Tag: mystery

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#BookReview: A World Of Hurt by Mindy Mejia

Fast Paced Action Thriller Featuring Atypical Hero – Yet Set During “Real”-World Collapse. Straight up: This would have *easily* been a 5* book for me had it been set in literally any period of human history *other than* 2020 – 2022… unfortunately, where it as actually set. Kara is awesome as a non-straight (it is never made clear in *this* text exactly what her sexuality is, though it may have been clarified in the preceding book, To Catch A Storm, which I read 20 months and 300+ books ago) badass with a certain condition that Mejia works with well to show its uses and detriments. Max is excellent as the more by-the-book cop just trying to do his best to do his job and get back to his wife and son, particularly during the period the book is set in. Together (and separately), they’re going to find themselves in some pretty cool to watch action sequences that would get most of us real dead, real fast in real life. But ultimately, that is exactly what you’re coming into a book like this for – escapist action of a near cinematic quality, and other than the time period this is set in (which, to Mejia’s both benefit and detriment, she *does* show all too realistically and all too well), this book *is* that very action first with solid backstory and drama kind of tale that is generally so pleasing to read.

So for those of you who can withstand a book set entirely within the COVID lockdown period… this is one of the best books I’ve seen written telling a story within that period. But for those of us who – for whatever reason – *don’t* want to read a story set in that period… unfortunately you’re going to miss out on a truly fun, kick ass book unless you can overcome that particular mental objection.

Very much recommended.

This review of A World Of Hurt by Mindy Mejia was originally written on August 19, 2024.

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#BlogTour: The Body Next Door by Maia Chance

For this blog tour, we’re looking at a book with an intriguing mix of magical realism, cults, and a dual timeline mystery/ thriller. For this blog tour, we’re looking at The Body Next Door by Maia Chance.

First, the review I posted to the book sites (BookHype.com / BookBub.com / TheStoryGraph.com / Goodreads.com):

Mystery/ Thriller With Cults And Magical Realism? Yes Please. First off, if you’re turned off by any discussion of cults… this book likely isn’t your thing. If you’re turned off by any element of magical realism… this book probably isn’t your thing. If you can’t handle books dealing with domestic violence and/ or sexual assault/ rape… this book probably isn’t your thing. If you can’t handle books with multiple POVs… this book probably isn’t your thing. If you’re turned off by books with dual timelines… this book probably isn’t your thing. If you’re turned off by books with any LGBT characters at all… this book probably isn’t your thing.

With all of *that* out of the way, I thought this book was done particularly well and told a not-overly-typical (because it dealt so intrinsically with cults/ life after cults) tale in new and interesting ways (re: magical realism elements). All of the various elements work well to create a story with an admittedly slow start that absolutely heats up later in the text, particularly during a somewhat detailed account of the night everything came crashing down in the earlier timeline. The overall mystery ties both timelines together well, and while the front of the book can seem a bit disjointed at times with its POV switches, it *does* all come together quite beautifully and dramatically down the stretch.

Ultimately a fun read that is different enough to stick out in a very crowded field of similar ish (re: mystery/ thriller) books, this is definitely one to check out – even if it is a touch longer than some will be comfortable with (just over 400 pages).

Very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book info, description, author bio, social links, and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: The Body Next Door by Maia Chance”

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#BookReview: Shades Of Mercy by Bruce Borgos

Wildly Divergent Storytelling From First Book In Series, Still Great. The Bitter Past, the first book in this series, was a dual timeline almost historical fiction/ spy thriller, and it worked beautifully – to summarize my review of that book. This time, we get a lot of solid character work and even more solid action pieces (particularly towards the end, but also an intriguing prologue to bring us into the tale), with plenty of “what the hell is going on here” in the middle. Whereas the first book looked to the past to tell its tale, this one actually reads as though it is bringing the front lines of the Russia-Ukraine war into a tale set in rural Nevada. There’s some innovative action sequences one would expect more in a Vin Diesel XXX movie or one of the GI Joe live action movies than in a tale of a small town Sheriff… even if this particular Sheriff *is* a highly trained former soldier. (And yes, this comes into play as well.) Borgos does well to show Beck’s strengths *and* weaknesses, and it is the combination of both that make Beck feel like a fully “real” human rather than just another action hero.

