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Book Review

Mother by S.E. Lynes [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: Mother

Author: S.E. Lynes

Publisher: Bookouture

Publish Date: November 22, 2017

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 3/5

Mother by S. E. Lynes

BOOK BLURB

How far would you go for the perfect family?

When Christopher Harris climbs into his family’s dusty attic, he finds a battered old suitcase containing a letter. Inside the letter is a secret; a secret about his mother that changes everything.

Every mother loves their child. Every child deserves to be loved. But Christopher has grown up so lonely it hurts.

Finally, Christopher thinks he has a chance at happiness. A happiness he will do anything to protect, whatever the cost…

Mother by S. E. Lynes

MY REVIEW

Christopher has never felt like he fit in with his family. One day he finds a letter, and discovers he is adopted. He decides to find his birth mother… she will love him and he will finally have somewhere he belongs.

Mother was told by an anonymous third person, but from Christopher’s point of view. I found this, and the time line, to be a little confusing.

At the beginning of the novel, Christopher turned eighteen and was soon off to university. The primary story was about Christopher wanting to be with his mother, but there was also a side story about a serial killer targeting local women.

A slow psychological thriller set in England in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It took a while for me to get into this book. I was about a third in before I started to get interested in what was happening and where it was all leading.

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

Books by S.E. Lynes:
  1. Valentina
  2. Mother
  3. The Pact
  4. The Proposal
  5. The Women
  6. The Lies We Hide
  7. Can You See Her?
  8. The Housewarming
  9. The One to Blame
  10. The Baby Shower
  11. The Ex
  12. The Summer Holiday
Book Review

Lie With Me by Sabine Durrant [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: Lie With Me

Author: Sabine Durrant

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Publish Date: December 29, 2016

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 3/5

Lie With Me by Sabine Durrant

BOOK BLURB

A few little lies never hurt anyone. Right?

Wrong.

Paul has a plan. He has a vision of a better future, and he’s going to make it happen.

If it means hiding or exaggerating a few things here and there, no harm done.

But when he charms his way on to a family holiday…
And finds himself trapped among tensions and emotions he doesn’t understand…
By the time he starts to realise that however painful the truth is, it’s the lies that cause the real damage…

Well, by then, it might just be too late.

Lie With Me by Sabine Durrant

MY REVIEW

Paul meets Alice through Andrew, one of his old acquaintances. Paul decides Alice is his next meal ticket and starts to woo her. Alice invites Paul to go on holiday with her, her kids, and Andrew and his family. While in Greece 10 years earlier, a girl went missing, and that tragic event has adversely affected Alice. The memories of the girl’s disappearance, along with new events, disrupt Paul’s plan for romancing Alice.

Lie With Me is told from Paul’s point of view. Paul is a scoundrel. He is a self-absorbed, worthless, unemployed womanizer who takes advantage of people to get his own way. So, basically, he’s not a likable character. In fact, there aren’t really any likable characters in this book.

The plot builds slowly, very slowly. Nothing exciting happens. Then, things start to pick up and it gets more interesting. It was pretty obvious where the story was headed, but still an entertaining read.

Lie With Me is a clever, well-written psychological thriller. Good for fans of slow paced thrillers with unlikable narrators, like Girl on the Train.

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

Books by Sabine Durrant:

  1. Under Your Skin
  2. Remember Me This Way
  3. Lie With Me
  4. Take Me In
  5. Finders, Keepers
  6. Sun Damage
Book Review

Killman Creek by Rachel Caine [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: Killman Creek

Author: Rachel Caine

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer

Publish Date: December 12, 2017

Genre: Mystery Thriller

Series: Stillhouse Lake #2

My Rating: 4/5

Killman Creek by Rachel Caine

BOOK BLURB

Every time Gwen closed her eyes, she saw him in her nightmares. Now her eyes are open, and he’s not going away.

Gwen Proctor won the battle to save her kids from her ex-husband, serial killer Melvin Royal, and his league of psychotic accomplices. But the war isn’t over. Not since Melvin broke out of prison. Not since she received a chilling text…

You’re not safe anywhere now.

Her refuge at Stillhouse Lake has become a trap. Gwen leaves her children in the protective custody of a fortified, well-armed neighbor. Now, with the help of Sam Cade, brother of one of Melvin’s victims, Gwen is going hunting. She’s learned how from one of the sickest killers alive.

