2025 = 2nd in Spy Coast series Not an original character-plot with seniors retired from spy profession. FUN anyway, with all the twists and turns and c2025 = 2nd in Spy Coast series Not an original character-plot with seniors retired from spy profession. FUN anyway, with all the twists and turns and constant concern. “Moonview� would be a fit for a title for the “night has a thousand eyes� and location. (This title didn’t attract me - Gerriten did. We we also read REACHER novels.) I only took one point away for not being original, including the ending. Although I thoroughly enjoyed all of it from start to finish.
The first chapter is 1972 that begins heavenly and quickly becomes hellish: a cop is killed with his own gun after he witnesses pedestrians run down in the street before a van crashes to a very dead halt with the local driver acting bizarre, opposite of his normal nature. No one could ever figure out a motive.
MAGGIE BIRD, former CIA spy, retired to Purity, Maine. It’s a purely perfect setting , BUT� (There’s always a “but� with perfect). Spies make enemies with long memories. So do others.
ZOE CONOVER, 15, goes missing after being with a newly-met local friend CALLIE YOUNT, 14. Acting police chief Jo is worried almost as much as Zoe’s anxious mother and stepfather. SUSAN CONOVER and husband ETHAN CONOVER are visiting the CONOVER family’s long-time vacation home—Susan and Zoe for the first time. Ethan has not visited in a long time and is only there for his father’s memorial.
MAGGIE’S MARTINI CLUB wants to find the girl and exonerate Callie’s grandfather, Luther YOUNT. JO THIBODEAU, acting police chief, has established an uneasy alliance with Maggie’s Martini Club of ex-CIA friends� "book club" due to the fact that it was Maggie who found and rescued Callie from a kidnapper about one year ago. The Club characters: Maggie and Declan avoid being noticed; Lloyd Slocum, former CIA analyst is married to Ingrid who searches Zoe’s social media, while always monitoring police calls; and BEN. They’re all lovers of books, foods and drinks, and bird-watchers.
When diver, Jo’s brother FIN, brings up a bodybag from Maiden Pond in direct sight of Moonview, the Conover property, the case uncovers long-buried secrets—old bones, no body. This unnerves the family, especially matriarch Elizabeth. Who will be first to find perpetrator(s) of the old and new mysteries? And how will someone find Zoe at last? Will she be dead or alive? These questions drive the suspense and fast pacing.
I enjoy bright, spry retirees in action. Don’t mess with senior citizens, is my motto. And advice. (Although senior citizens can mess with each other, and sometimes do, but only in a nice way.)
Looking forward to another good story with these characters!...more
LUCAS DAVENPORT and VIRGIL FLOWERS look for a killer who is hiding in plain sight. DORIS GRANDFELT was viciously stabbed to death and dumped. Her 2025
LUCAS DAVENPORT and VIRGIL FLOWERS look for a killer who is hiding in plain sight. DORIS GRANDFELT was viciously stabbed to death and dumped. Her twin sister LARA now has cancer and decides to finally find out where the killer is by putting the entire original investigative file onto every true crime site she can and offers a $5 million reward to whoever provides a lead that gets the killer arrested and punished. The “PR committee� set up Lucas and Virgil to sound like Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid - capture and justice a sure thing. It most definitely is not.
Lucas and Virgil are tracking down clues from everyone online trying to get the cash reward. How many might be looking for the treasure of becoming a multi-millionaire? It goes viral around the globe and picked up by “big� media. (Anyone need a Valium?) This is a twenty-plus year cold case that gets hot-under-the collar fast for Lucas and Virgil on the hunt while the media hunts them. And ambitious politicians haunt them. Plus murders pile up around the case. They decide to use their own unique investigation methods and create some new ones.
Virgil’s life partner Frankie, mother of their twin boy and girl, is a crime junkie and might just win the reward herself to vastly improve her horse facilities with money left over. Virgil is working on his fourth novel and hoping it sells well enough so he can leave Minnesota'a Bureau of Crime investigations and write full-time. This has become his common complaint.
Fast-paced action for 386 hardcover pages to find a killer that is right under everyone’s noses. This novel is far from their normal adventures and sometimes humorous too. What it takes to prosecute and get a conviction of a known villain is fascinating information. No wonder it takes so long to get to a courtroom. It’s a long time preparing and still no way to know what a jury decides. I already made up my own mind so didn't mind as much as I would have with a semi-sympathetic defendant who wouldn't fool me on a jury. But this isn't TX, it's MN, so I wouldn't want to bet on the jury decision and probably would not read a book about it. ...more
RATED 4.5 I've been on hiatus from books for the first time in ŷ-life. I've been reading Molly the Maid cozy mysteries for years. This one starRATED 4.5 I've been on hiatus from books for the first time in ŷ-life. I've been reading Molly the Maid cozy mysteries for years. This one started off slow (with redundancies), but was an especially nteresting diary for what it reveals about Molly's beloved gran’s (FLORA GRAY) life and death. Gran’s hard work, hard-earned wisdom and common sense guide Molly’s life. The diary rates a 5.
MOLLY GRAY’s life is about to change, now that she’s Head Maid & Special Events Manager of Regency Grand Hotel—a taping of hit TV auction series PLUS her wedding to Juan Manuel, the hotel’s chief pastry chef. BUT the selling of her grandmother's items on TV-auction show that could have made her rich has been stolen. Instead, she and her friends become targets of suspicion in the media when Gran’s "golden egg" was THE original authentic Faberge worth over $5million and had been lost to time. WHO STOLE THE EGG at the Hotel auction that was televised? This is crux of story, the mystery. At auction, it sold for $13 million and Molly fainted, making this show go viral with her an instant hit... An amazing rags-to-riches story that thrilled the audience while it overwhelmed Molly and Juan. It also brought Trouble and danger to Molly after it was stolen.
