THE ALTAR GIRLS

5 stars out of 5

Although it's hard for me to imagine anyone who's life is so, well, discombobulated, I always look forward to reading more about Detective Lottie Parker from Ragmullin, Ireland. This is the 13th book in the series, and if nothing else, the edge-of-my-seat ending made this one a favorite so far. To be sure, the topic - the murder of children - isn't exactly fun, but coupled with Lottie's love and coworker Mark Boyd's exhaustive search for the son his ex-wife stole from him, the whole thing is a barn-burner.

It begins with the discovery of a young girl's body on the grounds of the local cathedral; Lottie is crossing her fingers that it isn't little Willow Devine, whose mother reported her missing earlier in the midst of a terrible snowstorm. Turns out it's Willow's friend, Naomi Kiernan; but while that brings some relief, it still means a child has been murdered - and the question of whether Willow has met the same fate.

After questioning numerous potential suspects, including a priest who isn't terribly forthcoming (and several parents with similar attitudes), the worst happens; Willow's body is found. In the midst of all this, Lottie must deal with her mother's ever-worsening dementia and Boyd's abandonment of the case as he runs off to follow a trail he hopes will lead to his son.

There's plenty of action throughout as the investigation and Boyd's search continue, as well as plenty of murder suspects, and it was a struggle putting it down as activities of daily life - like cooking dinner - intervened. By the time I reached the three-quarter mark, though, you couldn't have pried it out of my hands. Fortunately, it's easy to read, so my long-suffering hubby didn't have to go hungry for long. Now, I'm ready for the next one - and I heartily thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review a pre-release copy of this one.

The Altar Girls by Patricia Gibney (Bookouture, November 2023); 504 pp.

THE RAGING STORM

4 stars

I've read and enjoyed the first two books in this series featuring North Devon Detective Matthew Venn, who's an intriguing character beyond the mind he uses to solve crimes. Not only did he leave the cult-like religion to which his parents adhere, but he found and married the love of his life, a pleasant and capable chap named Jonathan. This time around, he's back "home" in Greystone, the land of his childhood and still home to many of the super-religious Brethren - who basically tossed him from the fold in a very public manner years ago.

So it with a bit of trepidation that Matthew leaves Jonathan and heads to Scully Cove, where the naked body of a local man Jem Roscoe, who's gained fame as a sailor is found abandoned in a dinghy. Blood found in the bathroom of the place Jem was staying offered proof that the death was no accident. From that point on, Matthew and his team battle nasty weather, but while the suspect list grows almost by the day, the investigation turns up little to no real evidence. The story actually moves rather sluggishly - mirroring, perhaps, cases that happen in the real world - until closer to the end when a second dead body turns up. This one - an individual who is at least under consideration as the culprit - may well be a suicide; but Matthew's keen instincts, and the keen investigative skills of his team including Jen Rafferty and Ross May, prove otherwise.

Meantime, Matthew is a bit concerned about his relationship with Jonathan, who's clearly got something on his mind he wants to share, but the murders don't leave much down time for heart-to-hearts. By the end, though, both the murders and Jonathan's dilemma are known to readers, with one of them providing fodder for the next book. All in all, it's another enjoyable reading experience, and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for providing me once again with a pre-release copy for review.

The Raging Storm by Ann Cleeves (Minotaur Books, September 2023); 392 pp.

LITTLE BONES

4 stars out of 5

Of the 10 books featuring small-town Ireland Detective Inspector Lottie Parker, I've read the five most recent (including this one). By now, Lottie is almost like an old friend - albeit one I can't help feeling sorry for because her personal life - and often her professional one as well - always seem to be so gloomy.

It's no different in this one; she and significant other, co-worker and Detective Sergeant Mark Boyd, are at least thinking about getting married. He shuffles between his own place and the fixer-upper home Lottie occupies with her school-age son Sean, daughter Katie and Katie's young daughter. It's a situation far from ideal - in fact, Lottie hates the place - but she's agreed to stay while her half-brother figures out what to do with it.

While work doesn't always provide the personal-life getaway she'd like - there are issues there as well - Lottie doesn't mind digging in, usually with gusto. This time, a woman walks in her daughter Isabel's house to babysit and gets a gut-wrenching surprise: her daughter's bloody body. The only saving grace is that the murderer spared the infant. Not long after Lottie and Mark are called in, another young mother, Joyce Breslin, goes missing; her four-year-old son follows suit, apparently abducted from his daycare center. Then, Joyce's body turns up as well - If that weren't enough, a female hiker unearths a tiny bone on a remote hillside - a bone, she's certain, is human.

All this leads the investigative team to consider numerous suspects, but mostly to dead ends. The discovery of a bloody razor blade solidifies Lottie's belief that the murders and abduction are related. Somehow, Lottie must connect all the dots before someone else, like Joyce's young son, becomes a victim as well. 

All in all, this is another engrossing entry in the series that ends, as most of them do, with a cliffhanger that I expect will be resolved in the next installment. I look forward to that, and thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review a pre-release copy of this one. Well done!

