THE HUNT

3.5 stars out of 5

That this reportedly is the final book in the Rina Lazarus/Peter Decker series makes me sad; after all, I don't think I've missed a single one since the first 26 books ago and have always looked forward to whatever's next. But what makes me sadder is that it just wasn't very satisfying. Yes, it wraps up things like Peter's last still-open case as a detective with the small-town Greenbury Police Department (New York) before the long-married couple embark on a previously announced phase of their lives. It's a leftover from an earlier book, but it's been too long since I read that one so I never quite reconnected.

But mostly, the focus is on recurring character Chris Donatti, the near sociopath and sex-addicted birth father of the Deckers' musically talented foster son Gabe. His birth mother, a wacky physician named Terry, is missing; Peter ends up calling in Chris, who apparently never stopped loving his ex-wife (insofar as he's capable of loving). He finds her with her daughter, on the lam from her current husband in India - but her son seems to have been kidnapped and even though she claims to hate Chris, she tells him she'll do anything it takes to get him back. And what it takes, it seems, is catering to Chris's incessant sexual demands.

And therein lies one of my issues; given Chris's addiction, I "get" the incessant part, but the graphic descriptions that accompanied each and every encounter were over the moon (probably the only place they didn't do the nasty). Don't misunderstand - I'm no prude, and read nothing that I've never heard of before; I understand the relevance of sex to the complex relationship between Chris and Terry. But to my eyes it was more than a little too explicit more than a little too often.

Adding to my discontent is that while both Peter's investigation and Chris's attempts to rescue Terry's son and win her back, Rina's contributions are mostly missing; when she shows up - which isn't very often - it's mostly to hug and feed her kids and reassure her husband that retiring is the right thing for him to do. Peter swears he won't retire until he and his partner Tyler McAdams get to the bottom of the case they're working on, but even he seems to not have his heart in his work. In any event, way more time was spent on speculating what might have happened than on the actual investigation.

Peter's long-time LAPD partner, Marge, makes an appearance, as do all the Decker kids, grandkids and even their mothers (bless their nonagenarian hearts). As such, the ending brings closure to just about everything in mostly expected ways; the only question left in my mind is whether Gabe and/or others from the Decker family might find their way into a new series of their own. All in all, it's worth reading, but I just wish it had left me with a more upbeat attitude toward all those books I've read over the years.

The Hunt by Faye Kellerman (William Morrow, August 2022); 492 pp.

THE ARCHIVIST

4 stars out of 5

If I had to describe my impression of this book in a single word, it would be pretentious. As a journalist/editor, I was taught never to use a $20 word when a 50-cent one would do. Right from the git-go, this rule-of-thumb got turned on its head and never righted itself throughout the 700 pages (yes, I had to look up several words, the meanings of which I couldn't discern through context alone). Also off-putting to me is the length; with the exception of the Harry Potters, a couple of James Micheners and a Stephen King or two, anything more than 400 pages and I'm inclined to run the other way.

So all that said, I was surprised at being drawn in almost from the beginning and even more shocked when my enthusiasm grew as the pages trudged on. Even before the halfway point, in fact, I just didn't want to put it down, and for a book of this length, I finished it in record time.

At the heart of the story are two professional archivists - Nadia Fontaine and Emily Snow - both hired to organize the "papers" of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Raymond West at his alma mater, Regents University, where he's also a professor. But at different times; Nadia, who came first, drowned while surfing, deemed an accident by police. Emily followed, chosen because of her expertise and the need to finish Raymond's collection in time for the opening of the $25 million upgrade to the college library's eighth floor, where the collection will be housed (also, hopefully, coinciding with the announcement that Raymond has won the year's Nobel Prize for literature). Of even more importance, though, is that those big bucks are coming from none other than Raymond's starchy wife, Elizabeth - so stepping on toes by anyone on the library staff, in particular the Special Collections Department, is, well, frowned upon.

As Emily starts to make sense of her predecessor's work and assess what still needs to be done, though, she notices that several items that should be in the collection are missing. But why? Were they simply mislaid, and if so, where? Or were they deliberately removed, and if so, why? Aided in secret by her closest friend at the library, Joel, Emily gains access to what's called the "Dark Archives" - and tumbles headlong into evidence of a torrid love affair between Raymond and Nadia. That puts Emily in sleuth mode, trying her best to get to the truth about the missing papers and Nadia's untimely death.

