#BookReview: The Reaper Follows by Heather Graham

Copaganda Mars Exciting Series Finale. If you read my review of Danger In Numbers (Book 1 of this series), you’ll see that I read this series *completely* out of order… and yet it still somehow makes sense, even the way I read it. So take that comment however you will.

That noted, this was absolutely one of those tales where it seems like prior key characters are coming out of the woodwork to all join in the chase to the finale and the ultimate showdown of Good vs Evil in the Florida Everglades… but *who is it*? 😉

The pacing was solid, the murders gruesome, the mystery good enough, but ultimately what mars this tale is what another reviewer called the “love fest” between all the police agencies involved. Local, State, and Feds all get along perfectly (which goes against what virtually *every other source*, fictional and non, tends to say), and worse for this former anti-police brutality activist is just how often some cop shoots someone “but was forced into it” and “didn’t want to”. Bullshit. Police brutality is an all too real thing in this nation, and Graham exposes herself as just another Copaganda bullshit spewer that thinks that all cops are always saints and everyone in their crosshairs somehow “deserves it”, no matter what. This leaves a very sour aftertaste to an otherwise thrilling conclusion to the series.

This series had great promise, and *is* a legitimately solid enough story, particularly for those who agree with Graham’s position on policing in America, but it could have been *so much more*. Still, even with all of the Copaganda, this really was a fun read and is very much recommended.

This review of The Reaper Follows by Heather Graham was originally written on March 15, 2024.

#BookReview: Danger In Numbers by Heather Graham

When You Can Read A Series Out Of Order And It Still Somehow Make Sense. Seriously, I don’t know what to say about a book series that you can read it completely out of order- as I will have, when I read book 3, Shadow of Death – and it still actually make sense. I read Book 2, Crimson Summer, as an ARC in 2022. Going in to read Book 4, The Reaper Follows, for an ARC due in a couple of weeks, I picked up what I *thought* was Book 3 but turned out, as I found out getting ready to write this review, to be Book 1. Yet I’ve now already read The Reaper Follows immediately after reading this book… and yet somehow it still manages to make perfect sense to me? As in, there were no callouts that I was blatantly missing in this book to book 3? Though perhaps it was a detail thing about toy horses and island vacations, as it could in theory be possible to end each book with both of those and begin each subsequent book with both of those, but different particulars?

Regardless of all of the above, this was a fast paced compelling creepy mystery set in and around the Florida Everglades, and it worked quite well on several levels. I thought it was thoroughly enjoyable – one of *very* few books I’ve read of late in one sitting without really stopping. (Which could in part be due to how I was trying to squeeze both this book and The Reaper Follows in with barely 48 hrs before I left before a week long vacation, and actually finished both books within about 30 hrs of starting this one.)

Overall I thought this tale was fun, interesting, and pretty well everything I expect from an action-packed mystery/ thriller. Very much recommended.

This review of Danger In Numbers by Heather Graham was originally written on March 15, 2024.

#BookReview: Everyone Is Watching by Heather Gudenkauf

Solid Mystery Lacks Real World Punch Of Other Similar Works. At this point, we’ve all read some variant of some mystery set in and around the world of reality television, right? This is truly a solid tale of its type, so far as it goes, so even if you haven’t read one, this is a good one to start with there.

I’m not sure if a certain aspect of the tale was *meant* to be picked up on early or if I (and apparently a few other reviewers) just *did*, but to me if that particular aspect was supposed to be a “twist”, it was about as curvy as say the bend in the US coastline from roughly Charleston to roughly Jacksonville – ie, easily seen from orbit without much effort at all.

The thing blatantly missing – or perhaps it was so subtle that even I simply missed it within this text, as other reviewers have said they loved its presence – was the lack of any actual social commentary baked in to the tale of “reality television”, as most in this space tend to have to some degree or another. While I’m glad there was no heavy handed preaching on the subject – no matter the view the author was trying to convey – I do wish that there had been *some*, or perhaps, again, at least some that was more obvious and memorable.

Outside of those two aspects though, this really was a fun and solid mystery of its type, maybe not quite as hard hitting as some of Gudenkauf’s previous works, but that is also ok – sometimes both the writer and the reader need a chance to simply enjoy a tale without having to think too hard or without having emotional strings pulled too heart or without too much strain on the heart re: pulse and blood pressure. Not to say that this tale is bland, it absolutely is not. It just isn’t *as* intensive as Gudenkauf’s prior books – akin to an “easy” 5K at half of your normal running pace while training for a half marathon. You’re still getting a good workout, it simply isn’t anywhere near the intensity that could hurt you. 😀

Overall an enjoyable work and a solid one given its premise. Very much recommended.

This review of Everyone Is Watching by Heather Gudenkauf was originally written on March 15, 2024.