Little Bones by Patricia Gibney (Bookouture, Septembeer 2021); 2290 KB)

FAITHLESS IN DEATH

5 stars out of 5

It's New York City. The year is 2061. Cars are hovering about the city streets looking to "go vertical" for a parking spot, drivers using their wrist "links" to get directions and communicate. Back at the office, police Lt. Eve Dallas is fussing with required paperwork, probably drinking real coffee, or maybe even a slice of pizza, she programmed into her Auto Chef. She's almost relieved to get the call announcing a homicide.

When she and quirky partner Delia Peabody head out, they find a woman in her artist's apartment - on the floor with her head bashed in. Oddly, the apparent murder was called in by a female friend - at least an hour after the woman discovered the body. That, of course, prompts Dallas and Peabody to wonder what took her so long.

The caller, an ultra-wealthy woman named Gwen Huffman from the hoity-toity Upper East Side, comes up with a story that simply doesn't ring true, giving Dallas and Peabody cause to dig a bit harder. For openers, they learn that Huffman's parents are involved with a highly successful and highly secretive organization called the Natural Order that carries with it all the ugly trappings of white supremacy.

That's the beginnings of a tale that's tied in to current events, with a couple of not-too-discreet political slams I guess I'd rather do without (even though I'm totally on the same side). Dallas's hunky husband Roarke plays his usual role in sleuthing out the finer financial points while impeccably dressed and soothing out Dallas's ruffled feathers. The rest of the usual suspects get brief shining moments - as always, Dr. Mira not quite enough to suit me. The end is as expected, too, in the sense that both the good and bad guys and gals get what they deserve (with one pair getting a surprise opportunity that will bode well for their future). 

All told, an enjoyable way to wile away a few hours. Good job!

Faithless in Death by J.D. Robb (St. Martin's Press, February 2021); 383 pp.

LOST HILLS

4 stars out of 5

Familiar author, new character; no-brainer, then, to snap it up as my Amazon First Reads selection for December 2019. As it turns out, it's a solid police procedural that introduces L.A. County Sheriff's Department Homicide Detective Eve Ronin, who earned a transfer after pulling off a win at her previous job that resulted in considerable media facetime. Needless to say, her fellow (literally) officers are less than thrilled that she's in their midst. For the most part, that includes her about-to-retire partner, Duncan Parone, although he's a bit more willing to accept her than the rest of the department.

At the outset, Eve and Duncan get a call to investigate a possible homicide that ends up out of their hands. That's followed by a call to investigate the possible murder of a woman, her two children and their dog - this one actually in their department's jurisdiction. The home in which the possible victims lived, which belongs to the woman's boyfriend, is a bloody mess - strongly suggesting that everyone in the house has been brutally murdered even though no bodies are found.

The rush to find out what actually happened, where the bodies (assumed to have been dismembered) are stashed and, of course, who did it is complicated by characters in animal costumes, wildfires that threaten to destroy huge portions of the California landscape and department muckety-mucks who want the case solved in record time so they'll get the glory. Leads take Eve all over the place, including to Walmart and one of my favorite lines from the book as Eve reveals that she's always "hated the lighting in Walmarts. It makes everything and everyone look like they'd walked through a downpour of urine."


In the background, she must deal with a movie star wannabe of a mother (who desperately wants Eve to attain star status of her own) and a father she hasn't seen for a decade. Those attributes, plus dealing with resentment from work colleagues, make Eve not unlike several other police heroines from other series I enjoy. I will say, though, that unlike some of them, Eve isn't paranoid and doesn't constantly second-guess all her decisions - definitely a plus in my book.

The last few chapters turn into a frenzy of activity (which I won't discuss because it could spoil things for those who haven't read the book yet). Honestly, it's almost too frantic for my tastes, but on the other hand, I must admit that from that point on I couldn't put the book down (yet another of those "Just give me 5 more minutes, honey, and I'll come to bed" scenarios). Overall, it's a great start to a new series and I look forward to more of both Eve and Duncan.

Lost Hills by Lee Goldberg (Thomas & Mercer, January 2019); 237 pp.

COLD HARD CASH

5 stars out of 5


By golly, this is a good book! In fact, it's an excellent series; I admit I skipped the first one ("Cold Comfort"), but  I thoroughly enjoyed the second ("Cold Trail") and this, the third featuring Hartbourne Metro Detective Bridgette Cash, is better still. 

As this one begins, Bridgette is back at work after events of the previous book brought trauma - including the loss of her partner. She's escorted to an underwater cave, where a diver found two dead bodies: one many years old and the other relatively fresh. Both, it's determined, died as a result of gunshots to the head. Other than that, clues as to their identity remain submerged, but Bridgette begins an investigation that hopefully will land results.

Her beloved supervisor, Felix Delray. has her back; but he's at the mercy of a commissioner who, let's just say, isn't Bridgette's biggest fan (nor she his). In part because Bridgette may be in danger as a result of her continued attempts to find the person who murdered her mother a couple of decades ago, the commissioner orders up a new partner named Aaron Sterling. He's obnoxious, arrogant and disdainful of women (Bridgette in particular), but she's determined to make the best of the situation.

