COLD BLOODED LIAR

4 stars out of 5

When it comes to books, if I see the word "romance" in the description my eyes start to cross, my nose twitches and my lips start puckering up to say "Noooooo." But since I've read and enjoyed a couple of other books by this talented author - and since the other descriptive word is "suspense" - I crossed my fingers and went for it.

And it worked out just fine. Oh, there are hints at romance - mostly, I think, as a lead-in to the second book in the "San Diego Case Files" series - and much of them are to me downright silly. But it's hardly the overarching theme - identifying a longtime serial killer is the real deal here - so it's easy to overlook if your sappy stuff perspective is as jaded as mine. The focus is on Katherine (Kit) McKittrick, an ace detective with the San Diego Police Department. An otherwise competent woman who struggles with trust issues as a result of her past - which includes a long stint in the foster system - Kit is hard-pressed to trust psychologist Dr. Sam Reeves when he risks his professional career by calling the police about one of his patients - a pathological liar. The romance part rears its head when Kit, who is infatuated with Sam (reluctantly of course) can't quite bring herself to consider him a suspect when the body of a young woman is unearthed following his phone tip. 

The discovery is gruesome just because of the crime, but it quickly gets even worse when the killer's M.O. matches that of a never-caught serial killer of young women. More ties to Sam turn up, making it even harder for Kit to believe he's innocent - compounded by the fact that her longtime partner and mentor, Basil "Baz" Constantine, thinks she should take off her rose-colored glasses and at least entertain the possibility that he's not the all-around sweetheart he seems to be. Honestly, there's a little too much waffling on Kit's part to suit me, and I think the author was a little too heavy-handed with trying to polish his halo, but happily he - and she - are such likeable characters (Baz even more so) that it matters not.

The story follows the intense investigation as well as insights from Kit's troubled past to her close relationship with her "last" foster parents who are almost too good to be believable, but their relationship with their charges tugged at my heartstrings anyway. The ending brings a surprise - unwelcome to several of the characters for various reasons I can't reveal - and a sigh of disappointment from me just because the whole thing was over and I'll have to wait for the next installment. Meantime, many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review a pre-release copy of this one. Well done! 

Cold Blooded Liar by Karen Rose (Berkley, February 2023); 464 pp.

QUARTER TO MIDNIGHT

4 stars out of 5

Romantic anything is about half a dozen genres away from what I enjoy reading, but "suspense" brings it more into line with my liking. More daunting, at least for me, is that this one is just over 600 pages in length. That said, once I finally made it to the end, it's really not bad at all. It features ex-Marine Molly Sutton, a former law enforcement officer in North Carolina who join her former commanding officer Burke Broussard in his private investigation firm.

Meanwhile, in New Orleans, Gabe Hebert has emerged as a top chef in the French Quarter. But then his father dies and it's deemed a suicide - not, Gabe insists. So, he turns to Burke, his late father's best friend. That puts Gabe in tune with Molly, and from the start, it's music for their hearts (and those of readers who are into such things).

Apparently, Gabe's father, a former police officer, had spent years digging around the edges of a cold case murder that happened during Hurricane Katrina. When he got too close to the truth, he was warned off; when he didn't pay attention, he paid with his life. The rest of the story follows the details of Molly's investigation and the sometimes steamy relationship between Molly and Gabe. All in all, it's a solid, action-packed story that would be perfect for a summer beach read or in front of a roaring fireplace when the snow flies. I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review it.

Quarter to Midnight by Karen Rose (Berkley, August 2022); 604 pp.

MONSTER IN THE CLOSET

4 stars out of 5

Honestly, I don't think I've ever read a book that encompasses both the mystery/thriller and romance categories, and after finishing this one (which I truly enjoyed, BTW), I probably won't do it again. The thriller part is great - more than a few times I caught myself right on the edge of my usual seat at one end of our living room sofa. The romance part? SMH.

That's not because I'm anti-romance - heck, I've been married for 55 years, although I suppose some might say that's an argument for both sides of the equation - nor is it because I didn't like the characters. In fact, I liked them all a lot (except for the bad guys and gals, of course). But mostly, that sappy stuff tends to leave me cold when it's on paper. Here, my thinking was more like hey, it's the 21st century - any two people your age I know would have booked a room by now, especially when one of you, shall we say, gets aroused every time the other one of you as much as burps.

So, I'll concentrate my review on the thriller part, and it's pretty much all good. A young girl named Jazzie came home to find her mother lying on the floor dead - and the murderer rummaging around in the closet in the room. She hides behind a chair and - to her terror - sees who it is. About a month later Jazzie, who hasn't spoken a word since the day of the murder, and her little sister Janie are sent to an equine therapy facility. There, they meet Taylor Dawson, who's come from California for an internship after graduating college with a degree in psychology. 

At the facility, Taylor meets Ford Elkhart, the hunky son of the facility's owner (almost instantly, they become the two who really, really need to get a room). But Taylor has other issues; as a young child, her mother told her that her absent father was a terrible, mean person who someday would return to do her harm. She's since learned that her mother lied big-time, and she's desperately trying to find her birth father. Meanwhile, Ford's good friend and private-eye Clay Maynard has spent years trying to find the daughter he never knew, stolen by his spiteful ex-wife (hmmm, does two and two make four)?

Much of the tension happens when the murderer - who's been on the loose - begins to suspect that Jazzie could identify him. He finds out where the girl is, and his big question is whether she's shared her secret with anyone else and if so, with whom. How he answers that question threatens the lives of Jazzie, Taylor and several other fine folks.

Throughout if all, a number of other people are "connected" in various ways, with backstories that need to be kept straight (for the most part easy to do). Ultimately, they come together in an all's well that ends well finish.

I should also say that the entire book takes place over the course of a couple of days, making some of what happens a little tough to swallow. I'm pretty much willing to accept love at first glance. Believing that people who are willing to almost instantly forgive those they thought for years had done them wrong is a bit of a stretch. But when Taylor is injured during a squirmish, goes to the emergency room for stitches and the whole thing - from squirimsh to release - takes a total of two hours, it was all she wrote. I've known plenty of folks who had to visit an ER, and not a single one - not ever - got sprung in less than half a day.

My conclusion? Very enjoyable book. My thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Monster in the Closet by Karen Rose (Berkley, August 29, 2017); 508 pp.