A Jar of Pickles (Lady Vigilante, #18) by Hayley Camille

A Jar of Pickles by Hayley Camille
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Super action-filled entry in the continuing story of Betty Jones, Avon Lady extraordinaire!

Episode 18, A Jar of Pickles, opens in the middle of a maelstrom! Betty’s daughter, Nancy, has unwittingly discovered and revealed that the man she’s always known as her father is not her biological parent. The shock of her uncovering this secret not only has Nancy reeling but Jacob Lawrence and Adina Sonberg as well, and it leads to a bitter, perhaps relationship-ending, argument between the two.

Hurt and feeling betrayed by the revelation, Adina still heads into work at St. Augustine’s to prepare a big library program for the boys and to spend some time with her favorite orphan, Teddy. Her emotional rollercoaster continues when a woman arrives looking for her son, who had been taken from her at birth and sent to an unknown orphanage. Shocked, Adina covers up the possibility that the child the woman is seeking may actually be Teddy.

Meanwhile, Betty and Jacob follow up on a new lead to the whereabouts of The Tin Man, which takes them to the home of Jacob’s mother and father. They believe that his father may hold the key to The Tin Man’s background from the time when he was the police commissioner.

Still hurting about her discovery, Nancy is supposed to be babysitting Georgie while her mother is making her Avon appointments. Since Adina had brought Teddy to her home next door to hide him from his birth mother, he and Georgie are happily playing together in the yard, so Nancy leaves them on their own and heads to the neighborhood park to sulk and brood. There she is approached by a sympathetic stranger, a woman, to whom she confides all her woes. But the woman is not just some helpful neighbor, she’s the diabolical mind behind The Boudoir Butcher murders, and Nancy has just played into her evil hands.

A Jar of Pickles is another super episode in the ongoing Betty Jones series, and it is bigger and more action-packed than ever. Betty’s and Jacob’s pasts are unfolding, and their joint investigation into The Boudoir Butcher killings is finally gaining ground. Emotions run high throughout, and Betty pulls out all the stops to save her daughter. Once again, the fight scenes are fabulous, and the WWII-New York setting remains a winner.

I highly recommend this episode to readers following the exploits of this kick-ass Avon Lady and the entire series to those that enjoy historical mystery/thrillers featuring a strong female protagonist. The books are episodic, and I recommend they be read from the beginning in chronological order.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author.

The Lady Vigilante series was formerly titled, Avon Calling!.

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Shifting Sides (A Shift in Space, #0) by Danielle Forrest

Shifting Sides by Danielle Forrest
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Whether you like romance in your SciFi or SciFi in your romance, SHIFTING SIDES is the book for you!

Emma, the USS Endeavour's pilot, was transporting a team of scientists and their families on a mission to study planet HD85512b’s suitability as a human colony. The plan was she and the crew would live and work on the planet, gathering all the data they could, and return to Earth after a couple of years. What they didn’t figure on was HD85512b, also known as Ara, was already inhabited by the Danaus.

Beeyun watched as the Endeavour landed in a field literally in the backyard of his property on Ara debarking dozens of aliens who began to set up buildings and disrupting the natural setting he was sworn to protect and preserve. Each night, attempting to drive the interlopers off, he would wait for them to return to their ship and then tear down everything they’d done that day. But every morning, they would start over again and re-build. One hard-working and persistent alien caught his attention right off. As much as he disliked the aliens wreaking havoc on this property, he admired the feisty female who worked long after the others stopped and bravely ran toward danger when it appeared.

Emma knew the crew of scientists did not like her and felt she was beneath them, a necessary evil, so to speak, as none of them could pilot their ship. It had been a long, lonely, and tiresome journey to HD85512b for her. But still, she tried to fit in and help make the temporary colony a success in any way she could. But rather than things improving as she worked her heart out for them, the crew became more and more unstable, aggressive toward her as well as each other. Then, one afternoon, they grabbed her and tied her to a post in the middle of the field as a ‘sacrifice’ to The Beast that came unseen in the night to destroy their work. But then The Beast came...

Although a prequel in the new A Shift in Space series by Danielle Forrest, SHIFTING SIDES is a fully developed and full-length novel of science-fiction-romance. I thought it was dynamite! The plot is intriguing from the very start, and there is never a dull moment. There were new and interesting things occurring all along the way as the very exciting story unfolded.

I loved the main characters of Emma and Beeyun and rooted for them the entire time. Emma is a loner and a take-charge kind of gal without a lot of the strange hang-ups or inadequacies that seem to accompany many kick-ass heroines; she appears to be a well-rounded and fully-competent young adult. Sure she’s got some conflicts in her past and present life, but they are pretty normal at the outset. Our alien hero, Beeyun, is smart, compassionate, and, although purple, still one sexy guy. I liked the path their relationship took: not too fast, not too slow. Supporting characters offered a variety of interactions and chances for conflict and helped round out a great plot. I really liked the young family of Lacy, Rickelle, and their daughter, Jacie.

I recommend SHIFTING SIDES to science fiction readers who enjoy their stories with a romantic plotline or romance readers who like their love stories to "take them to the stars." I’m so looking forward to the next book in this series.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

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Undead Annihilation (Undead, #1) by Matthew Doggett

Undead Annihilation by Matthew Doggett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Honestly, Undead Annihilation is a “Must Read” for end-of-the-world, we’re-all-gonna-die, zombie apocalypse story lovers!

On the night the bombs dropped and killed untold numbers, former police detective Kurt Weller was in a no-tell motel with two shady ladies and a bag of cocaine trying to forget he'd been set up and railroaded out of the police department earlier that week. But as the emergency transpired, he received a call from headquarters that all was forgiven and ordered to report back on duty immediately. Escorting the ladies home, he realizes there's more to the bombs than first thought; there are also hordes of zombies roaming the city, picking off the survivors of the blasts. Arriving at police headquarters, he finds the place under siege by a crowd of these survivors wanting answers that the brass can't give them. They don't want to listen to what Weller has observed either.

In another part of town, a vampire named Diirek had witnessed the attack from the deep shadows of a downtown alley beside a dive bar. The spectacle stopped the vampire in his tracks just as he prepared to feed on an unsuspecting bar patron who had come into the alley to relieve himself. Both he and his intended victim hustle away to find out what is going on.

While Kurt is checking on officers posted at a hot spot downtown, he sees one of the officers get thrown from the roof of one multi-story building through the air to smash through a window several stories up on a building across the street. The body is soon followed by a large, mysterious creature that glides from one roof to another. The vision is too outlandish for Weller, and he convinces himself he was seeing things.

Later as people die and reanimate and city officials refuse to accept what is going on, Diirek approaches Weller for his help (during daylight hours) to track down the creature who is killing the city's vampires. Together they seek this ancient menace and try to discover what's behind the attack, the zombies, and Weller's frame-up and dismissal from the police force.

Matthew Doggett’s new zombie apocalypse story has everything that previous books of the genre have and more! Mindless, ravening hordes of zombies? Check. Impending extinction of the population from an unknown threat? Check. The true-blue hero fighting evil all on his lonesome against impossible odds? Err…well, sort of.

We actually have two wonderful heroes. First, we have Detective Kurt Atticus Weller, a recently disgraced, hard-charging homicide detective discharged from the department for purportedly taking money from a crime scene. (“This was such bulls***!”) As his story begins, he’s partaking of some of the vices (cocaine and prostitutes) that he’d fought against all his years on the force, making up for lost time, so to speak. Weller’s is the voice of reason throughout, but his commentary is laugh out loud funny. I got looks and questions from family members I was reading near.

Hero number two is a centuries-old vampire named Diirek. (That’s Dee-rick, thank you very much!) Diirek is trying to find a much more dangerous monster than mere zombies. Something big and dark and deadly is picking off the vampires in the city one by one, and he is out to stop it. He makes for a fabulously mysterious and romantic black-clad stranger who still has human feelings and sentiments compelling him to try and rid the city of this unknown nemesis.