#BookReview: Watch It Burn by Kristen Bird

Small Town Southern Mystery Reminiscent of Malibu Rising. As I begin to think about this book and my experience with it, Malibu Rising keeps coming to mind – which, given that *that* book was a bestseller, tends to be a favorable comparison for this book – or so Ms. Bird likely hopes. Up front, this book does have several different POVs, which is clearly something some readers don’t enjoy. So if you’re one of those, know this book probably isn’t for you. That noted, Ms. Bird actually uses those POVs quite effectively, with the grandma character very much feeling like an old school small town Southern grandma, particularly of the “knows everybody and their business” variety. On some other aspects, at times the tale gets perhaps a bit *too* blatant in its commentary, seemingly coming millimeters from using the actual names (NXVIM, Allison Mack, etc) it is referring to. At other points, it is perhaps a touch too *obtuse*, at times using a few dozen words when a single word or short phrase would have worked just as well.

But ultimately this was a fun book that managed to keep the pacing and mystery solid enough to be entertaining without being so serious and deep as to be dragging. The surprises were done well and the villains were sufficiently creepy, and the humor was just enough to keep everything refreshing. Very much recommended.

This review of Watch It Burn by Kristen Bird was originally written on March 14, 2024.

#BlogTour: Her Last Hour by B.R. Spangler

For this blog tour, we’re looking at a compelling police procedural with a crime so horrific it would make even Aloysius Pendergast gasp. For this blog tour, we’re looking at Her Last Hour by B.R. Spangler.

Here’s what I had to say on the review sites (Hardcover.app, TheStoryGraph, BookHype, Goodreads):

Continual Innovation Compels Series Further. This is the first book in this series in a while to have some real innovation both in how the crime happens and in the domestic side of the police procedural format, and both the book at hand and overall series are that much stronger for it. This is one of those tales that tells a complete tale… and yet you’re going to be clamoring for the next book immediately, though in a very different way that prior books, including Their Resting Place earlier in this series. Truly one of the more horrific crimes of a series that has had some particularly innovative and horrifying crimes, nearly on a level that would make even Aloysius Pendergast gasp. And yet as always Spangler does a remarkable job balancing the crime and investigation with the domestic elements, and here makes both sides of the story equally compelling and exciting.

Overall yet another strong entrant in a strong series. Very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book description, author bio, and social media and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: Her Last Hour by B.R. Spangler”

#BlogTour: A Step Past Darkness by Vera Kurian

For this blog tour, we’re looking at a deliciously dark and creepy multilayered supernatural murder mystery reminiscent of IT and Stranger Things. For this blog tour, we’re looking at A Step Past Darkness by Vera Kurian.

Here’s what I had to say on the review sites (Hardcover.app, TheStoryGraph, BookHype, Goodreads):

Deliciously Dark And Creepy Multi-Layered Tale Reminiscent Of IT And Stranger Things. This is one of those dual timeline tales where a group of six kids get pulled together as teens to fight off an incredible supernatural evil in their rural smalltown hometown, then as adults have to come back home to end it once and for all. So like I said in the title, pretty well a blatant homage, all these years later, to IT. And of course, some say “homage”, others say “blatant rip off”. I’ll leave that to those who choose to read both my review and Kurian’s work. But if you have problems with dual timeline or multiple perspectives… just know up front that this book isn’t for you. It is truly a great story, but meh, even I know of what I know to be *phenomenal* stories that even I simply can’t read. (Looking at you, Lord of the Rings.)

Where Kurian shines particularly brightest is in giving these characters realistic Xennial (that weird merger of the youngest of Generation X with the oldest of the Millenials) character arcs, and yes, that does include LGBT discovery for at least one character. Again, if that is a problem for you… maybe not your book here.

Particularly strongest for me personally was Maddy’s own arc, particularly as a teen, as she is deeply immersed in conservative Christian culture of the early and mid 90s – as I myself was as a male just a few years behind her in the same period and in a similar small town atmosphere. (Here, our kids are Sophomores that school year, and I was in 7th grade that year – so just 3 yrs younger than our characters.) Maddy’s arc in some ways has a lot of things that were specific to females in that culture in that era, but in a lot of other ways were common across teenagers of both sexes during this period, and this is where I connected with the story the deepest. Maddy’s struggles as she realized what was going on and her role within it, and her desperate attempts to try to change and correct things… yeah, that was the early years of my own young adult form. So again, and particularly for any females reading this – there is quite a bit of discussion and action around purity culture in the conservative evangelical American church circa the mid 90s, including some of its atrocities being actively shown “on screen”. If this is something you can’t handle exploring in fiction form 30 yrs later (OW!)… maybe not the book for you.

Overall this was a deliciously dark and creepy tale that hit so many strong notes and was so very layered and multi-dimensional… it really was quite a ride. I very much enjoyed it, and I very much look forward to seeing what Kurian thinks up next. Very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book description, author bio, and social media and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: A Step Past Darkness by Vera Kurian”

#BookReview: The Resort by Sara Ochs

Solid Tropical Murder Mystery Will Be Problematic For Some. Straight up, this book features an “on-screen” rape and an “off screen” predatory “relationship” between a teacher and a student. And yes, that last bit is a bit spoilery – but it is also something a lot of readers are going to want to know about before they get to that point in the tale. If either of those issues are absolute no-gos for you, you’re going to want to avoid this book.

