FIRE AND VENGEANCE

 4 stars out of 5

The description intrigued me - and I'm always up for

a new-to-me series - so I happily accepted the publisher's invitation to read it. Now I've finished, and I found it to be an interesting, and for many reasons unique, plot.

I do have to say that reading it was a bit of a struggle for me, given that I'm almost totally unfamiliar with Hawaiian given and surnames. In part, that's my bad; after all, Hawaii has been a U.S. state since 1959 (the year I graduated from high school, in fact). That this many years later the only words and people from Hawaii I knew going into this were "aloha," "mahalo" and Daniel Inouye doesn't exactly put me in a very good light. Still, the abundance of characters and the frequently interspersed Hawaiian phrases made the reading slower than my usual speed of light (notably, though, the meanings of those phrases are always explained).

I'm not sure where the book falls in the series - Amazon calls it No. 2 and Goodreads says No. 3 - but it seemed to me to stand alone quite well. The star of the show is Detective Koa Kane, who, as the official description says, isn't from "a typical law enforcement family." For one thing, he's a murderer who never got caught; for another, his younger brother has been in trouble with the law ever since he was a child and currently is in jail with four more years to go on his sentence.

The story begins with an horrific blast: The sudden eruption of a volcano that's still classified as active but has been quiet for 200 years. When it blew this time, it took with it most of a school that was built recently right at the top (I know, I can't fathom why anyone would do that either, but then Hawaiians are far more used to living with volcanoes than I am). Some children and teachers were killed in the blast; making matters worse, though, is the realization that someone - or several someones - involved in the building process knew that the school would be situated right over a volcanic vent (fumerole) and tried to cover it up with concrete.

As the investigation heats up, Kane gets another blow: His brother collapses in jail, and afterward it is learned that he has a previously undiagnosed brain tumor. That, in turn, leads Kane to split his efforts between solving what has become a crime at the school and trying to get his brother an early release from prison. And at the outset, both become seemingly impossible tasks.

He may be down - especially when conspiracy rears its ugly head - but he's not out. From this point on, the action picks up on both fronts; on the negative side, it's hard for him to tell the bad guys and gals from the good. On the positive side, he's got several loyal friends and sources who are well qualified, and willing, to help. All in all, an enjoyable book - and I look forward to the next one.

Fire and Vengeance by Robert McCaw (Oceanview Publishing, May 2020); 353 pp.

DON'T EVER FORGET

3.5 stars

I really had trouble "getting into" this book, an Amazon

Prime Reads selection; at one point fairly early on, I nearly called it quits. But I hung in there, and by somewhere around the halfway point, I had at least some idea of what was going on and was able to keep the considerable cast of characters straight. Now that I've finished, I can't say I truly enjoyed it. The highlight for me, in fact, is that while it's described as a "mind-bending page-turner," it offers a sad, but accurate, portrayal of the devastating effects of Alzheimer's disease.

This is the first in a new "Adler and Dwyer" series, although the author explains that some characters and situations are taken from other of his books (none of which I've read). The primary character here is state police investigator Susan Adler; Liam Dwyer - a forensics specialist with the Philadelphia Police Department who's recovering from injuries - makes a few appearances around the mid-point that no doubt set the stage for the next book, but otherwise his contribution is virtually nonexistent. For me, more's the pity; I liked him far more than I liked Adler.

The plot, which centers around what appears to be the kidnapping of a man believed to be a serial killer, is complicated - made more confusing as scenes shift from that to Adler's investigation of a murdered state trooper to recollections of the presumed serial killer to events that apparently led up to the disappearance of individuals years ago that now languish as cold cases. Eventually, all of those begin to merge - with a few twists - as Adler and her team get closer to the truth.

The verdict? Not bad, but if this is to be a series with two main characters - as indicated in the description - my hope is that the next one will put the spotlight on both of them. Fewer characters and a less convoluted plot would help as well. 

Don't Ever Forget by Matthew Farrell (Thomas & Mercer, September 2020); 348 pp.

RELUCTANT HEART

4 stars out of 5

Disclosure: Under normal conditions, I'd rather walk barefoot through hot

coals than read a romance novel. More disclosure: While I wouldn't recognize the author if I passed her on the street, we do share a local connection. And since one of the joys of my life is reading and reviewing books - 88 so far this year, mostly pre-release copies through NetGalley - I figured a positive review can't hurt. In this case, though, I decided to hedge my bets. Instead of begging for a free copy and hoping my request is approved as is the custom at NetGalley, I opted to get my own directly from Amazon. That way, if I couldn't make it to the end without losing my lunch, I'd just skip it and no one would be the wiser.

Well, you're reading this, so guess what? 

The central character is Kacie Parker, an early 40-something who lost her husband Todd a couple of years earlier in a helicopter accident. Their two grown children are off to college (although they live in Virginia, the daughter is enrolled at The Ohio State University - go Bucks). Suddenly, she gets a blast from her past when her husband's old friend Charlie Walsh knocks at her door. And suddenly, her lonely but comfortable life gets turned upside down; Charlie, it seems, has loved her for years. Now, he's come to stake a claim of his own (with fingers crossed that she's willing to even consider letting him in the game).

