Talking To Strangers Review

Author: Fiona Barton

Publisher: Berkley

Release Day: Aug. 15, 2024

Many thanks to Berkley Publishing for an arc of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

Reviewed in Mystery & Suspense Magazine

Detective Elise King’s investigation into a woman’s murder is getting derailed by a reporter who insists on doing her own investigation in this nail-biting mystery from the author of Local Gone Missing.

Review:

Author Fiona Barton taps into the wildly popular world of online dating in her latest thriller, TALKING TO STRANGERS. Highly relevant in today's world of online dating, this story highlights the potential danger associated with connecting with virtual strangers. In doing so, Barton also explores the social divide that exists between those who get off on victim blaming and those who remain focused on stopping the predators using the platforms to stalk unsuspecting victims as well as women's continuous struggle to overcome misogyny.

DI Elise King suspects a middle age murder victim's prolific online dating activity may have led to her death. Karen Simmons frequented the apps in hopes of finding a real connection that might lead to true love, but in letting down her guard, did she unwittingly invite a killer into her life? Half the town believes she reaped what she sowed while the other half protest violence against women. Kiki Nunn is a reporter in need of that one big story to catapult her back to the top of her field and having recently interviewed Simmons about the pros and cons of online dating, she's especially chagrined over her murder, pledging to unmask the killer at any cost. The story could potentially land her back on the front pages of major newspapers, but is it also putting her in the killer's crosshairs? As the story unfolds, readers also meet Anni, a mother still grieving the loss of her son whose body was discovered in the same area and manner as Karen's fifteen years prior. Are the cases connected? DI Elise King has her work cut out for her and despite suffering the continuing effects of chemotherapy for cancer, she’ll stop at nothing to bring these grieving families' closure.

TALKING WITH STRANGERS is delivered through the three engaging points of view of Elise, Kiki and Annie. The author does an excellent job portraying each woman's strength while allowing readers to feel their pain and vulnerability, their desire for a real connection with another loving human being. Barton doesn't shy away from highlighting prevalent issues including the world of online dating with its many potential dangers and cultural blaming via the points of view of these three women. While there are several potential red herrings with motive for characters and readers to sift through, savvy couch detectives will uncover the who and why early on, and yet the drama unfolding on the pages along with the need to see these three brave women get justice holds readers attention to the end.

Author Fiona Barton has rendered another highly atmospheric, entertaining police procedural in TALKING WITH STRANGERS. Both the characters and plot line command readers' attention while earning their empathy. The topic of online dating and its usage by our aging population looking for love in today's world is highly relevant and thought-provoking. While today’s society is painfully aware of the danger faced by unsupervised children using the internet, not enough attention is paid to lonely older adults who are also vulnerable to exploitation by online predators. Kudos to Barton for tackling relevant issues facing today's society with love and grace. With short concise chapters, shifting points of view and a tense, fast pace, fans of mysteries and police procedures will be engaged from beginning to end while reading TALKING WITH STRANGERS.

Synopsis:

When Karen Simmons is murdered on Valentine’s Day, Detective Elise King wonders if she was killed by a man she met online. Karen was all over the dating apps, leading some townspeople to blame her for her own death, while others band together to protest society’s violence against women. Into the divide comes Kiki Nunn, whose aggressive newsgathering once again antagonizes Elise.

A single mother of a young daughter, Kiki is struggling to make a living in the diminished news landscape. Getting a scoop in the Simmons murder would do a lot for her career, and she’s willing to go up against not just Elise but the killer himself to do it.

Campus Killer Review

Author: R. Barri Flowers

Series: The Lynleys of Law Enforcement #5

Publisher: Mills & Boon Intrigue

Release Date: July 17, 2024

This review first appeared in The Big Thrill Magazine.

The stakes of this case were intense. And the killer was closing in.

Reviewed in The Big Thrill Magazine

Review:

Author R. Barri Flowers’s expertise as an award-winning criminologist with unique knowledge of serial killers is evident in CAMPUS KILLER, book five in The Lynleys of Law Enforcement series. A gripping thriller, the story immediately draws readers in, never letting go.

