Tag: mystery

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#BookReview: The Girls In The Basement by Steena Holmes

Dark Tale Well Told From An Interesting Perspective. First, I gotta give props to Holmes for the way she handled the trigger warning in this book. I personally prefer them to be on the author’s website so those (like me) who prefer not to have any spoilers at all going into the book can have that experience, yet those who need/ want trigger warnings can still find that information as well. (Also, to be clear, Kindles automatically begin just after the table of contents in a book, so if a trigger warning is included at that spot, it *cannot* be easily skipped.) This noted, if you as an author are going to put one at the front of the book… maybe use a version of the one Holmes used here. 😉

As to the actual story here, it is one of those slower psychological thrillers where you *know* some *dark* stuff is going on largely behind the scenes… and even get the occassional glimpse of it from other characters… yet getting our main character to the point of seeing that which she has spent a lifetime not seeing…. takes some time.

One good thing that Holmes chooses here that keeps the book from going even more into the darkness is that while *some* aspects of the behind-the-pages darkness make it onto the page – enough to get a glimpse of all that is happening – that particular element isn’t shown as much as perhaps some readers may want. Instead, Holmes focuses much more on the views of the wife who thinks her family is finally safe and can live a normal life… except that she keeps catching her husband having hushed conversations about… something. This, to me, is the far stronger storyline as it is one of the *less explored* stories in the genre generally.

There are a lot of characters here, absolutely, and while it can get a touch tough to track them all in the beginning, as the story plays out it does become much more clear who is doing what and when, particularly in the rather explosive climax.

For those who prefer their stories ended in nice little bows that wrap up every single thread… yeah, this aint that. And is actually a stronger tale because of it… and, perhaps, one that means that Holmes intends to come back to this world. Time will tell. 😉

Very much recommended.

This review of The Girls In The Basement by Steena Holmes was originally written on April 8, 2025.

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#BookReview: Desperate Deadly Widows by Kimberly Belle, Layne Fargo, Cate Holahan, and Vanessa Lillie

Less Romp. More GirlBoss. Set in the aftermath of Young Rich Widows (though with curious timing, as that book was supposed to take place in 1986, this one is supposed to take place in 1987, and yet at least one character has had events happen that would mean this book would need to be in 1988 at minimum), this is less of the borderline comedic romp Young Rich was and far more GirlBoss now as the titular Widows all find themselves in various positions of power and influence themselves. Oh, and there is a complex murder mystery here with even more twists and turns – of more serious, if less life threatening, natures – than the first book.

And this is actually a good thing, as it shows a great deal of growth of our four lead characters even from the first time they show up in this book all the way through the end. The friendships they managed to create through the first book are going to be put to the test in several different ways here, and while there is a decent amount of comedy still left to be had… it is almost more of a Sisterhood Of The Travelling Pants / Crossroads (the 2002 movie with Britney Spears) type tale here (and indeed, Spears’ last line in Crossroads could well be the ending line here).

Ultimately this really was quite good and a remarkable follow up to Young Rich Widows… specifically *because* it didn’t follow the exact same type of tale and instead went the direction of showing growth in all aspects, even as it remained true to the core of the tale and stylings of the book that came before. This noted, much like say a Big Fat Greek Wedding or a Mamma Mia, while a second tale works much better than one might expect given where the first tale ended… maybe the series ends here. Or maybe Belle, Fargo, Holahan, and Lillie find a way to continue it one more time that makes sense without being a blatant cash grab. But for me at least, this really does work as a finale to these characters and this world, so we’ll see what happens going forward.

Very much recommended.

This review of Desperate Deadly Widows by Kimberly Belle, Cate Holahan, Vanessa Lillie, and Layne Fargo was originally written on April 8, 2025.

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#BookReview: Saltwater by Katy Hays

Beautiful Setting. Atrocious People. Maybe Someone Will See The Light. This is one of those tales where there aren’t really too many “good” people – even the people you ostensibly want to root for are doing some very *bad* things! But the imagery of the beautiful Italian islands is absolutely stunning and well done… and even make it a point to play into the endgame, which is always appreciated.

