloysius Pendergast and his partner, Agent Armstrong Coldmoon, are ordered to Savannah, Georgia. There, a couple of bodies have been found totally drained of blood - either a blessing or a bane, depending on who's looking to get rich or famous - in a city that's known for its ghosts and vampires.

Special interests also are at work here, in the form of a group looking to capture paranormal activity on film and a man looking to do an expose on the paranormal-filming group. While a couple of blood-let bodies may boost or hinder their causes one way or another, the same can be said of how their activities impact Pendergast's investigation. Throw in a couple more bloodless bodies, a sinister cemetery and some futuristic technology, and Pendergast and company definitely have their hands and thinking caps full.

As usual, Pendergast gets a lot of assistance from his ward with the mysterious background, Constance Greene; this time, her help not only is crucial to solving the case, but ultimately brings into question the direction future books in this series will take. For sure I'm one who will be waiting on pins and needles for the next one. As for this, well, nothing left to say but bravo (and please, please, don't waste any time getting the next installment ready).

Bloodless by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (Grand Central Publishing, August 2021); 400 pp.

WHEN YOU SEE ME

5 stars out of 5

Believable? Kinda. Sorta. Sometimes, even,

not so much. But so what? This one put me on a wild ride at the git-go and didn't let me off till the end.

What makes it extra-special is that it brings together three of the author's characters - Boston Homicide Detective D.D. Warren, FBI special agent Kimberly Quincy and recovering torture victim Flora Dane - characters with whom I've developed a kinship of sorts over the years. They are three totally different people, with totally different personal lives, but they come together here with a single purpose: ferreting out who's responsible for the bunch of human bones in the backwoods of Georgia that likely are tied to late serial killer Jacob Ness. Flora joins in because she's his only victim to survive (even though she's been trying hard to find some semblance of normalcy ever since she escaped).

During an intensive search of the area in which the original bones were found, Flora and her computer geek friend, Keith, find another burial site; ultimately, the remains of three more bodies are unearthed. All that leads the team to a tiny town that may be holding deep, dark secrets that are tied to Ness but go well beyond the horrific murders he committed years ago. One of their best hopes of getting to the bottom of things is a teenage girl who works as a maid at an inn operated by the local mayor and his wife. Clearly, she's intelligent; but previous injuries left her unable to speak, read or write; so no matter how much she knows that's crucial to the investigation, accessing that information doesn't appear to be within the realm of possibility. The only thing the investigators know for sure is that no one in this town or surrounding woods can be trusted - not even the local sheriff whose help they've enlisted.

All told, the action never lets up - keeping me glued to my Kindle with time out only when household chores (like feeding my long-suffering husband) and the need for sleep intervened. Thoroughly enjoyable - and I hope to see these three strong women come together again in future books (hint, hint). Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review a pre-release copy.

When You See Me by Lisa Gardner (Dutton, January 2020); 400 pp.

A MINUTE TO MIDNIGHT

5 stars out of 5

Have I mentioned that I really like this new series? Why yes - yes I did - when I read the first one last year. To that one I gave a resounding 5-star rating, and if anything, I enjoyed this one even more.

Atlee, a tall weightlifter now an FBI agent based in a relatively remote part of Arizona, has been on a 30-year quest to find out what really happened to her twin sister, Mercy. In the night back then, someone came into their bedroom, snatched Mercy and gave Atlee a whack on the head that nearly killed her. So far, her efforts to learn anything more about Mercy have led to dead ends; but now, she's got to ratchet up her search a few notches because she lost her cool on the job by unnecessarily beating up a killer she's just captured (and if she does that again, she'll lose her job as well).

Advised (make that ordered) to take some time off, Atlee and her very capable assistant Carol Blum head to Andersonville, Georgia, and the now-old house from which Mercy was taken all those years ago. Their father is dead - a declared suicide - and their mother inexplicably took off for parts unknown to Atlee. Not long after they arrive, though, a local woman is found dead - murdered, positioned and dressed in a ritualistic fashion. A Georgia FBI guy is called in for the official investigation, but shorthanded, he welcomes Atlee's help. Then, another murder happens with a similar M.O. Could it be there's a serial killer on the loose?

At that point, another FBI guy arrives to help; turns out he and Atlee have a history that wasn't all that pleasant for either of them. As they try to overcome their history and work together on the murder cases, Atlee continues to collect information on what happened to her family (with a little help from the very sympathetic FBI guys). Interviews with local folks who knew the family back then unearth new leads as well as the surprising awareness that not everything Atlee has been told was the absoute truth - some of it not even close.

It all builds to an exciting ending as well as, of course, enough loose ends to get a good start on the next book. And that, hopefully, will not be long in coming.

A Minute to Midnight by David Baldacci (Grand Central Publishing, November 2019); 433 pp.

THE GUARDIANS

5 stars out of 5

As a long-time Grisham fan, the moment I got my hands on this book I bookmarked the one I'd almost finished reading, set aside the one lined up to be read next and got down to business. My only disappointment? That real-life business (like eating and sleeping) prevented me from polishing it off in one sitting; it was engrossing from the first page to the last.

The story outlines the efforts of nonprofit Guardian Ministries, a small, close-knit group of like-minded individuals whose mission is to move legal mountains to free wrongly convicted prison inmates. Narrated by firm investigator, attorney and Episcopal priest Cullen Post, the book primarily details the investigative and legal progress as related to two of the firm's six clients - both of whom have been serving time for years for crimes they did not commit. The primary focus is on Quincy Miller, a black man who was sent to prison for life for murdering a young lawyer in a small north Florida town.

Fast-forward 22 years, when Cullen meets with the man and, after reviewing the scant evidence that suggests Quincy was framed, decides to take on the case. Getting to the truth, though, requires hundreds of interviews, exhausting research and travel wherever the evidence leads - not easily accomplished by a firm that operates on a shoestring budget. But the more they investigate, the more convinced of Quincy's innocence they become and the more determined Cullen is to prove it (and maybe, although it's not the prime directive, unearth the real killer in the process).

Time-consuming? Obviously. Dangerous? Not so much, except when it is; not everyone is eager to set the record straight. Some, in fact, will go to any lengths to keep long-buried secrets as dead as the lawyer they murdered all those years ago - and now they've got Cullen in their sights. Will he get out alive? And if he does, will he get his client out of jail? Read it and find out - you'll be glad you did.

The Guardians by John Grisham (Doubleday, October 2019); 371 pp.