Police Procedural

#BookReview Evil Games by Angela Marsons @WriteAngie @GrandCentralPub #AngelaMarsons #Evil Games #DIKimStoneSeries

#BookReview Evil Games by Angela Marsons @WriteAngie @GrandCentralPub #AngelaMarsons #Evil Games #DIKimStoneSeries Title: Evil Games

Author: Angela Marsons

Series: DI Kim Stone #2

Published by: Grand Central Publishing on Apr. 13, 2021

Genres: Mystery/Thriller, Police Procedural

Pages: 384

Format: Paperback

Source: Grand Central Publishing

Book Rating: 10/10

Detective Kim Stone learns the heard way that the greater the evil, the more deadly the game in this gripping psychological thriller from USA Today bestselling author Angela Marsons.
 
When a rapist is found mutilated in a brutal stabbing, Detective Kim Stone and her team are called in to bring a swift resolution. But as further disturbing events come to light, it soon becomes clear that there is someone even more sinister at work.

With the investigation gathering momentum, while also trying to expose the secrets of a sick pedophile ring, Kim finds herself in the sights of a lethal individual undertaking their own twisted experiment.

Pitted against a dangerous sociopath who seems to know her every weakness, for Detective Stone, each move she makes could be deadly. As the body count starts to mount, Kim will have to dig deeper than ever before to stop the killing. And this time–it’s personal.


Review:

Captivating, dark, and incredibly chilling!

Evil Games is a skillfully crafted, perfectly executed police procedural that highlights just how easily vulnerable people can be swayed and manipulated into doing some of the most horrific things and reminds us that the most heinous of evil often lives comfortably amongst us merely concealed behind masks of normality.

The writing style is edgy and brisk. The characters, including the scarred, tormented, intelligent heroine, are genuine, driven, and persistent. And the plot is a sinister rollercoaster ride of twists, turns, secrets, deception, violence, manipulation, deviance, child abuse, rape, violence, revenge, and murder.

I have to admit that over the past six years that I’ve been reviewing novels, I’ve seen a lot of Angela Marsons books floating around and am shocked that it has taken me this long to finally pick one up. Evil Games is a disturbing, sinister, enthralling tale that has everything you look for in a riveting thriller, including multilayered characters and juicy, complex storylines, and even though it does have a lot of triggers that will prevent some people from being able to read it, I for one loved it and am eagerly looking forward to getting my hands on some of the other DI Kim Stone novels in the series as soon as possible.

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

            

 

 

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Angela Marsons

Angela Marsons is the USA Today bestselling author of the Detective Kim Stone series, and her books have sold more than four million copies and have been translated into twenty-seven languages. She lives in the Black Country, in the West Midlands of England, with her partner and their two Golden Retrievers. She first discovered her love of writing at junior school when actual lessons came second to watching other people and quietly making up her own stories about them. Her report card invariably read “Angela would do well if she minded her own business as well as she minds other people’s.” After writing women’s fiction, Angela turned to crime — fictionally speaking, of course — and developed a character that refused to go away.

#BookReview Breakout by Paul Herron @GrandCentralPub #PaulHerron #Breakout

#BookReview Breakout by Paul Herron @GrandCentralPub #PaulHerron #Breakout Title: Breakout

Author: Paul Herron

Published by: Grand Central Publishing on Apr. 6, 2021

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 304

Format: Hardcover

Source: Grand Central Publishing

Book Rating: 8/10

Ravenhill Correctional Institute, a notorious, maximum-security prison in Miami, Florida, home to the abandoned military prison, the Glasshouse.

Hurricane Anna: a superstorm made up of two Category 5 hurricanes coming together to wreak unprecedented havoc along the eastern seaboard.

When the superstorm hits, the correctional officers at Ravenhill flee, opening all the cell doors and leaving the inmates to fend for themselves as the floodwaters rise. But Jack Constantine, an ex-cop serving ten years for killing one of his wife’s murderers, isn’t going to just lay down and die. Not when his wife’s two remaining killers are among the prisoners relocated to the Glasshouse to ride out the storm.

Meanwhile, Kiera Sawyer, a Correctional Officer on her first day at work is the only officer left behind when the others flee. Sawyer rescues Jack and offers to team up. If they can make it to the Glasshouse they might just survive the hurricane. But that involves making their way through the prison, fighting off eight hundred blood-crazed inmates as the building fills with water and the wall crumble all around them.


