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Tell Me No Lies–an excellent mystery
Tell Me No Lies
by Lynn Chandler Willis
Tell Me No Lies is an outstanding mystery. While marketed as the first book in the Ava Logan Mystery Series, it reads as a standalone. If the author Lynn Chandler Willis has more adventures in mind for the main character Ava, I am excited at the prospect.
A woman is brutally murdered as Ava Logan, a widowed mother of two, babysits her adorable toddler, Ivy. Who would murder this beautiful, young artist and why? Representing law enforcement, handsome Sheriff Grayson Ridge, and Ava, small town newspaper publisher, pursue their independent and joint investigations into these questions.
With a very effective gossip machine, many in Jackson Creek, North Carolina, wonder why the small town even needs a newspaper. The mystery plays out with continuing danger, various potential suspects, a heated sheriff election, Ginseng poaching, speculation of abuse, and romantic intrigue.
Tell Me No Lies is a hard book to put down. It will keep you engaged until the very end–an ending you won’t expect. Willis has won several awards for previous books. I anticipate this one will add to her accolades.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Henery Press for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery, Thriller
Notes: Can I give this one a 6/5? It’s just a really splendid mystery!
Publication: February 7, 2017 — Henery Press
Memorable Lines:
Rain splattered against the windshield then, like magic, disappeared with the hypnotizing swipe of the wipers. I wished life was that simple. Whenever you felt the sting of a broken heart, the crush of a disappointment, or the torment of a bad decision, you could just flip a lever and a giant mechanical arm would wipe it all away. It was a nice thought but, like the rain, there would always be more to come.
[Describing Ava’s office manager] Ever the social butterfly with a manicured nail on the pulse of the town…
For so many years, we had walked around carrying words we wanted to say but never did. We raised silent questions, hoping to never really know the answers.
Desert Vengeance–is revenge really sweet?
Desert Vengeance
by Betty Webb
The first chapter of Desert Vengeance is a half page long without a wasted word. It grabs you and twists you with a hold so tight that you know you will keep reading. This book is the latest in a series of mysteries by Betty Webb about PI Lena Jones. It could easily be a successful standalone. Nuances of relationships are effortlessly grasped even without the backstory. Lena’s professional status is clear. In the process of the mystery unfolding, the reader learns what happened to Lena as she made her way through a series of foster homes and emerged with emotional scars, but a strong character.
The subject matter, child molestation, is a very difficult one, but is handled in such a way that the reader understands the trauma the children went through without an account of the details of the abuse. The mystery centers around two murders and there are multiple suspects with strong motives. Lena finds through expert interviewing skills that not everyone is telling the truth. Some people have things to hide, even if it is not involvement in the murder. Others don’t really want the murderer caught.
The setting is a very hot Scottsdale, Arizona, with some reprieve in Black Canyon Creek. Both are accurately depicted without lengthy passages, leaving the reader sweaty, dusty, and thirsty. The other characters are interesting and developed appropriately according to their contribution to the plot.
I highly recommend this book either as a standalone or as part of the series. I am looking forward to reading more books by Betty Webb who has eight more books in her Lena Jones Mystery Series and three books in a humorous series about a California zoo-keeping sleuth. A former journalist, Webb deals with controversial topics in many of her books, but she approaches these difficult subjects through the lens of a consummate storyteller.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Poisoned Pen Press for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery, Thriller
Notes: Difficult subject matter, but handled respectfully
Publication: Poisoned Pen Press–February 7, 2017
Memorable Lines:
The world looks so hopeful at sunrise. The air is clean, birds sing, frogs hush their complaints, and coyotes stop their slaughter of innocent bunnies and head home to bed. It’s all a lie, of course. The world is as vicious in daylight as it is at night.
The Whole Art of Detection–more of Sherlock
The Whole Art of Detection
by Lyndsay Faye
The Whole Art of Detection is a Sherlockian’s dream come true. Written in the style of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, this is a collection of fifteen stories purportedly from publications by Watson in The Strand, from his journal, and from Holmes’ diary. All are written by Lyndsay Faye, and most were originally published in the current version of The Strand Magazine.
These stories do not make for a quick read as the vocabulary and style harken back to an earlier time and also reflect the British setting. Most of the tales are excellent mysteries and the reader is amazed along with Watson at Sherlock’s powers of observation and deduction.
I enjoyed the camaraderie between Holmes and Watson as they comment for the reader on the predictability of the other. Although Holmes is often almost unforgivably disparaging of Watson, it is obvious that they value each other immensely. The book is divided into four parts in chronological sequence giving the reader a feel for the history of their relationship and how it deepens over time.
