Category: Review Sunday

TITLE: The House Of Secrets
CHARACTERS: Hazel Nash
AUTHOR: Brad Meltzer & Tod Goldberg
PUBLICATION DATE: 06/07/16
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
A priceless book, hidden in a corpse.
A family secret, handed down through generations.
And a woman with no memory of her past.

#1 bestselling author Brad Meltzer returns with THE HOUSE OF SECRETS

When Hazel Nash was six years old, her father taught her: mysteries need to be solved. He should know. Hazel’s father is Jack Nash, the host of America’s favorite conspiracy TV show, The House of Secrets.

Even as a child, she loved hearing her dad’s tall tales, especially the one about a leather book belonging to Benedict Arnold that was hidden in a corpse.

Now, years later, Hazel wakes up in the hospital and remembers nothing, not even her own name. She’s told she’s been in a car accident that killed her father and injured her brother. But she can’t remember any of it, because of her own traumatic brain injury. Then a man from the FBI shows up, asking questions about her dad-and about his connection to the corpse of a man found with an object stuffed into his chest: a priceless book that belonged to Benedict Arnold.

Back at her house, Hazel finds guns that she doesn’t remember owning. On her forehead, she sees scars from fights she can’t recall. Most important, the more Hazel digs, the less she likes the person she seems to have been.

Trying to put together the puzzle pieces of her past and present, Hazel Nash needs to figure out who killed this man-and how the book wound up in his chest. The answer will tell her the truth about her father, what he was really doing for the government-and who Hazel really is.

Mysteries need to be solved. Especially the ones about yourself.

REVIEW:
4.25 Hearts Have you ever read a Brad Meltzer book? If not I wonder why. He is a wonderful writer of history mixed with suspense. In this story we meet Hazel Nash who can’t remember who she is but there is a mystery regarding her father and a corpse with a bit of history stuffed in his body.

I really liked Hazel. She is so strong and independent even while facing these extraordinary circumstance. I also love a suspense that I can’t figure out. If a suspense novel keeps me up trying to figure out who did it or what will happen next then to me it is worth the read.

I really hope this is the beginning of a new series which it seems like it is. Worth the read… but then Meltzer always is.

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

TITLE: Field Of Graves
SERIES #: Taylor Jackson #8
CHARACTERS: Taylor Jackson
AUTHOR: J.T. Ellison
PUBLICATION DATE: 06/14/16
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
All of Nashville is on edge with a serial killer on the loose. A madman is trying to create his own end-of-days apocalypse and the cops trying to catch him are almost as damaged as the killer. Field of Graves reveals the origins of some of J.T. Ellison’s most famous creations: the haunted Lieutenant Taylor Jackson; her blunt, exceptional best friend, medical examiner Dr. Samantha Owens; and troubled FBI profiler Dr. John Baldwin. Together, they race the clock and their own demons to find the killer before he claims yet another victim. This dark, thrilling and utterly compelling novel will have readers on the edge of their seats, and Ellison’s fans will be delighted with the revelations about their favorite characters.

REVIEW:
This is the eighth in the series and I do not recall reading others by this author but I found this book to be very interesting. It is a bit dark but still very good.

The thing about this book is the killer. He is really someone that can get into your head. He has a bit of evil in him but yet also has a medical condition so it makes the reader wonder what is really going on.

If you enjoy a great psychological thriller this is sure to keep your attention.

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

TITLE: Seven Days Dead
SERIES #: The Storm Murders Trilogy #2
CHARACTERS: Emile Cinq-Mars
AUTHOR: John Farrow
PUBLICATION DATE: 05/24/16
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
Acclaimed novelist Trevor Ferguson writing as John Farrow continues his Storm Murders series–set in storm ravaged locations and featuring retired detective Emile Cinq-Mars.

In Seven Days Dead, a woman races in a small boat through a torrential sea storm to Grand Manan island, located off the coast of Maine. She is determined to reach her dying father’s bedside. Meanwhile, Detective Cinq-Mars is enjoying a vacation on the island with his wife until he’s caught up in the investigation of a murder. Long-held secrets start to emerge, and Cinq-Mars begins to wonder if the dying father and the other death are related.

The Storm Murders, the previous book in the series, received starred reviews from Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, and Kirkus Reviews. Bookpage said, “This terrific story, with sympathetic characters and Farrow’s crisp prose, is some of the best fiction to come out of Canada. Louise Penny won’t be bumped off the podium, but she’ll have to clear some space next to her.” Seven Days Dead may very well get even better reviews.

REVIEW:
I have not read the first in the series and maybe having a bit of background would have helped but the book was fine to read without the first one. Now that being said the story starts a bit slow and I wondered if it would have helped to read the first one but then I realized it is just how the author writes. So I stuck with it and I am glad I did.

One of the things I enjoy with suspense novels is not figuring it out. Yes I want to try to figure out what will happen or “Who-dun-it” but I like to be surprised and have it turned on me. And this book did that. Maybe it was because I never connected with Emile but either way I enjoyed it. I was surprised a number of times, which I enjoyed.

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

TITLE: The Shark
SERIES #: Forgotten Files #1
CHARACTERS: Riley & Clay
AUTHOR: Mary Burton
PUBLICATION DATE: 05/24/16
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
At the grisly murder scene of a teen prostitute, Virginia state trooper Riley Tatum’s past roars back to haunt her. When she was a teenage runaway, she was kidnapped, drugged, and left unconscious on the streets. She has no memories of what happened, only strange recurring dreams of two men playing cards.

Former FBI agent Clay Bowman, Riley’s old flame, is Shield Security’s newest member. He’s plagued by the unsolved case of a serial killer nicknamed the Shark who murdered girls as part of a sadistic poker game. Only one girl survived. With the Shark now bent on evening that score, Clay has a chilling suspicion: Riley is the girl who escaped the Shark’s deadly amusement—and she is his next prey.

As the Shark gets ready to play his hand, can Riley and Clay stop him—or will this killer finally claim the one who got away?

REVIEW:
3.5 Hearts So I have recently found Mary Burton and have mostly enjoyed her books. The problem is the MO of her stories. They are all pretty much the same. Yes the storyline is different and the characters and their backgrounds, etc but the outline is pretty much the same.

Now that being said the story was interesting. Riley is the main character and she wants to find the serial killer before he strikes again and her past is the key to the mystery. Her old flame is there to help out.

Will this end up being a favorite book? Probably not. But don’t let this book define all the books by Mary Burton.

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