Fool Me Once

by Harlan Coben

            I’m not sure how I’ve never read a Coben novel until this one, but if this novel is any indication, I’m a fan! This story has more twists and turns than a mountain highway, plus an ending that will shock you.

            Maya, a vet with PTSD is trying to put her life back together after the murder of her husband, Joe. Trying to hold her world together by day for her young daughter and suffering from nightly flash backs to a battle gone horribly wrong, Maya has her hands full. When a friend gives Maya a nannycam, she sets it up, never expecting to see anything shocking on it. But she does; a video of her dead husband playing with their daughter. Is Maya having hallucinations? Is Joe really alive? Who do you trust when you can’t trust anyone? As she works to find out what was really on that video, Maya will uncover far more lies and deceit than she ever expected. Will the truth set her free, or push Maya over the edge?

            This is a novel that WILL fool you. Not once, not twice, but many times over. Whatever you believe the truth to be, you will be wrong. A great beach read, this book will keep you guessing right up to the end.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Burning Fields

by Nathan Brown

Burning Fields is Brown’s first novel, and the author shows promise.  The story revolves around Jacob Fields, a CIA agent presumed dead, whose first act upon returning to the US, is to kill his ex-partner. When the CIA sends agents after Fields, it is with the directive to kill, not apprehend him. What follows is a chess game with hidden agendas, plots and sub plots. Brown does a good job of keeping the tension up, allowing the story to flow and keep the reader’s interest. There is an unresolved issue at the end that hints at further books from Brown.

                This is a good first novel, albeit a little short. The character development could have been better. There is a back story involving Fields that could have used more development and elaboration. I will be watching for future novels from this author since he shows promise.

                Buy this novel and watch for future offerings from this author.

Coal River

by Ellen Marie Wiseman

            Since reading Wiseman’s novel, What She Left Behind, I have been eagerly anticipating her next novel. Coal River has a great setting and premise. Unfortunately, it never lives up to its potential.

            The coal industry in the early 1900’s in Pennsylvania was a time of forced child labor, little to no safety, and mine owned stores. Into this setting, Wiseman drops nineteen year old Emma, an orphan coming to live with her aunt and uncle. Her uncle, an evil little man, is a supervisor in the mines and lives very well. Emma’s aunt is a flighty, nervous caricature who is never fully developed. Predictably, Emma is horrified with the conditions of the mine workers, children, etc. and sets out to change matters. The rest of the story is just too predictable. Even a secret revealed at the end cannot save this novel.

            I wanted to like this novel. I slogged my way through it. I put it down, I picked it back up. I hoped it would get better. It never did. The characters in Coal River are just too one dimensional, and unlikeable. Emma in particular comes off as dull, whiney and weak. The bad guys are spectacularly bad, and the good guys are saints with halos.

            Let’s hope Wiseman’s next novel is better. Leave this one at the library.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The Drifter

by Nicholas Petrie

            In his first novel, Petrie has created an interesting protagonist in Peter Ash, a veteran suffering from PTSA that manifests itself in extreme claustrophobia. His solution; live outdoors in the wilderness. When Ash receives word that his friend and former sergeant Jimmy has committed suicide, he feels that he has somehow failed his friend. He should have visited, called. Ash’s solution to his guilt is a visit to Jimmy’s widow offering to help with home repairs. When Ash finds a suitcase filled with money and C4 under the porch he is repairing, he wonders just what his old friend was involved in. When Ash traces his friend’s last days, he finds that all is not as it appears, and finding out the truth just may get him killed.

            Billed as a thriller, this book does not quite live up to that. It is, instead, an excellent character driven book with plenty of suspense. This is not a page turner kind of book. However, it is a very good first book with excellent character development.  I will be looking for more from this author in the future.

            Borrow this book from your local library and watch for more from this author.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The Bone Labyrinth

by James Rollins

            James Rollins has the ability to blend an edge-of-your-seat thriller and cutting edge technology (with a touch of sci-fi thrown in) into a white knuckle ride that will leave you breathless from start to finish.