In truth, she is; she'd love nothing more than for him to lug his suitcase (and her) straight up to her bedroom. But immediately, self-doubts and what-ifs invade her head. Will her lust for Charlie sully memories of her late husband? Will the kids think she's a traitor? How will Todd's parents and their hoity-toity friends react? Ah, the guilt!

And herein lies the biggest issue I have with romance novels - my total disdain for (and admitted inability to relate to) wishy-washy females who just can't seem to get it together. And there's no lack of that here; Kacie straddles the fence more than I'd like, and several times I wanted to yell, hey lady, Charlie's got the hots for you, and you've got the hots for Charlie. Just get it on, already!

That said, Kacie's actions and reactions don't go that far over the top. Several uncomfortable situations arise that leave her confused about her feelings, but after she thinks through whatever the issue is, she is able to sort out and make sense of her emotions. It may take a while for her to come around (with no small amount of help from Charlie, who for a guy seems unusually sensitive to what the woman he's after wants), but it's clear that she knows her own mind and, in the end, will make sensible decisions. No, I won't reveal what those are - you'll have to read it for yourself (which I hope you do).

So it is that I reached the end not only with my lunch intact - actually, two or three of them, plus a couple of dinners - but also with the realization that this is a well-written, entertaining book that I don't hesitate to recommend to anyone who enjoys this genre. Mind you, I'm still nowhere near making a beeline for the bodice-ripper shelves at the library. But when the author finishes her next book (which she says she's working on now), I'll certainly be willing to give it a go. Good job!

Reluctant Heart by Lindsay Evanoff (independently published, August 2020); 338 pp.

ADVERSE EFFECTS

3.5 stars out of 5

Too many characters (made worse because
most have more than one identity), too many plot twists, too much technical information. The result? Way too much of what could have been a good thing. Because of the subject matter - an experimental drug gone wrong - I wanted very much to love this book. But in the end, for the most part, I'm not at all sure I "got" what happened.

That out of the way, I'll try to summarize my thoughts on the plot: Christina Silva, a gorgeous Latina psychiatrist, is participating in a trial of a drug called Recognate on behalf of the manufacturer (a company that appears to be operating off the industry radar). Supposedly, the drug helps regenerate lost memories, or replace bad ones, or both - I think - and so far, it seems to be helping Christina's patients. That is, until it doesn't; suddenly, one patient goes berserk - and then another. Did the drug, which is related to betaendorphins, trigger the aberrant behavior, or did something else happen?

Right about then, Christina is accosted by a nasty looking man who tells her she isn't who she thinks she is. She doesn't believe him, exactly, but part of her own memories - most of which she lost when she was in an auto accident in which her parents were killed - hint that maybe the guy knows what he's talking about. All she's sure of is that she's got a few secrets of her own - most of them lost for the time being, one not that could result in revocation of her license to practice - and she desperately wants to learn the truth about her past.

Along come the cops, notably in the form of local detective Gary Wilson, plus a couple of FBI agents who seem to enjoy playing good cop, bad cop and making life miserable for Wilson. He tends to believe what Christina tells him, though (his opinion bolstered by what could be a fatal attraction to the psychiatrist). Clues point to a clandestine organization called Zero Dark - and from that point on, as Christina tries to find out about her past while dodging bullets (literally),  things began to get murkier than they already were. 

As I said early on, I really wanted to love this book. And I'm sure if it gets to the right readers, it will be; it's technically well written with a well-researched, timely plot, and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the pre-release copy to read and review. My experience, though, was summed up at the end by Christina (or whoever she really is) as she basically says hey, I'm not sure what went down, but I've determined not to worry about it and just get on with my life.

Yeah. Me too (sigh).

Adverse Effects by Joel Shulkin (Blackstone Publishing, September 2020); 352 pp.

ONE BY ONE

 5 stars out of 5

Oh, how I envy the creative minds of fiction writers!

Mind you, I'm a writer too - not a bad one, even. And I probably could make a convincing case that writing a newspaper account of the same event 10 different times in 10 different ways gives me some claim to creativity. But the kind that's in this book? Only in my dreams.

That's a roundabout way of saying those dreams came true in this book (which, happily, was written by someone with actual talent for fiction). Not only is it an engrossing story, it took what to me is a new approach that made it stand out among all the others I read every month (86 so far this year). To begin with, there's a timely hook: a British social media tech company called Snoop that offers a wildly popular music app that allows members to "see" what other members are listening to in real time. The shareholders have gathered at a ski chalet for some R and R, but right off the bat, things go a bit haywire with the realization that one who is here was left off the guest list sent to the chalet hosts. Inadvertently? Maybe yes, maybe no.  Then comes the founder's announcement that could spell gloom or doom for the company going forward.

