KN Magazine: Reviews
Confound It by Maggie Toussaint / Review by Samantha Traci
CONFOUND IT
By Maggie Toussaint
Camel Press
$16.95
ISBN 978-1603815956
Publication Date: June 1, 2018
BOOK OF THE DAY
Killer Nashville 2019 Silver Falchion Nominee
Baxley Powell can’t seem to catch a break. Taking on the otherworldly family business by becoming the county Dreamwalker has presented a fair number of challenges, but lately things have been getting out of hand. Called in to assist the sheriff’s department with the murder investigation of a local drug dealer, Baxley quickly finds herself wrapped up in a mystery involving angry psychics, feuding neighbors and meth-making mothers.
She’s also still dealing with the not-quite-unrequited interest from fellow Dreamwalker Sam Mayes that’s complicated by the fact that her husband is still missing without a trace, all while helping her best friend deal with her own romantic entanglements. And oh yeah - someone might have put a voodoo hex on her. Despite the mounting obstacles, Baxley is determined to see this latest investigation through and find justice for the murdered woman and her orphaned son.
Toussaint’s descriptive writing does a good job of drawing the reader into the rural Georgia setting, and some of the secondary characters really have a “good ol boy” flair that altogether combine for a somewhat humorous and thoroughly southern atmosphere for the Sinclair County resident’s exploits.
Although the story contained more than a few elements of the supernatural, it was easy to suspend disbelief and simply enjoy the adventure. Characters in this universe take such things as Dreamwalking, ghosts and demons as ordinary occurrences, so it was a slightly surreal blend of paranormal problems and the more real-world problems of drugs, single-parent struggles, greed and the violence that accompanies it.
“Confound It” is the fifth book Toussaint’s Dreamwalker series, and as such the reader might feel a little adrift starting with this book. The mystery aspect of the story stands well on its own with a satisfying mix of whodunnit intrigue and a quirky cast of equally suspicious characters; but the steady references to past incidents involving Baxley and her co-horts will definitely make you want to start at the beginning to get the full scoop on the action!
Sam is the co-founder and editor of progressandtea.com, a labor of love and exercise for sanity in these politically charged times. Drawing from her background in journalism, she currently works in higher education publishing by day but is hard at work on her first novel by night. When not working with words, she can be found indulging her passion for burlesque, a hobby that provides plenty of colorful experiences for her writing!
The Golden Tresses of the Dead by Alan Bradley / Review by Liz Gatterer
THE GOLDEN TRESSES OF THE DEAD
By Alan Bradley
Delecorte Press
$26.00
ISBN 978-0345540027
Publication Date: January 22,20189
Book of the Day
Flavia De Luce is back and cleaver as always. This is the 10th installment by Alan Bradley featuring the precocious prepubescent private investigator, Flavia De Luce. Flavia and her father’s faithful friend (ok – valet, but that didn’t fit the alliteration pattern…) have begun their own professional investigation firm. Case number one: who stuck their finger in Feely’s wedding cake? Or rather, who stuck a severed finger in Feely’s wedding cake?
As ever, this little girl is too smart for her own good. But it is good fun! Bradley’s creation echoes back to Sherlock Holmes without being a tired recreation. If you haven’t read the early novels, you really should. But no worries if you haven’t -each book can stand on its own. Alan Bradley published his first Flavia De Luce novel (which won the Crime Writer’s Dagger Award) as a septuagenarian. Which gives me hope that I still have time to write my great novel.
Daughters of Bad Men by Laura Oles / Review by Danny Lindsey
DAUGHTERS OF BAD MEN
By Laura Oles
Red Adept Publishing
$12.99
ISBN 978-0615816319
Publication Date: November 14, 2017
BOOK OF THE DAY
Killer Nashville 2018 Silver Falchion Nominee
In Daughters of Bad Men (Red Adept Publishing, 2017) photojournalist, Laura Oles draws from a blend of the familiar and the unique in crafting a whodunit that keeps the reader reading non-stop.
Who would think that the daughter of a con-man would leave the con-world behind and jump to the other side of the law? And who would think that her half-brother, himself a con-man, would use his own daughter in the life? Jamie Rush is a small town private eye in Port Alene, Texas, content (mostly) to work divorce cases, trace deadbeat dads, and perform other skip tracing jobs. She makes a modest living and enjoys, for the first time in her life, actually staying put longer than just to the end of the con.
When her niece disappears and her half-brother asks Jamie for help finding her, she knew at once that something was wrong. He shifted from lie-to-lie-to-partial-truth, in turn shifting her reaction from concern-to-worry-to-even stronger feelings. The path to finding her niece immediately involved Jamie with rival gangs, bookies, wealthy patrons and their confused interrelationships. There is no shortage of either intrigue or danger.
Daughters of Bad Men also exposes a portion of society that is continuously simmering, just below the surface and out of sight. Blood feuds, rival bar owners, and family rifts all appear to a greater or lesser extent. The thing is, they are all portrayed as they are, and do not require the reader to stretch the imagination to realize that even in a small town there is often more (or less) than meets the eye.
For her first foray into full-length fiction, Laura Oles has demonstrated that her fictional eye is every bit as accurate as her camera lens. Well deserving of earning a place as a Killer Nashville Claymore Award finalist, Daughters of Bad Men is a solid tale, well told, and a promise of more to come from Jamie Rush. I’ll be waiting for the next one.
Danny Lindsey keeps trying to retire. After a 20-year Army career and a 25-year second one in the private sector, he’s finally settled down. His current gig is as the Veteran Employment Services Manager for a Huntsville, A.L. based non-profit, Still Serving Veterans. Both full careers were characterized by numerous writing assignments, from war plans to operating policies and procedures, then on to white papers, analyses of alternatives and competitive contract and grant proposals. Now his writing consists of blogs for the website www.ssv.org, podcasts for the local NPR affiliate, and a half dozen Pulitzer-worthy, albeit unpublished novels.
Update: Danny won the 2017 Killer Nashville Claymore Award with his manuscript Serial Justice – so he will not be unpublished for long!
