KN Magazine: Reviews

1/12/24 1/12/24

The Child Riddler

By Angela Greenman
Review by Venita Bonds

The Child Riddler
Angela Greenman

Bella Books
$16.25
978-1642473650
July 19, 2022

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Sex. Drugs. Rockin’ death. Zoe Lorel’s uncle trained her from childhood to become an assassin. His brutal training and abuse were aimed at removing the qualities that made her human, preparing her to work at an international spy agency. Employing techno-gadgets worthy of Mission Impossible, Zoe engages in missions to eradicate terrorists threatening civilization. The trouble is, she is so psychologically scarred that she must take her agency-prescribed drugs to amp her up to kill.

Confused and struggling to figure out a guiding compass, Zoe’s inner conflict presents in masochistic, dangerous sexual practices. While she has been trained to be amoral and unquestionably obedient to authority, she draws the line at children. When she uncovers a plot to use a child as a vessel of destruction, she breaks all rules to save her.

Zoe’s actions put her in the crosshairs of enemies and supposed friends. When she learns that those she’s trusted are using her to achieve world dominion, she employs her skills to fight “the good guys.”

There is a secondary plotline in Zoe’s relationship with the woman she wants to marry. Her lover wants to have a child, but Zoe’s trauma is too great for her to risk opening her heart to this degree.

As I read the book, I came to appreciate the damaged parts of Zoe’s character: her tough-as-nails persona hides a vulnerable core. Her psychological flaws, remembered pain, and inner conflict make her a real person.

THE CHILD RIDDLER is a thrilling action story replete with complex, multi-dimensional characters. I loved the author’s description of places, especially the Czech Republic—I could tell she has been there. When the book ended, I was still intrigued as to what would happen next. I hope Ms. Greenman writes the sequel.

Angela Greenman is an internationally recognized communications professional. Her career has spanned the spectrum from community relations in Chicago to US and world governments’ public communications on nuclear power.

She has been an expert and lecturer with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for over a decade, and developed the communication standards for the IAEA’s Corporate Operational Safety Review Team (OSART) program. Ms. Greenman also participated as a team member for the France and Czech Republic Corporate OSARTs.

The IAEA published two of her papers, Communicating Risk to the Public and Achieving Successful Communication. At the invitation of the IAEA, she spoke at the agency’s prestigious International Conference “Topical Issues at Nuclear Installation Safety: Continuous Improvement of Nuclear Safety in a Changing World” that was held in Beijing, China.

As a spokesperson for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), she advised senior management and staff on media issues, conducted interviews and press conferences, and was actively involved in public meetings. Her guidelines, Conducting Public Meetings, were published by the NRC. She was a recipient of multiple awards from the agency.

In Chicago, she served as press officer for the Chicago Human Relations Commission, the City’s civil rights department. In this position, she worked with the department’s six community advisory councils, and managed city-wide media campaigns, community meetings, and events.

Ms. Greenman holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Speech Communications with Honors from Roosevelt University in Chicago. She also received advanced training in the Executive Media Relations program of the Chicago Police Department, and studied at the U.S. NRC’s Technical Training Center.

She has traveled the world (21 countries and counting), sailed the turquoise Caribbean waters, and now her imagination is devising plots in the exciting places she has explored for her new chapter as an author.

12/4/23 12/4/23

Ghost Tamer

By Meredith R. Lyons
Review by James L’Etoile

Ghost Tamer
Meredith Lyons

CamCat Books
$27.99
978-0744302790
September 19, 2023

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Imagine living your best life when everything you know turns upside down and inside out. That’s exactly what happens in Meredith Lyon’s Ghost Tamer. Raely survives of a horrendous commuter train crash , in fact she’s the only one who made it out alive. She’s guided out of the wreckage by a stranger—a stranger she soon learns no one else can see but her. He’s a ghost.

Her spirit, who Raely snarkily names Casper, has been following her for as long as he can remember. Raely only became aware of him after her injuries in the train accident and she’s not at all comfortable with a ghost watching her every move. She soon learns there is another shadow world where ghosts and spirits exist, and she shouldn’t be able to see and interact with them. She questions her sanity and what this new ability means for her. Raely comes to understand she’s actually interacting with ghosts, and some of them aren’t benevolent spirits.

Interacting with ghosts draws the wrong kind of attention from the demon world and now she finds herself on the run. It’s a battle for her life and her soul.

You wouldn’t guess this is Lyon’s debut novel. She has a gift for dialogue, and these characters are well-defined. You immediately care what happens to Raely as she wanders down this paranormal path. The story will keep you glued to the pages and the ending will surprise the reader.

Meredith has agreed to give us a little behind the scenes of Ghost Tamer:

Why did you choose to write a story about a snarky protagonist who sees ghosts after her accident?

Honestly, I’m not sure the decision was that well thought out. I had nothing to write and had a nightmare about a train accident and decided to write the nightmare. As far as Raely, I wrote her to say all the things I wish I had the courage to say to people, whether they’re appropriate or not. And banter is fun to write!

Ghosts? You believe they exist?

I’m open to arguments either way, but I do believe I saw a ghost once. When I was very young, I would occasionally wake up to find a girl walking up and down by the foot of my bed talking. In my half sleep state, I never questioned this and just listened, but if I ever tried to comment on anything she said, she would turn, look at me, then vanish. I would go back to sleep. Never thought of it in the morning. Then one night I woke up and she was standing right at my bedside, not at the foot, right beside me. She was looking down at me with a huge smile on her face and she said, “Goodbye!” I asked, “Where ya going?” But she just kept smiling as she faded away. After that I remembered all the other times and never saw her again. Wherever she was off to, I could tell it was someplace she was really delighted about.

As a debut novelist, what’s the biggest surprise you encountered in the process?

The rampant insecurity! You'd think that once you cross that milestone from being a writer to an author, you’d attain some new level of confidence, but I'm still floored when someone tells me they loved my book. Which, in a way, is a great feeling, to be genuinely surprised and thrilled every time. I still have to work past a fear of ‘bothering’other authors I know when I ask something, like for a blurb. I force myself to do it, because rationally I know it’s what you do, but it’s like fighting through a beaded curtain of anxiety every time. It’s a lot of fun too, don’t get me wrong, I love going to conferences and events as an actual author, but I still feel like I have a hill to climb. I mean, it’s just one book. I’m not sure when that goes away. Does it go away?

Raely is a fresh, new character with a balance of smarts and snark. What were the influences in creating her character?

First of all, thank you. Raely and I are both blushing. I basically looked at my younger self and made her cooler. And also, much more damaged. I used a lot of my experience in Chicago theatre to build her comedy background and my own experience with loss and crutch behavior to inform what Raely is going through and how she self-destructs. Then I just threw her into a place where she had a ghost following her around and watched what she did! She and Casper wrote themselves.

What’s next for you?