If you are a mystery lover, I suggest a visit to mysteriouspress.com. This company was founded in 1975 by the owner of The Mysterious Bookshop in New York City. They are digitizing classic mysteries with care and are publishing new mysteries such as The Whole Art of Detection at Grove Atlantic.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Grove Atlantic (The Mysterious Press) for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery
Publication: Grove Atlantic–March 7, 2017
Memorable Lines:
I myself have on occasion found London a strain upon the senses during its darkest month and had cause to reflect that, for a man of my friend’s minutely pitched sensitivities, the bleakness of its icy Decembers must have been grating in the extremest degree.
Nothing is so desirable as that which is denied us.
Our temperaments were so wildly antithetical as to be perfectly matched.
What I seek cannot be found by traveling backward.
…every vein aquiver with the intoxication of the chase.
River City Dead–mystery with a Fiesta setting
River City Dead
by Nancy G. West
Setting is extremely important in River City Dead. The title refers to San Antonio, TX, and the story focuses on the River Walk there during Fiesta week. The author has done her homework in researching the historical and cultural background, and a lot of it is shared with the reader as Aggie, the heroine of this cozy mystery, takes her boyfriend Sam on a tour of the River Walk area. Some readers may feel the inclusion of this much background is too pedantic, but I enjoyed and appreciated it.
Aggie and Sam, a detective with the San Antonio Police Department, are set to take their relationship to the next level in a penthouse suite in a luxurious River Walk hotel. Sam has arranged days off to be with Aggie for this special time. As might be expected, things do not go as planned as a series of crimes occur requiring Sam’s attention and luring Aggie into sorting out mysterious events.
There is constant conflict as Aggie loves to get involved in investigative work and Sam tries to protect her. There are also limits she needs to put on herself to avoid hindering a police investigation. Obviously this sets the couple up for relationship issues in addition to the trust issues Aggie already has.
The Aggie Mundeen Mystery Series is known for its humor. This one starts off with a humorous chapter, but quickly deviates as the investigation unfolds. I like the book, but I do have two criticisms. One is the frequent repetition of Aggie’s trust issues caused by someone in her past, Lascivious Lester. Once that problem is established, I think the reader is ready to move on. The other issue is how readily Aggie refers to and treats women she meets as “friends.” It seems like an unrealistically brief amount of time–the length of a lunch or the sharing of a glass of wine. I consider those people acquaintances, not friends.
I must give special kudos to two parts of West’s writing. One is the description of an elderly couple interacting in the swimming pool. It is absolutely beautiful. The other is the technique of using her job in responding to “Dear Aggie” advice letters to help Aggie reflect on her own life and relationships. This approach works well because it is not overused.
This mystery has a lot of threads, an unusual method for murder, and an ingenious resolution. I recommend it for cozy mystery lovers.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Henery Press for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Mystery & Thriller, General Fiction–Adult
Notes: This is number 4 in the series. I have read one other and have found that they may be enjoyed as standalones.
Publication: Henery Press–January 17, 2017
Memorable Lines:
To calm the jumping beans in my stomach, I decided to make a quick detour to Barnes and Noble. (Blogger’s note: it didn’t work out too well in the story, but I think it is great advice!)
Whatever else was happening in his life, as a law officer, crime tracked him like an insidious nasty aroma.
Integrity is knowing the right thing and doing it.
Admission of Guilt–a teacher tries to make things better for his students, but…
Admission of Guilt
by T. V. LoCicero
Admission of Guilt by T.V. LoCicero is a page turning thriller set in a rapidly declining Detroit. There is no easing into this story. The author immediately sets up his reader with sympathetic characters and then hits those characters and the reader with the reality of inner city life–poverty, children selling drugs, devastating budget cuts to education, gang warfare, and mafia control of the drug trade. Characters include an out of work teacher, a social worker, a P.I. and members of the country club set.
The characters find themselves making life and death decisions with moral, economic, and personal ramifications, and the reader is confronted with the age-old question of “does the end justify the means?” I guarantee lots of twists and turns to the plot that you just won’t expect and a book you won’t want to put down.
Admission of Guilt is Book 2 in The detroit I’m dying Trilogy but can be read as a standalone.
I would like to extend my thanks to the author, T. V. LoCicero, for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery & Thriller
Notes: Warning–the language is not anywhere close to squeaky clean; it is appropriate for the characters in their culture and to change it would produce a dissonance between the characters and their reality.
