4 stars out of 5
It took me a while to get into this book, mostly because I haven't read any others in the series (and since there have been more than 20, clearly I've missed a lot) and also because for whatever reason I didn't realize that it's a turn-of-the-century setting. Once I figured that out, though, the dialog and interactions among the characters made total sense; from then on, reading it was quite an enjoyable experience.
At the beginning, New York married couple Sarah (nee Brandt) and Frank Malloy (she a midwife and he a private detective) are hoping to adopt Catherine, a child Sarah apparently has been raising (how that came to be was, I suppose, the subject of an earlier book). They learn that the man Catherine's mother was married to isn't her birth father; and under the law, only the real father has parental rights and can sign over his daughter to the Malloys. Turns out he's Parnell Vaughn, an actor in a small, independent theater company, and he's more than willing to give up the child he neither knew nor wants anything to do with. His actress fiancee, though, isn't about to let him give something for nothing; ante up, she demands, or she'll put the kabosh on the deal.
Even though the real dad doesn't care about the money and such payments are illegal, Frank agrees; but when he returns to the theater with cash in hand, he finds that Parnell has been brutally murdered. Worse, since Frank gets covered with Parnell's blood when he inspected the body and nobody else seems to be around, Frank becomes the No. 1 suspect. Needless to say, he didn't do it - so he and his partner Gino, with help from Sarah, set out to prove his innocence.
There's no shortage of other suspects, including the aforementioned fiancee, a long-in-the-tooth actress who refuses to give up ingenue roles and act her age, her producer husband who would do anything to keep her happy and an agent who may have motives that are not in his clients' best interests. Helping to sort things out is Serafina, another character from an earlier book or books; as a medium, she just may be able to conjure up insights that will help get to the truth.
The action moves along quickly (although it does get a bit bogged down here and there by too-lengthy "what if" discussions among the characters). The writing is interesting and true to the period, and once in a while there's a touch of humor. The only thing I was never able to figure out, though, is why Frank is referred to by his first name in some instances and his last name in others (for a while, I actually thought they were two different people).
Still, I'm happy to find this series, a delightful combination of historical fiction and murder mystery. For sure, I'll be watching for the next installment. Meantime, I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read an advance review copy.
Murder on Union Square by Victoria Thompson (Penguin Group, May 2018); 336 pp.
5 stars out of 5
I have three things to say about the books in this series, of which this is the third: First, I loved every single minute of reading them all. Second, they're good enough to keep you looking forward to the next one - but even more so because the endings aren't quite endings at all. And third, if you want to get the most out of them, start at the beginning (with The Silent Corner and The Whispering Room.
That doesn't mean the books can't stand on their own, because they do. But I also know that I enjoyed Books 2 and 3 a lot more because I read what came before (and I'd say that's more true of this one; had I not read the second, I'd have felt a bit lost throughout the first several chapters).
The series features Jane Hawk, a disgraced standout FBI agent who's now on the Bureau's Most Wanted list and on the lam. She's certain her husband Nick's suicide (in a previous book) was murder - committed by an ultra-dangerous and secretive group of powers-that-be called the Arcadians who use nanotechnology to infiltrate the minds of their victims and control their words and actions. Those victims, it seems, are chosen based on a computer model that identifies people who are most likely to get in the way of the group's idealogy - and that certainly included her highly principled husband. While trying to stay out of the group's crosshairs, Jane is now searching for an especially violent member who has threatened her young son, Travis - forcing her to stash the boy with friends at a place where he won't be found (or so she fervently hopes).
Also featured prominently here are fraternal twins and writers Tanujat and Sanjay, who apparently have landed a place on that hit list. Chapters switch from what's happening in their world as they slowly realize somebody's out to get them to what's happening in Jane's - ditto, except in her case, there's nothing slow about the realization.
Her chase is, as might be expected, fraught with identity changes, close calls and dead bodies, but eventually she gets what she wanted (or thought she did). That, in turn, leads her to a frightening encounter with - you guessed it - a crooked staircase that, no matter whether she's going up or down, is filled with almost unimaginable horrors. Put another way, there's never a dull moment in this book; and once again, I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read an advance review copy.
Oh yes, about that non-ending: What follows it is a preview of the next book, The Forbidden Door. When authors do this, I never - but never - bother to read them. But something - maybe the totally abrupt stop of this one - made me take the plunge, and I urge you to do the same. Even though it too ends with a cliffhanger, it eases the pain of the first one a bit and is a little less in-your-face.
The Crooked Staircase by Dean Koontz (Bantam, May 2018); 512 pp.
4.5 stars out of 5
I've gone on record at least two other times with the opinion that this may be the best of the many series by James Patterson and his co-author du jour (in this case, Marshall Karp). And nothing in this one made me change my mind. It moves along quickly, serves up a few surprises all the way to the end and enough humor to hold my attention throughout.
