5 stars out of 5
Heavens to Murgatroyd: How on earth have I missed this series? For sure, it's an oversight that won't happen again. The late Bailey Ruth Raeburn is a delightful character, and I'm already looking forward to her next sleight of body experience.
Bailey Ruth, you see, died in a boating accident years ago. Now, she's in Heaven, working for the Department of Good Intentions in 27-year-old form (her choice of age to remain forever and ever). She's also got impeccable fashion sense; part of the fun of the book comes as she chooses - and describes in detail - the outfit she's picked to fit each occasion.
Those occasions, though, provide the real story. Her job as an Emissary for the Department takes her to earth via the Rescue Express to help those in need of investigative intervention. On terra firma, she's able to travel invisibly to and from anywhere at will as well as appear as a human being (the latter ability is frowned on by the Department except in absolute emergencies). This time out (down??), she's sent to Adelaide, Oklahoma, her old hometown. It seems a young woman named Susan Gilbert has received a phone call claiming that her younger sister Sylvie has been kidnapped - and the fee for her safe return is $100,000. Susan is far from wealthy, but as the secretary to a filthy rich businessman, she has access to the safe in which he keeps at least that much cash on hand plus a few other valuables.
Aided by calls from the kidnapper telling her exactly what to do and when, Susan manages to steal the money - with the intent of confessing the theft to her boss and promixing to pay it back over time. But shortly thereafter, the businessman is found dead - murdered - and his safe is open and empty. The police investigation centers on Susan - especially when the box containing the money turns up in her car's trunk and other items from the safe are found elsewhere on her property.
Bailey Ruth, of course, is convinced that Susan is innocent and being framed - and she sets out to prove it. Her efforts put her back in touch with an old friend and police officer, one of the few earthbound humans who knows who she is and what she now does for a "living" (no doubt they have a history from previous books in the series). Together, they conclude that only a handful of people who were at a party at the murdered man's home the night of the theft could have had sufficient knowledge to pull off the murder and shift the blame to Susan. But which one? And is there a ghost of a chance that Bailey Ruth will figure it out before her own boss yanks her back to her Heavenly home and Susan is charged with the murder?
Ah, you'll just have to read it to get the answers to those questions. This is the perfect book (and series) to pick up when your head needs a break from psychological thrillers and heavy-duty murder mysteries. The publisher, via NetGalley, was an angel for providing me with an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
Ghost on the Case by Carolyn Hart (Berkley, October 2017); 268 pp.
4 stars out of 5
I've read and very much enjoyed two of the author's other books - Safe With Me and Liar - so I was especially delighted to get my mitts on this one as well. All are rightly dubbed "psychological thrillers," and that alone is enough to get my attention. I do admit, however, that no matter how much I understand the hows and whys, relating to women who don't, won't or can't stand up for themselves just doesn't come naturally to me. It is, then, a testament to the author's outstanding writing skills that I not only finished the book with nary a single, "C'mon, woman, get your act together and hit the road," but completed it in two sittings just because I was so reluctant to put it down.
The woman in question is Rose Tinsley, whose younger brother Billy was murdered 16 years earlier. Because he'd been with her the day he chased a kite into the woods and never came out, she has blamed herself for his death. She works in a small library in Nottinghamshire County (which based on terminology and non-American English spellings I assume is somewhere in the United Kingdom). She lives in the family home next door to an elderly man and good friend named Ronnie; his wife and her parents are deceased, and she looks in on him every day. Also every day, she lives much like a hermit, suffering from almost debilitating paranoia and, on occasion, the return of the eating disorder she developed after Billy's death.
Background on the events of 16 years earlier are revealed in flashback chapters, where it's learned that a just-ready-for-university Rose fell in with a much older man with named Gareth, with whom she thought she was in love. Appropriately, I guess, she donned Rose-colored glasses when it came to his ultra-controlling behavior; in fairly short order, she was shunned by her long-time best friend Cassie as Rose acquiesed to Gareth's demands and rationalized them to be a sign of his love for her.
But one day in her present life, she returns home to find that Ronnie is in bad health. As the EMTs wheel him to the hospital, he whispers to her that she's not to go into his upstairs. As she's already demonstrated, she doesn't listen to advice from other people close to her, so of course, when she returns to tidy up his house, she can't resist heading up. When she finds a closed door, she can't resist opening it; and when she finds storage boxes there, she can't resist opening them as well. And what she finds there not only takes her breath away, but challenges everything she's believed in since her brother's murderer was tried and convicted - in part as a result of her testimony - and jailed.
