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Book Review

Blood for Blood by Victoria Selman [Book Review]

Posted on by Darinda
Book Review

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more info, read my Disclosure Policy.

BOOK INFO

Title: Blood for Blood

Author: Victoria Selman

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer

Publish Date: February 1, 2019

Genre: Crime & Detective

Series: Ziba MacKenzie #1

My Rating: 4/5

Blood for Blood by Victoria Selman

BOOK BLURB

Ziba Mackenzie profiles killers. Now one is profiling her.

Rush hour, London. A packed commuter train is torn apart in a collision. Picking through the carnage, ex-special forces profiler Ziba MacKenzie helps a dying woman who passes on a cryptic message: He did it. You have to tell someone.

When a corpse is found bearing the gruesome signature of a serial killer dormant for twenty-five years, Ziba is pulled into the hunt for the perpetrator. As the body count rises it becomes clear he’s on a new spree. But what’s brought the London Lacerator back after such a long hiatus? And does his sudden return have anything to do with the woman on the train?

Ziba scrambles to profile the killer in the hope of predicting his next move. But time is running out. And the closer she gets to uncovering his identity, the closer he gets to destroying hers.

Blood for Blood by Victoria Selman

MY REVIEW

Blood for Blood is the first book in a new crime series by debut author Victoria Selman. Ziba MacKenzie is a profiler, and her latest case involves a serial killer who is back after a long hiatus.

A fast-paced crime mystery with a strong female lead. I usually enjoy books with strong female protagonists, but Ziba was kind of annoying. She seemed a bit of a know-it-all, and the weird phrases she uses threw me off. Additionally, I would have liked more backstory about Ziba. I’m guessing that as the series continues, more about Ziba will be revealed.

The mystery was interesting though. The story switched between two points of view – Ziba and the killer. The writing was solid and there were enough twists to keep it interesting.

I enjoy fast-paced mysteries and thrillers, so I’ll probably continue with this series. Hopefully, I start to like Ziba more.

Books in the Ziba MacKenzie series:

  1. Blood for Blood
  2. Nothing to Lose
  3. Snakes and Ladders
Book Review

The Killer Collective by Barry Eisler [Book Review]

Posted on by Darinda
Book Review

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more info, read my Disclosure Policy.

BOOK INFO

Title: The Killer Collective

Author: Barry Eisler

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer

Publish Date: February 1, 2019

Genre: Crime & Detective

Series: John Rain #10, Livia Lone #2.5, Ben Treven #4

My Rating: 4/5

The Killer Collective by Barry Eisler

BOOK BLURB

When a joint FBI–Seattle Police investigation of an international child pornography ring gets too close to certain powerful people, sex-crimes detective Livia Lone becomes the target of a hit that barely goes awry—a hit that had been offered to John Rain, a retired specialist in “natural causes.”

Suspecting the FBI itself was behind the attack, Livia reaches out to former Marine sniper Dox. Together, they assemble an ad hoc group to identify and neutralize the threat. There’s Rain. Rain’s estranged lover, Mossad agent and honeytrap specialist Delilah. And black ops soldiers Ben Treven and Daniel Larison, along with their former commander, SpecOps legend Colonel Scot “Hort” Horton.

Moving from Japan to Seattle to DC to Paris, the group fights a series of interlocking conspiracies, each edging closer and closer to the highest levels of the US government.

With uncertain loyalties, conflicting agendas, and smoldering romantic entanglements, these operators will have a hard time forming a team. But in a match as uneven as this one, a collective of killers might be even better.

The Killer Collective by Barry Eisler

MY REVIEW

John Rain is a hitman offered a job targeting three individuals. He turns down the job, but is swept up in the action when one of the targets, Livia Lone, survives the attempted hit. Not only is John involved, but so are various others with connections to Rain and Livia.

Told using alternating points of view, this novel has a lot of characters and multiple storylines. Even though there was a lot going on, it was easy to follow and everything was wrapped up by the end.

