Tag: mystery

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#BookReview: Unmissing by Minka Kent

Sick, Demented, Twisted… But A Slow Build To Get There. This is one of those stories where the description sounds intriguing and the prologue certainly does its job of dragging us into the book (Do *not* skip it, as it is essential)… but then we get more of a slow burn mystery build through the front half of the book. Not far into the second half, things pick up with a particular revelation, and then the snowball begins rapidly rolling downhill. The final chapters become utterly riveting, with revelation after revelation and so many twists you’re not going to want to go too fast down this mountain road. And then everything gets wrapped up tidily as one would generally expect in the genre. Indeed, if there is any qualm to be had here it is that this particular story could likely have done well with a much more open and speculative ending – but I know I’m in the minority of readers in appreciating those (when appropriate). Very much recommended.

This review of Unmissing by Minka Kent was originally written on February 16, 2022.

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Featured New Release Of The Week: The Ex-Husband by Karen Hamilton

This week we’re looking at a tale of karmic suspense that takes place at least in part at sea and shows the commonalities and differences between cruising and yachting quite well. This week we’re looking at The Ex-Husband by Karen Hamilton.

Karmic Suspense At Sea. This book is a mystery/ suspense set partly in the UK and partly (or pretty well fully, in its back half) at sea mostly in the Caribbean and even one Alaska season. The dual timeline approach is used here to show the suspense of someone stalking our narrator with information she doesn’t want known and which they shouldn’t have in the present timeline, with the second timeline being “18 months ago” when her world came crashing down. Except that the 18 months ago timeline is filled at least as much with the entire backstory of how she got to that point as well. This tale is an interesting blend of both cruising and yachting, which are very different experiences. Even though the largest megayachts (such as the Azzam) and the smaller cruise ships (such as Windstar Cruise Lines’ Wind Surf) are roughly the same size, with cruising you’re usually with a few hundred (at least, it can be closer to 5,000+) strangers + up to 2,000 or so crew members whereas with yachting you’re usually with no more than a few dozen people you’re at least tangentially associated with – even if only through a common acquaintance – and no more than a hundred or so staff. Also, the onboard experience of a cruise tends to be more akin to a perma-mall/ theme park on a cruise vs a much more exclusive, bespoke experience on a yacht. (Think of the difference of going to say Disney World vs what happens on Bravo’s Below Deck shows, for example.) Still, Hamilton actually does a good job showing how similar yet different each of these are, even as she weaves a tale of con artistry and karmic suspense through both facets of sea-travel experience. Very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book description, author bio, and social and buy links.
Continue reading “Featured New Release Of The Week: The Ex-Husband by Karen Hamilton”

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#BookReview: Treachery Times Two by Robert McCaw

Santa Blows The Case Open. I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking (accurately) that Santa is never once mentioned in this police procedural/ mystery set in Hawaii and showing off many elements of its land and people not often seen by non-Islanders. But I swear the connection is there, at least for me – you see, there is one particular clue that blows at least part of this case wide open. It tells Koa, our hero, that all is not as it seems – and an *eerily* similar situation, wherein x happens (though not the exact particulars and certainly not in a murder investigation), is how I learned that Santa wasn’t real nearly 30 years ago. So that was cool for me personally, and shows that just that thing *can* actually lead to life changing real-world events. Overall truly an excellent book of its type, one that shows a great layering of plot and characterizations in order to show just how complex we all are – even when we look like we’re not. Very much recommended.

This review of Treachery Times Two by Robert McCaw was originally written on January 7, 2022.

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#BookReview: The Abbey House by Elizabeth Bromke

Compelling Conclusion. This is an excellent conclusion to the short novel/ novella trilogy of Heirloom Island, where all three sisters play prominent roles in each book yet with each book focusing primarily on one of the three in particular. Because it is such a great conclusion, I have to make the rare recommendation of actually starting with Book 1 of this series, The Boardwalk House, and reading through the entire trilogy – which is still shorter than some single books out there. And when you do that, you’ll be glad you had the entire trilogy at hand at one time. 😀 Very much recommended.

