Category: 3 Star

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Kimberly reviews Hiding Place by Meghan Holloway

TITLE: Hiding Place
SERIES #: Hector Lewis #2
CHARACTERS: Hector Lewis
AUTHOR: Meghan Holloway
PUBLICATION DATE: 08/10/21
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
Hector Lewis is obsessed with uncovering the truth of what happened to his wife and daughter fifteen years ago. The man he believed responsible for their disappearance is dead, and the trail has once again grown cold. Until he finds a long-hidden message from the past. Unraveling the clues his wife left behind leads Hector deep into the wild borderlands of Yellowstone National Park and into the dark labyrinth of his own obsession with finding his missing girls.

Faye Anders is in hiding. The remote town of Raven’s Gap, Montana, has been the perfect refuge. Until her young son goes missing on a school field trip. Desperation forces her to make a choice that will shatter the illusion of safety she has carefully built and bring the powerful man she fled five years ago straight to her doorstep.

Hector is a man chasing answers. Faye is a woman willing to do whatever it takes to keep her son safe. Caught in the crosshairs of a man who is determined to silence them both, they discover some men will kill to keep their secrets buried. But when the past comes knocking, there is no place to hide.

REVIEW:
This is the second in the series which I did not read the first of. It can be a stand alone.

This book is about Hector, a cop, who lost his wife and daughter a decade and a half ago. For some reason he feels like he needs to start investigating it on his own even after all this time. Mainly because he is finding notes his wife left him before her death. The case is cold but she continues to investigate. Faye is now living in the same town with her son under a false identity.

I think this falls under the romantic suspense genre more than thriller. I am not sure why but I never really connected with either main character. I really wanted to. I liked the idea of the book. It seemed to have a bit of a different storyline than traditional romantic suspense.

I will give the next in the series a try hoping to connect a bit with the new characters.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

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Kimberly reviews The Steal by MJ Rose and CW Gortner

TITLE: The Steal
CHARACTERS: Ania & Jerome
AUTHOR: MJ Rose & CW Gortner
PUBLICATION DATE: 08/10/21
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
They say diamonds are a girl’s best friend—until they’re stolen.

Ania Throne is devoted to her jewelry company. The daughter of one of the world’s most famous jewelers, she arrives in Cannes with a stunning new collection. But a shocking theft by the notorious thief known as the Leopard throws her into upheaval—and plunges her on an unexpected hunt that challenges everything she believes.

Jerome Curtis thinks he’s seen it all, especially when it comes to crime. Until he’s hired to investigate the loss of Ania Thorne’s collection, his every skill put to the test as he chases after a mysterious master-mind responsible for some of the costliest heists in history—and finds himself in a tangled web with a woman he really shouldn’t fall in love with.

From the fabled Carlton Hotel to the elegant boulevards of Paris, Ania and Jerome must race against time to catch a thief before the thief catches them. With everything on the line, can they solve the steal or will the steal take more than diamonds from them?

Set in the late 1950s, THE STEAL is a romantic caper by bestselling authors C.W. Gortner and M.J. Rose.

REVIEW:
Set in the 1950’s this is a throwback to the type of book written “for women” in the 70’s. At least that was my feeling.

Priceless jewelry has been stolen before the Cannes Film Festival is set to begin and the rich and famous are ready to wear the jewels. This story takes place in all the high end areas you expect. Besides Cannes there is Paris and NYC. And the race is on with Ania and Jerome to find the jewels before time runs out.

What I found most interesting about this book was the writing. I am used to the writing of MJ Rose but have not read anything by CW Gortner. Each author seemed to take the role of one character, Rose with Ania and Gortner with Jerome. Each gives us a history into their lives up until the present. However, I certainly enjoyed Rose’s chapters more than Gortner’s. Gortner seemed to get stuck on certain phrases that were repeated way too often.

This book was an interesting combination of the 1970’s and 2020’s.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

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Kimberly reviews The Serial Killer’s Wife by Alice Hunter

TITLE: The Serial Killer’s Wife
CHARACTERS: beth Hardcastle
AUTHOR: Alice Hunter
PUBLICATION DATE: 08/03/21
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
They’re saying he’s a monster. And they’re saying she knew.

