Review of Silenced by Allison Brennan

Rating - 4

 A number of known prostitutes--with scores of high profile clients--are turning up dead all over D.C. Is this the work of a depraved killer? Or the result of an inside job? Lucy's investigation will take her into an underground network of prostitutes, the chambers of the country's most powerful players, and her own dark past to confront an unknown enemy who's always one step ahead of her. With the help of her P.I. boyfriend Sean Rogan, Lucy must find and protect the only witness who can identify the killer and end the conspiracy, but can the witness be trusted? Lucy will risk everything to expose the truth and ensure justice is served, even if that means putting herself in the line of fire ... (Desc. from Amazon)

The Lucy Kincaid series is my favorite of Brennan's numerous series. The characters of Lucy and Sean are nuanced and finely drawn. Each book in the series explores their characters more deeply. As a writer, Brennan is a master of complex plot twists. Once started, her books are hard to put down.

Review of The Final Cut by Catherine Coulter, J. T. Ellison

Rating: 4

 Scotland Yard’s new chief inspector Nicholas Drummond is on the first flight to New York when he learns his colleague, Elaine York, the "“minder of the Crown Jewels for the “Jewel of the Lion” exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, was found murdered. Then the centerpiece of the exhibit, the infamous Koh-i-Noor Diamond, is stolen from the Queen Mother’s crown. Drummond, American-born but raised in the UK, is a dark, dangerous, fast-rising star in the Yard who never backs down. And this case is no exception. Working with FBI special-agent Michaela "Mike" Caine, they determine that the thief is an international art thief known as "The Fox". The Fox will stop at nothing to deliver the Koh-i-Noor to the man who believes in its deadly prophecy. (Desc. from Amazon).

I haven't read anything by Catherine Coulter for many years. After reading Final Cut, I realize I've been missing out! Taut suspense, action, and great characters combine to form a highly entertaining read.

Review of Breaking the Rules by Suzanne Brockmann

Rating - 3

 Navy SEAL Izzy Zanella and his estranged wife, Eden Gillman, are set on saving her brother even if that means reconciling with each other to prove to a court that they can give better care to the young teenage boy. Just as their hearts begin to mend, the makeshift family gets caught up in saving another youth from a crime ring in Las Vegas and ends up with a group of dangerous men on their trail.

It's sad to see the end of the Trouboeshooters series. This was probably not the best of the series, but it had Brockmann's characteristic suspense, romance and the brotherhood of the SEALs. I look forward to reading whatever Brockmann comes up with next.

Review of If I Should Die by Allison Brennan

Rating - 4

While helping their friends stop malicious vandals targeting their new resort, aspiring FBI agent Lucy Kincaid and her P.I. boyfriend, Sean Rogan, stumble upon a dead body, which then disappears, leading them into the middle of a violent conspiracy.

Romantic suspense is one of my favorite genres and I enjoy reading Brennan's stories about the Rogan and Kincaid families. They sre suspenseful, romantic and fast-paced. What's not to like?

Review of Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles

Rating - 4
Young Adult

 When Brittany Ellis walks into chemistry class on the first day of senior year, she’s forced to be lab partners with Alex Fuentes, a gang member from the other side of town, and he is about to threaten everything she's worked so hard for—her flawless reputation, her relationship with her boyfriend, and the secret that her home life is anything but perfect.  Bad-boy Alex makes a bet with his friends that he can sleep with Brittany, but he soon realizes Brittany is a real person with real problems, and suddenly the bet he made in arrogance turns into something much more. (Des. Amazon)

Elkeles flawlessly depicts the differences between the "haves" and "have-nots" at many urban high schools in this country, especially when gangs are involved. This story is full of tension and romance and probably ends better than it might in real-life, but it is an engaging read and high school students should definitely relate.

Review of Broken by Karin Slaughter

Rating - 4

When Special Agent Will Trent arrives in Grant County, he finds a police department determined to protect its own and far too many unanswered questions about a prisoner’s death. He doesn’t understand why Officer Lena Adams is hiding secrets from him. He doesn’t understand her role in the death of Grant County’s popular police chief. He doesn’t understand why that man’s widow, Dr.Sara Linton, needs him now more than ever to help her crack this case.

While the police force investigates the murder of a young woman pulled from a frigid lake, Trent investigates the police force, putting pressure on Adams just when she’s already about to crack. Caught between two complicated and determined women, trying to understand Linton’s passionate distrust of Adams, the facts surrounding Chief Tolliver’s death, and the complexities of this insular town, Trent will unleash a case filled with explosive secrets—and encounter a thin blue line that could be murderous if crossed.

Karin Slaughter is one of my favorite suspense authors. Her characters are well-drawn and there are lots of twists and turns to her plots. Many of her novels are part of a series and the characters in the novels often show up in other series. Each book offers a little more back-story of the main characters, which helps the reader understand the characters better. If you are a reader of suspense novels, pick up Karin Slaughter.