            The 11^th installment in his Sigma Force series deals with two geneticists: twin sisters, Lena and Maria Crandall who are researching the origins of human intelligence. When one sister goes missing, Sigma Force is tasked with finding her. On the other side of the globe, the other sister is attacked. What is so important about the sisters research that someone is willing to kill for it, and who is that someone?

            Rollins offers the reader a heady brew of ancient mysticism, the lost continent of Atlantis, the bible, the lost minutes of a moon landing recording, numerology and some giant hybrid apes. If this sounds too far-fetched, rest assured that James Rollins knows how to make all these elements work together to create a wholly plausible story.

            Buy this book. Turn off your phone, tell your family you’re out of town and prepare to lose a weekend to this excellent thriller.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The Hours Count

by Jillian Cantor

          

            The Rosenbergs, Julius and Ethel, cold war spies who betrayed their country to the Soviets and were executed, guilty beyond all doubt of espionage. Or were they? Cantor’s novel uses the voice of a fictional neighbor of the Rosenbergs, Millie Stein to relate the story that shocked a nation, and resulted in the execution of both Julius and Ethel.  

            It is Millie’s voice that shows us who Ethel, and to a lesser extent Julius, Rosenberg were. They were the neighbors down the hall, the friends Millie came to love, the friends who introduced some light and gaiety into Millie’s life. Ethel was the mother of two boys who joined Millie and her son on outings to the park. The Rosenbergs were friends, lovers and parents. Were they spies? Maybe, maybe not. In Cantor’s capable hands, the Rosenbergs are many things, but most importantly, perhaps, they are human. They become someone who you might know, and like. They are no longer some heinous couple who may have betrayed their country, no longer an evil pair of spies whose names conjure up revulsion.  

            While this is a work of fiction, the historical details are, for the most part, very accurate. Using Millie to tell the story of the Rosenbergs allows the reader a glimpse into who this couple was, how they lived and the distinct possibility that Ethel was innocent. The book also does an excellent job of giving the reader a glimpse into what it was like to live in that time period, from the ‘killer fog’ to the suspicion that McCarthy ignited and ferociously fed. It was this climate of fear, that one’s neighbors might be communists and spies, that led to the conviction and execution of what was quite possibly at least one innocent person. Cantor shines a light into a period of xenophobia that destroyed many lives, while accomplishing little. Perhaps this is a lesson we as a society have yet to learn.

                Disclaimer: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Radiant Angel

by Nelson DeMille

            The seventh book in DeMille’s John Corey series is a breath of fresh air after last year’s, in my opinion, flop, The Panther. Being a longtime fan of both the author and the Corey series, I was afraid the series had run its course. I can happily report that the real John Corey is back and in fine form in Radiant Angel.

            In Angel, Corey has been relegated to a dead end and boring job with the Diplomatic Surveillance Corps keeping track of Russian diplomats. It’s a job with little responsibility other than to follow the diplomat he’s assigned to, and report in. Nothing heroic or taxing here. Right. John Corey has never simply followed orders, nor has he ever been accused of being trusting. When Corey’s instincts tell him that attending a simple weekend party is not all his assigned diplomat is doing, he throws the rule book out the window and proceeds according to John’s Rules. What follows is a roller coaster ride that will keep readers on the edge of their seat, and up til the wee hours of the morning.

            Buy this book and settle in for the kind of great thriller that fans of DeMille have come to expect. John Corey is back! 

Darkness the Color of Snow

by Thomas Cobb

            How can an entire life unravel in a split second? Is it possible for a single moment in time to cast out a ripple effect that grows from a tiny shimmer to a tidal wave that crashes and destroys everything in its path? Could it have been stopped, contained? Was there ever any choice?

            At the heart of Cobb’s book is young rookie police office Ronnie Forbert and one fateful night that changed his life forever. A routine traffic stop leaves Forbert’s old friend Matt Leferiere dead. Was it an accident, or did Ronnie kill his old friend? The Chief of Police stands by Ronnie, while the dead boy’s parents accuse Ronnie of deliberately killing their son. As the investigation proceeds, the local media uncovers a witness who swears that Officer Forbert killed Leferiere. Did a witness actually see this, or is this a misguided attempt to grab five minutes of fame? What really happened that night? When a political firestorm erupts, it becomes clear that the truth may no longer matter, and that justice is just a word.

