KN Magazine: Reviews
I Know Who You Are by Alice Feeney/Review by Liz Gatterer
I Know Who You Are
By Alice Feeney
Flat Iron Books
$27.99
ISBN 978-1250147349
Publication Date: April 23, 2019
BOOK OF THE DAY
I Know Who You Are is the second novel from British author Alice Feeney. Feeney is a terrifically twisted storyteller and her novels are wickedly entertaining. I have read both of her novels and absolutely love her ability to create characters that are deeply flawed yet very relatable – at least to me.
Aimee Sinclair is an up-and-coming actress British actress. Her career is taking off as her marriage is dissolving. When she returns home to find that her husband is missing – she doesn’t seem too concerned. He has been quite an ass lately and it is almost a relief that he is not home. But where is he? It is all a bit strange. The police don’t quite know what to make of the disappearance and they believe Aimee is hiding something – which she is, but it’s nothing to do with her husband. Aimee’s secrets are her own and not even her husband knew them. Or did he?
It is almost impossible to recap this novel without giving away key points, so I am not going to try. Suffice it to say, you won’t see the end coming! Feeney’s writing style is similar in some ways to Gillian Flynn – they both have very demented imaginations and are masters of the unreliable narrator genre. As with Feeney’s first novel, Sometimes I Lie, we know from the beginning that we can’t quite trust the characters, but that doesn’t keep us from enjoying (in a nail-biting and psyche-cringing way) the story as it unfolds. The moral of the story is, be careful what you wish for… you just might get it.
City of Grudges by Rick Outzen/Review by Gary Frazier
City of Grudges
By Rick Outzen
Select Books
$16.99
ISBN 978-1590794432
Publication Date: March 2018
Silver Falchion Candidate
BOOK OF THE DAY
You’ve got to have a thick skin if you’re going to be a reporter. Just look at the abuse real-life journalists take daily from a certain individual in the White House who has an affinity for calling them the “enemy of the people” and declaring their stories as being “fake news.”
Fictional journalists, like Walker Holmes, the hero of Rick Outzen’s new novel, City of Grudges, aren’t immune to such treatment either.
Holmes is the main investigative reporter/editor/publisher of his weekly paper, the Pensacola Insider. His quest for the truth gets him into trouble with his readers, sources, and subjects of his stories. He’s constantly confronted with advertising and readership boycotts, warrants for his arrest, defamation lawsuits, looming financial ruin, and even death threats because of his stories.
Holmes quickly learns that everyone has a grudge to settle.
Only his commitment to exposing falsehoods, corruption, and illegal acts see him through. When we meet Holmes, he’s already facing an angry backlash from philanthropist Bo Hines and Hines’ supporters after an article revealing potential embezzlement and fraud from the Arts Council that Hines heads up. An audit sparked as a result of his articles reveals $200,000 missing from the nonprofit and indictments against Hines.
Throw in the apparent suicide of Hines’ wife, the death of the sheriff’s brother, a missing persons case from 1973 involving Hines and local developer Jace Wittman, a bust involving a national porn ring, and the complications for Holmes quickly stack up.
Yet, through it all, Holmes maintains: “There’s nothing personal about any of this. It’s about the truth.”
Clocking in at just 256 pages, Outzen packs a lot into City ofGrudges’ pages and keeps the twists and turns coming at a fast and furious pace.
Robert Frazieris a former newspaper reporter and editor. He reviews books for Killer Nashville, BookPage, and his blog site. He has served as a script reader for both the Austin Film Festival and Nashville Film Festival screenwriting competitions and is a member of the Tennessee Screenwriting Association.
Under a Dark Sky by Lori Rader-Day/Review by Laura Hartman
Under a Dark Sky
By Lori Rader-Day
William Morrow
$26.99
ISBN 978-0062846143
Publication Date: August 2018
Silver Falchion Candidate
BOOK OF THE DAY
When Eden Wallace finds out her late husband had a reservation for their tenth year anniversary at Straits Point International Dark Sky Park, conflicting emotions boil inside her. Leaving Chicago to travel to a place where the night was king was not something she wanted to do. Since Bix died, she could not be in a dark room and venturing outside after dusk was physically impossible for the young widow.
Out of a sense of duty, like the military wife she had been, she decides to spend the week her husband mysteriously planned for them before his death. Upon her road weary arrival, she finds another couple in the house Bix reserved. That is when they all find out that the house has been rented to Eden as well as six strangers, who were college friends, for the next week. With night drawing near, Eden cannot drive back to Chicago, but plans to leave first thing in the morning. Unfortunately, one of the seven occupants in the house is murdered that night, most likely at the hand of one of the remaining six.
As the outsider, Eden is immediately under suspicion. The local police begin questioning her and each of the friends. They are not under arrest but must remain together in the house until things are sorted out. When tragedy strikes again, the tenuous link between all of them begins to crumble and secrets come to light.
