The Silent Girl by Tess Gerritsen

August 11, 2015 By Leave a Comment

SILENT
The Silent Girl by Tess Gerritsen
Publisher: Random House
Genre: Contemporary, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full Length (315 pgs)
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Cholla

Every crime scene tells a story. Some keep you awake at night. Others haunt your dreams. The grisly display homicide cop Jane Rizzoli finds in Boston’s Chinatown will do both.

In the murky shadows of an alley lies a female’s severed hand. On the tenement rooftop above is the corpse belonging to that hand, a red-haired woman dressed all in black, her head nearly severed. Two strands of silver hair—not human—cling to her body. They are Rizzoli’s only clues, but they’re enough for her and medical examiner Maura Isles to make the startling discovery: that this violent death had a chilling prequel.

Nineteen years earlier, a horrifying murder-suicide in a Chinatown restaurant left five people dead. But one woman connected to that massacre is still alive: a mysterious martial arts master who knows a secret she dares not tell, a secret that lives and breathes in the shadows of Chinatown. A secret that may not even be human. Now she’s the target of someone, or something, deeply and relentlessly evil.

Cracking a crime resonating with bone-chilling echoes of an ancient Chinese legend, Rizzoli and Isles must outwit an unseen enemy with centuries of cunning—and a swift, avenging blade.

A grisly murder in Boston’s Chinatown leaves Detective Jane Rizzoli feeling a little out of her element. Unacquainted with the people and their culture, she finds herself relying on a new addition to their team, Detective Johnny Tam. But will the newcomer to homicide be enough to unravel this mystery with roots in ancient China? Jane Rizzoli, with medical examiner Maura Isles by her side, is bound and determined to see this one through to the end.

Jane Rizzoli is a hard character to like sometimes. She’s brusque and bold and puts a lot of people off, mostly other detectives. But I really like her. You knew from book one that she was a darn good detective and would do anything to prove herself. Even now, in book nine, she’s still pushing to do her best and make her name. Pairing her with Barry Frost was the best thing Boston PD could have done.

Detective Barry Frost, on the other hand, is likable from day one. Sweet and possessing more tact than Rizzoli could ever dream of, Frost is the perfect foil to Jane’s abrasive nature. I was happy to see some of the focus turn towards him during this novel because he’s the kind of guy you want to get to know better.

I wasn’t exactly sure why the author introduced Johnny Tam into this novel, but as we got deeper into the mystery, it made more sense. He’s Chinese and knows the people and the history of those living in Chinatown, easing the way for the rest of the Boston Police Department. His knowledge of Chinese folklore and ability to apply it to what was happening around them was fascinating. Folklore and mythology have always been an interest of mine, so being treated to a ton of stories I’d never heard before only engaged me further.

The Silent Girl ups the intensity of the Rizzoli and Isles series, cranking the tension up to eleven. One of the most engrossing novels of the series, I found myself unable to stop reading. If the characters continue to grow and evolve like they have been, this is going to end up being one of the best mystery series ever written. I finish one novel and find myself anxiously waiting for the next. I cannot get enough of Jane Rizzoli and her cohorts at the Boston Police Department.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

Day Shift by Charlaine Harris

August 10, 2015 By Leave a Comment

DAY
Day Shift by Charlaine Harris
Publisher: Ace Books
Genre: Contemporary, Paranormal, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full Length (320 pgs)
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Cholla

In Midnight Crossroad, Charlaine Harris “capture[d] the same magic as the world of Bon Temps, Louisiana, and [took] it to another level” (Houston Press). Now the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Sookie Stackhouse novels returns to the one-traffic-light town you see only when you’re on the way to someplace else….
There is no such thing as bad publicity, except in Midnight, Texas, where the residents like to keep to themselves. Even in a town full of secretive people, Olivia Charity is an enigma. She lives with the vampire Lemuel, but no one knows what she does; they only know that she’s beautiful and dangerous.

Psychic Manfred Bernardo finds out just how dangerous when he goes on a working weekend to Dallas and sees Olivia there with a couple who are both found dead the next day. To make matters worse, one of Manfred’s regular — and very wealthy — clients dies during a reading.