But if you’re still here… beyond those two issues, this book was a *great* cat and mouse thriller that has twists almost literally through the last page of the text, and you’re going to need to be clairvoyant to catch the last one in particular because it comes that far out of left field, but in a Now You See Me type manner where well, you were just looking too closely.

It also uses its tropical setting absolutely stunningly, in all its beauty… and perils. This book is going to make you want to go to Thailand and find one of these remote island resorts… but just be careful about it. 😀 And if you read J.M. LeDuc’s Eastern Drift, based in Miami but featuring a trip to Thailand itself, near in time to reading this book – as I did – you’re *really* going to be tempted to look up pricing for flights out to Bangkok. (Looks like around $3K for a late April 2024 round trip flight, staying a week. Just saving you some time on a casual check. :D)

But seriously, the scenery is both beautiful and visceral in this tale – you’re going to feel like you’re there as much as you want to be there. Indeed, the scenery is used so well in the tale that at times it actively overshadows the overall plot… but that is actually a great thing in the early stages of a tale such as this, because I in particular almost *want* that to happen in a book such as this. Ground me in the lush tropical setting. Give me some hints of some trouble, but have it overall be about just how amazing this place is. *Then* hit me with the “well… paradise for some may be hell for others” bit. Which Ochs does spectacularly, then proceeds to ratchet up the tension and ultimately action sublimely.

Again, if you can withstand the onscreen rape and offscreen predatory “relationship”… this truly is an excellent book that I sincerely hope the author can replicate in future works. Very much recommended.

This review of The Resort by Sara Ochs was originally written on February 23, 2024.

#BookReview: Eastern Drift by J.M. LeDuc

Sinclair O’Malley Meets Her Match. I’ve said in reviews of earlier books in this series that Sinclair O’Malley is an even more bad ass Jack None Reacher, and this book is yet another example of this. And yet, an interesting wrinkle here is that when Sinclair has to keep her enemies close… it turns out one of them in particular is actually just as badass as she is, and is damn near O’Malley’s equal in pretty well every way – a very yin/ yang situation going on here, which was pretty awesome for LeDuc to include. You’ll never see Child doing that with Reacher, and indeed very few characters of this level of badassery ever get that camaraderie with a genuine yet darker equal. Thus, it introduced an interesting dynamic to the usual “beat the bad guys into submission” action trope. Also, with starting out featuring a different character altogether and having this particular character go through an entire development arc through this book, again LeDuc manages to craft more interesting wrinkles and make this series so much more than just “good guy is better than everyone”.

Mostly centered in the Miami area, the trip to beautiful lush Thailand is well done – and an interesting pairing with reading Sara Och’s The Resort, about suspicious deaths at a remote Thai resort, when read close together.

Overall yet another excellent entry in this series, though it does follow on almost immediately from its prior book and has several references to at least one other book earlier in the series (Painted Beauty, book 2 in the series), so for those who can never have any spoilers at all… go back and read those books if you haven’t yet. You’ll get awesome stories and be glad you have this one when you get done with them. 🙂

I, for one, am hoping we get Book 5 in this series with a much shorter gap between the books. 😀 Very much recommended.

This review of Eastern Drift by J.M. LeDuc was originally written on February 22, 2024.

#BookReview: One Wrong Word by Hank Phillippi Ryan

Twisty Interconnected Suspense. This is another one of those tales where Tony Stark’s snark about Nick Fury in The Avengers rings true: his secrets have secrets! Or to use another movie connection… Now You See Me: Come in close, because the more you think you see, the easier it’ll be to fool you. Yes, this is one of *those* books, the kind where the WTFs per minute rise and you begin to get whiplash from whipping your head back and forth trying to follow all the twists and turns, particularly late in the tale. Ultimately a satisfying read… if you like that kind of story. For those that don’t… you’ve been warned. Very much recommended.

This review of One Wrong Word by Hank Phillippi Ryan was originally written on February 9, 2024.

#BookReview: The Girl In The Smoke by Matt Hilton

Relentless Action. This is one of those books that starts off with the barest semblance of “normalcy”, and then… well, I hope you like balls to the walls action, because that is what you’re going to get here. The heart of the crime here is typical enough to be easily understood, with enough wrinkles to make it interesting to try to figure out exactly what the hell happened. But the action is what you’re here for. If, like me, you found Hilton first through the Po and Villere thrillers… well, if you thought the action in those tales was relentless, you aint seen nothing yet. And here, the action is just as violent as anything you’ll see there… without the massive hulking excons to execute it. Indeed, in what could be a bit of a bridge too far for some, the young girl in question has more of a proclivity for violence than some of those entrusted with her care, which produces interesting relational dynamics at times. Overall a fun and short action thriller, great for those times when you just want some basic escapism without too much thinking involved. Very much recommended.

This review of The Girl In The Smoke by Matt Hilton was originally written on February 8, 2024.