Action and chaos are happening on every page. The writing is exciting and entertaining with clever dialogue and plot twists. It truly is a page-turner of a book, and better still, the first entry in the new series, Undead. So, with a never-a-slow-moment pace, the coolest of cool characters, and all the apocalyptic tropes your heart could desire (but done better) to top things off, I can highly recommend UNDEAD ANNIHILATION to readers of the genre that would enjoy a more humorous take on the end of the world.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from Reedsy Discovery.

See my original review on Reedsy Discovery!

The River Girls by Melinda Woodhall

The River Girls by Melinda Woodhall
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The River Girls, book one in the Mercy Harbor series, is an exciting mystery thriller debut!

Five years ago, successful software developer, Eden Winthrop, discovered the body of her younger sister, who her abusive husband had murdered. Now she's watching the front desk of one of the safe houses for abused women that she's set up in her small Florida hometown of Willow Bay when a teenage girl named Star shows up looking for refuge. Against protocol and proper vetting, Eden allows her inside, listening to her desperate story that men have killed her friend, Jess, and now they're after her! Getting her settled in a room for the night, Eden calls the foundation's executive director for guidance, but when the other woman arrives, they discover Star has slipped out the back door and headed down to the river nearby. Fearing the girl may have drowned, Eden goes to the police department to report her as missing.

Police Detective Vanessa 'Nessa' Ainsley takes Eden's report, and days later, when she's called to the river where a teenage girl's body has been found in the water where she'd been dumped after having been strangled. The crime and the victim's details are similar to a previous scene weeks earlier, and the department fears a serial killer is at work. Nessa contacts Eden to view the body to see if it is Star.

Leo Steele is a successful criminal defense attorney. Some, like Eden, would say too successful. He's the lawyer that got her sister's husband off charges of violating a protective order the week before he murdered her. He's been contacted by one of his clients who was not so lucky and is currently serving time while her teenage daughter is on her own and being passed from one foster situation to another. The daughter, Jess, has dropped out of sight, and she wants Leo to try and locate her. He is also contacted to help identify the body, and it is his client's daughter, Jess.

Eden and Leo overcome their differences and begin to work together to find Star, who they feel is in danger and holds the key to Jess's murder. When another teenage girl's body is found in the river, Detective Ainsley heads up a team of veteran investigators to work the evidence from the crime scenes and stop this killer before another girl is murdered.

The River Girls is a fast-paced and gripping thriller of a mystery. The characters are a diverse group of people, each with their own lives and problems, who come together to solve this horrific series of murders of teenage girls. The bad guys are very bad and easy to despise, and some are tantalizingly hidden in plain sight. The main characters felt like real people to me, and I particularly appreciated seeing things through the eyes of the teenage girls involved. I was surprised and pleased with how the story is resolved and look forward to more books in the series.

THE RIVER GIRLS is a violent story with murders of teenage victims. It has several plot lines to follow, but they are straight-forward and easy to follow. The story also features a character with an anxiety disorder with an emotional support animal that I found very interesting and different in mystery/thrillers. I would recommend this book to those who would like to read a small-town thriller or mystery.

I received an advance review copy for free from Book Sirens, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

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Rhino Charge (Kenya Kanga Mystery, #3) by Victoria Tait

Rhino Charge by Victoria Tait
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Mama Rose returns in an intriguing and complex tale of revenge and murder!

It's 2016 in Nanyuki, Kenya, and Rose Hardie is preparing to attend the Rhino Charge, the annual charity off-road car race through the Maasai Mara preserve and one of the highlights of the Kenyan sporting calendar. Since its inception 27 years previously, "Mama" Rose and her husband, Craig, have been fixtures at the event, volunteering their time to help make the charity event run smoothly. But this year is different as Craig's health has deteriorated beyond his ability to participate, and both know that he'll never attend another Rhino Charge. Rose has asked her young friend, Chloe Collins, whose husband, Dan, is away for work, to come in Craig's stead. This year's race is especially exciting for the friends in Nanyuki. Their neighbor, young Thabiti Onyango, has been asked to join the prestigious Bandit Bush Hogs team as their mechanic.

But strange things begin to happen around the Bandit Bush Hogs camp right away; things go missing, equipment is tampered with, any one of which could disqualify the team from competing. A rival team, the Rhino Force, is suspected of being behind the sabotage, but there is no real evidence to bring forward. The Bandit Bush Hogs can overcome all obstacles and start the race along with all the other participants. However, when negotiating a particularly dangerous slope, the winch strap they are using snaps, sending the car end over end, injuring their driver, an unpleasant young man named Mayur Chauhan, who is also the team manager's eldest son. Miraculously, Mayur escapes with only scrapes, bruises, and a broken arm, who is also the team manager's eldest son. Miraculously, Mayur escapes the crash with just cuts, bruises, and a broken arm, but the team is out of the race. With Thabiti in the hot seat, blamed for causing the accident through incompetence or negligence, Mama Rose gathers together her Nanyuki friends to find the real saboteurs and prove Thabiti's innocence.

This series just keeps getting better and better. Building on relationships forged and plotlines begun in previous novels, reading Rhino Charge was like returning home to old friends. The author introduces new faces, but the recurring cast of characters' continuing lives is the stable and very satisfying foundation on which this cozy mystery series sits. Besides the excitement of the mystery and the sporting event, there are many poignant moments, such as Craig not being able to accompany Rose to the 'Charge' as they have for every previous race. The underlying awareness that there is not much time left for the couple is heart-rending.

Speaking of recurring characters, this particular novel brings Thabiti's sister, Pearl, back into the limelight with her ongoing recovery from incidents in book 1. I loved that she is making a comeback to the storyline. Also, we get a more intimate look into Chloe's life this time as she and Rose become more comfortable and known to each other. Another of my favorite recurring characters is Sam Mwamba. I appreciated that he and Rose shared a moment and a knowing look regarding the fact that murder seems to follow them around.

Kenya's exotic and unusual setting remains fresh, interesting, and inviting. There is always so much to learn during the course of the mystery about the country, its people, and history. Rhino Charge features characters that have immigrated to Kenya from India joining a large population of others there that have retained their culture and Hindu faith. This entry was a true page-turner while relaxing and sipping on my own cup of Kericho Gold Tea.

I recommend this book and the entire series to cozy mystery readers, particularly those who enjoy a more mature and human-nature-savvy sleuth like 'Mama' Rose. The Kenyan setting may especially appeal to readers who liked The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith.

Rhino Charge will be available on February 5, 2021 through Amazon.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author.

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L'Origine: The Secret Life of the World's Most Erotic Masterpiece – Lilianne Milgrom

L’Origine: The Secret Life of the World’s Most Erotic Masterpiece by Lilianne Milgrom
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A fascinating story of Gustave Courbet’s fabled painting, L’Origine du monde.

In 2011, the author arrived in Paris to begin an extended artist residency and visited the Orsay Museum before settling in on her work. During the visit, she was captivated by the celebrated work, The Origin of the World, by Gustave Courbet, a realistic portrait of a supine woman’s exposed genitals (no face, arms, or legs). She was compelled to apply to be a copyist at the museum with L'Origine du monde as her subject. Over the next seven weeks, she attempted to reproduce Courbet's iconic work, all the while under the watchful and curious eyes of thousands of daily museum-goers. The copyist's goal is to expand their skills and techniques as they try to duplicate the actions of the masters, but Milgron got more than this. She also gained insight into the world's view of what a woman is, what it means to be female, and a deeper regard for her own femininity and sexuality. She also became determined to discover the history behind the museum's mythic painting and one of its most prized possessions.

L'Origine presents the work's journey from Courbet's first imagining through creation in 1866 to its various owners. Due to its controversial subject matter, it was kept hidden out of sight for decades, only shared with a few select friends of each owner, but its existence was whispered about and speculated upon for years. Lost during World War II, it surfaced once again, and through a series of private transactions, it finally returned to Paris, the home of its birth, and became a treasured part of the Orsay's collection.

This fictional account of how the painting came to be displayed and viewed by more than a million visitors a year at the Orsay Museum was a highly satisfying story. Beginning with the author's artist residency in Paris, the trip back through time was both magical and eye-opening. I learned so many interesting things about that time period in Paris when Courbet was active, the Realism movement, his contemporaries, and the effects on the art world by what was going on politically at that time. Some of the painting’s owners were in the thick of a hotbed of political unrest and, eventually, war in Europe.