But it was the “worthless� key that meant most to Molly and it led to the mystery of (Flora Gray) Gran’s life; plus the key to the disappearance of the egg rests in the past with Gran's life story.
It was fascinating to read about Gran regarded as a brainy girl and therefore not entitled, despite her family’s lofty fortunes -- to have brains that would not be of any use or interest to her parents or the world at large.
This novel is the story, with her grandmother’s diary revelations that Gran was born an only child to an unusually wealthy family, the Gray’s. Disinherited by her family when she was in love with someone her family thought beneath her station. Molly knows that man…Mr. Preston, the retired doorman at the Grand Hotel (John Preston) already had told her that he was her birth grandfather... Grandmother FLORA GRAY raised Molly, her daughter Maggie’s daughter —and always told Molly stories with a moral to learn. On her death, she could only leave Molly with an unexplained KEY—to her tell-all diary that John Preston will give her. The wise, loving Gran Flora’s story is the more interesting one. I’m sorry she had to die for it to be told. There is much to learn from family history and it can be complicated as well as baffling, and embarrassing or even dangerous to some.
It was interesting to see how everything changed with a look at how fame and glory felt from a couple who valued love above all, just wanted to be married, and live a little better than hand-to-mouth.
So many characters with complicated lies and secrets that we get sucked into the story. Rated 4 for all the complication and confusion... “uncomfortabSo many characters with complicated lies and secrets that we get sucked into the story. Rated 4 for all the complication and confusion... “uncomfortable� but fascinating details. Example of Creative License.
Theodora Scott was was living in Washington while being raised by Beth and Joseph Scott from the time she was four years old and has no memory of her birth parents or what happened during those four years with them; she was told her parents died in an accident, no details. Adoptive “Mama� Beth home-schooled her until she went to college; they had given up on her (they were unable to have children, so she’s only child)—as “impossible.� She only has fragments of memories that come out during night terrors, which a counselor said were vague memories. Washington has cold winters and forests to explain the title. They called her Dora. She made up the name THEO when she left them forever.
We open with CONNOR DALTON taking his fiancé Theodora Scott, Miss Orphan THEO, to meet his parents for the first time, assuring her they will love her. He’s accustomed to being loved with charmed life, but she isn’t. Title could be “A Nightmare Fairytale�? She’s already suffered his visiting sister, ALEXIS’s, plastic politeness and now has to pass test with matriarch grandmother, LOUISE, who will be Mrs. Dalton to her; she runs the family while grandfather, MAGNUS, runs the businesses. Reminds me of song lyrics: “I tell everyone I’m an orphan when they meet my family� (that I related to for unrealistic teen reasons and laughed.) -- Theo actually doesn’t know for sure who she is. She lives (after UCLA) in California, where she met CONNOR through her best friend, an artist. She won't tell anyone about her childhood years, except she's an orphan. Connor wonders (and worries) why this is true even wit him.
Snowy, cold winters bring on her suspicions and fears—and incurable curiosity about who she is. No MERRY Christmas for anyone this year.
Theo gets anonymous texts: “Stay away from Connor Dalton.� Who is doing this and WHY? She is the nervous type, fearful, she knows not why. She is secretive and has harmless sneaky habits. She doesn’t know that super wealthy families hire investigators to learn background of prospective strangers looking to marry their family members; not to mention the pre-nup surprises. And why is there a mysterious abandoned cabin? (Is her past suddenly finding her?) --There is no cell service in this remote neck of the woods so she figures she won’t get more warning texts. Thanks to Grandad feeling “the isolation is part of the point of this family compound.�
A twisted tale of a twisted family. Author writes very creative, complicated and in-depth about feelings; the secrets people feel they need to keep—and their motives. Present are three generations of family. They have acquired many properties, businesses, and much wealth....more
3.5 to 4 for this is cozy published 2020 - A Countess of Harleigh Mystery. I like to try new series potential, and this is only one in her many histor3.5 to 4 for this is cozy published 2020 - A Countess of Harleigh Mystery. I like to try new series potential, and this is only one in her many historical series. As luck would have it, I don’t much care for any romantic stories� prefer more investigating and court trials. (The date 1899 caught my eye because it’s when my grandad was born.) Only 278 pages hardcover.
FRANCES is an American born heiress nee KENDRICK, Countess of Harleigh, a widow with her 8-year old ROSE. Living in London, she has has found a perfect wedding venue for her frantic sister LILY in London’s countryside. Frances is secretly engaged to GEORGE HAZELTON who has already planned a hunting party at his brother’s country estate that George is looking after for his absent brother, an earl, for a few months.
Soon after they all arrive, staff and guests alike are having mysterious "accidents." As the mayhem worsens, Frances and George are challenged to find the culprit so there can be a wondrous wedding as planned � instead of multiple doctor visits � or funerals.
Soon all the parents arrive and the two daughters wonder if “Mommy Dearest� is trying to eliminate Lily’s intended groom, who is not up to par with her titled, social, financial ambitions. She’s a relentless NY Anglophile. “Is there anyone present who knows of any reason LILY and LEO should not be joined together in marriage?� (SIT down, Mama.) Her opinions of London and NY class distinctions are obnoxious and incorrect even in her century.
And Mr. Treadswell treads well, except as Best Man with bride-to-be Lily with whom he flirts. Their neighboring estate lady is traveling with her nephew “taking care of her at home� � what’s his story; the REAL story??? Could it be a household servant, usually a suspect? There is a boatload of red herrings.