While the book *does* start rather slow, stick with it. It is no Great Gatsby where the first x amount of it is an utter snooze fest that is more apt to put you to sleep rather than keep you up all night… but it *does* get to the “keep you up all night” level. Eventually. And then it keeps you there until damn near the last word of the tale.

Overall a fun book of its type, one with enough to keep you invested and take you to somewhere not where you are. (Unless you happen to be on said Italian islands. Then… maybe read something else if you want to be transported somewhere else? :D) Actually a rather good beach/ cruise read due to the setting at minimum.

Very much recommended.

This review of Saltwater by Katy Hays was originally written on March 25, 2025.

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#BookReview: The Secrets Of Good People by Boo Walker and Peggy Shainberg

Walker Shows Impressive Range. I’ve been reading Walker’s books for a few years now, and this is a first for him in my experience with him (though he notes in the Author’s Note that he had written a few books of this type prior to when I started reading his books). A laid back mystery of a form I call a “Gulf Coast Mystery”, almost like a more serious version of D.P. Lyle’s Jake Longley books – and set decades prior to those books. (Ok, so Ray Longley (Jake’s dad) and Quentin Jones crossing paths could have been interesting – just sayin’, Walker and Lyle. 😉 )

Walker, who has spent time living in many different places even in the few years I’ve been following him, among which was this particular region of Florida described in the book, captures the setting well – perhaps added by Shainberg’s original text, which Walker notes (again in the Author’s Note) was much of the tale up to Chapter 12.

Being set in the 1970s, this book has some things that will offend “modern sensibilities”, including quite a bit of cigarette smoking (virtually unheard of in many places in the 2020s) and even one particular situation that even hints of in the 2010s and beyond in particular tends to be vilified to the nth degree, and indeed gets snide comments even now in the 2020s even when everything plays out perfectly legally. I’m not going to indicate how it plays out in the text just because that would be a spoiler, as the tension of this particular situation plays into the overall narrative.

Speaking of which, Walker does a particularly good job of sticking to the old adage of “if you show a blue shoe on page 2, that blue shoe better play into the end game”. (Ok, so I absolutely butchered the quote, but the point being to show *exactly* what you want shown and *nothing* else.) Meaning that this is one of those tales where everyone has secrets… and, well… how everything comes together can get quite a bit thrilling…

Seriously, this was perhaps the more interesting aspect of this book is that even as a women’s fiction/ mystery blend – the men’s fiction side of it tending to be something Walker has excelled at in my reading of his work these last several years – Walker really does manage to do the thriller and even romance sides particularly well, particularly deep into the text.

Overall truly one of Walker’s better books from several different angles, both in showing more fully his range and in his ability to work with what another author had begun and finish it out in a way that seems true to that original author’s vision – which could provide Walker a path forward, should he ever run out of his own ideas. 🙂

Very much recommended.

This review of The Secrets Of Good People by Boo Walker and Peggy Shainberg was originally written on March 18, 2025.

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#BookReview: Viper’s Den by J.M. LeDuc

Contains Most Brutal, Most Sadistic Scene I Have *EVER* Read. Truly Even Better Than Reacher. With this particular entry in the series, LeDuc takes Sinclair O’Malley places that Reacher has gone – and beats him! – *and* gives O’Malley a depth of character that Reacher will never obtain.

And yes, it is via the said most brutal, most sadistic scene I have ever read. I’ve read some dark, twisted shit over the years, including books with on screen child sexual abuse, rape, and other brutalities. *NEVER* have I encountered one book that had all of that… *in a single scene*. Truly the darkest, sickest, most twisted scene I have ever encountered across reading literally thousands of books across nearly every imaginable genre and niche out there… and yet LeDuc *absolutely* makes it work to further his character and finally more fully explain some of her own more brutal – excuse me, “direct” – methods.

Then there is the one scene in particular where O’Malley takes on one of my absolute *favorite* Reacher scenes in that entire franchise (and yes, I read them all until a book or two into the Andrew Child books)… and LeDuc outdoes Lee in even that type of scene. The scene here is different than the Reacher scene, but to be clear, the scene I’m talking about in Reacher is the sniping competition Reacher has with the militia leader in Die Trying, where Reacher pulls off a particularly impressive feat.