Manfred returns from Dallas embroiled in scandal and hounded by the press. He turns to Olivia for help; somehow he knows that the mysterious Olivia can get things back to normal. As normal as things get in Midnight…

Things seem to be settling down in Midnight, Texas for the moment. At least, until a stranger arrives with a child in tow, leaving him behind with the Rev. If that isn’t enough oddity for the rundown little town, the sudden renovation and reopening of the old hotel stirs curiosity and suspicion from everyone in Midnight. What exactly is going on and will Midnight ever be the same in the end?

I enjoy when a series takes a different route with each new book, and we see that here in the second installment of the Midnight, Texas series. Although our main point of view is still Manfred, we’re treated to seeing things through the eyes of other residents like Fiji and Olivia. The changing points of view help you to get to know the quieter residents more than you might otherwise.

There is a lot going on in this book as well. The Rev is left to care for a young child who isn’t quite as normal as he seems. This leads us to learn some of his secrets and a shocking revelation as well. The mysterious Reverend isn’t nearly as mysterious any longer, although I never saw that bit coming. It does explain more of why he’s so reclusive and unwilling to make friends with the rest of the community, so it made me happy to get that bit of insight into him.

The second mystery involves Manfred. Returning from a trip to Dallas, he finds himself in a bit of trouble. I really liked Manfred in the first book, even if he comes off a bit odd at times, so I was glad to get to see and learn more about him here. When Olivia is tasked with helping him solve his problem, you get to get inside her mind more, which is both exciting and a bit frightening. Her backstory isn’t a happy one and I found myself feeling awful for her at times.

Ms. Harris’ Midnight, Texas series is a fun and engaging paranormal mystery romp. She has a real talent for bringing the quirkiest and oddest characters into one little town and somehow making them all work. Despite being reclusive, suspicious folk, the people in Midnight still look out for one another at all costs. I could definitely see myself settling down in a town like that.

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The Trident Code by Thomas Waite

August 6, 2015 By Leave a Comment

CODE
The Trident Code by Thomas Waite
Publisher: 47North
Genre: Action/Adventure, Contemporary
Length: Full Length (323 pgs)
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Cholla

Ruthless cyberhackers seize a US nuclear submarine, training its most powerful weapon on a target so unusual, yet so vulnerable, that a successful strike could change the face of the earth for millions of years. With the world held hostage, former NSA operative Lana Elkins must join forces with a mysterious computer mastermind—who might be working with the enemy—to avert this unprecedented Armageddon. Intrigue, power, and blackmail force Lana to fight on all fronts—land, sea, air, and in cyberspace—to prevent the worst catastrophe in human history.

Lana Elkins is finally getting settled after the last major cyber-attack on the United States when another threat looms on the horizon. A nuclear submarine carrying more than twenty missiles is hacked and taken over by an unknown cyber hacker and threats are made that would endanger the entire world and kill billions of people. Will former NSA operative and security specialist Lana Elkins be in time or will the world pay the price?

Lana is an inspiration as far as I’m concerned. She’s tough, ballsy, and smart as a whip. Add to that the fact she’s working in a world predominately ruled by men and she becomes my hero. Not just because she worked for the NSA at one time, but mostly because she’s basically a legal hacker working for the safety of the entire country. On top of all that, she’s still able to be feminine and motherly. She can be difficult, but no more so than the job requires.

On the other side of the coin, you have Galina Bortnik, an ex-Greenpeace activist turned hacker. Galina is an unlikely sort of heroine. I didn’t care for her very much when we were first introduced to her, but as her situation changes and she learns more about the man she’s in love with, the more you start to like her. She becomes more three-dimensional at that point. Galina is probably the bravest character in The Trident Code, seeing as she risks everything with no promise of anything in return.