But what she’s up against is beyond anything she feared—a sophisticated and savage mind game calculated to destroy her. As trust beyond her small circle of friends begins to vanish, Gwen has only fury and vengeance to believe in as she closes in on her prey. And sure as the night, one of them will die.

Killman Creek by Rachel Caine

MY REVIEW

Killman Creek is the second book in Rachel Caine’s Stillhouse Lake series.

Gwen and her kids are in hiding from Gwen’s serial killer ex-husband, Melvin. Melvin has escaped from prison and his family is no longer safe. Gwen takes the offensive and goes after Melvin. Sam, the brother of one of Melvin’s victims, goes with Gwen on her hunt for Melvin. Meanwhile, the kids stay with a friend, who has a well fortified home.

This story was told from multiple points of view. Gwen’s point of view was the primary story, but it was nice to see the kids’ (Lanny and Connor) and Sam’s viewpoints. The trust between family and friends was tested, so multiple viewpoints worked for this story.

Gwen was a strong character. She was tired of living in fear and wanted to protect her family. Unfortunately, she had some people working against her, which complicated matters. The kids each had their own issues, though they were minor to the story.

For me, this book started off slow and I had a hard time getting into it. It does get better, and the ending was full of suspense and excitement.

I have not yet read the first book in this series (Stillhouse Lake). It’s on my Kindle, but I read them out of order. Anyway, I still enjoyed this one without having read the first one.

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

Books in the Stillhouse Lake series:

  1. Stillhouse Lake
  2. Killman Creek
  3. Wolfhunter River
  4. Bitter Falls
  5. Heartbreak Bay
  6. Trapper Road
Book Review

Watch Me by Jody Gehrman [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: Watch Me

Author: Jody Gehrman

Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin

Publish Date: January 23, 2018

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 4/5

Watch Me by Jody Gehrman

BOOK BLURB

For fans of dark and twisty psychological thrillers, Watch Me is a riveting novel of suspense about how far obsession can go.

Kate Youngblood is disappearing. Muddling through her late 30s as a creative writing professor at Blackwood college, she’s dangerously close to never being noticed again. The follow-up novel to her successful debut tanked. Her husband left her for a woman ten years younger. She’s always been bright, beautiful, independent and a little wild, but now her glow is starting to vanish. She’s heading into an age where her eyes are less blue, her charm worn out, and soon no one will ever truly look at her, want to know her, again.

Except one.

Sam Grist is Kate’s most promising student. An unflinching writer with razor-sharp clarity who gravitates towards dark themes and twisted plots, his raw talent is something Kate wants to nurture into literary success. But he’s not there solely to be the best writer. He’s been watching her. Wanting her. Working his way to her for years.

As Sam slowly makes his way into Kate’s life, they enter a deadly web of dangerous lies and forbidden desire. But how far will his fixation go? And how far will she allow it?

A gripping novel exploring intense obsession and illicit attraction, Jody Gehrman introduces a world where what you desire most may be the most dangerous thing of all.

Watch Me by Jody Gehrman

MY REVIEW

Kate is a professor at a small college. She is an intelligent, attractive, and recently divorced author in her late thirties. Sam is a student in her creative writing class. Sam is a charming, smart, and handsome college student in his early twenties. Kate isn’t in the best place in life, and Sam comes along at just the right time. He knows her. Understands her. Wants her.

An intriguing novel about obsession. The story was told from alternating points of view, and I enjoyed reading both Kate’s and Sam’s stories. Kate seemed vulnerable, a bit trusting, and lonely. Sam studied Kate in such a way that was creepy, and he wanted desperately to be in her life. I liked Sam’s character a little more than Kate’s, but both characters could have been a little better developed.

This was a “stay up late to finish” type book. I was curious how far Sam’s obsession would go. I was a little disappointed in the ending, but, overall, it was a good read.

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

Books by Jody Gehrman:
  1. Watch Me
  2. The Girls Weekend
  3. The Summer We Buried
  4. The Protégé
Book Review

The Liar in the Library by Simon Brett [Book Review]

Posted on by Darinda
The Liar in the Library by Simon Brett

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 Liar in the Library

Author: Simon Brett

Publisher: Crème de la Crime

Publish Date: January 1, 2018

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Series: Fethering Mystery #18

My Rating: 3/5

The Liar in the Library by Simon Brett

BOOK BLURB

Fethering has everything a sleepy coastal town should: snug English pubs, cosy cottages, a little local library – and the occasional murder . . .

