Category: Review Sunday

TITLE: The Kaiser’s Web
SERIES #: Cotton Malone #16
CHARACTERS: Cotton Malone
AUTHOR: Steve Berry
PUBLICATION DATE: 02/23/21
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
In New York Times bestseller Steve Berry’s latest Cotton Malone adventure, a secret dossier from a World War II-era Soviet spy comes to light containing information that, if proven true, would not only rewrite history — it could impact Germany’s upcoming national elections and forever alter the political landscape of Europe.

Two candidates are vying to become Chancellor of Germany. One is a patriot having served for the past sixteen years, the other a usurper, stoking the flames of nationalistic hate. Both harbor secrets, but only one knows the truth about the other. They are on a collision course, all turning on the events of one fateful day — April 30, 1945 — and what happened deep beneath Berlin in the Fürherbunker. Did Adolph Hitler and Eva Braun die there? Did Martin Bormann, Hitler’s close confidant, manage to escape? And, even more important, where did billions in Nazi wealth disappear to in the waning days of World War II? The answers to these questions will determine who becomes the next Chancellor of Germany.

From the mysterious Chilean lake district, to the dangerous mesas of South Africa, and finally into the secret vaults of Switzerland, former-Justice Department agent Cotton Malone discovers the truth about the fates of Hitler, Braun, and Bormann. Revelations that could not only transform Europe, but finally expose a mystery known as the Kaiser’s web.

REVIEW:
3.75 Hearts This is the 16th in the Cotton Malone series and I will admit that I have been in and out of this series but each time I come back it is an educational and enjoyable read.

The thing about the Cotton Malone books is you have to enjoy political reads. While there is real history and political imagination you need to be open to the political element.

Berry drags you in with his first words. He has his hand in the political field.

Worth the read and you can read each book as a stand alone but having the history of the characters is worth reading the entire series.

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

TITLE: Distrust
CHARACTERS: Eve & Reuben
AUTHOR: Lisa Jackson
PUBLICATION DATE: 02/23/21
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jackson comes a pulse-pounding novel featuring two of her most acclaimed characters, New Orleans detectives Rick Bentz and Reuben Montoya–as a series of ritual slayings draw a psychology student back to a decaying asylum…

Eve Renner loved Cole Dennis–until the moment he tried to kill her. That was three months ago, when Eve was lured to a cabin where she found an old friend brutally murdered. Eve is almost positive it was Cole’s face she saw right before she was shot. But her memories were too shaky to stand up to trial. Cole is a free man again. And a new string of killings has begun.

The murders all link back to Our Lady of Virtues, the asylum where Eve’s father worked as a doctor. She wandered those hallways as a child, exploring hidden rooms and chambers, too young to understand what was happening there. Now, with every victim found, each body tattooed with a number, the pieces of a deadly puzzle fall into place–and all point back to Eve and the ruins of the once-grand hospital.

Detective Reuben Montoya and his partner, Rick Bentz, once convinced of Cole’s guilt, now suspect a deeper evil at work. Eve knows she has little choice but to return to Our Lady of Virtues–and to trust Cole in her search for answers. But as Eve’s memories gradually return, they only lead her closer to danger, toward the final, meticulously planned act of a killer obsessed with vengeance–and with her.

REVIEW:
3.5 Hearts This is two stories previously released but now released together in this story.

I can not recall ever reading a Lisa Jackson book before. There was a lot of suspense. Here is the thing, these stories are very different. I think readers will find they like one more than the other.

In my case I liked the first story more than the second. The characters in both stories were well written and the suspense was interesting.

I am not sure I will become a huge fan of Jackson’s but I can understand why others may be.

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

TITLE: Turning Point
CHARACTERS: Det Ernest Neville
AUTHOR: Jeffery Deaver
PUBLICATION DATE: 01/19/21
ORDER LINKS: Amazon

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
International bestselling author Jeffery Deaver delivers surprise after alarming surprise in an ingenious story about a serial killer, a detective, and a twisting duel of wits.

