The Bitter Past and Shades of Mercy by Bruce Borgos

I read the second book first and really liked it, so I looked for the first book by Bruce Borgos. 

The Bitter Past has some problems that are corrected in Shades of Mercy, but also has a fascinating plot that provides a great deal of historical information.

A gruesome opening that I didn't like, and I found Porter Beck too full of himself, but...

when the book really gets into the plot, it is fascinating!  The background of Project 57 and Operation Plumbob, the effects of atomic testing on animals and humans, especially the Downwinders hooked me.

Who was the Russian spy that foiled a disaster and then went into hiding?  Why is the government trying to find a man who is now between 80-90 years old a half century later?  A dual timeline kept me guessing and great research made The Bitter Past a compelling glimpse at the early atomic age and a thrilling mystery in the present.  The twist was one I did not see coming.

I was also interested in the Nevada setting including Big Rocks Wilderness and the Moon Caves in Cathedral Park.  The links helped me visualize several interesting scenes.  

310 pages

Published 2023 

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As I mentioned in the above review, I read Shades of Mercy first, before picking up the first in the series.

The characterization is much better and the plot equally exciting in Shades of Mercy.  The author has toned down Porter Beck's snark, but leaves his wit; the minor characters all have more depth; and the plot involves a hacker that that commandeers a military drone and targets...a prize bull.  

As you can imagine the military and the government are all up into the search for the hacker, but Sheriff Porter Beck (whose background in military intelligence and familiarity with his county and its geography) has a childhood connection to the man whose prize bull was targeted and something isn't adding up for Beck.  

Beck suspects sixteen-year-old Mercy Vaughn is the hacker, but he's not ready to reveal all he thinks he's figured out, especially since Mercy herself becomes a target.  With help from his small team and his sister Brin, he needs to keep some of his suspicions to himself, especially when Mercy disappears.

Full of action, with much better character development than in the first book, Porter Beck's team has progressed into a familiar ensemble of characters that a reader wants to see more of--accompanied by plots that keep the reader guessing.  While I ended up liking The Bitter Past, Shades of Mercy is even better and shows the author's growth in melding plot and characters while dealing with some problematic topics.

(A new character who hopefully will be seen in future books is Charlie Blue Horse.  Beck never calls her just Charlie, he always uses her full name and gets a kick out of saying it.  It seems that the author has a Golden Retriever by the name of Charlie Blue Horse.)

Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, & Minotaur Books

Review scheduled for April 29, 2024                                                                                     

336 pages 

Publication date:  July 16, 2024

The Adventures of the Murdered Midwife, Requiem for Innocence, The Girl fro Silent Lake and Other Stuff

Garden chores have been taking some of my time.  The temperatures have been warm, and I've been digging up cannas that are threatening to overtake an entire area, moving shrubs, and other chores.  This morning is much colder and rain is expected this afternoon, so I'm busy with some laundry and other household repeat performances.

In addition to my little "pocket" sketchbook, I purchased a larger one that mostly stays on my desk.  Sketching real and imaginary items has become addictive.  I'm not participating in the 100 Day Project, but it was what inspired me.  I'm sketching lots of ideas for my postcards, envelopes, and letters.  It doesn't have to be accurate, if the item is recognizable, I'm happy.   :)

Lots of reading.  :)

After reading The Adventures of the Murdered Gypsy, I got a copy of the first book, The Adventures of the Murdered Midwife.  Although I prefer reading a series in order, it doesn't always work that way.  Now, however, I've read both books in the young Sherlock series and eagerly await a third.

From description:  "Before Sherlock Holmes became the world’s greatest consulting detective...
Scandal rocked the Holmes family.

A cache of documents has been recently discovered detailing, in Sherlock's own hand, his early forays into criminal investigation. With The Adventure of the Murdered Midwife, the game begins as Sherlock faces his first case."

Thirteen-year-old Sherlock is summoned home from Eton because his mother has been accused of murder!  Sherlock, who has not been enjoying Eton, is eager to help determine the real culprit;  Mycroft, on the other hand, can't wait to return to Oxford.

I thoroughly enjoyed another visit with the Holmes family.  The young Sherlock is a interesting character, as he struggles with the culture of the times, his own curiosity and coming of age, and his love and fear for his mother.  He also gets some insight into his parents' marriage--Sherlock is surprised at the nuances of relationships. 

Recommended:  both books, but read this one first if you can.