Beth and Tom Hardcastle are the envy of their neighbourhood – they have the perfect marriage, the perfect house, the perfect family.

When the police knock on their door one evening, Beth panics. Tom should be back from work by now – what if he’s crashed his car? She fears the worst.

But the worst is beyond imagining.

As the interrogation begins, Beth will find herself questioning everything she believed about her husband.

They’re husband and wife – till death do them part…

REVIEW:
Let me say that this is the first novel from this author, as far as I can tell, and this author has a lot of potential. This book has a good beginning and a really good ending. The ending even surprised me a bit, which isn’t easy with all the books I read.

The middle part of this story slacks a bit before picking back up. There was too much time between revelations and too many pages with too much filler.

I thought the suspense of the story kept me trying to figure things out and like I said I was a bit surprised at what had happened so many years ago.

As I said, the author shows potential with this book and I look forward to picking up the next from this new author.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

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Kimberly reviews Hairpin Bridge by Taylor Adams

TITLE: Hairpin Bridge
CHARACTERS: Lena & Raymond
AUTHOR: Taylor Adams
PUBLICATION DATE: 06/15/21
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
From the author of the “full-throttle thriller” (A. J. Finn) No Exit—a riveting new psychological page-turner featuring a fierce and unforgettable heroine.

Three months ago, Lena Nguyen’s estranged twin sister, Cambry, drove to a remote bridge sixty miles outside of Missoula, Montana, and jumped two hundred feet to her death. At least, that is the official police version.

But Lena isn’t buying it.

Now she’s come to that very bridge, driving her dead twin’s car and armed with a cassette recorder, determined to find out what really happened by interviewing the highway patrolman who allegedly discovered her sister’s body.

Corporal Raymond Raycevic has agreed to meet Lena at the scene. He is sympathetic, forthright, and professional. But his story doesn’t seem to add up. For one thing, he stopped Cambry for speeding a full hour before she supposedly leapt to her death. Then there are the sixteen attempted 911 calls from her cell phone, made in what was unfortunately a dead zone.

But perhaps most troubling of all, the state trooper is referred to by name in Cambry’s final enigmatic text to her sister: Please Forgive Me. I couldn’t live with it. Hopefully you can, Officer Raycevic.

Lena will do anything to uncover the truth. But as her twin’s final hours come into focus, Lena’s search turns into a harrowing, tooth-and-nail fight for her own survival—one that will test everything she thought she knew about her sister and herself…

REVIEW:
2.75 Hearts I had really hoped for more with this story. The concept was interesting but it just didn’t have the oomph I hoped for.

The story is told in the POV of both sisters but that was a bit confusing for me. The writing didn’t seem to have the change most writers have when they tell different POVs.

I never connected with the sisters. I continued reading it to find out what happened but was hardly overwhelmed with it.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

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Kimberly reviews The Child In The Photo by Kerry Wilkinson

TITLE: The Child In The Photo
CHARACTERS: Hope & Stephen
AUTHOR: Kerry Wilkinson
PUBLICATION DATE: 06/14/21
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
I stare at the newspaper article about a baby snatched from the back of a car thirty years ago, and wonder why someone would post it through my door. Looking closer, my blood freezes. The little girl in the photo has an unusual scar – just like mine. I’ve never met anyone with one like it. Is this stolen child… me?

Trembling with shock, I know I have to confront my mother. My parents got me through a horrific accident, helped me find a job I love teaching art, and even with buying my own house. But was it all built on lies?

She tells me the day I was born was the best day of her life, and I’m flooded with guilt for questioning her – but why do I catch her burning papers in the garden the next day?

Then I come home to find a woman sitting on my doorstep, covered in bruises and claiming she knows who abducted me. I don’t know if I can trust her – or if I’ll be the next to get hurt.

Because all the while, I’ve been hiding my own secret. Does whoever sent the article know what really happened the day of my accident? Desperate for the truth, I break into the house of my supposed kidnapper. Inside, I find a handwritten list of names. A shiver goes down my spine as I realise wasn’t the only child to be stolen.

Then I hear a key in the lock, and I know my life is in terrible danger…

An absolutely addictive read that will have you racing through the pages and questioning everything you thought you knew about your family. Perfect for fans of The Girl on the Train, Lisa Jewell and Shari Lapena.