Under the Dark Sky has everything a reader needs and more. The characters are engaging and realistic. I loved the way bits of the characters’ back stories are parceled out to the reader. The timing is perfect and just like meeting someone new, you only know what that character wants to share with you until they begin to open up. Everyone has secrets, some of them deadly. And last, but certainly not least, the setting is absolutely perfect. Not only the home that the seven main characters are thrust into sharing, but the Dark Sky Park itself plays a major role in the mystery.
This is the first book I have read by author Lori Rader-Day, but is the fourth one she has written. Under the Dark Sky is deservedly nominated for several awards. I highly recommend this book and would give more than five stars for this page turning mystery if that were possible. As the characters tell us in the book, there are an infinite number of stars in the sky. This author has earned them.
DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: I have a material connection because I received a review copy for free in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Copyright © 2019 Laura Hartman
For Sissy by A. H. Gilbert/Review by Laura Hartman
For Sissy
By A.H. Gilbert
Toad Song Publishing
$11.99
ISBN 978-1946091031
Publication Date: October 2018
Silver Falchion Candidate
BOOK OF THE DAY
Emerson is paying for the sins of his father. In hindsight, he made the mistake of his life by leaving his research work on invasive insects and coming to work for his father at the resort he was building. It seemed like the logical choice after his grant ran out and he discovered he is the father of six year old Courtney whom he met recently. Her mother was killed by a hit and run driver so now he has custody. But the worse turn of events was finding out his father used shoddy building materials, might have murdered someone and bilked others without Emerson’s knowledge. Since his father is gone, Emerson is now facing charges that may put him away for a long time even though he had no knowledge of his father’s crimes.
Just when Emerson assumes life cannot get any more complicated, the police have started questioning him in the recent attacks on young women. They seem to be connected to him so he is the logical suspect in their eyes. But there is a serial killer on the loose and he is hunting for Courtney, Emerson’s daughter. Courtney doesn’t fit his profile, but she is the only one that can identify him as the man she has had nightmares about since her mother’s death. Can Emerson stay out of jail long enough to keep her safe? Will the police listen to him when he thinks he has a stalker?
For Sissy is paced as fast as lightning and just as brilliant. The story picks up momentum like and approaching storm rumbling in the distance and doesn’t stop until it unleashes its fury. The page turning tension makes this a must read for all psychological thriller buffs. The story is solid, dropping clues like breadcrumbs for the reader to follow, ending with a shocking surprise at the end that I did not see coming.
I love everything about this book. The characters are multi-dimensional and believable, from the chilling calculations of the killer to the little girl. The bit players such as Emerson’s girlfriend and the police officers add richness and depth to the story. It kept me up late reading one more chapter to see what was going to happen next.
The is the first book I’ve read by A. H. Gilbert, but the second one he has written. I have already put his previous book, The Crandall Haunting at the top of my list of must read books.
DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: I have a material connection because I received a review copy for free in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Copyright © 2019 Laura Hartman
Absolute Proof by Peter James/Review by J.R. Gatterer
Absolute Proof
By Peter James
Macmillian
$26.00
ISBN 978-0230772182
Publication Date: October 2018
BOOK OF THE DAY
What would it take for you to be certain of the existence of God? That is the basic question that journalist Ross Hunter is asked in Peter James’ new thriller Absolute Proof. What would it take for the world to believe in God? What would one do with that proof? Does anyone really want there to be proof?
As far as a thriller goes, it is a slow-burning, intense, thought-provoking novel. Similar in many ways to Dan Brown’s books it features the main character, a journalist named Ross Hunter, thrust (more or less) unwillingly into the story. Hunter is approached by a widower that, through the services of a medium, is in possession of certain facts that he has been told to only share with Hunter himself. These facts will lead to absolute proof of the existence of God (let’s be clear, this is not proof of the Devine power, or evidence of the historical Jesus, but a very specific interpretation of the Christian God that would potentially incinerate relationships between religions.
There are three bits of “evidence” that leads to intense world-wide chase scenes, several bad guys, murders, budding romance and love gone wrong. For those who think it’s time to question how and what we believe about religion, this is a novel for you. Imagine, if you will, a Dan Brown novel infused with even more contemplation about our understanding of the Devine. James is very good at writing a dramatic thriller.
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens/Review by Sharon Marchisello
Where the Crawdads Sing
By Delia Owens
G.P. Putnam's Sons
$26.00
ISBN 978-0735219090
Publication Date: August 2018
BOOK OF THE DAY
Delia Owens hit the New York Times bestseller list with her haunting debut novel, Where the Crawdads Sing. It features a murder, a mystery, and courtroom drama, but more importantly, it's the story of a young woman forsaken by society, left to raise herself in a North Carolina coastal marsh.
The narrative alternates between 1969, when the body is discovered, and flashbacks starting in 1952, to the early life of the woman accused of killing the victim.