Cyber thrillers aren’t my usual genre, but The Trident Code intrigued me. It takes a cyber-terrorism plot and mixes a bit of environmental terrorism into it. These two threats combine into one terrifying not-so-far-fetched possibility for our future. One of the best parts of this novel is that not just one main character, but two of them are strong, driven female leads. Despite everything that’s being thrown at them, they both manage to maintain their status as warriors as well as women. The Trident Code kept me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

NYPD Red 2 by James Patterson & Marshall Karp

August 5, 2015 By Leave a Comment

RED
NYPD Red 2 by James Patterson & Marshall Karp
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Genre: Contemporary, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full Length (392 pgs)
Rating: 4.5 stars
Reviewed by Cholla

When NYPD Red arrives at a crime scene, everyone takes notice. Known as the protectors of the rich, famous, and connected, NYPD Red is the elite task force called in only for New York City’s most high-profile crimes. And Detective Zach Jordan is the best of the best, a brilliant and relentless pursuer of justice. He puts professionalism above all, ignoring his feelings for his partner, Detective Kylie MacDonald, the woman who broke his heart when they first met in the academy.

But even with their top-notch training, Zach and Kylie aren’t prepared for what they see when they’re called to a crime scene in the heart of Central Park. They arrive to find a carousel spinning round and round, its painted horses grinning eerily in the early morning dark. There is only one rider: a brutally slaughtered woman, her body tied up and dressed in a Hazmat suit, on display for the world to see.

The victim, a woman of vast wealth and even greater connections, is the fourth in a string of shocking murders that have hit the city. As the public pressure mounts, and political and personal secrets of the highest order hang in the balance, Zach and Kylie must find out what’s really behind the murderer’s rampage. But Kylie has been acting strange recently–and Zach knows whatever she’s hiding could threaten the biggest case of their careers.

NYPD Red 2 is the next outstanding novel in James Patterson’s newest series, a thriller that careens through New York City and deep into the psyche of a depraved killer you’ve never seen before.

Meet the Hazmat Killer. A vigilante murder sweeping through New York City and disposing of those wealthy and connected folks he believes have gotten away with too much for too long. Enter Detectives Zach Jordan and Kylie MacDonald, NYPD Red’s best. But will the city’s finest be good enough to stop this crazed murderer in the next twenty-four hours? Only time will tell.

Next to Lindsay Boxer, I have to say that Zach Jordan is my favorite James Patterson character to date. He’s not perfect, but man does he ever try to be. Case in point: despite his lingering crush on his old Academy friend and current partner, Kylie MacDonald, he manages to squash his feelings and work well with the woman who broke his heart. I’m not sure I could do that in his position, so he gets major props from me. Besides, he’s managing to get over her, slowly but surely, and I like where he’s directing his attentions.

In my last review, I might have mentioned how I didn’t much care for Kylie MacDonald. I understand that being a female in the NYPD would be hard. Being a female in the coveted, elite world of NYPD Red would be even more difficult. That said, she takes a lot of risks and disobeys a ton of orders, which bugged me a lot in the first novel. She has a lot of personal drama going on in this sequel, and I think it helps to tone her down somewhat. She’s still brash and over the top, but not to the point of making me want to shake the book until she falls out. If she keeps improving like this, I might wind up liking her before too long.

Despite my personal feelings about Kylie, she and Zach really do make an amazing team of detectives. He uses his brains while she uses her instincts and connections and it works really well for them. It’s easy to see why they’re both part of this elite group of NYPD detectives, catering to the finest citizens of New York City.

The NYPD Red series is quickly becoming one of my very favorite series, not just by James Patterson, but in all of the mystery genre. Action packed from beginning to end, the authors have a real knack for tossing in twists and unexpected turns at a moment’s notice. Just when I think I have it all figured out, I realize I’m wrong and wondering what I missed. A great book for anyone who loves a good, intense read.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

Midnight Crossroad by Charlaine Harris

August 3, 2015 By Leave a Comment

MIDNIGHT
Midnight Crossroad by Charlaine Harris
Publisher: Ace Hardcover
Genre: Contemporary, Paranormal, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full Length (305 pgs)
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Cholla

Welcome to Midnight, Texas, a town with many boarded-up windows and few full-time inhabitants, located at the crossing of Witch Light Road and Davy Road. It’s a pretty standard dried-up western town.