Anxiety spike! I don’t know! I release in September, which is exciting, and I’m trying to line things up for the release event and line events up after that. I’m also on submission with two different books. One to agents, one direct to publishers, which is what I did with Ghost Tamer. Don’t worry, I have spreadsheets for both. And I’m working on the sequel for Ghost Tamer, it’s going slow with everything else that’s happening, but I had so many early readers ask when the sequel was coming out, I was surprised. So, I thought I’d get started and see how it goes.

Meredith grew up in New Orleans, collecting two degrees from Louisiana State University before running away to Chicago to be an actor. Between plays, she got her black belt and taught martial arts and yoga. She fought in the Chicago Golden Gloves, ran the Chicago Marathon, and competed in the Savate World Championships in Paris. Although she did each of these things twice, she couldn’t stay warm and relocated to Nashville. She owns several swords, but saves all swashbuckling for the page, gardening, visiting coffee shops, and cuddling with her husband and panther-sized cats.

Meredith Lyons’ debut novel is paranormal joyride with well-developed characters you want to care about, and a story about family, heartbreak, and redemption. You can’t help but wonder after reading Ghost Tamer—are we really alone? I hope we see that sequel soon as Lyons crafted a sizzling pager turner. Highly recommended! I’d give this one 5 Ghosts!

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11/16/23 11/16/23

The Ninja’s Oath

By Tori Eldridge
Review by James L’Etoile

The Ninja’s Oath
Tori Eldridge

Agora Books
$27.99
978-1957957319
September 12, 2023

BUY HERE

In The Ninja’s Oath, the fourth installment of Tori Eldridge’s Lily Wong series, our favorite ninja finds herself enmeshed in international intrigue, warring gang factions, and family secrets. Lily receives an urgent message to help find a missing girl in the rural countryside outside of Shanghai. It becomes more than Lily can handle alone.

Lily’s longtime family friend and former Triad enforcer asks for her help to locate and rescue his kidnapped twelve-year-old niece. The search becomes more complicated by long-standing family feuds and traditions.

Their mission is complicated by a feud between brothers, old resentments, and intrigues entwined with the stunning history of the city itself. Lily gets tangled in a web of Triad violence and finds herself aided by an all too familiar assassin. Pushed to her limits, she faces insurmountable odds and worries about her father’s failing health.

As the story unfolds secrets are revealed about the identity of her ninja teacher—known only as Sensei—and the truth behind why he left Japan. The Ninja’s Oath is the best in this series, and the characters will draw you into a world few will ever experience. Adrenaline-fueled action and a richly drawn plot will make you keep turning pages late into the night. Family, secrets, and fighting against the odds, you best never count Lily out.

Lily’s creator, Tori Eldridge has agreed to talk with us about Lily and the popular series.

Lily is such a great, multi-faceted character. Where did you come up with the idea for a kick-ass protagonist like her?

Lily appeared to me while writing a short story with a ninja twist at the end. I realized immediately that I had written the origin scene for a kick-ass heroine who honors her murdered sister by dedicating her life and martial arts skills to protecting and rescuing women and children from violence. To make Lily Wong as authentic and multi-faceted as possible, I drew from my own Chinese-Norwegian heritage and my experience as a fifth-degree black belt in To-Shin Do ninja martial arts.

The Ninja’s Oath story revolves around Lee Chang and his family, whose history is entwined into the history of Shanghai. How did you go about your research? What came first: the characters, setting, or plot?

Ever since I visited our son and his future Hongkonger wife in Shanghai, I knew I would take Lily to that city, involving her father’s Shanghainese cook. For this reason, I wrote Lee Chang into The Ninja Betrayed (book three) to help Lily with the Triads in Hong Kong. During that process, I established his surprising Hong Kong birth and former enforcer position with the Shanghai Black Scorpion Society.

In order to find the story for The Ninja’s Oath, I researched Shanghai’s history and invented a genealogy for Lee Chang that entwined around the pivotal historical events from the late 1800s to present day that would also overlap with triads and Hong Kong. Since I was fascinated by the renovated apartment my son had rented in a classic shikumen house in the Former French Concession, I made it one of Lee’s rental properties in the FFC and wove his family’s story around a more rustic shikumen house in Old Shanghai. The story emerged from there.

Fun fact: My granddaughter was born in Shanghai!

The Ninja’s Oath is the fourth book in the Lily Wong series. Did you have any specific goals in mind to make this new adventure exciting and fresh? Do readers need to read the previous books?

Since all four books take place within a four-month window of time, I wanted The Ninja’s Oath to act as an exciting conclusion to the set. I brought back J Tran, the enigmatic assassin from The Ninja Daughter (book one), who haunts Lily in The Ninja’s Blade and makes a surprising appearance in The Ninja Betrayed. He’s one of my (and my readers’) favorite characters. He also has unfinished business with Lily that I wanted to resolve. I also wanted to finally tell Sensei’s story, see him in action, and explore the reason he left Japan. That said, new readers can drop straight into The Ninja’s Oath without missing a beat.

You always make me hungry when I’m reading a Lily story. Why is food such an important part of her life?

You and me both! Since Lily and I share the same passion for awesome food and tea, I’ve written many of our favorites into the books. The Haiwanese Chicken Rice restaurant in Shanghai was one of my favorite places to eat during my trip. Now, I prepare it at home. The “Die Die Must Try” slogan in The Ninja’s Oath scene was written in chalk on their board. I write extensively about the food and tea because it serves as a window into Lily’s culture, family, and friends.

The Lily Wong series balances family drama with action and mystery for the same reason. There is no way to properly understand a Chinese-Norwegian character like Lily who is twenty-five years old and finding her way as an adult without framing her within the context of family and how they impact, guide, and interfere with her life.

Ninjutsu isn’t well known by the public at large, yet both you and your protagonist have trained extensively in this martial art. Can you tell us what goes on in the training to become a black belt in this discipline?

You’re very right. Most people think of ninjas as pajama-clad assassins from Feudal Japan, possibly with magical powers, often portrayed as deadly mercenaries in action movies and thrillers. From my decades of involvement, I have found ninjutsu and To-Shin-Do—the contemporary evolution founded by Stephen K. Hayes and Rumiko Hayes—to be an empowering, comprehensive, and benevolent martial art.

Ninjutsu is exceedingly hard to master because it requires the practitioner to apply the appropriate and most effective technique, strategy, and concepts with specific adversaries in an ever-changing moment. Unlike Tang Soo Do (in which I hold a black belt) or kickboxing and Wushu (which I have studied) where the student masters a set of choreographed kata and/or fighting scenarios they can use in sparing or competitive situations, the ninja arts originated for combat, protection, and survival.