This review of The Abbey House by Elizabeth Bromke was originally written on January 5, 2022.

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#BlogTour: The Good Son by Jacquelyn Mitchard

For this blog tour we’re looking at an interesting story of love, forgiveness, repentance, restorative justice, prison reform, and penance that could perhaps have used a better storytelling approach. For this blog tour, we’re looking at The Good Son by Jacquelyn Mitchard.

Interesting Story, Perhaps Better Served By A Different Storytelling Technique. This is an interesting story of what happens after a person who has been accused of a heinous crime is released from prison and the toll wrought on the person and their family and friends – particularly in the face of continued harassment from the community. Readers who hate multi-perspective stories will enjoy the fact that we only really get one perspective here, but this is actually the weakest thing about the book to my own mind. For me, having a multi-perspective book with the prisoner’s mother (the perspective we get here), the prisoner, and maybe even the stranger and the victim’s mother, would have made this story quite a bit tighter and potentially, assuming it was done right, that much more interesting. The issues that the book does explore well – restorative justice, repentance, forgiveness, mother’s love, etc – could have been further strengthened by this other technique as well. Still, for what we do get here, it is fairly solid but not “edge of your seat” reading. If you go into this expecting a thrill-a-minute… you’re reading the wrong dang book. But if you look at this more as a character study / family drama with elements of suspense and thriller, you’re likely going to leave this book more satisfied. Very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt followed by the “publisher details” – book description, author bio, social media and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: The Good Son by Jacquelyn Mitchard”

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#BlogTour: The Sorority Murder by Allison Brennan

For this blog tour we’re looking at a solid mystery that utilizes the new podcast fad quite well but which could have used better pacing overall. For this blog tour, we’re looking at The Sorority Murder by Allison Brennan.

Solid Mystery That Could Have Used Better Pacing. Reading through the other Goodreads reviews on this one, a common complaint is the pacing and bloat of this book – and I tend to agree, to a point. There was in fact a lot of going over the same facts of the case, and that probably added a solid 20 pages to the length of this book just in that fact alone. But it wasn’t something that I particularly noticed while reading, and indeed while reading I thought this was a truly solid use of an emerging technique to solve cold cases. And while the body count may seem a bit high for a town with less than 80K (real-world) people, a quick Google shows that it actually isn’t outside the realm of reality, even this Millenium (when until recently, violent crime was plummeting across the nation). It does in fact read a bit as a setup for a potential series with our former US Marshal investigator here, and it could actually be an interesting series if that is the case. Overall an interesting and compelling mystery that will keep you guessing until it wants to reveal it secrets – and then transitions into a bit more of an action/ suspense tale to finish up the case. Very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt followed by the “publisher details” – book description, author bio, and social media and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: The Sorority Murder by Allison Brennan”

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#BlogTour: The Memory Bones by B.R. Spangler

For this blog tour, we’re looking at a book that I actually reviewed a month ago, in a weird situation I’ll detail at the end of this post. For this blog tour, we’re looking at The Memory Bones by B.R. Spangler.

Here’s a recap of the Goodreads review:

A Finale. Without going *too* deep into spoiler territory, by the end of this book the long-running mythos surrounding Detective White achieves a resolution – and not only that, but several other character arcs seem to be wrapped up as well. So much so that this book ends feeling like a series finale – until you hit the author note at the back, confirming that the author *is* working on the next book in this series. Which means that this book isn’t so much *series* finale as “season” finale, and I for one can’t wait to see what else the author cooks up from here.

As to this particular tale, yet again Spangler manages to craft a fairly inventive way to murder, and yet again the mystery here is quite wide ranging and explosive – and based on at least one real world situation that I am aware of, that went on at least as long before it was detected. (Though to be clear, I am not aware of any murders happening in the real world variant to preserve the secret… though it is at least theoretically possible.)