Review:

Dark, propulsive, and gory!

Breakout is a fast-paced, gripping tale that takes you into the life of Jack Constantine, a former police officer who, after killing one of the three men responsible for murdering his wife and unborn child, has been incarcerated at the Ravenhill Correctional facility for the past three years, but when a hurricane threatens to destroy the compound, and all the guards except for one decide to flee, cells will be left unlocked, and the prisoners will be thrown in a savage, bloodthirsty race to not only survive mother nature but perhaps deadliest of all, themselves.

The writing is descriptive and gritty. The characters are feral, ruthless, cunning, and barbaric. And the plot keeps you on the edge of your seat as it immerses you into a malevolent tale full of twists, turns, mayhem, chaos, corruption, cruelty, violence, and murder.

Overall, Breakout is an adventurous, atmospheric, sometimes gruesome tale by Herron that could definitely be made into an excellent Fight Club/slasher-type movie, with my only complaint being I would have loved to have had a schematic of the prison and its surrounding grounds at the front of the book so that I could have easily visualized exactly where all the action was taking place.

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

          

 

 

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Paul Herron

PAUL HERRON is a Scotsman struggling (and failing) to survive the heat and humidity of South Africa. Although BREAKOUT is Paul’s debut thriller, he also writes computer games and comics, and has worked on over twenty-seven television shows, one of which was nominated for an International Emmy Award. One of his previous works of fiction is being developed by Jerry Bruckheimer Productions and CBS as a television series. Paul lives with his wife, Jo, on the east coast of South Africa. He has three children.

#BookReview The Silenced Women by Frederick Weisel @PPPress #TheSilencedWomen #ViolentCrimeInvestigationsTeamSeries #FrederickWeisel #inkedinpoison

#BookReview The Silenced Women by Frederick Weisel @PPPress #TheSilencedWomen #ViolentCrimeInvestigationsTeamSeries #FrederickWeisel #inkedinpoison Title: The Silenced Women

Author: Frederick Weisel

Series: Violent Crime Investigations Team #1

Published by: Poisoned Pen Press on Feb. 2, 2021

Genres: Mystery/Thriller, Police Procedural

Pages: 400

Format: Paperback

Source: Poisoned Pen Press

Book Rating: 7.5/10

Who will speak for those who no longer can?

When a young woman is found strangled to death and left on a park bench in Santa Rosa, California, Detective Eddie Mahler and his Violent Crime Investigations (VCI) Team are called to the scene. The crime immediately thrusts Mahler back to two unsolved homicides–young women who were also strangled–at this same location a couple of years earlier. His inability to find evidence against the man he knows was responsible for their deaths has haunted him since.

Now suffering from chronic migraines that affect his vision, Mahler has secretly lost faith in the investigation process, and must rely more than ever on his team. Its newest member, Eden Somers, is a former FBI analyst whose ability to completely immerse herself in the evidence of a case proves both a gift and a curse. While Eden dives deep into the cold case evidence, the rest of the team chase leads to identify the latest victim, and discover that her death might be the work of a different killer altogether. Now Mahler and his team are fighting on two fronts to discover who stole the very breath from these women, and to stop the killer before he silences another victim.


Review:

Gritty, sinister, and meticulous!

The Silenced Women is a complex, ominous police procedural that takes us to Santa Rosa, California, where Detective Eddie Mahler and the VCI team find themselves immersed in the investigation of a potential serial killer when a new case involving a murdered young woman left dumped in a park holds an eerie similarity to two unsolved cold cases.

The writing is sharp and intense. The characters are ruthless, flawed, and troubled. And the plot unfolds and unravels quickly into a suspenseful tale full of twists, turns, manipulation, deception, desperation, police politics, arrogance, violence, murder, and a sliver of the supernatural.

Overall, The Silenced Women is a complex, tense, solid first novel in this VCI Team series by Weisel with its intriguing characters, nice sense of urgency, and satisfying conclusion.