My journey was unique in that I trained partially in a dojo, but mostly under the guidance of my own Mr. Miagi-like sensei. Since I had the luxury of not needing to work and possessed the extensive movement background and focus from a previous career in dance, I advanced very quickly. I traveled several times each year to seminars where I could learn from highly skilled teachers from a variety of schools, lineages, and organizations. I also incorporated esoteric and spiritual practices into my lifelong meditation rituals and daily life. When I attained my Godan level in To-Shin Do, I was invited to many states in the USA to teach.

What’s in store for Lily next?

Look for a Lily Wong crossover story in the upcoming JOE LEDGER: UNBREAKABLE anthology, out November 10.

Tori Eldridge is the bestselling author of THE NINJA’S OATH, book four in the Lily Wong thriller series, twice nominated for the Anthony Award, Lefty and Macavity Awards finalist, and winner of the 2021 Crimson Scribe for Best Book of the Year. Her Brazilian dark fantasy thriller, DANCE AMONG THE FLAMES, was inspired by her Academy Nicholl Fellowship semi-finalist screenplay. Tori’s shorter works appear in numerous anthologies, including CRIME HITS HOME and Weird Tales Magazine. Before writing, Tori performed as an actress, singer, dancer on Broadway, television, film, and earned a 5th-degree black belt in To-Shin Do ninja martial arts. She is of Hawaiian, Chinese, Norwegian descent, born and raised in Honolulu, and resides in Los Angeles. Tori's deep interest in world culture has prompted her to visit nine countries, including Brazil, China, and Japan. Learn more about her at www.torieldridge.com.

11/3/23 11/3/23

Murder in Galway

By Carlene O’Connor
Review by Joy Gorence

Murder in Galway
Carlene O’Connor

Kenzington Cozies
$26.99
978-1432885571
March 10, 2022

BUY HERE

Carlene O’Connor once again delights readers with her newest series of cozy mysteries, A Home to Ireland Mystery. Those who have enjoyed her Irish Village Mysteries will not be disappointed with the introduction of Tara Meehan, a New York City interior designer. In this first book, Murder in Galway, Tara embarks on a trip to Galway, Ireland to spread her mother’s ashes. She also plans to deliver her mother’s deathbed message to her Uncle Johnny Meehan, who was estranged from his sister for more than twenty years.

The novel opens with wealthy Emmet Walsh, who believes Tara’s uncle cheated him out of a cast-iron pig he purchased through Johnny’s Irish Revivals. Emmet’s angry reflections and thoughts are the catalyst for a mystery that soon consumes Tara.

Tara arrives in Galway and begins familiarizing herself with the village. The locals have not seen her uncle for a while, and they only seem to have disparaging comments about him. Determined to find her uncle, she goes to his cottage and discovers a dead body spread across the entryway. She mistakenly assumes it is her uncle. Her uncle, in the meantime, has disappeared.

Despite the obstacles before her, Tara is determined to find her uncle. Along the way, she meets a cache of colorful characters. Carlene O’Connor’s fast-paced pacing and high tension in Murder in Galway leaves readers anxiously awaiting the publication of the next novel in the series.

2/15/22 2/15/22

Behind the Lie by Emilya Naymark/Review by Sharon Blevins

Behind The Lie
Emilya Naymark

Crooked Lane Books
$26.99
978-1643858920
February 8, 2022

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Emilya Naymark’s second novel, Behind the Lie, begins with a literal crash and burn. A neighborhood block party buzzing with crowds of people is the sight of a car crashing through a house, then a fire that puts quite the damper on the fun. One of the newest neighbors, Step Vulcan, has been shot and his wife is MIA. Holly Dubois goes missing, and private investigator, Laney Bird, finds her gun missing. The neighborhood is now the scene of confusion, rumors, and multiple crime scenes.

The story unfolds as narrated by Holly, romance author, wife, and mother of three. She walks through the events that ultimately lead to the undoing of several lives at the block party. Holly and her husband Oliver, have a good life. Oliver is a scientist heading up a research study on drugs that can increase human life expectancy. The block party may be where everything unravels, but the lies and traps previously set in the neighborhood are the beginning of a horrific plan with well-covered tracks and big money on the line.

A second narrator, Holly’s best friend, Laney, has plenty to worry about. Once Holly disappears, she discovers that her gun was used to shoot her neighbor, Step, and she can’t quite figure out what, if any, involvement her teenage son may have in the whole mess. Laney is determined to get to the bottom of it all. Could her private investigation into a teenage disappearance be the very clue to unraveling the whole labyrinth of puzzles?

As with any well-developed novel, secrets and hidden motivations flow through these nuanced characters. Action and surprises await the reader as members of a typical New York suburbia neighborhood live at peace with good intentions while some lurk about with evil agendas. Naymark dives into the action, laying out clear and deep-seated motivations that drive characters to do things they would never normally do and take risks they never would have imagined. If you enjoy distinct character voices and a touch of sensual and dangerous behavior that keeps you pinned to the page, you will need to add this title to your short list.

Dr. Sharon Blevins lives in Kentucky with her husband and growing family where she homesteads alongside her peculiar mix of bird dog and chickens. As a School Psychologist and Adjunct College Instructor, she encourages creativity and hard work in youth everywhere and loves to write, blog, and read a wide variety of fiction as long as it plays to the psychological suspense gene trapped inside.

2/8/22 2/8/22

Sunrise by Susan May Warren/Review by Eliot Parker

Sunrise
Susan May Warren

Fleming H. Revell Company
$29.99
978-0800741143
January 4, 2022

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Good stories flow with a mix of intellect, wit, and charm.

For author Susan May Warren, a USA Today bestselling author of more than 85 novels, her latest tome Sunrise combines all of those elements to tell a story that blends action, danger, and romance set against the backdrop of the rugged Alaskan wilderness.

The novel focuses on protagonist Dodge Kingston, who was the heir to the Big Sky Ranch and a former bush pilot stationed near Denali National Park. After a terrible family fight, Dodge leaves Alaska but returns home ten years later after his father is injured. During his return, Dodge reconnects with Echo, a former lover who is a research guide for the DNR. When Echo investigates the disappearance of one of her assistants, she ends up missing as well. Dodge senses something is wrong and vows to find Echo before it’s too late.

Warren’s writing is lyrical in its descriptions and depictions of the rural and rugged landscape of the Alaska that Dodge and Echo know so well. Warren writes, “..with the sky clear, the massive hulk of Denali framed the horizon, whitened peaks jutting ruthlessly through the finest wisp of brave clouds…” (34). With each page and each description, the sights, smells and other memories that Dodge has about the place he calls home, come to life. More importantly, Warren establishes this rugged landscape as the place where beauty and darkness coexists. In one early scene, Dodge flies a supply mission through Cache Creek Canyon to visit the Farleys. While the good-natured Farleys live in what is described as an idyllic life on a narrow peninsula of land in the bottom of the Canyon, the beauty masks an inherent danger: a bear that has been threatening the family and eating their food rations. This theme of beauty and darkness, both external regarding the setting and internal through the thoughts and actions of the characters, force Dodge and others to navigate between the beauty and darkness that encompasses their lives.