I especially appreciated Milgrom's recounting of her own experiences at the museum in Paris while a copyist. Her stories of the reactions of the visitors viewing the painting were varied and telling and did cause me to contemplate my own feelings about the work and the subject as well as historic and modern ideas regarding women's sexuality. There are some excellent, thought-provoking questions for discussion at the end of the book.

I recommend L'Origine: The Secret Life of the World's Most Erotic Masterpiece by Lilianne Milgrom to readers of historical fiction and especially to those interested in the world of art or art history.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author.



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Deadland by Sawyer Hall

Deadland by Sawyer Hall
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A timely thriller-horror story about a fabulous new theme park and a virus that gets in with the guests.

Deadland is the latest premiere amusement park to open its gates, and people are flocking to enjoy its offerings. The park is themed on five different cultures’ vision of Hell, and park guests wear a metal smart-wrist-cuff that reads their body’s reactions and tallies their participation points as they work their way through the sections, rides, games, and amusements while trying to avoid being “bitten” by roaming zombies. The guest with the most points at the end of the day wins a fabulous (but unnamed) prize.

On this day, the guest list includes Nick Calvo and his son, George. George is a little younger than the minimum age, but he’s being allowed in as part of a Make-A-Wish-style dream trip. George is in remission from a rare form of leukemia.

Another guest group is the Abernathy family from San Francisco. Sisters Blake and Lola and their younger brother, Asher, are in the park sans parents. The two girls are well-known social media influencers, but Deadland prohibits guests from having cellphones, cameras, or other recording devices inside the park, so they’re focusing more on cute boys leaving Asher to fend for himself.

Then there is Dr. Piper Prescott, a renowned but disgraced virologist and special VIP guest of the park’s multimillionaire creator, Derek Farber. Piper and Derek have a history. Eight years, the Apopka virus, with a 100% fatality rate, had killed the entire population of two remote islands as the whole world looked on. Without knowing how the virus was transmitted and fearing it had already spread from ground zero, a vaccine had been developed, and people were required to get it. However, weeks later, it was discovered that the vaccine had an unforeseen reaction in approximately 10% of the treated population, and millions of people died. Anti-vaxxers seized the day with the result that unvaccinated people were buying forged ‘proof of immunization’ documents on the black market. Piper, the most knowledgeable person about the vaccine debacle (and a staunch proponent of vaccination), appeared at a professional convention to promote her new book on the Apopka virus when Derek showed up and humiliated her in front of her peers. Now he’s offered an olive branch and wants her to come to observe his park, many aspects of which are based on the viral pandemic, and give him her opinion.

George and his nervous father, Nick, are having a great time, though, when they meet up with Asher Abernathy, who is trying to enjoy the park on his own. But while making their way through the first section, Asher becomes visibly ill and, rather than accepting Nick’s help, goes off to find his sisters. Soon after, George gets separated from his dad, and Piper runs across Nick searching for him. The two find the boy lying unconscious and exhibiting the same symptoms Asher, symptoms Piper readily identifies as those of the Apopka virus.

As Piper and Nick desperately try to get help for George, they are detained at the park’s infirmary. Piper begs Derek to put the park into quarantine and call the CDC but not before numerous guests, including the Abernathys and a very sick Asher, leave.

Blake takes her sick brother to the nearest medical facility she can find and contacts her parents to come to help them. Asher appears to be making a recovery when their parents arrive, so their father decides to fly back home with the two girls, leaving his wife and son behind. But when the senior ER doctor, Stick Williams, sees the rash on Asher’s face, something clicks in the back of his mind, alerting him to the possibility that this might be the Apopka virus. He must now work against the clock to get Asher the treatment he needs and quarantine the ER, all the while knowing that he himself is harboring a terrible secret regarding the virus.

Deadland was an absorbing story, heart-pounding and exciting. It is a timely thriller, horror story considering our current pandemic and recent approval to distribute and mass-inoculate with fast-tracked vaccines. (So, it is hitting a little close to home and may not be the right book for some at this time.)

I liked the characters, especially Nick and George Calvo, and rooted for their success throughout the book. Blake and Lola Abernathy felt like real teens with their distractions, worries, and sibling rivalry. Poor Asher seemed like a good kid but we really don't get to enjoy him much before he becomes desperately ill. Dr. Piper Prescott was another favorite character. I liked that she seems to regain her confidence and get back on her feet while under pressure, and I liked that she was a more than competent competitor in the Deadland scoring. I did not understand Derek’s past animosity toward Piper and that part of their backstory.

The separate timelines for the Calvos, the Abernathys, and Dr. Prescott were a little odd to me. The three groups of park visitors were all there on the same day, yet Piper’s story stayed about a half a day ahead of the others until she joined up with the Calvos.

The idea of the visions of Hell as the theme for the various sections of the park was a winner for me but not being overly familiar with any one of them had me wondering about the presence of zombies there at all. I understood the zombies part in the scheme of the game but wondered that they were in keeping with the theme. Parts of this reminded me of the old Fright Nights at Six Flags Over Texas – good times!

I thought the situation with the various personnel at the local hospital was a great addition to the plot. I worried about the young, inexperienced, and inept doctor, and the lazy lab tech actually made me mad. This part of the story kept me guessing who would figure things out and save the day. The hotline story was a total surprise and totally shocking. All in all, the action at the hospital was a real highlight.

I recommend DEADLAND to readers that enjoy apocalyptic style tales, medical thrillers, and even those that would enjoy a pulse-pounding action story set in an amusement park. With the exciting plotting and the page-turning quality of the writing, I’ll certainly be looking for more by this author.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from Reedsy Discovery.


See my original review at Reedsy Discovery

Murder Off Broadway (A Pet Portraits Cozy Mystery, #12) by Sandi Scott

Murder Off Broadway: A Pet Portraits Cozy Mystery by Sandi Scott
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Murder Off Broadway is a lovely addition to the Kaye sisters' story.

Sisters Georgie and Aleta Kaye are having a girls' trip to the Big Apple. On their schedule are trips to all the best tourist attractions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art for Georgie, the artist, and plenty of stops for desserts to satisfy the ladies' constant sweet tooth. But a special treat for the sisters is going to an off-Broadway play at the Heirloom Theatre, courtesy of director Brian Narkles, the cousin of one of Georgie's clients back in Chicago.

Their trip to the Heirloom Theatre starts out fabulously; they are treated like celebrities with a pre-show reception of drinks and desserts with the cast members and a backstage tour with the director himself. But the evening ends abruptly when they discover the lead actress's body with her throat slit. Georgie finds herself, once again, embroiled in a murder investigation. However, this time, instead of her ex-husband, Stan Toon, watching her back, Georgie teams up with one of New York's finest, the handsome and interested, Detective Anthony Romeo.

This 12th foray into the Kaye sisters' crime-solving is as delightful as the previous books. The change of scenery for the twins is fun, and the new love interest for Georgie fresh and exciting. As always, I love that these investigators, including Detective Romeo, though on the older side of mature, are still vital, active, and loving life.

I highly recommend this entire series to cozy mystery readers that enjoy a fast-paced, compact story and senior sleuths. Murder Off Broadway is a lovely addition to the Kaye sisters' story.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author.

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The Golden Scales (A Makana Mystery, #1) by Parker Bilal

The Golden Scales by Parker Bilal
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The year is 1998, and former police inspector Makana, a refugee from his native Sudan, lives on a rickety houseboat on the Nile outside Cairo. He fled his country years earlier when it became too dangerous for him and his family under the radical Islamic regime that had recently overthrown the previous government. He ekes out a bare subsistence working as a private investigator while mourning the loss of his wife and daughter, who didn't survive their escape. His fortunes have the opportunity to change for the better when he is hired to find a missing soccer star.

Adil Romario has been missing for over two weeks without a word or sighting of one of Cairo’s favorite sones. It is as if the young man has disappeared off the face of the Earth. The Dreem Team's owner, Saad Hanafi, is desperate to find Adil for his club's success and personal reasons. Hanafi wasn't always on the right side of the law, and old enemies may be behind the young man's disappearance.

