Category: Suspense

TITLE: Such A Good Girl
SERIES #: Eva Rae Thomas Mysteries #9
CHARACTERS: Eva Rae Thomas
AUTHOR: Willow Rose
PUBLICATION DATE: 06/23/21
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
FBI-profiler Eva Rae Thomas faces a devious plan in bestselling author Willow Rose’s blood-rushing thriller of murder and revenge.

A girl falls from the penthouse floor of an apartment in Washington, D.C.

Media Mogul Richard Wanton owns the apartment and is seen standing on the balcony when the girl falls.

He is accused of killing her, but the FBI is struggling to find enough solid evidence to convict him.

They have a witness, someone who was in the apartment when it happened, but she doesn’t want to talk to them.

She’ll only speak to one person, ex-FBI profiler Eva Rae Thomas. The problem is, Eva Rae Thomas has no interest in talking to her.

As a matter of fact, she’d rather see this woman dead than have to face her.

But Eva Rae Thomas isn’t someone who can leave a case alone, especially not when she starts to ask questions and things aren’t adding up.

As she digs in deeper—with the entire world watching—she soon finds herself in too deep and realizes she can’t trust anyone’s motives.

But by then, it is too late, and the killer is already tracking her down.

REVIEW:
3.5 Hearts I will be honest. I asked for all the books that Willow Rose recently put on NetGalley hoping I had found a new author. I got the first in this series and wasn’t sure about the writing. Then this one is #9. I will say I can tell the author has matured in her writing style and I appreciate that but I am just not sure that this author is for me.

Of the number of series I requested this is my favorite by Rose. I am just not sure that I would run out and pick up the books in the series I have not read.

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

TITLE: Dead Sorry
SERIES #: Calladine & Bayliss #11
CHARACTERS: Calladine & Bayliss
AUTHOR: Helen H Durrant
PUBLICATION DATE: 06/17/21
ORDER LINKS: Amazon

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
Looking for a brilliant best-selling crime mystery with great detectives?

THE PAST COMES BACK TO HAUNT THEM

Twenty-five years ago a schoolgirl was attacked by three bullies in her home where she lived with her grandmother.

Now, the mother of one of those bullies is found murdered on the Hobfield housing estate. Written on the wall in the victim’s blood is the word, “sorry.”

There is a link to the discovery of bones at an old house up in the hills — the home of the teenage girl who was attacked.

Detective Tom Calladine and his partner DS Ruth Bayliss have more than this puzzling case on their hands. Arch-villain Lazarov is threatening Calladine’s granddaughter and a valuable hoard of Celtic gold is coming to a local museum.

The pressure is on, and this time Calladine is cracking . . .

Discover an absolutely unputdownable crime thriller from a best-selling author.

If you like Angela Marsons, Rachel Abbott, Mel Sherratt, Ruth Rendell, or Mark Billingham you will enjoy this exciting new crime fiction writer.

DEAD SORRY is book eleven of a new series of detective thrillers featuring DS Ruth Bayliss and DI Tom Calladine.

REVIEW:
3.75 Hearts So here is the deal. I didn’t realize this was part of a series and then to realize it was the 11th in the series made it a bit difficult to read. I felt like I should have known the characters already but didn’t. That being said, the suspense of it can be read as a stand alone.

I hadn’t read anything by this author that I can recall so I was unfamiliar with the flow of the author. So when I thought I had it figured out and kept thinking “How do they not know?” I was pleasantly surprised to realize I actually didn’t know at all. And that makes me like a book

I think I would really enjoy this series and plan on reading more.

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

TITLE: The Killer In The Snow
SERIES #: DI JamesWalker #2
CHARACTERS: James Walker
AUTHOR: Alex Pine
PUBLICATION DATE: 10/26/21
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
The first fall of snow can be fatal…

A year has passed since DI James Walker cracked his biggest case yet, and he’s hoping for peace and quiet this festive season.

But across the fells, a local farmer returns home on Christmas Eve to find footsteps in the fresh snow that lead down to his unused basement – and no footsteps leading away. Days later, his body is found, alongside those of his wife and daughter.

Without a neighbour for miles, there are no witnesses and little evidence. And the crime scene has strange echoes of another terrible murder committed at the farmhouse, twenty years earlier…

James knows that to catch this killer, he needs to solve a case that has long since gone cold…

Perfect for fans of smash-hit TV series Whitehouse Farm, Simon McCleave’s The Snowdonia Killings and Catherine Cooper’s The Chalet.

REVIEW:
This is the second in the series. In this one James has to open up a cold case to solve a recent one.

I thought the concept of having to solve a decades old case to solve a recent one was great. I enjoyed the suspense part of the story.

However, I find it really hard to want to read these books. I am not a fan of the writing of Alex Pine. I wanted to give him a second chance but I still had a hard time. It might be the London influence but there doesn’t seem to be any emotions in the writing. It is very monotone to me.

I am not sure I will pick up book 3 but it might depend on the synopsis and give the series another try.