Review of Thereby Hangs a Tail by Spencer Quinn

Rating - 4

 Private Investigators Chet (a dog) and Bernie are hired to find a missing showdog named Princess and her owner who have been kidnapped. Also missing is local newspaper reporter and very good friend, Suzie Sanchez. As Chet and Bernie dig further into the case, there seems to be a lot more going on than a missing showdog.
Quinn's Chet and Bernie books are great. The two work together and always manage to solve their quirky cases. In typical PI fashion, Bernie never has any money and tends to drink a little too much, but Chet is really the main character and is also the narrator of the story. Quinn does a great job of writing the books through Chet's eyes and that's what makes them so humorous. Highly recommended.

Review of Love Me to Death by Allison Brennan

Rating - 4

Six years ago, Lucy Kincaid was attacked and nearly killed by an online predator. She survived. Her attacker did not. Now Lucy's goal is to join the FBI and fight cyber-crime, but in the meantime, she's volunteering with a victim's rights group, surfing the Web undercover to lure sex offenders into the hands of the law. But when the predators she hunts start turning up as murder victims, the FBI takes a whole new interest in Lucy.With her future and possibly even her freedom suddenly in jeopardy, Lucy discovers she's a pawn in someone's twisted plot to mete out vigilante justice. She joins forces with security expert and daredevil Sean Rogan, and together they track their elusive quarry. (Desc. by Fantastic Fiction)

This is the first book I've read by Allison Brennan and I really enjoyed it. Romantic suspense is one of my favorite genres so I'm happy to have a new author to read. "Love Me to Death" is the first book in the Lucy Kincaid series. Luci and Seth have family members who appear in previous novels by Brennan, but this is their first book together. The novel has good character development, taut pacing and plenty of suspense. Highly recommended for romantic suspense lovers.

Review of Sacred Evil by Heather Graham

Rating - 4

The details of the crime scene are no coincidence. The body—a promising starlet—has been battered, bloodied and then discarded between two of Manhattan's oldest graveyards.

One look and Detective Jude Crosby recognizes the tableau:
A re–creation of Jack the Ripper's gruesome work. But he also sees something beyond the actions of a mere copycat. Something more dangerous…and unexplainable.
As the city seethes with suspicion, Jude calls on Whitney Tremont, a member of the country's preeminent paranormal investigating team, to put the speculation to rest. Yet when Whitney and Jude delve deeper, what they discover is more shocking than either could have predicted, and twice as sinister…(retrieved from Amazon.com).
While an enjoyable read, this 3rd book in the Krewe of Hunters series gets bogged down by the amount of historical information provided about Jack the Ripper. It's still very suspenseful and keeps you guessing until the very end of the book. (Krewe of Hunters, Bk. 3).

Review of Phantom Evil by Heather Graham

Rating - 4

Jackson Crow, a former member of the government's Behavioral Sciences Unit in Washington, D.C., leads a covert group investigating a reputedly haunted New Orleans house. When Regina Holloway, the wife of a popular Louisiana state senator takes a fatal fall from the balcony of the couple's French Quarter mansion, her death is officially ruled a suicide, but could ghosts have been involved? Angela Hawkins, a Virginia police officer with the ability to detect paranormal activity, partners with Jackson professionally and romantically as she assists his team in discovering the truth behind Regina's death. (PW, Amazon.com)

Graham writes taught romantic suspense novels, often with a paranormal theme. This one doesn't disappoint. I listened to this one and the reader put me off a bit, but the story was good enough to keep going. (Bk. 1, Krewe of Hunters series).

Review of Defensive Wounds by Lisa Black

Rating - 3


In this fourth novel in Lisa Black’s captivating suspense series, forensic investigator Theresa MacLean finds herself embroiled in a case in which everyone has a motive and everyone is a suspect—especially when high-powered defense attorneys start turning up dead. (Amazon.com)
The mystery and plot were intriguing and the ending was unexpected, but there was too much forensic detail in my opinion, which slowed the pace.

Review of Love You More by Lisa Gardner

Rating - 4.5

Brian Darby lies dead on the kitchen floor. His wife, state police trooper Tessa Leoni, claims to have shot him in self-defense, and bears the bruises to back up her tale. For veteran detective D. D. Warren it should be an open-and-shut case.But where is their six-year-old daughter? (Amazon).

I really liked this book. The plot is compex; the story is told in two voices...Tessa's and D.D.'s. The two points of view allow the reader to know more than the characters' at certain points. It is very suspenseful and difficult to stop reading. Highly recommended.

Review of Save Me by Lisa Scottoline

Rating - 4 

On the day Rose volunteered at her daughter's elementary school to help in the lunchroom, an explosion in the kitchen sets fire to the school. Rose manages to get two little girls out of the lunchroom and to the hallway which leads to the playground outside, then she races back into the fire to find her daughter who was in the bathroom when the fire occurred. Initially, Rose is hailed as a hero for saving her daughters life. But then it is discovered that one of the little girls Rose had led to the hallway was still in the building. She was rescued, but in serious condition. At that point, Rose is reviled as a woman who saved her daughter's life at the expense of another child. In the aftermath of the fire, tempers rage and lawsuits are threatened. Rose is afraid her family will be the target of a criminal investigation. As she tries to piece together what happened that day, she keeps discovering bits of information that don't add up. Apparently the fire which killed three employees, was not an accident at all and Rose begins to realize that there are far bigger issues at stake than an elementary school fire.