The Killer Collective is part of a series. Actually, it’s part of multiple series by Barry Eisler. I didn’t realize that when I picked it as my First Reads book this month, but, fortunately, it was easily read as a standalone. This is book 10 in the John Rain series, book 3 in the Livia Lone series, and book 4 in the Ben Treven series. John Rain is a “retired” hitman. Livia Lone is a sex crimes detective. Ben Treven is a black ops soldier. I’m sure readers of these series get more from the book than I did, since they would already be familiar with the backstories of the characters. Still, I found it to be a good, fast-paced read. I may look into the earlier books in these series.

This thriller involves multiple government agencies. From Seattle PD to the FBI to the Secret Service. A fast-paced thriller with sex crimes, black ops, and multiple bad guys. Intriguing, complex, and exciting.

Books in the John Rain series:
  1. A Clean Kill in Tokyo
  2. A Lonely Resurrection
  3. Winner Take All
  4. Redemption Games
  5. Extremis
  6. The Killer Ascendant
  7. The Detachment
  8. Graveyard of Memories
  9. Zero Sum
  10. The Killer Collective
  11. The Chaos Kind

Books in the Livia Lone series:

  1. Livia Lone
  2. The Night Trade
  3. The Killer Collective
  4. All the Devils
  5. The Chaos Kind

Books in the Ben Treven series:

  1. Fault Line
  2. Inside Out
  3. The Detachment
  4. The Killer Collective
Book Review

Dead as a Door Knocker by Diane Kelly [Book Review]

Posted on by Darinda
Dead as a Door Knocker by Diane Kelly

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more info, read my Disclosure Policy.

BOOK INFO

Title: Dead as a Door Knocker

Author: Diane Kelly

Publisher: St. Martin

Publish Date: January 29, 2019

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Series: House-Flipper Mystery #1

My Rating: 4/5

Dead as a Door Knocker by Diane Kelly

BOOK BLURB

The first in a brand-new cozy series from Diane Kelly set in Nashville—where the real estate market is to die for.

WILL THIS KILLER DEAL LEAD TO A DEAD END?
Meet Whitney Whitaker. A hopeless romantic when it comes to real estate, she knows what it takes to find—and flip—the home of one’s dreams. A fixer-upper is like catnip to Whitney: she can’t resist the challenge of turning an eyesore into a priceless work of art. So when one of her clients decides to liquidate a crumbling property, Whitney seizes the opportunity to purchase it for a song. But soon a curious incident of the cat in the night-time leads to a change in tune. . .

Sawdust is the name of Whitney’s cat—of course. Whitney’s passion for gut-renovation may be a mystery to him but one thing Sawdust knows for sure is this: Dead bodies don’t belong in flower beds. So why is there one in this new, albeit old, house? Now it’s up to Whitney, along with the help of hot-and-cold Nashville Police Detective Collin Flynn, to find the truth about what happened before the mortgage property forecloses and Whitney loses her investment. . .and maybe her own life.

Dead as a Door Knocker by Diane Kelly

MY REVIEW

Whitney Whitaker is a property manager with dreams of making it big in real estate. When she gets the chance to buy a property to flip it, she thinks it might be too good to be true. And it is. Especially when a dead body is found buried in the flower bed.

Dead as a Door Knocker is the first book in a new cozy mystery series. Whitney is a likable character. She is single, living in her parent’s guest house, and working all the time. She’s a hard-worker with good relationships with her family and friends. In addition to her family and friends, Whitney has a cat, Sawdust. The reader gets insights to their relationship, since a few chapters are from Sawdust’s point of view.

A cute and entertaining cozy mystery. With this being the first book in a series, a lot of the story is spent getting to know the characters. The murder mystery doesn’t get started right away, but when it does, it’s clear Whitney needs to investigate on her own to find the killer.

A fantastic start to the House-Flipper mystery series. I look forward to reading more about Whitney in future books.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Books in the House-Flipper Mystery Series:
  1. Dead as a Doorknocker
  2. Dead in the Doorway
  3. Murder With a View
  4. Batten Down the Belfry
  5. Primer and Punishment
Book Review

The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley [Book Review]

Posted on by Darinda
Book Review

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more info, read my Disclosure Policy.