            Cobb does a masterful job of delving into small town politics where everyone knows everyone, slights are never forgotten, and grudges die hard. What makes this novel shine is the author’s ability to bring the town and its people alive. These are not mere characters on a page. They become people the reader likes, loathes, understands and ultimately wants to see redeemed.

This is a book to read slowly and savor. Buy this book and prepare to be immersed in Cobb’s small town of Lydell, New York.

Scheduled for publication August 18^th, 2015

Disclaimer: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Last Bus to Wisdom              

by Ivan Doig

            

           This delightful novel is narrated by twelve year old Donal Cameron who relates his summer adventures when he is shipped off to Wisconsin after his grandmother becomes ill. Donal’s grandmother needs an operation and has no choice but to send Donal on the ‘dog bus’ (Greyhound) to stay with her sister in Wisconsin. Having lived his entire young life in Montana, Donal is ill prepared for city life, or for his Aunt Kate. As he tries to ‘get on Aunt Kate’s good side’ Donal quickly realizes that she has no good side. Donal’s only ally is his Uncle Herman, a man cowed by Aunt Kate, who retreats to his backyard greenhouse whenever possible. When things come to a head, Aunt Kate decides to ship Donal back to Montana, and the fate of an orphanage. As Donal boards the dog bus, he is shocked to find Uncle Herman has joined him, and together, the two are running away. What follows is hilarious, heart breaking, and a wonderful story of what family is all about.

            Unlike many novels narrated by a young child, this novel doesn’t try to give Donal adult wisdom. In fact, he is very much a young boy on the cusp of figuring out who he is. Uncle Herman is a delight. His perspective on life is at times hysterical and his love for Donal is real.

            A great read, Last Bus to Wisdom is filled with characters you will love, route for, and loath. It is a rollicking good ride on the dog bus.

            Disclaimer: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

From Bruges with Love

by Pieter Aspe

                When a young girl discovers a skeleton on the property her family is renovating, Asst. Commissioner Pieter Van In is charged with finding out who buried the body decades ago. As Van In looks for records of the previous property owners for a clue to the skeleton’s identity, he finds a disturbing history of prostitution, drugs and pedophilia going back decades involving some very important government officials. When he is cautioned to proceed carefully, Van In chooses to do the opposite, and in the process almost costs a young female police officer her life.

            This is the third of Aspe’s Pieter Van In series to be translated to English. The book is filled with a cast of quirky characters, however it takes a while for this book to really take off and become interesting. Part of the problem in my opinion is with the translation. There are so many characters whose last name begins with a V that it is difficult to differentiate who is who in the book. Add to this the fact that the average English reader is not familiar with Belgian names and it becomes tedious to remember which ‘V’ character is which. At one point, I made a cheat sheet list of which V character was which.

            For all its translation issues, this is still a very good book. The characters are flawed, misguided, and truly evil; but they are believable. Bruges with Love builds slowly and steadily in intensity until it captures the reader. With a couple of wonderful twists at the end, it’s a worthwhile read.

            I look forward to more of this author’s works. Hopefully the translation issues will become less pronounced with each new book.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The Devil’s Bridge

by Linda Fairstein

                The seventeenth installment in Fairstein’s Alexandra Cooper series is a wonderful departure from her previous novels. In The Devil’s Bridge, the story is told almost exclusively from the perspective of Cooper’s new love interest, and old friend, Detective Mike Chapman. Fairstein shows a different Alexandra Cooper, one seen through the eyes of others.

            The novel opens with a successful cyber-attack on the files of Cooper. Files that contain everything about a current case; a case that is now horribly compromised. When Cooper turns up missing, the police wonder who orchestrated this attack, and did they also kidnap Cooper.

            Devil’s Bridge also shows a side of Mike Chapman that is new. When Cooper goes missing, it is not the detective in Chapman who works the case, but the lover who is distraught and not thinking clearly. As one clue leads to another, we are left wondering who will eventually find Cooper, the detective or the lover, and what price will he pay?