Purchased.

Historical Mystery/Sherlock Holmes.  2020.  Print length:  346 pages.  

Requiem for Innocence, the second book in the Scott Drayco series, was as good as the first.  

Drayco, former piano prodigy until an accident put an end to his concert career, joined the FBI like his father.  At present he works as a crime consultant.   

From description:  "Crime consultant Scott Drayco is in the middle of a thorny case in Washington, D.C., involving murder victims who were all wheelchair-bound. Then, out of the blue, he gets a worried call from a friend on Virginia's Eastern Shore about an attack on an innocent disabled girl. Working once again with Sheriff Sailor and Deputy Nelia Tyler, Drayco discovers almost everyone believes the girl's attack was an accident."

Requiem for Innocence takes Drayco back to the small Eastern Shore town of Cape Unity, where he renews his friendships with the characters in the small town as he investigates the attack on twelve-year-old Virginia and looks for connections to his D.C. case. 

Character-driven, good plotting, interesting element with synesthesia--I'm really enjoying this series.  I like the way the characters are developing and new ones are added.

Purchased.

Mystery/Crime.  2015.  Print length: 292 pages.

The Girl from Silent Lake is one of those books that make the most of violence toward women.  The kind of thriller that likes shocking torture and abuse.  Of women.  

I'm tired of reading this kind of thriller, especially when the author is capable of writing a good mystery/thriller without concentrating on the torture and abuse.  It isn't that I don't enjoy some books in this category, but they must make the investigation more important than the details of psychopathic behavior.

I read this one last month and debated about reviewing it.  Most reviews are positive, but it annoyed me more than entertained me.

NetGalley/Bookouture

Thriller.  2021.  Print length:  373 pages. 

Winter's Redemption and Winter's Rise by Mary Stone; The Last Watch by J.S. Dewes

After reading the first two books in the Winter Black series back-to-back, I was ready to get back to Winter  and her FBI friends and colleagues.  

Winter's Redemption (Book 3).    Mary Stone does an excellent job of drawing the reader into the plot, characters, and backstories, never letting up on the pacing.  

The Preacher is back and killing again after over a decade, but Winter is excluded from the investigation.  She understands the reason for her exclusion, so she gives in and joins Aiden and the Behavioral Analysis Unit in order to take part in a distanced way.

Just what I needed to keep my head away from all of the real-life issues that we all deal with now.  Yeah, serial killers, FBI, BAU, and Winter's unusual gift.  That's the ticket.

Winter's Rise (Book 4)  In the previous books, Winter has been searching for clues to what happened to her younger brother who was kidnapped during the murder of their parents.  The search continues, but Aiden,  an excellent profiler, suspects that having been raised by a serial killer, Justin is not going to be what Winter hopes for.

The main plot, however, deals with a sinister surgeon who has an unhealthy (deadly) interest in anyone who has had a traumatic brain injury and after recovering, exhibits some of the strange gifts that both Winter and her friend share.  

I'll give the Winter Black series another rest before continuing, but I will be continuing.

I just finished this one last night.  Science fiction and full of suspense and danger.  Loved it!

description: "The Divide.

It’s the edge of the universe.

Now it’s collapsing—and taking everyone and everything with it.

The only ones who can stop it are the Sentinels—the recruits, exiles, and court-martialed dregs of the military.

At the Divide, Adequin Rake, commanding the Argus, has no resources, no comms—nothing, except for the soldiers that no one wanted.

They're humanity's only chance."

  A great debut from J.S. Dewes!  Review will be scheduled closer to publication date.

This would be the perfect year end Daylight Saving Time 

Not a bad idea...

Life Sentence by Judith Cutler and Cold as Ice by Allison Brennan

Another series by Judith Cutler--this one features Fran Harmon, a Chief Superintendent, respected, overwhelmed, and months from retirement.

Fran's elderly parents demand her presence every weekend and in addition to the long drive, she is expected to cook, clean, take care of the garden, and answer each request from crotchety parents who belittle her and depend on her.

At work, after driving back after a long, debilitating weekend, she is trying to cover her job and that of someone else as well.  Exhausted and barely able to keep things together, Fran is struggling.

Mark Turner, colleague and friend, gets Fran a two-year-old case that will allow her some relief from trying to do too much.  Mark has long been a friend, and it is clear that they care for each other...and that the caring could develop into something deeper.