Initially focusing on the more recent victim, Bridgette finally narrows the list to a missing person at a local horse breeder's operation. Her boss claims to know nothing about the place (why the police wouldn't be fully aware of it since it sponsors an annual race that brings in an attendance of 70,000 is a puzzlement to me, but hey). At any rate, he gives Bridgette the go-ahead to visit, checking out the stable that belonged to the man who suddenly disappeared and learning that he isn't the first.

That discovery leads to other links in the investigative chain, a bang-up ending and, of course, fodder for another book. For those who enjoy police procedurals with interesting characters and plenty of action, I recommend that you give this series a try. Meantime, I thank the author for offering me a copy to read and review. Well done!

Cold Hard Cash by Trevor Douglas (Amazon Digital Services LLC, March 2019); 325 pp.

A MEASURE OF DARKNESS

4 stars out of 5

After I finished the debut book in this series, Crime Scene, last year, I knew I'd keep going. And sure enough - thanks to an advance review copy from the publisher - I got my chance at the follow-up. It is, I believe, better than the first, thus signaling that the father-son author combo may have found its groove. What it lacks in down-and-dirty action is more than compensated for by interesting, likable characters, a good story and expertly turned phrases.

At its heart, though, it's a fairly basic police procedural; the main character, Clay Edison, is a deputy in the Coroner's Bureau. He's got Amy, his live-in love, a wayward just-out-of-jail brother with whom he has a love-hate relationship and, at the start of this one, some dead bodies that went bump in the night.

But one of those bodies is not like the others; she was found elsewhere on the property, was strangled rather than shot and her identity can't be determined. Intrigued, Clay sets out to rectify that latter point, and once accomplished, begins to work on the whodunit and why. That trail leads to the victim's childhood school - a private one that touts total freedom for the students (think Montessori on speed). As all this is unraveling, Clay continues to work on the case of the other victims, one of whom has an identity crisis of his (or her) own. In the middle of it all, here comes his brother Luke - with a rather brash fiance in tow - claiming to be a changed man and offering Clay an investment deal guaranteed to earn a pot of money.

Beyond that, the whole thing is a fairly straightforward look at how all of Clay's professional and personal scenarios are resolved (including his relationship with Amy). Although I'd personally like fewer characters to keep straight, most things get sorted out by the end (leaving, perhaps, one or two little issues unresolved, presumably to be continued in the next adventure. For sure I'll be watching for it!

A Measure of Darkness by Jonathan Kellerman and Jesse Kellerman (Ballantine Books, July 2018); 352 pp.

ERASING MEMORY

5 stars out of 5


My honest thought as I finished this book? Thank goodness I got my hands on it before relations between the United States and Canada started to go you-know-where in a handbasket. That's because, I'm delighted to report, I've found a new series to love.

Well, sort of new; apparently, it was first published in 2011, so I'm not sure why it hasn't made it across the border till now. I am quite certain, though, that I want to read more about "Mac" MacNeice (oddly, I don't recall seeing a first name), a senior police detective in the fictitious Dundurn, Ontario. Apparently, there are three more books to be released between now and November, so there's plenty to look forward to.

I really love MacNeice, who is still grieving the loss of his beloved wife. Oh, there are hints of a possible personal connection with his co-worker Fiza Aziz - herself an interesting person in that she's a Muslim with a doctoral degree - but nothing serious developed by the end of this book. Is it a thriller? Not really; I'd characterize it as a basic police procedural (albeit with a unique method of murder), and for the record, that's my favorite kind of book. 

As he returns from visiting his wife's grave, MacNeice gets a call to a murder that took place in a remote beach house. For more than one reason the woman can't be readily identified, but a bruise under her chin tells MacNeice that she was a violinist - as was his late wife. The rather horrific way she was killed doesn't help much in the clue department, so the motive remains a mystery as well.

But with input from the unusually perceptive MacNeice and investigative work by Fiza and other very capable (and likable) co-workers, the woman is finally identified; she'd recently graduated from a conservatory and apparently was headed toward a career as a professional musician. She had a wealthy businessman for a father, giving rise to the possibility that her murder may have been intended as some kind of message to him. But then, another body turns up - and connections between the two murders begin to take shape, as does the investigation itself. As much as anything, I enjoyed the character development and interactions; there are a few plot twists and life-threatening situations that keep the intrigue going, but at the same time I finished the book with a full set of intact fingernails.

In short, this was a joy to read (and thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy). Now if I could just get my hands on the next one, hint, hint...

Erasing Memory by Scott Thornley (Spiderline, June 2018); 322 pp.

BLOOD RUNS COLD

3.5 stars out of 5


This is my first experience with the Detective Anna Gwynne series (the first is The Silent Girls). Like most heroines of this genre, she's competent on the job and comes with a bit of baggage from her past (think Lt. Eve Dallas of the J.D. Robb series). She's with the Bristol Police, just having returned to work after four months off as a result of serious injuries incurred, I assume, in the first book.