Fun reading to compare the moralities and manners of earlier centuries. Even the romantic scenes are restrained--as far as speaking of such. There are amusing moments too. Constant action and altogether a fun, engaging reading experience. I did approve of the wedding and all consequential results. ...more
I think Shelton writes for YA audience; certainly appropriate. (Author is obviously a non-smoker; she’s constantly telling Mill to not smoke indoors. I think Shelton writes for YA audience; certainly appropriate. (Author is obviously a non-smoker; she’s constantly telling Mill to not smoke indoors. Seems like overkill to fill pages?) It was slow-moving, so tempted to give a rare DNF, but library is closed on Sundays. Skimmed last half of novel, but did finish. Didn’t think much about the plotting, some of it unrealistic.
BLUE MINE ALASKA, is where BETH RIVERS and her Manfriend TEX, are hiding from TRAVIS WALKER who once kidnapped Beth in St. Louis. He was put in prison but broke out and wants to kill her. She is loathe to run again because she’s adopted a “second family� in Benedict. Ultimately, she can’t stand still, worries about endangering those who protect her.
She thought she was well-hidden where POLICE CHIEF GRIL is in Benedict, Alaska, and everyone in lower 48 wants Travis back in prison. Blue Mine, a small community away from Benedict, is where the couple camps to hide. She has terrible nightmares of Gril arresting her for “killing Travis even though she hasn’t � yet. � She is prone to panic attacks from Travis kidnapping her.
BUT when they arrive in Blue Mines, a remote area, semi-civilized, they learn there have been a few few people killed under suspicious circumstances. TEX decided he’ll take the dead man back to to tell Chief Gril what is happening. JIN, leader, and most of the group agree it’s a mysterious half-man/half-beast doing the killing. (Could it be Travis or just another person wanting gold for himself? Or is it a copycat looking to “save the day� for a damsel in distress?
published 2019 Obviously the first novel I read was published 2024, which I read this year and rated a full 5, turned me into a series fan so I’ve backpublished 2019 Obviously the first novel I read was published 2024, which I read this year and rated a full 5, turned me into a series fan so I’ve back-tracked to read all. Lapena is excellent writer of murder mysteries, “psychological thrillers�--hiding whodunnit well enough to fool me every time; I expect that this time. Characters are well-drawn; usually fast-paced. This story focuses on “gossipy”—but true that murder suspects inspire this even with strangers. Men are great gossipers all while chiding women for it. Men are horny and women are anxious. (Is it universal?). Also true that spouses of murdered are the first ones interviewed as suspects because it's too often correct.
Lapena writes about teenagers whose parents don’t actually know what their teens think or do--and how far parents will go to protect them from consequences of bad behavior. This one is with teens� our IT-age talented hacker, another one a problem drinker. Can prank messages get people killed? Olivia seems to drive story-telling.
We get to know the neighbors right away, starting with the prologue to describe a totally passionate, vicious murder -- without names of killer or victim. IF husband killed wife, I’ll give this my first 2 rating! Too obvious for a novel.
Many authors use settings in rural settings "where nothing ever happens." But it happens in suburbia with community who say the same thing. Someone in this nice, safe NY suburban neighborhood is hacking secrets, and of course everyone has secrets; but who murdered their neighbor(s) and WHY?
Immediately, it looks like RALEIGH, teenager, has hobby of B & E at night for “thrills� - hacking computers. His mom and dad explode. When he confesses and then tells them his classmate Mark is only one who knows, he breaks down and cries. No sympathy from parents, just grounding and no internet, PLUS a lawyer for advice. Mom, Olivia, secretly makes a dumb move that will soon start a firestorm that will last until the final page.
Olivia and Glenda are best friends, share everything. Trust husbands, have teen boys that give them anxiety. Husbands Paul and Keith are best friends too
Unfortunately, I didn’t relate to or even get attached to any of the characters like I often do. It ends on a cliff-hanger that we’re happy to assume our own results.
Psychological suspense mystery I like author’s writing style, structure and character developments. Although this this is not an original setting: WeePsychological suspense mystery I like author’s writing style, structure and character developments. Although this this is not an original setting: Weekend-vacationing New Yorkers get stuck in a snow blizzard without amenities like internet. Murders to make the country inn guests not trust each other and hope they are not next. Lapena is good with believable characters, and with relentlessly suspenseful whodunnits. One of few authors to fool me every time so far. I was correct about one with not expecting the twist and liking it, but the other one I never guessed. ~ ~ ~ -GWEN I considered the protagonist. She seems to drive the storyline. There are quite a few we can suspect of being the killer. The FUN is trying to pick who will be murdered and WHY, as well as who will be killer and WHY. Author is logical as possible to be in murders -- at both hiding murdered and then explaining the whys. I mean, why kill a "perfect stranger"? (Serial killers aside.)
The setting is appropriate and winter blizzard with snow and ice isolation is the focus . -JAMES HARWOOD, is owner and chef, live with his son on-site at the remote upscale, plushly charming, Victorian-style Mitchel’s Inn. In the Catskill mountains. His son� -BRADLEY, 22, manages Mitchel’s, is good-looking, efficient, capable.
About 6p.m. on Friday arrivals, only 6 rooms of 12 are filled due to bad weather cancellations. Everyone, strangers to one another, is getting acquainted and settling in nicely, enjoying excellent service and food from chef/owner and his congenial son who are short-staffed due to the weather. Four people are dead by Saturday!� the day and night with hellish terror. At first they all think there is an outsider doing the killings, but soon they turn on each other. What motive could there be among strangers?
If you like horror shows, get ready: SUNDAY after midnight (It’s 1:30 am on Sunday for me) the story gets ridiculous when guests lose all reason to run out of the house into blizzard like BLIND LEMMINGS to search for others who have gone into the total blackness, to look for Gwen’s friend who suffers PTSD. They are stumbling over fallen limbs the size of logs, totally unable to see or hear anyone, and trying to run on ice! That’s when I closed the book, disgusted with obvious and unrealistic and utterly stupid behavior, desperate caring aside. If you’ve ever experienced a total black-out during the worst of weather, you can understand my suspended belief.