Detective Paula Lynley answers a call to the scene of a college professor's murder in CAMPUS KILLER. When another professor’s body turns up days later, Lynley fears a serial killer is targeting female faculty members, and she vows to stop the killer before more women die. Needing all the knowledge she can gather; Det. Lynley asks visiting professor Special Agent Neil Ramirez to share his expertise in criminal profiling with investigators. As readers soon learn, Neil’s not only teaching a class on Criminology, he’s also the contact for an undercover agent working on a local case. Neil realizes it's imperative his cover story remains secret and yet, finding it difficult to refuse Paula's request, he jumps at the opportunity to get to know her personally. The attraction between Paula and Neil ignites quickly, but as the serial killer escalates his game, Paula and Neil must set aside personal desires to focus on identifying the killer before another woman dies.

CAMPUS KILLER is a complex thriller with equal parts mystery and romance. The familiar small-town college campus setting entices readers as many recall a special time and place in their lives while an escalating pace lends a sense of impending doom with time running out. An international flair is created by a unique support cast including multicultural characters as well as interracial romances. Author R. Barri Flowers’s intimate knowledge about violent offenders lends this story a vivid dose of reality seldom found in romance suspense fiction. Fans of romance suspense, especially police procedural style thrillers, will enjoy this one.

Synopsis:

Deep into the investigation of a serial killer at her small town’s university, Detective Paula Lynley can’t refuse the help of a renowned profiler. Special Agent Neil Ramirez’s expertise could help catch the Campus Killer before another woman falls victim. Though Neil is deeply talented and easy on the eyes, Paula senses the profiler has his own dark secrets. Getting close to Neil might be good for the case, but what will it do to her heart?

Dog Day Afternoon Review

Author: David Rosenfelt

Series: Andy Carpenter #29

Narrator: Grover Gardner

Publisher: MacMillan Audio from Minotaur Books

Release Day: July 2, 2024

Special thanks to Minotaur Books and MacMillan Audio for an arc of the audiobook of this title.

All opinions expressed are my own.

This review is published in Mystery & Suspense Magazine

Paterson, New Jersey’s favorite reluctant lawyer Andy Carpenter returns in Dog Day Afternoon, the next mystery in this fan favorite series from National Bestselling Author David Rosenfelt.

Review:

DOG DAY AFTERNOON is the twenty-ninth book in the Andy Carpenter series. For long time fans of the series, each book feels like a good old-fashion homecoming with lots of hugs, laughter and catching up on the latest family gossip. Series regulars - Marcus, Corey, Laurie, Sam, Eddie, Eli, Hilda, and the dogs - appear in significant roles in each book, working together like a well-oiled machine. And yet, for new readers to the series, each book stands alone with just enough background included to welcome you into the fold where you’ll enjoy a remarkable story. Chances are, once you read one, you'll join the fan club and come back for more.

A mass shooting at a law firm leaves six dead with two eyewitnesses making reluctant accusations against a fellow, well-liked employee, Nick Winter. The fact that Nick disappeared for several days during the time of the murders adds fuel to the prosecutor’s case against him. Marcus is a mentor to Nick and firmly declares his innocence to Andy as he asks Andy to defend him. It's well known that Andy’s a wealthy retired lawyer trying, with little luck, to remain retired and that he finds it impossible to turn down requests to take on cases when he believes the person is falsely accused - and therein lies the problem with Nick's case. Andy doesn't believe he has a snowball chance in the down yonder of proving Nick's innocence, but unable to refuse Marcus, he caves and accepts the case. With a lack of evidence to exonerate his client, Andy knows the only way to prove his innocence is to find the real killer, so Andy calls in his team and with Nick's court date looming closer, they roll up their sleeves, put on their detective hats and go in search of the truth.

Author David Rosenfelt's ability to continuously render fresh, engaging plot lines with complex cases, engaging characters and hilarious dialogue in fast-paced whodunnit's is a testament to his amazing ability as a storyteller. DOG DAY AFTERNOON is a delightful addition to the series with a heavy dose of courtroom drama, fraud, conspiracy, laugh aloud banter, family and lovable dogs to fawn over. Andy's long walks and talks with one of his dogs, Tara, are not to be missed nor are his visits to the dog rescue organization he started, Tara's Foundation.