One of her first assignments is the years-old cold case murder of a child named Rosie Dawson, whose boiled-and-polished bones were found but not her murderer. When Blair Smearton, a young girl who is hearing impaired, goes missing now, Anna's technology team looks to the Dark Web and finds photos of both Rosie and Blair in what is almost certain to be the same room. The team's conclusion? Both were taken by the same person, no doubt a serial killer.

Hoping to find Blair before her bones meet the same fate as Rosie's, Anna and her colleagues ramp up an all-out effort. For her part, Anna turns for help to a in-prison killer named Hector Shaw, with whom she apparently has a prior and not happy relationship. Asking him for insights about how and why he killed his victims, she reasons, may be of help in locating Blair and unearthing Rosie's killer.

Interjected into the story early on is Detective Dave Woakes, a transfer from another police department who turns out to be a thorn in Anna's side. Alas, that seems to be his only purpose; he adds absolutely nothing to the story except to give Anna someone to complain about. Perhaps he's being introduced here with the intent of having him show up in a future installment, but otherwise, he's worthless.

Anna's investigation also puts her in contact with Dr. Hawley, an ER physician who was questioned and narrowly escaped being charged for Rosie's murder simply because he "allowed" the child, who has Down Syndrome, to climb on his lap and give him a smooch when he soothed her earache during an ER visit. Anna's confidence in the doctor's innocence, however, isn't shared by other members of her team. So who's right? 

The answer to that doesn't come till late in the book (and no, I'm not going to reveal that information, nor whether or not the team gets to Blair in time to save her life). I will say that the end result, when it comes, seems a bit rushed; at the very least, I'd like to have had a little more detail about the abductor's background (one incident from his or her past, though reprehensible, does not necessarily a serial killer make).

Overall, my opinion is that this is well worth taking to a summer beach or on a longer airplane trip - and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy. It's got reasonably likable characters, a touch of modern technology to keep it timely and enough suspense to hold interest throughout. Honestly, other than the inclusion of that totally disposable Woakes character, my main issue with this book is the intended-to-tantalize subtitle: "A completely unputdownable mystery and suspense thriller." It's a mystery, yes, but the rest of that description? Sorry - not even close. 

Blood Runs Cold by Dylan Young (Bookouture, May 2018); 304 pp.

BRING HER HOME

4 stars out of 5

Bill Price and his teenage daughter, Summer, are still trying to cope with the sudden loss of their wife and mother, Julia, who fell to her death about a year and a half earlier. Not wanting to alienate Summer as she continues to grieve, Bill gives her a bit more rein than usual - not forcing the issue if she stays out a bit later or sulks around the house. That leeway comes into serious question, though, when Summer and her best friend Haley go missing. 

Days later, they're found in a city park; Haley is dead, and Summer has been beaten to an unrecognizable pulp but is still clinging to life. In the hospital ICU, she begins the slow process of healing - her father and his sister, Paige, by her side almost every minute. Once in a while, she tries to speak - and the word she utters seems to be "no." She also knocks the stuffed animal Bill brought to comfort her - the one she refuses to sleep without at home - on the floor every time he places it in the bed with her. What, Bill wonders, is up with that?

Bill also questions the efforts of the local police, who he's convinced aren't doing enough to find out who did this to his precious daughter. For solace, he turns to Paige and his ever-so-slick friend and next-door neighbor, Adam. But mostly, he rants, yells, cajoles and berates the lead police detective on the case (that is, when he's not running off to badger someone he suspects is the culprit). Each time he gets himself in trouble for sticking his nose into police business, he apologizes - and then turns around and does it again when a new suspect (to his mind) turns up. 

As the investigation continues, new information is unearthed on almost every page (clearly not fast enough for Bill, but it seemed plenty fast for me). Much of it sheds new light on Summer, leading Bill to reflect on how much he and his late wife really knew their precious daughter.

Especially given that at least one major twist happens near the beginning, that's about all I can say without giving away too much. The story is interesting and straightforward (the chapters don't shift back and forth among characters and/or time period, thank you very much), the action moves along quickly and the loose ends are pretty well tied up in the end - making for a very enjoyable experience overall. Many thanks to the publisher (via NetGalley) for the opportunity to read an advance review copy.

Bring Her Home by David Bell (Berkley, July 2017); 464 pp.

CUT TO THE BONE

4 stars out of 5

If nothing else, the story here is timely: At the heart of it all is "vlogging" - video blogging - plus more technology tricks for ferreting deleted information out of computers and cell phones than I ever dreamed existed. All in all, it's a very good debut novel, for which I thank the publisher (via NetGalley) for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

It begins when Ruby Day, a wildly popular vlogger, is reported missing by her distraught parents. The case lands at the feet of detective inspector Kate Riley, detective superintendent Zain Harris and the rest of the team from their newly formed department. Things take a nasty turn when a video is posted online depicting Ruby begging for her life, putting the detective team on high alert with the realization that they've got to move fast - but there are few clues to indicate where they should go next.