Faced with incoming inclement weather, the group decide to hit the slopes before they're shut down. And from that moment on, things go from bad to worse as an avalanche cuts off all communication with the rest of the world and shareholders start taking hits "one by one." The only things they're sure of is that there's nowhere to go but down (and even going in that direction could lead to dire consequences) and one among them is, shall we say, not a very nice person.

From the middle of the book on, it was hard for me to put down; sorry to say I can't share many of the juicy details without spoiling things for others who haven't yet read the book. Suffice it to say I was happy that an event we'd planned was canceled, thus giving me two straight edge-of-seat hours to finish up. Thoroughly enjoyable, and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for providing me with a pre-release copy to read and review.

One By One by Ruth Ware (Gallery/Scout Press, September 2020); 383 pp.

THE LAST AGENT

 5 stars out of 5

Chalk up another winner in this series - after

reading the first, The Eighth Sister, I couldn't wait to get my hands on the next one. And it certainly didn't disappoint. I'm not a very "excitable" reader, really - and I'm always pretty sure an author won't put his or her series star six feet under. But the closer I got to the end of former spy Charles Jenkins' adventures getting into and out of Russia, the tighter I held my Kindle and the closer to falling off the edge of my seat.

Charlie, now married with two children - the daughter named after Paulina Ponomayova, an agent who sacrificed her life to save his in the previous book - isn't exactly happy with his former life. His own country betrayed him and even put him on trial for treason, so he owes nothing. But then, an agent from the CIA's Clandestine Services pays Charlie a visit - telling him that a woman believed to be Paulina is alive - but probably not well - in one of Moscow's nastiest prisons. 

After the way he's been treated, Charlie has no confidence that the agent bringing the news is telling the truth; he could be setting Charlie up for a fall that could be permanent. There's also no proof that the imprisoned woman is Paulina, although clues strongly suggest that is the case. In any event, the agent plays to Charlie's indebtedness to Paulina as he tries to convince him to return to Russia, determine whether or not the woman is his old friend and, if she is, get her out of the prison, out of Russia and  safe in the United States.

It's quite a tall order, and even Charlie isn't sure he's up to the task. His wife Alex isn't thrilled with the thought of such a dangerous mission, but she acknowledges that her husband is with her only because of Paulina's efforts. So off he goes, and the nonstop adventure begins - starting with a surreptitious and almost disastrous venture to Russian soil. First up is identifying the woman; for help with that, he must find a former Russian officer who once was Charlie's nemesis.

It is here that I must stop; otherwise, I'd give away too much. Suffice it to say Charlie's adventure only gets more fast-paced and frightening as the chapters zip along to an exciting end - one that leaves the door open for the next adventure. I'm more than ready - and until then, I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review an advance copy of this one.

The Last Agent by Robert Dugoni (Thomas & Mercer, September 2020); 405 pp.

THE DARKEST EVENING

 4 stars out of 5

After reading one of this prolific author's

other books - The Long Call - and giving it the highest 5-star rating, I was eager to start this one, the ninth in the Vera Stanhope series. I've not read any of the others, but that wasn't a problem at all. I think perhaps it would have been nice to know more about Vera and her teammates as I read this one, but at no time did I feel disadvantaged because of it.

I will say it had me looking up British words and phrases; I've read quite a few books set in merry old England and surrounding countries, plus our daughter-in-law is from London and still has her beautiful English accent, so I'm well acquainted with "torch," "jumper," "biscuits" and women who "fall pregnant" (that last one always makes me chuckle; I'm familiar with getting "knocked up," but down? Nuh uh). But I encountered quite a few new terms here, although that's certainly not a complaint. It just sent me to Google a few more times than usual. 

Truth be told, though, I never quite warmed up to Vera - maybe because it seemed her co-workers seemed more tolerant of her than loving. But that's okay; I didn't need to love her to thoroughly enjoy the story. It begins as Vera is driving through a hazardous snowstorm in Northumberland and spots a car that's slid off the road. One of the doors is open, so she stops to help and finds a young child in the back seat. Who, she wonders, would leave a child alone in this weather? She grabs the child, leaves a note in the car, and heads for the nearest warm place - which happens to be the estate of her mostly estranged relatives. She hasn't been here in a long time and, understandably, isn't sure who she'll find and how happy they'll be to see her. On the way in, she meets a distraught man on a tractor, who says he just found a woman's body in the snow.

Once in the house, Vera calls in her team to check out the crime scene. Inside, Vera finds the "housekeeper" - a woman who apparently left a promising career to basically clean house and cook for the husband and wife who now own the property and the wife's rather obnoxious mother, who seems to think she runs the place. The night before, they'd hosted a big bash attended by the well-heeled; the husband wants to turn part of the property into a theatre and hit them all up for seed money.

Finally, the body is identified - a troubled young woman who was the baby's mother. From that point on, the goal is to find the killer; unfortunately, there are quite a few who might fit that bill - including Vera's relatives. Then another woman is murdered, raising more questions. But the closer Vera gets to solving the murders, the greater the chance that she might become the next victim. Good book, for which I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review prior to its release.

The Darkest Evening by Ann Cleeves (Minotaur Books, September 2020); 379 pp.