Another strength of the book is the way that Warren peals back the layers of complexity that exist with Dodge and Echo, revealing two characters that are idealists, but also risk-takers and they function as characters that are not afraid to put themselves in great peril in order to serve a greater good. To that end, Warren successfully creates two characters that would be attracted to one another, while the reader can understand why Dodge and Echo would be unfilled without the other. This is a common trope present in romance novels, and in the hands of a less-skilled writer, the book could resemble more of a soap opera. However, the talented Warren imbues this reality with Dodge and Echo around danger and suspense. Moreover, Dodge and Echo are seeking forgiveness—from each other and from their loved ones. After Dodge’s frantic encounter with a bear, leading to a daring rescue, Echo makes a statement that exemplifies their relationship: “This was love. Love showed up. Love stayed. Love sacrificed” (312).”

Warren has an interesting and emotional conclusion to the story that leads readers to believe she is not done writing about these characters and exploring their relationships with each other. Readers will enjoy this book filled with fast-paced action, family drama, and a swoony romance.

Eliot Parker is the author of four thriller novels and a collection of short stories. His thriller novel, A Knife’s Edge, was a finalist for the Silver Falchion Award in 2019. He has received the PenCraft Literary Award and the Feathered Quill Book Award for his work. For more, visit https://www.eliotparker.com

2/1/22 2/1/22

Murder on an Irish Farm by Carlene O'Connor/Review by Chelle Martin

Murder on an Irish Farm
Carlene O’Connor

Kensington
$26.00
978-1496730800
February 22, 2022

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Murder on an Irish Farm, book #8 in Carlene O’Connor’s the Irish Village mystery series opens with the wedding of Garda Siobhan O’Sullivan to her boss, Macdara Flannery. Festivities are postponed, however, by the discovery of a body on the property Flannery intended as a wedding gift for his wife-to-be.

The old farm had been abandoned, but the couple living adjacent to it know the victim as Tommy Caffrey. Thirty years ago, Tommy was to have married Gladys who is now married to Benji Burns. The investigators find several items with the body that they reason could be clues or specifically left there to misdirect their attention.

During the investigation, another murder occurs. Could the new victim have known what happened to Tommy all those years ago? Not to mention the case full of cash that Tommy was accused of stealing?

The beauty of the Irish countryside is nicely painted in descriptions of homes and businesses, while the author manages to weave in some simple dialect so as not to overdo an Irish accent.

Siobhan and Macdara are a likeable couple who provide some delightful humor in their playful banter. It is easy to see why this series has endured.

All in all, cozy lovers should enjoy this tale which moves along at a nice pace, keeping the reader’s interest throughout.

Chelle Martin is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Dog Writers Association of America, Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators, and Sisters in Crime. She’s a past president of SinCCJ, a past mentor for MWA’s mentor program, and served on the planning board for Rutgers University’s inaugural writers’ conference. Chelle writes humorous mystery fiction and children’s picture books.

1/18/22 1/18/22

Life Flight by Lynette Eason/Review by Sharon Marchisello

Life Flight
Lynette Eason

Revell
$16.99
978-0800737337
January 4, 2022

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Life Flight opens with a nail-biting scene that engages immediately. EMS helicopter pilot Penny Carlton fights to keep her chopper aloft in a violent storm while her medical team tries to stabilize a critically injured teenager who has been hiking in the Appalachians. But when lightning damages the tail rotor, Penny has no choice but to crash land on top of a mountain.

Surviving the elements isn’t their only problem. Darius Rabor, a serial killer who recently escaped from prison, has been sighted in the neighborhood where the chopper went down. FBI Special Agent Holt Satterfield and his team are in pursuit.

With their radio out and no way to communicate with headquarters, Penny leaves the crash site to call for help. A rescue helicopter is dispatched to the area. On the way back to her team, Penny encounters Holt and the serial killer. There’s a struggle. Several team members are wounded.

It seemed like this story was going to wrap up at around page fifty. But like a rollercoaster with another hill to go, it didn’t. Holt has a history with Darius Rabor that makes his quest more personal; he was involved in arresting Rabor the first time around.

Penny and Holt are attracted to each other—another sub-plot that began before this story opens—but both have trust issues. Although miffed that Penny has kept secrets from him, Holt has neglected to tell her that his sister is in prison for murdering her husband, and she refuses to let anyone help her try to prove she didn’t do it. Nevertheless, we can see Penny and Holt start to work through their issues and grow closer; it helps that they have to keep saving each other’s lives. I predict they’ll be an item in future novels.

Lynette Eason (www.lynetteeason.com) is the bestselling, award-winning author of over fifty books including the Women of Justice series, the Deadly Reunions series, the Hidden Identity series, the Elite Guardians series, and the Blue Justice series. She writes for Revell and for Harlequin’s Love Inspired Suspense line. Lynette and her husband live in Simpsonville, South Carolina, and they have two grown children.

Sharon Marchisello (sharonmarchisello.com) is the author of two mysteries published by Sunbury Press: Going Home (2014) and Secrets of the Galapagos (2019). She earned a Masters in Professional Writing from the University of Southern California and is active in Sisters in Crime. She lives in Peachtree City, GA, working on her next novel and doing volunteer work for the Fayette Humane Society and the Fayette County Master Gardeners.

1/11/22 1/11/22

The Fields by Erin Young/Review by Joy Gorence

The Fields
Erin Young

Flatiron Books
$23.49
978-1250799395
January 25, 2022

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Riley Fisher’s hidden past could thwart her first case as Black Hawk County’s lead detective. When the mutilated body of an unnamed young woman is found in the middle of a corn field, Riley’s secret with two estranged high school friends forces her to face her demons. At the same time, she continues to contend with the prejudices of an old boys’ network in America’s agricultural corn belt. Her investigation eventually unveils the machinations of politics and big business that are destroying her community. A timely novel, Erin Young’s The Fields provides the reader with Riley Fisher, a character, to whom the reader finds a binding affinity.

The Fields begins with a nameless female running through a corn field in America’s heartland. With descriptions that pummel the reader’s senses into experiencing the same type of disorientation as her unnamed character, Ms. Young provides a gripping introduction to a world of corruption and greed. In the final minutes of the character’s nightmarish attempt to escape her death, the reader tries to gain clarity as to the events that have led to this character’s demise.

When Riley begins her investigation to this woman’s death, Jackson Cole, a fellow officer, becomes her nemesis. The manifestation of his bitterness, due to her recent promotion, prevents her from seeking his help in the investigation. She instead turns to Logan Wood, a recent recruit to the sheriff’s office.