Bury the Past by James L’Etoile / Review by Sheila Sobel
BURY THE PAST
By James L’Etoile
Crooked Lane Books
$26.99
ISBN 978-1683314424
Publication Date: December 12, 2017
BOOK OF THE DAY
Killer Nashville 2018 Silver Falchion Nominee
James L’Etoile wrote, “The past isn’t done with us yet.” Truer words were never written. In Bury the Past, his follow-up novel to At What Cost, the first Detective Penley Mystery, James L'Etoile has written another heart-pounding suspense novel filled with dramatic twists and turns. Detective John Penley's son is recovering from a much-needed kidney transplant, his daughter has been suspended from school and his marriage is crumbling. When his wife leaves home for an unexpected break from the family, John is left to parent on his own, with no good answers to his children’s questions.
Detective Paula Newberry is not fairing much better as her integrity is called into question and the evidence against her for multiple crimes begins to mount. As a former Internal Affairs detective, Paula had ample opportunity to build a long list of enemies. Her prime suspect for this personal attack is in prison. His alibi is ironclad. Who on the outside is helping him? And, why? As the body count rises, local politicians want somebody’s head. They don’t care whose. With stakes as high as these, the partners have each other's backs, working together to find a stash of missing street drugs, put a group of corrupt cops out of action and resolve dilemmas on the home-front.
Fans will be more than ready for the third installment in A Detective Penley Mystery series after reading Bury the Past.
James L’Etoile has a Masters’ Degree in Criminal Justice and twenty-nine years of experience working within the prison system: Associate Warden, Director of Parole, Chief of Institutions and Hostage Negotiator. He resides in Cameron Park, CA with his wife, Ann-Marie, their Corgi, Emma, and a part-time cat named Case. For more information: https://jamesletoile.com.
After thirty-three years and seventy films (including Harry Potter, The Matrix trilogy and Batman, The Dark Knight), Sheila stepped away from the film business to complete her Young Adult novel. Her debut novel, 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 also nominated for the 2016 Allegra Johnson Prize in Novel Writing through UCLA Extension Writers’ Program.
Sheila is a member of International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and Women in Film. She lives in Beverly Hills with her husband, two dogs, and a cat. www.sheilasobel.com
Beside The Syrian Sea by James Wolff / Review by G. Robert Frazier
BESIDE THE SYRIAN SEA
By James Wolff
Bitter Lemon Press
$14.95
ISBN 9781908524-980
Publication Date: May 15, 2018
Book of the Day
Information, as Jonas Worth equates it, is “a currency more sought-after than cash.” Worth, a British intelligence worker, knows this firsthand. But he faces a weighty moral dilemma: Can he trade his access to government secrets to the terrorist organization of ISIS, even if it means saving his father’s life?
Author James Wolff, who is himself a former British government worker, poses that question for his main character, Jonas, in his gripping debut spy thriller Beside the Syrian Sea ($14.95, Bitter Lemon Press). Jonas reaches this critical turning point following the kidnapping of his father by ISIS forces.
At first, Jonas’s own government, along with the Foreign Office and the police, implores him to simply be patient: “It’s a waiting game.” He is told in no uncertain terms that the people holding his father will eventually come under the control of more moderate forces who in turn can be persuaded to release their hostages without paying a ransom, which is against British government policy.
But after three months of anxious waiting, Jonas’ patience wears thin.
Recalling Edward Snowden’s decision to steal government secrets and release them to the media, Jonas confiscates a trove of top secret documents from his office, smuggles them through the building’s security checkpoint, and arranges to exchange the information for the safe return of his father. The trick is to pull it off successfully with the British government, MI-5, and the CIA watching his every move. What follows is a tense, page-turning plot filled with government intrigue, shady foreign agents, danger, and a looming question of just how far would someone go for the sake of love and family.
Set in Beirut, Wolff masterfully pulls off this complex modern-day spy thriller in convincing fashion, evoking obvious comparisons to John Le Carre’s George Smiley spy novels.
Robert Frazier is a freelance writer and former reporter and editor at several Middle Tennessee newspapers. He also reviews books for BookPage and BloggingforBooks and has served as a script reader for both the Austin Film Festival and Nashville Film Festival screenwriting competitions.
19 Souls by JD Allen / Review by Holly A. Chaille
19 SOULS
By JD Allen
Midnight Ink
$15.99
ISBN 978-0738754031
Publication Date: February 8, 2018
Book of the Day
Little girls never forget their butterflies-in the-the-gut first crush. Sophie Ever’s crush turned into a lifelong obsession fueled by the dangerous voice in her head, driving her to do whatever it takes to get her man to love her back. J.D. Allen’s first book in a new series 19 Souls (Midnight Ink) brings us face to face with a woman on the edge of sanity who tricks Private Investigator Jim Bean into locating the object of her desire, Dan Hodge, who’s gone off the grid in hopes she never finds him.
The book opens with tension and continues to build it even though we are immediately aware of who the villain is. The noir style and Las Vegas setting give the book a distinct hard-boiled feeling, and the voice in Sophie’s head doubles down on the deviant femme fatale trope. Allen does an excellent job with dialogue, description, and making Sophie fallible enough that we can’t completely hate her.
As Bean tracks her movement through a trail of dead bodies we readers get up close and personal with her inner critic, almost rooting for Sophie just to spite the psychopath in her head. The story oscillates between Bean and Sophie perfectly, giving the reader opportunity to learn more about both characters without it seeming like an information dump.
Fans of female antagonists will devour this mystery, as Allen found the recipe for creating a villain both vicious and vulnerable. The body count clicks higher without gratuitous gore, making for a great guilty pleasure weekend read.
Allen is a graduate of Ohio State University where she earned a degree in forensic anthropology and a creative writing minor. 19 Souls is her first full-length mystery.
Holly Chaille is a member of Sisters in Crime and the daughter of a librarian. Growing up in the stacks cultivated her lifelong love of suspense and thrillers, and she’s currently querying her first mystery and developing her blog at HollyAChaille.com.