As team members put their technology talents to work, they begin to uncover information that points to Ruby's ex-boyfriend, vloggers who are being exploited by a less-than-honorable management company, misdeeds by a corporation that would be out of business in a heartbeat should the facts become known and dastardly cover-ups at the highest levels. Meantime, Ruby and Zain must deal with emotionally draining personal issues of their own - issues that simultaneously bring them together and drive them apart. In fact, that's true of several of the characters here; not only are they so seriously flawed that it's hard to tell the baddies from the goodies, but they're so many in number that I had a tough time keeping them straight in my aging head.

As the plot moves along, the investigation sort of splits in two directions, one of which is resolved (with several twists and turns) and the other not so much. Also left hanging are those complicated issues Kate and Zain have been dealing with for years, making me suspect this book may be intended as the start of a series. Whether or not that's true, bloggers, vloggers, gamers and technology buffs should be happy with this one (for the record, count me in two of those categories). And if I'm correct about a series, count me as one who'll be happy to sample the next one.

Cut to the Bone by Alex Caan (Skyhorse Publishing, March 2017); 440 pp.

DON'T LOOK BEHIND YOU

4 stars out of 5


When three women are attacked over a period of three days in the small city of Stockleigh, detective Eden Berrisford and her team on the relatively new Community Intelligence Team get serious about finding who's done them before someone else falls victim. Based on some of the terminology, I assume this is somewhere in the United Kingdom - my London-born-and-bred daughter-in-law provided answers straightaway to my questions about a couple. Who knew, for instance, that "bacon butties" and "chip butties" basically are sandwiches - one filled with a ton of bacon and the other with big fat fries (the skinny ones she's been subjected to now that she's living here in the states would never do, she emphasized).

Meantime, Eden helps her sister at a women's refuge, which provides shelter for those who have suffered from domestic abuse. There, she gets to know several of the here-and-gone-and back-again women such as Carla, whose husband, Ryan, just got out of jail. Carla has been forced to move several times since the death of their young daughter because Ryan has managed to track her down each time, but she's enjoyed a long respite while he was behind bars. Now, she's back to double-checking locks on doors and windows and looking over her shoulder at every step.

This is the second in the Eden Berrisford series, which I requested and received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Apparently, Eden's still-husband Danny unexpectedly walked out a couple of years earlier, leaving her with their daughter Casey (a situation I assume was outlined in greater detail in the first book). Now, Eden has found a significant other of sorts in Joe, although their relationship is a bit rocky - partly because Eden hasn't yet divorced Danny and partly because she throws her heart and soul into her work.

Chapters focus on the investigation into the attacks as well as what's going on (and happened previously) in the lives of the women at the shelter - complete with scenes that are rather graphic, for those bothered by such things. Readers also learn "secrets" in Eden's own life that she'd prefer to keep to herself. There's really nothing pleasant I can say about the story or any of the characters, except that the details of the investigation play out interestingly - with a few surprises tucked here and there - the action is pretty much nonstop (heating up near the end) and the whole thing is very well written. There's even an issue left dangling which, I presume, will be revisited in the next installment. I'm in!

Don't Look Behind You by Mel Sherratt (Bookouture, January 2017); 287 pp.

LITTLE BOY BLUE

4 stars out of 5

Forewarned is forearmed: Major cliffhanger here. Put another way, if you want to find out how (or whether) lead character detective inspector Helen Grace gets out of the tangled mess she's in at the end of this one, you'll have to wait till the next installment is published. 

I must say that ending, or the lack thereof, rather annoyed the heck out of me. But other than that, this is a doggone kick-butt book. In fact, I had a hard time putting it down. Thankfully, the chapters are short so it's easy to get in one or two while the coffeepot finishes up or even during commercials as I watched a favorite TV show. It's a fast-paced plot with enough murders to make the Boston Strangler wish he'd lived in merry old Southhampton. 

The plot also smacks of kinky; in fact, it begins with a murder in a popular S&M club called the Torture Rooms. How bad? Well, I know I'm not fully cognizant of the words and phrases common to this fetish, but I admit to having to look up the definition of one or two. Understandably, secrecy is the order of business here; and when Helen sees the victim and realizes they knew each other, she nearly panics. That's a part of her life she really doesn't want revealed, but she knows keeping her proclivities to herself will become more difficult as the investigation progresses. Then, the unthinkable happens: Another murder, and once again, the victim is connected to Helen.

Clearly, Helen has issues - some of them whoppers - but then so does just about every person she works with in the department. And that doesn't count a bulldog-like journalist, once Helen's friend, who's sniffing in all the corners and under the beds in hopes of making Helen suffer and landing the scoop that will boost her career to the stratosphere. 

This is, for the record, No. 5 in the series; I've read (and enjoyed) one other, so I was delighted to be approved by the publisher to read it in exchange for an honest review. For the most part it stands alone, although it was clear here and there that I'd have had a better understanding of some things had I read earlier editions. For that reason, I'll give the same advice I always do to readers of books in any series: For best results, start from the beginning. 

Little Boy Blue by M.J. Arlidge (Berkley, October 2016); 393 pp.

