Tag: mystery

Review: Bridged by Kendra Elliot

Posted February 9, 2015 by Marsha in Contemporary Romance, Mystery / 0 Comments

Can two people who live, almost daily, with the results of the actions of crazed killers find the way to keep their own romantic relationship growing strong?  Let’s find out.

BridgedTitle:  Bridged
Series: a Callahan and McLane mystery
Author:  Kendra Elliot
Genre:  Romance, Mystery
Published:  February 10, 2015
Source:  NetGalley

Cover Blurb:

After a congressman’s tortured body is found dangling from a Portland bridge, the FBI joins the Oregon State Police to investigate the case—and FBI Special Agent Ava McLane, still recovering from a bullet wound, hunts the twisted killer alongside the man who captured her heart, police detective Mason Callahan.

But once a third body appears and all evidence points to a serial killer, the public furiously clamors for answers—and the couple’s relationship grows fractured under the pressure. Ava and Mason search in the past for clues that predict the future. And when Ava’s mentally ill twin spins out of control, the FBI agent who battles monsters every day wonders if she shares her sister’s self-destructive streak…

In the latest thrilling romantic suspense novel from award-winning author Kendra Elliot, the past and the present violently collide…and the fallout can be deadly.

*I received an e-ARC of Bridged from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange
for an honest review. That does not change what I think of this novel.*

I have not read the previous novel Vanished.   In Bridged, the relationship between Mason and Ava has already been established.  I was a bit concerned as I started this novel, but it soon became apparent that I could fall into this story without having to read the previous one.

Read on for my thoughts on Bridged.  No true spoilers, promise.

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Review: Never Smile At Strangers by Jennifer Jaynes

Posted February 7, 2015 by Marsha in Mystery / 2 Comments

Sleepy Southern towns hold secrets.  Long-past history secrets and deadly secrets.  But nothing stays buried forever, especially in small, sleepy Southern town.

Never Smile At StrangersTitle:  Never Smile at Strangers
Series:
Author:  Jennifer Jaynes
Genre:  Mystery
Published:  January 27, 2015
Source:  NetGalley

Story Blurb:

When nineteen-year-old Tiffany Perron vanishes without a trace, the residents of rural Grand Trespass, Louisiana, launch a desperate search to find her. But few clues are unearthed, and before long another young woman disappears.

As locals continue to vanish, residents begin to discover that they might not know those closest to them as well as they had thought. Lies and insecurities quickly surface, leading everyone to question one another…and their involvement in the disappearances.

Meanwhile, an unstable, twisted killer is hiding quietly in their midst. Ever since his mother’s murder four years earlier, he’s been forced to raise his disturbed teenage sister. He’s terrified of her—and of women in general—and his world revolves around his fear of and obsession over them.

Before you go any further in reading this review.  Know right now that in this novel there is mention of implied sexual abuse from the “killer’s” memories.  If this type of content bothers you then don’t go any further.  This is the only mention of these parts of the novel you will read here – my review centers on the mystery.  But know what you may read before picking up this book.

Knowing that – Read on for my thoughts on Never Smile At Strangers.  No true spoilers, promise.

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Review: Fool’s Paradise by Jo Ann Ferguson

Posted February 5, 2015 by Marsha in This one's a Keeper / 0 Comments

A Lady Priscilla Flanders Mystery

Fool's ParadiseTitle:  Fool’s Paradise
Series:  A Lady Priscilla Flanders Mystery
Author:  Jo Ann Ferguson
Genre:  Historical
Published:  January 2, 2015
Source:  NetGalley

Something is rotten in the Lake District . . . and the Prince Regent has asked Lord Neville Hathaway to investigate. But in order to ensure success, he asks his wife—and intrepid partner in crime-solving—Lady Priscilla, to join him.
When they learn that a young woman of the Beau Monde has vanished in the area, they can’t help wondering if that disappearance is connected to tales of a strange new settlement being created by a half-mad lord. Drawn into the madness against their wills, Priscilla and Neville go undercover as willing citizens in Novum Arce, the utopian recreation of Roman Britain, but it quickly becomes obvious that the person behind the kidnapping and insanity may have a very real ulterior motive—one that could change the future of the war against Napoleon.
Now they have to do more than save a missing lady—they have to stop an invasion! And there’s even more at stake! Priscilla has just discovered she’s going to have a child. And Neville has to decide: just how much is he willing to sacrifice for King and country?

*I received an e-ARC of Fool’s Paradise by Jo Ann Ferguson from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. That does not change what I think of this novel.*

This was the first of the ongoing series “A Lady Priscilla Flanders Mystery” that I have read.  While it might have helped to have a bit more background – the opening chapters filled me in on the basics enough to dive right into the story with comfort.

Read on for my thoughts on Fool’s Paradise.  No true spoilers, promise.

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Waiting on Wednesday #1

Posted January 21, 2015 by Marsha in This one's a Keeper / 16 Comments

Waiting on WednesdayThis is my first Waiting on Wednesday post.  I’ve seen it before, but this time I’m going to jump right in.  🙂

“Waiting on” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

This week’s wait is: Obsession In Death by J. D. Robb.  Release date:  February 10, 2015

I am such a Nora Roberts / J D Robb fan.  I think I’ve mentioned it before in posts and in comments that her new releases (under either name) are auto-buys for me.

