An Assortment of Mystery, Fantasy, and Thriller

This is the 13th (or strangely, according to one source the 23rd) installment of the Posada County Mysteries, and I probably would have enjoyed it more if I'd read the previous entries and had a connection with the characters.  Lies Come Easy does function as a stand-alone, however, with the plot contained within the pages of the book, but I suspect that many fans of the series have developed a relationship with the characters.  I know I feel that way about quite a few of my favorite series.

 A short-staffed Sheriff's Department, a toddler left on a highway in frigid weather, a murder or two, an interesting setting near the border of New Mexico.  

Read in August.  Blog review scheduled for Nov. 19.

NetGalley/Poisoned Pen Press

Mystery.  Nov. 20, 2018.   

Recently, Wendy reviewed The King Slayer and noted that the first book was The Witch Hunter.  A witchy novel suited my reading goal so I tried it...and liked it.

The Witch Hunter is a YA novel set in a fictional England in which magic users were persecuted and burned at the stake.  Sixteen-year-old Elizabeth Grey has proven herself to be one of the best of Lord Blackwell's elite group of witch hunters...until she is accused of witchcraft, thrown in jail, and awaiting her own burning.  Of course, she is rescued, but by a wizard--the highest target on the Inquisitor's list!

It isn't complex and is definitely a YA novel, but I enjoyed the adventure.  Despite the lack of depth (and forget any comparison to Game of Thrones),  TWH was a fun, fast-paced adventure suitable for the 8 grade recommendation.

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

YA Fantasy.  2015.  Print length:  380 pages.

Some Die Nameless brings focus to the private security and military defense contractors like Black Water.  (Also interesting is that Erik Prince, Blackwater's founder. is the brother of Betsy DeVos.)

Some Die Nameless is an intense thriller in which the past comes back to haunt members of a team of men who worked for a security-for-hire corporation.  Working as a defense contractor, the company sends mercenaries to train others for war.  Ray Devlin, now retired, was part of three-man group sent to a South American country to help  the opposition overthrow a dictator.  Of course, the replacement is equally corrupt and brutal.

The wealthy head of the corporation, seeking more political power and wealth through the reelection of a certain senator, decides to eliminate the men involved in the South American paramilitary operation.  Although these men don't know all of the machinations involved in the operation, they are a weak link in the chain.

Ray escapes an attempt on his life and visits  Colin Roarke, one of the other men involved in the operation, to see if he has any idea of what was going on.  Roarke is short on answers, surprised that one of their former friends had tried to kill Ray.  Shortly after Ray leaves, Roarke, along with several innocent victims is murdered.

Tracy Quinn, a journalist, is already investigating a story that involves a murdered man who also has a connection to the Latin American fiasco.  The two team up and both are in danger.

Ray Devlin, trying to see how the past has influenced the threat to his life, and Tracy Quinn, the committed journalist in a dying profession, make an interesting pair as they work to stay alive and make headway against an assassin and the man who sent him.

The plot is fast and furious, the use of private corporations to fight wars the U.S doesn't want to be connected to, and the effect of profit and corruption in the political arena are all worth thinking about.

Wallace Stroby is an award-winning journalist and the author of seven novels, four of which feature Crissa Stone, the professional thief labeled "crime fiction's best bad girl ever." 

This one was recommended by James Thane, and I am now interested in reading about Crissa Stone. 

NetGalley/Mulholland Books

Mystery/Thriller.  July 10, 2018.  Print length:  341 pages.  

Have you read any of these books or authors?