REVIEW:
2.75 Hearts I have read other books by Wilkinson but this one was a bit off for me. The thing that seemed odd was the fact that we learned pretty quickly that Hope was taken as a child and even who took her. So what part is the “who-dun-it”?

I didn’t feel that this was a suspenseful story at all. There is a lot of drama but no “thriller”.

This was a fast paced read and the writing is fine but a bit of a let down on the suspense.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

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Kimberly reviews The Hive by Gregg Olsen

TITLE: The Hive
CHARACTERS: Lindsay Jackman
AUTHOR: Gregg Olsen
PUBLICATION DATE: 06/08/21
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
Glamorous messiah or charlatan? A mask of beauty hides deadly secrets in #1 New York Times and Amazon Charts bestselling author Gregg Olsen’s mesmerizing novel of suspense.

In the Pacific Northwest, police officer Lindsay Jackman is investigating the murder of a young journalist found at the bottom of a ravine. Lindsay soon learns that the victim was writing an exposé. Her subject: a charismatic wellness guru who’s pulled millions into her euphoric orbit…

To hear Marnie Spellman tell it, when she was a child, a swarm of bees lifted her off the ground and toward the sunlight, illuming her spiritual connection with nature—an uncanny event on which Marnie built a cosmetics empire and became a legend, a healer, and the queen of holistic health and eternal beauty. In her inner circle is an intimate band of devotees called the Hive. They share Marnie’s secrets of success—including one cloaked in darkness for twenty years.

Determined to uncover the possibly deadly mysteries of the group, Lindsay focuses her investigation on Marnie and the former members of the Hive, who are just as determined to keep Lindsay from their secrets as they are to maintain their status.

REVIEW:
This is a weird one. I like Gregg Olsen but this might be the weirdest he has ever written and that is saying something.

In this story we go inside a female lead cult. Marnie is trying to “help” women find their full potential but that includes leaving your husband and more. And Marnie has a dark past that starts to come to light.

Like I said, this is a weird story. I found the different POV’s a bit much. I would have preferred the story to just be told. I also think it was odd that Olsen decided to make this about a female lead as a male writer. It was odd having him talk about female empowerment.

As a fan of Olsen’s I will say this was not one of my favorites but it was still an interesting read.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

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Kimberly reviews Mystic’s Accomplice by Mary Miley Theobald

TITLE: Mystic’s Accomplice
SERIES #: Mystic’s Accomplice #1
CHARACTERS: Maddie Pastore
AUTHOR: Mary Miley Theobald
PUBLICATION DATE: 06/01/21
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
The first historical mystery in award-winning author Mary Miley’s 1920s Chicago-set series introduces reluctant sleuth Maddie Pastore and takes readers into a dark and dangerous world of mobsters, speakeasies and seances.

It’s 1924, and Maddie Pastore has it made. A nice house, a loving husband with a steady job – even if it is connected to Chicago’s violent Torrio-Capone gang – and a baby on the way. But then Tommy is shot dead, and she learns her husband had a secret that turns her life upside down.

Penniless and grieving, Maddie is only sure of two things: that she will survive for the sake of her baby, and that she’ll never turn to the mob for help. So when she’s invited to assist a well-meaning but fraudulent medium, she seizes the chance. She’s not proud of her work investigating Madam Carlotta’s clients, but she’s proud of how well she does it.

When Maddie unearths potential evidence of a dark crime, however, she faces a terrible dilemma: keep quiet and let a murderer go unpunished, or follow the trail and put herself and her baby in mortal danger . . .

With its Prohibition-era setting, lively characters and enthralling historical detail, The Mystic’s Accomplice is an ideal pick for readers who enjoy 1920s-set mysteries.

REVIEW:
3.5 Hearts This was kind of interesting. I have been interested in mob life since I really learned about who Al Capone was. Not just the “Scarface” we hear about but the real man. Anyway….. I thought I would pick up this book since it is a start to a new series.

Maddie’s husband has a history with the Chicago mob but when Maddie is widowed and pregnant she will do what she needs to do for her baby. I really liked Maddie. She was going through the hardest moment in her life and she persevered.