Catherine Clark, a.k.a., Kya, the Marsh Girl, didn't realize her family was poor; life in a shack without electricity on reclaimed marshland is all she's known. Then her mother leaves. Despite having five children who need her, Ma can no longer tolerate life with an abusive, alcoholic husband. One by one, Kya's three oldest siblings leave. Kya can't even remember their names, or what they look like. Then Jodie, the brother closest to her, who taught her many secrets of the marsh, decides he can no longer live in the same house with Pa. For a while, Kya is able to coexist with her father, to learn from him when he's sober, and hide from him when he's intoxicated. Eventually, he abandons her too, but at least he leaves his boat behind, after teaching Kya to operate it.
A truant officer visits the shack and persuades Kya to go into town to attend school. She lasts only one day, when she is so humiliated by the other students, she vows never to return. Despite more visits from truant officers, she eludes them by hiding in the marsh whenever they come looking for her.
Then Kya meets Tate, a friend of her brother Jodie, who shares her fascination with and keen observation of nature. He teaches her to read and write. He's her first love. But then he, too, leaves her behind when he's accepted into college.
Lonely, Kya takes up with Chase Andrews, a popular town boy who's bewitched by Kya's mystique. Although he promises her marriage and a normal life in society, he really wants to compartmentalize their relationship. Kya finds out by reading the newspaper that Chase is engaged to someone else.
Years go by. Tate returns and, impressed with Kya's collecting and detailed documenting of marsh specimens, encourages her to write guide books about the natural world she knows so thoroughly. Although she won't let him back into her life, she does accept his help in finding a publisher for her work. As a result, life becomes easier for her financially.
The highlight of the story is the suspicious death of Chase Andrews, who tumbles from a fire tower in the marsh. Kya is the prime suspect, and her trial emphasizes the isolation from the community that has been imposed on her during her entire life.
Like Kya, Delia Owens is a wildlife scientist, and her appreciation for nature is apparent in this beautifully written novel. Delia and her husband Mark spent many years researching endangered species and working on conservation projects in Africa. Before delving into fiction, she published three internationally bestselling nonfiction books that resulted from their studies. She currently lives in Idaho.
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 disease, and a nonfiction book about personal finance, Live Well, Grow Wealth. One of her short stories was recently published in an anthology, Shhhh… Murder! (Darkhouse Books, 2018). 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.
One Taste Too Many by Debra H. Goldstein/Review by Sharon Marchisello
One Taste Too Many
By Debra H. Goldstein
Kensington
$7.99
ISBN 978-1496719478
Publication Date: December 2018
BOOK OF THE DAY
One Taste Too Many, by Deborah H. Goldstein, is the first in a new three-book series from Kensington. True to the cozy mystery genre, it contains recipes, family drama, misplaced trust, and a cat.
The protagonist, divorcée Sarah Blair, struggles to make ends meet as a receptionist for a law firm in Wheaton, Alabama. She has little to show from her ten-year marriage to ruthless real estate mogul Bill Blair except for RahRah, the Siamese cat she inherited from Bill's deceased mother. When the story opens, Sarah gets a call from her twin sister Emily (a talented chef who is Sarah's opposite) stating that Bill is dead, possibly poisoned by Emily's award-winning rhubarb crisp.
Sarah enlists Harlan, her boss, to represent Emily during questioning by Peter Mueller, the Wheaton police chief whom she's known since high school. Harlan would do anything for Sarah, including keeping her on the payroll despite her mediocre office skills because he's a little enamored of her. As is Peter.
While Emily, out on bail, prepares for an important culinary competition, Sarah pretends to help her at the venue in order to do a little amateur sleuthing. Then a fellow chef is murdered, and Emily is again found hovering over the victim.
Another complication arises when Jane, rival chef to Emily and fiancée/beneficiary of Bill, claims she is the rightful owner of RahRah and demands that Sarah hand over her beloved pet. Apparently, Bill's mother left him a sizable animal trust and carriage house to go with it, for the use of RahRah's caretaker. Something Bill neglected to tell Sarah about when he gave her the cat. Despite Harlan's efforts to find a legal loophole, Sarah is obligated to relinquish RahRah to Jane, even though the woman obviously only wants the cat for the money associated with him.
Sarah's sleuthing takes her beyond the kitchen as she follows the money to unravel Bill's complex real estate dealings. Suspicion shifts among the characters; just when I thought I'd figured out the killer, new twists appeared. The author keeps the reader guessing until the stunning conclusion.
Deborah H. Goldstein, a frequent panelist at Killer Nashville, is the author of Maze in Blue and Should Have Played Poker, a Silver Falchion nominee. Her short story, “The Night They Burned Ms. Dixie’s Place,” was published by Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine (May/June 2017) and was later named an Anthony and Agatha Award Finalist. A former litigator and judge, Deborah now lives with her husband in Birmingham. She is active in Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and the Guppies.
