TELL ME MY NAME

3 stars out of 5

This is a book that should have been great; to be sure, the

premise is enticing: A husband and wife are kidnapped by someone who claims not only to have known the wife years ago, but is her soulmate. The challenge? She has three tries to come up with his name - and with each incorrect guess, her husband will pay a heavy price (put another way, it's three strikes and he's out - permanently).

Needless to say, I was on the edge of my seat at that point - especially as the wife, Ellie Patterson, digs through her memories in an effort to come up with the correct ID. I can't reveal that outcome because it sets the stage for the rest of the book. What I can say is that from that point on, the writing started heading downhill - trite emotings from all the characters, not the least of which came from the female detective who's investigating. Besides that, character perspectives often switch in the middle of chapters (and at least twice, smack in the middle of a single paragraph). As a result, by midpoint, I almost called it quits.

But I've always vowed to finish the advance copies I get from publishers if at all possible (and only twice in literally hundreds of books have I pulled the plug before the end). So it was that I kept plugging away. I can't reveal details, but it's safe to say that no one - not Ellie, not her husband Neil and not the kidnapper - are who they seem to be. There is perhaps one exception in the kidnapper who was surgically altered to make him resemble George Clooney - which somehow makes him more acceptable to Ellie despite his evil acts. But he's not alone in his duplicity; each and every character has at least one secret that impinges on the life of one or more of the others. How their pasts are intertwined takes up the rest of the book, leading up to an ending that to me was neither satisfying nor even close to believability (if it were really true, for sure I'd want nothing to do with Ellie, her husband or the rest of her family).

Actually, despite my misgivings I'll call this a decent beach read. But as is, I'd be surprised if it makes it anywhere near the big leagues without a major overhaul. Truth is, I hope that happens; as I said at the beginning, the potential for greatness is in there. Somewhere.

Reviewer's note: Not that it matters all that much, but I'm not sure what the true release date is on this book. According to Amazon, it's Oct. 3; NetGalley says Oct. 27. Luckily, I started reading early and will make the Amazon release if, in fact, it's the accurate one.

Tell Me My Name by Erin Ruddy (Dundurn, October 2020); 344 pp.

OUT OF HER MIND

 4 stars out of 5

One thing is inescapable: All three of the Brooks sisters -

Sawyer, Harper and Aria - are about as emotionally screwed up as any three characters possibly can be. The "star" of the trio, Sawyer, is perhaps doing the best job of recovering from the almost unbelievable abuse heaped upon them as youngsters - she's a fairly successful crime reporter with the Sacramento Independent. As with the first book in the series, Don't Make a Sound, she's trying her best to come up with solid, interesting stories and gain the respect of her boss and co-workers.

There are two story lines at work here, the first of which is the disappearance of 12-year-old Riley Addison and near concurrent discovery of the skeletal remains of another female child. The second is the work of "The Crew," a support group of five seriously abused women whose sole purpose is vengeance. Sawyer has been following up on the second with little progress, but quickly, she turns her investigative reporter's eye toward the first. Fairly early on, her search reveals that a psychopathic serial kidnapper may have been at work for years.

Chapters that switch among perspectives of the various characters (including at least one from The Crew that is, for reasons I won't reveal, quite relevant to Sawyer) keep things moving along quickly amid plenty of action (some of which doesn't make for very pleasant reading, but it's impactful). This time, Sawyer enlists help from sister Aria; at first, I was skeptical, but by the end I'd warmed up to the idea and hope they'll continue to team up in future books.

Are things wrapped up in a neat package and tied with a bow in the end? Well, yes and no - leaving fodder for the next installment that, I promise, I'll be watching for. Till then, many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review this one. Good job once again!

Out of Her Mind by T.R. Ragan (Thomas & Mercer, November 2020); 285 pp.

THE VOW

 4 stars out of 5

This one came on strong at the start, with a frantic Amy trying

to locate her fiance Matt after he disappeared a couple of weeks before their wedding. Not long thereafter, a woman named Fiona reports her lover's disappearance. He was, she claims, about to ditch his fiance and move in with her. As I expected when the second woman turned up, evidence - including photos - prove that the guy reported missing by both is one and the same.

Also about the same time, I got a sense of deja vu; not all that long ago, I recalled reading a different book with a plot about two women claiming the other was lying about "her" man. Please God, I said to myself, don't let this one end the same way. Thankfully, it didn't, but I know my enjoyment of this book was dimmed a bit because my mind couldn't help constantly making comparisons. 