Publication: Smashwords–2013
Memorable Lines:
Spring leaves, already withering, scratched and whispered in the few Dutch Elms still standing on this dark, working-class street. Birds chirped and chattered on the pre-dawn breeze, and a worn-out Plymouth whined slowly to a stop in front of one of these decrepit wood-framed flats. A smallish figure slipped out, ran to a big front porch, then darted back to the street.
Pot Luck–title is a play on words, but I won’t spoil it for you!
Pot Luck
by Kendel Lynn
Pot Luck by Kendel Lynn is a cozy mystery with a fantastic plot–so many twists and turns, surprises, and suspects that it makes your head spin. Elliott (Elli) Lisbon is the Director of the billion-dollar Ballantyne Foundation. Since she often finds herself in the middle of other people’s problems, she is also in “hot pursuit” of her PI license with only “four thousand hours” until she becomes official.
The story is sprinkled with humor through references to Elli’s OCD regarding cleanliness issues and to her temporary responsibility for two adorable pug puppies, Colonel Mustard and Mrs. White, named for characters in the board game Clue. Interactions with other characters also provide amusing dialogue.
The setting is a beach resort area, Sea Pine Island, near Savannah, providing both exotic beach life and glimpses of higher and lower echelons of Southern society. There is a love interest for Elli as former FBI agent Nick Ransom, who is currently working as a lieutenant in Sea Pine Island, interacts with Elli. Tight lipped, he is actually not a valuable resource in solving cases, but Elli is attracted to him and is not deterred in her investigative work by his efforts to discourage her for her own safety.
There is a subplot involving Lucy, a former friend of Elli’s, who is currently working as a PI. The backstory may be explained in a previous book as this is the fourth in the Elliott Lisbon Mystery Series. In Pot Luck they have a strained relationship, and Lucy has an deep resentment of Elli. She blames Elli for not keeping in touch over the years, but their issues seem to go deeper than is explained in this book.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Henery Press for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery & Thriller
Notes: The author included several phrases that I found irreverent. One example is “For the love of Jesus in a jumpsuit.” I realize this would not bother all readers and is mild compared to that found in many books. It actually would not keep me from reading another book by this author, but I did not appreciate its inclusion nor did I think it added authenticity to the work. It seemed strained.
Publication: Henery Press–December 13, 2016
Memorable Lines:
My thoughts were jumbly which set my very mild OCD on edge. Like the very sharp edge of a very tall cliff over a very deep canyon.
The Red Queen Rules–timely themes
The Red Queen Rules
by Bourne Morris
Bourne Morris’ first mystery surprised her by becoming a trilogy. The Red Queen Rules is the third in the set of books called the Red Solaris Mystery Series. The saga of Dean of Journalism Red Solaris could acceptably end at the conclusion of The Red Queen Rules, but with some persuasion the author could also reasonably extend the series.
Sexual slavery is one of the themes of this book as Red, so nicknamed for her red hair, tries to help a university student locate a cousin and persuade her to leave her pimp and enter rehab. Red’s hunky boyfriend goes undercover to help and all of the characters are in danger as they interact with the murky underworld of drugs and pimps.
Another theme deals with freedom of speech as a group called The Purists invite a radical leader to speak at their university. Administrators, such as Red, have to deal with free speech issues versus hate speech. They have to decide if students should be protected from differing ideas or taught to listen and respond constructively.
Danger lurks in every corner in this fast moving story. Its characters are well-developed and its themes relevant. This is the second book I have reviewed this month that involves sexual slavery, an issue which until recently was ignored, distorted, or denied in many circles. The story takes place in Nevada in a small university town as well as in Reno.
My only criticism is tongue in cheek. Just as the “Gilmore Girls” are always eating junk food, the characters in The Red Queen Rules are always drinking–coffee at a café, sodas and water at meetings, hot tea with friends, and the occasional glass of wine. They never lack for a good beverage!
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Henery Press for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery & Thrillers
Publication: Henery Press–December 6, 2016
Memorable Lines:
Three notions really bugged me. The first was that college students were so fragile that they needed to be spared from hearing ideas and opinions that might offend their personal sensitivities. Second was the use of someone else’s race, religion, sexual orientation or physical appearance as a weapon in a dispute. And third was the difficulty too many people have distinguishing between one and two.
“College is supposed to be a place where you encounter upsetting ideas and theories. And learn to deal with them.”