As Makana delves into the mystery, he discovers there may be a link between Adil's disappearance and that of the young daughter of an Englishwoman who went missing 17 years earlier. When the Englishwoman is found dead, Makana, with some support from a friend on the local police force, two agents from Britain's Special Branch out of London, and a young, local reporter trying to make a name for himself, digs deeper and further afield, coming to the realization that Hanafi isn't telling him everything he needs to know to find the missing soccer star.

THE GOLDEN SCALES is a complex and intriguing historical mystery set in moody, atmospheric Cairo. The descriptions of place drew me into the story, where the writing and plot gripped me and never let go. The characters who populate the pages are colorful and well-drawn. I could easily visualize their dress, manner of speech, and gestures. I was invested in Makana's success as if it were my own. The story is action-filled, and Makana investigates like a pro, so I was quite satisfied when the resolution came.

THE GOLDEN SCALES is the first book in the Makana Mystery series by Parker Bilal, a pseudonym of renowned author Jamal Mahjoub, and was originally published in 2012. Currently, there are six novels in the series, the last of which was published in 2017. I recommend this book to mystery readers that would like an intriguing, well-crafted story with historical and political subplots enveloped in a setting that comes alive on the page.

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Casindra Lost (Paradisi Lost Missions, #1) by Marti Ward

Casindra Lost by Marti Ward
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An exciting, hard-core sci-fi tale of the original Paradisi manned exploratory mission.

Commander Jerome Sideris, a renowned LETO pilot and engineer, is selected to make the first manned excursion through a wormhole to the Paradisi solar system in the Andromeda galaxy. It is a 3.5-year mission to survey the four planets there that the ten founding families plan to colonize or develop for resources when they leave a dying Earth behind.

Sideris is a loner, which works in his favor as he’s the only human aboard the LETO SS Casindra. His second-in-command is an advanced artificial intelligence (AI) that has dubbed itself AL. Since their mission includes preparing the way for those who will eventually colonize one of the planets, New Eden, the ship carries numerous species of Earth animals to transfer to its surface to acclimate and multiply.

The mission successfully proceeds much as planned, except when AL sends message drones back through the wormhole, they fail to be returned as per the preplanned and critically necessary schedule. The one or two that are returned by Solar Command give no explanation for the lack of response or the lack of promised supplies. With growing worry about what’s going on back on Earth and dwindling resources, Sideris and AL continue their mission as best they can with the assistance of an unusually perceptive ship’s cat named Simba.

Although not an easy read by any means, Casindra Lost transports the reader straight into the mystery of what happened to Captain Jerome Sideris on the first manned mission through a wormhole to the Paradisi solar system. I love the concept of the Paradisi universe of stories developed and expanded on by so many talented writers. This series seeks to fill in the blanks on the early space missions to prepare the way for the ten founders’ families to colonize the planet called New Eden. It can be on its own or after having already become acquainted with the previous works. If you haven’t read any of the earlier tales, though, be prepared to want to!

This story is exciting, but it builds slowly to a great cliffhanger ending. Thankfully (for me), the next book is already available, and I can continue forward to find out what happens next! This was a great story, but I want to be clear that this might not be for everyone. As I said, it is not an easy read as it is chockful of tech talk and (sometimes) too lengthy mission analyses and logistical discussions between Sideris and the AL, the Casindra’s artificial intelligence. Some of the back and forth, though, serves to show how the relationship between the two changes over the course of the mission and how AL himself evolves. There is an underlying theme of what makes an entity alive or a person or human that is thought-provoking but never approaches preachiness or claims conclusions.

Also included in the story are a pair of cats, Simba and Samba, and their offspring that give Sideris some much-needed companionship. Simba is a featured creature, so we’re party to her thoughts and actions, and this was a lot of fun. Later in the story, her actions and understanding of what’s going on around her become delightfully important.

I recommend Casindra Lost for hard-core sci-fi fans who love seeing science fact come alive in their science fiction.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from Reedsy Discovery.

See my original review on Reedsy Discovery!

The New World (The New World, #1) by Chad Wannamaker

THE NEW WORLD: Series 1 by Chad Wannamaker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Great beginning, an engaging story, but I was left wondering where's the rest of the book?

When the small spacecraft had crashed into the lake, Bob Mackey and his brother-in-law, Dan, had gone to see if there were survivors and if they could help. What they found was a dying alien mother protecting her child. With her last breaths, she entrusted the small, furry female to Bob's care, calling her Tammy. It isn't until 11 years later that humans will make contact with others of her race – the jZav'Etch, taller, humanoid cat-like beings.

Bob took the young creature home to his remote station and acreage in the wilderness of Juniper, the planet he called home. Tammy became a part of the family, just one of Bob and his wife, Deborah's, three children. Time passed. She grew up along with the others and is seen as one of the Mackey family, and one of them, by the close-knit community of people colonizing Juniper, a frontier planet outside of the Conglomerated Planets. She's started to notice boys, and they've begun to notice her as well.

One weekend, she and her friends are out beyond the family's station helping her older brother, Mike, build his own place, which he'll eventually move to and start his own business and family. They see another spacecraft go down in a wild, hard-to-reach location. The young people make their way to the crash site where they find a heavily-damaged ship and one critically injured survivor – a jZav'Etch like Tammy! When communications and other utilities are knocked out and shuttles coming to their assistance are shot down, they realize the planet is under attack by whoever was after the newcomer and who are now after them!

What to say about The New World? The writing is smooth and easy to read, but there just wasn't enough of it. The reader is left hanging at a waypoint in the story without a truly compelling reason to read further.

I enjoyed the story, the characters, and the setting. I was most definitely and immediately engaged by what I read. In fact, I was quickly reminded of John Marsden's YA Tomorrow series, which is one of my favorites. But, frankly, the story needed to be fleshed out with a little more detail on the characters, the world-building, and the background situation. We don't know the reason for or the exact nature of the peril the characters and their world are in. I felt we only had a superficial acquaintance with most of the main characters and their lives when the book ended. The story seems to just stop – not in cliffhanger fashion but as if the book's last half was cut off.

I have also struggled to categorize this book. When the series is further along, I might have a better idea, but I think it will have a wide appeal – adults, YA, and middle-grades. It honestly has the feel of an epic middle-age series (except for the few swear words, drinking, and some frank mentions of sexual activity.) I can see this as a great read-aloud book. It also has a YA feel with the theme of searching for one's identity and because of the main characters' ages and life stages.

I recommend The New World, with reservations, to readers that enjoy a YA SciFi story without a lot of discussion of science and hardware. I would also recommend to friends that they wait until at least the next book in the series was available before giving it a read. Having said this, I will be following this author so that I can buy this next book to see what happens next.

See my original review on Reedsy Discovery!

Loving Modigliani: The Afterlife of Jeanne Hébuterne by Linda Lappin

Loving Modigliani: The Afterlife of Jeanne Hébuterne by Linda Lappin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

With twists and turns at every step, this is a don’t-miss-it historical mystery!

When her husband and mentor, renowned painter, Amedeo Modigliani, dies after a short but brutal illness, Jeanne, 21 and pregnant with their second child jumps out of a window of her parents’ Parisian flat two days later and also dies. As a spirit, she tries to reunite with Modi but eventually ends up returning to the apartment and studio they shared, where she watches people she knew remove her things, even discovering her one last secret artwork hidden in the wall space behind a large cupboard. The painting, one that Modigliani had begun, was of Jeanne and their child, but when he’d rejected his initial work, intending to destroy it and start over, she’d saved it and added his likeness to the family portrait. Dubbed a lost Modigliani, its existence had become a myth in the world of artists and art collectors. But now, she spends her time pacing the floor and practicing the violin, the one thing her ghostly self was allowed to grab and take with her into her afterlife.

Time passes to 1981, and an American art history student comes to Paris to research her thesis on Manuel Ortiz de Zárate, another of the famous Montparnasse artists who happened to live and work on the floor below Jeanne and Modi. But seemingly at every stage of her local research, she runs into persistent whispers of Modigliani, Jeanne, and the lost painting. When a dying woman entrusts her with more than just whispers, she is compelled to follow the story.