At any rate, each woman claims not to know the other one, and both insist Matt was a loyal, loving partner who would never dream of leaving them in the lurch. But clearly, at least one of them is very wrong. As Amy learns what her daughter and friends really thought of Matt, the chapters shift between the perspectives of the two women and readers learn secrets from their past lives that may be coming back to haunt them. The rest of the book follows their thoughts and actions as well as the police investigation that culminates in a sort of surprise ending (one which, I'm sure, would have turned out differently - and frankly, more to my liking - had the story taken place under the auspices of the U.S. legal system). I also noticed a bit too much repetition, especially as the various characters fill each other in on what's happening.

That said, it's an intriguing, fast-paced story that kept me swiping the pages of my Kindle right to the end - and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review a pre-release copy.

The Vow by Debbie Howells (Avon, October 2020); 368 pp.

INVISIBLE GIRL

 4 stars out of 5

For a book with virtually no appealing or sympathy-evoking

characters and a complex plot that gets a little hard to follow at times, I have to say that in the end, this one is well done. There's enough action and plot twists to hold my attention throughout - and the fact is, just because characters are unsavory doesn't mean they're not intriguing.

Two of the central characters are Cate Fours, a physiotherapist, and her husband Roan, a child psychologist. Together with their daughter, Georgia, they're living in temporary rented quarters while their home is being renovated. One day, Georgia returns home stressing out because she thinks someone was following her (there have been a couple of assaults on women in nearby areas, so her concern isn't totally unwarranted). Later, one of Georgia's girlfriends reports an actual assault, although she later recants.

All this is not good news for Owen Pick, a rather strange-acting dude who's never even had a date and is living in his elderly aunt's spare bedroom (totally - she won't let him in other parts of her house) across from Cate and Roan's house. Making matters worse, he's been suspended from his teaching job because a couple of students accused him of unwanted sexually-tinged behavior toward them. Needless to say, he doesn't exactly have his head on straight - making him the perfect person to get sucked into the online world of "incels," or involuntary celibates. Also needless to say, it makes him a prime suspect in the local assaults. 

Then there's Saffyre Maddox, who readers learn a bit about at the beginning of the book. Turns out she was one of Roan's very troubled patients who did well enough, in his opinion, to be cut loose from therapy. Her opinion, though, is quite different. Determined to somehow stay connected, she follows him around surreptitiously - that is, until she goes missing. And surprise - the sleazy Owen is the last person to see her alive. 

Once I got all the characters and time-frame flips reasonably straight in my head, I settled in and enjoyed the adventure right up to the somewhat surprising end. All told, good job! Thanks very much to the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review an advance copy.

Invisible Girl by Lisa Jewell (Atria Books, October 2020); 365 pp.

SHADOW SANDS

 4 stars out of 5

I've read and thoroughly enjoyed several books by this author,

including the first in this series, Nine Elms. So even though I have at least three pre-release books on my Kindle that have review dates prior to this one, I simply couldn't wait to dive in.

And it certainly didn't disappoint. As this one begins in 2012, ex-cop Kate Marshall continues to put her life together years after an incident involving her ex-husband nearly ruined her life. At age 42, she's out of rehab and sober, but her parents took custody of her son Jake and haven't yet relinquished that designation. Now, she's a university lecturer in criminology, and Jake visits from time to time. Most recently, his visit didn't end well; diving in a reservoir near a hydroelectric plant that covered an abandoned village, they find a buried church - a good find - and a dead body - not so good. When the local police come to investigate, they conclude that the young man's death was accidental.

A few weeks later, however, Kate gets accosted by the young man's mother, who has heard of Kate's former police activity and insists that her son - an Olympic-quality swimmer - couldn't possibly have had an accident like this. Uncertain what to do, she tells her university assistant and good friend, Tristan Harper, that the mother is willing to pay good bucks to find out what really happened. They decide to look into things, trying first to confirm that the coroner's report was at best inaccurate.

Their investigation puts Kate and Tristan at odds with a very powerful local family that owns a vast amount of land near the hydroelectric plant. Meanwhile, one of their female university colleagues goes missing, adding yet another case to be solved and putting all three lives in danger.

From my perspective, it's another hard-to-put-down book in which the action never stops. Many thanks once again to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review it.