Bestselling author Burton St Clair, complete with soaring ego and wandering hands, has come to town to give a talk. But after his corpse is found slumped in his car, he won’t be leaving. Jude is the prime suspect; she was, after all, the last person to see Burton St Clair alive. If she is to prove her innocence, she will have to dust off her detective skills and recruit her prim and proper neighbour (and partner-in-sleuthing) Carole to find the real culprit.

The Liar in the Library by Simon Brett

MY REVIEW

A suspicious death occurs after an author talk at the local library. Jude becomes a prime suspect, and must solve the case to clear her name.

The Liar in the Library was a bit of a tribute to the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. The classic whodunit solved by amateur sleuths. Lots of references to the formula of a classic detective story.

Jude and her neighbor, Carole, are amateur sleuths in the small, fictional English village of Fethering. The Liar in the Library is the 18th book in the series, but the first one I have read. It was okay as a standalone read, but I think I may have understood the recurring characters more if I had read some of the previous books.

I enjoyed the mystery part of the story, but it was light on character development. I wasn’t a fan of the main characters, and didn’t see any chemistry to keep me reading the series.

A light read. Good for fans of cozy mysteries, especially those set in England and/or with middle-aged protagonists.

Books in the Fethering Mystery Series:
  1. The Body on the Beach
  2. Death on the Downs
  3. The Torso in the Town
  4. Murder in the Museum
  5. The Hanging in the Hotel
  6. The Witness at the Wedding
  7. The Stabbing in the Stables
  8. Death Under the Dryer
  9. Blood at the Bookies
  10. The Poisoning in the Pub
  11. The Shooting in the Shop
  12. Bones Under the Beach Hut
  13. Guns in the Gallery
  14. The Corpse on the Court
  15. The Strangling on the Stage
  16. The Tomb in Turkey
  17. The Killing in the Cafe
  18. The Liar in the Library
  19. The Killer in the Choir
  20. Guilt at the Garage
  21. Death and the Decorator
Book Review

The Good Daughter by Karin Slaughter [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 Good Daughter

Author: Karin Slaughter

Publisher: William Morrow

Publish Date: August 8, 2017

Genre: Mystery Thriller

Series: The Good Daughter #1

My Rating: 5/5

The Good Daughter by Karin Slaughter

BOOK BLURB

The stunning new novel from the international #1 bestselling author — a searing, spellbinding blend of cold-case thriller and psychological suspense.

Two girls are forced into the woods at gunpoint. One runs for her life. One is left behind…

Twenty-eight years ago, Charlotte and Samantha Quinn’s happy small-town family life was torn apart by a terrifying attack on their family home. It left their mother dead. It left their father — Pikeville’s notorious defense attorney — devastated. And it left the family fractured beyond repair, consumed by secrets from that terrible night.

Twenty-eight years later, and Charlie has followed in her father’s footsteps to become a lawyer herself — the ideal good daughter. But when violence comes to Pikeville again — and a shocking tragedy leaves the whole town traumatized — Charlie is plunged into a nightmare. Not only is she the first witness on the scene, but it’s a case that unleashes the terrible memories she’s spent so long trying to suppress. Because the shocking truth about the crime that destroyed her family nearly thirty years ago won’t stay buried forever…

Packed with twists and turns, brimming with emotion and heart, The Good Daughter is fiction at its most thrilling.

The Good Daughter by Karin Slaughter

MY REVIEW

The Quinn’s lives are changed one day when two masked men attack their home. The mother and two daughters, Charlotte and Samantha, are home when the men attack. The father, a defense attorney, has made many enemies over the years, but this attack devastates his whole family. Fast-forward twenty-eight years after the attack. Charlotte has become an attorney, like her father. She practices law in the same small town she grew up in and has stayed close to her father. One morning, violence comes to their small town again, and Charlotte is a witness. The recent violence brings back disturbing memories of the attack on her family, and reveals old secrets.

The Good Daughter is a fast-paced read. The plot was clever. The characters were complex and well-developed. The family drama was compelling.

There is a good deal of violence in The Good Daughter. The opening sequence of events (flashback on the attack on The Quinns), the recent violent event, and occasional flashbacks throughout the story. Some of it’s graphic, so not for the squeamish.

Dark and suspenseful. I was hooked with this story. It’s a fair sized novel at just over 500 pages, and I stayed up to finish the entire book in one night.