What Riley uncovers in her search for the truth are the dynamics between members of the political community and a powerful conglomerate. In this area of the country, a major agricultural business with extreme lobbying power has decimated small farms. The hubris of big business in its attempt in “corn breeding and engineering” that “control American’s food supply,” becomes an integral part of her investigation.

With an eye for detail, Erin Young has provided a timely tale of mystery. Not only will the reader come away with a formidable knowledge of the changing landscape of our heartland, but Ms. Young introduces a strong female character who defies the odds to uncover the truth behind the murders in a previously quiet community.

Joy Gorence is new to Killer Nashville. She is an author, world-traveler, English professor (ret.), and avid reader. Originally from Long Island, NY she now lives in South Florida with her husband, Bill, and their two pampered kitties.

1/10/22 1/10/22

Murder at the CDC by Jon Land/Review by Bruce Meisterman

Murder at the CDC
Jon Land

Forge Books
$27.99
978-1250238894
February 15, 2022

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The New York Times bestselling Capital Crimes series by Margaret Truman returns in Murder at the CDC by Jon Land as the thirty-second installment in this long-standing and acclaimed political series.

Margaret Truman’s Murder at the CDC features Robert Brixton’s return to the series in his most personal case yet. In 2017 a military transport was on a secret run to dispose of its deadly contents but suddenly vanished without a trace. Flash forward to the present and a mass shooting almost claims the life of Brixton’s grandson on the steps of the Capitol Building. No stranger to high stakes, or to coloring outside the lines, Brixton must discover how these two are connected.

Teaming up with Kelly Loftus, a former homicide detective who, like Brixton, sometimes eschews the rules in order to solve the case, he finds a willing partner, but with her own agenda. In doing so, they wind up in the crosshairs of a deadly militia group led by Deacon Frank, his legions, and their Washington enablers.

With the specter of a mass genocide committed by Deacon Frank’s group facing them, Brixton and Loftus create a formidable team seeking to stop the plot before it’s fully enacted. In their search for answers, they’ll discover the plot reaches the highest level of government and there’s very little time remaining to stop it.

The action in Murder at the CDC is quick and doesn’t allow for much character development, but that allows for a faster-paced story. Though the series started in 1980, it shows no signs of slowing down. If the fiction of these books is any indication of the real machinations in DC, then more people should be behind bars. That stated, in Murder at the CDC, prison is only one way justice is served. This is a real page turner. If you’re new to the series, rejoice–you’ve got thirty-one more thrillers to put on your list.

Bruce’s first book, Arn? Narn., is a photo-documentary of vanishing rural Newfoundland, published in 2012. Arn? Narn. was named Book of the Month in November 2012 by the English magazine Fly Fishing and was nominated for the Pushcart Prize. He has just finished his first book of fiction, Jacob Will, 11.0: A Coward’s Guide to Living.

When not writing, he can be found cycling; attempting to learn the guitar (badly); reading almost anything within reach; listening to music; discovering obscure films; and traveling. Good food and better wine fit in there somewhere too.

He has lectured at numerous colleges and universities including: University of Mississippi, University of Delaware, Tennessee Tech, Union University, Siena College, College of St. Rose, and the State University of New York among others.

Bruce is also a two-time multi-panelist at the Killer Nashville Writer’s Conference and a featured author at the Southern Festival of Books.

12/21/21 12/21/21

The Librarian Always Rings Twice by Marty Wingate/Review by Lynda Palmer

How had it come to this? So begins an enticing book for all readers. The reader is instantly drawn to the setting. An old Victorian mansion filled with first edition books authored by the women of the Golden Age of Mystery.

It may be a perfect home, but don’t be lulled into this idyllic setting. Our author fills the mansion with mystery, murder, and quaint characters.

The story centers around life in Middlebank House and the First Edition Society. Our heroine is Hayley Burke, the curator of the museum. Endowed by Lady Georgiana Fowling, the museum is her gift to the community. She is also one of the contributors to the collection with her books.

Full of an intriguing cast of characters, The Librarian Rings Twice keeps the reader turning the pages. There’s an irascible nephew whose mission in life is to destroy his aunt’s will and get what he feels is due to him. The stalwart secretary sets out on a mission to protect Lady Fowling. Lady Fowling’s boyfriend becomes a helping hand and adds a rich level to the story. At the first public opening we’re introduced to a mysterious man who makes an outrageous claim of Lady Fowling being his grandmother. The amalgam of unique characters mixed with the informative stories that end up coming out of the cellar truly create a non-stop page turner!

The reader will feel they have the solution in hand early in the book, but the author weaves more clues proving the feeling very wrong. He brings this beautifully written story to a conclusion with passion, fire, and surprise.

Pick this one up for a delightful, easy read. Characters, murder, love, and surprises make this a must have for readers.

Lynda Palmer is an author and avid reader. She loves mysteries, historical fiction, biographies, and good fiction. She has had published reviews.
She has authored several short stories which have been published in anthologies. She has several articles published in magazines and written several medical articles for patients and medical professionals. Like all authors, she has books in the works.

The Librarian Always Rings Twice
Marty Wingate

Berkley
$26.00
978-1984804167
January 4, 2022

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12/20/21 12/20/21

When You are Mine by Michael Robotham/Review by Sharon Blevins

Is there a difference between pure evil and horrendous, yet justifiable crime? Officer Philomena McCarthy would say no. That honest to a fault lens of police-work developed from her own dependence on a heroic policewoman rendering aid during a catastrophe when she was a child. Now as a young woman, Philomena is determined to serve London in the same manner – seeking justice and standing up for victims.

She vows to keep the streets safe with the added burden of being the daughter of a wealthy gangster. Philomena hides from the surly reputation of her own blood, constantly trying to dodge her namesake and prove her pure intentions to her own comrades.

Philomena goes the extra mile to sniff out a bad apple in the department while protecting a battered woman (Tempe) from further harm. In an effort to support the victim and discover the truth, she stumbles into a web of deceit and hidden agendas. Her once happy state of engagement to Mr. Right and her new friendship with Tempe encounter certain strain. Tempe’s needs and lack of boundaries turn toxic. Torn between this strange new friend and the possibility of criminals behind the scenes, Philomena is bombarded by gray areas of the law. She is forced to consider her connection to the very man she had tried so hard to distance herself from.

In this splendidly told thriller, Robotham will lead you through the flames of fallible human behavior, all while villains and victims become hard to tell apart. I was immediately drawn into the action and clear motivations of each character. The level of psychological suspense tightens as the story unfolds with the last third of the book impossible to put down. This well-written book presents realistic themes of how people are multilayered and not always as they appear, much less simply good or bad. The ending is one of my favorite aspects of Robotham’s style. The twists kept coming and I simply couldn’t have predicted the outcome, all the while, giving the reader a thought-provoking stopping point.