THE PICK, THE SPADE AND THE CROW

5 stars out of 5

My, oh my - what a delight! What's even better is that this is the first book in a series. After finishing this one, it's a sure bet I'll be in the queue for the next installment.

See what I did there? The book, featuring Senior Investigator Joanne Stuart, takes place in merry old England, where they're wont to say things like "queue" instead of "line," get things "sorted" rather than "straightened out" and insist on putting an extra "e" in "judgment."

What happens in the story, though, is anything but merry. Jo has been assigned to the National Crime Agency's Behavioural Sciences Unit in Salford Quay, Manchester, where a body has been unearthed - literally - in a wooded area outside the city. Turns out it's a man who's been missing for 10 years, and (gulp!) he was tied up and buried alive. The investigative team also finds a strange character carved into a nearby tree, adding another dimension to the very cold case.

There are few clues to follow, but Jo is committed to getting to the truth - in part to help justify her new assignment and gain approval of her new team. Together, they chip away at new leads and find a few connections with the past disappearances of other men. Then comes a second, brand-new murder - bringing with it the probability that they're dealing with a serial killer. Finding the real connection to the deaths, however, proves elusive until some of the clues begin coming together. Where they point is not only disturbing, but as Jo inches closer to the truth, puts her very life on the line. 

The plot moves along quickly, and the characters - Jo in particular - are well developed. In that regard, while Jo's life with her female partner plays a role in the emotional turmoil she faces every day, it never becomes a "gay" issue at home or at work. Rather, it's dealt with in the same matter-of-fact manner as any other male-female relationship would be. How refreshing!

Many, many thanks to the author and publisher (via NetGalley) for giving me the opportunity to read this terrific book in exchange for an honest review. Do I hope to be on the list for the next one? Yes, please!

The Pick, The Space and The Crow by Bill Rogers (Amazon Digital Services LLC, September 2016); 364 pp.

MISSING, PRESUMED

5 stars out of 5 

The first handful of chapters of this book really didn't grab me, so I wasn't sure how the rest would go. But because I received a copy in exchange for a review, I stuck with it. And that turned out to be a good decision.

Anyone looking for fast-paced, constant action, though, won't find much of it here. There's an interesting plot - more on that in a bit - but it's the author's in-depth character development and expertise in turning a phrase that really reeled me in. Some lines made me chuckle, and even though our daughter-in-law is London-born and I can hold my own conversing intelligently with those from across the Pond, I admit to learning a few new British words (winkle-pickers? Who knew)?

I can't say I'd ever pick any of the characters for close personal friends, but I certainly got to know them inside and out. For openers there's Manon Bradshaw, a detective with the Cambridgeshire police; at 39, her biological alarm clock is about to go off and she's got little hope for a turnaround ("Two years of Internet dating. It's fair to say they haven't flown by.") On top of that, she's had a tough childhood, is estranged from her sister Ellie and thoroughly dislikes the woman her father married after her mother died. She gets by with a little help from her friends, most of whom are on the police force, like Davy, who hasn't got a bad word to say about anybody. 

But then Edith, the 24-year-old daughter of a wealthy family - the father is the Royal Family's physician, for goodness sake - goes missing. The police find some blood, her phone and car keys in her house, suggesting she left in a hurry and possibly not of her own volition. Aware that it's a high-profile case, Manon and her cohorts begin to track down clues, talking to those close to Edith including her parents, her boyfriend, a best girlfriend and a few other miscreants who appear to have ties to the girl. 

Chapters shift from the perspectives of major characters, and gradually, clues emerge as to what really happened. There are a few twists that kept me on my toes, and while I won't say the ending is particularly shocking, it did bring somewhat unexpected closure to an all-around good story. Definitely recommended!

Missing, Presumed by Susie Steiner (Random House, June 2016); 369 pp.

EXTREME PREY

4 stars out of 5

Reading books I've received free in exchange for reviews, as I often do, is always a bit stressful. If nothing else, I've got to pay close attention and jot down notes to remind me what I liked (or didn't). So when I have the time to pick up a book by a favorite author - with a character that's on my list of 10 all-time favorites - I open it with a huge smile on my face. So it was when I started this one.

When I finished it, I was still smiling, but not quite as broadly. Maybe it was the more-than-slight political slant that turned me off a bit, and maybe it was just that the thrill of the chase wasn't quite as exciting as I'd hoped (well, at least not until the end, when all heck breaks loose). Bottom line? Well worth reading, but not the best of the 26-book series featuring Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension agent Lucas Davenport.

Make that former agent; fed up with the bureaucracy, Lucas - independently wealthy s a result of selling software he developed - has left the BCA, keeping busy remodeling his cabin in the Wisconsin woods. But then he gets a call from an old friend, the governor of Minnesota (who's running for President in hopes of landing the VP spot on the ticket) asking him to look into a possible assassination plot. He agrees, of course, and heads for Iowa to learn that apparently, someone is out to get another Presidential hopeful, Michaela Bowden, who's coming to the Hawkeye State to campaign.