DOG DAY AFTERNOON is a riveting, engrossing mystery with an abundance of heart. While there's a big side of lighthearted fun and humor woven throughout, to mistake this book and series for anything less than a tautly plotted, beautifully written mystery with an intriguing, complex murder mystery to be solved would be a mistake. Being a huge fan of audiobooks, I jumped at the chance to listen to this one. As always, narrator Grover Gardner gives a killer performance as he lends his voice to this iconic cast. In my eyes and ears, he IS Andy Carpenter!

DOG DAY AFTERNOON is a highly addictive, immersive mystery that's impossible to put down once you begin. Fans of mysteries and courtroom dramas will enjoy this one.


Synopsis:.

Retired lawyer Andy Carpenter has run the Tara Foundation—the dog rescue organization named after his beloved golden retriever—for years. It's always been his calling, even as Andy's pulled into representing clients in court. His investigator, Marcus Clark, has been at Andy's side for a long time. Even though they've known each other for years, Marcus keeps his personal life a mystery.

So it’s a shock when Marcus arrives at the Tara Foundation with two strangers in tow. Turns out Marcus takes disadvantaged young men under his wing, gets them jobs, a place to live, and a chance at a different life. And they want a dog. Andy’s specialty. One of the young men, Nick Williams, instantly falls in love with one of the dogs, Daisy.

When there’s a mass shooting at Nick’s work, leaving six dead, all signs point to Nick. Marcus, who's never asked Andy for anything, asks Andy for help. Despite Nick's troubled background, Andy trusts his friend and takes the case.

A Love Like The Sun Review

Author: Riss. M. Neilson

Publisher: Berkley

Release Day: June 11, 2024

Many thanks to Berkley Publ. for an arc of this title for review! All opinions expressed are my own.

#BerkleyPartner #Berkley

Lifelong best friends spend a fateful summer discovering what might happen if they were to be something more in this radiant, heart-clenching adult debut.

Review:

A LOVE LIKE THE SUN is a highly emotional, friends-to-lovers, fake-dating love story. It's the story of two lifelong friends who are afraid to openly declare their true feelings for fear of losing the friendship that both depend on for survival. It's the story of two best friends deciding to fake date in hopes of saving a dream. This, my friends, is romance.

Laniah aka Ni and Issac have been friends forever - since early childhood when Ni's mom took Issac under her wing and proceeded to give him things he wasn't getting from foster parents. As time passes, Issac and Ni grow close and even when Issac leaves to chase his dreams in California, they remain friends with texts and visits when possible. Issac becomes a social media star gaining millions of followers showcasing his art and good looks. Ni is a homebody back in Rhode Island cleaning hotel rooms and chasing her own dream with her mom offering their hair and body products for sale. When their floundering business hits a rough patch and the funds dry up, Isaac has an idea of how to bring them new business. Against Ni's wishes, he posts on social media about his "girlfriend" and things get crazy fast. Business is suddenly booming, but the secret "pretend" relationship gets hot and steamy and both struggles to keep their real feelings to themselves. Ni and Issac are in love, but neither is willing to risk their friendship by declaring their feelings. To complicate things more, Ni has a chronic illness that has gone misdiagnosed for years in spite of her seeking treatment for her symptoms. She's continuously brushed off by her doctor as he jokingly calls her a hypochondriac. When she finally sees a specialist, the disease has progressed and is a threat to her future. Ni desperately needs her best friend, but she doesn't want his pity. 

Author Riss M. Neilson has rendered a beautiful story of friendship, love and heartache. The story is frustrating in that misunderstandings could have been avoided by communication, but the lack of communication makes sense within the context of this book as each friend tries to protect the other. The characters are so well-defined they feel like friends, and the plot carries a much deeper message about seeking second opinions when your health needs aren't being met by your doctor. Doing so can save your life. Taking place over one summer, the story unfolds through Ni's point of view in present time with short flashbacks to their childhood. I loved the relationship depicted between Ni and her mother and her other friends. While the romance burns slow beneath the surface for most of the book, it erupts like a volcano with some steamy scenes later on.

A LOVE LIKE THE SUN is a sweet romance filled with love, mutual respect and devotion between two soulmates. While it takes them some time to recognize the love as the once in a lifetime kind, the journey getting there is beautiful. Highly recommended to fans of friends-to-lovers romance.

Synopsis:

Laniah Thompson is a homebody who craves privacy. Issac Jordan is internet famous and spends his days followed by paparazzi. She runs a small business with her mom in her hometown. He runs an international brand.

