Devoted In Death

When Lieutenant Eve Dallas examines a body in a downtown Manhattan alleyway, the victim’s injuries are so extensive that she almost misses the clue. Carved into the skin is the shape of a heart—and initials inside reading E and D . . .

Ella-Loo and her boyfriend, Darryl, had been separated while Darryl was a guest of the state of Oklahoma, and now that his sentence has been served they don’t ever intend to part again. Ella-Loo’s got dreams. And Darryl believes there are better ways to achieve your dreams than working for them. So they hit the road, and when their car breaks down in Arkansas, they make plans to take someone else’s. Then things get messy and they wind up killing someone—an experience that stokes a fierce, wild desire in Ella-Loo. A desire for Darryl. And a desire to kill again.

As they cross state lines on their way to New York to find the life they think they deserve, they will leave a trail of evil behind them. But now they’ve landed in the jurisdiction of Lieutenant Dallas and her team at the New York Police and Security Department. And with her husband, Roarke, at her side, she has every intention of hunting them down and giving them what they truly deserve . . .

I chose this book as my first book of the New Year.  It is book 41 of a great series that still delivers a good police procedural novel, and the characters continue to grow.  What was different about this installment was that we knew the killers identity before Eve and her team.  A Detective from Arkansas was the first to see a pattern and traveled to NY to consult with Eve, despite being turned away by other law enforcement agencies. We watched as they connected cases into a serial killing and then by searching for the missing victim hunted down the killers. The killers, a couple, were a twisted contrast to Eve and Roark.  There were a couple of character quirks from Eve that had me confused and I hope they stop with this book.  The next book Brotherhood In Death releases next month!  

Bones Never Lie

Unexpectedly called in to the Charlotte PD’s Cold Case Unit, Dr. Temperance Brennan wonders why she’s been asked to meet with a homicide cop who’s a long way from his own jurisdiction. The shocking answer: Two child murders, separated by thousands of miles, have one thing in common—the killer. Years ago, Anique Pomerleau kidnapped and murdered a string of girls in Canada, then narrowly eluded capture. It was a devastating defeat for her pursuers, Brennan and police detective Andrew Ryan. Now, as if summoned from their nightmares, Pomerleau has resurfaced in the United States, linked to victims in Vermont and North Carolina. When another child is snatched, the reign of terror promises to continue—unless Brennan can rise to the challenge and make good on her second chance to stop a psychopath.

But Brennan will have to draw her bitter ex-partner out of exile, keep the local police and feds from one another’s throats, and face more than just her own demons as she stalks the deadliest of predators into the darkest depths of madness.

Seventeen years ago I grabbed a book to take along with me  to read while the kids were playing.  The title was Deja Dead. Sixteen books later I still love Temperance Brennan. She is smart and savvy, has her flaws but still gets the job done.  It was nice to have Ryan return in this book, and I liked the dynamic of them both dealing with life changing losses. I did miss an update on her daughter.  The secondary story involving her mother is excellent.  I appreciate that the forensic information is easy to understand and the humor comes at the right moments. I look forward to the next installment in this series.

Author: Kathy Reichs
Published: Sept. 2014
Pages: 337
Genre: Suspense Series
Source: Random House/NetGalley
Finished: 9/15/14


This complimentary review copy was received thankfully from Random House via NetGalley and in no way influenced my review of this book. These are my personal thoughts and reactions to the reading of the book.

The Splendour Falls

An Ancient Castle, a Tragic Love, and a Web of Secrets Begins to Unravel...

Emily Braden has stopped believing in fairy tales and happy endings. When her fascinating but unreliable cousin Harry invites her on a holiday to explore the legendary own of Chinon, and promptly disappears—well, that's Harry for you. As Emily makes the acquaintance of Chinon and its people, she begins to uncover dark secrets beneath the charm. Legend has it that during a thirteenth-century siege of the castle that looms over the city, Queen Isabelle, child bride of King John, hid a "treasure of great price." And in the last days of the German occupation during World War II, another Isabelle living in Chinon, a girl whose love for an enemy soldier went tragically awry.

As the dangers of the past become disastrously real, Emily is drawn ever more deeply into a labyrinth of mystery as twisted as the streets and tunnels of the ancient town itself.

This author has not let me down yet!  I loved how the mystery was built and kept me guessing, hoping against all hope, it was not a certain character. I would have like it if the two Isabelle's stories were told more in depth.  

Author: Susanna Kearsley
Published: January 2014
Pages: 367
Genre: Historical Fiction
Source:  Sourcebooks
Finished: 1/5/14


This complimentary review copy was received thankfully from Beth and Sourcebooks and in no way influenced my review of this book. These are my personal thoughts and reactions to the reading of the book.

