Implausible but lots of fun!

29 Seconds by T.M. Logan

Book Review:  4 out of 5 star rating

It has not been an easy road for Sarah.  Her boss, Alan Hawthorne, has been sexually harassing her, threatening that she’ll lose her job if she doesn’t sleep with him.  She’s worked long and hard and is deserving of an upcoming promotion.  Plus she’s not sure if her husband is ever going to come home to her and she has two children to support.  Sarah is not only up against Hawthorne but also his old boy network and Hawthorne’s advances have become more and more threatening.    One night she witnesses an attempted kidnapping of a little girl and takes steps to prevent it.  The little girl’s father turns out to be quite influential with some dangerous connections and believes he is now in Sarah’s debt.  He makes her an offer that’s hard for her to refuse.  A 29-second phone call is all that it will take to make all of her problems disappear.

I seriously could not stop turning the pages of this addictive thriller and flew through it in a day.  The position that Sarah found herself in with her boss was very believable and horrifying.  When it came to the attempted kidnapping and the little girl’s father’s offer, it did become quite implausible, at least to me, but I was still glued to the pages.   The author had me a bit fooled at the end and I thought, oh, no, don’t let it end like that!  The end twist is an ingenious one.  This is a well-constructed, suspenseful thriller.

Recommended.

This book was given to me by the publisher in return for an honest review.

Spending time with old friends

The Old Success by Martha Grimes

Book Review:  4 out of 5 star rating

A beautiful French tourist is murdered, her body washed up on the Cornish coast.  Two little girls find her body.  Divisional Commander Brian Macalvie doesn’t know what to make of it.  While he and Inspector Richard Jury start their investigation, two more murders occur.  Macalvie and Jury turn to Tom Brownell.  Brownell is retired now but he’s known for solving every case, but one, that he worked on.  Brownell is convinced that the murders are connected.  Will this be the second case that Brownell doesn’t solve?

There’s nothing better than spending time with old friends.  This is the 25^th Richard Jury mystery that Ms. Grimes has written, with the first one having been published in 1981.  I’ve read every one of them, including a couple of her standalones.  The mystery always seems to be almost insignificant as its Grimes’ characters that draw me to her books.  She has written some of the most loved, eccentric and humorous characters I’ve ever read.  I was in stitches in this current book when Melrose Plant brings in a young boy who he tells Aunt Agatha is a blood relation and Aunt Agatha squirms from the thought that she might not inherit everything after all.  I love this author’s wry sense of humor.  I do think that it would be wise to read from the start of this series to get the full benefit of the development of these characters.  A new reader starting with this one may feel a bit lost without the backstory.

Recommended.

This book was given to me by the publisher in return for an honest review.

 

 

Excellent new series by the author of “Vera”

The Long Call by Ann Cleeves

Book Review:  4 out of 5 star rating

Detective Matthew Venn’s father has died.  Venn is not welcome at the funeral so he stands outside.  His family is part of a strict religious sect and when Venn left that community, he also left his family.  Also, his mother blames him for his father’s death due to the shock of learning that Matthew married a man by the name of Jonathan Church.  Matthew and Jonathan are very happy together.  Jonathan runs Woodyard Centre that houses a day-care center, an artist colony and a counselling service center.

As he stands outside his father’s funeral, he’s called to the scene of an apparent murder.  Simon Walden was a resident of a home owned by Caroline, the daughter of a trustee of Woodyard Centre.  Caroline took Walden in when she learned that he was living with terrible guilt over a drunk driving accident which resulted in the death of a child.  Matthew is torn between investigating this murder or withdrawing due to the conflict of his husband’s affiliation with Woodyard Centre.

I’ve long wanted to read Ann Cleeves books since I very much enjoyed the TV series “Vera”.  When I saw that Ms. Cleeves was starting a new series, I knew this was the time to start reading her work.  This is a very slow paced mystery so if you’re looking for a lot of excitement, you won’t really find it here.  This author delves deeper than just setting up one thrill after another.  She writes from the heart and her characters are very human with all their faults.  I loved Matthew and Jonathan and Matthew’s sergeant, Jen.  And I loved the British seaside setting.  Matthew’s relationship with his family and Jonathan and the treatment of two young Down Syndrome girls are all handled with compassion.  The mystery turned out to a heart-wrenching one.  I’m looking forward to the next installment of this series and do hope it also makes it to the TV screen.

Recommended.

This book was given to me by the publisher in return for an honest review.