That discovery sends Rose on a roller-coaster ride of emotions as well as the determination to find out what really happened to her brother. Could it be that the wrong man was convicted? Could her brother have been done in by someone closer to home? Here and there, the story does get a little too melodramatic for my taste, but the nonstop action - and the twists and turns - are enough to reel me back into the story until the surprising conclusion.
My conclusion? Another winner. Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
The Mistake by K.L. Slater (Bookouture, October 2017); 330 pp.
5 stars out of 5
Oh, baby, what a wild ride! Not that it wasn't expected; after all, I've read and thoroughly enjoyed both of the author's previous books - The Gift and The Sister - so I figured it was a given that this would be a winner as well. As it turns out, this may well be the best of the lot.
My "baby" reference wasn't an accident, either; at the center of the story is a couple - Kat and Nick - who are beyond eager to have a child. Unable to conceive, they've tried, with help from Nick's friend Richard, to adopt infants from other countries. But those fell through at the last minute, leaving Kat despondent and ready to try anything. Enter Lisa, Kat's best friend back in their school days. The two had a major falling out just before their graduation, so Kat is surprised and not altogether happy to see her. But when Lisa drops the bombshell that she served as a surrogate mother for another woman, Kat sees the possibility that she could become a mother after all.
Lisa agrees to help her friend, and Nick puts up little resistance (not nearly as much as I'd have expected coming from your average husband, but then he seems to want a baby almost as much as Kat does). Successfully impregnating Lisa isn't the real problem, though - as readers learn from the chapters that switch between "then" and "now." Clearly, both Lisa and Kat have serious issues - secrets from their past that led to going their separate ways and staying apart for the past decade. And before too long, it becomes clear that Nick may have a few things in his background that he's been reluctant to share as well.
The action is almost nonstop, although it got a little bit bogged down when Kat's paranoia kicks into high gear (but then, you know the old saying - "Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you"). The last few chapters bring one twist after another - none of which I guessed ahead of time, BTW - eliciting an out-loud "Whew!" from me at the bottom of the final page.
As I proclaimed early on, this one's a winner, and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys psychological thrills. Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
The Surrogate by Louise Jensen (Bookouture, September 2017); 345 pp.
4 stars out of 5
Where in the world is Joe Gunther? This is, as I understand it, the 28th book in the series featuring the commander of the Vermont Bureau of Investigation. Admittedly, it's my first, and although I'll say it stands alone quite well, I had to wonder what happened to the star of the show. In fact, until at least the 60% mark, his limited appearances are for the most part by phone or video meeting; he's off to a private hospital to stay with his ailing mother to give his brother, Leo, a care-giving break. He does return to the fold toward the end, but even then, he isn't a major player.
Of course, maybe that's the norm for these books; but his absence really surprised me. And because I really liked what little I saw of him (he's got a cat named Gilbert, for gosh sake), I would have enjoyed getting to know him better. All the other police-related characters, in fact, are exceptionally well developed (and for the record, also very likable).
Do not assume, though, that the story suffers in any other way. Actually, there are three story lines (more on that later), and each is intriguing enough to have made a short book in and of itself. There are quite a few characters to keep straight - no doubt they'd be familiar to readers of prior books - but once I got used to who's who, I was fully invested and wished I'd been able to keep reading straight through to the end (of course, life intervened, including the knuckle-biting finish to this year's "America's Got Talent" TV show in which the best contestant, IMHO, really did win, so it took me three days to finish).
Three cases land in the VBI's lap just as Gunther takes his leave, leaving investigator Sammie Martens to run the department. She personally handles the murder of a young woman, who just came to town and is rooming with the daughter of Beverly Hillstrom, the state medical examiner and Gunther's main squeeze. It looks to be a professional hit, and it's clear the woman had run and was trying to hide. But from what and whom?
Another colleage, Willy Kunkle, is puzzled when a child brings in three bloody teeth found at the edge of a local railroad track. Known as a bit of a department misfit (he's also Sammie's live-in companion with whom he shares a young daughter), he sinks his own teeth into the situation and finds a burned-out piece of electronics equipment at the site that in turn leads to the suspicion of sabotage involving U.S. military equipment.