I think fans of gangster/mob stories will enjoy this new series.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

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Kimberly reviews Undercover Wolf by Paige Tyler

TITLE: Undercover Wolf
SERIES #: STAT #2
CHARACTERS: Harley & Sawyer
AUTHOR: Paige Tyler
PUBLICATION DATE: 05/25/21
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
An unexpected partnership leads two wolves to reconsider everything they know…

Alpha werewolf Harley Grant isn’t exactly comfortable with her inner wolf. Even though she’s on a STAT Team where she can use her abilities because her teammates know about her, she refuses to do so, putting herself and sometimes them at risk.

Alpha werewolf Sawyer Bishop would give anything for his M16 Team to know about his inner wolf, but his teammates are mistrustful of anyone or anything with inhuman abilities. When he meets Harley on an overlapping case and realizes she’s a fellow wolf, he’s more than a little intrigued.

Now that STAT and MI6 have to team up to stop a crew of supernatural bad guys intent on causing a nuclear meltdown, Harley can no longer deny her wolf and Sawyer can no longer hide his. As they grow closer to resolving the case and grow closer to each other, they discover things aren’t what they seem and revenge could cost them their lives.

STAT (Special Threat Assessment Team) Series:
Wolf Under Fire (Book 1)

REVIEW:
3.5 Hearts So here is the deal. I read so many books by Tyler in the SWAT series that two things happened… 1. I kind of got tired of her werewolf stories and 2. I decided to give the STAT series a try because, well, I had read so many of the SWAT series.

And this is the best she has written in a while. I really believed Tyler needed to change her writing completely. I mean the SWAT series was near 20 books. But she came back in this book. The action packed story kept me interested the whole time. The romance was well written and Sawyer is just yummy!

This book is why a reader should always give new series a chance to stand on its own.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

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Kimberly reviews The Final Twist by Jeffrey Deaver

TITLE: The Final Twist
SERIES #: Colter Shaw #3
CHARACTERS: Colter Shaw
AUTHOR: Jeffrey Deaver
PUBLICATION DATE: 01/01/21
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
“The master of ticking-bomb suspense” (People) returns with a devilishly good thriller, and reward seeker Colter Shaw’s most personal case to date.

Just hours after the harrowing events of The Goodbye Man, Colter Shaw is hot on the trail of a missing person whose disappearance he desperately hopes to explain: his own father.

Following the enigmatic clues his father left behind, Shaw explores one site after another, seeing clearly for the first time what strange business his father was up to–and what dangerous people he was working against. But when Shaw is caught by these same people, he’s rescued by an intruder: his own older brother Russell, from whom he’s been estranged for more than a decade. After saving Shaw, Russell stays on, and the brothers–both very different and oddly similar–join forces to identify the family.

This novel is a race against time to both find the family and to pursue leads to solve a decades-old mystery.

REVIEW:
3.5 Hearts This is the third in the Colter Shaw series. In this one we follow Colter to San Francisco where he wants to take up where his dad left off on a whistleblower case. The evidence went missing years ago and Colter wants to do what his dad wasn’t able to do and find the evidence and bring BlackBridge Corporate Solutions to its end.

There are a lot of characters in this book and most of them are after Colter, hoping to stop him before he finds the evidence that will bring everyone down. But Colter knows not only is the company’s downfall at stake, now an entire family is slated to be murdered.

The story was very action packed and seemed to have a twist or turn every few pages. This is a good suspenseful thriller, well written and a page turner.

On a personal note, I lived in the Bay Area for over 2 decades and it was fun to know where Colter was while he traveled around the city.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

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Kimberly reviews The Haunting Of Alma Fielding by Kate Summerscale

