Category: Police Procedural

Book Review

The Birthday by Carol Wyer [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 Birthday

Author: Carol Wyer

Publisher: Bookouture

Publish Date: September 27, 2018

Genre: Crime & Detective

Series: Detective Natalie Ward #1

My Rating: 4/5

The Birthday by Carol Wyer

BOOK BLURB

One hot summer’s afternoon, five-year-old Ava Sawyer went to a party. She never came home…

Two years later, Ava’s body is found and another little girl, Audrey Briggs, goes missing. Audrey also attended that party …

Leading the investigation is Detective Natalie Ward. A mother of two teenagers, this case chills her to the bone, and is a disturbing reminder of the last job she worked on. One that still keeps her awake at night…

Natalie soon discovers that Ava’s mother has some worrying gaps in her alibi and as she digs deeper, she’s sure Ava’s father is not telling the full story. And what did the owner of the garden centre Elsa see that day? Something that she’s not telling Natalie …

Just as Natalie is facing up to the grim possibility that Ava and Audrey were killed by someone close to home, another little girl from the party doesn’t come home from her ballet lesson. Can Natalie find a way to stop this killer before more innocent lives are taken?

The Birthday by Carol Wyer

MY REVIEW

A five-year-old girl goes missing at a birthday party. There are no leads, until her body is discovered two years later. Shortly after the discovery, other girls who attended the same party go missing. A new detective is especially interested in solving this case, since her last missing child case did not end well.

The Birthday is the first book in a new crime fiction series. Detective Natalie Ward is lead investigator of the case. She’s a wife and mother dealing with her own family issues, but incredibly dedicated to her position as detective. Natalie is not perfect, but she is smart, tough, and determined. Great traits in a female protagonist. She clearly has more to her backstory, and, hopefully, that unfolds more as the series progresses.

An intriguing mystery that kept me guessing. This is the first book I have read by Carol Wyer, and I look forward to reading more in this series. Clever, gripping, and suspenseful.

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

Books in the Detective Natalie Ward series:
  1. The Birthday
  2. Last Lullaby
  3. The Dare
  4. The Sleepover
  5. The Blossom Twins
  6. The Secret Admirer
  7. Somebody’s Daughter
Book Review

Her Final Hour by Carla Kovach [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: Her Final Hour

Author: Carla Kovach

Publisher: Bookouture

Publish Date: August 23, 2018

Genre: Crime & Detective

Series: Detective Gina Harte #2

My Rating: 3/5

Her Final Hour by Carla Kovach

BOOK BLURB

Melissa Sanderson is the perfect wife and mother. She dotes on her daughter, and lives in her dream home in a quiet cul-de-sac in the suburbs.

But looks can be deceiving.

Something is amiss in that house – all the neighbours think so. Some say Melissa is having an affair. Others say she’s been drinking too much.

Then one night, sirens wake up the whole neighbourhood.

Melissa Sanderson is dead.

AN ABSOLUTELY UNPUTDOWNABLE THRILLER WITH A BRILLIANT ENDING YOU WON’T SEE COMING – if you like Lisa Gardner, Robert Bryndza or Clare Mackintosh, Her Final Hour will keep you reading well into the night.

Her Final Hour by Carla Kovach

MY REVIEW

A woman is found murdered in her home. The woman was a wife and mother, and the murder scene doesn’t add up with the life the woman appeared to be living. Detective Gina Harte is assigned the case, and soon realizes there is more to the case than originally thought.

Her Final Hour is the second book in the Detective Gina Harte series by Carla Kovach. I have not read the first book in this series, but this one was easily read as a standalone.

This book opens with a prologue of a woman being sexually assaulted in 1993, then the current story starts with a woman’s murder in 2018. Her Final Hour is told with multiple viewpoints, so the reader is aware of not only Gina’s investigation, but also those involved with the crimes. This works fine for the story, and it’s nice to get points of views from both sides. There is an extensive cast of characters, and plenty happening to keep the reader engaged with the story.