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

          

 

 

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Frederick Weisel

Frederick Weisel has been a writer and editor for more than 30 years. He graduated from Antioch College and has an MA in Victorian Literature and History from the University of Leicester in England. His short stories were awarded an Artists Fellowship from the Massachusetts Arts and Humanities Foundation, and his articles have appeared in the Boston Globe, Washington Post, and Christian Science Monitor.

The Silenced Women is his debut novel. He is currently at work on the third novel in the VCI series. He lives with his wife in Santa Rosa, California, and shares a birthday with his favorite author, Raymond Chandler.

Photo by Rob Martel.

#BookReview The Dancing Girls by M.M. Chouinard @m_m_chouinard @GrandCentralPub #MMChouinard #TheDancingGirls #DetectiveJoFournier

#BookReview The Dancing Girls by M.M. Chouinard @m_m_chouinard @GrandCentralPub #MMChouinard #TheDancingGirls #DetectiveJoFournier Title: The Dancing Girls

Author: M.M. Chouinard

Series: Detective Jo Fournier #1

Published by: Grand Central Publishing on May 11, 2021

Genres: Mystery/Thriller, Police Procedural

Pages: 320

Format: Paperback

Source: Grand Central Publishing

Book Rating: 8/10

When Jeanine Hammond is found dead in a hotel in the picture-perfect town of Oakhust, newly-promoted Detective Jo Fournier is thrown into a disturbing case. Who would murder this shy, loving wife and leave her body posed like a ballerina?

Jo wants to know why Jeanine’s husband is so controlling about money, and where Jeanine’s wedding ring is, but before she and her team can get close to the truth, another woman is found strangled in a hotel, arms placed gracefully above her head like a dancer.

While digging through old case files, Jo makes a terrifying link to a series of cold cases: each victim bears the same strangulation marks. But the FBI won’t take Jo seriously, and if she disobeys direct orders by investigating the killings outside of her jurisdiction, it will mean the end of the career she’s already sacrificed so much for, even her relationship.

Just as Jo is beginning to lose hope, she finds messages on the victims’ computers that make her question whether these small-town women were hiding big lies. Jo thinks this is the missing link between the victims, but she knows the killer is moments away from selecting his next victim. Will it lead her to the most twisted killer of her career in time, or will another innocent life be lost?

An absolutely unputdownable and brilliant new crime thriller series that fans of Robert Dugoni, Lisa Regan and Melinda Leigh will devour in one sitting.


Review:

Dark, devious, and sinister!

The Dancing Girls is a crafty, compelling police procedural that introduces you to Detective Jo Fournier, a complex, driven, young woman who finds herself on the hunt for a murderer with a penchant for married women who enjoy spending their spare time immersed in the World of Warcraft, and are in need of a little extra attention.

The writing is complex and intense. The characters are a mix of ruthless, cunning, and vulnerable. And the plot told from multiple perspectives is a suspenseful tale full of twists, turns, manipulation, duplicity, intrigue, violence, and murder.

Overall, The Dancing Girls is a creepy, pacey, promising first novel in this new series by Chouinard that highlights just how exposed the internet truly makes us and how easy and quickly it is for those with nefarious tendencies to find and target unsuspecting victims.

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

 

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About M.M. Chouinard

M.M. Chouinard is the USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and Amazon Charts bestselling author behind The Vacation, a standalone psychological thriller, and the Detective Jo Fournier series, featuring The Dancing Girls, Taken to the Grave, Her Daughter’s Cry, and The Other Mothers.

Photo courtesy of Author's Goodreads Page.

#BookReview A Deadly Twist by Jeffrey Siger @PPPress #ADeadlyTwist #JeffreySiger #AndreasKaldis #inkedinpoison

#BookReview A Deadly Twist by Jeffrey Siger @PPPress #ADeadlyTwist #JeffreySiger #AndreasKaldis #inkedinpoison Title: A Deadly Twist

Author: Jeffrey Siger

Series: Andreas Kaldis #11

Published by: Poisoned Pen Press on Apr. 6, 2021

Genres: Mystery/Thriller, Police Procedural

Pages: 320

Format: Paperback

Source: Poisoned Pen Press

Book Rating: 8.5/10

When Athens journalist Nikoletta Elia disappears while on assignment on the island of Naxos, her editor calls on Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis to investigate. The reporter, assigned to report on the effects of rampant tourism on Naxos’ culture and agrarian lifestyle, is approached by a fan who takes credit for several suspicious deaths she had written about in the past and suspected to be murders. The assassin claims to have changed his evil ways, but wants Nikoletta to write a series of articles about him and his myriad hits. Kaldis sends his deputy, Yianni, to investigate; then a body (not the journalist’s) is found at the base of a cliff.