Broken Ground by Joe Clifford / Review by Danny Lindsey
BROKEN GROUND
By Joe Clifford
Oceanview Publishing
$26.95
ISBN 978-1608092437
Publication Date: June 5, 2018
Book of the Day
Jay Porter doesn’t want to be an investigator. If he did, he’d get a license. But clients keep finding him. In Broken Ground (Oceanview Publishing, 2018), the latest in Joe Clifford’s Porter series, the client, and Jay have a history, of sorts. She crashes an AA meeting he’s attending, he an alcoholic and she bearing the tell-tale marks of more serious drug use.
Her sister is missing, and the police are not an avenue she’s willing to pursue. The retainer she hands over goes straight into child support, as his “Sanford and Son” estate cleaning business is in as big a slump as his personal life.
Things aren’t as they seem, right from the onset. Her sister either was or was not a user, dependent upon whomever he asks. She either was or was not accepted, then summarily discharged from a local treatment center. The answer becomes moot when people start dying, and the trail leads all the way back 5 years to a former case, a prominent family, big money and an epidemic of cancer. Jay finds himself embroiled in his own brother’s death a year before, his client’s case, a family with whom he’s crossed paths before and who has engaged local law enforcement to keep him at arm’s length, and a toxic piece of real estate.
The plot takes one through unsuspected twists, much closer to home than even Jay Porter would have wanted, had he been the writer instead of the protagonist. Don’t look for the clues that give the ending away. You’ll only find them after the fact.
Joe Clifford writes with authority and authenticity. His characters’ fatal flaws are not imagined by him – they’ve either been lived by him or observed first-hand by him. Broken Ground, along with the other books in the Jay Porter series are frighteningly real, almost to the point that the reader keeps checking to see whether they are fiction, historical fiction or non-fiction.
Danny Lindsey keeps trying to retire. After a 20-year Army career and a 25-year second one in the private sector, he’s finally settled down. His current gig is as the Veteran Employment Services Manager for a Huntsville, A.L. based non-profit, Still Serving Veterans. Both full careers were characterized by numerous writing assignments, from war plans to operating policies and procedures, then on to white papers, analyses of alternatives and competitive contract and grant proposals. Now his writing consists of blogs for the website www.ssv.org, podcasts for the local NPR affiliate, and a half dozen Pulitzer-worthy, albeit unpublished novels.
Update: Danny won the 2017 Killer Nashville Claymore Award with his manuscript Serial Justice – so he will not be unpublished for long!
The Disappeared by C.J. Box / Review by Danny Lindsey
THE DISAPPEARED
By C.J. BOX
G.P. Putnam's Sons
$27.00
ISBN 978-0399176623
Publication Date: March 27, 2018
Book of the Day
Who would have thought that a Wyoming Game Warden could be embroiled in so much murder, mayhem, and mystery that it would take at least 18 books to cover all of it? In C.J.Box’s latest in the Joe Pickett series, The Disappeared, (G.P. Putnam's Sons, March 2018) Joe once again finds himself in unfamiliar and potentially dangerous territory.
Wyoming’s new governor is different. Where his predecessor used Joe Pickett as a valuable asset in solving some of the most difficult cases, the new chief executive governs by threat and coercion. He sends Joe to investigate the months’ old disappearance of a female British executive, who failed to return from a week’s stay at a high-end guest ranch.
The more Joe learns the more complex and sinister the case becomes. Despite the fact that his oldest daughter is a working wrangler at the ranch, clues are few and far between. No one wants to talk about the missing woman, least of all the ranch manager. His position is that any publicity linking the ranch to her or her disappearance is bad publicity.
Joe’s closest friend and one-time federal fugitive Nate Romanowski follows Joe, for more than a single reason. A master falconer, he needs Joe’s help with a licensing situation; plus he is well aware that Joe’s special assignments more often than not require his own special brand of assistance, sometimes (always) outside of the legal ways of obtaining information.
Matters are complicated by the appearance of the disappeared woman’s sister and a British journalist, although the term journalist is utilized in its most all-embracing definition. He is little more than a muck-raking, headline-seeking hack, who spares no opportunity to disparage the area, the people, the state, and even the weather. He manages to so meddle in the investigation that Joe and the local law officials are sent into the wilderness on a wild goose chase which ends up an embarrassment for all involved except the journalist, who delights in its conclusion.
The Disappeared is well-told by an experienced storyteller, although not one to be the first Joe Pickett to read. Occasional references to people and places are best understood by having read some or all of the seventeen previous books in the series. But Joe Pickett fans will not be disappointed – this one is vintage Joe.
Danny Lindsey keeps trying to retire. After a 20-year Army career and a 25-year second one in the private sector, he’s finally settled down. His current gig is as the Veteran Employment Services Manager for a Huntsville, A.L. based non-profit, Still Serving Veterans. Both full careers were characterized by numerous writing assignments, from war plans to operating policies and procedures, then on to white papers, analyses of alternatives and competitive contract and grant proposals. Now his writing consists of blogs for the website www.ssv.org, podcasts for the local NPR affiliate, and a half dozen Pulitzer-worthy, albeit unpublished novels.
Update: Danny won the 2017 Killer Nashville Claymore Award with his manuscript Serial Justice – so he will not be unpublished for long!
Hardcore Twenty-Four by Janet Evanovich / Review by Danny Lindsey
HARDCORE TWENTY-FOUR
By Janet Evanovich
G.P. Putnam's Sons
$28.00
ISBN 978-0399179198
Publication Date: November 14, 2017
Book of the Day
Zombies are loose in the Burg, and Stephanie Plum is on the lookout for them. In Janet Evanovich’s latest in the Stephanie Plum series (Hard Core Twenty-Four, G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2017) it’s a tossup whether bounty hunter Stephanie and plus-sized sidekick Lula will be squeezed to death by a 20-foot boa constrictor or have their brain sucked out through a straw by zombies. Neither prospect slows the familiar duo as they eat their way through chicken, donuts, sandwiches, and pizza on their way to apprehending a series of bail jumpers.