TITLE: The Haunting Of Alma Fielding
CHARACTERS: Alma Fielding & Nandor Fodor
AUTHOR: Kate Summerscale
PUBLICATION DATE: 04/27/21
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
London, 1938. In the suburbs of the city, an ordinary young housewife has become the eye in a storm of chaos. In Alma Fielding’s modest home, china flies off the shelves, eggs fly through the air; stolen jewellery appears on her fingers, white mice crawl out of her handbag, beetles appear from under her gloves; in the middle of a car journey, a terrapin materialises on her lap. Nandor Fodor – a Jewish-Hungarian refugee and chief ghost hunter for the International Institute for Psychical Research – reads of the case, and hastens to the scene of the haunting. But when Fodor starts his scrupulous investigation, he discovers that the case is even stranger than it seems. By unravelling Alma’s peculiar history, he finds a different and darker type of haunting: trauma, alienation, loss – and the foreshadowing of a nation’s worst fears. As the spectre of Fascism lengthens over Europe, and as Fodor’s obsession with the case deepens, Alma becomes ever more disturbed. With rigour, daring and insight, the award-winning pioneer of non-fiction writing Kate Summerscale shadows Fodor’s enquiry, delving into long-hidden archives to find the human story behind a very modern haunting.

REVIEW:
I am so on the fence about this one. The story was interesting. I found the investigation interesting too. But the writing! Holy crud that is hard to read.

I love ghost stories. And I expected this to be more of the ghost story than an oversized article with facts.

Honestly, I am still trying to figure out what I just read.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

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Kimberly reviews The Bookstore On The Beach by Brenda Novak

TITLE: The Bookstore On The Beach
CHARACTERS: Autumn Divac
AUTHOR: Brenda Novak
PUBLICATION DATE: 04/06/21
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:

How do you start a new chapter of your life when you haven’t closed the book on the previous one?

Eighteen months ago, Autumn Divac’s husband went missing. Her desperate search has yielded no answers, and she can’t imagine moving forward without him. But for the sake of their two teenage children, she has to try.

Autumn takes her kids home for the summer to the charming beachside town where she was raised. She seeks comfort working alongside her mother and aunt at their bookshop, only to learn that her daughter is facing a huge life change and her mother has been hiding a terrible secret for years. And when she runs into the boy who stole her heart in high school, old feelings start to bubble up again. Is she free to love him, or should she hold out hope for her husband’s return? She can only trust her heart…and hope it won’t lead her astray.

REVIEW:
I am a fan of Novak’s. I won’t say I have read everything she has ever written but I have read books of hers that I really enjoyed. This was not one of them.

Honestly, there is just so much in this book that it becomes unbelievable. Yes, a family can have bad times when it feels like everything is on their shoulders but it really isn’t. In this book it is. I mean everything was thrown at the family including the kitchen sink.

I would have been happy with this book being much shorter. There was a lot in the middle that was filler, in my opinion. I liked the beginning and came back in for the end but the middle was just too long.

I really felt the connection between the mother and son. I felt each word of love she said to him as I have said the same to my son.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

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Kimberly reviews Triple M Murder by Carmen Cady

TITLE: Triple M Murder
SERIES #: Jack Calloway Thriller #1
CHARACTERS: Jack Calloway
AUTHOR: Carmen Cady
PUBLICATION DATE: 03/21/21
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
A sadistic murderer. A grieving investigator with a dark secret. A desperate race to save lives and clear his name.

Jack Calloway, a private investigator, and criminal profiler witnessed the brutal murder of his family. Years later, driven by guilt and grief, he’s pulled to find justice. Called on by law enforcement agencies across the country, Jack’s on a mission to catch violent offenders. But when a serial killer from Jack’s antebellum past catches up to him in Seattle, he finds himself in a no-win situation. The killer has deliberately set Jack up to take the fall.

Now, he must work with a forensic expert—the woman he loved and pushed away, and a lead detective who can’t stand him. As if those aren’t enough problems—Jack carries a secret that could cost him everything.

Will Jack find this killer and clear his name before it’s too late?

REVIEW:
This book was just odd for me. It’s not that I didn’t like it but I wouldn’t say I loved it. The story is interesting. And I think it had a lot of potential. But there were some things I did not like.

First the good, I liked the suspense and it kept me interested to figure out the who-dun-it. I thought the romance of the story was done well and not over the top. I thought it was right to how people would feel who once had a connection but now have to work together.

Now the other part. First I hated, HATED, the way the women are portrayed in this story. I mean seriously the sexism in the story was distracting. If it had been set a different time it would have made more sense but it is not and women are not sex objects.

There were times it felt the author was saying 15 words for 3 to fill in pages. A number of things/people were overly explained for no reason.

I will read the next in the series to see if the first was overly written to explain the new characters but I am not sure how much of a fan I will be.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.