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 disease, and a nonfiction book about personal finance, Live Well, Grow Wealth. 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, GA, 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/.
Room Full of Night by TR Kenneth/Review by Bill Hopkins
A Room Full of Night
By TR Kenneth
Oceanview Publishing
$26.99
ISBN 978-1608093229
Publication Date: March 5, 2019
BOOK OF THE DAY
A spy novel is the highest form of the thriller genre. A successful spy novel is one that slaps you in the face at the start, then throws you down a greased slide that twists and turns and never lets you go until the end where your destination is a surprise.
You’ll receive that treat when you read TR Kenneth’s first thriller novel, A Room Full of Night.
The premise is that a “determined gimp” winds up in a jigsaw puzzle of death and destruction left over from World War II. After a life full of misery, the point arrives when Stag Maguire “...should have stayed home and re-enacted the family tradition by slipping a needle in his arm and sinking into sweet oblivion.”
Things were horrible for Stag. Then they got worse.
Instead of giving up, though, he offers to help another loser in closing down his bar after it’s been foreclosed by the county sheriff. During the decision-making on what should stay and what should be stolen from the sheriff’s view, the two men find a secret message, crying for help. But the message is on a piece of silk, removed from the back of a picture of a nasty person who may be an ancestor of the bar owner.
The message leads Stag to an apartment in Berlin, where he finds that the National Socialists (i.e., Nazis) are still alive and as dangerous as ever.
Silk played an important part in World War II as a means of sending and receiving secret messages. (That’s explained in the book. No spoilers from me!)
After the discovery that the bad guys are still around, the race is on with the prize being a world free from nuclear war. And such a war would last years, not seconds. As one character points out, “A megaton ground burst [of a nuclear weapon] to the most fertile part of the Great Plains would ...disperse and contaminate the US’s [and Canada’s] most vital food source....”
Who doesn’t love the twists and turns of a conspiracy novel? And this one has a conspiracy going back to World War II that connects with conspiracy in the 21st Century!
That, my friends, is a platinum win!
Buy this book. Read it. Review it.
Bill Hopkins is retired after beginning his legal career in 1971, serving as a private attorney, prosecuting attorney, an administrative law judge, and a trial court judge, all in Missouri. Bill is a member of Horror Writers Association, Heartland Writers Guild, and Sisters In Crime. Bill and his wife, Sharon Woods Hopkins (a mystery writer!), live in Marble Hill, Missouri, with their dogs and cats. Courting Murder was his first novel and his second novel River Mourn won first place in the Best Novel of 2014 from the Missouri Writers Guild.
Learn more about Bill at his website, deadlyduo.net!
Blood Orange by Harriet Tyce / Review by Sharon Marchisello
Blood Orange
By Harriet Tyce
Grand Central
$27.00
ISBN 978-1538762738
Publication Date: February 2019
BOOK OF THE DAY
Reading Harriet Tyce's beautifully written debut novel, Blood Orange (Grand Central Publishing), is a bit like being a voyeur. Most of the characters aren't particularly likable, but they're fascinating enough to compel the reader to keep turning the pages.
The story is narrated by Allison Bailey, the protagonist, who has a successful career as a barrister but a messed-up personal life. Sometimes I just wanted to shake her. She drinks too much, and she knows it, and keeps telling herself she'll stop, but she doesn't. She adores her six-year-old daughter, Matilda, but doesn't spend as much time with her as she wishes she would.
Allison's husband, Carl, picks up the slack in a passive-aggressive manner, never failing to remind Allison what a terrible wife and mother she is. He obviously resents Allison being the breadwinner in the family, while he struggles with his practice as a part-time sex therapist.
In addition to binge-drinking with her coworkers after hours, Allison is having a sordid affair with Patrick, a colleague who doesn't treat her much better than Carl does. Another habit she keeps telling herself she needs to break.
Despite her shambles of a personal life, Alison's career is soaring. She is assigned her first murder case, and Patrick, as the solicitor, is co-counsel. The defendant, Madeleine Smith, has been accused of stabbing her husband to death, and she is ready to plead guilty. But something doesn't add up. And as Allison delves further into the case, she discovers many similarities in her own life.
The ending is shocking and only then will the title of the book make sense.
Harriet Tyce grew up in Edinburgh and studied English at Oxford University. She worked as a barrister in London for a decade before leaving the law profession to raise a family. She later earned an M.A. in Creative Writing – Crime Fiction and is now working on a Ph.D. Blood Orange is her first novel.
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 disease, and a nonfiction book about personal finance, Live Well, Grow Wealth. 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, GA, does volunteer work for the Fayette Humane Society and the Fayette County Master Gardeners, and writes a blog about personal finance, Countdown to Financial Fitness https://sharonmarchisello.blogspot.com/.
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.