But the real stars of this series are White and her team, and here they yet again step up and provide much of what makes this series so great. Yes, Spangler is solid on the mysteries and murders, but it is in this part, in developing the entire cast of characters and their relationships, that Spangler truly excels and indeed (possibly arguably) overcomes the limitations and perceptions of this genre. Very much recommended.

After the jump, the various “publisher details”, including the book description, author bio, and social media and buy links. And the explanation. 😀
Continue reading “#BlogTour: The Memory Bones by B.R. Spangler”

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Featured New Release Of The Week: Dead Mercy by Noelle Holten

This week we’re looking at the newest entry in a police procedural saga that ultimately deals with some issues that have been in the real-world headlines. This week we’re looking at Dead Mercy by Noelle Holten.

Brutal Killings Ripped From (Somewhat Dated-ish) Headlines. Without going into spoiler-y territory, there are themes here that have been in the headlines and have been massive scandals over the last few decades – and which I believe even bigger scandals lay ahead, particularly in the direction this book ultimately goes.

The murders here are again particularly brutal, though perhaps not quite as straight up creepy as from Book 4, and this time no team member is imperiled – and yet Holten still manages to ramp up the tension almost as if they are.

This is labeled as Book 5, so that alone tells you that it *is* part of a series, and somewhat deep into it at that, but as a police procedural (even a British based one), it is still episodic enough that you can jump into the series with any particular episode, then backfill to see how the relationships amongst the team got to the point you first encountered them. And on that particular front, there are a couple of great reveals in this particular book, one from Jamieson herself and the other from another teammate in the closing paragraphs.

Yet another thrill a minute read that will keep you invested through all of its 400 pages. Very much recommended.

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#BookReview: The Women Of Pearl Island by Polly Crosby

Poetic Prose But Intensely SLOW Story. This is one of those tales where the actual words and descriptions are so incredibly beautiful – and yet the plot moves along about as fast as a snail in cryostasis. Basically somewhat similar to The Great Gatsby, but with a more poetic front end and where Gatsby has an action packed back end, this one manages to finally hint at some mysteries around the middle of the book that will compel you to finish it. Then, it even manages to pack a *bit* of action into the final 15% or so of the text, as one final calamity strikes – the first calamity of the book to happen within the “current” time period. For those who dislike dual perspectives/ dual timelines, know up front that this book has those – and that I would argue that you should read it anyway, because here they completely work together to show the mysteries more fully. Ultimately a satisfying read with an ending that some will love and others will hate, the only reason this book got dinged a star was because the front half in particular was *so* slow. Very much recommended.

This review of The Women Of Pearl Island by Polly Crosby was originally written on November 14, 2021.

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#BookReview: The Memory Bones by B.R. Spangler

A Finale. Without going *too* deep into spoiler territory, by the end of this book the long-running mythos surrounding Detective White achieves a resolution – and not only that, but several other character arcs seem to be wrapped up as well. So much so that this book ends feeling like a series finale – until you hit the author note at the back, confirming that the author *is* working on the next book in this series. Which means that this book isn’t so much *series* finale as “season” finale, and I for one can’t wait to see what else the author cooks up from here.

As to this particular tale, yet again Spangler manages to craft a fairly inventive way to murder, and yet again the mystery here is quite wide ranging and explosive – and based on at least one real world situation that I am aware of, that went on at least as long before it was detected. (Though to be clear, I am not aware of any murders happening in the real world variant to preserve the secret… though it is at least theoretically possible.)

But the real stars of this series are White and her team, and here they yet again step up and provide much of what makes this series so great. Yes, Spangler is solid on the mysteries and murders, but it is in this part, in developing the entire cast of characters and their relationships, that Spangler truly excels and indeed (possibly arguably) overcomes the limitations and perceptions of this genre. Very much recommended.

This review of The Memory Bones by B.R. Spangler was originally written on November 7, 2021.