Skydive–a cozy with a serious theme
Skydive
by Susan O’Brien
Skydive, the third book in the Nicki Valentine Mystery Series written by Susan O’Brien, worked well for me as my first read in this series. Background details from the first books were neither overdone nor too scanty to follow the action. Skydive is a cozy mystery in the typical sense, but there is a serious theme that goes beyond what is usually present in a cozy mystery. It examines the dilemma faced by children who have been in the foster system but are dumped without supportive resources when they turn 18. Happy Birthday! They may have high aspirations, but the reality is that they have few options, making them vulnerable emotionally and physically to those who would use and abuse them in horrible ways.
Nicki Valentine is a single mom with a PI license and a handsome boyfriend, Dean, who works in the same field. Her best friend, Kenna, is an inexperienced PI, but a trained fitness instructor. Nicki and Kenna have huge hearts and are open to doing whatever is necessary to help others. They also get each other into and out of trouble with frequency.
This is a great cozy with lots of twists and turns as Nicki takes on a case, expecting nothing in return, to help an inmate by locating her daughter who has been recently exited from the foster care system. The case is much more far reaching than expected. The details would be spoilers, so I won’t reveal the directions her search took her. Suffice it to say that the plot is both interesting and intricate. I particularly like Nicki and wanted her to succeed in both her personal and professional struggles.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Henery Press for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Cozy Mystery
Publication: Henery Press–November 29, 2016
Memorable Lines: People are capable of more than they know–both good and bad.
A Composition in Murder–Do y’all want a glass of Meemaw’s Tea?
A Composition in Murder
by Larissa Reinhart
I have read a variety of books recently: some YA/Teenage, general fiction, and historical fiction. Although I enjoyed reading and reviewing them, it was time for a break. Fortunately, next in my queue was a cozy mystery–always good for a mental getaway with an interesting puzzle, a smart and sassy heroine, witty dialogue, and definitely lacking an excess of horror, gore, or inappropriate language. Just a good diversion.
A Composition in Murder was just what I needed. Although this is the sixth book in the Cherry Tucker Mystery series, it was the first for me. I enjoyed meeting Cherry, a somewhat down on her luck artist teaching seniors at an independent living center in Georgia, complete with sweet tea when y’all are thirsty. Cherry gets involved in the affairs of two influential families in Halo and finds herself and some of her senior friends in danger. Will her special deputy, Luke, be able to save her from her too helpful self? Will Cherry be able to get kidnapping charges against her brother dropped? And who is responsible for the deaths in the “Meemaw’s Tea” family?
The author has created a delightful supporting cast of characters at Halo House. My favorite is Ada who never can seem to get Cherry’s name right. Are seniors above a little passive/aggressive teasing parading as a bad memory? At Halo House they can do that and maybe more!
This book works fine as a standalone, but I would love to go back and read the first books in the series to see more of Cherry in action. It would also flesh out some of the background storylines that I want to know more about. Bring on more Cherry Tucker Mysteries!
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Henery Press for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Cozy Mystery
Publication: Henery Press–November 15, 2016
IQ–psychological study wrapped in a mystery
IQ
by Joe Ide
IQ is a novel about Isaiah, a very intelligent, young black man destined for greatness. Unfortunately, he is sidetracked by a series of events, some of his own doing, but mostly outside of his control. Through the deaths of family members he is left to fend for himself, finding his way through an urban jungle. Operating on both sides of the law and seeing the devastating consequences of gangs and crime, Isaiah devotes himself to solving cases pro bono to help others and occasionally to make money to support a special crime victim.
The characters in IQ are well-developed, especially Isaiah and his crime and investigative partner Dodson. The plot is developed almost as two separate stories which are in fact inseparable. The main focus, the mystery, is a rap singer who has a contract out on his life. He hires Isaiah to find out who is trying to kill him. The other story, which is just as important, goes back in time and shares Isaiah’s journey from child being raised by his older brother to independent detective. That road was neither easy nor pretty. The back and forth in time could be confusing, but it is not. The chapters are not only numbered, but also titled and, most importantly, dated.
Usually repetitive bad language causes me to dislike a book. I find IQ to be an exception. When inappropriate language is not needed, it is not used. When the story is centered around the black gangsta, rapper culture, swearing and cussing are appropriate for the characters. If they sounded like preachers, the story would lose authenticity. Joe Ide, the author, is a good wordsmith. I could feel this: “Isaiah and Dodson hadn’t spoke the whole way over, the tension like a stranger in the car.”
The plot has many twists and turns that kept me interested for the duration. Isaiah is a complicated, resourceful character and I find him to be likable. I was rooting for a successful resolution to the mystery and to Isaiah’s struggles. You’ll want to read this book yourself to see if either is achieved.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Mulholland Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
education pathways 