No Stephanie Plum tale is complete without a continuation of the “which man will it be next?” quandary that Steph finds herself in regularly. A semi-committed relationship with plainclothes cop Morelli is in her comfort zone, but the mysterious and oh-so-sexy Ranger is a constant temptation. If that weren’t enough, the newcomer Diesel takes her breath away and sends her hormones into orbit. It doesn’t help that she occasionally wakes up with him in the bed with her, naked.
For those not already fans of the series, Stephanie hunts bail jumpers for a living, for her cousin Vinnie’s bail bonds business. She’s been beaten up, rolled in various nasty substances, captured, tied up and left for dead, and shot at. Somehow either Morelli or Ranger, sometimes both, manage to rescue her and send her on to her next misadventure.
A girl with many talents, Stephanie excels at original ways to destroy cars, both hers and loaners from Ranger’s security fleet of luxury vehicles. Burned, bombed, crashed, filled with concrete, smashed by a garbage truck, stolen, drowned (without her in it), and filled with exploding animal carcasses are but a sampling of the ways she ends up on foot or driving her late grandfather’s indestructible ’53 Buick.
If you’re not a fan, you should be. If you only read serious fare, change. If you aren’t entertained by Evanovich’s female protagonist, you probably take life way too seriously. Have a donut (or six), grab a cold beer and a sandwich, and prepare to chuckle a lot and laugh out loud several times
Danny Lindsey keeps trying to retire. After a 20-year Army career and a 25-year second one in the private sector, he’s finally settled down. His current gig is as the Veteran Employment Services Manager for a Huntsville, A.L. based non-profit, Still Serving Veterans. Both full careers were characterized by numerous writing assignments, from war plans to operating policies and procedures, then on to white papers, analyses of alternatives and competitive contract and grant proposals. Now his writing consists of blogs for the website www.ssv.org, podcasts for the local NPR affiliate, and a half dozen Pulitzer-worthy, albeit unpublished novels.
Update: Danny won the 2017 Killer Nashville Claymore Award with his manuscript Serial Justice – so he will not be unpublished for long!
The List by J.A. Konrath / Review by Jim Biggs
Book of the Day
All good thrillers have a murder, a mystery, and a conspiracy. The List by J.A. Konrath is no exception. The tale begins with a wonderfully gruesome murder, a curious tattoo, and a late-night phone call to a senator that must behind it all.
The decapitated and de-digited body of librarian Tom Jessup had been discovered (the woman living in the apartment below noticed blood seeping through her ceiling and called 911). Detectives Tom Mankowski and Roy Lewis are in charge at the murder scene. They find the head, note that it appears to have been removed in one fell swoop and that the stumps of the fingers are tourniquet-ed with twist ties. But the one discovery that brings this case home for Mankowski is a tattoo of the number 7 on the victims left heel. For Mankowski also has a tattoo on the heel of his left foot–the number 5. He has had it his whole life and has no idea where it came from or what it might mean. Meanwhile, in California, a film executive, Joan DeVilliers is shaken by a voice message from someone who has scheduled her tattoo removal for that evening. Joan does have a tattoo–the number 2 on the heel of her left foot. But she is sure no one knows about it (she doesn't even know where it came from) and she never scheduled its removal. But this is just the prelude to the horrific scene that awaits her at home.
Part mystery, part horror, part comedy, The List reads like a Lethal Weapon movie script written by Stephen King. It is fast paced and fun! Okay, maybe the premise is a little far-fetched, but that’s ok. There is a perfectly reasonable (albeit maybe not scientifically plausible) explanation for it all. It is like an extended late night "what if ..." debate with good friends over a few beers. The characters are well crafted and quickly feel like old friends. The villains are very creative and perfectly flawed so as to not garner even one iota of your sympathy. So, go exercise your suspended disbelief and hang on. It is well worth the ride. There are 12 more books in The Konrath Horror Collective and I can’t wait to read them all.
J.A. Konrath is a Guests of Honor at the 2018 Killer Nashville Writers’ Conference if you’d like to meet the man in person!
The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn / Review by Liz Gatterer
THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW
By A.J. Finn
William & Marrow
$26.99
ISBN 978-0062678416
Publication Date: January 2, 2018
Book of the Day
Unless you have been living under a literary rock, you have heard of A.J. Finn’s debut novel The Woman in the Window (William Marrow 2018). Hailed as a “love letter to classic Hitchcock”, it certainly delivers … I read this novel in one of my obsessive/compulsive reading sessions (employing the audible version for those moments when one cannot hold a book–driving, cooking, or showering) that often leave me physically exhausted the next day, which, indeed I was, but I also found myself a bit emotionally exhausted as well.
Dr. Anna Fox is an agoraphobic/alcoholic/addict that is living alone in a refurbished 4-story townhouse in New York. Formerly a successful child psychologist. She fills her days with old movies, wine, capturing her neighbors comings and goings with her digital camera, pills, chat rooms, wine, conversations with her estranged husband and daughter, pills, ogling her tenant, wine, interrupted only by the weekly visits from her psychotherapist, her physical therapist and the deliveries of groceries, medications, and wine. She is psychologist herself, but no longer practices. Obviously, none of this is good for her–but together they are a slow form of suicide. But which one will be her demise? What will tip the balance and push her over the edge? Ah… the delight of the psychological thriller. The tension that builds as you know, just KNOW that this train is going to crash. It is racing down the tracks, the impossibly tight curve is up ahead…and… BAM! It gets hit by a meteorite falling from space. As you are trying to recover from that shock– you realize there is another train is barreling up behind you.
Red herrings, MacGuffins, unreliable narrators… Finn knows the tricks of the trade and utilizes them to their fullest. He is not new to the business. He was a successful editor for over a decade with a major publishing house and his clients are some of the giants of fiction. In one of the interviews, I read he stated that he had not tried to write a novel before because the type of novel he wanted to write was not commercially viable at the time. But, with the success of the “Girl” novels, he decided the time was right. Apparently, he was correct.