The case Fran is working concerns a woman brutally attacked and left for dead.  She remains in a vegetative state which has been pronounced permanent.  Will Fran be able to determine who assaulted the woman?  

I liked the plot and Fran's developing relationship with Mark Turner.  As their friendship deepens into something more, each is able to offer support to the other, even as they are unsure about whether the other feels the same way.  

While I liked the Kate Powers books, I like these characters better.  Thanks, Cathy, for comment that gave me the heads up on this series. :)  Oh, and for New Tricks, which I am enjoying.

Read in August.

Kindle Unlimited
Police Procedural.  2006.  Print length:  396 pages.  

I've read a couple of books by Allison Brennan, and each one has been fast-paced and suspenseful.  On the minus side, the books are full of characters from previous books in the Lucy Kincaid series.   Nevertheless, the books can be read as stand-alones.   

from description:  Two years ago, FBI Agent Lucy Kincaid put psychopath Elise Hansen Hunt in juvenile detention for her role in an organized crime syndicate. Now eighteen, Elise has been released with a clean slate, and plans to take her revenge by making Lucy’s life hell. The plot begins with Lucy’s husband Sean Rogan, who has been arrested for a murder he most certainly did not commit.

Cold as Ice is certainly as suspenseful as the other books I've read.   

Strange how worried I can be for characters--when I know that in the end, things will work out.  Nevertheless, I worried about Sean, feared Elise, and cheered all efforts to make sure the characters I cared about turned out OK.  :)  Brennan knows how to ratchet up the tension and keep her readers on edge.  

Read in August; blog review scheduled for September 10.

NetGalley/St. Martin's Press
Suspense/Thriller.  Oct. 27, 2020.  Print length:  480 pages.

Sanctuary by V.V. James and Well-behaveed Indian Women by Saumya Dave

Sanctuary by V.V. James (She also writes as Vic James) was certainly engrossing.  In a modern world that conforms in most ways to our own, the exception is that witches are an accepted part of the population--with laws and internal rules that guide their use of magic.   

Description:  

Sanctuary is the perfect town . . . to hide a secret.

When young Daniel Whitman is killed at a high-school party, the community is ripped apart. The death of Sanctuary's star quarterback seems to be a tragic accident, but everyone knows his ex-girlfriend Harper Fenn is the daughter of a witch--and she was there when he died.

VV James weaves a spellbinding tale of a town cracking into pieces and the devastating power of a mother's love. Was Daniel's death an accident, revenge--or something even more sinister?

As accusations fly, paranoia grips the town, culminating in a witch-hunt...and the town becomes no sanctuary at all.

I couldn't put it down, but now I'm having trouble deciding what I think about it.  It was tense and alternating POVs gave different levels of suspense.  There are several topics that  are always current in the news.  I liked Maggie, the detective whose role is to investigate Daniel's death.  

I hated one character and as the plot moved on discovered another reason to hate her.  Maybe it was all too reminiscent of people who are so vindictive, even when they secretly know something despicable about the person they "love."  Which makes me question whether it is mother's love or love of a reputation, love of a self-idealization.  

Maybe my problem is that although I liked the book, now--with the connections to paranoia and hatred in the news each day--I simply don't want to face it.  It makes me sad and fearful and sometimes fiction makes it so much more personal.

Read in August; blog review scheduled for Sept. 8.

NetGalley/Sourcebooks

Mystery/Thriller.  Sept. 8, 2020.  Print length:  464 pages.

I thought I'd reviewed this one, but then realized I'd given a short mention on my other blog.  I liked it: it was well-written and the three generations of women, all of whom had their own strengths, were interesting and likable.                                                                                                                                                                                                             I copied and pasted this from my other blog:  Saumya Dave provides a look at Indian culture (from India) in America.  Well-Behaved Indian Women examines the cultural differences between those born in India and their children born in America.  The main plot premise focuses on arranged marriages.  I found it interesting as our American culture is so different.  My daughter went to high school at the Louisiana School of Math, Sciences, and the Arts, and many of her friends were from different cultures--Korean, Thai, Filipina (another Jen),and Indian students.   And yes, some of the Indian girls had arranged marriages.

 America is a melting pot, but tradition remains an influence on all of us regardless of our origins.    Some traditions and cultural influences are positive, and some are difficult to adapt to a new country.  I loved the characters and their efforts to do the best they could for themselves and for those they love--and as we all know, it isn't always easy.  From generation to generation, regardless of our points of ancestral origin,   ideas and beliefs have to be adjusted.  