There’s a LOT going on in this book, and a LOT – even beyond the scene above – that will be disturbing for some people, including some blatant on screen racism deep in the book (from the bad guys, to be clear), but revealing some of this stuff gets deeper into spoiler territory than I feel is warranted in this review. (I have no problems mentioning the types of stuff in the scene above, mostly because I understand how deeply traumatizing that stuff can be even in one scene, and because it is *only* in the one scene and doesn’t really give away much else about the book. I also spoke in generalities that don’t even fully give away that particular scene. The other things I’m alluding to here are far more central to the book, and thus even mentioning them would be too much spoiler.)

This may well be the best book in the series to date – and likely absolutely is. But there is also a lot of backstory here that you need to read *at minimum* Book 4, Eastern Drift, to be prepared for, and really you should start at the beginning of this series and work your way to this book, if you haven’t yet. Trust me, the reward will absolutely be worth it, *and* this book sets up the future of the series very nicely.

Very much recommended.

This review of Viper’s Den by J.M. LeDuc was originally written on March 4, 2025.

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#BookReview: The Gray Ghost by David Wood And Stephen John

Maddock AND Bones. Back Together! And Taking On A Civil War Mystery! This is what I love to see from Wood. Both Dane Maddock and Uriah ‘Bones’ Bonebrake back together again solving archaeological mysteries and kicking ass when needed.

The mystery – and adventure – here are awesome for this Son of the South who frequently notes how the Civil War is literally still visible in my home region between Atlanta and Chattanooga… and it isn’t even hard to find in that particular region. While this mystery starts in Virginia, it does in fact also find itself in a location I’ve been to a few times – even taken a date or two out there, *many* years ago. Atlanta’s Stone Mountain Park, home of the largest bas-relief sculpture in the world… and site of many anti-Confederacy protests over the years.

But even if you’re not from the Southern United States and haven’t grown up with this history all around you (as only certain regions of even the South have), the mystery here is still top-notch, and the action is even better. If you like say National Treasure, the 2000s era movie where Nic Cage steals the Declaration of Independence… now imagine Nic and his best friend are both former US Navy SEALs, with action – and danger – ramping up to challenge even them.

Ultimately this was the same type of dangerous (for the characters) yet fun (for the reader) action/ adventure tale that makes this series so excellent, and this was yet another truly great entry in this long running series.

Very much recommended.

This review of The Gray Ghost by David Wood and Stephen John was originally written on March 2, 2025.

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#BlogTour: Gone In The Storm by B.R. Spangler

For this blog tour, we’re looking at a murder mystery with one of the creepier killers I’ve read of late. For this blog tour, we’re looking at Gone In The Storm by B.R. Spangler.

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

Spangler Returns With One Of His Creepiest Killers Yet. Seriously, while Spangler has had some pretty creepy killers in this series in particular, this one is certainly near the top of that particular chart – and we see this from essentially the opening words of this text.

Maintaining the series cohesion, this tale is nearly as much about Detective Casey White’s personal and professional struggles as it is the “freak of the week” murder mystery, so even as White finds herself going up against one of her toughest investigations to date… she’s also encountering a lot of things that make her question a lot of things, and these ultimately could prove quite interesting indeed to the overall series – or even perhaps an ending at some point in the near-ish future?

For me, this particular tale, with its falsely accused high school student in particular, took a bit of a more personal tack, as I too ran into a somewhat similar situation at that age, so I know all too well what that feels like. In my personal case, while it wound up leading me to leave that school, it also wound up giving me everything I now have thanks to a very crucial several month period there between Fall 1998 and Summer 1999. I’ll simply note that I have – still, all these years later – a very nicely written apology letter from one of the leaders of those falsely accusing me back then and that because of all of that, I met my high school mentor, Tommy Harris, then of the now long defunct Bartow Academy in Cartersville, Georgia – and it was Mr. Harris who became so instrumental in helping shape truly the rest of my life. So while we don’t know how this situation affects the rest of this particular character’s life in the world Spangler has created here, I can state with confidence that such situations *can* wind up ultimately benefitting the falsely accused – even though the hell they go through in the short term can be quite immense, and Spangler does a great job of showing this.