As part of the investigation, Lucas hooks up with some interesting Iowa law enforcement officers, and the trail points to a couple of extremest groups that may be focused on assassination. That, in turn, raises a number of questions: Is it the whole group, or a member or two gone rogue? When and how will the assassination attempt be made? Can Lucas and his new police friends get the answers before something the unthinkable happens?

The investigative route is pretty extensive - literally, with Lucas driving hell bent for election (pun intended) all over the state and back. Lucas himself becomes a target more than once, narrowly escaping serious injury or death (for the record, I don't consider that a spoiler, since I can't imagine that anyone reading this expects Lucas to bite the dust and not be around for a 27th book). Still, the attempts to bring the investigation to a halt by whoever's doing it make it abundantly clear that something really big and really nasty is about to happen.

In the small towns of rural Iowa, Lucas and friends meet some colorful characters, to say the least. And for those who might be wondering, yes, as usual, the leading character in another of the author's series, Virgil Flowers (a.k.a., that f***'in Flowers) gets mentioned a time or two. Noticeably absent is Letty, Lucas's adopted daughter (of whom I'm not very fond, so I didn't miss her a whit) and Weather, his plastic surgeon wife (of whom I am, and I did). Here and there are touches of humor, and I found myself chuckling when I learned that I totally agree with Lucas's opinion of state fairs - give me a county fair any day, thank you very much. 

Even if this book isn't my favorite, I started it as a diehard Lucas Davenport fan and remain one at the end. For those who haven't read any of the books yet, it (and the others) stand alone quite well and I recommend them highly. 

Extreme Prey by John Sandford (G.P. Putnam's Sons, April 2016); 410 pp.

BROTHERHOOD IN DEATH

4 stars out of 5

Be careful what you wish for. To-wit: Over the course of the last three or four books in this series, I've watched one of my all-time favorite characters - the dashing, talented and filthy rich Roarke, husband of emotionally fragile homicide detective Eve Dallas  - transition from loving and supportive to borderline smothering and controlling. To be sure, it's a fine line to cross (especially given Eve's emotional fragility that resulted from an abusive childhood), but I'm not the only one to point this out; other reviewers have noted it as well. 

In this latest installment, the difference was notable; this time around, when Roarke crosses that line by initiating changes he believes his wife "needs" without consulting her, Eve fights back - to the point of bruising his sometimes enormous ego. Admittedly, her objections are mitigated as the story progresses and their issues are resolved mostly in Roarke's favor; still, it was rather nice to see Eve stand up for herself in her personal life for a change.

Other than that - and maybe in part because of that,  the book seemed to lack the punch of other installments. Yes, I read it as quickly as possible, as usual not wanting to put it down. But overall, I'd have to describe it as a bit bland compared with others I've read. It begins as Dennis Mira, husband of Dr. Charlotte Mira, a friend of Eve's and a police profiler, pays a visit to his late grandfather's brownstone in New York's West Village. Dennis's brother, Edward, who co-inherited the property, is intent on selling it over his brother's objections and supposedly is meeting with a real estate agent on this day.

As Dennis enters, he hears voices and then spots his brother, who's apparently been attacked; almost immediately, Dennis is hit in the head from behind and goes down for the count. When he wakes up, Edward - a former lawyer, judge and senator - has disappeared. Dennis makes the call to Eve to help locate his brother; an investigation reveals that all traces of intruders have vanished, along with the house security tapes. Given Edward's background (and the fact he's clearly not a nice man) mean more than a few people don't like him much - including his brother Dennis. Could it be, then, that someone has decided to get even?

Eve enlists the help of her technologically gifted Irish husband to sort it all out, digging into backgrounds, facts and figures generally unavailable even to police and despite the futuristic setting (sometime in the 2020s, I believe). Along the way, a very sordid story is unearthed - a story that elicits painful memories of Eve's nightmarish childhood (a bit too often, in my opinion). It's also one not for the squeamish, although descriptions of the crimes aren't particularly graphic (also in my opinion). One thing, though, is crystal clear: Payback really is a you-know-what.

Brotherhood in Death by J.D. Robb (Berkley, February 2016); 389 pp.

THE CROSSING

4 stars out of 5

The trouble with Harry is that he's agreed to work with his "Lincoln Lawyer" half-brother. I love both characters (Harry Bosch and Mickey Haller ), but if I'm honest, I'd have to say I wasn't as thrilled to see them working together as I thought I'd be. I'm not exactly why, except that while both share center stage as they go about their respective business, some of the shine (for want of a better word) that puts the uniqueness in their personalities just seemed a bit dull around the edges.

The story begins as the Mickster is defending a former gang member who's been charged with the brutal murder of a woman - according to the cops and prosecutor, an open-and-shut case. Haller, though, is convinced his guy has been set up; but to prove it, he needs a better-than-good investigator. Enter Bosch, who retired from the Los Angeles Police Department and in theory is available. Problem is, he doesn't want anything to do with Haller or his blustery, sometimes shady tactics; signing on with the defense would be tantamount to thumbing his nose at his former LAPD family.