There’s a pawnshop (someone lives in the basement and is seen only at night). There’s a diner (people who are just passing through tend not to linger). And there’s new resident Manfred Bernardo, who thinks he’s found the perfect place to work in private (and who has secrets of his own).

Stop at the one traffic light in town, and everything looks normal. Stay awhile, and learn the truth…

Welcome to Midnight, Texas, but be warned: while we may look like a sleepy little town, we are anything but. Or, at least, that’s what the town’s city limits sign should read, if you ask me. Newcomer Manfred Bernardo, who has more than a few secrets of his own, rather feels the same way. From the moment he enters Midnight, everything changes for him. Will he find a way to fit in or will he pull up roots and move on?

Although I’ve long been a fan of Ms. Harris’ Southern Vampire series, I’d never taken the time to read her Lily Bard books or even the Harper Connelly books, which is a shame because she has taken characters from her other series and brought them to reside in Midnight. Manfred being one of them. In a way, I’m glad I didn’t know anything about him – or Bobo for that matter – because it gave me a bit of a fresh perspective. I love it when authors weave characters from other series into new series, it gives the long-time readers something to smile about and the new ones something to discover for the first time.

As always, Midnight Crossroad is jam packed with eccentric and unusual characters. My favorites are Fiji, her cat, Mr. Snuggly, and Manfred. I adore Fiji because she’s a witch of great power but has no clue. Watching her discover what she really is capable of is fun and exciting. Mr. Snuggly, on the other hand, is the epitome of every cat I’ve ever owned. He’s arrogant, he’s rude, and he’s always hungry. But, he’s also Fiji’s familiar and best pal, so we’ll cut him a little slack. Manfred is an interesting character, one I hope we get to know more about. Working as a psychic under several different names, he makes his living without having to leave his house. His struggle to find his place in a town as odd as Midnight isn’t as difficult as he thought it might be.

If you’re looking for a light and fun read with a bit of paranormal mystery thrown in, you’re looking in the right place. Midnight Crossroad has a little bit of everything – murder, mayhem, vampires, psychics, witches and who knows what else. Wrapped up neatly with a healthy dose of Ms. Harris’ southern charm and sharp wit, it’s a package worth opening and devouring immediately.

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My Life Without Garlic by Bailey Bradford

July 15, 2015 By Leave a Comment

ARLIC
My Life Without Garlic by Bailey Bradford
Publisher: Totally Bound
Genre: Contemporary, Paranormal
Length: Short Story (105 pgs)
Other: M/M, Anal Play
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Cholla

Some things in life just might be worth giving up garlic for.

It was simple curiosity that led Augustin to the vampire dating site—he thought it must be a joke started up by a bunch of weirdos. Man, was he right—but it just so happens that those weirdos really are vampires, and when one shows up at his place, Augustin’s world is turned upside down.

First he’s got a psychotic vampire to deal with. Then he’s got one who is much more fun hanging around.

Except now that Augustin knows that vampires exist, he can’t be left alive. Or can he? When an alternative is offered up, Augustin doesn’t care for it, either. After all, he doesn’t want to be whisked off to some disgusting vampire den.

Tony’s the vampire next in line to lead the coven. He wants to be a fair man, and that means arguing against killing Augustin. If he’s also attracted to the sarcastic, adorable man, where’s the harm in that?

The attraction between Augustin and Tony is undeniable, but deny it is what they both try to do. Someone is going to have to bend or break.

All Augustin wanted was a date. Oh, and to lose a little weight without giving up his favorite food ever – garlic. When he stumbles across a vampire dating site, he thinks it’s a joke and signs up just for fun. That is, until a group of angry vampires show up on his doorstep. Now, kidnapped and surrounded by creatures of the night, he does the only thing he can think of to save his hide: snark his way out of it.

Augustin is a lonely guy and tries to cover it up with an endless stream of snarky comebacks. Once he accepts his situation and starts looking at it from a more practical point of view, this lessens and you get to know the real Augustin. Oddly enough, underneath all that abrasiveness, there’s a really sweet guy just wanting to be part of something.