Explosive Eighteen

Before Stephanie can even step foot off Flight 127 from Hawaii to Newark, she’s knee deep in trouble. Her dream vacation turned into a nightmare, she’s flying back to New Jersey solo, and Sasquatch is snoring in row 22. Worse still, her seatmate never returned to the plane after the L.A. layover. Now he’s dead, in a garbage can, waiting for curbside pickup. His killer could be anyone. The FBI, the fake FBI, and guns-for-hire are all looking for a photograph the dead man was supposed to be carrying.

Only one other person has seen the missing photograph– Stephanie Plum. Now she’s the target, and she doesn’t intend to end up in a garbage can. With the help of a FBI sketch artist Stephanie recreates the person in the photo. Unfortunately the first sketch turns out to look like Tom Cruise, and the second sketch like Ashton Kutcher. Until Stephanie can improve her descriptive skills, she’ll need to watch her back.

Over at the Bail Bonds Agency it’s business as usual– until the bonds bus serving as Vinnie’s temporary HQ goes up in smoke, Stephanie’s wheelman, Lula, falls in love with their “largest” FTA yet, lifetime arch nemesis Joyce Barnhardt moves into Stephanie’s apartment, and everyone wants to know what happened in Hawaii?!

Morelli, Trenton’s hottest cop, isn’t talking about Hawaii. Ranger, the man of mystery, isn’t talking about Hawaii. And all Stephanie is willing to say about her Hawaiian vacation is…it’s complicated.

Another fast paced installment in the Stephanie Plum series. The major mystery/case was interesting, but I can do without her trying to apprehend the skips in the meantime as she always fails, and I just don’t find it funny anymore. I feel she should be more successful at her job. There is the requisite humor provided by Grandma and Lula. What happened in Hawaii was not as explosive as I was hoping. It seems like she is figuring out which of the men in her life is best for her, and hopefully will make a choice soon.  I have come this far and will stick with this series until it's end.

Author: Janet Evanovich
Published: December 2011
Pages: 305
Genre: Mystery
Source: Library
Finished: 1/17/12
3 Bears

Page Turning Thrillers

Plugged by Eion Colfer

Lincoln McEvoy has a problems, but for this Irish ex-pat bouncer at a seedy, small-time casino the fact that his girlfriend was just murdered is uppermost in his mind.

Suddenly Linc's got half the New Jersey mob, dirty cops and his man-crazy upstairs neighbor after him and he still doesn't know what's going on. Bullets are flying, everybody's on the take and it all may be more than Linc's new hair plugs can handle.

Head-spinning plot twists, breakneck pacing and some of the best banter this side of Elmore Leonard's Detroit, will keep you on the edge of your seat and itching for more.

This was a fast, smart and darkly funny page turner. I hope the Lincoln will be back for more misadventures.We gotta know how the plugs are doing!

Shut Your Eyes Tight by John Verdon

When he was the NYPD’s top homicide investigator, Dave Gurney was never comfortable with the label the press gave him: super detective. He was simply a man who, when faced with a puzzle, wanted to know. He was called to the investigative hunt by the presumptuous arrogance of murderers – by their smug belief that they could kill without leaving a trace. There was always a trace, Gurney believed.

Except what if one day there wasn’t?

Dave Gurney, a few months past the Mellery case that pulled him out of retirement and then nearly killed him, is trying once again to adjust to his country house’s bucolic rhythms when he receives a call about a case so seductively bewildering that the thought of not looking into it seems unimaginable—even if his beloved wife, Madeleine, would rather he do anything but.

The facts of what has occurred are horrible: a blushing bride, newly wed to an eminent psychiatrist and just minutes from hearing her congratulatory toast, is found decapitated, her head apparently severed by a machete. Though police investigators believe that a Mexican gardener killed the young woman in a fit of jealous fury, the victim’s mother—a chilly high-society beauty—is having none of it. Reluctantly drawn in, Dave is quickly buffeted by a series of revelations that transform the bizarrely monstrous into the monstrously bizarre.

Underneath it all may exist one of the darkest criminal schemes imaginable. And as Gurney begins deciphering its grotesque outlines, some of his most cherished assumptions about himself are challenged, causing him to stare into an abyss so deep that it threatens to swallow not just him but Madeleine, too.  Desperate to protect Madeleine and bring an end to the madness, Gurney ultimately discovers that the killer has left a trace after all. Unfortunately, the revelation may come too late to save his own life.

Dave Gurney is a complex, interesting character and his thought process unfolding had me glued to the pages.  I did think there was one too many twists, but overall was a good read.  I look forward to the next Gurney novel.

Kill Me If You Can by James Patterson and Marshall Karp

Matthew Bannon, a poor art student living in New York City, finds a duffel bag filled with diamonds during a chaotic attack at Grand Central Station. Plans for a worry-free life with his gorgeous girlfriend Katherine fill his thoughts--until he realizes that he is being hunted, and that whoever is after him won't stop until they have reclaimed the diamonds and exacted their revenge.