I really enjoy Lisa Scottoline's books. They are suspenseful and difficult to stop reading once started.  "Save Me" is no exception. She addresses the issues of bullying, the insularity of small towns, corporate greed and political cover-ups. It seemed at times that there were really too many issues addressed and sometimes Rose's actions seemed a little far-fetched for a stay-at-home Mom living in a small town. But, the suspense and fast-paced kept me on the edge of my seat and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Review of Trust Me on This by Jennifer Crusie

Rating - 3

Dennie Banks is an investigative reporter chasing down the biggest story of her career. Alec Prentice is a government agent working undercover to catch an elusive grifter. When they meet by accident, it's a case of mistaken identities at first sight. What they don't mistake is the instant attraction they have for each other, an attraction they'll do everything in their power to resist--because Dennie thinks that Alec is running interference for her interview subject, and Alec suspects that Dennie is linked to his swindler. As the confusion grows, so do their feelings for each other, and what begins as a romantic comedy of errors may just end in the love affair of a lifetime. (Brilliance Audio Description).

This was a typical Jennifer Crusie madcap romance, full of her signature humor. It is a reprint of one of her earlier books and it was obvious, lacking some of the depth of her more current books. Still it was fun, enter taining and great to listen to.

Review of Eve by Iris Johansen

Rating - 4

Eve Duncan is a forensic sculptor. She analyzes bones and pieces them together to try and identify dead people. It's her mission in life. She lost her child, Bonnie, years ago and Eve constantly hopes that one day she will find out what happened to Bonnie even as she brings other people's children home using her talent. Her good friend, Catherine Ling, now comes to Eve with some information which might actually help Eve finally find out what happened to Bonnie.
Eve is the first in a 3 book series about Eve, Quinn and Bonnie. Much of the book is flashback to Eve's youth and the birth of Bonnie. Simultaneously, there is a race to find the person who not only may be Bonnie's killer but someone who has close ties to Eve's youth. There are parts of the book that seem to drag, especially the flashbacks, but the information is new to reader's of the Eve Duncan series and the search for the killer is extememly suspenseful and fast-paced.

Review of Smokin' Seventeen by Janet Evanovich

Rating - 4

Stephanie Plum is back and nothing much has changed. She's still trying to choose between Morelli and Ranger, her mother is still trying to "fix her up" with a potential husband and she and Lola are still busy trying to pick up criminals who have jumped bail. This time, she has three people trying to kill her which keeps her on her toes!

I've read all of the Stephanie Plum novels. Some have been better than others and this one was one of the better ones!

Review of Scarlet Nights by Jude Deveraux

Rating = 3

Sarah Shaw is happily planning her wedding to Greg Anders.  The wedding is in a few weeks, but Greg had to leave town suddenly and she hasn't been able to contact him since.  Then one night while she is temporarily sleeping in her friends' apartment while her plumbing is being fixed, a trapdoor opens in the floor of her bedroom and a (very handsome) man emerges. Mike Newland is an undercover FBI agent who is investigating a family of criminals and has traced them to the small town of Edilean. After a rocky start, Sarah and Mike become "friends" but are also very attracted to each other.  Sarah doesn't realize that Mike is about to burst her very happy bubble.

This is the third book in the Edilean series and features many of the previous characters.  It is a pleasantly entertaining novel until the last few chapters when the plot becomes totally implausible. I was enjoying the book until that point, but the ending ruined it for me.

Review: Sizzling Sixteen by Janet Evanovich

Rating: 4

Stephanie's cousin, Vincent Plum, has been kidnapped and held for ransom. It seems that Vinnie has been scamming the books for his bail bonds business and scammed the wrong people. Stephanie, Lola, and Connie set out to rescue him, since they stand to lose their jobs if Vinnie is killed. Along the way, Stephanie searches for her usual quirky criminals, trying to bring them back to jail. Of course, Ranger and Morelli are in the mix, keeping Stephanie as confused as ever as to which of the two men she cares for the most.

This installment is just as funny and quirky as the other Stephanie Plum novels. At #16, they are getting rather formulaic, but the plot in this one was fun and kept me entertained to the end and waiting for the next installment.

Review: Payback Time by Carl Deuker

Rating = 4
Young Adult Novel

Mitch True is an overweight high school student who dreams of becoming a famous journalist. He is building his portfolio by writing for his high school newspaper. Assigned to the sports beat by the new editor, he is disappointed, but soon discovers a mystery surrounding one of the high school football players. If Mitch can sniff out the details, there could be a huge story involved with his name attached.

Payback Time is one of Deuker's best. The play-by-play accounts of the football games went right over my head, but football aficionados will love it. The story is told in Mitch's voice. a fairly typical high school senior who has a goal and is dogged in his pursuit of it. As his story evolves, he realizes that every story has two sides and sometimes there are consequences when the "truth" comes out.

Teenagers should enjoy the action and suspense. This one entertains until the very last page.