When You Are mine
Michael Robotham

Sphere
$26.00
978-0751581553
June 24, 2021

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12/14/21 12/14/21

The Ninja Betrayed by Tori Eldridge/Review by Sheila Sobel

The Ninja Betrayed
Tori Eldridge

Agora Books
$16.95
978-1951709365
September 14, 2021

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In Lily Wong’s world, nothing is ever as it seems. Having been summoned to Hong Kong for an emergency board meeting at her father’s company, Lily’s mother remains in the dark and her father, Gung-Gung, is unwilling to share any details about the ominous gathering. What should have been a fabulous opportunity to spend time with her mother and her grandparents in Hong Kong becomes a challenge even before she and her mother can leave the airport terminal. With a massive crowd of political protesters blocking the exits, their trip gets off to a rocky start.

While tensions escalate within her own family, alongside the increased political dissension in the city, Lily finds it nearly impossible to focus on her relationship with Daniel Kwok. She’d hoped to advance their relationship with a little quality time while both are in Hong Kong, but family comes first. Worried that her mother might lose her long-held position within the company, Lily searches for the reason behind the emergency meeting. Lily’s discovery of years-long corporate misdeeds puts her and her mother squarely in the crosshairs of a powerful triad.

When Lily stepped off the plane, she never expected to rely on her ninja skills, but if she and her mother are to survive Hong Kong, it’s time to put her deadly expertise to use.

In The Ninja Betrayed, the third book in the Lily Wong series, Tori Eldridge brings the exotic city of Hong Kong to life with her vivid imagery of towering skyscrapers, lush gardens, and mouth-watering delicacies. Filled with high personal stakes, dangerous gangs, corporate intrigue and the wondrous possibilities of a budding romance, this action-packed adventure is a great addition to the series.

Tori Eldridge is the Anthony, Lefty, and Macavity Awards-nominated author of the Lily Wong mystery thriller series—The Ninja Daughter, The Ninja’s Blade, The Ninja Betrayed—and the upcoming dark Brazilian fantasy, Dance Among the Flames (May 2022). Her shorter works appear in horror, dystopian, and other literary anthologies, including the inaugural reboot of Weird Tales magazine. Her screenplay The Gift was a Nicholl Fellowship semi-finalist. Tori holds a fifth-degree black belt in To-Shin Do ninja martial arts and has performed as an actress, singer, dancer on Broadway, television, and film. Learn more at ToriEldridge.com.

Sheila Sobel’s Middle-Grade work-in-progress, TIME FLIES was a finalist for the 2020 Killer Nashville Claymore Award. Her debut YA novel, Color Blind, won the 2017 Killer Nashville Reader’s Choice Award for Best YA Fiction and was a Finalist for the 2017 Silver Falchion Award for Best YA Fiction. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, two dogs and a cat. Learn more at: www.sheilasobel.com.

12/6/21 12/6/21

The Hostage by John Ryder/Review by Lauri Murphy

The Hostage
John Ryder

Bookouture
$9.99
978-1800192928
November 22, 2021

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Jerome Prentice opened his eyes to find himself staring down the barrel of a gun.

With this opening sentence, the rocket ride that is The Hostage grabs the reader’s attention and doesn’t let go. This is a fast-paced thriller about abduction, greed and love with an unlikely protagonist in unassuming accountant Jerome Prentice.

College sweethearts Jerome and Alicia Prentice are still madly in love, happily married and working for the same conglomerate, Beck Holdings. All comes tumbling when armed, masked gunmen wake them in the middle of the night and take Alicia hostage. To get her back Jerome must redirect $50 million from Beck Holdings, convert it to crypto currency and parcel it out to multiple accounts. All this while circumventing the various governmental and internal accounting controls put in place to stop just such an effort. For upstanding and law-abiding Jerome it is never an option not to do as instructed to get Alicia back. What the abductors don’t count on is Jerome’s resourcefulness and determination to find Alicia before he must break the law and meet their demands. Armed with knowledge derived from watching action movies and playing PlayStation games, Jerome sets out to rescue Alicia and thwart her abductors.

Told from Jerome’s and Alicia’s point of view, the reader feels Alicia’s terror and Jerome’s resolve in this cat and mouse thriller. Up against abductors who seem to be one step ahead of him, Jerome’s decision making, while sometimes questionable, moves the plot along at a pace that seldom allows the reader to catch their breath. Add in the twists at pivotal points and one comes up with an absorbing, exciting read.

Lauri Murphy is a retired college professor who spends her retirement happily reading, biking and hiking the trails in Northwest Montana. Trying to make a dent in her to be read pile is what gets her through the long winters.

12/2/21 12/2/21

The Counsel of the Cunning by Steven C. Harms/Review by Sandra Tow

The Counsel of the Cunning by Steven C. Harm

Suspense Publishing
$13.95
978-0578933795
November 9, 2021

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An unexpected visit from billionaire and former Senator Jürgen Sandt propels Roger Viceroy and his team of investigators to search for Sandt’s only son, who went missing in the jungles of Guatemala ten years prior. A mysterious package left at the Sandt estate suggests Bertram Sandt is still alive. Viceroy and his team meet a litany of nefarious characters and face life-threatening danger as they track down leads from the streets of Milwaukee to Washington D.C. and the jungles of Guatemala. It becomes a race to save millions for Viceroy and his team as the investigation uncovers an unspeakable plot to control humanity.

The Counsel of the Cunning is the second installment in the Roger Viceroy series by Steven C. Harms. While not having read the first novel in the series, this didn’t hinder interest or connection to the characters or storyline. The writing and backstory are executed in a way that doesn’t leave a reader lost. The novel does have secular elements, which may deter some readers who don’t pick up a thriller with spirituality in mind. It doesn’t discouraged from continuing the book, though, and the storyline and pacing eclipse secular references if that’s an element the reader wouldn’t usually seek in a thriller.

Harm’s novel is a fast-paced thriller exploring greed, power, grief, and faith. This book will appeal to readers drawn to a genre that thrives on break-neck pacing and puzzling twists and turns. Readers will not be disappointed.

Sandra Tow is a writer who lives in North Carolina with her husband, daughter, three dogs and an alarmingly increasing flock of chickens. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Queens University of Charlotte and is currently working on a memoir and a short story collection.

10/27/21 10/27/21

The Mystery of the Sorrowful Maiden (A Laetitia Rodd Mystery) by Kate Saunders / Review by Joy Gorence

A Laetitia Rood Mystery: The Mystery of the Sorrowful Maiden

Kate Saunders

Bloomsbury Publishing
$26.00
978-1408866924
December 7, 2021

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Author Kate Saunders pulls back the curtains in the Victorian world of theater when Laetitia Rodd, a private investigator and widow of a country vicar, receives a hand-written letter from Benjamin Tully, a neighbor. His request is on behalf of his friend, Mrs. Sarah Transome, the wife of acclaimed London actor, Thomas Transome. What begins as a legal separation case between Mr. and Mrs. Transome develops into a case of murder, mystery, and mayhem. The Mystery of the Sorrowful Maiden plunges readers into a world of actors and actresses who create their own realities as façades for masked truths.

