Showing posts with label mystery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mystery. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 4, 2025
![[Review] — NOT THE KILLING KIND is an Intriguing Crime Thriller](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBKeJIz4DiUosY3e7uAcWDTo8WZHQz0GQTKIjbMTRUXRMu6vrFSq2lczOhRsB0Qw39eNUZt3abfs2RHpharoI-nfjxTT0EREDWEdyNgVFUFsCwLVb7qTgJBKBCetTCHhxjx4UOZLiO4cP7bWj7lLNdAZLegywY4X7ypcvvYx1Vcdn8yYRzi8uDioP7uD0/w426-h640/not%20the%20killing%20kind.jpg)
Saturday, February 1, 2025
![[Review] — BECOMING THE BOOGEYMAN: A Compelling Yet Unnecessary Companion Sequel!](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRExIf-hXa5WWmLOl1bo1fa_8AKxwv26xQtWj9tg0nKIcwzWXe2jSageJW51pha4dU0BSlqR2p_0c0AfzpDfRk7FN5syvOjNlwE1wIsCZW3csG2AuuSpEU6cZ-reoWrDuJ-ovOFzMpmuizUtFAkqKeRyXilG05X-CFbIph41M7OA0Pq0-BHTLuakr13u4/s16000/becoming.jpg)
Monday, December 2, 2024
![[Review] — Leaphorn, Chee, & Manuelito Return in Anne Hillerman's LOST BIRDS](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs9DpLAmgoo1nU0THRomC0Z5hTr9ArK9R6MQYqj-i-Sz99mLFVfKlbHUb-nXaxRUXeSYK4Fetgs2q9opVem07gB7vuxJJbjEaCy9_NpOr_pLvuvdH2N9dKharC77IqSThOlX_zRhSJkzPBp2H0uhSVVEYN6DBSorf3r_jMyUxU-rZsGGzFhXX6uwogLkE/s16000/lost%20birds.jpg)
I am a latecomer to the world of Tony Hillerman's Leaphorn & Chee series, now known as the Leaphorn, Chee & Manuelito series. My journey into this captivating universe began after I watched the first season of AMC's Dark Winds in 2022. Strangely enough, I stumbled upon several of Hillerman's novels at local thrift stores around the same time the show premiered. I can't help but wonder if I had encountered his books in the past but simply overlooked them. Given my strong memory, I find it hard to believe I wouldn’t have recalled seeing those distinctive covers.
Tuesday, November 19, 2024
![[Review] — James Patterson's LIES HE TOLD ME is an Intriguing, Mindless Fluff](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYCDqdyABZLlI6LRyB2pKvsedo8OYBgCxNFLw-jvzIexEfve7OP6UWO4Qm0oPuCB4o1XP00YbOF0DnGZl3lPl1RhBcURJT_GleGIyrpau_RSzoAohnPrsPRKD07Cu4T3YdI1qoyQq8n12PtEJsFTPT8SOo-dspb6Cw3-g8wSZeyqLg0qXaBxnIhDuSd04/w412-h640/lies%20he%20told%20me.jpg)
James Patterson novels are plentiful—trust me, my visits to thrift stores have confirmed this. You can easily find at least one new title every month, and for dedicated fans, it is often a challenge to keep up with the latest releases. His most recent thriller, LIES HE TOLD ME, was co-authored with David Ellis and published by Little, Brown and Company.
Thursday, September 5, 2024
![[Review] — "THREE-INCH TEETH" is a Grizzly Read](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitajja5PdBpxQm9d_MEe-B6z8KOy8piURfzH4FHoIe7cSUBXvjDsw32P08trC66x4GaDktVI_xBL5bac5MiJp9x2k5_TLB-kkyz6Q5BiSmuLQcce0bcHeFDE-p-d3LYIdoUqyusX3E0Ypv2feXYR_RgTGx988O6CoV3YuSJvmoIefBJe344t99qRHihPw/w424-h640/three%20inch%20teeth.jpg)
Have you ever been so upset that a television series got canceled that you delayed reading the newest book, which inspired the show, out of spite? Well, that's what happened to me with Joe Pickett. Paramount Plus canceled the streaming series in late 2023 after two seasons. (Side note: the first season aired on Spectrum.) It was a well-made modern-day Western series similar to Yellowstone and should have done better in ratings if marketed correctly.