There may be moments when you think you know what is going to happen (and you might be right) but it is still a great read. Everyone is talking about this book and it’s already being developed into a movie so even if this type of book isn't your normal read, you should read it anyway so that you don’t look like an idiot when people start referencing it in conversation. And they will.
Liz Gatterer is the Special Events Coordinator for Killer Nashville. She is blessed to be employed at a job that encourages her addiction to books and allows her to actually speak to her favorite authors.
Look for Me by Lisa Gardner / Review by Holly Chaille
LOOK FOR ME
By Lisa Gardner
Dutton
$27.00
ISBN 978-1524742058
Publication Date: February 6, 2018
Book of the Day
In Gardner’s latest book in the Sergeant D.D. Warren series, readers return to the Boston streets as Warren again teams with Flora Dane, a former victim of a violent crime (Find Her), to track down a killer. An entire family has been murdered except the oldest daughter, Roxy. She’s missing, as are the family’s two dogs. Warren naturally pings her as suspect number one and drives the police procedural side of the book in that direction. Dane, a vigilante who understands survival instincts, uses her skills to help other survivors get back to living. She believes Roxy’s hiding from the real killer and her first-person narrative takes us along as she tracks the girl.
Finding her will either mean a killer is caught, or the last living family member’s life is saved. With her familiar storytelling style Gardner tacks between Ward’s investigation into the life of her suspect, and Flora, whose dead set on finding Roxy alive and safe.
With Gardner’s hefty bibliography fans expect the twists and turn she routinely carves into her writing and Look for Me provides them in spades. Although some are predictable red herrings and dead ends, she doesn’t fail to pull the rug out from under readers and keep them guessing until the last possible moment.
In another of Gardner’s signature moves, Look for Me creates the opportunity for readers to find themselves in a moral dilemma as she zooms in on the over-crowded foster care system and the nightmares formed in a foster home packed with more than one troubled kid. Something bad is bound to happen. But could it have been prevented? And, who’s really at fault here?
Gardner’s characters are each carrying heavy baggage, and it’s their flawed natures, their need to rescue, to retaliate and to rectify that makes them dangerously unpredictable. Some characters linger with readers after the story is over. These characters haunt. Gardner’s fan base has come to expect each new book will have characters who are simultaneously victims and victimizers, and storylines that shine a light into the dark places of those characters.
The layering of subplot seamlessly stitches in hot-button topics like domestic violence and bullying, while deftly pulling back the camera before we start to suspect a sermon on morality is coming soon. Fans will recognize the strong female protagonists, the survivors, and the moral struggles, and they won’t be disappointed in this fast-paced and literally, right out of the headlines read.
Gardner’s respect for the suspense genre is evident throughout, and in particular in the continued unreliability of two of her ongoing character, D.D., and Flora. An author who consistently touches on topics close to her heart, Gardner’s knack for penning a taught thriller brings issues to the page that many readers can empathize with. The pacing and voice Gardner employs keep the story vibrating with excitement, and the change in POV guarantees the reader won’t get bored or mired in one perspective.
With a passion for research and her own experience volunteering with an agency serving at-risk and special needs kids, Gardner easily articulates the sad truths of our failing foster care system. But while social issues are ever-present she still keeps the reader turning page after page to get to the final answer.
Holly Chaille is a member of Sisters in Crime and the daughter of a librarian. Growing up in the stacks cultivated her lifelong love of suspense and thrillers, and she's currently querying her first mystery and developing her blog at HollyAChaille.com.
Beneath the Surface by Lynn H. Blackburn / Review by Lois Schmitt
BENEATH THE SURFACE
By Lynn H. Blackburn
Revell
$15.99
ISBN 978-0800729387
Publication Date: March 6, 2018
Book of the Day
Beneath the Surface is the first book a new series by award-winning author Lynn H. Blackburn. It features homicide investigator Ryan Parker and Leigh Weston, a nurse in the local hospital. Leigh has returned to her hometown of Carrington, NC after a terrifying incident with an obsessed patient. When someone tampers with her breaks she reaches out to her old high school friend, Ryan. The first few pages have a lot of backstory and information, but the action begins on page four with the discovery of a mutilated body in the lake. From that point on, the action, suspense, and romance create a thrill ride of a book.
The relationship development between Ryan and Leigh was my favorite part of the story. Both characters are extremely likable, and their blossoming romance adds as much to the suspense the novel as the murder and its investigation does. Lynn’s enviable talent of making the reader really care about the characters is not something to be taken lightly.
The story is full of tension and surprises. Several attempts at murder are unexpected and catch the reader off guard. The dialogue is realistic and moves the story along at a good pace with the romance and mystery intertwined. The identity of the killer is well hidden and keeps the reader guessing until the end.
The book is categorized as a Christian Mystery and there is no question that the “good guys” in this story believe in God and the Bible–and behave accordingly. It is not "preachy" in any way or overly dogmatic. The suspense, mystery, and romance are exciting but the reader will not have to worry about inappropriate content. In our tumultuous world, this reader found this to be a comforting aspect of the book.
This is the first book in the Dive Team Investigation series. Actual diving only occurs in the first chapter, so readers who would like more underwater activity will have to wait for book 2 in the series.
Beneath the Surface is a good read that keeps the reader wanting more. I am hoping for a sequel. I would rate this book 4½ stars. So, dive right in–the water is fine!
Night Moves by Jonathan Kellerman / Review by Danny Lindsey
NIGHT MOVES
By Jonathan Kellerman
Ballantine Books
$28.99
ISBN 978-0345541468
Publication Date: February 13, 2018
Book of the Day
Jonathan Kellerman has written more than 30 Alex Delaware thrillers. Night Moves, the latest in the series, (Random House, 2018) is vintage Delaware. With characters so familiar to readers that each has his own biography and fan base, Alex and Lieutenant Milo Sturgis are once again on the trail of an ephemeral murderer, one whose MO is shotgun and band saw. Identification is not easy, nor is the actual crime scene obvious. Add a completely dysfunctional family and no apparent motive, and Alex and Milo are left to concoct a series of scenarios, ranging from the ridiculous to the sublime, none of which appear to bring the perpetrator closer to justice.