NYPD Red is an elite task force that caters to the rich, famous, and those who are both but prefer no one else to know about it. Sometimes - as it does here - that means detective-partners Zach Jordan and Kylie MacDonald often have to suck it up to placate stratospheric egos and play down what's really happening. Such is the case here, when a big explosion hits a hoity-toity benefit gathering at a fancy hotel that leaves a big-wig dead (and narrowly misses New York's mayor). Then comes the next body - a female who's heavily into the sadomasochistic sex scene - is a little less high priority to the Red team (and most certainly to their boss) until they identify some of her high-profile partners.
As faithful readers of the series already know, Zach and Kylie once had a fling, but now they're content, or so it seems, with new loves: Zach with a beautiful psychiatrist and Kylie with a guy Zach isn't so sure about. Since Zach's torch for Kylie hasn't been fully extinguished, he's determined to make sure Kylie hasn't picked a pig in a poke.
So we have three totally different cases, all requiring a ton of the kind of investigating that have made Zach's and Kylie's reputations as a top-notch, go-to team. All get resolved in one way or another by the end; the only issue I had (and the reason for knocking my rating down half a star) is that there are so many characters that it was a bit of a challenge for my aging brain to remember which ones belonged to which case and why. Still, I survived the experience with a smile on my face - ready and waiting for the next installment.
Red Alert by James Patterson and Marshall Karp (Little, Brown and Co., March 2018); 368 pp.
4 stars out of 5
Different, but delightful! That's my reaction after reading this, the third book in a series featuring French Commissaire Georges Dupin (Brittany Mystery Series). Although I have not read the other two, this one sounded so intriguing that I requested, and was approved for, an advance review copy from the publisher via NetGalley. And it turned out to be an excellent choice - a wonderful change of pace, in many ways, from my usual fare of police/detective/murder mysteries.
Make no mistake, though - it's in the same genre - but somehow the setting in the salt gardens near the Medieval town of Guerande gave it a more mondain (a.k.a., worldly) air. As the story begins, Dupin has come to the salt ponds at the request of his friend, journalist Lilou Breval. He is, she told him, to look for blue plastic barrels amid the ponds and small farmers' huts that dot the surroundings. As he pokes around in the surroundings that are totally unfamiliar to him, mon dieu! Bullets begins to fly in his direction, one of which hits its mark.
Not seriously wounded, Dupin begins his getaway, but suddenly the local police show up - most notably in the person of investigator Sylvaine Rose, who isn't happy to find an officer from another department trespassing on her territory. But then, with the unexplained disappearance of Dupin's friend Lilou, comes an uneasy truce; the two investigators and their teams are ordered to work together to find out who shot at Dupin and why and what has happened to Lilou.
When the latter investigation doesn't end well, sacre bleu! The situation goes from bad to worse - leading to all sorts of questions about interactions among the owners of the various salt ponds and what's really going on. In between it's fun to watch the often reluctant interactions between Dupin and Rose and learn more about salt than I ever imagined possible. All told, a very enjoyable experience.
The Fleur de Sel Murders by Jean-Luc Bannalec (Minotaur Books, April 2018); 304 pp.
5 stars out of 5
What do I think of this book? It's complicated.
Mostly, I'm talking about the plot. It's sort of like hiking in the woods and, just when you think you see the end of the trail, it veers off in another direction. Bodies turn up on different street corners, motives and suspects change almost by the chapter and friends turn out to be enemies. All this action keeps police consultant and quadriplegic Lincoln Rhymes and his partner (on and off the job) Amelia Sachs on their toes - and me on the edge of my seat.
That's not to say the action is nonstop; in fact, there's plenty of detail here, in character development, technology and historical background (in other words, there's no shortage of evidence that the author has done extensive research). I'll admit that once in a while that drifted a little closer to the too much information line than I'd like, but on the other hand, I'm always open to getting educated on subjects I know little about.
In this case, it's primarily the diamond industry. In fact, that's where the complex story begins; in a Manhattan diamond-cutter's back-street shop, where the owner and a couple of customers are murdered in rather brutal fashion. An apparent witness - a young man who worked for the owner - somehow escapes, notifies the police and disappears into the wind. Lincoln and Amelia are called in (she, physically, and he, mentally from his technology-rich apartment). Together, they determine, surprisingly given the [diamond] setting, that robbery doesn't seem to be the motive.
Rather, the killer - dubbed the Promisor - was targeting the couple themselves (a conclusion reached when other couples are attacked in similar fashion). He - closed-circuit photos prove it's a man - apparently has some kind of kinky fixation with diamonds, making brides-to-be who boast rocks on the third fingers of their left hands high on his hit list.