Loving Modigliani is a wonderfully imaginative and absorbing story that I honestly did not want to put down. The descriptions of Paris and Jeanne’s life were so vivid I felt I was there. I know I held my breath as I was introduced to the author’s vision of the ‘Other Paris’ – the Paris of the dead. The characters came to life for me as the story twists and turns both in Jeanne’s afterlife story and the art scholar’s search for the lost painting. Nothing is as it seems!

The amount of research that must have gone into developing this story had to have been tremendous – not only the life and times of the well-known characters but also the places and practices of the era, including health care, medicine, death, and dying, and burial. The story definitely benefitted from all the work; it was interesting and exciting throughout. I am delighted to learn about this artistic woman, talented in her own right, who has apparently been kept in the shadows all these years.

I recommend LOVING MODIGLIANI: THE AFTERLIFE OF JEANNE HÉBUTERNE to readers of historical mysteries, especially those that don’t want to get involved in a series, readers that enjoy stories set in Paris, and those that have an interest in the art world, the art scene of Montparnasse Quarter in the 1920s.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author.


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The Holy City Hustle (A Duke Dempsey Mystery, #2) by Ron Plante, Jr.

The Holy City Hustle by Ron Plante Jr.
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This series just keeps getting better!

After Duke Dempsey’s success in stopping the seemingly random killings in Charleston during the past summer, the new mayor, Morris Swanson, decides to honor him with a key to the city during a showy, controversial ceremony on Marion Square. However, immediately after the presentation, Mayor Swanson is publicly murdered as he sits on the dais. But Duke and his former partner and mentor on the force, Detective Johnny Stampkin, nab the hitman before he can escape.

Later, Duke gets a visit from a new client, the beautiful and mysterious Isabella Diaz. She claims she holds the key to the mayor’s assassination, a secret ledger that not only names who the dirty cops are at Charleston PD but public officials “on the take” at every level of government in the port city. She will trust Duke and no one else with her information, and considering the evidence points to cops up and down the department’s hierarchy, Duke himself doesn’t know who he can trust either.

This series just keeps getting better and better. The action is non-stop, and there are twists and turns galore as the identities of friends and foes alike are revealed and change sides. Some heart-pounding and heart-breaking moments will keep you turning the pages as well as looking forward to the next entry in the series. Once again, Charleston, South Carolina, is an atmospheric and versatile location for the story, and the time period of 1938 adds its own flavor to the unique setting.

I highly recommend THE HOLY CITY HUSTLE to mystery readers, especially those that like a historical setting.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Readers Copy from Book Sirens.

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Edge of Light (Edge of Light, #1) by Jay Antani

Edge of Light by Jay Antani
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Heart-stopping at times, heart-breaking at others, Edge of Light is a real action-adventure!

Dev Harrison and his two best friends, Abby and Conner, are in the bleachers watching the game when a meteor-like object suddenly streaks across the sky, impacting the Earth in the near distance. Everyone is stunned and disoriented when a bright light explodes around them and a massive BOOM! erupts. Dev and Abby become separated from Conner, but eventually, all three escape the ensuing chaos at the field and make it safely back to their respective homes. But this is just the beginning of the end of the world as they know it.

Soon strange, violent sick people begin showing up at the local hospital where Dev's mother works as a doctor keeping her working around the clock. Dev is desperately worried about his mother; it's been just the two of them since his physicist father mysteriously disappeared a decade earlier when Dev was only a child.

Now Dev is having confusingly realistic dreams of his father. In it, he shows Dev the location of a mysterious box hidden in the mountains near the vacation cabin they visited as a family before his disappearance.

On his own and unable to see or talk to his mother, Dev sets out with his two friends in his father's old Outback to see if there is any truth to the dream, hoping it holds the answers to what happened to his father all those years ago. But with the sickness spreading through Los Angeles and the populace beginning to panic, and strange alien-like creatures roaming the countryside, the three friends' trip to put Dev's dream to rest becomes a lot more than a simple buddy road trip.

What an adventure! From its exciting opening scene to the closing pages, I was hooked and stayed up way past bedtime to read as much and as long as I could.

The three friends, Dev Harrison, Abby Mendes, and Conner, play nicely off one another, and I was utterly invested in their quest to follow Dev's reoccurring dream about his father. Dev, the main character in the story's present time, is smart and a good kid with just the right amount of teenage insecurity and vulnerability that has you rooting for him throughout the book. Conner, the buddy, smart and cynical and sassy, doesn't ever succumb to being the third wheel to the Dev-Abby relationship, and that's nice. I especially liked that the author developed Abby to be an independent "force-to-be-reckoned-with" young woman. She's an able member of the trio, no Shrinking Violet, waiting to be saved. She was the one doing much of the saving in almost all instances. She adds positively to the story's advancement but that it felt natural and in character for her to do so.

I enjoyed that this story had several tropes that I love in apocalyptic/dystopian tales: the teenaged, strong yet vulnerable protagonists, alien influences, humans transformed into not-quite-humans, everyday people transformed into crazy, grasping maniacs, evil master corporations, and government corruption. Each element merges into and supports the others seamlessly to create a great action-filled reading experience. (And this is just book 1, there's more to come!)

The creatures or "crawlers" are a frightening element as they creep around the periphery of everything and everywhere Dev, Conner, and Abby go and do. They seem to always be just out of sight but waiting to jump out and attack, keeping tensions high and nerves taut. Scarier still, though, is their encounter with the fine folk of "Freetown." I held my breath as I quickly turned pages while they were there. I guess I thought I could "help" get them through town faster that way!

And if you're a reader that likes the hardcore science of a science fiction story, this book has you covered. Numerous topics are touched on, but this is done in such an understandable way that it will satisfy the nerd inside each of us without bogging down a great adventure or driving off a reader that likes a softer sci-fi feel.

I also highly recommend this book to readers that enjoy dystopian, post-apocalyptic tales featuring young adult protagonists. I can't wait for the next book in the series!

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from Reedsy Discovery.

See my original review on Reedsy Discovery!

The U.S. Navy's On-the-Roof Gang: Volume Two – War in the Pacific by Matt Zullo

The US Navy's On-the-Roof Gang: Volume 2 - War in the Pacific by Matt Zullo
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The true story of the men of U.S. Navy’s secret radio intercept and cryptological program – the On-the-Roof Gang – after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

This second volume of Matt Zullo's work of historical fiction begins with the attack on Pearl Harbor and continues the stories of the founding members of the U.S. Navy's fledgling cryptoanalysis program known as "The On-the-Roof Gang." The attack brought home the overwhelming need for the United States to fully support these operations and activities. Their subsequent successes in alerting the Navy to Japanese war plans quickly validated their worth.

The wartime activities and memories of the actual men who lived these events are exciting and exhilarating, but tragic and heart-breaking when relating the group's losses during action in the Pacific and as prisoners of war of the Japanese. Poignant and awe-inspiring, these men kept their involvement in these classified activities a secret, even from their own families, until long after the war was over.

Before even starting page one, the reader knows the history, the big picture of World War II, the War in the Pacific, and, most specifically, about the attack on Pearl Harbor. Some may even be familiar with the stories of American prisoners of war by the Japanese. Others may have gleaned their understanding of these events from Hollywood films. Others may have heard stories from elderly family members that served during that time and experienced it firsthand. But for most, that knowledge is a leftover from a history class or two and, unless you were very, very lucky, those classes were about as interesting as watching paint dry. Author Matt Zullo has crafted a remarkable fictionalized history based on extensive academic research as well as detailed information straight from the mouths of the men that lived it. This story literally came alive.

After reading the superb first volume, The U.S. Navy’s On-the-Roof Gang: Volume One – Prelude to War, I felt like I already knew many of the individuals portrayed in this continuation of the story. And even though I knew what was coming, historically-speaking, it was still an absorbing experience reading about how known events happened and how these men stepped up and played their part in the action. Many of the events were achingly tragic or shocking, and I was utterly invested in their outcome, and in what happened to the men I’d come to know. It was sobering to realize that these men were never able to tell their families what they did during the war because it was all classified and remained classified for decades afterward.