            This is a wonderful addition to the Cooper series. While it is a mystery, it is also an excellent character study of Cooper and Chapman. First time readers as well as fans who have followed this series will enjoy the different perspective on these two characters.

            Scheduled for publication on August 11^th, this is a book to buy and enjoy.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Pretty Little Things

by Lori Radar-Day

            Two young women, star athletes in high school, best friends who share everything, or do they?  Radar-Day’s latest book focuses on two young women, Juliet Townsend and Madeleine Bell. They were best friends and track stars in high school, always finishing first and second in every race. Madeleine was the star with Juliet always just one step behind in life as in their races. So why did Madeleine (Maddy) take off right after graduation without a word to anyone, even Juliet?

            Ten years later, Juliet is still living in the same small Indiana town, working as a house keeper in a run-down motel. It is an existence with little future and no surprises, until the night Maddy walks into the motel. Well dressed and sporting a large diamond ring, Maddy is clearly living better than Juliet. Theirs is a brief, tense reunion that evening. The next morning, Maddy is found hanging from the balcony of an upper room at the motel. The police’s chief suspect: Juliet. As Juliet works to clear herself of Maddy’s murder, she finds a layer of secrecy and evil that someone will do anything to protect.

            Radar-Day does a good job of capturing small town life where everyone knows everyone. Less successful is her portrayal of some of the characters. It is difficult to believe that the same petty rivalries would exist between adult women ten years after high school. At times, some of the characters act as if they were still teenagers. While this does detract somewhat from the story, it does not sink it. Pretty Little Things is still a good read. However, this is not really a suspense novel since the reader (at least this one) will easily figure out the many clues of who killed Maddy and what led to her death.

            All in all, a good entertaining read. Borrow this from your library.

                        Disclaimer: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The Forgotten Room

by Lincoln Child

         Jeremy Logan is not your typical investigator, he’s an enigmalogist, an investigator of events that have no obvious explanation. In Child’s third novel to feature Logan, his expertise is requested at an exclusive think tank in Rhode Island. One of the researchers has seemingly gone mad and killed himself in a particularly gruesome and graphic manner. It is Logan’s job to find out what happened to precipitate this death. In the course of his investigation, Logan discovers a hidden room, long forgotten by the current staff, where the mysterious Project S was conducted decades ago. What was Project S, and why did all the files on it disappear? As more researchers become delusional and attempt suicide, Logan needs to find the answers fast.

            What makes Child’s novels so good is his ability to fuse mystery and science in wholly believable story lines. The science never slows down the breakneck speed of his novels. Instead, it only enhances the story line.  The Forgotten Room doesn’t disappoint on either.

            This is a novel for fans of mysteries, suspense and/or science. 

Gathering Prey

by John Sandford

            The 25^th in Sandford’s prey series focuses on Lucas Davenport and his adopted daughter, Lettie. Fans of this series will be pleased to see Lettie getting more involved in Davenport’s job.

            The book opens with Lettie meeting a couple of Travelers in California where she’s attending college. Travelers are people who move from city to city, panhandling, and generally causing little or no harm. Lettie is interested in their story and gives them her phone number when she finds they may be coming to Minnesota that summer. When Lettie receives a phone call later that summer telling her that one of the Travelers is missing, she enlists Davenport’s help. A skeptical Davenport agrees to help the Traveler but believes his daughter is being played. He couldn’t be further from the truth. The Traveler’s story will lead Davenport and Lettie into a world of evil they could never have imagined.

            It’s amazing that after 25 books in this series, Sandford can still keep readers on the edge of their seat. This latest appears to lay the foundation for a big change, which of course, I won’t reveal. It’s another Prey book that you will lose sleep over.

            Now, Mr. Sandford, could you write a little faster? Please? 