And they’ve been best friends since childhood.

When Issac comes home to Providence for the first time in months and discovers Laniah’s dream is slipping out of reach as she and her mom struggle to pay the bills at Wildly Green, their natural hair store, she refuses to take a dime from him. And so, he does what any self-respecting best friend would do: tells the world they’re dating.

Suddenly business is booming, and Laniah agrees to his ridiculous plan to pretend to be lovers for the course of the summer. Just long enough to catch the eye of an investor and get her dream back on track, like she helped him do so many years ago, he reminds her.

Too soon, though, Laniah knows she’s playing with fire, because for as long as they’ve been friends there’s an undeniable pull they’ve never given in to. And as the lines between art and life—real and pretend—blur, it becomes harder and harder to see where friendship ends and something else begins....

Told over the course of three sizzling summer months, A Love Like the Sun is about shared history, those who make us our bravest selves, and love in its many forms.

One Big Happy Family Review

Author: Jamie Day

Publisher: St. Martins Press

Release Day: July 16, 2024

Many thanks to St. Martins Press for an arc of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

Review published in Mystery & Suspense Magazine

The newest, riveting summer suspense by the author of The Block Party, Jamie Day.

Review:

ONE BIG HAPPY FAMILY is a domestic thriller that takes place in a famous family-owned hotel sitting high on a cliff in Maine. With a hurricane brewing in the Atlantic, the three troubled Bishop sisters return to the hotel to claim their inheritance after their father's death. All three are concealing dark secrets and are anxious for the reading of the will for their own sordid reasons. Anxiously watching everything go down is chambermaid Charley Kelley who lives and works at the hotel and is desperate to keep her income to continue caring for her grandmother. Not entirely innocent, Charley has a few secrets of her own that she'd just as soon not become exposed. She may or may not have developed a bad habit of pilfering through the guests' belongings, and it's minutely possible she's hiding a darker, more dangerous secret too. In her defense, she has a good reason for everything she's done, not that the greedy sisters will understand. What will happen to her if she loses her job? Or the hotel closes? She can't allow that to happen.

When the reading of their father's Will doesn't go as expected, nasty accusations are tossed around, and fingers pointed. Someone manipulated their father into changing his Will. Was it one of the sisters or someone else? Maybe the seedy lawyer? If that's not enough, just as the hurricane closes all escape routes and all communication with the outside world is cut off, a body is discovered. Stranded with a murderer walking among them, nerves are frayed, patience is thin. One of them is a murderer. Who is it?

Author Jamie Day expertly manipulates characters and readers through another domestic thriller in ONE BIG HAPPY FAMILY. A locked room style mystery, the threat of a killer hidden somewhere within the hotel and the storm raging outside combine to drive a swift pace as the story unfolds. Tension escalates as skeletons are rattled and one by one, secrets start slipping out. While the sisters' greedy behavior is unattractive and highly questionable, a couple of the support characters deserve readers empathy. Although I tuned into the real villain incredibly early on, it didn't diminish my reading pleasure as I kept turning pages just to watch the drama play out.

ONE BIG HAPPY FAMILY is a highly atmospheric, convoluted domestic thriller in which readers and characters are charged with solving a mystery by identifying a killer. While a bit predictable, I found it to be a well plotted, witty and entertaining mystery. Highly recommended to fans of locked room style mysteries and domestic thrillers.

 Synopsis:

The Precipice is a legendary, family-owned hotel on the rocky coast of Maine. With the recent passing of their father, the Bishop sisters—Iris, Vicki, and Faith—have come for the weekend to claim it. But with a hurricane looming and each of the Bishop sisters harboring dangerous secrets, there's murder in the air—and not everyone who checks into the Precipice will be checking out.

Each sister wants what is rightfully hers, and in the mix is the Precipe's nineteen-year-old chambermaid Charley Kelley: smart, resilient, older than her years, and in desperate straits.

The arrival of the Bishop sisters could spell disaster for Charley. Will they close the hotel? Fire her? Discover her habit of pilfering from guests? Or even worse, learn that she's using a guest room to hide a woman on the run.

With razor-sharp wit, heart, thrills, and twists, Jamie Day delivers a unique brand of SUMMERTIME SUSPENSE.