Eventually, Haller wears down Bosch's defenses, convincing him to view the job as if he were doing his cop thing by finding the real culprit rather than helping to get a low-life killer out of jail (like beauty, intent apparently is in the eye of the beholder). And as he starts sniffing around, Bosch finds several holes in the investigation that make him think the case may be more open than shut - and his old cop instincts really do start kicking in.

So does the action, which includes a hit-and-run, scantily clad "businesswomen," more murders and the potential for blowback that could put the LAPD in the eye of a hurricane. As he gets deeper into the investigation, Bosch seeks help, and gets it, from a few former colleagues like former partner Lucia Soto even as he butts heads with a few other department cronies who are less than thrilled that he's joined the dark side.

All things considered, this book is very good, but not great. I look at it this way: After more than seven decades of eating, I still get a little antsy when different foods on my plate touch each other; similarly, I prefer that my characters lead separate lives (and books).

The Crossing by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown and Co., November 2015); 401 pp.

DEVOTED IN DEATH

3.5 stars out of 5

It's a case of star-crossed lovers (think Romeo and Juliet) with a bent for murder (add a touch of Bonnie and Clyde). That's who Manhattan police Lt. Eve Dallas and her crew are chasing here. It begins when a victim turns up in an alley, the body so mangled that Eve nearly misses the heart with two initials - E and D - carved into the victim's skin. That leads the team to believe this might not be the first victim, and sure enough, further investigation turns up a string of bodies from Arkansas to New York and the possibility of a pair of serial torturer/killers who most likely have no plans to stop any time soon.

Then a couple more missing persons come to light in Manhattan, and it becomes a race to identify the killers and catch them before they get away with two more. But even by putting to use all the technology they have at hand - notably more in the year 2061, when this book is set, than today - it's still a race to the finish. 

All in all, it's an exciting ride as usual, but somehow, this one fell a bit short of my expectations (because half-stars aren't possible here, I rounded up my actual rating of 3.5 stars to four only because it's better than rounding down to three). Why? It sounds simplistic to say the book is a bit lackluster compared with the others - the plot, after all, is interesting and moves along just as a police procedural should. 

But somehow, the whole thing felt a little flat, starting with Eve's super-rich, super technology talented and impossibly handsome Irish husband, Roarke, who anticipates, and caters, to her every need even before she knows she needs it. He is, in fact, near the top of my 10 all-time favorite "heroes" in mystery/thrillers. But here, his usually helpful concerns almost seemed forced, as if he was more intent on imposing his own opinion on his wife than trying to support her. It's a thin line and maybe it's just my imagination, but if he didn't cross it here, he came way too close for my comfort.

Besides that, none of the other characters seemed to be as feisty (for want of a better word) than in previous books. The only real bright spot was a cop from a backwoods town where the murder spree began who suspected foul play and didn't stop till he got to New York and convinced Eve that his hunches were on target. 

All things considered, while I enjoyed reading this book, it's not the best in the series. That said, I'll be ready and waiting for the next one, if for no other reason than I've still gotta love Eve. When asked for her "take" on opera, for instance, she responds, "You can't understand anything anybody's saying, then they all die."

Yep, my kind of woman.

Devoted in Death by J.D. Robb (G.P. Putnam's Sons, September 2015); 384 pp.

THE LAST GOOD PLACE

4 stars out of 5

Reading works by writers who are picking up the character bandwagon that halted when the original authors died (Robert B. Parker's Spenser and Jesse Stone and Ian Fleming's James Bond come to mind immediately) has always been a bit of a bittersweet experience for me. In those instances, it's almost impossible not to compare the new with the old (although in some respects, that's as it should be; after all, they're writing about the same characters and, intentionally, in a similar style). 

This one, to which I was given access by the publisher through Netgalley, continues the work of the late Carolyn Weston, whose characters Sgt. Al Krug and his partner Casey Kellog became the basis for the TV show The Streets of San Francisco. To that end, I'm at a disadvantage; I've never read any of Weston's books. I was, however, a big fan of the TV show - which aired from 1972 to 1977 - and in particular of a very young and very talented Michael Douglas. So whether the author managed to capture the essence of Weston's books I can't say, but I do think it's reminiscent of the show and is an excellent police procedural in its own right.

It begins as Krug and Kellog - the latter new to the San Francisco Homicide team and mismatched with his partner in age, experience and attitude toward the job -  investigate a series of murders by the  "Landmark Strangler" (so named because the victims are found near well-known city landmarks). But when they take a look at the most recent, the fourth in just four months, something just doesn't seem right even though the body was found near the Presidio. Then, a nosy reporter with her eye on a Pulitzer questions the relationship of much-earlier murders to those of the strangler, adding a potentially new dimension to the investigation. When more clues lead to the office of a prominent politician, though, things really start to heat up: Krug and Kellog not only are under the gun to solve the cases, but under orders to avoid ruffling feathers of the powers that be.

The story held my interest from beginning to end, and for sure I'll be in line when and if the next edition is published. Meanwhile, I plan to check out some of the other books the accomplished Ms. Burcell has written!

The Last Good Place by Robin Burcell (Brash Books, November 2015); 289 pp.