BOOK INFO

Title: The Hunting Party

Author: Lucy Foley

Publisher: William Morrow

Publish Date: February 12, 2019

Genre: Mystery Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 4/5

The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley

BOOK BLURB

Everyone’s invited…everyone’s a suspect…

During the languid days of the Christmas break, a group of thirtysomething friends from Oxford meet to welcome in the New Year together, a tradition they began as students ten years ago. For this vacation, they’ve chosen an idyllic and isolated estate in the Scottish Highlands—the perfect place to get away and unwind by themselves.

The trip begins innocently enough: admiring the stunning if foreboding scenery, champagne in front of a crackling fire, and reminiscences about the past. But after a decade, the weight of secret resentments has grown too heavy for the group’s tenuous nostalgia to bear. Amid the boisterous revelry of New Year’s Eve, the cord holding them together snaps, just as a historic blizzard seals the lodge off from the outside world.

Two days later, on New Year’s Day, one of them is dead. . . and another of them did it.

Keep your friends close, the old adage says. But how close is too close?

DON’T BE LEFT OUT. JOIN THE PARTY NOW.

The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley

MY REVIEW

A group of old university friends take a trip to celebrate New Year’s together. They travel to a remote estate in the Scottish Highlands. Within a few days, tensions have risen, secrets are revealed, and someone dies.

The character list for this novel is fairly long, with eleven guests plus a baby staying at the estate and three employees working there. The employees are Heather, Doug, and Iain. The university friends are Miranda, Katie, Julien, Mark, Nick, and Samira. Miranda and Julien are now married. Katie is single and traveling alone. Mark is married to Emma. Nick is dating Bo. Samira is married to Giles, and they have a baby, Priya. In addition to this friend group traveling together, an Icelandic couple, Ingvar and Kristin, are also staying at the estate.

With so many characters, it is not surprising that multiple points of view are used in this novel. The viewpoints are Heather, Doug, Miranda, Katie, and Emma. The switching POVs are seamless, and are easily distinguished from one another. The story is told over a three day period, using a flashback approach. The stories open with the “Now” where a body is discovered. Then the events of the preceding days are told, flipping between what happened in the preceding days to the events in the “Now” timeline. This novel has a lot happening, but I found it easy to follow and never got confused with the who and when of the story.

As for the plot, The Hunting Party is an intriguing mystery. While a dead body is found right off the bat, the identity of the deceased is not known until near the end of the story. So, not only was I trying to guess who the killer was, but also who the victim was.

I enjoy this type of mystery. A group of people in an isolated location. A murder. Secret and lies. Dysfunctional friendships and drama. The Hunting Party is such an entertaining read. Highly recommended.

I received a digital copy of this book via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

Books by Lucy Foley:
  1. The Hunting Party
  2. The Guest List
  3. The Paris Apartment
  4. The Midnight Feast
Book Review

The Suspect by Fiona Barton [Book Review]

Posted on by Darinda
Book Review

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more info, read my Disclosure Policy.

BOOK INFO

Title: The Suspect

Author: Fiona Barton

Publisher: Berkley

Publish Date: January 22, 2019

Genre: Amateur Investigator

Series: Kate Waters #3

My Rating: 4/5

The Suspect by Fiona Barton

BOOK BLURB

When two eighteen-year-old girls go missing in Thailand, their families are thrust into the international spotlight: desperate, bereft, and frantic with worry. What were the girls up to before they disappeared?

Journalist Kate Waters always does everything she can to be first to the story, first with the exclusive, first to discover the truth—and this time is no exception. But she can’t help but think of her own son, whom she hasn’t seen in two years, since he left home to go travelling. 

As the case of the missing girls unfolds, they will all find that even this far away, danger can lie closer to home than you might think…

The Suspect by Fiona Barton

MY REVIEW

Two eighteen-year-old girls, Alex and Rosie, go missing in Bangkok, Thailand. Kate Waters, a reporter, is working on the story of the missing girls. While Kate makes connections to stay ahead of the story, she is reminded of her son, Jake. He left home and went to Phuket two years earlier, and Kate rarely hears from him.