The plot thickens when a partially mummified body is discovered by workmen in The King’s Theater, once leased by Thomas Transome. The only clue to the victim’s identity is the name “Tybalt” sewn into the jacket. Not having survived a fire, the theater has sat idle for ten years, but its new patron, Edgar Betterton, who is a rival of Transome’s, has begun its renovation. Discovering the identity of the victim becomes the impetus for an investigation by Inspector Blackbeard and Mrs. Rodd.

As details unfold, Mrs. Rood discovers that not all is at it appears. When the relationships of all those involved in the investigation are exposed, readers, along with Mrs. Rood, believe they have uncovered the truth. However, the author has played her role expertly in redirecting attention to subplots and creating characters who believe that “all the world’s a stage.” What begins as a story akin to Romeo and Juliet becomes more macabre as the reader soon ascertains that the role one plays often engages one to “look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under it.” What Mrs. Rood learns keeps the reader riveted to the action.

Kate Saunders has created a visor for the characters that leaves the reader wondering the truth about them. She puts the characters on a well-crafted stage and when the curtain closes for the last time, the audience is rewarded with a final twist to a captivating read.

Joy Gorence is new to Killer Nashville. She is an author, world-traveler, English professor (ret.), and avid reader. Originally from Long Island, NY she now lives in South Florida with her husband, Bill, and their two pampered kitties.

10/26/21 10/26/21

What Doesn’t Kill Us by David Housewright /Review by Tim Suddeth

What Doesn’t Kill Us
David Housewright

Minotaur Books
$24.49
978-1250756992
May 2021

BUY HERE

It’s rare to read a book where the main character in a series sits a book out, but that is exactly what David Housewright does in What Doesn’t Kill Us, the eighteenth installment in his Rushmore McKenzie series. This book is a great rebuttal to the saying “No good deed goes unpunished.”

McKenzie is a former detective for the St. Paul Police Department. After coming into a fortune, he now acts as an unofficial private investigator, mainly doing favors for friends.

After someone shoots him twice in the back, leaving him in a coma with little chance of survival, those “friends” show up to return his favors. But first, they have to discover why McKenzie was outside a sketchy bar in a rough part of the city. Was he there to meet someone? Or was he there to join the regulars in whatever business they have going on in the basement?

Was he the target, or just in the wrong place at the wrong time?

Whatever the reason, his friends know McKenzie. And whether they’re his former partners at the police department or the people who were on the receiving end of McKenzie’s favors, all are determined to use their own unique approach to make sure their friend gets justice in whatever way.

Housewright uses unique points of view to show readers why each person feels so indebted to the detective.

I loved getting to know the other characters and guessing why they feel so strongly toward McKenzie. Housewright uses the setting well. And this is an ending you won’t see coming.

I wish McKenzie a full and quick recovery. I can’t wait to read his next adventure.

Tim Suddeth was the 2017 Jimmy Loftin Memorial Scholarship Award winner. He’s currently working on his fourth novel. He currently blogs for The Write Conversation and is trying to make a dent in his to-read bookcases. You can follow him at on his blog at timingreenville.com or on Twitter @TimSuddeth.

7/9/21 7/9/21

Rock, Paper, Scissors by Alice Feeney/Review by Liz Gatterer

Rock, Paper, Scissors
Alice Feeney

Flatiron Books
$26.00
978-1250266101
September 7, 2021

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Something is wrong with Mr. and Mrs. Wright, and it has been for a long time. Adam and Amelia’s marriage is on the rocks. Amelia wins a free vacation at a converted chapel at Blackwater Loch in the Scottish Highlands they think this just might be the event that changes everything. A weekend of crisp Highland air, rolling hills of heather. But they are heading into a snowstorm, and they know nothing about the chapel or the area. What could go wrong in an Alice Feeney novel with this scenario?

Interspersed between chapters from Adam’s perspective and Amelia’s perspective are anniversary letters that Adam’s wife writes to him. These letters are her true feelings about each past year of marriage, detailing how she really feels about their marriage and the way Adam treats her. But she never lets him read them. She knows that his job comes first, it’s everything to him.

Nothing is as it seems and with Adam and Amelia at such odds, before they even get to the chapel, it doesn’t help that so much doesn’t seem to go right once they are there. Strange things start happening, the electricity goes off, there are weird sounds, a face in a window, the phones don’t work, things are not right. Is it really one of them or is it someone or something else? I’d think I might have an inkling of what was going on but really, I was mostly confused, suspicious, and was totally clueless to the main twist. The way the chapters were presented worked to keep me from figuring things out and I really liked that about this story.

I love an unreliable narrator. The novel is narrated by both Adam and Amelia but there is a third whose identity isn’t revealed until the end of the book. Although I had an inkling of who she might be. But no “spoilers” here! Let it suffice to say it is a satisfying twist.

This might just be my favorite Alice Feeney book. Sometimes I Lie was a real page-turner, but while this novel is a bit of a slow starter, it really races to the epic conclusion. The characters were well described with multifaceted personalities. Alice Feeney fans and lovers of psychological thrillers will enjoy this one!

Liz Gatterer is a staff member at Killer Nashville.

7/8/21 7/8/21

THE LONG GOODBYE by Raymond Chandler/Review by Robert Mangeot

The Long Goodbye
Raymond Chandler

Vintage Crime/Black Lizard
$16.00
978-0394757681
Reissue edition (August 12, 1988)

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Classic Reads

Marlowe can’t let a death go in Chandler’s most personal novel.

The Long Goodbye opens with a famous first sentence:

“The first time I laid eyes on Terry Lennox he was drunk in a Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith outside the terrace of The Dancers.”

The “I,” of course, is Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe. Marlowe rescues Lennox from the drunk tank after Lennox’s on-again, off-again wife leaves him stranded at the club. The unexpected kindness starts an unlikely friendship between a ruined socialite and a hard-boiled detective. A one-way friendship. Lennox appears whenever he craves a sympathetic drinking buddy or a shove back on the wagon. Marlowe, ever the knight noir, helps because Lennox needs it. Marlowe sees Lennox as someone who also lives by his own set of rules.

Eventually, the help Lennox needs is a fast drive to Tijuana. His long-cheating wife has been murdered. Lennox declares his innocence, but he knows he’ll take the rap. Marlowe agrees to the drive on one condition: Lennox doesn’t confide a single detail of what actually happened. That puts Homicide onto Marlowe and Marlowe into the papers for riding out the heat. The Mexican police report Lennox as an apparent suicide, and the police close the case fast. Marlowe might’ve dropped it there except Lennox managed to send a goodbye letter that is anything but a confession.