Well-behaved Indian Women excelled at showing the choices necessary for both mothers and daughters as they struggle to make the best of their lives.  

Read in August.  

NetGalley/Berkeley Publ.
Women/Culture.  July 14, 2020.  Print length:  385 pages.





       

Until It's Over by Nicci French

I recently received Until It's Over from NetGalley.  I like Nicci French and have read several of the husband and wife team's books.  When I started reading it, I was surprised that it felt so familiar.  The first part was pretty good, but Part II was much less so...and repetitive as a character recounts the same events from a different perspective.  After I finished, I noted that the book was first published in 2007, and sure enough, I read it in 2010.  New cover and republished , but I read it about 1500 books ago,  I didn't remember enough to know what happened, but just enough that it seemed familiar. 

Anyway, it isn't the best of this team's offerings.  I've liked a number of their stand-alones, but my favorites are their Frida Kline books.

NetGalley/Harper Collins
Mystery/Thriller.  2007, 2020.  Print length:  376 pages.

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 I have several book reviews scheduled:  Shadows of the Dead by Spencer Kope, An Inconvenient Woman by Stephanie Buelens, You Can't Catch Me by Catherine McKenzie, Stranger in the Lake by Kimberly Belle.  As much as I love NetGalley, it is frustrating to get the books so far in advance of publication.  It is so easy to delay writing a post when the book won't be published for months.  

Such an irony that one of my 2020 goals was to get out more.  Now, I'm lucky to be able to go pick up groceries, but I am appreciating walking in the neighborhood and checking out the flower beds and the robins searching for worms.

My big event yesterday was cleaning pollen and dust off everything on the porch, then celebrating Cinco de Mayo a little early with a margarita.  

This post on Twitter is inspiring!

(My husband does help with the dishes.  I just have to wash them again later when he does.)

Blood on the Tracks by Barbara Nickless

Blood on the Tracks is the first book in the Sydney Rose Parnell series.  I actually started with the 4th book (Gone to Darkness--which will be published in August), but since I like the characters--and loved Clyde, Sydney's K-9 partner--I wanted more.  So...I found the first book in the series.

One of the most interesting aspects of the series is Sydney's experience as an Iraq war veteran and Marine, and both Sydney and Clyde have some unresolved issues from the war. 

Blood on the Tracks gives a great deal of background that I didn't have when I read Gone to Darkness.  It read fine as a stand alone,  but learning more about the background was intriguing.  The chapter epigraphs are particularly thought-provoking. 

Who is Sydney Rose Parnell?  She is a Marine war veteran who still struggles with PTSD and currently, a railroad police special agent.

Who is Clyde?  Clyde is also a Marine veteran, a Belgian Malinois, and Sydney's best friend and companion.  The background information explains their connection through Doug Ayer's, Clyde's handler in Iraq.

Plot?  A young woman is brutally murdered and the suspect is the Burned Man, an Iraq war veteran with gruesome facial scars.  This creates a personal dilemma for Sydney in two separate ways--she has a connection to Elise through Nik, who has been a father figure for both Sydney and Elise and through the Burned Man, whom she recognizes from an event in Iraq.

There are two parallel plot lines, one of which peters out when when evidence points in a specific direction.  The other plot line, however, I suspect will be amplified in another book.

Some misdirection and a twist that was not exactly what I expected.  The characters are well drawn and complex; the weight of grief, death, and war is evident in Sydney's responses and in the epigraphs to each chapter; the research into the effects of war gave a sense of realism and depth.  

I found myself unable to put this down as I cheered on Sydney and Clyde, enjoyed reading about the trains and hobo population, watched Sydney deal with her mixed emotions about the Burned Man--her belief in his innocence and her fears of the event in the past becoming public knowledge.  

Kindle Unlimited.  I've already gotten the next book and started it!

Police Procedural/Suspense.  2016.  Print length:  386 pages.

In the Barren Ground

In the Barren Ground by Loreth Anne White takes place in a Canadian wilderness bordering the Arctic Circle.  Tana Larson, young and pregnant, becomes the sole law enforcement for an area that covers 17,500 miles when her superior has some issues with the cold, isolation, and prolonged darkness of the area.

Two young researchers are savaged by wolves, and Tana, after viewing the scene begins to have some doubts about whether the wolves killed the two young people--or arrived after they were dead.