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

TITLE: Blood Red Winter
CHARACTERS: Trent & Aria #1
AUTHOR: J.A. Conrad
PUBLICATION DATE: 06/08/21
ORDER LINKS: Amazon

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
No good deed goes unpunished…

Two months after his fiancée, Elizabeth Reinhardt, leaves him with no explanation, broken and confused, Trent Lemend is forced to pack up and start over in rural Georgetown, Texas. Believing his life could get no worse, Trent attempts to bury the inner demons of his past.

But when he stumbles upon a terrifying crime scene, Trent’s troubles are only just beginning. Discovering that one of the victims, an emaciated, blood-covered woman, is still alive, changes his life in ways he never thought possible.

Saving the woman destroys all that he’s ever known. Suddenly, as a witness, he’s the killer’s number one target. With the murderer on the loose, nobody is safe–especially Elizabeth, the only woman he’s ever loved. Now, it’s up to Trent to save his ex and reclaim his life. But will he discover a dangerous dark side of his own?

REVIEW:
I am so on the fence about this story. I enjoy stories I do not know the end to but then again I want some clues. I enjoyed most of the characters but BFF was written as if the author kept forgetting who the character was. The story was fast moving and a quick read but some of it was so far from realistic I skipped over sections. See why I am on the fence?

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

TITLE: Find Me In The Dark
SERIES #: Det Harlow Durant #1
CHARACTERS: Harlow & Lucas
AUTHOR: Dea Poirier
PUBLICATION DATE: 10/21/21
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
My father’s path was one I never wanted to walk, but here I am, following drops of blood like a crumb trail left in the woods. I was born of murder, my life built on the bones of a prolific killer. And now, I must atone for sins that should not be mine to bear.

Detective Harlow Durant has spent a lifetime trying to escape the shadows of her tormented past. As the daughter of a convicted serial killer, Harlow was determined to turn her life around and is now the only female detective at the New York Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation, bringing killers like her father to justice.

Upstate, in the small college town of Plattsburgh, the body of a young woman has been found inside a melting snowbank. Harlow and her partner Detective Lucas Park are immediately called in to investigate. Searching around the victim’s frozen body, they find a bracelet which identifies her as college student Alyssa Trent.

As Harlow and Lucas begin to gather evidence from the town’s shocked community, the snow continues to thaw and soon another two victims are discovered. With the body count rising fast it is clear that Harlow is hunting a serial killer. But what links these seemingly ordinary young women?

With a town living in fear and a killer at large, Harlow receives a chilling message from someone who knows her father’s case and knows the secret she has hidden from the bureau. Is she being warned off the case? And with a freak April snowstorm heading across the state, will Harlow risk everything to stop a killer dead in their tracks before they strike again?

REVIEW:
2.75 Hearts This book was just not for me. The cop part of it was fine. The main characters are fine. The story is not really original but written fine. So the story should be “fine” right? Not really.

First off, the story is very dark and violent. So many details that seem to have been written in just to shock the reader. And the other thing I didn’t like much was the “man hating” attitude. It seems that Harlow believes most men have abused women or deep down hate women in some way. She is written to hate men but blames it on men hating women.

This book was just too much. Too much detail, too much man bashing and too much violence.

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

TITLE: Sleepless
CHARACTERS: Nadja & Laura
AUTHOR: Romy Hausmann
PUBLICATION DATE: 10/19/21
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
It’s been years since Nadja Kulka was convicted of a cruel crime. After being released from prison, she’s wanted nothing more than to live a normal life: nice flat, steady job, even a few friends. But when one of those friends, Laura von Hoven–free-spirited beauty and wife of Nadja’s boss–kills her lover and begs Nadja for her help, Nadja can’t seem to refuse.

The two women make for a remote house in the woods, the perfect place to bury a body. But their plan quickly falls apart and Nadja finds herself outplayed, a pawn in a bizarre game in which she is both the perfect victim and the perfect murderer…

REVIEW:
2.5 Hearts Ok I just didn’t get it. This book was so jumbled that I had a hard time following everything.

The story of Nadja is back and forth of what happened to her when she was convicted. Now she wants a normal quiet life so why in the world would she help a friend (or is she?) deal with the lover she killed. Why can’t she say “I can keep quiet but I am not helping you?”

And then when they go hide even more happens. And none of it makes sense to me. I just kept thinking “Why? Why is Nadja doing this? And why am I still reading?”

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

TITLE: Over My Dead Body
SERIES #: Det. William Warwick #4
CHARACTERS: Det Warwick
AUTHOR: Jeffrey Archer
PUBLICATION DATE: 10/19/21
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
An unputdownable story of murder, revenge and betrayal from international number one bestseller Jeffrey Archer.

THE CLOCK IS TICKING IN THIS ROLLERCOASTER RIDE OF A THRILLER…

In London, the Metropolitan Police set up a new Unsolved Murders Unit—a cold case squad—to catch the criminals nobody else can.