A second murder does little to clarify matters. In fact, the waters are if anything, murkier than ever. Who is the target? What do the victims have in common besides the obvious? Serious detective work is called for, but never to the extent that they interfere with Milo’s gustatory habits.
Solid police work, nosy, reclusive and sometimes helpful neighbors finally develop enough information for Alex to begin to see a more clear picture and to develop a profile of the killer that he and Milo can pursue. Kellerman’s skill is such that no reader will solve the mystery before it’s time to reveal the killer and the motive. Like the real-life psychologist that he is, he brings the reader toward a conclusion slowly, bit by bit, emulating his fictional alter-ego.
Night Moves is an altogether enjoyable read, another in a long string of sure hits for Kellerman. Any review would be incomplete, however, without quoting a few of the more poetic lines he has penned into this one:
“A starless sky sagged like a rain-soaked tarp, a malnourished moon cast anemic light.”
“The flame turned into sprinkles of earthbound stars plummeting to the ground.” (tossing a lit match away)
“Tattoos ran up his neck, flirting with his carotid.”
Kellerman devotees may not be surprised with his use of imagery, but occasional readers will undoubtedly be.
Many thanks to Sharon Propson and Random House for providing Killer Nashville with the advance review copy.
Danny Lindsey keeps trying to retire. After a 20-year Army career and a 25-year second one in the private sector, he’s finally settled down. His current gig is as the Veteran Employment Services Manager for a Huntsville, A.L. based non-profit, Still Serving Veterans. Both full careers were characterized by numerous writing assignments, from war plans to operating policies and procedures, then on to white papers, analyses of alternatives and competitive contract and grant proposals. Now his writing consists of blogs for the website www.ssv.org, podcasts for the local NPR affiliate, and a half dozen Pulitzer-worthy, albeit unpublished novels.
Update: Danny won the 2017 Killer Nashville Claymore Award with his manuscript Serial Justice – so he will not be unpublished for long!
The Bad Daughter by Joy Fielding / Review by Sharon Marchisello
THE BAD DAUGHTER
By Joy Fielding
Ballantine Books
$27.00
ISBN 978-0399181535
Publication Date: February 27, 2018
Book of the Day
Joy Fielding's new psychological suspense novel, The Bad Daughter, explores complex familial relationships and chilling secrets. Robin Davis, the heroine, works as a therapist but suffers from panic attacks, a dysfunctional family background, and insecurity about her romantic future. Her fiancé, Blake, has been spending long hours at his law office, and Robin speculates he may be having an affair with his pretty new assistant.
Robin has a toxic rapport with her older sister, Melanie, who still lives in their hometown of Red Bluff, in Northern California, with her teenage autistic son, Landon. It has been five years since Robin last spoke to their father, who married her former best friend, Tara, just a few months after their mother died from cancer. Tara had been engaged to Robin's younger brother Alec, whom she jilted in favor of his wealthier father. Robin and Alec remain cordial, but since she lives in Los Angeles and Alec lives in San Francisco, their communication is infrequent.
In the opening chapter, Robin receives a call from Melanie, which she allows to go to voicemail while she struggles to focus on her patient during a therapy session. When she finally returns Melanie's call, she learns their father, Tara, and Cassidy, Tara's 12-year-old daughter from a previous marriage, have all been shot in an apparent home invasion. Tara is dead, and the prospects for survival of the others are grim.
Robin feels duty-bound to return to Red Bluff, despite her fear that leaving Blake alone in Los Angeles will hasten the end of their engagement. She wouldn't dream of imposing on his career aspirations by asking him to accompany her.
As Robin and Melanie work with the local sheriff to figure out who committed such a heinous crime, they uncover clues that suggest the assault was more personal than random. Greg Davis, their father, had business enemies, and rumors are circulating that both he and Tara were having affairs. But what kind of psychopath would try to kill a 12-year-old girl?
Also estranged from the family, Alec refuses to come home, despite the crisis. However, his car was spotted in Red Bluff on the night of the shooting, and he soon becomes a suspect. Landon won't speak about that night, but Robin notices him constantly rocking back and forth, staring out his bedroom window at his grandfather's house next door, and she wonders what he might have seen… or done.
Cassidy wakes up and is able to provide some answers, but how much of her story can be believed? She tells Robin she's the only one she can trust, and she wants to leave Red Bluff and live in Los Angeles with Robin and Blake if her stepfather does not survive.
Secrets, past and present, abound. Relationships are not as they appear. Long-lost relatives show up, smelling a pay-out. Robin pieces together a disturbing truth she never saw coming, even as it stares her in the face.
Joy Fielding is the New York Times bestselling author of Someone is Watching, Charley's Web, Heartstopper, See Jane Run, and other acclaimed novels—25 and counting. Before embracing a full-time writing career, she earned a BA in English Literature and dabbled in acting. She divides her time between Toronto and Palm Beach.
Many thanks to Cindy Murray and Random House for providing Killer Nashville with the advance review copy.
Sharon Marchisello (sharonmarchisello.com) is the author of Going Home, (Sunbury Press, 2014) a murder mystery inspired by her mother's battle with Alzheimer's. (It was not a New York Times bestseller.) She earned a Masters in Professional Writing from the University of Southern California and is a member of the Atlanta Chapter of Sisters in Crime. She lives in Peachtree City, Georgia, with her husband and cat, does volunteer work for the Fayette Humane Society, and writes a blog about personal finance, Countdown to Financial Fitness https://sharonmarchisello.blogspot.com/.
Force of Nature by Jane Harper / Review by Anna Oneonta
FORCE OF NATURE
By Jane Harper
Flat Iron Books
$25.99
ISBN 978-1250105639
Publication Date: February 6, 2017
Book of the Day
We spend 8 hours a day with our co-workers. In some cases, that’s more time than we spend with our families, at least while we are awake. We think we know a lot about them… but do we? Would you trust them with your life?