Trailing him is the Ghost, the world's greatest assassin, who has just pulled off his most high-profile hit: killing Walter Zelvas, a top member of the international Diamond Syndicate. There's only one small problem: the diamonds he was supposed to retrieve from Zelvas are missing. Now, the Ghost is on Bannon's trail--but so is a rival assassin who would like nothing more than to make the Ghost disappear forever. From "America's #1 storyteller" (Forbes) comes a high-speed, high-stakes, winner-take-all thrill ride of adrenaline-fueled suspense.

A definite page turner with a twist that I did not see coming. The way the book ended makes me wonder if this character will return in future books.

Flash and Bones by Kathy Reichs

Just as 200,000 fans are pouring into town for Race Week, a body is found in a barrel of asphalt next to the Charlotte Motor Speedway. The next day, a NASCAR crew member comes to Temperance Brennan’s office at the Mecklenburg County Medical Examiner to share a devastating story. Twelve years earlier, Wayne Gamble’s sister, Cindi, then a high school senior and aspiring racer, disappeared along with her boyfriend, Cale Lovette. Lovette kept company with a group of right-wing extremists known as the Patriot Posse. Could the body be Cindi’s? Or Cale’s?

At the time of their disappearance, the FBI joined the investigation, only to terminate it weeks later. Was there a cover-up? As Tempe juggles multiple theories, the discovery of a strange, deadly substance in the barrel alongside the body throws everything into question. Then an employee of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention goes missing during Race Week. Tempe can’t overlook the coincidence. Was this man using his lab chemicals for murder? Or is the explanation even more sinister? What other secrets lurk behind the festive veneer of Race Week?

While I had no interest in the back story of NASCAR (sorry fans), the mystery of what really happened kept me turning the pages. Temperance's love life is on hold and I hope some resolution happens in the next book.

The Dark Enquiry

Partners now in marriage and in trade, Lady Julia and Nicholas Brisbane have finally returned from abroad to set up housekeeping in London. But merging their respective collections of gadgets, pets and servants leaves little room for the harried newlyweds themselves, let alone Brisbane’s private enquiry business.

Among the more unlikely clients: Julia’s very proper brother, Lord Bellmont, who swears Brisbane to secrecy about his case. Not about to be left out of anything concerning her beloved—if eccentric—family, spirited Julia soon picks up the trail of the investigation.

It leads to the exclusive Spirit Club, where the alluring Madame Séraphine holds evening séances...and not a few powerful gentlemen in thrall. From this eerie enclave unfolds a lurid tangle of murder, espionage and blackmail, whose tendrils crush reputations and throttle trust.

Shocked to find their investigation spun into salacious newspaper headlines, bristling at the tension it causes between them, the Brisbanes find they must unite or fall. For Bellmont’s sake—and more—they’ll face myriad dangers born of dark secrets: the kind men kill to keep...the kind that can destroy a fledgling marriage.

This is the fifth book in the Lady Julia Grey series, and I am happy to report this was another page turner. I love that there is still much to discover about Julia and Brisbane's relationship. The newlyweds are working out their marriage with Julia wanting to be a full partner in the investigations while Brisbane does all he can to protect her and keep her out of them. At times this is comical, and at times Julia can be annoyingly impulsive.  Julia's extended family is quirky and interesting.  We were treated to a glimpse of Brisbane's family and past and I hope we will have a return visit.  Looking forward to the next installment in the series.

Author: Deanna Raybourn
Published: June 2011
Pages: 400 pages
Genre: Mystery
Source: Library
Finished: 8-21-11

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter

In the late 1970s, Larry Ott and Silas "32" Jones were boyhood pals. Their worlds were as different as night and day: Larry, the child of lower-middle-class white parents, and Silas, the son of a poor, single black mother. Yet for a few months the boys stepped outside of their circumstances and shared a special bond. But then tragedy struck: Larry took a girl on a date to a drive-in movie, and she was never heard from again. She was never found and Larry never confessed, but all eyes rested on him as the culprit. The incident shook the county—and perhaps Silas most of all. His friendship with Larry was broken, and then Silas left town.

More than twenty years have passed. Larry, a mechanic, lives a solitary existence, never able to rise above the whispers of suspicion. Silas has returned as a constable. He and Larry have no reason to cross paths until another girl disappears and Larry is blamed again. And now the two men who once called each other friend are forced to confront the past they've buried and ignored for decades.

I was totally immersed in the story as it unfolded and as the tension builded, I was on the edge of my seat hoping what I thought was going to happen doesn't. This was so much more than a mystery.  It was also about racism, bullying, secret friendships, family, and past mistakes.  While you will probably figure "it" out, the relationship between Larry and Silas had me glued to the pages.  This book depicts the time and place honestly and sometimes brutally.

Author: Tom Franklin
Published: October 2010
Pages: 274
Genre:  Fiction/Mystery
Source: Library
Finished:  4-1-11
4 Bears