Leads turn into more dead bodies–and finally, threats–before Kaldis finally solves the deadly puzzle.


Review:

Menacing, atmospheric, and engaging!

In this simmering, eleventh instalment in the Andreas Kaldis series, A Deadly Twist, Siger has written a sinister police procedural that will have CI Andreas Kaldis and his team heading to Naxos to investigate the sudden disappearance of a crime reporter with a story to tell, a body found dead with no identification, and a killer with a lack of conscience and a fascination with antiquities.

The prose is crisp and rich. The characters are intelligent, resourceful, and endearing. And the plot, including all the subplots, intertwine and unravel seamlessly into a mysterious tale of mischief, mayhem, corruption, coercion, criminal behaviour, dangerous endeavours, deduction, lies, and murder.

Overall, A Deadly Twist is a solid, absorbing, highly enjoyable tale by Siger that was so much better than I ever expected with a wonderful cast of characters I can’t wait to get to know better and an idyllic setting that left me yearning for my cancelled trip to the Greek islands even more.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

            

 

 

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Jeffrey Siger

Jeffrey Siger was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, practiced law at a major Wall Street law firm, and later established his own New York City law firm where he continued as one of its name partners until giving it all up to write full-time among the people, life, and politics of his beloved Mykonos. The Mykonos Mob is the tenth novel in his internationally best-selling and award nominated Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis series, following up on An Aegean April, Santorini Caesars, Devil in Delphi, Sons of Sparta, Mykonos After Midnight, Target: Tinos, Prey on Patmos, Assassins of Athens, and Murder in Mykonos.

The New York Times described Jeffrey Siger’s novels as “thoughtful police procedurals set in picturesque but not untroubled Greek locales,” and named him as Greece’s thriller writer of record. The Greek Press called his work “prophetic,” Eurocrime described him as a “very gifted American author…on a par with other American authors such as Joseph Wambaugh or Ed McBain,” and the City of San Francisco awarded him its Certificate of Honor citing that his “acclaimed books have not only explored modern Greek society and its ancient roots but have inspired political change in Greece.” He now lives in Greece.

Photo courtesy of Author's Website.

#BookReview Transient Desires by Donna Leon @groveatlantic @PGCBooks #TransientDesires #CommissarioBrunettiSeries #DonnaLeon

#BookReview Transient Desires by Donna Leon @groveatlantic @PGCBooks #TransientDesires #CommissarioBrunettiSeries #DonnaLeon Title: Transient Desires

Author: Donna Leon

Series: Commissario Brunetti #30

Published by: Atlantic Monthly Press on Mar. 9, 2021

Genres: Mystery/Thriller, Police Procedural

Pages: 288

Format: Paperback, ARC

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 8/10

In his many years as a commissario, Guido Brunetti has seen all manner of crime and known intuitively how to navigate the various pathways in his native city, Venice, to discover the person responsible. Now, in Transient Desires, the thirtieth novel in Donna Leon’s masterful series, he faces a heinous crime committed outside his jurisdiction. He is drawn in innocently enough: two young American women have been badly injured in a boating accident, joy riding in the Laguna with two young Italians. However, Brunetti’s curiosity is aroused by the behavior of the young men, who abandoned the victims after taking them to the hospital. If the injuries were the result of an accident, why did they want to avoid association with it?

As Brunetti and his colleague, Claudia Griffoni, investigate the incident, they discover that one of the young men works for a man rumored to be involved in more sinister nighttime activities in the Laguna. To get to the bottom of what proves to be a gut-wrenching case, Brunetti needs to enlist the help of both the Carabinieri and the Guardia di Costiera. Determining how much trust he and Griffoni can put in these unfamiliar colleagues adds to the difficulty of solving a peculiarly horrible crime whose perpetrators are technologically brilliant and ruthlessly organized.

Donna Leon’s Transient Desires is as powerful as any novel she has written, testing Brunetti to his limits and forcing him to listen very carefully for the truth.