Sunday 6:30a.m., the electricity startles the huddled together remaining guests awake. It’s hours later the roads are clear enough for for police investigation and questioning, and it is still later that the crime techs will solve this mystery.
We follow by day and hour, so you know it is fast-paced tension.
3.5 Not my favorite novel. Our gray, cold days didn't add atmosphere to this story, though I do enjoy generational aspects. Literary, family drama. In3.5 Not my favorite novel. Our gray, cold days didn't add atmosphere to this story, though I do enjoy generational aspects. Literary, family drama. Interesting reading of differences between lifestyles and values in India and America. I’m mostly interested in what she does with the ancestral home to meet modern standards while keeping exterior historical value. Lots of family and personal tension -- not much suspense, and no mystery.
When I read the first few pages, I did not think I would like this story. Estranged mother-daughter from childhood through adulthood. Mom is bi-polar in a land where therapy and medication were signs of weakness; therefore uncomfortably tolerated by all. Since Lila went to live with Dad in Connecticut after he divorced Mom, Lila is the first in family that sees a psychologist with stepmom’s and Dad's encouragement. Lila has been living in America for years--and her work-writer boyfriend apparently is bi-polar, managing it with meds. (LILA and her Grandparents bonded with never understanding her mom.)
LILA DE is on verge of a breakthrough in her career at a prestigious NY publishing house at the same time as she has just inherited from her widowed grandfather his five-story house in Kolkata, India� to the resentment of all the family members still living on all the five different floors; the house has been in family since 1800s with them spending their entire lives in it. She and Grandfather were each other’s favorite, which they all knew. More chaotic emotional baggage for her ulcer. It’s a magnificent house that comes with “magnificent� updating challenges that equal “magnificent ruins� of family? She keeps learning from others in the family the information her mother should have given her; mom is adamant the house stay in family, and grandfather "should have left it to her"!
(Ironically, new job sounds like Lila is “inventing� goodreads.com and other social media avenues.) On arriving in India, family greeted her warmly like the prodigal daughter returned. Except, while feeding Lila lunch, mom also let out her rage at Grandfather foregoing tradition and leaving the house, not to his brother, but to a “child�. She’s twenty-nine. I’m impressed that Lila doesn’t cave and say, “You can have it! Just stop blaming me.� (She finds a better plan in the end, thankfully.) Like everyone that returns to childhood home, she falls back into old patterns.
She stays in her father’s more contemporary apartment away from the chaos of the ancestral house. Her father and mother would have been next in line to inherit but for divorcing her mother; he broke with traditions by divorcing and moving to America. He bought second wife’s apartment only a short distance away to have a place to stay when visiting India. He & second wife have children and they are a peaceful family in America. Lila spent most of her "growing up" years with Dad in America.
She reconnects with her teenage boyfriend in India, so furthers complicates her life's choices.
An engaging narrative with interesting characters and “inside� look at India’s culture and lifestyles. It has a believable, sensible, conclusion which greatly pleased me....more
I posted rating 4, because I didn’t want to use 3 and I don’t know how to get the .5 on rating. It’s really average BUT I appreciated learning a couplI posted rating 4, because I didn’t want to use 3 and I don’t know how to get the .5 on rating. It’s really average BUT I appreciated learning a couple of things for which I increased the rating. A prolific author recommended by Robert Dugoni who is one of my favorite authors. I’m especially attracted to psychological mysteries, good courtroom scenes, and involve vulnerable children. I’ve never heard about the GAL program, so am interested in learning about it. This is essential for dedicated juvenile court judges when the “rules� are different for adults. I have to wonder how many towns can support such a program? And who qualifies the people involved? ~ Novel opens with bloody scenes of vacationing family. First, AVA finds her brother Adam and girlfriend Sarah with their throats sliced. Soon the scene repeats itself with a different family. � WELCOME TO LAS VEGAS� the complete tour, not just the glitzy casinos, but to “the barren places where not even rabbits go�--and other creepy, scary places like crawl spaces and attics.
-Protagonist, attorney PIPER DANES works as guardian ad litem (GAL) - Guardian Ad Litem (a neutral person appointed by the court to represent the interests of a child or legally incompetent person in a legal case. She works with vulnerable youths, such as Piper herself once was. GAL gave her hope when she needed it most, and now she is committed to helping others with GAL. -SOPHIE GRACE is fifteen years old and the sole survivor of the horrific murder of her family. She saw the man who killed her family, although she can’t I.D. him; barely escaped him. We know she’s still in danger. -JUDGE HOPE DAWSON (MD/JD degree) will work with -PIPER DANES and Detective -LAZARUS HOLLOWAY (GAL attorney) to protect Sophie and hopefully help her, get her to talk. They delve into a sinister world of a serial killer known only as The Creeper. A cannibal serial killer??? (Vorephilia or anthropology, brings to mind werewolf horror stories.)
DANES and HOLLOWAY have contrasting personalities and approaches to investigations. She’s sweet and has the patience of Job with everyone, (too good to be true?) - - Whereas he sounds like a cynic, sometimes nearly robotic. I kept expecting him to have an interesting psychological trait, but it’s not revealed if so. (He has terrifying hallucinations with no diagnosis.) I do like him in spite of this, trust his instincts; especially his work ethic - - determined to find the truth no matter how ugly and he doesn’t shirk from the worst. They both show a hint of humor once in a while.