Tony is probably the sweetest vampire I’ve ever met. He risks his own eternal life at one point to save Augustin from himself. He also has determination like no other. Despite Augustin’s absolute resistance, Tony knows that he’s the one for him and won’t stop until he’s won Augustin over. They are a well-matched pair because Augustin needs someone to hold him to the present while Tony needs a little lightheartedness in his life.

My Life Without Garlic is a funny, quirky, and exceptionally steamy introduction to Bailey Bradford’s new The Vamp for Me series. Loaded with a cast of cranky, crazy, and interesting characters, I cannot wait to see where this series takes us next. The author has a real knack for combining snark and humor to create laugh out loud scenes that you remember long after the book’s done. Although at times, I think Augustin would have been better off shutting his mouth, he always managed to pull through and make it funny in the end. A highly entertaining novel stuffed to the brim with laughs and sighs of passion.

Filed Under: Erotic Romance, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Justice Prevails by Morticia Knight

July 14, 2015 By Leave a Comment

JUSTICE
Justice Prevails by Morticia Knight
Publisher: Totally Bound
Genre: Contemporary, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full Length (162 pgs)
Other: M/M, Anal Play
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Cholla

Never judge a sexy man by his cover.

Detective Beau Williams is hardworking, dedicated and professional. He enjoys the finer things in life, but with his heavy caseload that includes what Beau suspects is a new serial killer, he has no time to enjoy much of anything. What the tall redhead needs is someone to shake him up a little.

Investigative Technician Austin Kent never met a snarky joke he didn’t like—or a set of stairs that couldn’t trip him up. One night after a devastating episode at work, Austin sees something else he likes—the handsome detective he’s seen around the station whom he’s always wondered about. But after he makes a drunken fool of himself in front of Detective Williams, he’s sure there’s no hope.

Beau and Austin’s worlds collide when Austin is sent to pick up some evidence at the station. Amidst a myriad of twists and turns in the troubling serial killer-style murders of Vegas conventioneers, Austin and Beau discover that there’s more to the other than they’d originally thought. There might even be more they’d like to give—unless the killer has the final say.

Things are never quiet on the Las Vegas Strip. Just ask Detective Beau Williams, homicide detective for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Just as he thinks he might be able to take some time off, have a couple drinks, and relax, another body is found, leading him to believe a serial killer is on the loose. Each time a conventioneer disappears, he’s pulled deeper into the mystery, but will he ever catch the person responsible?

Detective Beau Williams has his hands full with his day job as a homicide detective for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. This leaves him with little time to do anything but catch bad guys. But he sucks it up, does his job, and sneaks out for a little fun when he can. It also makes him a bit touchy and uptight as well, which I guess is understandable. Once I got past all of his walls and prickliness, I started to like him a lot. He’s patient, he’s kind, and he’s a redhead. With a beard no less. He’s very much an alpha male, which generally isn’t something I care for, but in a police officer, I think it’s more natural assertiveness and less arrogance.

Austin Kent started out as an adorable dork. He’s clumsy, he’s insecure, and that’s really endearing. The problem with Austin, however, is that he can’t move past it. The clumsiness is there for life, trust me, I know that one firsthand. But even once he knows that Beau’s into him, he can’t accept it and constantly throws up snarky responses to everything. Once he finally relaxed enough to see the truth, he did settle down, which made me very happy because he and Beau really were good together.

This third installment in the Sin City Uniforms series is probably one of my favorites to date. I really like how the author will introduce a character in a prior book before giving them their own story. It helps garner a little added interest as far as I’m concerned. You recognize the name and remember how he’d helped someone in the book before so you know you’re going in liking the main character. A steamy and sexy story coupled with an intense mystery makes for a very enjoyable read.

Filed Under: Erotic Romance, Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Death of a Gossip by M. C. Beaton

May 29, 2015 By Leave a Comment

DEATH
Death of a Gossip by M. C. Beaton
Publisher: Warner Books
Genre: Contemporary, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full Length (179 pgs)
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Cholla

When society widow and gossip columnist Lady Jane Winters joined the fishing class, she wasted no time in ruffling the feathers-or was it the fins?-of those around her. Among the victims of her sharp tongue and unladylike manner was Lochdubh Constable Hamish Macbeth. Yet not even Hamish thought someone would permanently silence Lady Jane’s shrills-until her strangled body is fished out of the river. Now with the help of the lovely Priscilla Halburton-Smythe, Hamish must angle through the choppy waters of the tattler’s life to find the murderer. But with a school of suspects who aren’t ready to talk and dead women telling no tales, Hamish may be in over his head, for he knows that secrets are dangerous, knowledge is power, and killers usually do strike again.