Told from alternating points of view – the reporter, the detective, one of the girls, and one of the missing girls’ mothers. The missing girl, the mother, and the detective all have quite a few chapters, but most of the book is from Kate’s POV.

Alex and Rosie are young and looking for adventure on their gap year. Unfortunately for Alex, Rosie has no desire to follow Alex’s well thought-out itinerary. Rosie would rather party than visit the places Alex had in mind for the trip. This causes conflict between the girls. Alex and Rosie also have very different relationships with their parents, as is shown after the girls go missing. The characters are from the UK, so the parents are in the international spotlight when the story breaks.

The reporter, Kate, and the detective, Bob Sparkes, were in the previous books in this series. The Suspect is the third book in the Kate Waters series by Fiona Barton. Kate Waters is a journalist who works hard to stay on top of headline stories. Bob Sparkes is a detective who works the cases Kate reports on. I’ve read the previous two books, The Widow and The Child, and enjoyed them. The books can all be read as standalone novels.

The Suspect is a slow-moving mystery with intriguing characters and a compelling story. This reads more as a police procedural rather than a thriller. I enjoy Barton’s writing style, and found this be an interesting and entertaining read. This one is good for fans of Fiona Barton’s other books and British police procedurals.

I received a digital copy of this book via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

Books in the Kate Waters series:
  1. The Widow
  2. The Child
  3. The Suspect
Book Review

Lie Like a Rug by Donna Huston Murray [Book Review]

Posted on by Darinda
Lie Like a Rug by Donna Huston Murray

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more info, read my Disclosure Policy.

BOOK INFO

Title: Lie Like a Rug

Author: Donna Huston Murray

Publisher: Donna Huston Murray

Publish Date: January 18, 2019

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Series: A Ginger Barnes Mystery #7

My Rating: 4/5

Lie Like a Rug by Donna Huston Murray

BOOK BLURB

While escorting Bryn Derwyn Academy’s most infamous student downtown to be scared straight by a Federal judge, Ginger Barnes is shocked to find her childhood babysitter, textile professor Charlie Finnemeyer, on trial for fraudulently aging an Oriental rug. Even more alarming, Gin learns that two witnesses against her beloved “Uncle Wunk” suffered suspiciously convenient heart attacks.
Eager to assist the professor’s attorney, the veteran amateur sleuth pries secret information from a university president and uncovers past transgressions of a TV craft show host—all while acquiring an overnight education in early American textiles from experts at Winterthur and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Others guilty of questionable behavior: two antique dealers, and Charlie’s overprotective wife.
Still, damning evidence can’t be swept under a rug. Before Gin can persuade anyone else that Charlie is innocent, she must first convince herself.

Lie Like a Rug by Donna Huston Murray

MY REVIEW

Lie Like a Rug is the seventh book in the Ginger Barnes mystery series by Donna Huston Murray. Ginger Barnes is a wife and mother, who occasionally acts as amateur sleuth to solve mysteries. Her husband is headmaster at a private school, and she often helps out at the school. This novel opens with Gin escorting a troublemaker student to the courthouse, and ends up spotting a familiar face in a courtroom.

Gin discovers an old family friend is on trial for antiquities fraud. She doesn’t believe him to be guilty of the charges, so Gin uses her amateur sleuthing skills to help. Unfortunately, the evidence seems to be against her friend, and the dead key witnesses are not helping his case.

This book is in a series, but it can be read as a standalone. I have read book 1 of the series, The Main Line is Murder, but not the other books. This book was originally published years ago (2001), but has been updated by the author.

An entertaining cozy mystery with some humor. Likable characters in an enjoyable, light mystery.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Books in the Ginger Barnes Mystery series:
  1. The Main Line is Murder
  2. Final Arrangements
  3. School of Hard Knocks
  4. No Bones About It
  5. A Score to Settle
  6. Farewell Performance
  7. Lie Like a Rug
  8. For Better or Worse
Book Review

Death in Shangri-La by Yigal Zur [Book Review]

Posted on by Darinda
Book Review

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more info, read my Disclosure Policy.