Books in The Good Daughter series:
  1. Last Breath
  2. The Good Daughter
Book Review

Fatal Game by Linda Ladd [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: Fatal Game

Author: Linda Ladd

Publisher: Lyrical Underground

Publish Date: December 5, 2017

Genre: Crime & Detective

Series: Claire Morgan #10

My Rating: 3/5

Fatal Game by Linda Ladd

BOOK BLURB

ONE WRONG MOVE

Private detective Claire Morgan has come home from her honeymoon just in time for Christmas at Lake of the Ozarks. And for the sheriff’s department, laid low with flu, to hand her a case guaranteed to chill her to the bone.

ONE CHANCE TO DIE

One of the homes in the local Christmas On the Lake House tour—the mansion of an aging rock star trying to turn his life around—has been “decorated” with the body of a young woman, arranged as a bloody angel on the balcony above his Christmas tree. There’s a piece from a board game, gift wrapped and left under the tree, a hint that connects this murder to other deaths. With evidence of a gruesome pattern appearing, Claire suspects she’s on the hunt for a serial killer.

IN A GAME WITH NO RULES

But the closer she comes, the more certain she is that the killer is playing his game with her, just waiting his turn. The next move might be on Claire herself—or worse, the people she loves . . .

Fatal Game by Linda Ladd

MY REVIEW

Claire and her husband, Nick, have recently returned from their honeymoon. They’ve returned to spend Christmas at the Lake of the Ozarks, where the sheriff’s department is overrun with the flu. Claire and her partner, Bud, are private detectives, but they take a murder case to help out the sick sheriff. The murder was at the home of an aging rock star, whose home was on the town’s Christmas tour. The gruesome death appears to be done by a serial killer, who taunts Claire.

Since the story takes place at Christmas time, this seemed a good choice for a December read.

A quick read. The mystery part was interesting, but I wasn’t interested in Claire’s personal problems. The book was primarily told from Claire’s point of view, but there were some chapters from the killer’s viewpoint. I wanted to keep reading to see how it all came together in the end.

This was my first book to read in the Claire Morgan series. Even though this book is part of a series, I felt it was a good standalone read. I’m not in a hurry to read more of this series, but I might read others if I’m in the mood for an escapist crime mystery to read.

Books in the Claire Morgan series:

  1. Head to Head
  2. Dark Places
  3. Die Smiling
  4. Enter Evil
  5. Remember Murder
  6. Mostly Murder
  7. Bad Bones
  8. Devil Dead
  9. Gone Black
  10. Fatal Game
Book Review

A Deeper Grave by Debra Webb [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: A Deeper Grave

Author: Debra Webb

Publisher: Mira Books

Publish Date: May 30, 2017

Genre: Crime & Detective

Series: Shades of Death #2

My Rating: 4/5

A Deeper Grave by Debra Webb

BOOK BLURB

When the hunter becomes the hunted…

Serial-killer hunter Nick Shade built his legendary career chasing monsters—sadistic criminals with a gruesome thirst for death. When he rescued Montgomery detective Bobbie Gentry from horrific captivity and helped her reclaim her life, he didn’t intend to be a hero. Or a target. But now a copycat murderer haunts him, and reuniting with Bobbie is his best chance at neutralizing the threat. 

Bobbie can’t forget the nightmares of her trauma—or the man who saved her. Working with Nick to outmaneuver the person behind a deadly vendetta feeds her hope that there’s more to her world than ghosts and destruction. Maybe joining Nick’s search for a killer is about gratitude. Maybe it’s nothing more than cold revenge. But the only way they can protect themselves is to trust each other.

A Deeper Grave by Debra Webb

MY REVIEW

A detective and a serial-killer hunter are the targets of a copycat killer.

A fast-paced thriller. This book, and I’m guessing the previous book, was a dark and a bit gory of a read. It does deal with serial killers, so a certain amount of death and destruction is expected.

The main characters, Bobbie Gentry and Nick Shade, have tough pasts and are dealing with things in their own ways. Bobbie is a homicide detective learning to cope with her nightmarish losses – her husband and son were murdered, and she was kidnapped and tortured by the killer. Nick’s father was a serial killer, and Nick has dedicated his life to locating other serial killers and turning them in to the authorities.

A Deeper Grave is the second book in the Shade of Death series. I haven’t read the first book, and it may have helped understand the characters in this one more if I had read it. Even though this book is part of a series, it was still a good stand alone read. This book does end on a cliffhanger, so there are more books to come.