One of the things that surprised me in this and the previous volume was how vast the naval radio operations were at that time and how much broader they had yet to become by the end of the book. There is a helpful list in an appendix showing where all the stations were located and their operational dates. Some are, of course, in very exotic locations, but I was surprised to find there was one in my own state of Texas, in a place I’ve even visited (and now will again with a different goal.)

The role of the On-The-Roof Gang was shrouded in secrecy for so long, and I am grateful to this author for writing this book about them and their accomplishments. I am honestly amazed that he could do so in such an easy-to-read but page-turner of a book.

Start with Volume One to get the background information, and then jump on Volume Two as soon as you can after that! If you’re a World War II history buff or have an interest in the history of the war in the Pacific, or are a ham radio/radio enthusiast, this book and its preceding volume are MUST READS.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from Reedsy Discovery.

See my original review on Reedsy Discovery!

The Bowery Flophouse (Avon Calling!, Season 2, Episode #17) by Hayley Camille

The Bowery Flophouse by Hayley Camille
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Non-stop action in this latest installment in this spot-on historical mystery series!

With the collapse of the Pinzolo crime organization, the criminal underworld in New York City is in a frantic state of flux with each gang trying to take over the number one spot. Adding to the havoc, the Boudoir Butcher is still at large, and no one but Mrs. Betty Jones has an inkling of what's really going on. Betty tries to get the word on the street, starting with 'Hell Cat Harry' Flynn and the Drowned Rats that the person behind the Butcher is Vladimir Malinov AKA The Tin Man and not a rival gang at all, but it is a slow, hard sell. The Tin Man plans to divide and conquer the gangs through suspicion and violence calculated to keep them at each others' throats while he takes over.

Betty continues her search for the elusive Tin Man following a lead from Adina Sonberg at the local Boeing sub-assembly manufacturer. Among the thousands of women working shifts at the plant is a group of Russian girls who are believed to know Malinov's history and whereabouts.

The gangs still clash, and a bloody and violent riot on the streets of the Bowery breaks out, drawing in the New York Police Department, including Betty's lifelong friend, Jacob Lawrence. During the chaos, Betty saves Jacob from a burning flophouse when he becomes trapped under a fallen ceiling joist; however, she is seen using her super-human skills by Officer Malcolm Parker, finally confirming his suspicions about her.

In the meantime, FBI Special Agent Ratliff is looking to test Betty's physical capabilities and lures her to an empty building at the World's Fair's former site. Finding herself surrounded by half a dozen of the FBI's biggest guys, Betty must employ her unique skills to avoid being beaten. When Betty wins out, Ratliff threatens her family's safety to attempt to get her under his thumb.

The Bowery Flophouse is the 17th episode in the wonderful Avon Calling! historical mystery series by Hayley Camille. As is true with the previous entries, the period's tone is perfectly replicated, spot-on, and interesting tidbits from Camille's extensive research into the time frame and place are incorporated to make for a delightful and robust story. The action is non-stop as Betty pursues the Tin Man and tries to keep her loved ones safe. Husband George's letters home are poignant, and I find myself looking forward to them almost as much as Betty. The excitement of the investigation and the gang wars are not all this episode has to offer. Readers can look forward to some unexpected personal revelations for a couple of characters as well.

I highly recommend this entire series but especially this latest installment in Betty's story. Readers should start at the beginning for the best experience.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving a free copy.

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A Very Marisol Christmas (Christmas Central, #7) by Caroline Mickelson

A Very Marisol Christmas by Caroline Mickelson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A charming Christmas treat!

With his beloved wife gone, Marisol Jimenez’s grandfather, Timoteo, decides to fulfill his lifelong dream of living by the ocean, so he signs a ten-year-lease at a brand new senior living facility in Galveston, Texas. His selected apartment, Number 5, has a beautiful view of the Gulf of Mexico, and Marisol has the movers place her grandfather’s favorite chair and the one that had belonged to her grandmother, in the best spot in the apartment to enjoy the magnificent view.

Everything is perfect, well, until the wealthy and equally aged Olivia Grayson and her attorney, the single and handsome Declan Shaw, show up to claim the same apartment. Olivia, with no family left and no close friends, had also signed a ten-year-lease on apartment 5, sold her mansion and extraneous possessions, and had no intention of living anywhere else. As the leases were both signed on the same day and the management company is clueless as to who signed first, neither party is willing to compromise and accept a different apartment. So Olivia moves into the second bedroom, hoping to force Timoteo out eventually. To protect and support their respective senior citizen, Marisol and Declan both decide to camp out on couches in the apartment’s living area until a resolution is reached. Unfortunately, as it’s only nine days until Christmas, that resolution is not going to be happening any time soon.

What the couples do not know is that the temporary leasing agent that had double leased the apartment is none other than one of Santa’s elves, Rapz, who was trying to develop an off-season side hustle as a matchmaker. But fearing Rapz’s double leasing ploy isn’t having the desired effect of getting the two couples together, Santa sends him and a fellow elf named Jolly back down to Texas to clean up the mess.

A Very Marisol Christmas is the 7th entry in the holiday-themed Christmas Central series by author Caroline Mickelson. It is a fun and charming story that won’t disappoint when the time comes for a happily ever after in more ways than one. I recommend this book to romance readers looking for a quick and happy holiday pick-me-up.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Readers Copy from Hidden Gems Books.

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Casket Cache (Spencer Funeral Home Niagara Cozy Mystery, #1) by Janice J. Richardson

Casket Cache by Janice J. Richardson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When Jennifer Spencer’s beloved uncle, Bill, passes away, he bequeaths his funeral home business to her and her twin sister, Anne. Anne is a journalist, but Jennifer had taken after her uncle and earned her mortuary license and takes over the family business with Anne as a silent partner. The business is successful and steady, and soon after Jennifer takes over and moves into the apartment above, the funeral home is burglarized. When the police investigate, they find no one there, and nothing is missing. However, while the police are watching, Jennifer discovers a large amount of cash hidden in one of the caskets and suddenly finds herself under suspicion of some unknown criminal activity. While someone continues to get inside the funeral home, Jennifer juggles business and tries to discover where the money came from and who is breaking in to look for it.

Casket Cache is the first book in the Spencer Funeral Home Cozy Mystery series by Janice J. Richardson. Richardson, a veteran funeral director herself, gives us a fascinating look behind the scenes of the funeral industry as well as an engaging mystery to boot. I enjoyed the various characters, and Jennifer is especially personable and caring. In fact, the entire staff Jennifer inherits or recruits seem like very nice people, people you could really depend on during your time of need. The setting in the Niagara region of Canada is great, and I liked hearing about the area. With the undoubted opportunities for stories arising from the funeral business and the characters all beginning to settle in at Spencer’s, I look forward to many more books in the series.

I recommend CASKET CACHE to cozy mystery readers and readers that might like a peek inside the funeral business.


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The Holy City Murders (A Duke Dempsey Mystery, #1) by Ron Plante, Jr.

The Holy City Murders by Ron Plante Jr.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Duke Dempsey, formerly a Charleston PD detective, is out on his own as a private investigator, and although business is looking good, he’s still adjusting to his inglorious ouster from public service and the hit he took to his self-esteem and reputation. He’s had success with some big cases but nothing as big as his latest, finding a missing relic for none other than the Pope! Tied up with his investigation is the double homicide his former partner, Johnny Stampkin, is dealing with down on the docks of the Charleston port. A local priest, Father Lorenzo, a favorite in the Holy City as Charleston is known, has been vicious stabbed, and his companion, an off-duty Charleston cop, has had his throat slashed. Father Lorenzo was supposed to have been the safeguard of the Church’s relic, and no one knows where it is. As Duke and Johnny’s cases entwine and the bodies continue to pile up, they desperately pool their resources to go after the killer and find the precious artifact.

The Holy City Murders is the debut novel in the Duke Dempsey Mystery series by author Ron Plante, Jr. I found the main characters – Duke, Johnny, Margo, and Mary – likable and engaging, and the time period of the events appealing. The city of Charleston, South Carolina, made for an appealing setting with its humid, laid-back charm, recognizable landmarks, and unique opportunities because of its diversity for this and future books in the series. I thought the story was very good with the simultaneous police and private investigations of the two former partners. However, I knew who the secret spy was pretty quickly, so the mystery was really how this person would be revealed and how the protagonists would figure things out.