Deep in the Scottish Highlands is a quaint little village called Lochdubh. Now that fishing season has opened, there are new recruits to the fishing school run by John and Heather Cartwright. When one of their students turns up murdered, the mystery falls to Constable Macbeth to solve. Is one backwoods constable equipped to solve a murder?

I find it highly amusing that, from the very beginning you know exactly who is going to get murdered. Why? Because she was the most annoying character I’ve ever encountered and I very well may have stopped reading if she’d survived. Lady Jane Winters, a nasty gossip columnist, doesn’t seem to have a decent bone in her body, letting everyone’s secrets slip in the most public of ways. I’m actually rather surprised that it took someone as long as it did to kill her. She made no friends during her visit to the fishing school.

Hamish Macbeth is hands down the best thing about this entire story. He’s quirky, he’s funny, and he absolutely aggravates every last person in Lochdubh. Even better is that he doesn’t care. He simply carries on with his day and mooches as many cups of coffee and free meals as he can. The tactics he employs are outlandish and suspect, but in the end, he gets the job done, all while aggravating Chief Inspector Blair, sent down from the larger city of Strathbane.

Cozy mysteries are quickly becoming a favorite go-to on my bookshelf. Death of a Gossip wasn’t the most gripping mystery, but it certainly was the funniest. I don’t know about you, but there is definitely a place for a laugh-out-loud mystery in my life. Jam packed with odd and sometimes annoying characters, Death of a Gossip is a quick and easy read that will bring you more than a taste of mystery.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , , ,

In the Woods by Tana French

May 28, 2015 By Leave a Comment

WOODS
In the Woods by Tana French
Publisher: Penguin Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full Length (429 pgs)
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Cholla

Dublin 1984 dusk, three children vanish in the woods. One, Rob Ryan, grips a tree trunk in terror, unable to recall any detail of previous hours. Twenty years later, the detective on the Dublin Murder Squad keeps his past a secret. But when a girl 12 is killed in the same woods, Rob and Detective Cassie Maddox — partner and best pal – investigate present and past.

Detective Rob Ryan has a painful past that still haunts him in the present day. So, when his current case with the Dublin Murder Squad brings him back to the scene of the tragedy that sparked it all, he’s faced with an even tougher present. Will he be able to solve the mystery of what happened in the summer of 1984 or will he forever be doomed to wonder what if?

From the very beginning, Rob intrigued me. He says this in the first chapter and it sums him up rather nicely: “What I am telling you, before you begin my story, is this – two things: I crave truth. And I lie.” So, staring at chapter one, you’re wondering exactly how reliable this narrator is going to be. The result? Truthfully, I don’t even know, because he is either lying in this opening statement or he’s so adept at lying that you never know it’s happening. That is probably the most intriguing part of this entire book. As far as Rob actually goes, he’s one of those characters that you have a love/hate relationship with. Deep down, he’s a decent enough guy, but he is very flawed and makes some seriously stupid mistakes sometimes. Which is, of course, all a part of being human. Not to mention that it makes him so much more interesting in the end.

Cassie Maddox is Rob’s partner for this investigation and I liked her well enough. At times, she came off as a bit too perfect, always having the right answer, the best scenario, that kind of thing. Despite that, she’s a fun character, often enticing Rob into letting go for the night and forgetting that they have a case for a few hours. I’d like to believe that, if Rob were less flawed and Cassie were maybe a bit more flawed, their ill-conceived attempt at a relationship might have worked out better in the end.

