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 Midnight Secrets by Ella Grace

Rating - 3
ARC - On sale 4/30/2013

On a hot southern night, a family is shattered. Three daughters—Savannah, Samantha, and Sabrina Wilde—go on with their lives as they bear the memory of the murder-suicide that killed their parents. For years, they have stayed away from Midnight, Alabama. Now, a prosecutor, Savannah is the first one back when a case in Nashville leads her to seek shelter in the once grand Wilde mansion.  While she's home, Savannah decides to start going through the mansion, preparing it for sale. When she finds some old letters left by her father, she begins to realize that her parents' death wasn't what it seemed. As she starts asking questions, she realizes that her life is in danger. Zach Tanner, once the town’s bad boy and her first lover, is now the new police chief. Working together to solve the mystery, Zach and Savannah realize that the chemistry they had as teenagers is still there.

 

This was an entertaining, romantic, suspenseful book. I thorougly enjoyed reading it and I look forward to reading the next books in this series.

Review of Devil's Pass by Sigmund Brouwer

Rating - 4
Young Adult

Seventeen year old Webb is living on the streets of Toronto, Canada, alone except for his beloved guitar and the $2,000 in pre-paid bank cards he had stuffed against his body in a money belt. He was about to embark on a cross-country journey to the Northwest Territory on a mission for his grandfather. Two weeks ago, his beloved grandfather passed away. At the funeral, the lawyer showed the family a video that grandfather had filmed when he knew he was dying. Each of his 7 grandsons were sent on a mission, fully funded, by grandfather. Webb's journey would take him to Devil's Pass in Alaska. It was a long trip and along the way, Webb had plenty of time to think about his life thus far, his relationship with his family and would learn more about his grandfather's past. He also learned that the most dangerous animal on earth isn't a grizzly bear...it's a man.

Devil's Pass is one of seven books written by seven different authors all of which were released simultaneously in Oct. 2012. Each book follows one of David McLean's teenaged grandsons as they embark on missions all over the world, sent by their grandfather. The authors are well-known, recognized children's or YA book authors. Devil's Pass, written by Sigmund Brouwer, is exciting, with plenty of danger and adventure experienced by the teenage protagonist. The books will appeal especially to boys in grades 5-8.

Review of Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Rating - 4

Nick and Amy Dunne seem to have a fairly decent marriage, although they face many of the same challenges that other marriages face...lack of communication, aging parents, job loss. But on their 5th wedding anniversary, Amy vanishes. When Nick comes home from work, his house is a wreck and there is no sign of her. He calls the police and thus starts the search for his missing wife...with him as the chief suspect. But all is not as it seems. When the police find Amy's diary, everything in it points to Nick as her murderer. Nick knows he didn't do it, but how will he prove it?This book features one of the most dysfunctional marriages ever. Nick and Amy's marriage not only isn't perfect, it's full of secrets and lies and deceptions. Just when you think you know what's going to happen, everything changes. The plot is full of twists and turns and I never would have guessed the ending. Neither Nick nor Amy are likable characters, but the plot is so clever it won't matter.

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 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 The Summons by John Grisham

Rating - 3

When Ray Atlee receives a summons from his dying father, Judge Reuben Atlee, he immediately flies back home to Mississippi. When rhe arrives, he finds his father dead in his chair in his home office. Judge Atlee had been in the final stages  of cancer and in severe pain, so Ray felt a mixture of grief and relief. His brother, Forrest, has been summoned also, so Ray decides to wait until he calls the coroner and the authorities, so Forrest can say goodbye in private. While Ray waits for his brother to arrive, he looks in a cabinet behind the sofa for some paper to write on and discovers a number of identical boxes. He opens one of the boxes and discovers it's full of money. After going through the rest of the boxes, he finds a total of $3 million. Ray is stunned. Where did this money come from? Why was it hidden? Who else knows it's there? Ray decides he can't just leave it there, so he moves all of the boxes to another location and decides not to tell anyone about the money until he knows more about it, not even his brother. Thus starts a journey of discovery for Ray. Along the way, he will learn more about his father and brother, will be followed and have his life threatened numerous times.
Parts of this book are very suspenseful and it is very fast-paced. There is a suspenseful build-up to the end, but nothing really happens. I felt let-down when I finished it.

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 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 Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear

Rating - 4

At the age of 13, Maisie Dobbs procures a job as a housemaid in a nobleman's house. Maisie lived in near poverty with her father from the time her mother died when she was a young child. Although Maisie never went to school, she was a avid reader. One day her new employer finds her reading in his library and eventually discover that not only is Maisie a bright young woman, but she is exceptionally gifted. Her new employers decide to take Maisie under their wing and educate her. In her second year of college, war breaks out and Maisie decides to become a nurse and work on the battle front treating the wounded soldiers. When the war is over and Maisie returns to England, she decides that attending college is too frivolous and wants to something with her education. She starts her own business as a private investigator and her first case involves severely injured war veterans.

This is the first book in a series about Maisie Dobbs. I had a hard time putting this book down once I started reading it. The characters drawn the reader in immediately and at the end I needed to know more about Maisie and her life.  Highly recommended. Fans of the PBS TV show, Downton Abby, will really enjoy this book since it is set during the same time period and deals with the upper and lower class system prevalent in England at that time.

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.