There were a couple of drawbacks for me in the story, though. First, the dialogue seemed more suited to the streets of New York, Chicago, Boston, or Philly. I choose to believe this was done to emphasize the patter seen in traditional detective noir. But Duke is a southern boy, a Charlestonian native, he even brings this up a couple of times, and I don’t see it in the language. Having said this, I still enjoyed the patois.

The other beef I have, and I see that previous reviewers noted it as well, was the plethora of grammatical issues in the version of the story being read. I read an Advance Readers Copy I received from Book Sirens, and there were numerous problems of this nature. However, a quick look at the finished version currently available for purchase or download shows that many of these issues have been found and corrected. Based on that examination, I’m adding an additional star to my original rating.

With the look and feel of a noir detective story, there is so much to enjoy in Duke Dempsey and The Holy City Murders. The story doesn’t end here, and I look forward to reading more about Duke and his crowd as the series continues. I recommend this book to readers that enjoy a grittier mystery (than a cozy), noir detective stories, historical mysteries, or even a mystery that features Civil War elements.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Readers Copy from Book Sirens.

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Water’s Edge (A Highlands & Islands Detective Thriller, #1) by GR Jordan

Water's Edge by G.R. Jordan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Water’s Edge is moody and character-driven and a wonderful police procedural.

When the body of a local woman washes up on the rocky coastline of the Isle of Lewis in the Scottish Hebrides, the Glasgow team of Detective Inspector Seoras Macleod and Detective Constable Hope McGrath are sent to investigate. Macleod, an older, experienced detective, grew up on the island but left 20 years earlier when his beloved wife committed suicide by walking into the water and drowning herself. A wild young man, Macleod’s faith had saved him from the path he’d been on, but after his wife’s death, he began to have doubts about the nature of God. The tragedy has caused Macleod to let time and modern sensibilities pass him; he’s never quite moved on with his life. Now, he’s known somewhat as a misogynistic throwback, but lately, he’s been questioning his outdated thinking. He likes and approves of his female supervisor and has a growing acceptance of the rightness of women in police work. McGrath, with two years of experience in homicide, is assigned to work with Macleod on the case when his regular partner is laid up from a car accident. (More about her later.)

Dreading the return to Lewis, Macleod finds there have been changes since he left, but things are still familiar enough that they dredge up long-forgotten memories of his life there before things went tragically wrong for him. The victim, Sara Hewitt, is a young, local woman who recently opened a massage parlor on the main street of the town of Stornoway. The two detectives quickly interview her distraught boyfriend. He claims they were exclusive with each other and vehemently denies her business offered ‘services on the side’ as her ledger seems to indicate. However, the young man’s own mother, a councilwoman in town, reveals the ledger is accurate and that everyone but her son knew that Sara was doing a booming business in offering ‘extras’ to her clients, one of whom was the mother herself!

As the two detectives follow up on any lead they find, they discover that the very conservative population has a darker side. Should its secrets become known, it provides more than adequate motive for murder.

Water’s Edge is the first novel in the new Highlands & Island Detective Thriller series by author G. R. Jordan (Gary Ross-Jordan.) As the debut story, a bit of exposition is expected, and Jordan does a great job of setting things up without bogging the reader down.

I loved how the two detectives started out as very different from each other, from vastly different generations, and how they had to navigate the bumps along the way to meshing as an efficient, effective team (which they do.) She’s forthright and plainspoken in her opinions and speech. She’s smart and sassy and already an experienced investigator when the story opens. She’s no rookie. She holds her own even as a junior partner. I really liked watching as Macleod comes to appreciate and value her as his partner. As for Macleod, the reader is privy to his inner struggle with adapting to contemporary culture and coming to terms with his faith and the burgeoning awareness of McGrath as not only a good detective but a beautiful woman.

The moody setting of the Isle of Lewis informs the story at every step. The cloudy skies, remote locations, rocky cliffs and coastlines, and secretive landscapes give the piece a gothic feeling, and there’s a definite chill throughout as the detectives pursue their investigation.

The murder plotline is solid, and the investigation straightforward and logical. Procedures on the island are slightly different for the two detectives used to how things work in Glasgow. Still, they have competent local support in the character of the steady Detective Allinson, who is also dangled tantalizingly before readers as a possible love interest for Hope McGrath.

I highly recommend WATER’S EDGE to readers of mysteries and police procedurals and readers that enjoy stories set in the cold and damp moodiness of coastal Scotland. I anxiously look forward to reading more of this series.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from Book Sirens.

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Lost in Lavender (Bennett Sisters Mysteries, #13) by Lise McClendon

Lost in Lavender by Lise McClendon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Elise, the youngest of the five Bennett sisters, has come to a crossroads in her life and books a 10-day farm stay in Provence to work, clear her mind, and develop a new plan. She hates being a lawyer, has quit her job at the law firm, broken up with her boyfriend, Scott, and once older sister, Merle, drops her off at the lavender farm, goes incommunicado with all her family and friends.

However, rather than finding a place to contemplate the future and regroup, she finds herself living and working with a group of students 20 or more years younger than herself and an unknown crisis simmering beneath the calm surface of life at the farm. With minimal French language skills at her disposal, she soon finds herself socially-isolated and feeling very much alone.

There are a couple of bright spots in the works, though. One other worker who appears to be about her age is an Englishman named Conor. Good looking and helpful, he is somewhat friendly and helps get a bat out of her room on her first night at the farm. He turns out to be related to the owners of the farm. Then, she encounters Ari, a local man that immediately shows his interest and admiration. But there seems to be some bad blood between Ari and Conor that causes Elise to be completely ostracized at the farm.

Deciding she’s had enough of the drama, Elise accepts Ari’s offer to spend the rest of her holiday at his home near Aix-en-Provence – no strings attached. In fact, there are so few strings attached that after getting settled in at his place and having dinner with each other the first night, Ari takes off telling Elise and his housekeeper that he’ll return soon. But days pass, and there is no further sign of the man until Conor shows up on the doorstep looking for Elise, and they discover his body in his car in the garage where he apparently has been the entire time.

Meanwhile, Merle Bennett, back home in Malcouziac in the Dordogne, is getting ready for company. Her niece, Willow, is expected soon, as is her son, Tristan: both on holiday before school starts up again in the states. She is also helping her boyfriend, Pascal, locate suitable living quarters near his new headquarters for the government’s wine fraud division in Bordeaux. She is thrilled when she comes across a nice townhouse in a lovely neighborhood that the elderly owner is willing to let at a price within their budget, and she and Pascal begin to settle in.

But when she returns to their home in Malcouziac to welcome Tristan and Willow, she is surprised to discover two additional guests: Elise’s ex-boyfriend, Scott, and his younger cousin, Teague. To add to the confusion, when Merle returns to the lavender farm on the appointed day to pick her sister up from her farm stay, Elise is nowhere to be found, and no one knows where she’s gone!

Lost in Lavender is the latest installment in the charming Bennett Sisters Mystery series by Lise McClendon. This story focuses on the youngest of the sisters and features the lovely countryside of Provence. However, with all the driving that Merle and Pascal do, readers get a glimpse of many other regions of France as well.

The story is a wonderful one of renewal and self-awareness as Elise struggles to break free of choices she made in the past and move on with a life she chooses for herself. And it is a struggle. There were a couple of times I wanted to shake her and tell her to snap out of it, shake out of her self-pity and let someone know where she was and how she was doing. Everyone but everyone was worried about the woman, and she knew it. However, she does finally come around and sets out on the road to love and a better future.

I recommend LOST IN LAVENDER to readers that have enjoyed this series in the past. However, it makes for an excellent standalone book for those that want a romance mystery/romance set in the lovely French countryside.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author.