Since her next release of an “…In Death” novel under the J D Robb name comes out next month, it was kinda a given in my mind what I was going to present as the book I’m waiting for this Wednesday.

I’m waiting for:

Obsession in Death

 

From Amazon:

Eve Dallas has solved a lot of high-profile murders for the NYPSD and gotten a lot of media. She—and her billionaire husband—are getting accustomed to being objects of attention, of gossip, of speculation.

But now Eve has become the object of one person’s obsession. Someone who finds her extraordinary, and thinks about her every hour of every day. Who believes the two of them have a special relationship. Who would kill for her—again and again…

With a murderer reading meanings into her every move, handling this case will be a delicate—and dangerous—psychological dance. And Eve knows that underneath the worship and admiration, a terrible threat lies in wait. Because the beautiful lieutenant is not at all grateful for these bloody offerings from her “true and loyal friend.” And in time, idols always fall…

 

 

 

If you aren’t familiar with the ___In Death world, here’s a quick overview.

Set in New York City, NY about 50 years in the future we are brought into the world of Lt. Eve Dallas, (a kickass, badass cop with issues that play out throughout the ongoing books) she’s a murder cop and once dead, that person belongs to her and she will do anything and everything to find the killer.

Meet Roarke.  Just Roarke.  Eve’s deliciously handsome husband – billionaire husband who probably owns half the universe.  He is a former thief, extraordinary computer expert and often civilian consultant on Eve’s cases (hard to put computer hacking and lockpicking on the official books, ya know?)  To Roarke the most important job in his world is pampering Eve (which she doesn’t understand), protecting Eve and teaching Eve that life is more than a murder board.

These are the two main characters of the  __In Death universe.  (if you can, think of the old Thin Man movies without the dog) 🙂   We also met and get to know Eve’s team, her partner – her world.  And Roarke’s world as well.

This ongoing book series is very much like a television show, like Law & Order for instance. Every new book is another murder, yet with each new novel we learn more about the world of Lt. Eve Dallas.  How she grows, the relationships around her get deeper, more personal.  So that with each new novel I, personally, feel like I am visiting with an old friend and catching up on her life… with a murder to solve tossed in.  🙂

Yes.  I love this ongoing series.  Which is why I’ll be at my local bookstore to pick up Obsession In Death on February 10, 2015.  Because I need an in my hand, hardback copy of every In Death novel.

If you’ve never heard of read any of the In Death series I would suggest that on your next library visit you look in the stacks for Naked In Death (or request it if there isn’t a copy there).  That is where it all begins.  If you have the least interest in mystery, suspense, thriller, a touch of sci-fi in the future gadgets aspect, oh and of course love, sex and romance.  If any of that appeals to you – you might be Waiting on Wednesday for her next release.  🙂

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Afraid To Die by Lisa Jackson

Posted December 8, 2014 by Marsha in This one's a Keeper / 0 Comments

 

Afraid To DieReturning to Grizzly Falls, Montana would be a lot more fun if they didn’t have so many serial murders around there!  But then, that would leave us with nothing new to read from the ongoing “to Die” series by Lisa Jackson.

Once again murder returns to hover over the winter holidays of Detective Selena Alvarez and her partner, Detective Regan Pescoli.

This time the mad killer is placing bits of Selena’s stolen jewelery on the bodies of his victims – frozen naked works of “art” by a killer who not only believes in revenge,  but in painfully, slowly unwinding secrets Selena would have liked to keep in her past.

Secrets will always find their way to the surface – Selena must make sure that her secrets are told to the necessary people before the killer makes them headlines.

Private Investigator Dylan O’Keefe has close ties to those old secrets and he is not going to let Selena keep them from him any longer.

A love gets a second chance – if – secrets can be told and trust freely given by both Selena and Dylan.

(possible spoilers ahead)

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Before She Dies by Mary Burton

Posted December 7, 2014 by Marsha in This one's a Keeper / 0 Comments

Before She Dies sm

A crystal ball is not always necessary to know that evil walks among us.

“Before She Dies” was an enjoyable read.  As a child of the carnival myself, many parts of the story had me smiling in memory of my childhood years traveling the carnival circuit with my parents.

But.. to my knowledge we never had a murderer among us!

Charlotte (Grace) Wellington’s sister Mariah was murdered.  Grace left the carnival world and set out to make her own life away from the memories, and the people of her past.   Yet the past rarely stays in the past.

Grace or Charlotte as she is now known, hides memories and her past behind the tough surface of her criminal lawyer career.  She rarely lets anyone in.  Detective Daniel Rokov is determined to get past the line she draws between personal and professional.  It’s a difficult task but one that Daniel will succeed at.

The carnival is in town – and women are being murdered.  His mission is to destroy the witches.  He takes great pride and pleasure in dealing out his kind of justice.  The seer, the witch, the one who has knowledge that she should not have will pay the ultimate price.

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