Books in the Shades of Death series:

  1. No Darker Place
  2. A Deeper Grave
  3. The Coldest Fear
  4. The Longest Silence
Book Review

The Secrets She Keeps by Michael Robotham [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 Secrets She Keeps

Author: Michael Robotham

Publisher: Scribner

Publish Date: July 11, 2017

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Series: na

My Rating: 4/5

The Secrets She Keeps by Michael Robotham

BOOK BLURB

Meghan doesn’t know Agatha, but Agatha knows Meghan. And the one thing Agatha looks forward to each day is catching a glimpse of her, the effortlessly chic customer at the grocery store where she works stocking shelves. Meghan has it all: two adorable children, a handsome and successful husband, a happy marriage, a beautiful house, and a popular parenting blog that Agatha reads with devotion each night as she waits for her absent boyfriend, the father of the baby growing inside her, to return her calls.

Yet if Agatha could look beyond the gloss and trappings of Meghan’s “perfect life,” she’d see the flaws and doubts. Meghan has her secrets too, especially one that she dare not ever tell. Soon the lives of these two women will collide in the most spellbinding and intimate of ways, until their secrets are exposed by one shocking act that cannot be undone. From internationally bestselling author Michael Robotham, The Secrets She Keeps is a dark, exquisite, and twisted page-turner so full of surprises, you’ll find it impossible to put down.

The Secrets She Keeps by Michael Robotham

MY REVIEW

Two pregnant women, Agatha and Meghan, are expecting about the same time… and both women are keeping secrets. One woman works in a grocery store and is fascinated by the other woman’s seemingly perfect life. After a brief encounter, both of their lives are changed.

Using alternating chapters, The Secrets She Keeps is told from both women’s point of view. The characters are well developed, with a bit of a slow beginning to develop them.

Though it started slow, it was building up to an gripping story. Once the story gets going, it moves along quickly. The book is divided into two parts, the before and the after.

The Secrets She Keeps is an exciting thriller. Some good twists, but fairly predictable.

Books by Michael Robotham:
  1. The Night Ferry
  2. Bombproof
  3. Life or Death
  4. The Secrets She Keeps
  5. When You Are Mine
Book Review

The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen [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 Wife Between Us

Author: Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

Publisher: St. Martin

Publish Date: January 9, 2018

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Series: na

My Rating 4/5

The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

BOOK BLURB

When you read this book, you will make many assumptions.
You will assume you are reading about a jealous ex-wife.
You will assume she is obsessed with her replacement – a beautiful, younger woman who is about to marry the man they both love.
You will assume you know the anatomy of this tangled love triangle.
Assume nothing.

Twisted and deliciously chilling, Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen’s The Wife Between Us exposes the secret complexities of an enviable marriage – and the dangerous truths we ignore in the name of love.

Read between the lies.

The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

MY REVIEW

A woman is preparing to marry her dream man. Another woman is distraught over her ex. The tagline is perfect for this book – Assume Nothing.

The Wife Between Us is an intriguing story. I love a good twisty plot, and this one kept me guessing. The story is from two points of view, Nellie (the young bride) and Vanessa (the distraught ex). At first, I found this book to be a bit slow, but as I got further into it, I couldn’t wait to finish and see how it all ended. There are three parts to the book, and just when you’ve think you’ve figured it all out… BOOM, there’s a surprise waiting.

The Wife Between Us is clever suspense novel. If you’re a fan of The Girl on the Train, Gone Girl, and similar books, then this is the book for you.

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

Books by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen:

  1. An Anonymous Girl
  2. The Wife Between Us
  3. You Are Not Alone
  4. The Golden Couple
Book Review

Close to Home by Robert Dugoni [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: Close to Home

Author: Robert Dugoni

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer

Publish Date: September 5, 2017

Genre: Crime & Detective

Series: Tracy Crosswhite #5

My Rating: 4/5

Close to Home by Robert Dugoni

BOOK BLURB

New York Times bestselling author Robert Dugoni’s acclaimed series continues as Tracy Crosswhite is thrown headlong into the path of a killer conspiracy.

While investigating the hit-and-run death of a young boy, Seattle homicide detective Tracy Crosswhite makes a startling discovery: the suspect is an active-duty serviceman at a local naval base. After a key piece of case evidence goes missing, he is cleared of charges in a military court. But Tracy knows she can’t turn her back on this kind of injustice.