Wednesday, August 31, 2022
![[Review]—'Shattered' by James Patterson & James O. Born](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPnRBeyQOZ_uMOoTRKMj5bnrXUaSUqsCecxiAAB9aTSMJAAwC6VAakAhgJxDFbgZ_fOTkaZd2Xj1PsuRGCk5feilp1Ngz3gWx0j1JCR3FgG0I7ILaYsk434ZJxdH4UjErrW0CjlTnoxmirKkxBMacU6e8JtGlIvRz5upyRwJlJm4bO8ouaCS9j3nn4/w424-h640/james%20patterson.jpg)
It's hard to believe that James Patterson's enthralling "Michael Bennett" series has expanded to 14 books. The last 15 years have flown by, and it only seems like yesterday that I started reading Step on a Crack. Here I am, nearly 41 years old, reviewing the series' most recent volume, Shattered, co-written by James O. Born (his fifth in the series).
Wednesday, July 20, 2022
![[Review] - 'Shadows Reel' by C.J. Box](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTXY4JvI1akScWaHO-n-mIFgbi9_9A9qORmN27gVY1PhfcuoDbIiPqNmGNIxpkvGfSluA3nX7dIg0bqWRO5FgWnuC_S7hfztYbrSMsSXz9cnOJGtm3QktU_HRYkR7rzMpd5oaukkIJDsdYvL4ay4EKPyZQBVxSJ64aosejDRCXPH0TAentQBbBQH_F/w424-h640/shadows%20reel.jpg)
I've seen C.J. Box's novels numerous times in bookstores' bestseller section but was never interested in reading one of his stories until I started watching the Joe Pickett series on Paramount +. The television series debuted exclusively for Spectrum cable services last December. "Exclusively" is used loosely since Paramount + is streaming the show. Paramount Television produces Joe Pickett, so it's a no-brainer why the series is on there. After watching a few episodes, I had the urge to read a Joe Pickett novel, or specifically the first book, Open Season. My first instinct was to check my local library, and there wasn't one single C.J. Box title. There are currently 22 Joe Pickett novels and a short story collection, 5 (soon to be 6) Hoyt/Dewell mysteries, and three standalone novels, all written by C.J. Box, and my library doesn't carry any of them.
Monday, June 13, 2022
![[Review] - A Relative Murder by Jude Deveraux](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj638Ki5o5wFL6GWih_SdbSsEDxH_GoGvGCkr87tURo_7cQjTmTNHlu18bxHN61WIlHJro_doppYrYN0pOxt9m0F1v1DIaI5nTZT8HAHZvFlUV1yZc-d_VYzR6NYSUWQ2ESCJgmjbFFUcH_MBn9Jqhs4DogYWoAhz_HHVQtX3KkE1nvy3-UGKW6mKb/w422-h640/a%20relative%20murder.jpg)
It might seem strange that I'm reviewing a Jude Deveraux novel, but I grew up with the author's books. My mother was a fan of Deveraux's historical romances and kept the books on a homemade wooden bookcase in the living room of my childhood home. After running out of new books to read - I grabbed A Knight in Shining Armor off the shelf and read it. I believe I was a nine-year-old at the time. Yeah, I was probably a bit too young to be reading romances, but that was my introduction to Jude Deveraux.
Tuesday, March 15, 2022
![[Review] - Counterfeit Love by Crystal Caudill](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgSizQwTbY7gNtgXXUaLqDzbmkMsMzBlVIMOOONEyHh6DpYF0iRClzkSD6VPBOXfvfYAZImLSRet8pi2xqlhpkwoLVXGchupDcGSTzFZyAWmjHOm64XUvL2PJKRYlDOWLbdbzm1r3on0JHJ4uRDDnx307YBG32LBInM-N6zdYdW95VgcTZhAccYTt9V=w414-h640)
About the Book
Can this undercover agent save the woman he loves—or is her heart as counterfeit as the money he’s been sent to track down?
After all that Grandfather has sacrificed to raise her, Theresa Plane owes it to him to save the family name--and that means clearing their debt with creditors before she marries Edward Greystone. But when one of the creditors’ threats leads her to stumble across a midnight meeting, she discovers that the money he owes isn’t all Grandfather was hiding. And the secrets he kept have now trapped Theresa in a life-threatening fight for her home--and the truth.
Tuesday, December 7, 2021
![[Review] - The Debutante's Code by Erica Vetsch](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMdS6io9QyOl7lqG9LxSVcU6gqCnG8kOFSLCQhOH47ncTATq4yxxn_2jlgxoq127HHhi1LY-E7m0JdbTgCHGCc2yKJPspZFiG3h4uU3qHwR9SC7ZGQS7k_UVWN-Il-u3bIy6ppoXnjLjQ/w414-h640/The+Debutante%2527s+Code.jpg)
About the Book
Jane Austen meets Sherlock Holmes in this new Regency mystery series.
Newly returning from finishing school, Lady Juliette Thorndike is ready to debut in London society. Due to her years away, she hasn't spent much time with her parents and sees them only as the flighty, dilettante couple the other nobles love. But when they disappear, she discovers she never really knew them at all. They've been living double lives as government spies--and they're only the latest in a long history of espionage that is the family's legacy.