Lise McClendon

is back! on Tour October 20-November 2 with      

Lost In Lavender

(mystery/women’s fiction) Release date: October 15, 2020 at Thalia Press 254 pages

Author’s website | Goodreads

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SYNOPSIS

Facing a crossroads– both career and personal– the youngest of the five Bennett Sisters, Elise, does what she does best: she runs away to think. This time she runs to a farm in Provence that produces heaven-scented lavender for oils. The area is famous for the beautiful purple flower, the symbol of this southern region of France. Her sisters are stumped. Elise never seemed like the farming type, or even gardening, for that matter. But she’s signed up for a farm stay vacation, an idea she got from an unlikely source, the trophy wife of one of her law partners. When she arrives, courtesy her older sister Merle who drives her to the Luberon from the Dordogne, she discovers she is the only guest at the picturesque family farm who is not a college student. The rest are all doing a French language exchange program and are 20 years younger than Elise, leaving her feeling like an outsider and wondering about her life choices. Not only is her judgment in men and careers awful, but she can’t even plan a decent vacation. Meanwhile in the Dordogne, Merle’s niece, Willow, arrives for some R&R before she starts law school. But she brings a few surprises with her, a boyfriend plus Elise’s fiancé. Or is it ex-fiancé? It will take several sisters– and of course Pascal– to unravel the facts as all descend on southern France for July in the heat and lavender. Suspense, romance, intrigue, and humor as the summer heats up for the Bennett Sisters again. Another delicious adventure in international travel and cozy mystery as the Bennett Sisters fight their way to truth, justice, and a perhaps a summer fling, deep in Provence. A summer fling in France never hurt anyone, now did it?

Works fine as a stand-alone

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lise McClendon is the author of thirteen books in the Bennett Sisters mystery series including A Bolt from the Blue, Blame it on Paris, and DEAD FLAT. She wrote two mystery series, the Alix Thorssen and Dorie Lennox mysteries set in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and World War II-era Kansas City (The Bluejay Shaman; One O’clock Jump). She also writes stand-alones as Rory Tate, including PLAN X, a thriller featuring a Bozeman, Montana policewoman. She edited the 2020 anthology, STOP THE WORLD: Snapshots from the Pandemic, bringing together 40 writers around the globe to discuss their experiences and emotions during this year, plus poetry and short fiction. Her short story, Forked Tongue, was included in the Anthony Award-winning anthology, The Obama Inheritance. As Thalia Filbert she wrote with four other well-seasoned crime writers the darkly comic culinary thriller, Beat Slay Love: One Chef’s Hunger for Delicious Revenge. Lise has served Mystery Writers of America in the past as a national board member and Montana representative. She lives in wilds of Montana near Yellowstone National Park.

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Things To Do When You’d Rather Be Dead by Michael Guillebeau

Things to Do When You'd Rather be Dead by Michael Guillebeau
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If you’re a mystery reader that enjoys a solid story with laugh-out-loud dialogue, then you really must read this!

Everyone believed Detective Joe Brosette had shot and killed the Angel of Mercy, the religious maniac who had been preying on the children of Birmingham, Alabama, for months. As Joe had closed in, the evil serial killer had murdered Joe’s own wife and daughter. But Joe was never completely convinced that Father Carson, his own parish priest, was the person behind the Angel of Mercy’s reign of terror.

Joe was gutted by his family’s deaths, and over the ensuing two years, he sank deeper and deeper into despair and self-recrimination, letting himself go and drinking heavily. Friends on the force covered for him until he was reassigned from Detectives to Community Service, where he was relegated to giving anti-drug presentations to school children and public groups, dressed as a clown cop with a fake gun. But deep in his heart, he kept looking for signs that the Angel of Mercy was still out there. Then one phone call lets Joe know he got the wrong man.

If you’re a mystery reader that enjoys entertaining and humorous dialogue, then you really must read this new book by author Michael Guillebeau. As you can tell from the book’s synopsis, the murders involved are horrible and tragic, and at the time of the story, two years in the past, they are not discussed in great detail. But I want to be clear that snappy dialogue aside, the subject is treated with the appropriate gravity and respect. The first-person point-of-view of the lead character, Joe Brosette, the broken but still kicking former detective, is self-deprecating one moment, poignant the next, and it pulled me straight into this mesmerizing narrative.

Joe is aware that he’s let himself go, but he’s also never given up. He’s made promises to bring the real Angel of Mercy to justice, and he intends to do just that – even if it kills him. His department has written this case and Joe off, but he gets renewed support from some unlikely sources. I adored his unexpected helper, Juliet Capulet. She’s smart and tough on the outside and tender on the inside and comes at the mystery with fresh eyes and a fierce spirit – a spirit that has also gotten battered around in the past. She and Joe work so well together, and their evolving partnership was great to watch. I hope this is the beginning of a series.

I liked that Joe had built up quite a reputation in his department, a legend as a detective and that there was still a lot of respect for him back on the job. This is personified by another new ally, the newly-minted Detective First Coltrane, who stands by Joe and helps despite the damage his affiliation could do to the future of his own career.

Kudos for the ‘deadbeats’ and ‘has-beens’ at Johnson’s Bar. I loved how the atmosphere and the tough crowd of ‘Lost Boys,’ and how they were still ready and willing to serve when one of their own needed them at their back.

The mystery itself comes together so very nicely. All the clues are there for the reader to find, and I was delightfully surprised to have overlooked them all. I never saw the resolution coming or how the killer was going to try to make their final big ‘score.’

I will be looking for more books by this author immediately. I recommend THINGS TO DO WHEN YOU’D RATHER BE DEAD to mystery readers that like a grittier story (than, say, a cozy) with witty banter and an endearing narrator.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from Reedsy Discovery.

See my original review on Reedsy Discovery!

Tusk Justice (Kenya Kanga Mystery, #2) by Victoria Tait

Tusk Justice by Victoria Tait
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Mama Rose returns!

When “Mama Rose” Hardie is asked by the manager of the exclusive Mount Kenya Resort and Spa to look into the outbreak of small thefts that have recently plagued the hotel, she accepts the challenge. Her husband, Craig, is due to attend a conservation conference there the coming Friday, and her new assignment includes deluxe accommodations at the resort. The conference is a big deal for the resort; it is a pre-event to the inaugural Giant’s Club Summit the resort is hosting. Four heads of state, including President Kenyatta from Kenya, are expected to attend to discuss a pan-African response to the upsurge in elephant poaching and illegal ivory harvesting.

One of the rising stars on the conservation scene, and with a new book launching at the conference, is the managing director of the local Gaia Conservancy, Davina Dijan. As she begins her first talk at the conference, the wrong presentation is mistakenly projected onto the screens for the audience, and she goes ballistic even though she’s the one that made the error. The correct program is shown, and her talk goes well, but she continues to be difficult and obnoxious to everyone around her. After spilling a drink at dinner and complaining that she’s tired, her husband escorts her up to their suite to turn in for the night.

Hours later, as Rose and Craig settle into their own beds, the resort manager bangs on their door. Davina Dijan has been found dead, and he needs Mama Rose to come help. But Davina is most definitely deceased, and very apparently murdered. As Police Commissioner Akida is out of town at an important meeting, he sends his best and brightest, Constable Judy Wachira, to investigate. They ask Mama Rose to stick around to lend her able support.

Tusk Justice is another exciting, multilayered mystery in the Kenya Kanga Mystery series featuring 60-something “Mama Rose” Hardie. This new story is as much a mystery as an exploration of family relationships in flux. Rose’s husband, Craig, is suffering the devastating effects of his having contracted polio when younger. Rose is struggling to maintain, as much as possible, his quality of life, the dynamics of their lifelong relationship, and their life together, as he slowly, inexorably deteriorates before her very eyes. Craig, for his part, tries to hide his pain and his fear for what is going to happen to Rose after he finally succumbs to his condition. These are circumstances of which many readers of the same age as the characters can relate.

The author weaves in other deep concerns impacting the Kenyan setting, such as the plight of Africa’s elephants, the population of which has drastically diminished because of poaching and the illegal ivory trade and widespread poverty due to the loss of traditional livelihood and farming. Even Rose and Craig struggle to make ends meet, depending on what she brings in as a paraprofessional veterinarian. But all is not grim; remedies are depicted as on the rise with tourism thriving and new government initiatives to promote conservation efforts and the health and welfare of the people.

I recommend TUSK JUSTICE to cozy mystery readers, especially those that enjoyed the previous entries in the Kenya Kanga Mystery series and those that like a mystery set in a new, exotic, still rural setting.


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