Last but hardly least, colleague Lester Spinney is approached about an old traffic-stop case in which a state trooper and another man were believed to have killed each other. It's a closed case, but by a quirk of fate, it's been discovered that the motorist's fingerprints apparently were planted on the gun he used to kill the officer. Clearly, most everyone involved in the original case - including the police - aren't thrilled to have it reopened, but Spinney is convinced that the evidence was tainted and is determined to find out what really happened no matter where or on whom the chips fall.
Bit by bit, the investigative processes are revealed as each chapter offers highlights of each case. By the end, everything is resolved (no, I'm not going to explain further), and the department pretty much returns to normal operation. All's right with their world and they're ready for the next book (as am I, albeit with the hope I'll see more of Gunther). For now, I'll just recommend this book and say thanks very much to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
Trace by Archer Mayor (Minotaur Books, September 2017); 326 pp.
5 stars out of 5
Prolific readers know what I'm talking about: That "afterglow" that happens when you've finished a knock-your-socks-off book and hate to spoil by starting another one. Such was the case with this book, which followed close on the heels of one of the best I've read in a while. But this time, I really wasn't worried; the author has long been on my list of favorites. And from page one, yet again, he didn't disappoint. It's an easy-to-read, super-engrossing story that moves along quickly with plenty of intriguing twists and turns along the way.
So let's get to the nitty-gritty. Napoleon Dumas, a cop in suburban New Jersey, got a double whammy right before high-school graduation; his twin brother Leo and Leo's girlfriend Diana were killed by a train. As if that weren't bad enough, his girlfriend - with whom he expected to spend the rest of his life - that same night dumped him and ran off, never to be seen again. Needless to say, "Nap" - who narrates the story - has been despondent to a degree ever since as well as determined that someday, some way, he'll find out what really happened back then. His only comfort over the years is his friend and mentor, Augie; the about-to-retire local police chief encouraged Nap to join the force and serves as a sort of surrogate father.
As the story unfolds, Nap learns that another cop who was part of the high-school crowd has been murdered - apparently a shoot-and-run during a routine traffic stop. But then comes a surprising revelation: Maura's fingerprints are found in the rental car believed to have been driven by the killer, who has not been identified. That gets Nap's attention big-time, prompting him to set out with renewed vigor to find his old love. It turns out to be a complex journey that circles around a clandestine club and a long-since-closed missile base and puts him squarely in the crosshairs of some very nasty people who will go to just about any lengths to make sure their secrets stay that way.
Anything else that happens I will keep secret as well, lest I spoil things for others. But I'll shout one thing from the rooftops: This book is not to be missed. Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
Don't Let Go by Harlan Coben (Dutton, September 2017); 361 pp.
5 stars out of 5
The second I finished this book, my husband broke into a happy dance. Why is that, you ask? Well, most of the time when I'm reading I'm sitting across from him as he sits in his recliner watching the idiot box. And most of the time, that works just fine. But along came this character - Daniel Graham "Mac" MacCormick - who triggered giggles, snorts, chuckles and occasionally, outright guffaws from my side of the room. annoying the heck out of my usually sweet sweetie. A for-instance? Much of the book is set in Cuba, where the construction zones are dotted with "Porta-Juans" (okay, it might have been funnier in the moment, but you get the drift).
Needless to say, I did not share my husband's enthusiasm when I reached the end; clearly, Mac - a 35-year-old Army vet now runs a charter fishing business in Key West and narrates the story - has the same wacko sense of humor as I do. That's great, but what's even better is the intriguing, action-filled plot that kept me thumbing through the pages of my Kindle and unwilling to put it down (yet another thorn in the side of my husband, who expected to be fed now and again).
The story, which takes place as the relationship between the United States and Cuba begins to "thaw," is timely, although the author does remind readers that the book was written before the current administration took office (it's set in the fall of 2015). It's also clear that he's done quite a bit of research, some of it on-site, much to the enlightenment of readers who appreciate history. That I, a person who literally switched my college major because I couldn't fathom taking another boring history class, was glued to the pages is perhaps the greatest tribute to the author's writing skills.