Serial Justice by Danny Ray / Review by G.Robert Frazier
Serial Justice
By Danny Ray
Danny Lindsey
$26.95
ISBN 978-1732744103
Publication Date: October 2018
BOOK OF THE DAY
Perhaps the most surprising thing about Serial Justice, the new novel from Danny Ray, is its bad guys. They are, after all, supposed to be the good guys.
And before you worry about spoilers, don’t. The novel makes no secret about who is pulling the trigger in each murder or who is calling the shots behind the scenes. Heck, the book blurb itself spells it all out for you.
What Serial Justice does is turn the crime novel on its head by making vigilantes out of characters who should otherwise be sworn officers of law and order.
The two culprits in a rash of killings involving convicted sex offenders are, in fact, retired law enforcement operatives. Both are following the secret directives of the head of the FBI’s Sex Crimes Division, Cliff Nolan, a 40-year veteran who is dying of cancer, and later his two successors who he lets in on the plan. The plan, by the way, is simple: exact final judgment on sex offenders released from prison after serving minimum sentences.
The novel follows cops-turned-killers George and Penny as they crisscross the country in their RV seeking out their targeted parolees and plan their demise. Their expert skills and tactics enable them to carry out each execution with cold-blooded efficiency, leaving nary a clue nor witness behind that can identify them to local authorities. The pair even review their murderous exploits with detailed “After Action” reports to help make sure they left nothing behind that can be traced to them.
Of course, the trail of bodies eventually garners the notice of a pair of honest investigators in the FBI, Jim Dawkins, and Joan Kesterling. As they race from murder to murder in search of clues, Nolan and his partners quietly monitor them in case they get close. It’s not until the pair enlists the help of a group of computer analysts at the FBI that the pieces to the puzzle begin to take shape.
Lindsey, who won the Killer Nashville Claymore Award, has crafted a fascinating police procedural that will leave you questioning which side you should be on–justice or vengeance?
Fugitive Red by Jason Starr / Review by G.Robert Frazier
Fugitive Red
By Jason Starr
Oceanview Publishing
$26.95
ISBN 978-1608093144
Publication Date: November 2018
BOOK OF THE DAY
Jack Harper isn’t the brightest protagonist you’ll meet in a crime novel this year. In fact, he makes a lot of bone-headed decisions that serve only to get him into deeper and deeper trouble -- like being suspected of murder, for instance. Yet for all of that, readers of Fugitive Red, the new novel from Jason Starr, will want to stick with his story just to see if he gets what he deserves or if he can somehow wriggle way out of the fix he’s in.
Jack, you see, seemingly has it all: a great job as a high-end real estate salesman, an eight-year-old son he’d die for, and a beautiful wife, Maria. But beneath it all, Jack’s not as happy as he should be. He’s had bouts of alcoholism. He had to give up his one true passion, music. His downtown Manhattan apartment is small and claustrophobic, made all the colder by a widening rift with Maria.
Seeking something, anything, that can restore his previous happiness, Jack stupidly decides instead of trying to patch things up with Maria he’ll seek solace through a digital online dating site and a fantasy relationship with a woman known only as the titular Fugitive Red. At first, his “fling” amounts to nothing more than flirting. But the more he becomes fixated on Red, the more his desire for a real relationship grows. Red entices him further when she suggests a real-life, clandestine rendezvous, a proposal Jack readily accepts.
But when Jack gets to the arranged meeting spot, he’s shocked to discover the object of his affections has been brutally murdered. Panicked, he runs from the scene, only to learn he’s left a glaringly obvious digital footprint behind for the police. News of his illicit online affair and suspect status in the eyes of the police brings his real world crashing in on him as he is quickly fired and just as quickly kicked out of his apartment by Maria.
Desperate, Jack stumbles about in an effort to clear his name despite the best advice of his public defender and the dogged pursuit of the detective on the case. Starr, who has written fourteen previous crime thrillers as well as stories for Marvel and DC Comics, keeps the action quick and the twists plentiful in this suspenseful read.
The Bishops Pawn by Steve Berry/Review by Danny Lindsey
BOOK OF THE DAY
Steve Berry’s latest in the Cotton Malone series (The Bishops Pawn, Minotaur Books, 2018) is a departure from the thirteen previous ones. This is his first foray in first-person and juxtaposes present-day, eighteen years ago, and the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., some 50 years past. The eighteen years harkens to Malone’s first case, which began as an assignment with a shadowy organization, a hazy mission, and an altogether improbable explanation for the existence of the newly formed organization and for the necessity of the mission itself.
A rare gold coin, a satchel of documents purported to be from Hoover’s FBI files, and a deserted island form the basis for Malone’s assignment, with the stated objective of recovering the coin and returning it to the Treasury, and a secondary mission of retrieving the documents. Although aware that something is missing from his new superior Stephanie Nelle’s explanation, Malone jumps at the chance to become anything other than a Navy attorney, his current assignment.