 

A deeply satisfying, gripping tale

The Lost Man by Jane Harper

Book Review:  5 out of 5 star rating

The Bright brothers are overseers of a vast amount of land in the Outback in Queensboro.  The land is extremely hot, unforgiving and dangerous and no one leaves home without a large amount of supplies.  When one of the Bright brothers, Cameron, doesn’t come home one day after supposedly going out for a repeater mast repair, an alert is put out.  He’s found dead at the foot of the stockman’s grave, which is a great source of legend in the area.  Cam’s brothers, Nathan and Bub, cannot understand why Cam would have left his car, which was fully stocked with emergency supplies, to walk 5.5 miles, which he knew would be a death warrant.  Cam has left behind their mother, Liz, his wife, Ilse, and two young daughters, all of who are devastated and confused.  This has all happened right before Christmas.  While the police and others believe this to be a suicide, doubts and suspicion abound among family members and threaten to tear them all apart.

I was completely glued to the pages of this book.  It’s a fascinating tale and the author is an expert at making her characters come alive.  Not only that, but what a forbidding area this took place in, one where your life depended on having enough water and air conditioning to survive.  It’s a land that could be hated but also loved for its stunning beauty.  The author has created a dark, suspenseful atmosphere that is completely riveting.   This is a slow burning, heart breaking book that blew me away.  It’s not only the mystery of Cam’s death that was fascinating but also the relationship of Nathan and his teenage son Xander and Nathan’s complicated history with Cam’s widow, Ilse.  And then there’s their mother, Liz, who loves them all so dearly.

A deeply satisfying, gripping tale that I most highly recommend.

This book was given to me by the publisher in return for an honest review.

 

Predictable and a bit of a disappointment

The Suspect by Fiona Barton

Book Review:  3 out of 5 star rating

18-year-old Alex and Rosie are taking a trip of their lifetime to Thailand.  They don’t know each other very well but hope to be good traveling companions.   They promise to keep in touch with their families but now a week has gone by and no word from them.  Kate Waters is a journalist who tries her best to always be the first reporter to nab any news relating to this disappearance.  She’s a bit distracted because she hasn’t seen her son, Jake, in two years when he left to travel the world.

Maybe I’ve just read too many books of this type.  Or maybe I’ve become a psychic or something.  I just always seemed to be one step ahead of this author and knew exactly what was coming each step of the way.  That’s not to say that this book didn’t have quite a few “big reveals”.  I just knew what they would be before they were revealed.  If I didn’t know this book wasn’t published yet when I read it, I would have thought that I’d read it before.  I really have no explanation as to why I knew what would happen as I don’t think the author spoiled things in any way.

The book is rather long for a thriller at over 400 pages.  I can’t say I raced through it.  I did care about the journalist Kate, but the young girls and their parents could be aggravating at times.  Unfortunately, my commitment to the book did start to wane by the end.  The ending was a bit ambiguous, too.  While it wasn’t a bad book, I didn’t feel it was as good as the author’s first book, “The Widow”.

This book was given to me by the publisher in return for an honest review.

Mesmerizing, heart-breaking first book in reverse order trilogy

The Darkness by Ragnar Jonasson

Book Review:  5 out of 5 star rating

Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdottir is being forced into a slightly earlier retirement, being replaced by a younger person.  She dreads her future although she has met a very nice man who she thinks might be an answer to her loneliness.  Before she cleans out her desk at the police station, she’s been given an opportunity to look into a cold case of her choice.  She knows immediately which case it will be.  A young Russian women who was trying to find asylum in Iceland was found dead and her death was deemed a suicide. However, Hulda knows that the officer who investigated this case didn’t always do a very thorough job and she has a feeling that there was more to this case than he found.

I was so very impressed with this book and can’t wait to read everything else this author has written.  His characterization of Hulda is excellent and very detailed.  This woman has had a successful career as a police officer but hasn’t always been accepted by the men in the department.  She’s determined to end her career on a high note by solving this cold case but as each day approaches her retirement, errors are made and her situation deteriorates.  She begins to pin her hopes on the man she has recently met and envisions a happier future.  I loved Hulda and felt complete empathy for her.  Secrets in her past are alluded to, which when revealed are absolutely heartbreaking.  Also the story of this Russian immigrant is so timely and tragic.

This is the first book in the Hidden Iceland Trilogy.  The series is being told in reverse order so the next book will be set 25 years prior to this book.  It’s an unusual format for a trilogy and I think I may have preferred reading Hulda’s story in chronological order since now I know how her story ends.  But this first book is so brilliantly written that I know I will be anxiously awaiting the next one.  This author is one who isn’t afraid of taking risks and definitely knows how to write Nordic Noir.  The book is mesmerizing and heart breaking and the ending will chill you to the bone.

Most highly recommended.

This book was given to me by the publisher in return for an honest review.

Quite entertaining

Lies by T.M. Logan

Book Review:  4 out of 5 star rating

When Joe Lynch unsuspectingly follows his wife’s car one day at the bequest of his small son who wants to “surprise” mommy, he sets off a series of terrible events.  He’s now being framed for a murder that he believes never even happened.  Just when you think things can’t get worse, they do and the noose keeps getting tighter and tighter around Joe’s neck.