A mixture of legend, madness, and a determined young Mountie who has a surfeit of suspects.

I liked it.  White's writing evokes the atmosphere of the far north.      

Kindle Unlimited.  Read in March.   

The Boy in the Field by Margot Livesey was my favorite book in March, but it won't be published until August, so I'm holding the review.

My husband didn't get this,

but anyone who has grown an avocado tree from an avocado pit will.

Into the Fire by Gregg Hurwitz

The latest in the Orphan X series!  I've reviewed previous entries here.   I've thoroughly enjoyed The Nowhere Man who gives his help to those who need it.

From Description:
Taken from a group home at age twelve, Evan Smoak was trained as an off-the-books government assassin: Orphan X. After breaking with the Program, he reinvented himself as The Nowhere Man, a figure shrouded in shadows who helps the truly desperate. But the government didn’t let go of him easily, sending their best to hunt him down and eliminate him. All of them failed. With his deadliest enemies behind him, Evan is facing a new challenge—what is he going to do now that no one is after him?

Poor Evan, his training did little to help him adjust to an ordinary life, but it has given him the skills to help others against overwhelming odds.  When he accepts the call to the Nowhere Man from Max Merriweather, he intends for it to be his last mission.  

But...each time he thinks he has completed his assignment, he discovers there is another angle, a higher-up that must be taken care of before Max is safe.  While the books are not realistic, the reader roots for Evan Smoak as he dedicates himself to saving others, one innocent at a time, and Coleridge's term "suspension of disbelief" is eagerly accepted.  

I have no idea where Hurwitz will take Evan next, but please don't leave the Nowhere Man behind.

Read in September; blog review scheduled for Jan. 

NetGalley/St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books
Thriller.  Jan. 28, 2018.  Print length:  400 pages.

Nameless Series by Dean Koontz and When I Was You and The Stillwater Girls by Minka Kent

In a series of six short stories or novellas, Dean Koontz presents different episodes in the life of a man who doesn't know his own name, can't remember his life prior to two years ago, and suspects that his amnesia has been induced at his request.

His mission is to take down targeted evil doers.  He doesn't know who assigns the targets, but with each case, he is provided with a fake name, appropriate identification, a thorough background of the individual...and anything else he might need.  The operation is well-organized and well-funded, but the man knows little more than his own role.

Each short story/novella takes an hour or so to read and is like an episode in a book with each case resolved before another assignment appears.  

In an unusual move, the "Nameless" series is only released in electronic and audio formats, and you can download them free if you are an Amazon Prime member.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Dean Koontz comes Memories of Tomorrow, part of Nameless, a riveting collection of short stories about a vigilante nomad, stripped of his memories and commissioned to kill. Follow him in each story, which can be read or listened to in a single sitting.

I went through the series in late December and enjoyed them.  Dean Koontz knows how to capture and hold your attention. 

When I Was You by Minka Kent.  Brienne Dougray was brutally attacked and barely survived.  Now she suffers from terrible headaches and memory loss and a near constant fear that her attacker will return.

When an attractive doctor becomes a tenant in her home, Brienne feels more secure, but her fear of her unknown attacker keeps her largely housebound and depressed.  Her old active and more social life has disappeared.

Then she discovers that someone has stolen her identity and is imitating her life in alarming detail.  Brienne is forced to leave her house to find out more about this woman.  What she discovers is more complicated and disturbing than what she originally assumed.

Interesting, but not exceptional, I liked it enough to get another of Kent's novels.


Thomas & Mercer.
Psychological Suspense.  Feb. 1, 2020.  Print length:  282 pages.

The Stillwater Girls is another standalone by Minka Kent.  Two young women are living alone in an isolated cabin in the woods.  Their mother left months earlier to try to get medical help for their younger sister, but never returned.  Food is running low, winter is coming, and they don't know how they will survive.

When a strange man shows up at the cabin, he tells them he plans to take them to town.  Having been raised to fear any outsider and told never to leave the forest, the young women are terrified and eventually escape after drugging the man.  

Not very believable, but entertaining.  There are actually two parallel stories being told that coincide, but the plot seems too contrived.  

Thomas & Mercer.
Mystery.  2019.  Print length:  256 pages.

Both books kept my attention and had some interesting characters and plots, but felt a little too convenient.  I liked, but didn't love them.

The Janes by Louisa Luna

The Janes by Louisa Luna  is the second Alice Vega Novel and since I enjoyed the first one, I was eager for this one. 