In the Woods is one of the most engrossing, intense mysteries I’ve read in a very long time. From the start, you’re kept guessing and never given quite enough clues to figure out what’s really going on. Is this because our narrator is lying to us? I’m not sure, but I do know that nothing is really as it seems and there’s a secret lurking in every corner. The one disappointing thing for me was the unsatisfactory resolution to Rob’s backstory, but maybe that will resolution will crop up in a later novel? I can only hope. If you’re looking for a book that will keep you on your toes and wondering, then In the Woods is a great choice. I look forward to enjoying more of Ms. French’s work.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

The Dying Room by Debra Webb

May 26, 2015 By Leave a Comment

DYING
The Dying Room by Debra Webb
Publisher: Pink House Press
Genre: Contemporary, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full Length (300 pgs)
Rating: 4.5 stars
Reviewed by Cholla

As Birmingham’s Medical Examiner, Dr. Sylvia Baron spends her time unraveling the secrets the dead keep. But Sylvia has a secret of her own that has haunted her for twenty years. Recent events have forced her to see how very precious life really is and she is determined to stop taking a single moment of hers for granted. She goes to private investigator Buddy Corlew for help. Trouble is, Corlew has a reputation for unraveling the ladies as well as the cases he accepts.

Before Sylvia gets charmed out of more than her deepest secret by the enigmatic PI, she’s summoned to a bizarre murder scene that will shake the city, as well as the Birmingham PD, to its very core. Working with Deputy Chief Jess Harris and her major crimes team, Sylvia is drawn into the most challenging case of her career.

With the threat of Eric Spears nullified, Dan and Jess think that they can turn thoughts towards their soon-to-arrive child. However, nothing is ever that easy for the Burnetts, and when prominent members of the Birmingham upper class start turning up dead, it’s all hands on deck to solve this one before anyone else of import dies. Jess’ team, along with the medical examiner, Sylvia Baron, rush headlong into the fray, only hoping they can solve this case before it’s too late.

I love this series and I really adore Debra Webb, however, this first stand-alone novel in the Faces of Evil series seemed to be missing something for me. I’m not sure if it was the intensity that the threat of Eric Spears added or what, but The Dying Room lacked the oomph of the previous novels. However, do not let that discourage you, because it was still a fast-paced, gripping mystery.

One big change was the focus on Birmingham’s Medical Examiner, Sylvia Baron. Over the course of the series, you’ve seen her go from being Dan’s ex-sister-in-law (and thus, Jess’ enemy) to one of Jess’ closest and most trusted allies. In The Dying Room you’re treated to actual backstory and a bit of a side mystery. This was a happy switch of focus for me as I’ve been intrigued by this lady from day one. Anyone who is always that poised and put together is desperately trying to keep something at bay and, in this novel, we find out exactly what this is.

For me, the best part of this new novel was the prominence of my favorite side character: Buddy Corlew. I don’t know what it is, but I’m always drawn to the oddest characters, and Buddy is no exception. A bad boy to the extreme, he exudes charm and danger at every turn. What saves him is that he really is good at what he does. No longer a member of the Birmingham Police Department, he has no qualms about bending the rules in order to get what he needs, and he does this often. When he sets his sights on Sylvia, however, I thought he was crazy. But somehow, the combination of high society Sylvia and from the wrong side of the tracks Buddy really works. They had this great exchange at one point that really sums their relationship up:

Sylvia made a face. “I’m not a big fan of beer.”
Buddy grinned and pushed the Corona toward her. “You’ll learn to like it.”
“The way I learned to like you?”
He winked. “Exactly.”

That’s the infamous Corlew charm at work right there. That Sylvia is stepping outside her comfort zone not just with the beer, but also with Buddy, shows a lot of potential for her down the line. I do hope that Ms. Webb explores their relationship more in the upcoming novels. I love a mismatched couple, they’re always the most fun.

The Dying Room is an intense and engaging novel that never stops. Between the main murder mystery, Sylvia’s secret and the continuing back stories of the rest of her team, you aren’t given a chance to get bored. Debra Webb has a masterful way of managing plots and subplots so that you’re never confused or lost on any of them. Everything combines seamlessly into one fluid story that refuses to slow down until the end… and not always then, either. Another fantastic addition to an already amazing series.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,
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