Review:

Atmospheric, sinister, and engaging!

In this intriguing thirtieth instalment in the Commissario Brunetti series, Transient Desires, Leon has written a menacing tale that sees quirky Commissario Guido Brunetti immersed in an investigation that seems on the surface to involve two American women who have been beaten, abandoned, and left unconscious on the hospital docks, but which quickly turns into a much darker case involving human trafficking that will require the assistance of both the Carabinieri and Guardia Costiera to apprehend all those involved.

The prose is vivid and expressive. The characters are steadfast, intuitive, and a little jaded. And the plot, including all the subplots, intertwine and unravel seamlessly into an entertaining tale of dangerous endeavours, criminal behaviour, deduction, lies, exploitation, and Venetian Life.

Overall, Transient Desires is not especially fast-paced or action-packed but is still another absorbing, multi-layered, solid addition to this much-loved, highly-successful, enjoyable series.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

                  

 

 

Thank you to PGC Books for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Donna Leon

Donna Leon, born in New Jersey in 1942, has worked as a travel guide in Rome and as a copywriter in London. She taught literature in universities in Iran, China, and Saudi Arabia. Commissario Brunetti made her books world-famous. Donna Leon lived in Italy for many years, and although she now lives in Switzerland, she often visits Venice.

#BookReview Serpentine by Jonathan Kellerman @arrowpublishing #JonathanKellerman #Serpentine #AlexDelawareSeries

#BookReview Serpentine by Jonathan Kellerman @arrowpublishing #JonathanKellerman #Serpentine #AlexDelawareSeries Title: Serpentine

Author: Jonathan Kellerman

Series: Alex Delaware #36

Published by: Arrow on Feb. 4, 2021

Genres: Mystery/Thriller, Police Procedural

Pages: 336

Format: Hardcover

Source: Arrow Publishing

Book Rating: 8/10

The electrifying new Alex Delaware thriller from the #1 New York Times bestselling master of suspense.

Ellie Barker never knew her mother.

When she was barely three years old, her mother was found with a bullet in her head inside a torched Cadillac, overturned on Mulholland Drive. No physical evidence, no witness and no apparent motive.

Thirty-six years on, many detectives tried and failed to get to the bottom of the case.

Desperate for answers, Ellie hires LAPD homicide lieutenant Milo Sturgis, who calls in the expertise of brilliant psychologist Alex Delaware, to investigate.

But as the duo start digging, the mystery becomes even more twisted. And they soon discover a string of dangerous threats still lurking in the present…


Review:

Intricate, sharp, and sinister!

Serpentine is a menacing, creepy police procedural that sees psychologist Alex Delaware and LAPD Lieutenant Milo Sturgis tangled up in a thirty-six-year-old cold case that seems at first glance to be an isolated car accident, but as the investigation unfolds and numerous related murders crop up, this case quickly becomes a lot more complex and dangerous to all those involved.

The writing is descriptive and clever. The characters are multifaceted, elusive, and secretive. And the plot is an ominous, compelling mix of twists, turns, red herrings, secrets, deduction, mayhem, manipulation, violence, and murder.

Overall, Serpentine is riveting, dark, crafty and unbelievably the thirty-sixth book in the Alex Delaware series. I have yet to read a novel by Kellerman that isn’t suspenseful, pacey, and extremely satisfying, and this one, once again, didn’t disappoint.

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

              

 

 

Thank you to Penguin Random House UK – Arrow Publishing for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Jonathan Kellerman

Jonathan Kellerman is the Number One New York Times bestselling author of more than forty crime novels, including the Alex Delaware series, The Butcher's Theater, Billy Straight, The Conspiracy Club, Twisted, True Detectives, and The Murderer's Daughter.

With his wife, bestselling novelist Faye Kellerman, he co-authored Double Homicide and Capital Crimes. With his son, bestselling novelist Jesse Kellerman, he co-authored Crime Scene, The Golem of Hollywood, and The Golem of Paris.

He is also the author of two children's books and numerous nonfiction works, including Savage Spawn: Reflections on Violent Children and With Strings Attached: The Art and Beauty of Vintage Guitars. He has won the Goldwyn, Edgar, and Anthony awards and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Psychological Association, and has been nominated for a Shamus Award. Jonathan and Faye Kellerman live in California and New Mexico.