With Berry’s usual mixture of a little James Bond, some MacGyver, and a touch of Houdini, Malone is vaulted back to the events leading up to King’s assassination. Hoover’s shadow still hovers over a small group of rogue FBI agents, although what they are hiding is not immediately obvious. His investigation leads him to King’s most trusted associate, still alive and also concealing something after a half-century, and leaves him in possession of information which becomes a conundrum—reveal it or leave it buried.
Berry breaks new ground in this offering, but his penchant for thorough research remains intact. His locations and their descriptions are the results of his having been there, walked the streets and visited the establishments, and his treatment of fictional characters are obviously based on real people, not named. Some of the internal FBI documents quoted are authentic; some are fictional. Readers have to get to the author’s notes at the end to separate historical fact from fiction.
This one is better than good, and is more believable than it probably should be.
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's 2017 Claymore Award winning manuscript Serial Justice is now available on Amazon!
Last Breath by Danny Lopez/ Review by G.Robert Frazier
The Last Breath
By Danny Lopez
Oceanview Publishing
$25.95
ISBN 978-1608092970
Publication Date: October, 2018
BOOK OF THE DAY
Take a deep breath and hang on. Danny Lopez’s new novel, The Last Breath, is a riveting, old-school whodunnit/private investigator novel that’ll leave you gasping for air.
Set on Siesta Key, one of the barrier islands off the coast of Sarasota, Fla., the novel once again revolves around down-and-out journalist-turned-investigator Dexter Vega, who made his debut in The Last Girl. Lacking a steady paycheck and desperate for work, Vega is easily convinced to turn his journalistic nose for news into investigative work for a private client, eccentric real estate mogul Bob Fleming, who believes his son, Liam, was murdered. Liam was an expert swimmer but apparently drowned in four feet of calm water while out on his kayak. Thing is, the police are satisfied Liam is an accidental drowning victim, have no reason to suspect foul play, and don’t like journalists poking around where they shouldn’t be.
Vega does what any good reporter would do, he asks questions and gets under the skin of a lot of folks. Of Liam’s quirky beach-bum friends. Of Liam’s mysterious business associates. Of Liam’s lovers. And he turns up clues. Clues that hint at illicit drugs and secret real estate deals, among other things. And as in any good mystery novel, the suspect list, and the danger grows exponentially with each new revelation. It’s not long before another victim turns up, in a similar water-related death.
Lopez’s prose is fast-paced and addictively fun. Vega comes across as a typically cynical journalist, a terrible father to his daughter, and is easy to dislike, but he quickly grows on you the more you get to know him. The novel’s setting immediately evokes fond memories of John D. MacDonald’s Travis McGee series of books or, for TV crime lovers, the gruff and miserable James Rockford.
The Fallen by David Baldacci /Review by Danny Lindsey
The Fallen
By David Baldacci
Grand Central Station
$29.00
ISBN 978-1538761397
Publication Date: April 2018
BOOK OF THE DAY
There are two immutable facts in David Baldacci’s latest in his Memory Man series (The Fallen, Grand Central Publishing, 2018). Amos Decker can’t forget anything. And he can’t catch a break. Even when he takes a week off and travels with his partner to visit her sister and celebrate her niece’s birthday, he manages to find dead bodies. They aren’t the first recent murders in the dying coal town, and predictably, they won’t be the last.
Baronville is typical of rust belt towns. Built a century ago to take advantage of a booming mining and millwork industry, the economy eventually went bust and with it the good jobs. What is left behind are empty storefronts, high unemployment, and a soaring opioid addiction problem. Decker’s partner Alex Jamison’s sister moved to Baronville when her husband was relocated to the new fulfillment center, an Amazon-like monstrosity that promised to bring employment if not prosperity to the town.
But there is a pall hovering over Baronville. The gruesome scene Decker discovers only a few hours into his vacation are murders five and six in a town where murders usually occur only on television. He and Jamison are drawn into the investigation of seemingly unrelated killings of unrelated victims. With no suspects and few clues, even Decker is stymied.
The next victim is close to home, and Decker and Jamison are targeted as well. He becomes convinced that something bigger than Baronville is behind the killings, and the presence of a DEA operations team cements his suspicion. Whatever or whoever is pulling the strings has roots outside the town, but local talent at their disposal.
Decker’s infallible memory may be his only advantage, and at times he discerns a crack there, as well. Baldacci never fails to entertain, and with The Fallen, he has come through again. His Memory Man is cursed with a gift most think would be a blessing.
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's 2017 Claymore Award winning manuscript Serial Justice is now available on Amazon!
Don't Let Go by Michel Bussi / Review by Sharon Woods Hopkins
Don’t Let Go
By Michel Bussi
Weidenfeld & Nicolson
$16.21
ISBN 978-1474601788
Publication Date: 2017
2019 Silver Falchion Candidate
BOOK OF THE DAY
“Don’t Let Go” is a thriller set in Réunion, a tropical island in the Indian Ocean, under French control. The plot, although interesting was convoluted at times, with points of view changing frequently. It was at times, hard to tell whose story it was. Each main character tells his/her story in a time-stamp-like narrative, and always under the watchful eye of the omniscient voice. It’s not a style which I’ve seen very often. However, the plot was compelling enough that I kept reading.
