Tag: mystery

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#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.

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#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.

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#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.

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#BlogTour: The Missing Witness by Allison Brennan

For this blog tour, we’re looking at an all too real story of homelessness and corruption set in a *just* fictional LA. For this blog tour, we’re looking at The Missing Witness by Allison Brennan.

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

All Too Real. Despite what some may claim about the problems of the Homeless Industrial Complex not existing in the real world, When We Walk By by Kevin Adler and Donald Burnes – released just 10 weeks or so before the publication of this book and so far as I can see, never read by Brennan as she was doing her research for this book – shows all too well just how much these kinds of things actually do exist.

Now, as with all *fictional* tales, Brennan has clearly taken a *few* liberties – no one is making any claims about the “real” world LA here, ultimately this is truly a fictional tale set in an alternate world very similar yet not completely identical to our own. Though the corruption in this particular version of LA and the multiple murders being investigated through the course of this book tied to that corruption… eh, I’m sure the citizens of that LA were wishing they had a particular dude styling himself after a small flying rodent whipping around their town.

Instead, they get Kara Quinn. And let’s face it, with her “irregular” investigative methods and keen detective abilities… Kara Quinn may at minimum prove she could be a reliable partner for that other dude. Here, her skills are both throttled at times and allowed to bloom into their full wonder at other times, all while the other members of the team she works with – Matt Costa’s FBI unit – each prove to be equally capable supporting members in their own ways.

Ultimately this is truly a fictional crime thriller, and Brennan as usual shows just how great she is at weaving tales that are clearly fictional, yet all too real. Does she get a touch preachy at times? Perhaps for some, though it was never truly heavy handed enough for me to deduct a star over or truly even mention here other than this very “your mileage may vary” kind of statement. The rest of the action is well paced, the mystery is complex with quite a few moving parts, and just when you think you may have everything figured out… well, it turns out you probably don’t know quite *everything*.

It will be interesting to see where Brennan takes this series next, assuming she does, given how this particular tale ends – and I very much look forward to finding out what may be 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: The Missing Witness by Allison Brennan”

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#BookReview: Unbalanced by D.P. Lyle

Laid-Back Gulf Coast Mystery-Comedy. This latest entry in the Jake Longly series almost seemed more comedic than mysterious, though certainly the comedy was regarding the mystery – or, more precisely, how Jake continuously gets pulled into the mysteries his dad and best friend – the *actual* Private Investigators – are working. Long time fans will be pleased with this latest entry, as everything we know and love about this series is still 100% there. For those new to the series or Lyle who don’t mind spoilers about relationships and perhaps a case or two of prior tales, this is actually a great mostly standalone ish tale that will show you what the entire series is like – and I can tell you from personal experience that one of these is more than enough to get you hooked. For the clean/ sweet crowd… eh, nothing is necessarily shown “on camera”, but there are certainly clear enough descriptions of what either is about to happen “off screen” or just has that at least some in that crowd may want to pass here. Overall another fun outing with the crew, great for those *hot* and *wet* and *hard* to handle Dawg Days of the Gulf Coast summer. Very much recommended.

This review of Unbalanced by D.P. Lyle was originally written on January 17, 2024.

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#BookReview: Hollywood Hustle by Jon Lindstrom

Hollywood Hubris. The evocative and darkly hilarious tale of a kidnapping of a Hollywood star’s daughter is well paced and quite descriptive, though it does evoke more of the 70s/ 80s vibes than more modern times – despite clearly being set in said more modern times. So perhaps it feels a touch anachronistic at times as well, but it actually somehow manages to work?

No, the biggest problem here wasn’t the characterizations or the action or the (dark) comedy, it was the guns – and specifically the typical Hollywood hubris of not knowing basically anything about them. No, civilians do not have “automatic” pistols – those things are hard to get for even criminals, and generally extend a jail term much longer than they’re actually worth as a tool. Instead, every time Lindstrom says “automatic”, he *should* be saying “semi-automatic” or even simply “pistol”, if he is seeking to distinguish it from a revolver (which he also uses in this text). (Both revolvers and non-revolving pistols are semi-automatic, meaning one bullet fires per trigger squeeze vs automatic meaning bullets keep firing as long as the trigger is held down, for those reading this review who may be under the same lack of basic gun knowledge as Lindstrom and his editors.) Further, several times when someone is shot – both from a shotgun (which does in fact pack more of a punch, as depending on the load it can send up to 2-3 .45 caliber sized pellets flying at the same speeds that a pistol sends a single .45 bullet flying at) and a pistol – the body is described as flying backwards, as Hollywood tends to do. However, this is one that anyone who has watched Mythbusters knows is incorrect, as they specifically tested this exact myth and showed that it does not actually happen. And that is *without* even having any actual gun knowledge, as it is basic physics! (F= mA -> Force = mass x Acceleration, but the target also has standing inertia that the force must be powerful enough to overcome to achieve said result… and bullets that civilians might fire – yes, even the vaunted .50 BMG round – simply don’t have that kind of mass and acceleration. And by the time you get up to rounds that *do* have that kind of force… it tends to have a *far*… messier… impact than simply causing someone to fly backwards off their feet for a few feet.) A final note related yet not to these points about guns is that another author I know is actually a medical investigator in Saint Augustine, FL, and per his commentary over the years, the “tangy coppery” smell of blood that so many fiction authors use – including Lindstrom here? Also fictional. It is for all of these blatant inaccuracies – yes, even in fiction, as they actively perpetuate misinformation that could harm real people – that the star was deducted.

Still, for those who simply want an almost “Expendables” type action/ thriller with a cast of “seasoned” Hollywood dwellers trying to resolve a kidnapping of a family member of one of their own on their own… this really is quite a strong tale in that particular vein, and as long as you approach it as just that type of Hollywood action movie and check your brains at the door, you’ll find a quite strong and enjoyable tale.