At almost every juncture, she gets pushback from the library powers-that-be, all of whom seem intent on stopping her from throwing a monkey wrench into the plans for the library makeover and embarrassing the college and Raymond's wealthy wife even though they have no idea how much she's already learned. Even Emily isn't totally sure what it all means, but she's convinced that no matter how the chips fall, Nadia's story - as recorded by both Nadia and Raymond - needs to be made public despite the family's wishes. That, in turn, brings Emily's ethics into serious question and, ultimately, threatens to destroy not only her career, but her very life.

In the interest of full disclosure - and other readers' sensitivities - I will note that the book has plenty of graphic sex (culled from Nadia's super-detailed accounts of her trysts with Raymond). Also, I'll hope that Moleskine and Societe paid for the extensive product placement (if they didn't, the companies darned well should ante up for all those mentions). I'd also concede that the story could have been told in fewer pages by leaving out what some might deem irrelevant details (such as descriptions of clothing, where and what a character ate and drank). From my perspective, though, those details help shape the story and add substantially to character development (in other words, I'm fine with it). Finally, I think this could be a great motion picture or, maybe even better, a TV series.

All that comes together to make a very enjoyable, thought-provoking and at times scary tale I'm really glad I took the time to read. Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for giving me the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy.

Oh, and for the record (which I'm including only on my book blog here), one of the main reasons I requested this book is the author's name - much the same as when I first read the Joe Pickett series by C.J. Boxx. My maiden name is Pickett, and I have a cousin on that side of the family named Rex (different last name, but close enough for horseshoes).

The Archivist by Rex Pickett (Blackstone Publishing, November 2021); 700 pp.

SOLACE ISLAND

4 stars out of 5

Billed as a "contemporary novel with a strong suspense element," I must first and foremost warn those who, like me, aren't into "bodice-rippers" that this book is littered with the stuff. "He was envious of the strands of [her] hair for their right to caress her face at will," is a mild example; most of the rest is far, far more graphic. The suspense part didn't rear its much-anticipated head until the 50% mark (and boy, was I ever happy to see it).

Suffice it to say, then, that had I not received an advance copy for review (which I'd requested because the author is an award-winning actress I admire), it's likely that I'd have called it quits early on. But I didn't; and given the excellent writing and almost edge-of-seat action (once it got going), I must say that overall, this is a very good book with which anyone who loves romance combined with suspense should be absolutely delighted (put another way, just because the romance genre isn't my cup of tea doesn't mean it isn't well done).

It begins with 27-year-old Maggie Harris getting dumped by her five-year fiance the day before the wedding. As they've been running a successful business together, Maggie insists that he buy her out or else she'll sell her interest to someone else. To get some much-needed "me" time, Maggie agrees to her sister Eve's proposition to take a three-week getaway on Solace Island off the Washington coast. On the ferry trip to the island, a distraught Maggie is noticed by hunky Luke Benson, a baker who lives on the island and sells his popular breads at the weekly market. When Maggie gets lost trying to find their rental cottage in the dark, she once again encounters Luke - a meeting that, as readers might suspect, arouses Luke's prurient interest in getting to know her better.

Also as readers might suspect, there's many a slip between the cup and Maggie's lips; when Luke fails to show up for a "thank you" dinner at Maggie and Eve's place, the sisters are, well, not happy. Because they've decided to try selling Maggie's sweet treats at the market but are thwarted by the local rules and regulations, they ask Luke for help with getting their feet in the door. Wanting to spend more time with Maggie, Luke agrees.

As mentioned above, at about the half-way mark, the plot thickens as Maggie is nearly run down by a car. In fact, it's likely she'd have been killed on the spot without a last-second shove by Luke (which in turn brings into question who he really is and what he's doing on the island besides baking). His background comes to the forefront even more when, for their safety, Maggie and Eve move into his high-tech, spectacular home on the island. By now, Maggie has pretty much decided that she shares Luke's lust, but given what she doesn't know about him, can she trust him? Of course, readers learn the answer to that question as the story - and more attempts on Maggie's life - play out. Everything leads to an exciting finish, part of which I expected and part I missed by a country mile. My conclusion? Except for the focus on body parts and innovative ways they can be utilized, this really is a riveting book.

Solace Island by Meg Tilly (Berkley, November 2018); 301 pp.