Another angle involves construction of a geothermal energy facility, complete with a tie-in to local earthquakes, gas line ruptures and more deaths. Still another is the upcoming trial of a dangerous criminal Lincoln and Sachs helped to nail awhile back; now, though, he may find himself on the other side of the fence (not to mention in a sticky situation with police colleagues). Should you think that's enough for one book, just wait, there's more: A shaky relationship between the runaway apprentice, his set-in-his-traditional ways father and his girlfriend that's causing all kinds of trauma.
More than that I won't reveal, except to say that by the last page the loose ends are tidied up (well, most of them, anyway). And this: Congratulations on another 5-star entry in a stellar series!
The Cutting Edge by Jeffery Deaver (Grand Central Publishing, April 2018); 449 pp.
5 stars out of 5
Can this possibly be the 28th book in the Prey series? I know I haven't missed many, so guess that makes me an oldie (but goodie). And so is the series; even if "star" character Lucas Davenport, now a federal marshal, seems to be a bit more laid back these days, there's plenty of action here that kept me reading until my Kindle battery insisted it needed a recharge.
Happily - and in one case, unhappily - a few other characters make return appearances in this one. There's Weather, Lucas's surgeon wife, Letty, his daughter, some former professional colleagues and the even more lovable (to me, at least) Virgil Flowers, upon whom Mr. Sandford has bestowed a series all his own.
Still another blast from the past is Taryn Grant, a psychopath who's now a U.S. Senator. Lucas is certain she's up to her old tricks (and being a billionaire, she's able to grease wheels till the Minnesota cows come home). One of her other enemies, Sen. Porter Smalls, knows firsthand how dangerous the woman is. In fact, he's convinced that a recent auto accident that nearly killed him - and did kill the driver - was all her doing. Proving that, though, just isn't in his skill set.
So, he calls in Lucas - who turns to local law enforcement, the FBI and others to help with the investigation. All heck breaks loose in the process, with suspicions turning into twists and turns that threaten the well-being of everyone involved, including Lucas's own family. And in the end, getting to the truth doesn't necessarily mean justice will be done. Or does it?
Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.
Twisted Prey by John Sandford (G.P. Putnam's Sons, April 2018); 395 pp.
5 stars out of 5
I've read and enjoyed two other books by this author - one a standalone ("The Girl Who Lived") and the other "Jack of Hearts," another in this series featuring private investigator and bounty hunter Jack Stratton. When I got a chance to read an advance copy of this one, saying yes was a no-brainer. Am I glad I did? You betcha; in fact, it's my favorite.
Some things have changed a bit, most notably that Jack and his fellow investigator, Alice, are now engaged to be married - though they haven't yet set a date. Alice is still grieving the years-ago loss of her parents in an auto hit-and-run; to help, she's asked a mercenary friend, Kiku, to try and track him down. Meanwhile, Jack is asked to get to the bottom of a suspicious death on the set of "Planet Survival," a popular realilty show. Jack decides the best way to go is undercover - the current show is being filmed atop Minuit Mountain in the middle of winter. Alice isn't happy about having to stay home, but the producer insists she can't add more than one person to the crew without causing undue notice.
Jack and the producer win out, leaving Alice to handle research chores, the progress of Kiku's investigation of her parents' death and taking care of Lady, Jack's gigantic King Shepherd. Actually, that was fine with me; Jack may be smitten, but I didn't much care for her from the git-go. And here, when Jack learns that she wants him to call her "darling" because that's what Jack's dad calls his mom, I actually hoped she'd defy orders, climb the mountain and get buried in an avalanche like the crew member whose death is being looked into.
But for better or worse, she's never in much danger. The same can't be said, though, for Jack. Up on that snowy mountain, Murphy's Law is not only alive, but well; what can go wrong does - and then some. From the initial gondola ride to the lodge, when Jack sees as rock painted with an Iroquois symbol for death, the action is pretty much nonstop. A killer blizzard - literally - keeps everyone chilling out in the dark as dead bodies start piling up. Clearly, someone's on a spree; can Jack find out who it is before everyone gets frosted?
The ending thrills, chills and brings a few surprises, making for an exciting read. Now I'll be eagerly awaiting the next installment (which the author says will be titled "Jack of Diamonds"). Bring it on!
Jack Frost by Christopher Greyson (Amazon Digital Services LLC, April 2018); 326 pp.
It took me a while to get into this book, mostly because I haven't read any others in the series (and since there have been more than 20, clearly I've missed a lot) and also because for whatever reason I didn't realize that it's a turn-of-the-century setting. Once I figured that out, though, the dialog and interactions among the characters made total sense; from then on, reading it was quite an enjoyable experience.