The Ice Twins

by S. K. Tremayne

            

           The premise of this book sounded so intriguing. A young British couple, Angus and Sarah Moorcraft, tries to cope with the death of one of their twin daughters, Kristie. A year later, the surviving twin announces that she is actually Lydia, the twin that was thought to be dead. In the midst of this turmoil, the husband inherits an island in Scotland from his grandmother. Hoping a change will help them heal, the family moves to this tiny island. Far from helping, the move only serves to compound their problems, as Kristie/Lydia becomes more and more disturbed and Angus and Sarah’s marriage fractures.

            I wanted to love this book after reading the synopsis. I really did. But this novel has so many problems. First and foremost, the characters are so unlikeable. Sarah is impulsive, shallow and just wholly unbelievable as a mother. Angus is a mystery throughout the book. He is at times portrayed as a loving father, an alcoholic, an uncaring brute and an indifferent husband. The surviving twin, whomever she is, is in need of serious psychological help. Which she never gets. The book moves very slowly. I would not call it a suspense novel at all. By the end, which is so anti-climactic as to become almost a clique, it’s hard to care what happens to this family.

            There are so many good suspense novels out there, why bother reading a bad one. This one deserves a pass.

            Scheduled for publications May 19^th, 2015.

            Disclaimer: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Memory Man

by David Baldacci          

           

Amos Decker’s life has had two defining moments: when he died twice on a football field, and when his wife and daughter are murdered. The first left him with a mind that recalls everything that happens to him. The second destroyed his life.

Over a year after the murder of his family, their deaths remain unsolved, until a man walks into the police station and confesses to the murders. As Decker tries to come to grips with this, a school shooting paralyzes the town. Decker, now a private investigator is asked by his old boss to assist the police in finding the school shooter. Decker soon realizes that the shooting and his family’s murder are connected, and the connection is Decker.

You have to wonder where the fertile mind of David Baldacci comes up with his characters. Most of them are not someone you would meet on the street, or ever know. Almost all of them have their quirks, and his latest is no exception. Amos Decker is an obese ex-detective, working as a private investigator and living, just barely, in a room at a local motel. As the main character in what is being billed as a new series by Baldacci, Amos Decker is the antithesis of a hero. He’s anti-social, lacks empathy and in general doesn’t like being around people. In fact, it could be argued that he displays some Asperger symptoms. Yet, in spite of Decker’s flaws, Baldacci manages to make him a highly likable character.

Memory Man may be Baldacci’s best novel yet. This is a novel that grips the reader early and never lets up until the final crescendo. I suggest not planning on having a life while reading this, because you won’t. Yes, it’s that good.

Buy this book and plan to lose a weekend.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The Patriot Threat

by Steve Berry

            The tenth book in Berry's Cotton Malone series, this is another hit. As in all his Malone books, this one is carefully researched, using real facts to base his ‘what if’ scenario on.

            Cotton Malone is working as a contract worker for the Magellan Billet on a routine assignment to track and observe a payment being made. As anyone who has read Steve Berry knows, there is nothing routine if Malone is involved! What starts out simple, quickly turns complex as Malone encounters a couple of tax protesters on the run meeting with deposed North Korean leader Kim Yong Jim. Kim is intent on wreaking havoc on the U.S. to regain his country’s leadership. His weapon: proof that the 16^th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was never legally ratified. If this is true, then all the Federal Taxes collected are illegal and the monies due back to the people. Additionally, no new taxes could be collected until a new Amendment is properly ratified bringing the U.S. economy to a screeching halt. Cotton Malone’s mission becomes to stop this proof, if it exists, from falling into Kim’s hands.

In Berry’s hands this ‘what if’ scenario is brilliant. His ability to use actual historical facts to create terrifying scenarios is what makes his books so believable. In the Patriot Threat he succeeds admirably.

Buy the book and buckle in for a terrifyingly plausible thrill ride. 

At The Water’s Edge

by Sarah Gruen

 

            Gruen’s latest novel, set during WWII tells the story of three vacuous socialites who travel from Philadelphia to Scotland in search of proof of the Loch Ness monster.