In Geneva, millionaire art collector Miles Faulkner—convicted of forgery and theft—was pronounced dead two months ago. So why is his unscrupulous lawyer still representing a dead client?

On a luxury liner en route to New York, the battle for power at the heart of a wealthy dynasty is about to turn to murder.

And at the heart of all three investigations are Detective Chief Inspector William Warwick, rising star of the department, and ex-undercover agent Ross Hogan, brought in from the cold.

But can they catch the killers before it’s too late?

REVIEW:
3.5 Hearts This is the 4th in the series and I have now read three of them (missed #2).

OK, here is the thing about this book. It is so busy! There is so much going on that it is honestly hard to keep track of. The stories (yes multiple) that are going on are interesting in their own right but it moves so fast and switches between the cases that I felt I needed a notebook.

Archer is a great writer and I enjoy his books so maybe I wasn’t ready to have my mind so filled with details that it threw me off a bit. With that being said I wanted to know everything. I didn’t want to put it down even though when I did I found myself reviewing who was who.

Another good story by Archer. And I look forward to more in the series.

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

TITLE: Don’t Lie To Me
SERIES #: Eva Rae Thomas Mystery #1
CHARACTERS: Eva Rae Thomas
AUTHOR: Willow Rose
PUBLICATION DATE: 04/15/19
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
When twelve-year-old Sophie Williams went on a Girl Scout summer camp, she never returned home.

Three months later, her body is found inside her sleeping bag in the most frequented area of Cocoa Beach, and the town is outraged.

The girl isn’t just any child. She’s the town’s most beloved surf idol, and it was believed that she could be the next Kelly Slater.

As another child, the son of a well-known senator is kidnapped, and the parents receive a disturbing video, FBI profiler Eva Rae Thomas — who has just returned to her hometown, divorced and out of a job — plunges into the investigation, breaking her promise to her children not to do police work again.

Local law enforcement, with her old flame Matt Miller in charge, are the ones who ask for her help in a case so unsettling that only she can solve it. But the deeper they dig, the deadlier it becomes for Matt and Eva Rae. Soon, everyone she holds dear is in grave danger as this case hits a little too close to home.

DON’T LIE TO ME is the first book in the Eva Rae Thomas Mystery Series and can be read as a standalone.

REVIEW:
2.5 Hearts NetGalley had a number of books by this author so I thought I would request the first in each series. I almost wish I hadn’t. There is just something off about the writing style of this author. Her writing is all over the place. It never seems to flow.

There are a lot of the same things going on. Kidnappings, murders and then the ending just didn’t jive with the story.

Just not my cup of tea.

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

TITLE: The Family Tree
CHARACTERS: Liz Catalano
AUTHOR: Steph Millin & Nicole Mabry
PUBLICATION DATE: 10/05/21
ORDER LINKS: Amazon  | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
The DNA results are back. And there’s a serial killer in her family tree…

Liz Catalano is shocked when an ancestry kit reveals she’s adopted. But she could never have imagined connecting with her unknown family would plunge her into an FBI investigation of a notorious serial killer…

The Tri-State Killer has been abducting pairs of women for forty years, leaving no clues behind – only bodies.

Can Liz figure out who the killer in her new family is? And can she save his newest victims before it’s too late?

A gripping, original thriller for fans of My Lovely Wife, Netflix’s Making a Murderer, and anyone who’s ever wondered what their family tree might be hiding…

REVIEW:
What an interesting concept. As one who found a never known sister via DNA testing I can actually picture something like this happening. You find out you have a relative but you do not know who that person “really” is.

I enjoyed the story and the writing. Yes there were a few things I would have enjoyed if it was different but to me even thinking that way makes me realize I had a stake in the story.

I am sure more and more books will be coming out about the DNA/Ancestry link since it is becoming so common in the world today but I really enjoyed this new foray into the new science.

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

TITLE: Deadly Games
CHARACTERS: Clay
AUTHOR: Steve Frech
PUBLICATION DATE: 10/05/21
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
I know everything about you.

I know your name, your birthday, your kids’ names, where you live, where you work. I know when you get that big promotion, or when you argue with your spouse.

But someone knows everything about me too. Someone knows all my secrets and they’re using them against me. They’re setting me up.

The police think I murdered Emily Parker. To prove my innocence I need to find the real killer.

I need to beat him at his own game.

REVIEW:
3.5 Hearts This is one of those books that I just do not know how to rate. I liked it and yet I didn’t.

I really liked the characters. I found them very detailed and seemed as though if they were real I might go to the bar and meet up with them. I liked Clay and Genevieve a lot.

BUT… I really wasn’t overly impressed with the story. I found the story to be a bit draggy in some parts and quite a bit obvious. I had the murderer pretty much narrowed down to two and then once I decided “who-dun-it” I was right. And honestly I prefer to be surprised.

Maybe if I didn’t read as much as I do I would have enjoyed it more but it just seemed all too familiar of a story.

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

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