BOOK INFO

Title: Death in Shangri-La

Author: Yigal Zur

Publisher: Oceanview

Publish Date: August 7, 2018

Genre: Crime & Detective

Series: Dotan Naor Thriller #1

My Rating: 3/5

Death in Shangri-La by Yigal Zur

BOOK BLURB

Ex-Israeli operative turned private investigator, Dotan Naor—to settle a bet—agrees to locate the missing son of former acquaintance, now ruthless Israeli arms merchant, Willy Mizrachi. Willy, who does not hesitate to sell killing machines to the most heinous players in the world, is desperate to find his only son, Itiel, who has headed to an ashram in the Himalayas.

The Himalayas are also host to groups of young Israelis who have completed their mandatory military service—a sort of rite of passage. Now, those innocent kids are being hunted down by violent terrorists.

India and the disputed Kashmir region between India and Pakistan is familiar territory to Dotan, as he searches for Itiel and for the source of these heinous attacks on Israeli youth.

Unwilling to leave this quest in the hands of Dotan, Willy also travels to India, where he is murdered in Delhi, triggering international repercussions capable of ripping the world apart at one of its most dangerous flashpoints.

Nothing is as it seems in this region of the world. Betrayal reigns everywhere.

But love, in its purest form, does manage to shine through in this story of brutal international corruption.

Death in Shangri-La by Yigal Zur

MY REVIEW

Dotan Naor is a former Israeli agent turned private investigator. Willy, an arms dealer and an acquaintance of Dotan, is found dead in India. Dotan travels to India with an Israeli agent to investigate Willy’s death.

Death in Shangri-La is the first book in a new series. The main character, Dotan, is a bit of an unknown. He seems like a smart, spiritual, and dedicated individual, so it’ll be interesting to see where this series goes.

An action thriller with some mystery and romance. While the setting and plot were entertaining, I wasn’t a fan of the characters – they were not as well-developed as I would have liked. Still, a quick and entertaining read.

Books in the Dotan Naor Thriller series:
  1. Death in Shangri-La
  2. Passport to Death
Book Review

As Long as We Both Shall Live by JoAnn Chaney [Book Review]

Posted on by Darinda
Book Review

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more info, read my Disclosure Policy.

BOOK INFO

Title: As Long as We Both Shall Live

Author: JoAnn Chaney

Publisher: Flatiron Books

Publish Date: January 15, 2019

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 4/5

As Long As We Both Shall Live by Joann Chaney

BOOK BLURB

You can’t be married to someone without sometimes wanting to kill them…

As Long As We Both Shall Live is JoAnn Chaney’s wicked, masterful examination of a marriage gone very wrong, a marriage with lots of secrets…

“My wife! I think she’s dead!” Matt frantically tells park rangers that he and his wife, Marie, were hiking when she fell off a cliff into the raging river below. They start a search, but they aren’t hopeful: no one could have survived that fall. It was a tragic accident.

But Matt’s first wife also died in suspicious circumstances. And when the police pull a body out of the river, they have a lot more questions for Matt.

Detectives Loren and Spengler want to know if Matt is a grieving, twice-unlucky husband or a cold-blooded murderer. They dig into the couple’s lives to see what they can unearth. And they find that love’s got teeth, it’s got claws, and once it hitches you to a person, it’s tough to rip yourself free.

So what happens when you’re done making it work?

As Long as We Both Shall Live by JoAnn Chaney

MY REVIEW

Matt and his wife Marie may have some issues, but they’ve been together for over 20 years. When they go for a hike, and Marie goes over the cliff, Matt is the first suspect in her death. In questioning if Marie’s death was an accident or something more sinister, the detectives discover Matt’s first wife was murdered. Either Matt’s a terribly unlucky guy, or he’s hiding something.

As Long as We Both Shall Live is a twisty psychological thriller full of secrets. It seems everyone has something to hide. The main story of Matt and Marie is very engaging. In addition to their story, there is a subplot with an investigation into one of the police officers. This part of the book was not as interesting, and probably could have been left out.