But I digress: The story begins as Mac is waiting in the Green Parrot Bar for a meeting with Carlos, a high-powered lawyer from Miami who's made a name for himself among anti-Castro groups. Turns out Carlos wants to hire Mac to participate in a fishing tournament in Cuba, but Mac isn't buying it. Carlos then ups the ante to $2 million for the job, making Mac put down his beer and agree to a meeting with Carlos's clients on Mac's boat. Turns out that one is the beautiful (and single) Sara Ortega, who claims her grandfather stashed a whopping $60 million in a cave before he fled Cuba during the Castro revolution. The fishing tournament, then, is just a red herring; the real prize is to find, and bring back to the States, the money - less Mac's rather hefty cut, of course.
Needless to say, the cash-starved Mac signs on (albeit grudgingly). His friend Jack takes the helm of the boat - now sold to the attorney and renamed to protect the names of the guilty - while Mac and Sara fly to Cuba under the cover of a U.S.-Cuba sanctioned tour of Yale faculty and grads. Needless to say, trying to steer clear of the clutches of the Cuban authorities is muy dificil; there's a fly in the ointment at nearly every turn and twist - quite possibly, Murphy's Law originated in Cuba - making it hard to know who to trust (if anyone) and forcing Mac to put all the skills he acquired during his two tours in Afghanistan to the test.
More than that I can't say without spoiling things for others. What I can say is that as I understand it, this is Mac's debut appearance in the reading world. He not only gets a big shout-out from me - a more interesting, fun character I haven't come across in a while - but also my hope that I'll meet him again soon (hint, hint). Meantime, many thanks go to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
The Cuban Affair by Nelson DeMille (Simon & Schuster, September, 2017); 448 pp.
4 stars out of 5
Up to now, my only acquaintance with this author has come by way of "Infernal Night," a short story co-written with F. Paul Wilson for the David Baldacci-edited FaceOff in 2014. That's my bad; after reading this one - courtesy of an advance copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review - I'll make that mistake nevermore. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, which adeptly mixes mystery and history and sprinkles it with the paranormal.
The plot also centers around one of my favorite story-tellers and poets, the late, great Edgar Allan Poe, who makes several ghostly appearances. The book is, you see, the latest in the "Krewe of Hunters" series, featuring historian Vickie Preston and FBI Special Agent Griffin Pryce. Members have been recruited to this unique paranormal FBI team not only because of their investigative skills, but also because they are able to communicate with the dead. On their way to their new home in Virginia - which will serve as home base as Vickie enters the rigorous FBI training academy in Quantico - they opt for a quiet, romantic visit in historic Baltimore.
Peaceful stopover? Fuhgettaboutit. Griffin gets a call from the FBI powers that be informing him that they're needed to help with a "bizarre" case; horror writer Franklin Verne has been found dead in the wine cellar of a the Black Bird, a Poe-themed Baltimore restaurant (for the record, Poe is buried in the city). It appears the death is a suicide - a recovering alcoholic who went off the wagon and on a drinking binge - but his widow, Monica, insists otherwise. The case is complicated by the fact that not a single soul saw him enter the restaurant - nor did they see any of the three dead blackbirds that now surround his body.
As they begin to assist local police with the investigation, Vickie and Griffin get their first visit from Poe, who claims to want to help solve the murder because it might provide clues to his own death way back when (although several theories abound, exactly how he died remains a mystery). In fact, a chunk of the story is a history lesson; it's all put together quite interestingly, woven in and around the investigation and the ghostly dreams and sightings by the main characters.
But wait, there's more: It comes in the form of a second dead body, which turns up during a seance led by a very kooky and almost totally unlikable character who believes she's got a direct connection to the dead (Vickie and Griffin, though, aren't quick to agree). Now, the FBI is called in officially, and the race is on to find the killer before he, or she, targets someone else and possibly puts the future life of Vickie and Griffin in jeopardy as well.
Once I got going, I found it hard to stop reading, and I apologize to "my" Ohio State Buckeyes for keeping one eye on my Kindle and the other on their game with Army (admittedly made a bit easier during the second half, when the Buckeyes pretty much ran rampant up and down the field). My only suggestion, for what it's worth, is to put the brakes on exclamation points at the ends of sentences. In my mind, they're like laugh tracks on TV comedy shows; if you have to tell me when to laugh, it's probably not very funny (and in any case, I prefer to make up my own mind). That said, this may be my first "Krewe" book, but it certainly won't be my last. Well done!
Wicked Deeds by Heather Graham (MIRA, September 2017); 384 pp.
5 stars out of 5