Gina is smart and tough. She has a difficult past that involves a lot of abuse, so she relates to the victims of the crimes she investigates on a personal level. She’s also stronger for surviving her past and making something with her life.

A dark and twisty mystery. Good for fans of crime fiction, especially for those who enjoy books with strong female detectives.

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

Books in the Detective Gina Harte series:
  1. The Next Girl
  2. Her Final Hour
  3. Her Pretty Bones
  4. The Liar’s House
  5. Her Dark Heart
  6. Her Last Mistake
  7. Their Silent Graves
  8. The Broken Ones
  9. One Left Behind
  10. Her Dying Wish
  11. One Girl Missing
  12. Her Deadly Promise
  13. Their Cold Hearts
  14. Her Hidden Shadows
Book Review

Burning Ridge by Margaret Mizushima [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: Burning Ridge

Author: Margaret Mizushima

Publisher: Crooked Lane Books

Publish Date: September 11, 2018

Genre: Crime & Detective

Series: Timber Creek K-9 Mystery #4

My Rating: 4/5

Burning Ridge by Margaret Mizushima

BOOK BLURB

On a rugged Colorado mountain ridge, Mattie Cobb and her police dog partner Robo make a grisly discovery—and become the targets of a ruthless killer.

Colorado’s Redstone Ridge is a place of extraordinary beauty, but this rugged mountain wilderness harbors a horrifying secret. When a charred body is discovered in a shallow grave on the ridge, officer Mattie Cobb and her K-9 partner Robo are called in to spearhead the investigation. But this is no ordinary crime—and it soon becomes clear that Mattie has a close personal connection to the dead man.

Joined by local veterinarian Cole Walker, the pair scours the mountaintop for evidence and makes another gruesome discovery: the skeletonized remains of two adults and a child. And then, the unthinkable happens. Could Mattie become the next victim in the murderer’s deadly game?

A deranged killer torments Mattie with a litany of dark secrets that call into question her very identity. As a towering blaze races across the ridge, Cole and Robo search desperately for her—but time is running out in Margaret Mizushima’s fourth spine-tingling Timber Creek K-9 mystery, Burning Ridge.

Burning Ridge by Margaret Mizushima

MY REVIEW

Mattie Cobb and her K-9 partner, Robo, are called to work the case of a burned body found in the wilderness. As Mattie and other officers search for evidence, they also discover three additional bodies. To complicate matters, Mattie soon discovers she has a connection to the burned dead man.

Burning Ridge it the fourth book in the Timber Creek K-9 Mystery series by Margaret Mizushima. I have not read any of the other books in this series, but Burning Ridge is easily read as a standalone.

Mattie works as a police officer in a small town. She is a hard-working officer, and close to the local community. With a good heart, Mattie wants to help those she believes to need a little more in their lives, but she is also cautious and wary of strangers and new developments in town. As a bonus, she is seeing the charming local veterinarian, Cole.

A solid mystery. Realistic characters. Plenty of action, and a little romance. A lighter, less graphic crime fiction read. Engaging and suspenseful.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher, Crooked Lane Books, in exchange for an honest review.

Books in the Timber Creek K-9 series:
  1. Killing Trail
  2. Stalking Ground
  3. Hunting Hour
  4. Burning Ridge
  5. Tracking Game
  6. Hanging Falls
  7. Striking Range
  8. Standing Dead
Book Review

Cross Your Heart by Kierney Scott [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: Cross Your Heart

Author: Kierney Scott

Publisher: Bookouture

Publish Date: April 25, 2018

Genre: Crime & Detective

Series: Detective Jess Bishop #2

My Rating: 4/5

Cross Your Heart by Kierney Scott

BOOK BLURB

Blinking her eyes open, she looks around the room, taking in the bed and the wardrobe full of clothes she’s never seen before. This isn’t her bedroom. Those aren’t her clothes. She begins to cry as she wonders if she’ll ever see her own home again.

Three young girls are missing. All of them cold cases. All of them forgotten. But when Detective Jess Bishop identifies a disturbing link between them, she’s determined to find out what happened, and fights to re-open their cases. 