Read this book because it really is an excellently written creepy murder mystery set, as always with this series, in North Carolina’s Outer Banks. And hey, maybe something in it will resonate with you too. Either way, make sure to leave a review once you’ve read it.

Very much recommended.

After the jump, the “publisher details” – book info, description, author bio, social links, and buy links.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: Gone In The Storm by B.R. Spangler”

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#BlogTour: Nothing Ever Happens Here by Seraphina Nova Glass

For this blog tour, we’re looking at a solid thriller that uses multi-perspectives from a rare type of character class to tell an excellent tale. For this blog tour, we’re looking at Nothing Ever Happens Here by Seraphina Nova Glass.

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

Not For Everyone. Read It Anyway. This is one of those tales that with its focus on a distinct type of character – namely, elderly residents of a care home – and with its use of multiple perspectives to tell its tale won’t be something everyone likes. Well, not everyone likes [insert your personal favorite book here], so read this one anyway and maybe see some things from perspectives you might never have considered before. To me, Glass creates her characters well – yes, they are all old and have some stereotypical elder shenanigans, but they’re also all truly complex characters with their own secrets and motivations and connections, and this winds up working well to drive the narrative, particularly as we get deeper into the overall story here.

Ultimately a satisfying thriller that sits comfortably within its genre as far as overall story goes, and with the particular characters employed helps it to stand out a bit from the literal millions of other books within this general space. If you enjoy thrillers at all, this is absolutely one you should check out. And even if you don’t generally enjoy thrillers, this is still an interesting one to try out to see if you may be more open to the genre than you thought.

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: Nothing Ever Happens Here by Seraphina Nova Glass”

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#BookReview: Curse Of The Cryptid by David Wood

One Sitting Read Perfect Introduction To Author. This is one of those novellas that is *so* short that it is actually possible to read it in one sitting – by the time most anyone (barring certain medical conditions) will need to get up again… you’re already done with this 80 ish page book.

And yet it really is a perfect introduction to Wood’s style of storytelling and this ever expanding “Dane Maddock Universe” in particular. There’s enough references here to prior events that newer readers will be enticed to go back to read about those particular adventures, and these same references make it fun for longer term fans to remember “oh yeah, that happened in that book”.

So either for long term fans looking for the next bit of fun or people new to Wood and these characters, you’re going to have fun with this one sitting read.

And yes, it had a bit of particular interest *for me* since it happened to take place not far from an area I lived in for several years – this particular swamp where this takes place is basically on the other side of Columbia, SC from where I lived and worked on the shores of Lake Murray, just across and outside town.

Overall a fun, quick read for anyone, and thus a great one to help hit those reading goals either at the end of a month or perhaps at the end of a year.

Very much recommended.

This review of Curse Of The Cryptid by David Wood was originally written on February 4, 2025.

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#BookReview: A-List by D.P. Lyle

Great Laid Back Gulf Coast Mystery In The Big Easy. This particular mystery manages to capture the aura and allure of both Hollywood and New Orleans (and my AI voices I use for the Audio book reviews I post to YouTube aren’t going to be able to pick up the Southern, much less local, pronunciation of that town’s name). You’ve got the glitzy high priced hotels and the down in the weed drug dealers. You’ve got Cafe Du Monde and a bayou full of gators. You’ve got the real world pressures of being on set on a movie and trying to stay within budget… and a lead actor who likes to sleep around with the locals.

And then you’ve got Jake Longly, his girlfriend Nicole, his dad Ray, and his best friend Pancake. Yet again doing what they do, and yet again using each of their talents to help solve the mystery – and resolve the resultant fight scene. Jake being the former MLB pitcher who knows his way around a bat, Nicole learning her way in a fight, Ray being the former SpecOps-adjacent soldier, and Pancake being a beefy guy that could likely hold his own with Jack None Reacher, should the crew ever come across him.

This particular entry in the series is absolutely more New Orleans focused than general Gulf Coast / Floribama vibe that the other books in this series generally have, and yet it absolutely works for the story told here.

Very much recommended.

This review of A-List by D.P. Lyle was originally written on February 4, 2024.