Force of Nature by Jane Harper is her latest psychological thriller featuring Federal Agent Aaron Falk, a tough but likable character. He and his partner, Agent Carmen Cooper are in the final stages of a money-laundering investigation. All they need are the documents from their informant, Alice Russell, an executive at the firm of BaileyTennets. But Alice is missing. She left a mysterious voicemail on his mobile at 4 am the morning of her disappearance. It was mostly static, but at the very end, barely audible are the words “hurt her”.
The employees of BaileyTennets are on an executive retreat in the Australian bush. The ten employees are split into two groups; the men’s group is comprised of five men and is led by the head of the firm, Daniel Bailey. The women’s group is led by his sister, Jill and included Alice Russell, Lauren Shaw, and twin sister, Bree and Beth McKenzie. They have three days to make their way through the mountains (unguided) to a rendezvous point on the other side. With only a map, compass and basic camping supplies and no way of contacting the outside world, the most inexperienced teams set out. Three days later, cold, tired, and hungry, the men make it to the rendezvous. But, the women are late. As the day goes on their irritation becomes worry and the retreat guide finally calls in the search crews. After nightfall, when the crews are packing it in for the day, Jill, Lauren, Beth, and Bree stumble out of the woods. They are injured, dehydrated, exhausted and Bree has a nasty snake bite. The women thought for sure Alice would have made it out first. She broke off from the group after the second night. Falk and Carmen are desperate to help find Alice and it is critical that they find her alive.
Jane Harper has created a very intense psychological thriller. But there is more to the story than just the mystery of the missing woman. The relationships between the women, their histories, and hang-ups, their children–it all plays a part in their survival both in the woods and in the office. And to add just a bit more tension, there is the shadow of a decades-old serial killer that might play a part… It is a great read, with plenty of twists and turns and an ending that is unexpected-but satisfying. Told in alternating points of view from the women as the events unfolded and from Falk and Carmen’s side trying to piece the bits together. This is the second book in the Agent Falk series, but it read well as a stand-alone. I have already started to read the first book, The Dry. I just love the characters and the setting. I sincerely hope there will be more from Ms. Harper.
Many thanks to Amelia Possanza and Flat Iron Books for providing Killer Nashville with the advance review copy.
This Is How it Ends by Eva Dolan / Review by Grace Miller
THIS IS HOW IT ENDS
By Eva Dolan
Bloomsbury
$27.00
ISBN 978-1635570526
Publication Date: March 13, 2018
Book of the Day
Eva Dolan’s This Is How It Ends(Bloomsbury) submerges its readers not only in the dark world of murder but also the dark side of gentrification. Though the novel is packed with tension and intrigue, it’s the characters who take center stage. Dolan’s masterful storytelling will have you guessing, second-guessing, even triple-guessing everything you think you know until the very end.
Ella Riordan’s community activism has made her a local celebrity as well as a victim of negative attention from everyone ranging from internet trolls to the police. That’s why when a dead body shows up in a condemned apartment building Ella’s trying to save, her friend and mentor Molly convinces her to forego calling the cops and hide the body instead. Molly doesn’t hesitate to believe Ella when she says she acted in self-defense—until another resident reveals he heard Ella arguing with the man the night he died. As the story hurtles toward the forceful ending the title promises, both Ella and Molly flip and flop between trusting and suspicious, honest and deceitful.
What makes this story far more than your average whodunit is the masterful way Dolan is constantly subverting her readers’ suspicions and beliefs. Told from the alternating perspectives of both Molly and Ella beginning the night of the deadly party, Ella’s story goes back in time while Molly’s storyline moves forward. Each chapter reveals another twist that reshapes the meaning and context of what came before it. These revelations, not just the actions, are what drive the story forward and escalate the stakes. Though this manipulation of time—similar to what Mary Kubica does in The Good Girl—is becoming common in crime fiction, Eva Dolan uses this manipulation to continuously keep readers on the edge of their seats, considering and reconsidering just who they are rooting for in the narrative.
By the time the ending comes, the stakes have risen astronomically. This Is How It Ends will stick with readers for days after they’ve finished the book, making readers wonder just how far is too far to go when accomplishing a worthy goal.
Many thanks to Tara Kennedy and Bloomsbury for providing Killer Nashville with the advance review copy.
The Innocents by David Putnam / Review by Britany Menken
THE INNOCENTS
By David Putnam
Oceanview Publishing
$26.95
ISBN 978-1608092574
Publication Date: February 6, 2018
Book of the Day
Bruno Johnson, high priority deputy and ladies’ man brings an intelligible vigor to David Putnam’s latest crime novel, The Innocents. Armed with a deep-seated understanding of the human condition, Deputy Johnson catches criminals by the book despite the temptation of vengeance. In addition to well-written characters chalk full of morality, Putnam’s police jargon puts the reader right smack dab in the midst of police station rigmarole. His true-blue dialogue pays heavy respect to Putnam’s actual time on the force. The Innocentsis just a taste of Bruno Johnson’s deputy days including a trilogy and four completed stand-alone novels. Putnam’s inspired life and imagination have created a character complex enough to continue his journey for many more books. In The Innocents, on the other hand, this coal colored Casanova will have more to worry about than drug cartels when a woman turns up with a screaming baby girl at his doorstep.
Regarded highly by his notable past, Deputy Johnson puts himself in compromising positions every day. The beginning of the book spares no exception as we find him tangled with a red-headed beauty in the shower. While neither were resisting arrest, a knock on the door put the steamy shower to a halt for that knock was the sound of Bruno Johnson’s new life as a father. A ghost from his past dubbed him with the responsibility of being a daddy to a screaming purple-faced baby girl. With the pressures of fatherhood and being a new member of the violent crimes team of Los Angeles, Bruno will have to pull more than just a rabbit out of his hat. Johnson quickly learns of his new assignment by the new head of command, Lieutenant Robby Wicks. As brass as his .45 Combat Commander, Wicks isn’t afraid to flaunt his decorated past while simultaneously ripping you a new one.