Overall a solid tale more in the mystery/ action space than its predecessor, and yet it does its job of making the reader *need* the next book perfectly.

Very much recommended.

This review of Shades Of Mercy by Bruce Borgos was originally written on July 31, 2024.

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#BlogTour: Only One Survives by Hannah Mary McKinnon

For this blog tour, we’re looking at a tale that has a shotgun beginning that focuses into a laser ending. For this blog tour, we’re looking at Only One Survives by Hannah Mary McKinnon.

First, the review I posted to the book sites (BookHype.com / BookBub.com / TheStoryGraph.com / Goodreads.com):

Shotgun Beginning Focuses Into Laser Ending. This is one of those stories that opens up with a lot of moving parts, even as we only really get a single perspective of them, so it can be a bit difficult of a read to get into at first. Compelling, to be sure, particularly the accident during the blizzard, but through these intro sections the tale doesn’t seem to know what it wants to be yet… and thus the reader may find it difficult to follow.

This noted, as the story progresses, things become ever more clear and pointed and the book finally decides what it wants to be… and oh, boy. Absolutely several interesting twists here, both within the story and in how the story itself subverts expectations of the reader.

Ultimately this is going to be one of those stories that seems like a bit of a challenge up front, even if compelling, but stick with it long enough for the tale to figure itself out. Because once it does, you’re in for a fun time indeed.

Very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book info, description, author bio, social links, and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: Only One Survives by Hannah Mary McKinnon”

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#BookReview: Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder by Kerryn Mayne

Like Great Gatsby: SLOW Start, Explosive Ending, *NOT* Neurodivergent. I tell the story often of my experience with The Great Gatbsy. Back in sophomore year of HS, it was actually assigned as summer reading before the school year. I didn’t read it. Every time I tried to open it, the first chapters were just SO UTTERLY BORING that I literally couldn’t keep my eyes open. Managed to bullshit through the discussion of it during my International Baccalaureate level English class that fall. Switched to a school without an IB program in Spring Semester, where now I had one of those old school even then (late 90s) slap-the-knuckles-with-a-ruler type English teachers. This lady *forced* me to read the book via making it a point to call on me to read out loud during class. She knew I HATED it, I wasn’t subtle about my disdain at all, and I had a superiority complex at this new school to boot.

But god DAMN if she didn’t wind up getting me through those first boring chapters, where the tale then woke up and became truly one of the great American books, particularly of its period and truly quite possibly ever.

I tell that story here because it directly applies to this book. This book is S L O W at first and utterly, completely, mind bogglingly BORING. There simply is no way around that. Even at 20% in, I was commenting on social media (without naming that I was reading this book) that it was horrible.

And then…

And then you get to the point – roughly halfway in – where you find out WHY the front half was so utterly boring.

And like Gatsby, this point turns the novel on its head and makes it a truly great book. No, it still isn’t Gatbsy’s level, but this is where it is going to make you *feel*. It is going to make the room so dusty you’ll be verifying that the walls around you haven’t suddenly collapsed, because you’re going to be crying so hard during some of this next section that you’re going to be snotting all over the place and finding it very difficult to breathe. Mayne manages to utterly bore your mind before absolutely DESTROYING your heart worse than a direct hit from a G2 Research RIP round would.

This back half is truly what makes the book, so fight through the boredom of the front half – it really does get so very much better.

Oh, and the neurodivergent thing; A lot of reviewers (I’m somewhere right around the 1,000th review on at least one review site) have mentioned that this book features a neurodivergent protagonist. It does not. The words “neurodivergent”, “spectrum”, “Autism”, or even “Asberger’s” are nowhere in the text of this tale, and while the front part of the book in particular (and to a slightly lesser extent the back part as well) characterize our protagonist as *stereotypically* neurodivergent, just because someone acts according to a stereotype does not mean they actually *are* whatever the stereotype is supposed to be of. Indeed, we actually get an explanation in that back half of the book that is *not* any form of actual neurodivergence so much as … something else that is directly explained and explored (part of what makes the heart shatter so much), but which would be a spoiler to reveal here.