Madeline (Maddie) Hyde, her husband Ellis and their friend Hank embark on an ill-advised voyage to Scotland despite the danger from Nazi submarines. Why? Well, apparently a night of drunken revelry by the trio embarrasses Ellis’s father, who then cuts off all of Ellis’s money. Since Ellis is a vapid twit with no income, no job, and therefore no hope of obtaining money other than from his father, he’s in trouble. He needs to get back into daddy’s good graces. What to do, what to do.

Many years previously Ellis’s father discovered and photographed the Loch Ness monster but was accused of faking the photos. Ellis decides, in a eureka, moment to prove his father was correct. Surely this will redeem him in daddy’s eyes and thus restore his funds. All will be right with the world and the trio can go back to leading their insipid, wasteful lives.

Are you confused or simply don’t care at this point? I slogged through this book thinking that surely, surely it would get better. It did not. Billed as an historical novel, it has very little history in it. WW II was not even a backdrop to the novel. At several points in the novel the narrative would come to a screeching halt while Gruen threw in a paragraph or two about the war. It was as if the author thought, ‘oh, haven’t written anything about the war, better put something in here.’

None of the main characters in this novel are likable. None. Maddie is a pathetic lapdog to both her husband and Hank. Ellis is just a whiney brute. Hank is the best of the lot, and he’s a drunken womanizer. There is a hint that the relationship between Ellis and Hank is more than just friendship. The only redeeming thing in this novel are a few of the minor characters.

Pass on this book. There are too many great books out there to waste time reading this one.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The Bullet

by Mary Louise Kelly

 

What if during a routine medical exam you were informed you had a bullet lodged in your neck. What if you’ve never been shot? You would believe it was a medical error, a funny story to tell family, friends and at parties. That’s the reaction of Caroline Cashion, a thirty-seven year old professor of French literature. In fact, she’s having dinner with her parents that evening. They’ll all get a good laugh out of it. Except, Caroline’s parents don’t laugh. They get very quiet, and in the blink of an eye, Caroline learns she isn’t who she thinks she is. In fact, most of her life has been a lie. Kelly takes this premise and runs with it at breakneck speed, crafting a book that will keep you up at night.  

During the course of the novel, Caroline transforms into a woman who directs her life, rather than simply letting it happen to her, as she sets out to find out the truth of who she really is. It is Kelly’s ability to make this alteration in Caroline’s life believable that makes this novel work. The characters in The Bullet are well developed, even the minor ones. Yet, this does not slow the pace of the novel at all. The unique premise of this novel could have failed. Kelly makes it succeed admirably. There are more twists and turns in this book than in a Grand Prix race.

   This book gets a solid 4 stars, maybe 4.5. Buy this book with one cautionary note: don’t start it late at night and don’t blame me when you can’t put it down.

            Disclaimer: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The Safe Room

by B. A. Shapiro

 

          

            The Safe Room is two parallel stories. The first, told through her diary, is that of Sarah Harden, the daughter of a Massachusetts abolitionist whose home is a stop on the Underground Railroad.  The second story is of Lee Seymour, the modern day descendant of Sarah. Lee is helping her grandmother rehab the ancestral home Hayden House to be included on the Harriet Tubman Network to Freedom Park.

            Sarah’s diary details the attitudes, prejudices and times she and her father live in. It is also a chronicle of her affair with a runaway slave hidden in Hayden house and the consequences of that affair.

            Lee’s story of rehabbing Hayden House becomes a search for more of the history of her family as events come to light that have been hidden for over a century. As Lee delves deeper into her family’s history she begins to think she’s hearing ghost. Then she sees one.

            Billed as a paranormal suspense, this is absolutely not a book I would normally choose to read. Actually, I only read it because I received an invitation from the publisher to review an ARC copy.

            This is a really good book. The diary of Sarah Harden is worth the read in and of itself. When Lee begins hearing noises and actually seeing a ghost, Shapiro pulls this off so well that it’s not at all unbelievable. The alternating narrative between Sarah and Lee’s story is also very well done. Novels that jump back and forth in time can sometimes be confusing and not cohesive. Not so with The Safe Room.

            This is a book that fans of historical fiction and mysteries will enjoy. The paranormal parts do not detract from it in any way.

            Disclaimer: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.