Saturday, September 4, 2021
![[Review] - Dangerous Illusions by Irene Hannon](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTm-w7UNStKvUW_Kh8eNu9ESrX8bqIJscC_NhDUzNT-Maou8a-mGk-4TdObRaLQ9TERQWIIDiXUbmIzz4FJi8uWANvh68Teq_RcjT34lTlsbcOpy5QYOnCiQTlB3D-k5Tw82T7pGOXnK8/w414-h640/dangerous+illusions.jpg)
Once upon a time, Christian romance mysteries were unique reads for me. Well, that's until the subgenre became crowded with too many new authors, and the stories became too generic for my liking. I tuned out sometime in 2017, around the time Revell published Dangerous Illusions by Irene Hannon. Revell sent me a review copy, and it's been sitting on a desk collecting dust along with a few other books. At long last, I picked it up, cracked it open, and read it.
Monday, October 12, 2020
Old Saint Nick is missing, sparking shenanigans in the town of Santa Claus.
Private Eye Nala Bonne and her trusty crime-fighting rescue dog Max spend their days surfing social media for telltale signs of disability fraud and philandering husbands, but when a lucrative opportunity to investigate something entirely different, Nala readily agrees to take the case.
The task: find a missing Santa impersonator.
Monday, October 5, 2020
About the Book
A man wakes up in present-day Alaskan wilderness with no idea who he is, nothing on him save an empty journal with the date 1898 and a mirror. He sees another man hunting nearby, astounded that they look exactly alike. After following this other man home, he witnesses a wife and child that brings forth a rush of memories of his own wife and child, except he’s certain they do not exist in modern times—but from his life in the late 1800s. After recalling his name is Wyatt, he worms his way into his doppelganger Travis Barlow’s life. Memories become unearthed the more time he spends, making him believe that he’d been frozen after coming to Alaska during the Gold Rush and that Travis is his great-great grandson. Wyatt is certain gold still exists in the area and finding it with Travis will ingratiate himself to the family, especially with Travis’s wife Callie, once Wyatt falls in love. This turns into a dangerous obsession affecting the Barlows and everyone in their small town, since Wyatt can’t be tamed until he also discovers the meaning of why he was able to be preserved on ice for over a century. Wednesday, March 18, 2020
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| *This is a sponsored post. |
Reading is a relaxing activity that allows you to live in a different place and time for a while. There are many genres on the market that can hold your attention and keep you entertained. Here are some popular themes to consider.
Friday, December 6, 2019
*This is a sponsored review. All opinions are 100% mine.
'Tis The Seasons Murder
'Tis The Seasons Murder
by Leslie Meier
Just in time for the holiday season is 'Tis The Season Murder (Kensington Books; $12.95; 410 pages) by New York Times bestselling author Leslie Meier, featuring two Lucy Stone Holiday Mysteries — New Year's Eve Murder and Christmas Carol Murder.
New Year's Eve Murder
After the annual parade of Christmas presents in Tinker’s Cove has ended, Lucy Stone and her daughter are ready to ring in the new year in style. Elizabeth has won mother/daughter winter makeovers in Manhattan from Jolie magazine! But the all-expenses-paid trip is bound to have some hidden costs—and one of them is murder. Soon it will be up to Lucy to dress down a killer before the ball drops in Times Square . . .
Christmas Carol Murder
Lucy Stone is excited about acting in the town’s production of A Christmas Carol. But a real-life Scrooge has everyone feeling frosty. While Tinker’s Cove has fallen on hard times, Downeast Mortgage owners Jake Marlowe and Ben Scribner are raking in profits from misfortune. So when Marlowe is murdered, the suspects are many. But Scribner claims Marlowe’s ghost has come to warn him of his own impending demise—and he’s soon receiving death threats. Now Lucy will have to solve the case faster than she can say “Bah! Humbug!”. . .
Where To Purchase?
Thursday, October 11, 2018
*This is a sponsored review. All opinions are 100% mine.
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| Mira Books; 336; $26.99; Amazon |
A Willing Murder is the first book in a brand-new mystery series. It centers around Kate Medlar, a young realtor who packs her bags and moves to Lachlan, Florida to be closer to her estranged Aunt Sara, who happens to be a bestselling author.Kate had everything planned out: she has a new job at a local real estate business and Aunt Sara has a room already set up for her. However, there is one thing Kate didn't have planned - meeting Jackson "Jack" Wyatt.
Jack is almost like a grandson to Sara, who was good friends with his late grandfather and she's a partner in his construction business. When a freak accident injured Jack and killed his half-brother, he moved in with Sara while he healed his wounds.