How much can we see into a sick man’s mind like Hannibal Lector’s? [movie: Silence of the Lambs] Is there room for empathy? If so, where do we draw the line when it’s not curable? They can even be nice people on the outside, but have an dangerous side too.
I hope this will not be a series, because I don’t feel anything much for the any of the characters. Even the end was disappointing. I liked Judge Dawson’s style. And I liked the defense attorney’s vetting of the state’s psychiatrist. It is “gritty� with bloodshed, so I mostly enjoyed the court scene with the competency hearing.
I enjoyed “Everyone Here Is Lying.� This story is well organized and insightful. The change of typefaces for some characters was a thoughtful, clever I enjoyed “Everyone Here Is Lying.� This story is well organized and insightful. The change of typefaces for some characters was a thoughtful, clever gesture that I appreciated. Short chapters are a plus with so many interesting characters. I was on look-out for least likely suspect. She gets across a few messages with more than one crime to solve. What is incredible is that this all happens within two or three days. It will tickle the fancy of ghost-lovers. We disbelievers will look forward to logical-psychological justice served.
Small towns attract authors because “nothing ever happens”—people feel safe and secure for generations in small towns. City folk are more transient, over-crowded and more vigilant. ~ It’s a perfect fall day in Fairhill, Vermont, when farmer Roy Ressler on his tractor goes to see what the buzzards are so excited about, expecting a dead animal. He finds a stark-naked girl in his field, strangled--no clothing, nor tire tracks, footprints or clues of any kind. The only two police in the town are stunned because no one knows of anyone ever murdered in their small New Hampshire town where everyone knows everyone, or so they ASSume. They immediately bring in State Police Major Crimes to investigate.
DIANA BREWER is curiously peering down on the scene at herself, anxiously wanting to awaken. She’s a senior in high school, soon college-bound. She ghosts as an observer of all that develops. (Like the movie “Sixth Sense� � refusing to accept her own death.) She wants to know who killed her. [A change in typestyle makes this more effective.]
CAMERON FARRELL is her boyfriend. He insists she make commitment to him long-term but she doesn’t want that; she breaks up with him. Naturally he is the first Person Of Interest; Dad calls an attorney when he hears him lie to police.
Parents, teachers, Diana’s classmates, and employer all react predictably, although differently, but all agree she was nice to everyone, thus very popular. With the population unnerved and fearful, rumors and gossip start. What will happen to the innocent subjects of their speculations and fear? We think we can’t know anyone who could kill. Understandably parents would be last to suspect their own child, on whom they dote. But parents blame themselves and others for anything that happens to their beloved children, no matter their age. And friends can take on guilt by association.
People, especially teens, can be very bright and still have no common sense. People lie to get out of trouble or avoid it. Parents fail to talk to their teens about dire consequences, wanting to protect and extend childhood innocence. Suppressed feelings and anger can be dangerous too. Add to that the mentally unstable among us in behavioral disguise. Some of us were taught young that lying just makes matters worse. There are pathological liars. Plus people who look guilty and aren’t.
There are others in town who have a guilty conscience about something, so maybe one of them is the killer? We readers know it’s rarely the first suspect, so we have to pay close attention. It’s a quick immersion for readers with this talented author. These are believable characters We all know that even smart people can do dumb things. And there are calm people who can suddenly explode.
WHO WILL THE KILLER BE? What will be consequences for those keeping secrets?...more
I don’t enjoy this kind of tension; I prefer plain old curiosity. New-to-me author of “Safe Place� -This novel is for solo female travelers/adventurerI don’t enjoy this kind of tension; I prefer plain old curiosity. New-to-me author of “Safe Place� -This novel is for solo female travelers/adventurers. This is so far from Cautious-Me that I thought I’d read about opposites—to justify why I’m not one of them. Dramatic writing style and well-organized with short chapters on key characters� POV.
FOCUS is on dangers to women who travel alone, and accounts on social media, trolling, and fascinating psychology. Suspense builds until it answers question: Who is the mysterious stalker? I grew absorbed with the characters, against my will. Even when it’s not ALL believable, it’s impactful, engrossing. I was even suspicious of a couple people the ladies weren’t-- I was right about these. BUT, the "Secrets" both keep IS A ZINGER! (If highly unlikely coincidence!.) Hence the highest rating.
As often with new author, I first read “Author’s Note� for their inspirations. Immediately I was interested in attention to DISSOCIATIVE FUGUE—“so rare few psychiatrists ever see it� —triggered by a traumatic event that can’t be recalled. I’ve occasionally pondered the question, how do we reinvent ourselves with no memory of who we were? We can understand distancing and blocking as coping mechanisms. This is more like amnesia, which can be short- or long-term.
Trusting KIRKUS reviews to try author first time. Series has high ŷ ratings. Not a literary-style novel. More emotional description than policTrusting KIRKUS reviews to try author first time. Series has high ŷ ratings. Not a literary-style novel. More emotional description than police procedure that slows the momentum of suspense. I’m not honestly taken with the protagonist.
DET. MADISON KNIGHT is ready to marry TROY MATTHEWS when he is arrested for murder of DYLAN GRAHAM, his childhood friend. Dylan’s alleged Motive: not telling that Troy was the rapist-murderer of seventeen-year old EMILY KANE twenty-four years ago. Madison is determined to prove Troy’s innocene, of course. As she investigates, Troy’s friends from that time and place are also being killed.
My first thought: Is someone close to Emily Kane out for revenge on all four boys at the crime scene scene when it happened? Did police not find the correct killer? Or, is RICHIE KLIEN, just out of prison after more than twenty years served for killing Emily, out for revenge? When he, too, is dead then the mystery gets more complicated with twists and turns. Could someone close to RICHIE be out for revenge? We have to assume this a frame-up of Troy.