Recommended.

This review of Hollywood Hustle by Jon Lindstrom was originally written on January 15, 2024.

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#BookReview: Deep Freeze by Michael C Grumley

Slow Burn Scifi Thriller Does Just Enough To Feel Like A Singular Complete Tale Series Starter. This is one of those books that starts off as an edge of your seat thriller, slows down so much that one may think they are being cryogenically frozen themselves, and then picks back up as though you’re being thawed out and called to action – not unlike the opening sequence to Mass Effect 2, which echoed The Million Dollar Man’s “We can rebuild him. We have the technology”. Which… well, to say what I was about to say would get into spoiler territory. Even the references above may get a *touch* close, but they’re also generic enough to my mind to get right up to the line without crossing it, yet give the reader of the review an idea of what they’re getting into here. As this tale ended, it honestly looked like it was going to get a star deduction for being a tale cut into half in a blatant cash grab, but Grumley does *just* enough in the last few pages to at least seal this particular tale off into its own complete tale… while still being a very blatant setup for a future tale. It will be interesting to see where Grumley takes this series next, as some passages brought ideas put forth in Marcus Sakey’s Afterlife to this reader’s mind (and/ or, if one prefers a more well known reference point here… a particular X-Man, though that one is *slightly* more tenuous than the Sakey reference).

Overall an interesting tale for what it is, which is a slow burn series starter. Recommended.

This review of Deep Freeze by Michael C. Grumley was originally written on January 4, 2024.

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#BookReview: The Trap by Gregg Dunnett

Silence Of The Lambs Homage With Twists. This is one of those books that I honestly never would have connected it with Silence Of The Lambs had other reviewers not pointed that connection out, but it absolutely does fit here. Of course, along similar lines one could also connect this tale to the legendary Sherlock Holmes tales, which ultimately most modern detective tales come from in some way or another. Honestly, the connection I made while reading the book itself was to Starfield, a long awaited game that finally released nearly three months before this book did, and which I’ve been playing quite heavily since. *That* connection will only make sense after you’ve read this book *and* played that game all the way through at least once though.

Overall, this is a pulse pounding thriller, one where a brilliant detective faces off with an equally brilliant – and possibly moreso – serial killer. In this case… the showdown that we were promised in Book 1 of this series, The Cove. The murders here are particularly brutal, and our heroine has quite a bit in common with that famous 19th century detective in several ways, making this quite the compelling tale.

As to whether a Book 3 may be coming… I love the fact that the author actually weaves into the tale here a discussion of why that may not actually be a great idea… and yet… I ultimately still think I want to see it anyway. So we’ll see what Dunnett and his publisher do next.

Very much recommended.

This review of The Trap by Gregg Dunnett was originally written on December 31, 2023.

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#BlogTour: The Weekend Retreat by Tara Laskowski

For this blog tour, we’re looking at an intriguing tale with multiple (and rapidly switching) character POVs. For this blog tour, we’re looking at The Weekend Retreat by Tara Laskowski.

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

Intriguing Tale With Multiple (And Rapidly Switching) Character POVs. This is one of those tales with a lot of moving parts and a lot of different character POVs that can throw some people off. So if that is you, know up front that this is the style Ms. Laskowski has chosen to tell this particular tale in. Specifically, we have three couples – each of the surviving children of a now deceased former matron of the family + their significant others, as well as a seventh person – an unannounced and unplanned guest. (The final central character is another, planned, guest.) The tale uses the perspectives of each of the three females + the unplanned guest as our narrative device, and ultimately it tells a strong tale of family secrets, petty grudges, and everything else that makes a family so complex at times. Here, the book truly shines – and yes, it is helped by its stormy, near gothic mansion (complete with hidden passages and rooms!) setting. The prologue is particularly strong, drawing the reader in and urging them to find out what exactly happened on this eventful weekend among siblings (and their partners), and the overall mysteries are much deeper than are originally thought, adding to the depth and complexity of the tale.

Overall Ms. Laskowski did a truly great job telling this story in this particular format, even as confusing as the frequent perspective jumps can be at times – she also used them to great effect to propel the reader forward in an “I’ve GOT to see what happens next!” manner. Yes, after an admittedly somewhat slow start, this will eventually become one of those that you’re going to want to stay up later than you probably should to finish the book.

Those looking to end 2023 with a bang would do well to pick this book up, as it releases just in time to be many peoples’ final book of 2023. 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.

And at the very end, special to this particular blog tour… the Spotify Playlist Ms. Laskowski created for this book!
Continue reading “#BlogTour: The Weekend Retreat by Tara Laskowski”

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#BookReview: People To Follow by Olivia Worley

Four POVs. Three Big Ideas. Two Interesting Twists. One Technically Error Free Book.

Ok, so the title may have been a bit of a stretch there.

There are absolutely four primary POVs here across our 10 “influencers” (my God I both despise the term and indeed the entire concept, despite some authors labeling *me* as one), and while it can at times be confusing when switching between them early on, as the characterizations and “voices” get set, it does in fact get a bit easier.

The Big Ideas here are all various flavors of social commentary on the idea of the “influencer”, though so much as mentioning them begins to get too close to spoiler territory for my own comfort in writing this review.

The two interesting twists are deep in the book and *absolutely* spoiler territory to discuss, but I found them fairly well done and truly intriguing.

And yes, ultimately there are no technical flaws here. Yes, there were absolutely different things that different readers may have problems with – including the multiple POVs. But there was nothing wrong that begins to approach a universal, objective level, and thus the book retains its full five stars. Very much recommended.

This review of People To Follow by Olivia Worley was originally written on December 27, 2023.