Overall truly a tale of two halves as far as the reader experience goes, but absolutely one you should read.

Very much recommended.

This review of Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder by Kerryn Mayne was originally written on July 8, 2024.

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#BookReview: Ladykiller by Katherine Wood

Slow Start Leads To Rollercoaster Twists. This is one of those books that starts out almost disaster movie slow. Other than the prologue that reveals an intriguing setup, a lot of the front of the book is solid enough in slowly building tension in an idyllic setting. But it really is more the back half, or maybe even the last third, of the book where it seems to become more of a cat and mouse, what the hell is going on, who can the reader actually trust kind of tale, one that ends with a deliciously ambiguous ending that would be intriguing to see a follow up to – IF Ms. Wood can manage to replicate the almost lightning in a bottle feel she has going on here, particularly through the last bit of the book.

Ultimately, this tale won’t be for everyone, for a variety of reasons. But if you’re looking for an interesting tale in a beautiful location and aren’t averse to a fair amount of onscreen sex (and not always exactly of the missionary-position-only-with-lights-off variety), this may be a book for you.

Very much recommended.

This review of Ladykiller by Katherine Wood was originally written on July 5, 2024.

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#BlogTour: Made For You by Jenna Satterthwaite

For this blog tour, we’re looking at a quasi scifi tale that leans more heavily on the murder mystery and reality tv components. For this blog tour, we’re looking at Made For You by Jenna Satterthwaite.

First, the review I posted to the book sites (BookHype.com / BookBub.com / TheStoryGraph.com / Goodreads.com):

For Some Reason I’m Having A Tough Time Writing This Review. I finished this book 5 days ago as I write this review. I’ve read three other books (that I also need to write reviews for) since then, and for some reason there’s just nothing flowing for this book.

To be clear, there is nothing technically wrong with this book. It is solid, with perhaps a misstep or two.

I think what it comes down to, for me, is that the most interesting question in the description: “That is…if Julia truly is a person.” doesn’t really feel as explored as I think I wanted it to be. And I don’t know if that is on me as the reader or Satterthwaite as the writer. I don’t know if it was that I was wanting a harder probe or harder questions or more forceful thinking on the subject or some such, or if Satterthwaite really did do more telling than showing or perhaps not enough telling to make me really think deeply philosophically as maybe I was hoping to be forced to or what.

Ultimately, more time was absolutely spent of the murder mystery/ reality TV side of the tale than the synth side, even as the synth side plays key roles and is genuinely interwoven with the other components of the tale. So if you’re looking for a more reality TV/ murder mystery tale than a scifi synth tale… yeah, this one may work better for you.

Perhaps most damning, particularly for a debut – although perhaps one that was never meant as a series starter – is that I’m also not sure whether I would want to come back to this world or not. I’m sure that I think Satterthwaite has done enough here that I’m willing to read the next book and see if she grows as a storyteller with more experience, I’m just not sure with what she leaves us with here if I necessarily want to come back *here*. Although if that is in fact where her sophomore effort brings us, I’m absolutely going to be back for the ride.

So read the book for yourself, reader of my review. And maybe tag me in your own review so I can see if my own questions are *me* or if others are having similar difficulties with this book?

Recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book info, description, author bio, social links, and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: Made For You by Jenna Satterthwaite”

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#BlogTour: The Paris Widow by Kimberly Belle

For this blog tour, we’re looking at an action packed thrill ride for the War On Terror era. For this blog tour, we’re looking at The Paris Widow by Kimberly Belle.

First, the review I posted to the book sites (BookHype.com / BookBub.com / TheStoryGraph.com / Goodreads.com):

Action Packed Thrill Ride For The War On Terror Era. If you’re like me, you see a title like “The Paris Widow” and you’re thinking this is going to be some WWII historical fiction novel that tends to blend into each other because it has both been done so much and because you’ve read so many of them.

Well, you’d be wrong, in this case.

Because *this* is actually one of those “who can I trust” action packed suspense thrillers where everybody has secrets and literally no one – not even the maid – can be trusted. It is one you’re going to sit up reading well past bedtime because Belle has mastered the art of leaving the chapter on just enough of an edge that you *need* to read the next chapter to see what happens next… only to now find that you’re a dozen chapters and a couple hours after you said “just one more chapter”.