Detective CARSON SNOW at first though it looked like suicide, but a drawer full of articles and a journal in Richie’s desk instantly convinced him otherwise and � they wanted Troy for the killing of Kane. Talk about “rush to judgment�? (Never wise, as everyone knows.) An ambiguous “suicide note� haunts Carson who will explore this to his satisfaction of being thorough. Everyone knows that withholding evidence is big No-No. It’s not a pleasant or easy job for a policeman to accuse a fellow policeman of wrongdoing, and this isn’t the only thing that bothers Snow. (I liked him.)
The fun is guessing who is truly guilty of ALL the murders. You’ll see why murder trials can take so much time. And know that being selected for jury duty on murder trial can be gut-wrenching; knowing innocents also are convicted. (You may ask yourself if you truly voted correctly on the jury and what the consequences will be.
The only way this story could surprise me is if Troy is guilty. It would be more melodramatic to have groom killed, more impactful and original for “what is the worst thing that could happen at your wedding.� (It brings to mind the old song title, Wedding Bell Blues.)
The second mystery is who in their local police department told out-jurisdiction Braybury police where they would find Troy? After all, the Stiles police chief, ANDREA MATTHEWS, is the brother of the groom and she is at her little brother’s wedding. Naturally, she and bride-to-be are devastated while sure of Troy’s innocence, but both ladies are forbidden to be involved in investigations. Obviously, this rule will be ignored by our protagonist DET. MADISON KNIGHT in spite of potential bad consequences for him at trial.
Against all odds, this whodunnit has a surprisingly believable conclusion. I guessed wrong when the hidden clue finally clicked in for me before the big reveal. BUT, later we had a better suspect. Then another - Logical, but late in the story. I upped rating from 3.5 to 4 for suckering me into TWO wrong guesses that would make sense.
Main themes: Don’t do drugs and alcohol. Don’t assume your gun locked in your safe is impregnable. Don’t assume you know someone inside and out - People keep secrets, important or not. And your secrets will likely catch up with you sooner or later - meanwhile you have to live with fear that it will be misconstrued to your disadvantage. The potential result of childhood bullying....more
Since media never mentioned much about her, I did learn more about what she contributed as the First Lady.
� MELANIA KRAUS - born Slovenia 1970 - arriSince media never mentioned much about her, I did learn more about what she contributed as the First Lady.
� MELANIA KRAUS - born Slovenia 1970 - arrived in NY Aug 1996 - Became American citizen July 2006 -
Melania focused on initiatives related to children’s welfare, cyberbullying, and health that promises to be more publicly promoted in the future?
The book includes glossy photographs of her early childhood, international modeling, and White House. She writes of her family before and after President Tump’s election victory in 2014. Basically, she explains her fundamental beliefs in family, work and home. She seems to match the high-energy of her husband, but also has intense need for time for privacy.
She impresses me as a highly intelligent, well-rounded person, concerned for children in particular. “Be Best� goals need more emphasis today than ever.
This memoir exposes the romantic and sentimental side of her that the public does not see. I need to include compassionate. She has a positive attitude and welcomes hard work and challenges. Her determined self-confidence leaves me not able to relate, but I share her positivity for endurance of our nation. She has faced challenges in her public persona. (Hence this memoir.) It is a great inside-look at pressures in the White House.
I choose to keep my review brief and generalized to allow for different points of view, since I will never know her personally. Frankly, I would be too intimidated in spite of rarely being so in my vastly different non-public life. Let me say, also, that I wouldn’t want to trade places with her. Her life, especially her childhood, with exemplary parents, sounds like a fairy tale to me; although she too experienced painful disappointments. And she has had to do it publicly thanks to the media and judgmental opinions on top of uncomplimentary rumors.
It did strike me how many assistants have assistants in the White House. And I’m not sure why the controversies over how many languages are spoken within the family when "multi-lingual" should be sufficient. While so few Americans are. It's more common in Europe because they have to use different languages with close borders to other countries - unlike English being spoken all throughout America.
She dares to stick to her principles, and for that I admire her. No one is perfect in spite of best efforts. All we can do is believe in ourselves and work hard to be the best we can be � and Be the Best America we can be.
Melania’s “Letter to America� should be printed and widely distributed. It addresses all, regardless of politics. The media didn’t publish it. (Shock)
It’s a good thing America is essentially resilient....more
I very much enjoyed seeing the Egyptian TUT exhibition in TX, so was drawn to this novel. In high school, I found Ancient Egypt civilization is fascinI very much enjoyed seeing the Egyptian TUT exhibition in TX, so was drawn to this novel. In high school, I found Ancient Egypt civilization is fascinating in so many respects, including beliefs, female/male rights, art, design, architecture, society, lifestyles. Story is well organized and fast-paced with mysteries and action. It’s not a murder mystery, but there are a number of mysteries to excite the imagination with apt descriptions of work and atmosphere. Maybe a cozy for no blood and gore, no language, appropriate for any age. Totally fictionalized, so be sure to read the Author’s Notes at the end.
CHARLOTTE AND ANNIE are each nineteen when they see Egypt for the first time, though it’s been 41 years ago for Charlotte. Annie is the people-pleaser, while Charlotte is more reticent. Both are hero-worthy in their passion and personalities.
NEW YORK CITY, 1978. ANNIE JENKINS, nineteen years old and working for famous fashion designer DIANA VREELAND to help help organize the highly esteemed Metropolitan Museum Gala. But the gala will be most remembered for all the wrong reasons with a robbery, escape and screaming VIP guests.