Marlowe’s sudden renown earns him another job. Best-selling author Roger Wade has gone missing after a serious bender. His wife and his publisher are desperate to get the latest saga novel done. Tracking Wade down leads Marlowe into organized crime tangles and family drama and a case surprisingly connected to Terry Lennox, a death still weighing on Marlowe.

Chandler needs little introduction to writers and readers. But we can start in 1933, when Chandler introduced himself to the crime genre, with his debut story “Blackmailers Don’t Shoot” in The Black Mask. After fits and starts at poetry, teaching, and corporate jobs, once Chandler latched onto hard-boiled fiction, his punch would transform the genre and American literature beyond. Chandler injected style. He challenged and raised expectations of genre quality with deep prose that captured the semi-nobility critical to the noir PI.

The Long Goodbye (1953) was Chandler’s sixth novel in the Marlowe series. There would be only a seventh, Playback, before Chandler died in 1959. The Long Goodbye snaps like Chandler at his peak powers, although in life Chandler felt those powers fading. He’d lost the productivity that brought The Big Sleep (1939), Farewell, My Lovely (1940), The High Window (1942), and The Lady in The Lake (1943) rapid-fire. By 1953, he’d walked away from screenwriting. His inner demons were circling. His wife was dying. In his 60s himself, mortality was on his mind.

The Long Goodbye is a master class in the Great American Crime Novel’s potential. It’s more than the wisecracks and the justice come what may. The Long Goodbye is about something: what we can’t shake and what we tell ourselves about that. Lost love, addiction, trauma, ambition, the certainty of death. Not one character can let go. Each must suffer the consequences, and this is a feast of consequences.

Even Chandler deals with this unresolved loss on the page. He inserts himself most obviously as Wade, the successful author who struggles with sobriety and literary acceptance, and as Lennox, a war-wounded Anglophile who doesn’t quite fit his place and time. It’s real to Chandler when the dying of the light haunts these characters.

That personal concoction makes this his best work. Sure, The Big Sleep has tight power and rocket pace, and Farewell, My Lovely is quintessential Los Angeles noir. Those novels were stitched-together from earlier short stories, and in places the seams show. I can’t be all wet here. The Long Goodbye won the Edgar in 1955.

I studied Chandler when I first ventured into writing. I deconstructed his paragraphs and turns of phrase. It was an instructive peek into structure and timing, but more than anything, I simply reveled in his use of language. That started me trying a style of my own. I won’t ever write a shadow as well as Chandler, but then, who does? We’re lucky that he left a treasure like The Long Goodbye to hold onto.

END

Robert Mangeot’s fiction appears here and there, including ALFRED HITCHCOCK’S MYSTERY MAGAZINE, THE FORGE LITERARY MAGAZINE, LOWESTOFT CHRONICLE, MYSTERY WEEKLY MAGAZINE, MWA’s ICE COLD, THE ODDVILLE PRESS, and the Anthony-winning MURDER UNDER THE OAKS. His work has three times been named a Derringer finalist. When not writing, he serves as a current officer for the Southeast chapter of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime Middle Tennessee. When not doing any of that, he can be found wandering the snack food aisles of America or France.

7/8/21 7/8/21

All We Buried by Elena Taylor/Review by Sheila Sobel

All We Buried
by Elena Taylor

Crooked Lane Books
$26.99
ISBN 978-1643852911
Publication Date: April 7, 2020

BUY HERE

There’s a new sheriff in town and her name is Elizabeth “Bet” Rivers. Born and raised in Collier, Bet left the cozy, close-knit Washington community to pursue a career in law enforcement in the big city—the City of Angels—Los Angeles, California. Bet’s plan is to move up the LAPD ranks to chief and come back to Collier in twenty years, but family means everything to Bet. When her father, Sheriff Earle Rivers, calls her home to act as interim sheriff while he recovers from his illness, she puts her life in sunny Southern California on hold and returns to the chilly Northwest. Like her father always says, “Competition. Family. Responsibility. Loyalty. Collier.” Once back in Collier, it doesn’t take an LAPD detective to figure out that Earle wasn’t completely honest about his chances of surviving the cancer. When Earle passes, Bet is torn—return to Los Angeles to pick up where she left off with LAPD or remain in Collier to compete with Earle’s deputy to become the next elected sheriff? When a canvas-wrapped dead woman surfaces from the icy cold waters of the lake, Bet has no choice but to stay. Her first homicide. In a town unaccustomed to murder, but not unaccustomed to secrets. Some of which are Bet’s own. Secrets she’s kept buried since childhood. With her instincts, her LAPD training, and the ghost of her father’s wisdom to guide her, Bet sets a course for herself that will not only be life-changing, but life-threatening. Filled with interesting characters and intriguing plot twists, “All We Buried” is the first book in a much-anticipated series by Elena Taylor.

Elena Taylor lives on the banks of the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River in a town made famous by Twin Peaks. When she’s not writing or working one-on-one with writers as a developmental editor, she can be found hanging out with her husband, dog, and two cats. Her favorite place to be (besides home) is the stables down the road, with her two horses Radar and Jasper. For more information, visit http://www.elenataylorauthor.com

Sheila Sobel’s debut, Color Blind won the 2017 Killer Nashville Reader’s Choice Award for Best Fiction YA and was a Finalist for the 2017 Silver Falchion Award for Best Fiction YA. Sheila was nominated for the 2016 Allegra Johnson Prize in Novel Writing through UCLA Extension Writers’ Program. Learn more: www.sheilasobel.com

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KN Magazine: Reviews

The Child Riddler

Ghost Tamer

The Ninja’s Oath

Murder in Galway

Behind the Lie by Emilya Naymark/Review by Sharon Blevins

Sunrise by Susan May Warren/Review by Eliot Parker

Murder on an Irish Farm by Carlene O'Connor/Review by Chelle Martin

Life Flight by Lynette Eason/Review by Sharon Marchisello

The Fields by Erin Young/Review by Joy Gorence

Murder at the CDC by Jon Land/Review by Bruce Meisterman

The Librarian Always Rings Twice by Marty Wingate/Review by Lynda Palmer

When You are Mine by Michael Robotham/Review by Sharon Blevins

The Ninja Betrayed by Tori Eldridge/Review by Sheila Sobel

The Hostage by John Ryder/Review by Lauri Murphy

The Counsel of the Cunning by Steven C. Harms/Review by Sandra Tow

The Mystery of the Sorrowful Maiden (A Laetitia Rodd Mystery) by Kate Saunders / Review by Joy Gorence

What Doesn’t Kill Us by David Housewright /Review by Tim Suddeth

Rock, Paper, Scissors by Alice Feeney/Review by Liz Gatterer

THE LONG GOODBYE by Raymond Chandler/Review by Robert Mangeot

Classic Reads

All We Buried by Elena Taylor/Review by Sheila Sobel

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