This is quite an addictive book and I really cared for Joe and his plight.  He’s such a good guy, good father and good husband that the course of events seemed so very unfair.  Social media and technology play a heavy hand in this suspenseful thriller.  It was quite scary to see how easier this app or that app can be downloaded onto your phone and your privacy is completely gone.  How realistic the tale was, I’m not sure but it was certainly a fun ride.  And I never saw the end coming.  Not only was this a fast thriller but it also touched on the fragility of our relationships with others and how destructive lies can be.

Recommended.

This book was given to me by the publisher in return for an honest review.

 

Excellent addition to the Marlowe collection

Only To Sleep by Lawrence Osborne

Book Review:  4 out of 5 star rating

At 72 years of age, Philip Marlowe has retired.  But when he’s offered a case by an insurance company, he decides to have one last adventure.  They want Marlowe to investigate the death of Donald Zinn.  They’ve paid Zinn’s widow a very large sum of money but something doesn’t seem right and they think Marlowe is the man to get to the bottom of it.

Who doesn’t know and love Philip Marlowe?  What a perfect delight to have an author such as Lawrence Osborne bring him to life once again.  The Robert Chandler Estate asked Mr. Osborne to write this book and they couldn’t have picked a better author to do the job.  Osborne has done a wonderful job of creating an older Marlowe.  And he has done an excellent job of depicting a man who has led an adventurous life but now is headed to a more sedentary life and all of the conflicting emotions that go along with that.  So enjoyable to once again join Marlowe as he takes on his last investigation.

This is a bit different from Mr. Osborne’s other books in that he adapts the Chandler style of telling this story.  But his particular talents still shine through.  He’s lived in many countries and has quite a knack for detailing each location that he brings his characters to.  Most of this book takes place in different locations in Mexico and the author brings his readers right there with him.  With all the sights and smells and colors, you’ll completely forget that you’re not actually there.  I do hope that one day Mr. Osborne will once again bring Mr. Marlowe out of retirement for another adventure.

Recommended.

This book was given to me by the publisher in return for an honest review.

 

Can always count on this author for an interesting read

The Disappearing by Lori Roy

Book Review:  4 out of 5 star rating

Lane Fielding has returned home after twenty years to once again live with her parents.  She never wanted to return but her divorce was a hard one and she’s back with her two daughters, Annalee and Talley.  She’s not welcome in town since her father has for many years been suspected of abusing, and possibly killing, young boys at a nearby reform school.  Lane has her own mystery of what happened to her when she disappeared at the age of 13 years old that still follows her around.  Now another young blond girl has disappeared and the reporters are back in town.  The past will soon touch Lane’s fragile family in an even more frightening way.

I’ve read all of Lori Roy’s books and they never disappoint.  The author is very good at bringing her damaged characters to life and keeping her readers hooked.  This is a slow moving book, sometimes I thought it was a bit too slow but then it would pick up again.  I loved Lane and admired her efforts to be a good mother to the often difficult Annalee and the young vulnerable Talley.  Lane had a hard upbringing and she vowed to do better by her daughters.  She and her twisted family and their battle with their demons makes for an interesting story.  The past is never too far from the present.  This novel is apparently based on the real-life tragedy at the Arthur Dozier School for Boys in Florida.

Recommended.

This book was given to me by the publisher in return for an honest review.

The buzz this book is getting is deserved!

Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier

Book Review – 4 out of 5 star rating

Georgina Shaw (Geo) has made quite a success of her life.  She’s an executive in a Seattle pharmaceutical company and is engaged to marry the rich CEO of the company.  All of that falls apart when she’s arrested for a murder that was committed fourteen years ago.  Her best friend Angela Wong disappeared then when she and Geo were 16 years old and now her mutilated body has been found.  Also arrested for the murder is Geo’s boyfriend at that time, Calvin James.  Calvin is also accused of three other murders.  On the case is Det. Kaiser Brody, who has loved Geo since high school.  When new bodies turn up, murdered in the same way as Calvin’s prior murders, the past explodes for them all.

This book has certainly been all the buzz around the thriller world and it turned out to be quite an entertaining read.  It’s well constructed and very realistic.  I thought the author’s description of prison life was excellent.  I felt like I was there with Geo and the dangers of her life there sent chills down my spine.  I’ve always been attracted to books dealing with obsession and Geo’s obsession with Calvin and what it led to was done to perfection.  The author is adroit at knowing when to drop shockers on her readers.  While I only give 5 stars to books that have had a deep impact on my life and not to thrillers, this is quite an excellent thriller.  Snagged me from the first page.

Recommended.

I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway and am under no obligation to write a review.  I found it quite charming that the publisher included an actual jar with some conversation hearts with sayings from the book.  Enjoyed the book and the hearts!