When she uncovers the driver’s ties to a rash of recent heroin overdoses in the city, she realizes that this isn’t just a case of the military protecting its own. It runs much deeper than that, and the accused wasn’t acting alone. For Tracy, it’s all hitting very close to home.

As Tracy moves closer to uncovering the truth behind this insidious conspiracy, she’s putting herself in harm’s way. And the only people she can rely on to make it out alive might be those she can no longer trust.

Close to Home by Robert Dugoni

MY REVIEW

The police investigate a hit-and-run that leaves a twelve-year-old boy dead, and discover the driver to be a serviceman at the local naval base. After key evidence goes missing, the serviceman goes free, and detective Tracy Crosswhite starts to suspect more is going on than meets the eye. Additionally, a series of heroin overdoses are occurring in the city, and there seems to be a connection between the hit-and-run case and the drugs.

An exciting crime thriller. The plot has some twists that keep the reader interested and wanting to know more. For me, this book started off slow, but as I read I got more involved with the characters and how the story was going to play out. Also, the way the book delves into the heroin epidemic is handled in a very real way.

This is the 5th book in the Tracy Crosswhite series, but it’s the first one I have read.

Books in the Tracy Crosswhite series:

  1. My Sister’s Grave
  2. Her Final Breath
  3. In the Clearing
  4. The Trapped Girl
  5. Close to Home
  6. A Steep Price
  7. A Cold Trail
  8. In Her Tracks
  9. What She Found
  10. One Last Kill
Book Review

Full Bodied Murder by Christine E. Blum [Book Review]

Posted on by Darinda
Full Bodied Murder by Christine E. Blum

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

BOOK INFO

Title: Full Bodied Murder

Author: Christine E. Blum

Publisher: Kensington

Publish Date: November 28, 2018

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Series: Rose Avenue Wine Club Mystery #1

My Rating: 4/5

Full Bodied Murder by Christine E. Blum

BOOK BLURB

As the newest member of the Rose Avenue Wine Club, Halsey wants to expand her palate—not solve murders. But when a neighbor is found dead, it’s up to her to pair the culprit with a deadly crime…

Leaving behind a failed marriage, New Yorker Annie “Halsey” Hall is ready to begin the next phase of her life in coastal Southern California. From the moment she arrives at her new digs on cozy Rose Avenue, she looks forward to joining the neighborhood ladies for their weekly Wine Club gathering. With only a rambunctious yellow lab puppy to keep her company, Halsey could really use a confidant—and a glass or two of her favorite white wine . . .

Unfortunately, she finds nothing but red at the Wine Club meeting—and judging by the dead woman lying face down in the backyard, it’s not spilled merlot. Halsey accidentally stumbled into the wrong address at the wrong time, and with suspicions about her past on the rise, she must prove that she isn’t a killer. Enlisting the eclectic talents of the Wine Club ladies, Halsey searches for the true criminal at large. But separating friends from foes isn’t easy on Rose Avenue, and as she racks up a suspect list, Halsey can’t shake the feeling that someone in her inner circle has a taste for murder . . .

Full Bodied Murder by Christine E. Blum

MY REVIEW

Halsey moves to Southern California from New York City. Her new neighborhood takes some getting used to, but some friendly neighbors invite her to join their Rose Avenue Wine Club. Halsey enjoys wine and wants to meet her new neighbors, so she happily accepts the invitation. Unfortunately, Halsey goes to the wrong house for her first wine club meeting… and stumbles upon a dead body. The police see Halsey as a suspect, so she and the other wine club members take on a little sleuthing to prove her innocence. It turns out, there are quite a few suspects on Rose Avenue.

I always enjoy a cozy mystery, and I like to read with while enjoying a glass of wine, so this book seemed right up my alley. This was a solid mystery, though there did seem to be a lot of other things going on with the neighbors. Mostly likable characters, but not enough character development to truly care about anyone. The dog, Bardot, was pretty great though. I saw that this is set to be a series, and it was a good introduction to the characters.

I thought the list of wines in the back of the book was a nice touch. Also, the glossary for wine-related lingo could be helpful for non-wine drinkers.

Full Bodied Murder was a light read and good for fans of cozy mysteries.

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

Books in the Rose Avenue Wine Club Mystery Series:
  1. Full Bodied Murder
  2. Murder Most Fermented
  3. The Name of the Rosé
  4. Clarets of Fire