1978 CHARLOTTE CROSS is associate curator of the Met’s Department of Egyptian Art. On the night of the gala, an invaluable artifact goes missing. Is a legendary curse reawakening? Annie and Charlotte will team up to find the artifact which leads them all the way to Egypt and, of course, and into danger for their adventurous mission. Charlotte was in Egypt in 1937, so she’s no spring chicken � an unlikely duo except that it’s Charlotte’s experience and knowledge that keeps everything on track. Charlotte and Annie meet at King Tut exhibit. Both she and Charlotte have long admired the Cerulean Queen, so that is their bond when they venture to Egypt together.
The Cerulean Queen naturally has a death curse for anyone daring to take anything from her tomb and out of Egypt. When she sees the invaluable broad collar (necklace) is newly donated by someone anonymous, she panics and tries to take action. She was there in Egypt in 1936 when it was first recovered from the Nile Valley and destined for Egypt’s museum. Something happened that was so devastating that she won’t disclose what what it was, but she vowed never to return. Why ,when she loved Egypt and her work?
ANNIE’S widowed mother is a beautiful former model, totally self-centered and Annie willingly caters to her whims. She has always loved to design clothing. The women’s stories are separate chapters that explain their characters with each chapter heading for time and place. Somehow this is not distracting, it keeps story moving smoothly and highlights their age difference and experiences. They are both courageous and sometimes audacious and strong-willed. (Most would say “stubborn�.)
(I liked the conclusion also. Corny though this sounds, and as unlikely in reality....more
"Two Years Before the Mast" is a memoir by Richard Henry Dana Jr., detailing his experiences as a common sailor I own this BOOK. (classic collections)
"Two Years Before the Mast" is a memoir by Richard Henry Dana Jr., detailing his experiences as a common sailor on a voyage from Boston to California around Cape Horn between 1834 and 1836, providing a realistic and vivid account of the harsh life at sea, including the labor, conditions, and treatment of sailors, while also offering unique insights into the early California coast and its people, particularly the missions and the process of trading for cowhides at various ports along the California coast.� (Website)
“Richard Henry Dana (1815-1882) of Boston left his studies at Harvard Law School in 1834 in the hope that a sea voyage would aid his failing eyesight. He shipped out of Boston as a common seaman on board the brig Pilgrim bound for the Pacific, and returned to Massachusetts two years later.� (Website)
This book was important to Maritime Law as the first to be written in detail of a common merchant seaman duties and treatment � as opposed to point of views of officers as had been written many times in as more romantic or adventurous, primarily about warships.
More pleasant to read than expected. I’m no sailor, but husband loved book as young man; I was able to ask him for many terms used. He chose to be become a Naval officer during the Viet Nam era. He was born and raised in California, stationed at Long Beach. We know CA quite well....more
Writes with stream-of-consciousness the thoughts of characters, just like real people think. And he is usually fast-paced with emotion and action alikWrites with stream-of-consciousness the thoughts of characters, just like real people think. And he is usually fast-paced with emotion and action alike. This is why he’s popular with readers. I enjoy some novels more than others. I have little to no patience for repetition and unnecessary details to slow the pace. And there are some inconsistencies in Maya’s behaviors that do not believably fit her character.
MAYA STERN BURKETT Is a former Special-Ops pilot. She’s now a widow with a two-year old daughter named LILY whose daddy, JOE BURKETT, was murdered. And her mommy is mired in an international scandal plus being investigated by NYPD homicide detective ROGER KIERCE. They’re expected at FARNWOOD, Burkett estate which extensive and expansive, owned by generations of Burketts.
COREY RUDZINSKI, whistleblower; shark who wants to bring down Maya. She wants to hunt down killers of Joe and why. Is it possible she was the intended target?
Where does nanny ISABELLA fit into scheme of things? And why no death certificate?
Concludes close to what I expected or hoped it would. There twists and turns aplenty....more
MY first time with this author & I enjoyed it very much. I didn't have preconceived notions of what to expect so I enjoyed the mega-twist that seriousMY first time with this author & I enjoyed it very much. I didn't have preconceived notions of what to expect so I enjoyed the mega-twist that seriously PO'ed me. My preference is psychology-based mysteries, but this was not that genre. I call it a fun cozy and will read more.
Another small seaside small tourist-town story with genealogy mystery (which I enjoy), and murders. This is an historical town documented to have a pirate’s buried treasure. Young newcomers have all lived across America and Canada and meet for the first time in Maple Bay, NOVA SCOTIA . . . flotsam is Greed, Jealousy, Rejection, Betrayal � and Murder, Soul-crushing LIES, even lies by omission. Everyone in real life sees this.
-MIRABEL BELLWOODS JOHNSON, ninety years old, finally gets to meet her only grandson after years of being rebuffed by her daughter, Peter’s mother. She has sent him cards with gift money all his life that were never acknowledged. She lives in the Bellwoods historic mansion all alone. This is her dying wish, though she’s not planning to go too soon. She’s a “tough old bird.�
-PETER BELLWOODS, forty, is disgusted with himself, his job, his roommate, his life. He’s ready to move anywhere that’s far away from his estranged aunt and uncle (raised him without wanting to, after his parents died in a car accident). He’s known of the Bellwoods family-home, but never seen it. His current roommate RICKY, a satisfied slob, tells Peter to see his “stand-in parents� and then go to to grandmother. I think I’ll like his story the most? CASS will have her first non-fiction novel for sure -- THIS ONE.
Sometimes predictable, centered around Obelisk shipwreck and treasure mystery and the individuals investigations that are fun to follow. Some twists and turns, then a giant twist of horror proportions.