Photograph courtesy of Author's Goodreads Page.

#BookReview Hayden Jon Marshall by Travis Myers & Natasha Myers Marsiguerra @NMarsiguerra #TommyKeane

#BookReview Hayden Jon Marshall by Travis Myers & Natasha Myers Marsiguerra @NMarsiguerra #TommyKeane Title: Hayden Jon Marshall

Author: Travis Myers and Natasha Myers Marsiguerra

Series: Tommy Keane #2

Published by: Bully Press on Nov. 19, 2020

Genres: Mystery/Thriller, Police Procedural

Pages: 198

Format: Hardcover

Source: Bully Press

Book Rating: 8/10

A three-year-old boy disappears from a public park, in full daylight, and no one sees a thing-not even the child’s mother. In a city of millions, with not a single clue left in the park for Detective Tommy Keane, the suspects could be endless. Where does he start to investigate? And what will he uncover? Are the answers on the streets he knows so well? Or hidden online, deep within the dark web?


Review:

Devious, intense, and disturbing!

In this latest novel in the Tommy Keane series, Hayden Jon Marshall, we head back to the streets of New York City where Detectives Keene and Doyle now find themselves investigating the case of a missing three-year-old boy who seems to have vanished without a trace from a local park.

The writing is taut and gritty. The characters are flawed, persistent, and methodical. And the plot, including all the subplots, unravel quickly into a menacing tale full of suspects, clues, control, power, manipulation, swirling emotions, kidnapping, violence, and careful deduction.

Overall, Hayden Jon Marshall is a twisty, action-packed, satisfying addition to what is undoubtedly turning out to be a dark, suspenseful, compelling series by the Myers siblings.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

          

 

 

Thank you to Bully Press for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Travis Myers and Natasha Myers Marsiguerra

Travis Myers and Natasha Myers Marsiguerra are a brother and sister team who both grew up in New York City.

Travis is a retired New York City Police Detective, and Natasha works for the IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers) Local 234 in California.

Together they form a perfect team in that Travis, who has more stories to tell than a pub full of Irishman, suffers from dyslexia and abhors anything to do with reading and writing. Natasha, his beloved little sister, is an avid reader of absolutely anything that is put in front of her and has been blessed with the gift of gab. She can out-story just about anyone, in any room, at any given time, and she can also type 60 words per minute. More importantly, Natasha is able to understand where her older brother is coming from, and craft his stories into a readable format.

Together, they weave the Tommy Keane Detective series into well braided fictional tales that are nearly all based in actual events that they, and their friends and relatives, have lived. Travis and Natasha deliver on their promise to deliver gritty, honest stories that are rooted in the everyday lives of everyday people.

#BookReview The Museum of Desire by Jonathan Kellerman @arrowpublishing #JonathanKellerman #TheMuseumofDesire

#BookReview The Museum of Desire by Jonathan Kellerman @arrowpublishing #JonathanKellerman #TheMuseumofDesire Title: The Museum of Desire

Author: Jonathan Kellerman

Series: Alex Delaware #35

Published by: Arrow on Nov. 12, 2020

Genres: Mystery/Thriller, Police Procedural

Pages: 368

Format: Paperback

Source: Arrow Publishing

Book Rating: 8/10

ONE WILD PARTY.

FOUR COUNTS OF MURDER.

A mansion in Beverly Hills is leased out to host an event wild enough to herald the end of days.

The next day there isn’t a living soul to be seen. In the driveway sits a superstretch limo, unlocked, with four bodies inside it. Nothing links the victims together. Each has been killed in a different way.

Now it’s up to brilliant psychologist Alex Delaware and LAPD Lieutenant Milo Sturgis to begin their grisliest and most baffling case yet.

As they struggle to make sense of the mass slaying, they will be forced to confront a level of evil that nothing can prepare them for.


Review:

Deviant, sophisticated, and gripping!

In this latest novel by Kellerman, The Museum of Desire, we head back to Beverly Hills where LAPD Lieutenant Milo Sturgis and his sidekick psychologist Alex Delaware find themselves on a gruesome case involving an empty mansion, a fancy limousine, and four brutally slain bodies who seem to have no connection to each other whatsoever.