At the scene of each abduction the kidnapper left a clue – a small bag of candy – in place of the missing child.

And then a fourth child is taken. Eight-year-old Ava is snatched from her hospital bed and when a bag of candy is found in her room, Jessica knows it’s the same kidnapper.

As the pressure to solve the case pushes Jess and her team to breaking point, Jess takes a personal risk she fears she’ll live to regret. But she has no choice.

Out of hospital, Ava can only get sicker: Jess is running out of time. Can she find Ava before it’s too late?

Cross Your Heart by Kierney Scott

MY REVIEW

Detective Jess Bishop is back! Jess was injured at the end of book #1 in the series, Forget Me Not, and has been on leave while recovering. Since Jess is always on the job, she continued to look into cases, and discovered a link in some cold cases involving children. Once reinstated in her position at the FBI, she brings the case to her team, but is not allowed to reopen the cases. That all changes when another child is reported missing. Jess and her team work to connect the cases of the missing children and find their killer.

Cross Your Heart is the second book in the Detective Jess Bishop series by Kierney Scott. Jess is a FBI agent. She’s smart, determined, and damaged. I’ve read the first book in the series, and enjoyed this second book even more. This book can be read as a standalone, but the first book does introduce more of the characters backgrounds and personalities, plus there is the whole thing about how she got injured.

Smart, gritty, and fast-paced. Great for fans of crime thrillers, especially ones with strong female characters.

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

Books in the Detective Jess Bishop series:

  1. Forget Me Not
  2. Cross Your Heart
  3. Catch Your Death
Book Review

Forget Me Not by Kierney Scott [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: Forget Me Not

Author: Kierney Scott

Publisher: Bookouture

Publish Date: November 27, 2017

Genre: Crime & Detective

Series: Detective Jess Bishop #1

My Rating: 3/5

Forget Me Not by Kierney Scott

BOOK BLURB

Murky water sloshed through the gaps in the jetty’s algae-covered planks. Electricity ran down her spine. The victim’s torso was missing circles of flesh. Jess had seen marks like this before a long time ago. But that killer was already dead, wasn’t he?

When the lifeless body of a young woman is found washed up in the blisteringly hot back waters of a small town, Detective Jess Bishop knows for certain this isn’t the murderer’s first kill.

Two other bodies have been found, both bearing the same marks. Marks that strike fear into Jess’s heart. They are identical to those from a case she’s spent her entire career trying to forget.

As Jess and her team try to link the victims, another body is discovered, and they fear the serial killer is taunting them. They know it’s only a matter of time before he kills again.

As the body count rises, and the hunt goes cold, Jess knows she has to confront her past in order to catch the killer, even if that means making herself the bait…

Forget Me Not by Kierney Scott

MY REVIEW

FBI Detective Jess Bishop is working the case of a serial killer. The killer’s style is the same as an old case that Jess has spent years trying to forget. While she searches for the killer, she tries to cope with unpleasant memories from her past and deal with current personal drama. Her old partner, Jamison, has returned to the FBI and they are reassigned as partners. This brings complications into Jess’s professional and personal life.

Forget Me Not is an interesting crime mystery novel. The mystery part of this book was a very entertaining read, so a great book for fans of FBI mystery stories. I was not a fan of the personal drama in Jess’s life, mainly the drama between her and Jamison.

Jess was smart, but damaged. She definitely had some personality quirks, which made her somewhat unlikeable. Mainly, she was struggling with personal issues, some of which were not that interesting. However, she was a smart and solid agent when it came to solving cases.

A nitpicky complaint – the main character is Jessica, who goes by Jess, except for one person calls her Jessie. I didn’t like the going back and forth between Jessica and Jess. Pick one and stick with it. This probably bothered me more than it should have.

Forget Me Not is smart and gritty crime mystery. I’ll likely read more of this series.

Books in the Detective Jess Bishop series:

  1. Forget Me Not
  2. Cross Your Heart
  3. Catch Your Death
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

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