The mystery seemed fairly straightforward, but then it got more and more twisted. As Long as We Both Shall Live is not an obvious story, and I love that it kept me guessing. A page-turner for sure. Dark, intriguing, and clever. A good read for fans of domestic thrillers.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Books by JoAnn Chaney:
  1. What You Don’t Know
  2. As Long as We Both Shall Live
Book Review

The Perfect Liar by Thomas Christopher Greene [Book Review]

Posted on by Darinda
Book Review

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more info, read my Disclosure Policy.

BOOK INFO

Title: The Perfect Liar

Author: Thomas Christopher Greene

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Publish Date: January 15, 2019

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 3/5

The Perfect Liar by Thomas Christopher Greene

BOOK BLURB

A seemingly perfect marriage is threatened by the deadly secrets husband and wife keep from each other.

Susannah, a young widow and single mother, has remarried well: to Max, a charismatic artist and popular speaker whose career took her and her fifteen-year-old son out of New York City and to a quiet Vermont university town. Strong-willed and attractive, Susannah expects that her life is perfectly in place again. Then one quiet morning she finds a note on her door: I KNOW WHO YOU ARE.

Max dismisses the note as a prank. But days after a neighborhood couple comes to dinner, the husband mysteriously dies in a tragic accident while on a run with Max. Soon thereafter, a second note appears on their door: DID YOU GET AWAY WITH IT?

Both Susannah and Max are keeping secrets from the world and from each other—secrets that could destroy their family and everything they have built. Thomas Christopher Greene’s The Perfect Liar is a thrilling novel told through the alternating perspectives of Susannah and Max with a shocking climax that no one will expect, from the bestselling author of The Headmaster’s Wife.

The Perfect Liar by Thomas Christopher Greene

MY REVIEW

Max and Susannah seem to have a great life. When a mysterious note shows up on their door, they want to ignore it, but then a second note appears.

The Perfect Liar is told from alternating points of view, Max and Susannah both have secrets they don’t want getting out. When Susannah met Max, they seemed to fit together perfectly. They met in New York City, but with the success of Max’s career have moved to Vermont. Everything is going well for them, until the mysterious notes start to arrive.

The plot was interesting. The two main characters are both hiding dark secrets. Someone is leaving creepy notes on their door. It seems like a great read, but I never really connected with the story or the characters.

I’ve seen some great reviews for The Perfect Liar, and I imagine it will be a hit with some fans of psychological thrillers. For me, it was good, but not great. Best for fans of dark domestic thrillers with unlikable characters.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review

Fireside Chat with a Grammar Nazi Serial Killer by Ryan Suvaal [Book Review]

Posted on by Darinda
Book Review

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more info, read my Disclosure Policy.

BOOK INFO

Title: Fireside Chat with a Grammar Nazi Serial Killer

Author: Ryan Suvaal

Publisher: Self-Published

Publish Date: January 14, 2019

Genre: Mystery Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 4/5

Fireside Chat with a Grammar Nazi Serial Killer by Ryan Suvaal

BOOK BLURB

Dexter meets Grammar Nazi in this psychological thriller with a twist.

Seventeen gruesome killings were report across the US, within six months and there was one clear connection among victims. They were all writers.
While media was decorating the murders with sensationalist stories, and law enforcement was playing catch-up, the homicidal maniac remained elusive and secretive.
The situation took an interesting turn when one day she appeared on a dark-net talk show for an honest chat. Though her reason for being there was not a quest for fame but something far more disturbing.

Fireside Chat with a Grammar Nazi Serial Killer by Ryan Suvaal

MY REVIEW

A short story about a serial killer. The fireside chat takes place on the darknet, on a show that interviews some of society’s worst people. The latest chat features an interview with a serial killer who targets authors. The killer has murdered seventeen authors for the atrocious and cavalier grammar mistakes in their books. The killer has been dubbed the Grammar Nazi Serial Killer, and believes she has valid reasons for committing the murders.