On the outskirts of San Diego, the bodies of two young women are discovered. They have no names, no IDs, and no family looking for them. Fearing the possibility of a human trafficking ring, the police and FBI reach out to Alice Vega, a private investigator known for finding the missing, for help in finding out who the Janes were--and finding the others who are missing.

Vega is called in when the bodies of two young Latina women are found with no identification and who have not been reported missing.  When Vega is called in to help, she brings in Cap, her partner in the first book.

Maybe because women are so frequently victims of abuse, we enjoy having a kick-ass female protagonist in a take charge and take-em-down role.  Are these women (Liz Salander, Jane Hawk, Livia Lone, Alice Vega) realistic?  Not really.  They have many stereotypical qualities, but they also have personality and the gumption, determination, intelligence, and a sense of justice that I have fun identifying with in the most ridiculous way.  

Who are some of your favorite awesome, bad-ass female protagonists?

Read in July?  Blog review scheduled for Jan. 6, 2020.

NetGalley/Doubleday
Mystery/Thriller.  Jan. 21, 2020.   Print length:  368 pages.

The Last Passenger, Origami Man, A Conspiracy of Bones, and the Demon Door series

 

The Last Passenger is the third in the prequels for Finch's Charles Lenox series.  It has been interesting to read these books about the young Lennox, who wants to establish himself as a detective since I've liked the plots and characters in the original books with the mature Lenox.  

The series is one of my favorite historical mystery/detective series, and I enjoyed the latest book as well.  Young Charles Lenox is encouraged by his mother to marry, and Charles is a desirable husband--except for the fact that he continues to pursue a career as a detective, which is not highly thought of in his social class.  

Inspector Hemstock seeks Charles' help when the unidentified body of a young man is discovered at Paddington Station, and Charles is eager to be involved with the Scotland Yard investigation.

As usual, there are many historical details that add to the plot, the characters are well-developed, the writing is excellent, and the mystery intriguing.  

Read in Oct.  

NetGalley/St. Martin's Press
Historical Mystery.  Feb. 18, 2020.  Print length:  304 pages.

Gibson Vaugh, legendary hacker and former marine, returns in a fifth installment of this series by Matthew Fitzsimmons.  He is also a wanted fugitive living in the Caymans when Tinsley, assassin and the man who killed Vaughn's father, draws him into a dangerous new situation.

The threat is ominous, and Tinsley needs Vaughn's help, but as important as the terrorist threat is--can Tinsley be trusted in a truce to prevent the disaster?  

Dan, Jenn, and George join Gibson in the hunt for the details that would help them prevent the deaths of millions.

The first book (The Short Drop) is my favorite, but I've enjoyed all of the books and the team of characters involved.  

Read in Oct.

NetGalley/Thomas & Mercer
Thriller.  Feb. 18, 2020.  Print length:  316 pages.

A Conspiracy of Bones in the latest Kathy Reichs book featuring Tempe Brennan.  Although I've been reading this series for years, this isn't the best, which doesn't mean that it won't hold your attention.  

Temperance is recovering from neurosurgery for an aneurysm, her new boss holds a grudge, someone may be stalking her, and in general, life had been difficult for Tempe.

She gets mysterious pictures of a body with most of  his face and his hands missing and no identification.  Who sent it?  
Her new boss is determined to push her out, but Tempe gets into the morgue and views the body.  She disagrees with the new coroner about several things and begins investigating on her own.  (The savaging of the body is the result of feral hogs, and just recently a woman in Texas was killed by hogs.  They truly are fearsome creatures.)    

Teaming up with the cantankerous and acerbic Slidell,  Tempe sets out to identify the body, and then to look into the Dark Web at conspiracy theories spouted by the repulsive Nick Body, and into a possible connection to missing children.

There is an interesting afterword about how Reichs came up with elements of her plot, but I had no trouble believing in the feral hogs detail as they are prevalent everywhere in the South and have been moving north as well.

NetGalley/Scribner
Mystery.  March 17, 2020.  Print length:  352 pages.


The Sand Prince was nothing to write home about, but...in spite of being unsatisfied with much of it,  I continued with the second book, The Heron Prince, and I liked it much better.  So--moving on to books 3 and 4, The Glass Girl and The River King was easy.  After making my way through the first half or so of The Sand Prince,  I enjoyed the rest of entire series.  