Assigned a solo undercover mission, Bruno is tasked with the inside job of arresting one of their own. The culprit? A small fry Mexican man named Blue. From first glance, Blue seems like your average trigger-happy cop who isn’t afraid to push beyond the limits that as the story progresses, the reader learns of his true intentions and lack of compassion for his fellow man. In one day Bruno hit the trifecta of problems from crooked cops to bouncing babies and special undercover assignments. What more could be added to his plate? Que a mysterious woman from another crime division. Is he weary of her enough to stay away or will her physical and mental attractiveness break through that tough manly exterior?
With enough drama to start a crime show, The Innocents is a fun, quick read with a little peek into the world of Bruno Johnson. With other successful crime books under his belt, David Putnam’s real feel take on the life of a deputy flow and moves like silk across the page. The stark and straightforward writing of Putnam coincides wonderfully with all the characters he’s created in the world of Deputy Johnson and his fellow team members. Putnam’s skill at making you hate and love the right characters is showcased in this fast-paced crime novel from the villainous Blue whose true intentions include thieving a hefty amount of cash to Deputy Johnson, who no matter how hard the crooked cops try to bring him down even by framing his father, stays true to the law and what’s just. I highly suggest picking up your copy of The Innocents which comes out February 6th. In the meantime, I strongly urge the reader to check out other Bruno Johnson crime novels. With enough police jargon, maybe you’ll be able to join the force as well.
Many thanks to David Abolafia and Oceanview Publishing for providing Killer Nashville with the advance review copy.
Britany Menken is a lover of the arts with a Creative Writing degree from Tusculum College. A firm advocate of reading and writing, Britany spends her days working on her own novels as well as helping others do the same. Born in Maryville TN, she also enjoys morning trips to the mountains for writing sessions and spending more time with her cat than humans.
S.T.A.G.S. by M.A. Bennett / Review by Elise Reed
S.T.A.G.S.
By M.A. Bennett
Delacorte Press
$18.99
ISBN 978-0525578468
Publication Date: January 30, 2018
Book of the Day
S.T.A.G.S. by M.A. Bennett is a fantastic new YA novel. It has everything that a reader could want: An exclusive boarding school in England, the privileged class (the ones you really love to hate) and of course, the heroine–the poor scholarship student who really just wants to show everyone that she is just as good as they are. But, there is a twist to this tale, one that makes is so much more delicious...
Greer MacDonald is new to St. Aidan the Great boarding school, better known as just S.T.A.G.S. She is an outsider. She is not one of the snobby blue-bloods that boast multigenerational ties to S.T.A.G.S. And she doesn't' want to be... well, not really. But when she receives an invitation to spend the weekend at the country manor of Henry de Warlencourt for some with several of the most wealthy and popular students–she feels like she has made a breakthrough. But, it's not her social life that hangs in the balance at this get-a-way.
The is a really well-written book. The premise may not be completely unprecedented, but it is one of those stories that even if you have a good idea about where things may lead-it's the journey that makes it worthwhile. The world that the S.T.A.G.S. students inhabit is so far removed from the life of the average American teenager (even one that has attending boarding school) that it's like a fairytale. A very demented fairytale. Greer is well developed and could hold her own amongst most of the adolescent protagonist in the genre. She is a bit of Katniss and a bit of Bella. And Henry... he is every girl's dream and nightmare rolled into one. This is a great stand-alone book but could lead to a series.
End Game by David Baldacci / Review by Danny Lindsey
END GAME
By David Baldacci
Grand Central Publishing
$29.00
ISBN 978-1455586608
Publication Date: November 14, 2017
Book of the Day
David Baldacci’s latest, the 5th in the Will Robie series (End Game, Grand Central Publishing, 2018) is as fast-moving and lethal as his readers have come to expect. Robie is reunited with his sometime adversary, sometime partner, and sometime lover, fellow assassin Jessica Reel in this thriller, set in rural Colorado.
The Blue Man has gone missing. In addition to his position as their immediate supervisor, and the one who passes on assignments to them, he is a senior national asset, one that cannot be permitted to end up in the wrong hands. In spite of the fact that both Robie’s and Reel’s forte` is not in the realm of finding missing persons, they are dispatched to Colorado to find Roger Walton, aka Blue Man.
What they find is a haven for every sort of misfit imaginable. White Supremacists, prepper enclaves, and vanilla-flavored New Age communes dot the local landscape. It isn’t immediately evident that any of these splinter groups either were involved or have knowledge of Blue Man’s disappearance, but it is very evident that wars between and among the various groups could erupt at any moment.
Outsiders are not particularly welcome; insiders are not always either. Gunfire and murder are the order of the day, and Robie and Reel have no trouble finding their usual level of mayhem. Either Baldacci has thrown in a generous dose of social commentary, or the existence and prevalence of hate- and anti-government groups is understated and under-reported.
No Robie and Reel novel would be complete without the sexual tension between the two of them that readers of the four previous Robie novels are accustomed to. Add to that a second level of the same, and even an old flame of Blue Man’s from his early years and you have two of the components of vintage Baldacci – blood and sex. Who could ask for anything more?
A purist might argue about shallow plots, thin storylines, or not-quite believable characters. A fan of fast-paced adventure thrillers would reply “it’s the telling of the tale, man, don’t be so picky.” So would I.
Danny Lindsey keeps trying to retire. After a 20-year Army career and a 25-year second one in the private sector, he’s finally settled down. His current gig is as the Veteran Employment Services Manager for a Huntsville, A.L. based non-profit, Still Serving Veterans. Both full careers were characterized by numerous writing assignments, from war plans to operating policies and procedures, then on to white papers, analyses of alternatives and competitive contract and grant proposals. Now his writing consists of blogs for the website www.ssv.org, podcasts for the local NPR affiliate, and a half dozen Pulitzer-worthy, albeit unpublished novels.
Update: Danny won the 2017 Killer Nashville Claymore Award with his manuscript Serial Justice – so he will not be unpublished for long!
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