A clever and twisted short story. The killings are violent and gruesome. The reasons for the killings are hilarious. If you like dark humor and serial killer stories, then this one is for you.

I received a digital copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review

Looker by Laura Sims [Book Review]

Posted on by Darinda
Book Review

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more info, read my Disclosure Policy.

BOOK INFO

Title: Looker

Author: Laura Sims

Publisher: Scribner

Publish Date: January 8, 2019

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 4/5

Looker by Laura SIms

BOOK BLURB

Though the two women live just a few doors apart, a chasm lies between them. The actress, a celebrity with a charmed career, shares a gleaming brownstone with her handsome husband and three adorable children, while the recently separated narrator, unhappily childless and stuck in a dead-end job, lives in a run-down, three-story walk-up with her ex-husband’s cat.

As her fascination with her famous neighbor grows, the narrator’s hold on reality begins to slip. Before long, she’s collecting cast-off items from the actress’s stoop and fantasizing about sleeping with the actress’s husband. After a disastrous interaction with the actress at the annual block party, what began as an innocent preoccupation turns into a stunning—and irrevocable—unraveling.

Looker by Laura SIms

MY REVIEW

A woman is obsessed with a neighbor. The obsessed woman’s life is slowly unraveling, and the neighbor is a beautiful actress who appears to have the perfect life.

Looker is narrated by an unnamed woman who is going through a divorce, infertility, and a failing career. While struggling with various areas of her life, she becomes entranced with her neighbor’s perfect life. As the narrator’s life continues to unravel, she becomes more and more obsessed with her neighbor.

Looker is a dark tale of one woman’s descent into madness. This is a slow-paced story, but one that kept my interest. If you’re looking for a twisty thriller, then pass on this one. If you’re looking for a dark character study, pick Looker up. Dark, complex, and disturbing.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review

She Lies in Wait by Gytha Lodge [Book Review]

Posted on by Darinda
Book Review

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more info, read my Disclosure Policy.

BOOK INFO

Title: She Lies in Wait

Author: Gytha Lodge

Publisher: Random House

Publish Date: January 8, 2019

Genre: Crime & Detective

Series: DCI Jonah Sheens #1

My Rating: 3/5

She Lies in Wait by Gytha Lodge

BOOK BLURB

On a scorching July night in 1983, a group of teenagers goes camping in the forest. When they wake in the morning the youngest of their group, Aurora Jackson, has disappeared. An exhaustive investigation is launched, but no trace of the teenager is ever found.

Thirty years later, Aurora’s body is unearthed in a hideaway that only the six friends knew about, and Jonah Sheens is put in charge of solving the long-cold case. Back in 1983, as a young cop in their small town, he had known the teenagers—including Aurora—personally, even before taking part in the search. Now he’s determined to finally get to the truth of what happened that night. Sheens’s investigation brings the members of the camping party back to the forest, where they will be confronted once again with the events that left one of them dead and all of them profoundly changed forever.

This searing, psychologically captivating novel marks the arrival of a dazzling new talent, and the start of a new series featuring Detective Chief Inspector Jonah Sheens.

She Lies in Wait by Gytha Lodge

MY REVIEW

A group of teens go camping, and one of them goes missing. Thirty years later, the missing girl’s remains are found. The investigation looks into what happened that night in the woods.

Told with alternating timelines – the night the teens gathered in the woods to camp and the investigation thirty years later. I enjoy the alternating timelines, especially when there is such a big difference in time. Aurora is the missing girl, and the past is told from her point of view. The present is from the investigation side. This worked well. It made it more intriguing to guess who of the teens were telling the truth and who was trying to hide something.

This is a straightforward police procedural. A girl goes missing, stays missing for years, then her body is discovered. The police investigate to find who killed her and why. I enjoy these types of books, but this one did fall a little flat. I didn’t really connect to the characters, so that held something back for me. It’s a good read though, and one I would recommend to fans of British crime fiction.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Books in the DCI Jonah Sheens series:
  1. She Lies in Wait
  2. Watching from the Dark
  3. Lie Beside Me
  4. Little Sister
  5. A Killer in the Family