Set primarily in Paris, with some flashbacks to earlier interludes in Atlanta, Georgia (US) and others in a few different locations in and around the Mediterranean, this is one of those tales where while the settings don’t become characters themselves, they are described so beautifully that you’re going to wish you were there yourself.

Fans of the “ho hum this is just another story that oh fuck oh Fuck Oh FUck OH FUCK!” type of tale are going to have a particularly fun time with this one. (And let’s be real here, that sentence was also fairly fun to write. 🙂 )

So pick this book up, sit down in that beach chair right there on the pool deck, and prepare for the sunburn of your life as you get engrossed in this book for several hours until you finish it in one sitting. You’ve been warned. 🙂

Very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book info, description, author bio, social links, and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: The Paris Widow by Kimberly Belle”

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#BookReview: Follow Her Down by Victoria Helen Stone

Moving Thriller Set Against Family Trauma. There are times when you find a thriller tale that has genuine heart, when a book that is supposedly intended to make your heart beat faster also manages to make the room quite dusty at times. This is one of those tales.

There is quite a bit to unpack about this story, but to reveal the things that truly make it as powerful as it is could delve too far into spoiler territory. Suffice it to say that the setup itself is done well – we are many years after a massive trauma for a family and even their small community, and the trauma reverberates to this day in many different ways. Stone manages to craft a story that is pitch perfect thriller – more bodies are piling up *now*, and it seems they may be connected to the original trauma, at least if some people are to be believed. It is the way she goes about executing this story, exploring the various internal dynamics within our main character and the larger dynamics within her family and community, that give this book its heart and its soul.

Overall a strong tale, though perhaps not *so* atypical as to be heads and shoulders standing above others of its form and genre. Still, for those that enjoy this type of tale – or even those open to exploring if they like this type of tale – this is certainly a strong entry within the space, and a worthy read indeed.

Very much recommended.

This review of Follow Her Down by Victoria Helen Stone was originally written on June 5, 2024.

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#BlogTour: One Deadly Eye by Randy Wayne White

For this blog tour, we’re looking at a tale of brutal and effective violence that Jack Reacher would be proud of. For this blog tour, we’re looking at One Deadly Eye by Randy Wayne White.

First, the review I posted to the book sites (BookHype.com / BookBub.com / TheStoryGraph.com / Goodreads.com):

Brutal And Effective Violence That Jack Reacher Would Be Proud Of. Admittedly I stepped into this book not realizing when I signed up for the blog tour that this was number 27 in a series, so there are likely elements to this tale that I completely missed out on.

That noted, the tale as told works within itself to tell a complete tale + a couple of open ended teasers (not really “cliffhangers” as at least one other reviewer described them) such that it *is* possible to enjoy this book for itself, but obviously if you are an “absolutely no spoilers of any minute kind” type of reader… eh, start all the way back at book 1 here. 🙂

As for the story told… I wasn’t joking in the title of this review. I’ve read more graphic violence than this (hello, Code Alpha by Joseph Massucci and Without Remorse by Tom Clancy), but this is certainly up there. Hell, even the modern Mortal Kombat games with their ultra-realism and X-ray moves sometimes seem less graphic than some of the violence White gives us here. And yet the expected quippy banter is still present as well, providing just enough smiles to keep this from going to near slasher level action.

Set during a Cat 5 hurricane, some of the stuff described seems a bit implausible… but then, this is an action book, so meh, already suspending disbelief for the rest of the plot, might as well suspend it a bit more there. Otherwise, the hurricane doesn’t provide much “atmosphere” to the book, but *does* provide quite a few set pieces for the action sequences to look that much cooler.

Ultimately, this is one of those books that as long as you approach it as you would say WWE or the Fast and Furious franchise – ie, just go with the flow and enjoy the spectacle – it absolutely works. If you’re looking for anything more serious than that, you’re going to be disappointed.

Very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book info, description, author bio, social links, and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: One Deadly Eye by Randy Wayne White”