I've been busy with so many things lately--Christmas stuff (such a long list of Christmas stuff--from gifts and wrapping, to recipes and grocery shopping), stitching, reading, everyday chores, feeding the birds, making tentative friendship with a raccoon who has been visiting at night. 

Even in our subdivision, we have occasional night visits from raccoons and possums.  I think our visitor is young, more curious than frightened, he approaches me with such a quizzical look on his face.  Much better than the wild creatures like bears and mountain lions that visit other areas!   And at least we have had no feral hogs in our neighborhood, although there are plenty down at the camp in the country.   They make a mess of fields and crops, which is bad, but they are dangerous as well.  And ugly!  

In the Dark and A Shadow Falls by Andreas Pfluger

Jenny Aaron, part of an elite government group, is shot in the head on an assignment and left blind.  After five years, she returns to the elite group.  OK--first, before losing her sight, Jenny Aaron was legendary for her skills and on returning, she is so good that most don't even recognize she is blind.  So...a little over the top.  

Although Pfluger has researched therapy and rehabilitation for the blind, for Jenny Aaron to be so physically skilled (better than sighted individuals) in the martial arts, etc.--requires suspension of disbelief.  (We really owe Coleridge for that term, which we apply so readily in reviewing.)

Nevertheless, I did accept Jenny's skills for the sake of the story.  The secondary characters are also a bit over-the-top but interesting and well-drawn, especially Jenny's friend Pavlik, a sniper of tremendous skill and patience.

Flashbacks, memories, and dream sequences are interspersed throughout the novel, and the writing is excellent.  

Purchased.

Thriller.  2016.  Print length:  464 pages.

I read this one first because it was an ARC from NetGalley, but strongly recommend beginning with In the Dark since the incidents in In the Dark make understanding the plot in A Shadow Falls much easier to comprehend.  

The man responsible for Jenny's blindness, Ludger Holme, has given her a dubious gift.  Jenny knows that it is a trap, but nevertheless plans to see it through because there is a puzzle she is compelled to unravel.

Accompanied by Pavlik, Jenny goes to Marrakesh to set the ball rolling, realizing the danger, but willing to find out more about her father's death.

Lots of action, more flashbacks, memories, and dream sequences.  Twisting, complex, and ultimately engrossing.

NetGalley/Dover Publications
Thriller.  Oct. 16, 2019.  Print version:  448 pages.

In Her Eyes by Sarah Alderson and The Old Success by Martha Grimes

A home invasion is a terrifying thought and many novels have made the most of the idea.  

Sarah Alsderson's In Her Eyes takes the event of armed men breaking into a home and the serious injury of Ava's daughter June and turns it into something else.  It moves from the invasion to the aftermath as Ava discovers information that stuns her. 

Devastated, Ava finds herself doubting almost everyone around her as she learns about things she never suspected.  Then someone targets June in the hospital.
Who to trust?

I suspected one person after another.  Each new circumstance introduced a possible reason for the violent invasion and raised new questions.

Alderson skillfully guides the reader through Ava's discoveries, keeping both the reader and Ava off-balance.  Well-plotted, red herrings and twists, and suspenseful.

Read in July.  Blog review scheduled for Oct. 29, 2019.

NetGalley/Mulholland Books
Suspense/Thriller.  Nov. 14, 2019.  Print length:  352 pages.

Martha Grimes' Richard Jury novels all have the title of a pub (one exception, Vertigo 42 is a wine bar) and a unique and eccentric group of returning characters.  The mysteries focus on puzzles rather than violence, almost always have a child and an animal, humorous episodes, and witty conversations.  

They are more fun if you have some familiarity with some of the secondary characters because looking forward to the brief appearances of the Long Piddleton crowd is always fun.  

The main characters are Richard Jury of Scotland Yard and Melrose Plant his friend and foil.  The books are usually considered cozy mysteries, but they are more literary, character-driven, and complex than most cozies.

The Old Success is not my favorite, but I wouldn't miss joining Jury and friends on any new adventure--it is always a pleasure.

In 2012, Martha Grimes was awarded the title of Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America, joining such notables as Agatha Christie, John le Carre,  Elmore Leonard, Barbara Mertz, Tony Hillerman, and P.D. James (and many other great mystery writers).

Read in July.  Blog review scheduled for Oct. 29.

NetGalley/Grove Atlantic
Mystery/Police Procedural.  Nov. 5, 2019.