After two female skeletons are found buried under a tree on one of Jack's properties, his past comes back to haunt him. He knows who the victims are, a mother and daughter who have been missing for twenty years. Jack has a heartfelt connection to the daughter and he makes it his personal mission to find the murder, with a little help from Kate and Sara.
Wednesday, August 29, 2018
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| Thomas Nelson; 340 pages; $15.99; Amazon |
Set in the small town of Lavender Tides, the home of four thousand residents, the novel centers on Shauna McDade, a helicopter pilot and widowed mother of one child, Alex. Her husband died in a climbing accident over a year ago and she's still mourning his death.
Shockingly, Shauna's helicopter charter business partner, Clearance, is murdered in an explosion. Shortly before his death, he had given a package to Shauna with instructions to give it to his wife, Marilyn. While it seemed to be an accident at first glance, Zach Bannister, a firefighter, believes that foul play is at play here. After Marilyn is found murdered, it's obvious that Shauna and her son are now in danger.
Final Thoughts
Monday, February 19, 2018
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| Broadway Books; 313 pages; $15 |
I'm always a sucker for a good mystery, which is one of the reasons why I wanted to review the book Last Stop In Brooklyn: A Mary Handley Mystery by Lawrence H. Levy. It's a sequel to Second Street Station and Brooklyn On Fire.
Set in 1894, Last Stop In Brooklyn centers on Mary Handley, a private detective who finds herself traveling to Coney Island on an "adultery" case. Out of the blue, Mary is approached by a man requesting her to help her brother who was convicted of killing a prostitute in a New York hotel room.
Of course, Mary agrees to take on the case, which leads her to Thomas Byrnes, the New York City detective that swears he put the right killer behind bars. As she digs deeper in the case, the more she believes that Jack the Ripper could possible be the real killer.
Mary will have to team up with reporter Harper Lloyd and a few others, as she tries to unravel the murder mystery.
Final Thoughts
Thursday, January 18, 2018
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| Broadway Books; 308 pages; Amazon |
Long Black Veil is a murder mystery thriller that spans over thirty-five-years. It all began in 1980 when six college friends (Jon Casey, Rachel Steinberg, Masie Lenfest, Tripper Pennypacker, Wailer Curtin, and Quentin Pheaney), a boy (Lenny Lenfest), and a college professor (Nathan Krystal) went inside the abandoned Eastern State Penitentiary in Pennsylvania in the middle of the night. They only wanted to take a look around the supposedly "haunted" prison, but they ended up staying the entire night, as someone traps them inside the place. Eight people went inside the prison, but only seven come out the next morning.
Thirty-five-years later, a body is found inside a prison cell's wall and the prime suspect is celebrity chef John Casey. As the media gets a hold of the story, the remaining survivors of the1980 incident come aware that one of their friends died that night. If Casey is innocent, then who is the murderer?
The answer to the truth might lie within Judith, a fifty-something journalist who knows a bit too much about what occurred that miserable summer night in 1980.
The paperback edition has a Reader's Guide and a few recipes in the back of the book.
Final Thoughts
Saturday, May 6, 2017
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| Little Brown & Company; 448 pages; $28; Amazon |
For anybody who follows this blog regularly, it should be no surprise to find me reviewing a James Patterson novel.
Yes, I like reading mysteries, and yes, Mr. Patterson happens to be one of my favorite authors. Of course that hasn't always been the case, as I started reading his books around 2003 or 2004 after my grandmother gave me a few Patterson titles to read. I would buy each new title, read it, and then pass it on to her. After my grandmother's death in 2009, I've continued to buy every new Patterson title, well, the ones that I don't receive a review copy for on here.
This week I finished reading The Black Book by James Patterson & David Ellis. Despite being disappointed with Never Never (read my review here), my expectations for this one were high, mostly due to the fact that I had heard good things about the novel before I even started reading page one.
The Black Book starts off with a bizarre crime scene involving one male and two female victims. The male is the only one to survive the crime, and he happens to be Detective Billy Harney, the son of Chicago's chief of detectives, and the twin brother to Hatti, who is also a cop.
The novel flips back and forth from the past to present. In the past, Billy and his adrenaline-junkie partner, Detective Kate Fenton, are investigating a murder that leads them to an exclusive Chicago brothel that caters to rich and powerful. Their only lead to the killer might be inside a black book containing all the brothel's clients, but of course the book is missing.
In the present, as Billy recovers from his wounds, he tries to piece together the final hours that lead to the death of two women (I'm not naming names here as I don't want to give away too many spoilers!), but proving his innocence isn't going to be easy as he can't remember what actually happened that fatal night.