PASSIONS IN DEATH Review

Author: J.D. Robb

Series: In Death #59

Publisher: St. Martins Press

Release Date: Sept. 3, 2024

Many thanks to St. Martins Press for an arc of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

Reviewed for Mystery & Suspense Magazine

Homicide Detective Eve Dallas hunts a killer who turns a wedding party into a murder scene in the latest novel by the #1 New York Times bestselling author, J.D. Robb.

Review:

PASSIONS IN DEATH is the fifty-ninth book in J.D. Robb's futuristic, police procedural style In Death Series. For new readers feeling overwhelmed with the sheer number of books, you can be confident jumping in at any point as each title in the series stands alone with a murder mystery solved and needed backstory included within the pages of each book. However, the main characters as well as some of the repeat support characters are introduced in early books, and character development is a key part of the storyline throughout the series. Hard-core Dallas fans will tell you that it enhances your reading pleasure to start with NAKED IN DEATH and proceed through the series in order of publication.

Drinks flow freely at The Down & Dirty Club which is open on a Monday night for guests of the pre-wedding party of Erin Albright and Shauna Hunnicut. The brides and their tribe of friends’ drink, sing and dance the night away in celebration of the two women's upcoming nuptials, leaving all inhibitions on the floor with their clothes. During the height of the party, Erin slips away unseen to a back room to prepare for a special surprise she's planned for her bride-to-be Shauna, and that's where Lt. Eve Dallas, accompanied by her ridiculously wealthy husband Roarke, finds her lying in a pool of her own blood. Eve's momentarily taken aback as she recognizes the room as the same one in which she had once fought for her own life, and she vows to get justice for this woman whose future has been brutally stolen from her. As the story unfolds, evidence points toward a cold, premediated murder of passion by someone close to the victim - someone she trusted and considered a friend. No one has a bad thing to say about the victim . . . so which member of her close tribe of friends murdered her?

A gripping, deeply emotional police procedural, PASSIONS IN DEATH displays Robb's expertise in continuously delivering highly visual, masterly plotted, strong character driven stories that keep fans clamoring for more. Her ability to meticulously maneuver Eve and company through the solving of yet another complex murder case is highly entertaining and nothing short of amazing. While PASSIONS IN DEATH is a bit slower paced than some of the other books, the short list of red herrings, lack of apparent motive, and frustrating perplexity of the case keeps both characters and readers on their toes while setting a mysterious smoke and mirrors atmosphere and tone throughout. As always, I find Eve's mind a fascinating place to be when she's sniffing out clues and homing in on the murderer with the intensity of a bloodhound on the trail of prey before striding into the interrogation room with fire in her eyes and justice on her lips in an old fashion showdown with the villain reminiscent of the final gunfight at the OK Corral. There's never any doubt who the victor will be.

PASSIONS IN DEATH is another highly visual, inventive masterpiece by Author J.D. Robb, aka Nora Roberts, highlighting the many intricacies of relationships especially within found family or a close circle of friends. Fans will appreciate appearances from a few of the series' regulars like Peabody, Mavis and Bella. PASSIONS IN DEATH is a compelling, highly addictive blend of crime and police procedural suspense with a sexy side of fairytale romance ala Eve's own mysterious prince of a husband, Roarke. Highly recommended to fans of the series as well as fans of intriguing mysteries and suspense thrillers.

 Synopsis:

On a hot August night, Lt. Eve Dallas and her husband, Roarke, speed through the streets of Manhattan to the Down and Dirty club, where a joyful, boisterous pre-wedding girls’ night out has turned into a murder scene. One of the brides lies in a pool of blood, garroted in a private room where she was preparing a surprise for her fiancée—two scrimped and saved-for tickets to Hawaii.

Despite the dozens of people present, useful witnesses are hard to come by. It all brings back some bad memories for Eve. In her uniform days, she’d suffered an assault in the very same room—but she’d been able to fight back and survive. She’d gotten justice. And now she needs to provide some for poor young Erin.

Eve knows that the level of violence and the apparent premeditation involved suggest a volatile mix of hidden, heated passion and ice-cold calculation. This is a crime that can be countered only by hard detective work and relentless dedication—and Eve will not stop until she finds the killer who destroyed this couple’s dreams before the honeymoon even began…