The writing is meticulous and absorbing. The characters are multilayered, persistent, and intuitive. And the plot, including all the subplots, unravel and intertwine methodically into a sinister tale full of deception, deprivation, manipulation, mayhem, violence, and murder.

It’s hard to believe that this novel, The Museum of Desire is the thirty-fifth book in the Alex Delaware series. In fact, in the late 80s and early 90s, Jonathan Kellerman was my favourite author, and although over the past decade or so I haven’t picked up the newest titles in this series it was so wonderful to crawl back into this dark, gritty side of Hollywood and reacquaint myself with these unique characters.

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

              

 

 

Thank you to Penguin Random House UK – Arrow Publishing for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Jonathan Kellerman

Jonathan Kellerman is the Number One New York Times bestselling author of more than forty crime novels, including the Alex Delaware series, The Butcher's Theater, Billy Straight, The Conspiracy Club, Twisted, True Detectives, and The Murderer's Daughter.

With his wife, bestselling novelist Faye Kellerman, he co-authored Double Homicide and Capital Crimes. With his son, bestselling novelist Jesse Kellerman, he co-authored Crime Scene, The Golem of Hollywood, and The Golem of Paris.

He is also the author of two children's books and numerous nonfiction works, including Savage Spawn: Reflections on Violent Children and With Strings Attached: The Art and Beauty of Vintage Guitars. He has won the Goldwyn, Edgar, and Anthony awards and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Psychological Association, and has been nominated for a Shamus Award. Jonathan and Faye Kellerman live in California and New Mexico.

Photograph courtesy of Author's Goodreads Page.

#BookReview Her Mother’s Grave by Lisa Regan @Lisalregan @GrandCentralPub #LisaRegan #HerMothersGrave #JosieQuinnSeries

#BookReview Her Mother’s Grave by Lisa Regan @Lisalregan @GrandCentralPub #LisaRegan #HerMothersGrave #JosieQuinnSeries Title: Her Mother's Grave

Author: Lisa Regan

Series: Detective Josie Quinn #3

Published by: Grand Central Publishing on Nov. 3, 2020

Genres: Mystery/Thriller, Police Procedural

Pages: 320

Format: Paperback

Source: Grand Central Publishing

Book Rating: 10/10

When two young boys discover human bones buried beneath a tree in a trailer park, Detective Josie Quinn races to join her team at the scene. She used to play in those woods as a child, happier outside and away from her abusive mother, Belinda Rose.

Josie’s past crashes into her present when a rare dental condition confirms the bones belong to a teenage foster-child who was murdered thirty years ago. A girl named Belinda Rose…

Josie hasn’t seen her mother in years but, with an undeniable connection between her mother and the dead girl, does she dare try to track her down?

Just as Josie gets closer to uncovering a secret that will shatter her world forever, another body is uncovered. It’s suddenly clear that someone very close to Josie will stop at nothing to keep the truth buried forever.

As she battles the demons from her past, can Josie stop this killer before another precious life is taken?


Review:

Atmospheric, sharp, and engrossing!

Her Mother’s Grave is an elaborately plotted police procedural that highlights how manipulative and evil people can truly be and reminds us that even the darkest, most long-buried secrets often have a way of coming to light.

The writing style is smooth and seamless. The characters, including the tenacious, strong, scarred heroine, are relentless, hardworking, and astute. And the plot using flashbacks and short, intense chapters immerses you in an ominous tale full of twists, turns, secrets, obsession, mayhem, deduction, attraction, abuse, violence, childhood trauma, swirling emotions, and murder.

I have to say that all I kept thinking while reading this novel is why have I not heard of or read a book in this series before and how can I get my hands on more of them as quickly as possible. Her Mother’s Grave is an intricately woven, meticulous, sinister tale that has all the elements you look for in a thrilling mystery, with its fully-developed characters and authentic grittiness it keeps you absolutely riveted and undoubtedly eager for more.

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Thank you to Grand Central for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Lisa Regan

Lisa Regan is the USA Today & Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the Detective Josie Quinn series as well as several other crime fiction titles. She has a Bachelor’s degree in English and a Master of Education degree from Bloomsburg University. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, Crime Writers Association, and Mystery Writers of America. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband, daughter and Boston Terrier named Mr. Phillip.

Photograph courtesy of Author's Website.