Liane, her husband, Martial and spoiled young daughter Sopha, are on holiday on this beautiful island far away from their home country of France. One day, Liane leaves the pool to go up to her hotel room. Later, Martial asks a nearby couple to look after Sopha while he checks on his wife who is gone longer than he thought she should be. Finding the hotel door locked, and himself without his key, he asks the hotel staff to open it. Upon entering there is no Liane, but the room is a mess, all her things have gone and there is blood. He calls the police, but then the timeline puts Martial solidly in first place as a suspect. As the police spread out a net, Martial takes his daughter to run away, then finds a message written in the dust on his rental car—a message which drives the two of them to go inland, in search of Liane, while the police are hunting Martial as a murderer.
The ending was a bit overdone, but still satisfying.
I kept wishing I could get to know the characters a bit better, especially since so many of them had a point of view, such as Martial, Aja, the female police captain, Christos, her older male partner, his girlfriend, Imelda, his daughter Sopha and several staff at the resort.
And finally, I was a bit confused as to why Martial chose to even go to the island, in light of the history he had there when he lived there before, which we, the readers learn about as the story and chase progresses.
The foreign language phrases that were explained with footnotes kept me flipping pages and pulling me out of the story. I would have preferred to have seen the phrases translated on the go, as to have to search the end of each chapter for the footnotes.
Sharon Woods Hopkins' mystery series featuring mortgage banker Rhetta McCarter and her '79 Camaro hits close to home. Sharon is a former branch manager for a mortgage office of a Missouri bank. She also owns the original Cami, a restored '79 Camaro like Rhetta's. Sharon's hobbies include painting, fishing, photography, flower gardening, and restoring muscle cars with her son, Jeff. She is a member of the Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, Guppies, Thriller Writers of America, the Southeast Missouri Writers' Guild, Heartland Writers, and the Missouri Writers' Guild.
Pandemic by Robin Cook/Review by Denise
Pandemic
By Robin Cook
G.P. Putnam's Sons
$27.00
ISBN 978-0525535331
Publication Date: December 11 2018
BOOK OF THE DAY
This is not science fiction. A biologically active chimeric molecule -- CRISPR/CAS9 -- can modify the genetic makeup of living cells. The potential for use and misuse of this mechanism is quite promising on one hand and quite scary on the other. This story featuring forensic pathologist Jack Stapleton of the New York City Office of Medical Examiners focuses on the use of CRISPR/CAS9 in transplantation.
A young woman who had a recent heart transplant collapses and dies on the New York subway. Jack Stapleton performs the autopsy and is initially convinced that she succumbed to a particularly virulent strain of influenza. Worried about the potential for an epidemic, and because the woman has no ID on her, Jack begins an intense investigation involving testing of body fluids and specimens by specialists and goes into the field to attempt to isolate the virus that caused this death. There are no immediate new cases and that increases his confusion -- until the next woman dies. It is obvious to him that this particular virulent organism is something completely new and it proves difficult to identify. Can Jack figure out the origin and stop the spread of illness before more people die? NO SPOILERS.
If you like science and medicine, this is a medical thriller that will keep you absorbed. I couldn't put it down and read it over the course of a couple of hours. I loved the details about the chimera and all of the forensic pathology and epidemiological investigation. It's just as well that I could focus on the science because I can tell you that I can't stand Jack. His personality is so annoying and fortunately, I was able to ignore him most of the time while reading. Considering what benefits to medicine and health that could be achieved with CRISPR/CAS9 is mind-boggling. Alleviating organ shortage is just one possible positive use but there are many other indications. But using it will come with a cost and it would be easy for ethical boundaries to fall making it dangerous in the wrong hands. How to control something so revolutionary that almost makes the user a god-like creator. And because of the way the world is now, it's quite worrisome. This particular book may be fiction, but the science of gene-editing is and will be, at the forefront of huge changes affecting everyone on the planet.
I've read all of Cook's novels despite not liking anything about his main protagonist, Jack Stapleton. Medical thrillers are my favorite genre and I can highly recommend this to like-minded readers.
Watching You by Lisa Jewell/Review by Melissa
BOOK OF THE DAY
A clever play on perspective, taking things out of context and assumptions—something most of us are quick to make—collide in this compulsively readable watchable storyline.
The central theme of being watched or being the watcher is what elevates this novel from what I consider typical suspense to something much creepier in feel. There’s a host of participants running rampant throughout, the mystery found in deciphering which of the watchers/watched are in fact driven by dark motives.
Is it the headmaster, Tom Fitzwilliam, a man that garners way too much attention?
Or maybe it’s his young newlywed neighbor, a woman with a crush who tends to put herself in precarious situations.