Shadow Sands by Robert Bryndza (Thomas & Mercer, November 2020); 310 pp.

THEY NEVER LEARN

5 stars out of 5

Oh my goodness - this one will be close to the top of

my five favorite books for this year. Put another way, wow! Not that I'm all that surprised, mind you; the author's 2019 book, Temper, was a 5-star hit with me as well. This one, IMHO, is even better; I'd give it 6 stars if it were possible.

The story involves two primary characters: Dr. Scarlett Clark, an English professor at Gorman University, and Carly Schiller, a freshman at the same school. They are similar in one respect - Scarlett literally has been getting away with murder for years while Carly, the daughter of a mentally abusive father, is considering it as an option when she seeks revenge on her roommate's attacker.

Chapters flip back and forth between the two, highlighting what's going on in their lives (and trust me, it's plenty). Scarlett is intent on winning a hotly contested fellowship in London as she lines up her next victim; Carly is tentatively trying to make friends with her troubled roomie Allison, whose temperament shifts from hot to cold in just about every imaginable way. When Allison is assaulted at a party, Carly takes it personally and vows to get even.

But then, Scarlett makes rather a mess with her newest victim - mistakes that could lead investigators right to her doorstep. Compounding the issue is that a colleague, Dr. Mina Pierce, has compiled a list of past campus-related deaths (most of which were deemed accidents or suicides) and is enlisting help from colleagues with her personal investigation. Scarlett is worried and does her best to make friends with Mina, if for no other reason but to keep tabs on the woman's findings.

Everything else is a whirlwind of action, with a major (and totally surprising) reveal somewhere around the mid-point and an almost equally surprising ending. The whole thing felt like a roller-coaster ride, right down to disappointment when it came to an all-too-soon end. In short, this one falls into the don't-miss department - and I heartily thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me the thrill of reading a pre-release copy. 

They Never Learn by Layne Fargo (Gallery/Scout Press, October 2020); 352 pp.

SHADOWS IN DEATH

4 stars out of 5

Honestly, I have some mixed emotions after

reading this book, the 51st in the series (I missed a couple of the very early issues, but not a single one in a long while). Overall, I enjoyed it as always; it's well-written and entertaining, so for that alone it gets 4 stars from me. Other than that, the best I can do is lay out a few things on both sides of the "love" equation.

On the plus side, there's plenty of the hunky Roarke; he's long been near the top of my list of all-time favorite book male "heroes," so it's always a treat to get to know him better. And only once that I noticed did he turn into a controlling partner in the Roarke-Lt. Eve Dallas relationship as seemed to be a trend in a few past books. Except for "correcting" her fashion choice prior to one of her outings, he basically let Eve run her own show even though what was happening affected him in a very personal way.

And that's another plus: This time, the plot centers around Roarke and his background as a young punk (and worse) in his native Dubliln. At the beginning, a woman is knifed to death in New York City; when Eve and Roarke come to the crime scene, Roarke spots an old nemesis who happens to be one of the most dangerous on-the-loose killers in the world. Clearly, to Roarke's eyes at least, the murderer hung around specifically to send a signal to Roarke that he's back and most likely gunning for Roarke and his family.

On the minus side is repetition; having Eve (or another character) explain the background of the police investigation to yet another character or group of characters got a bit tiring. Also a teensy bit irritating to me was the constant face-touching, hair smoothing I love yous, you're my everythings and assorted other sweet nothings between Eve and Roarke. Yeah, you love and trust each other - I get it. The sex scenes are graphic enough, so dial down the rest of it a bit.

As for the story, Eve and her NYPD crew - including the trendy all-pink Peabody, her trusty significant other McNabb and the uber-fashionable Dr. Mira - set out to solve the woman's murder and keep Roarke's childhood rival from accomplishing what it appears he's set out to do. Interspersed with the action is the fun stuff that makes this series a hit in my book - the technology that can only be possible in a futuristic setting like this (Auto-Chefs that can be programmed to make drinks and dinner, "magic" coats that protect wearers from bullets and vehicles that can lift off the ground like helicopters). There's even a one here I suppose would come in handy if one of the characters happened to run afoul of a skunk. 

The chase (and the bad guy) lead Eve and Roarke on a not-so-merry chase that culminates in a bang-up ending - one that's a stretch to believe, but satisfying nonetheless. Another one down - bring on the next!

Shadows in Death by J.D. Robb (St. Martin's Press, September 2020); 368 pp.