Well-drawn diverse personalities, atmospheric . . . fun to read, no-nail-biting anxiety. I enjoy genealogy, coming from a family that died with their secrets. I wasn’t gob-smacked (like Riley Sager), but well entertained on this roller-coaster ride by the seaside....more
4.5 rounded to 5; I will follow now, hoping for more of this quality. My first time to read this author. Attracted by title, murder mystery, cover art4.5 rounded to 5; I will follow now, hoping for more of this quality. My first time to read this author. Attracted by title, murder mystery, cover art of what looks like a haunted house, but seems it’s only haunted by memories and secrets. EMMA PALMER who once lived here with her family until her parents were murdered and she is “forever� the suspect. At the scene are three young sisters in shock and horror when the police arrive. They have not spoken nor moved toward one another for any kind of comfort. They have never told anyone what they saw that night. In fact, the girls all agree to “Tell no one ever.� Novel smoothly takes us from Then to Now. None of the sisters knows which one is guilty.
THE SISTERS: Trust for estate not available until oldest is 25 and all three have to agree when to sell the house and grounds. They’ve never talked about it (or talked at all to each other) - they just let it slide. (It’s worth much more now with repairs.) 1- 0ldest, JULIETTE (NOW she’s JJ ) was the perfect daughter Emma could never be. 2- Middle, EMMA, the rebel, the decision-maker when it comes to conundrums with sisters - they look to her. (But she feels like they abandoned her, not the other way around.) How do they feel? Parents wanted a boy and girl. So Mom tried again. 3- Youngest, DAPHNE grew up starved for her mom’s attention. She surprised Emma at wedding to Nathan; there and then, Daphne considered him weak & underserving of Emma. She’s the one who whispered to Emma at murder scene: “No one can know.� Know what? That Mom was mean and Dad was cheating on Mom? Her grandpa told her she was “peculiar� for always listening, and watching; she suspected her teachers thought the same. Parents resented she was not the boy parents they had wanted.
When Emma and Nathan have to move into the house, all three sisters worry that Emma will accidentally discover something. (I want sisters left alone in their adult lives after a challenging childhood with easy-to-hate parents—and they all three were split up in foster care and never reunited � until Emma and her husband have to live in it, thanks to easy-to-NOT-like Nathan. (Daphne was right.)
Fast-paced and didn’t want to put it down. Intriguing and insightful. Even realistic for sister relationships. All three have "motives" and secrets they don't even admit to themselves. ...more
4.5 rounded to 5 because I really enjoyed reading and the final outcome. --The major characters sounded so farcical on the inside book cover that I tho4.5 rounded to 5 because I really enjoyed reading and the final outcome. --The major characters sounded so farcical on the inside book cover that I thought his story might be tongue-in-cheek humorous. We are usually reading about high-powered lawyer stories but CHARLIE WEBB is a third-rate lawyer of unremarkable stature and reputation. (Some people need to be challenged to do their best, becoming “accidental heroes� of their own lives.) One thing leads to another - like JUDGE NOONAN insisting a very reluctant Charlie to defend WEISS. Can Weiss’s genius I.Q. balance the scales of justice? I’m expecting an interesting court scene! This case will lead to another, more interesting case that will ultimately “close both cases.� ~ Judge IRIS CARTER assigns him to hear the case of State of Oregon versus Peter Easley, a “straight-forward� case in spite of facing a barracuda prosecutor. He wins and is a hero to the Barbarians whom he once played football with in high school; they called him “Ghost� for not being noticed on the field. BRIDGET FOURIER was prosecutor.
-Next case is to defend starving artist GUIDO SABATINI (born LAWRENCE WEISS) for burglary that turns into a double homicide and danger from powerful people in the sex-trade. Lawrence Weiss, “only for emergencies like rent to pay� is a card shark and sometimes-burglar, he has potential for ever-increasing trouble as a client. But then, artists are creative creatures� and Guido also has low impulse control, that leads to bad decisions, is an obsessive painter - and that leads to Lawrence Weiss getting himself into trouble that leads everyone to Charlie Webb - all of which will lead to violence to the danger-averse Charlie � which leads to barracuda Bridget as the prosecutor again and she’s feeling very angry toward Charlie and his client.
Judge IRIS CARTER assigns him to hear the case of State of Oregon versus Peter Easley, a “straight-forward� case in spite of facing a barracuda prosecutor. He wins and is a hero to the Barbarians whom he once played football with in high school; they called him “Ghost� for not being noticed on the field. BRIDGET FOURIER was prosecutor.
-Next case is to defend starving artist GUIDO SABATINI (born LAWRENCE WEISS) for burglary that turns into a double homicide and danger from powerful people in the sex-trade. Lawrence Weiss, “only for emergencies like rent to pay� is a card shark and sometimes-burglar, he has potential for ever-increasing trouble as a client. But then, artists are creative creatures� and Guido also has low impulse control, that leads to bad decisions; he is an obsessive painter - and that leads to Lawrence Weiss getting himself into trouble that leads everyone to Charlie Webb - all of which will lead to violence to the danger-averse Charlie � which leads to barracuda Bridget as the prosecutor again and she’s feeling very angry toward Charlie and his client.
One of the little things Guido stole is a flash drive from the safe of one of his art clients that will bring us to Detective SALLY BLAISEDALE who will go after the sex traffickers. We’ll meet several of Portland’s police officers, many who formerly met Guido at different pursuits. They call him a “harmless nutcase� for simply stealing back his art masterpieces from new owners who “disrespect� it.
Meanwhile, two underage young girls report to Portland, Oregon Det. SALLY BLAISEDALE being kidnapped and forced into sex. When will investigators see the movie that’s on the flash drive?
Who is the stunning ELIN CRANE that appears interested in plain ole Charlie? Is she who she says she is?
The best trial reveals all to everyone. Especially to Charlie.
It’s an interesting story about a well-meaning attorney with average to low self-esteem. Well-plotted and fast-paced. (I was partial to the artist as the most interesting character and Charlie as the most personable.) Novel is better than expected....more
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