A serial killer is trolling a midwestern suburb. His tools: a hammer, a screwdriver, floral wire, a kitchen knife and, to complete his errand, a Russian nesting doll left behind as a calling card. From one grisly crime scene to the next, Detective Ernest Neville and his Russian Doll Killer task force follow. With few leads and his career on the line, Neville is driven to desperate measures to get to the core of this diabolical puzzle. Layer by layer, he’s getting closer to the final piece. Yet the only thing that’s certain in this game is the unexpected, and as citizens are targeted by one of the most reprehensible characters the idyllic town has ever seen, Neville can only wonder if his efforts will end in disaster—for himself, for his family and for the people he’s sworn to protect.

REVIEW:
3.5 Hearts This is a very short story only about 60 pages. I have been a fan of Deaver for a number of years and I liked this story as much as her usual novels. There is a lot in these few pages. Killers and Detective Neville’s family in danger at one point and leaving Russian Stacking Dolls.

Because this is so short it is almost like Deaver had this story in his mind but it just wasn’t going anywhere so he gave us a short story between novels.

Worth the read.

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

TITLE: Die Next
CHARACTERS: Zack & Joey
AUTHOR: Jonathan Stone
PUBLICATION DATE: 04/14/20
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
From bestselling author Jonathan Stone comes a pulse-pounding thriller for the digital age that will make you question everything that you have ever saved on your phone.
In a crowded coffee shop, Zack Yellin swaps identical-looking cell phones with the businessman next to him. It’s an honest mistake-and a deadly one. Because the “businessman” is actually a professional-and highly volatile-hit man named Joey Richter, and his phone is filled with bombshell evidence.
If Zack takes Joey’s phone to the police, will they believe his swapped cell phone story? Would they even be able to protect him? Because the hit man now has Zack’s phone with the phone numbers and addresses of Zack’s new girlfrienhttps://books-n-kisses.com/wp-admin/post-new.php#edit_timestampd Emily, his best friend Steve, and all the texts and information from Zack’s life.

Whether Zack keeps the phone or ditches it, Joey will kill him for what he now knows. In cat-and-mouse twists, turns, and continually mounting terror, one thing is clear: Zack is next on the hit man’s list.

REVIEW:
So here is how I had to deal with this book. I really liked the beginning, the middle was the same thing over and over until I only read the conversations and skipped over the paragraphs without dialogue, and then I read the end to figure out what happened. That is really the only way I could get through it.

I really liked the idea. A hit man and an everyday man accidentally switch phones and the everyday man learns more than he should about who is going to “Die Next”. Like the synopsis says… Even if the police believe that this was an accidental switch when the hit man finds out he has all the information about his life in the phone he has. I mean isn’t our whole world in our phones?

But then the fillers started. The repeats of wording, the overly wordy descriptions, etc. But then I wanted to know how it ended so I popped back in towards the end.

This story had a lot of potential. Just too much time just to fill pages.

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

TITLE: Can You See Her?
CHARACTERS: Rachel Ryder
AUTHOR: S.E. Lynes
PUBLICATION DATE: 04/22/20
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
What would you do if no-one was watching?

Rachel is afraid she may have done something terrible. She’s sitting in a room, being asked whether she killed someone.

She doesn’t understand how her life has changed so completely. When she was younger, heads would turn when she walked into a room. Her children needed her; her husband adored her.

But somehow the years wore that all away. She was so busy raising her children, looking after her parents, that the woman who used to be Rachel Ryder, whose husband told her she was out of his league, now quietly washes his clothes and makes his dinner, and can walk into a room without anyone knowing she’s there.

She knows that she thought: what would it take for you to see me again? What if I did something no-one thought I was capable of?

REVIEW:
I was pleasantly surprised how good this book was. We have all felt invisible to others around us. But the question is what would you do with your life? What would happen if while you were feeling invisible you were losing some periods of time that are blacked out in your mind. What in the world is happening? Now she is a suspect in murder.

This book was so bizarrely written that it was intriguing. Rachel is telling her story at times but there other parts of the book are by the forensic psychiatrist who is interviewing Rachel and all the other characters in the book which are so enjoyable to read.

It took a little bit to get into it and understand the flow but once you take the time you will not be disappointed. If I didn’t know better I would think it is a true crime book. Wonderful read!

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