Is there some modicum of truth to the nonsense the crazy mother of one of Mr. Fitzwilliam’s students is constantly spewing outside of the painted houses of Melville Heights?
And what about Freddie, Mr. Fitzwilliam’s teenage son—is it possible he’s guilty of more than just watching all of his neighbors and chronicling their every move?
One thing I’ve come to expect from Lisa Jewell, an oddball cast; my thoughts and feelings for said characters typically running the gamut. This time, not so much. Instead, I wallowed in neutral territory where this nosey bunch was concerned—not particularly enamored or filled with disdain—finding them just interesting enough to keep me engaged.
Naturally, as the majority of suspense novels tend to, Watching You starts off with a dead body. A woman's lifeless corpse strewn across a kitchen floor, accompanied by one piece of pivotal evidence lying in a pool of blood. Something not easily explained away by the owner, yet in hindsight, maybe too obvious?
For those readers that fancy themselves part-time literary sleuths, this is one sure to keep you guessing. Lisa Jewell—and just about the entire cast—put in quite a bit of work, the goal being to throw readers off the scent. Unfortunately, I figured things out earlier than I would have hoped to. Don't worry, the answer is not blatantly obvious and in no way did figuring things out hinder my experience. In fact, of the four Jewell novels I’ve read to-date, this is the one I struggled the most to set down for any length of time. Meaning, I had to force myself to put it aside to play pretend at being a functioning adult.
Oh, and did I mention the short chapters? Creepy vibe + murder plot + short chapters = reading frenzy.
*Thanks to Atria for providing a review copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.
Verses for the Dead by Preston & Child/Review by Liz Gatterer
Verses for the Dead
By Preston & Child
Grand Central Publising
$28.00
ISBN 978-1538747209
Publication Date: December 31, 2018
New Release
BOOK OF THE DAY
Verses for the Dead is Preston and Child’s 18th thriller featuring FBI agent Aloysius Pendergast. There is a “new sheriff in town” so-to-speak; Special Agent Coldmoon has been assigned by the new New York City FBI field office assistant director to partner with Pendergast in an attempt to bring the rogue agent to heel. The two investigators head to Miami Beach, where a human heart has been left on the grave of decade-old suicide victim alongside a note from a mysterious Mister Brokenhearts. Of course, there is much more to the story, including all of the supernatural elements that must be part of any Pendergast novel, but there are are some interesting twists that should please even the most jaded reader. Needless to say, Agent Coldmoon is not the controlling influence on Pendergast that the Assistant Director Picket was hoping for.
One of the biggest challenges in writing a series that has 18 (and hopefully more) installments, is keeping the story fresh while still including all the familiar parts of the characters that fans expect. Preston and Child are masters of writing contemporary tales that feel familiar. Even if you start at this point in the series, you will enjoy the ride.
Liz Gatterer attended Tulane University while living in New Orleans. It was there that she first began working with authors in the printing industry. Originally from Upstate New York, she moved to Nashville with her husband to pursue their careers (his being music). Three (absolutely fabulous) children later, she has returned to the working world in the industry she loves. She currently lives in Spring Hill with said husband and children, dogs, cats, and various other creatures. The necessity of multitasking has led her to an addiction to audio books – but, when able to, she still prefers to curl up with a good book (and a child in her lap).
The Burglar by Thomas Perry /Review by Danny Lindsey
The Burglar
By Thomas Perry
Mysterious Press
$26.00
ISBN 978-0802129000
Publication Date: January 8, 2019
BOOK OF THE DAY
Elle Stowell 20s, diminutive, attractive
Describe for yourself the perfect burglar. Think for a minute. How about small enough to wriggle through a pet door? Shinny up a drainpipe? What about appearance? Maybe female, young (20ish), attractive and in good shape? Able to fit in as a co-ed home from college back east somewhere?
Thomas Perry may have invented the perfect thief in Elle Stowell. She fits right into all those categories, and she is a professional. Adept at spotting the tell-tale signs that a house is empty, she can be found running through upscale neighborhoods early and late, sporting expensive running shoes and college sweatshirts. No one gives her a second look as she blends into the scenery, just another fitness nut pursuing her passion.
What Elle is really doing is pursuing her livelihood, and she is very, very good at it. But things go off the rails suddenly when she opens the door to the master suite in the home of an art gallery owner and finds three bodies, shot while enjoying a three-way. The only thing Elle takes from that house is a camera, still running, which may or may not have captured her image as she entered the room.
The action accelerates as Elle becomes the quarry of – who? Someone is stalking her. Someone obviously had other cameras running in the house, and it quickly becomes apparent to Elle that she must solve the murders to prevent becoming the next victim.
The pace is fast and the plot, while seemingly “out there,” is believable. Elle could be the next jogger coming down the sidewalk. The Burglar could be the first in a good series.
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's 2017 Claymore Award winning manuscript Serial Justice is now available on Amazon!
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