Tag Archives: Mystery

The Spectacular by Fiona Davis – a Review

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The Spectacular by Fiona Davis – a Review

 

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Description:
New York City, 1956: Nineteen-year-old Marion is over the moon to have been selected to be one of the Rockettes, Radio City Music Hall’s glamorous precision-dancing troupe. It’s an honor to perform in the world’s most spectacular theater, an art deco masterpiece. But with four shows a day as well as grueling rehearsals, not to mention exacting standards of perfection to live up to, Marion quickly realizes that the life of a Rockette has both extraordinary highs and devastating lows.

Then one night a bomb explodes in the theater. It’s only the latest in a string of explosions around the city orchestrated by a person the press has nicknamed the “Big Apple Bomber.” They have been terrorizing the citizens of New York for sixteen years by planting bombs in popular, crowded spaces. With the public in an uproar over the lack of any real leads after a yearslong manhunt, the police, at Marion’s urging, turn in desperation to a radical new technique: psychological profiling.

As Marion finds herself pulled deeper into the investigation, she realizes that as much as she’s been training herself to blend in—performing in perfect unison with all the other identical Rockettes—if she hopes to catch the bomber, she’ll need to stand out and take a terrifying risk. But she may be forced to sacrifice everything she’s worked for, as well as the people she loves the most.

 

 

Review:

The Spectacular by Fiona Davis is a wonderful standalone novel, which centers on Radio City Music Hall and the 1950’s Rocketts. In 1956, Marion (our heroine), lives with her father and sister in Westchester, and has just been fired from her job as a dance teacher.  She finds an advertisement to audition for the Rocketts, and is offered a job; but her father disapproves, as well as her fiancée, but Marion is determined to live her own life, and defies her father’s wishes.

Marion meets Bunny, who is a regular member of the Rocketts, and quickly they become friends.  Bunny brings her to a boarding house for Rocketts and Actresses, where she can get a room, allowing her to be able to support herself working at Radio City Music Hall. Marion is happy meeting new people, living an exciting life, and learning to be wonderful dancer, knowing this is where she belongs. Though the work is grueling, with four shows a day and one week off a month, Marion is enjoying her life. She is sad that her father continues to ignore her and Nathaniel tries to convince her to quit, but she manages to convince her sister to see her perform. Bunny drags Marion to a local restaurant to meet her boyfriend, and his friend, Peter; who Marion finds very shy; later in the story, Peter will play a large part of the story with Marion.

One night, a bomb explodes in the theater, which is said to be the Big Apple Bomber (actually true story, with villain called in real life, Mad Bomber), who has terrorized New York for 16 years, with no clue who he is.   The bomb hit close to home, and Marion tells the police what he looked like, and she becomes very invested to find the bomber.  She enlists her friend Peter, who is a psychiatric doctor at Creedmore Psychiatric Institute to help; with little support from the police; though Peter tries to explain the type of murderer who kills for revenge, using psychological profiling.  Marion will find herself to be the target of the bomber, who reflects back to her father’s company.  To say too much more will be spoilers, and this is a fantastic story line that should be read from start to finish.

The Spectacular was a fascinating read, with so much going on, such as history, mystery, family drama, Rocketts dancing and danger. I loved all the dancers, the performances, and the friends in Marion’s life; very enjoyable.  Fiona Davis excels in her research, always giving us plenty of history.  The Spectacular was so very well written by Fiona Davis.  I wholly recommend that you read this book, as it is a do not miss.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

 

 

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You Look Beautiful Tonight by LR Jones-review tour

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You Look Beautiful Tonight by LR Jones-review tour

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date June 1, 2023

A secret admirer’s devotion turns deadly in a twisting novel of psychological suspense.

Mia Anderson is an invisible woman. An unremarkable thirty-two-year-old Tennessee librarian, she’s accustomed to disappearing in a crowd, unseen and unheard. Then she receives an anonymous note: You look beautiful today.

It doesn’t stop there. The attentive stranger—a secret admirer named Adam—has plans for Mia. With each new text comes a suggestion for her hair, clothes, or attitude, and for the first time in memory, Mia feels noticed. Slowly, she develops a confidence in herself she’s never had. But Adam has a surprise coming…and Mia finally sees him for who he is and what he’s prepared to do for her. Even kill.

Fearing she could be implicated in the murder, Mia’s forced to turn to the stranger in the shadows watching her every move. Adam’s game of cat and mouse begins with Mia as the prey. In order to survive, she must also become the predator.

••••••••

REVIEW:YOU LOOK BEAUTIFUL TONIGHT by LR Jones (Lisa Renee Jones) is a contemporary, adult, stand alone thriller focusing on thirty-two year old Tennessee librarian Mia Anderson.

Told from first person perceptive (Mia) following two timelines, YOU LOOK BEAUTIFUL TONIGHT focuses on Mia Anderson, and her best friend Jessica ‘Jess’ Pierce’s attempt to push our heroine out of her comfort zone to try something new. Mia is a librarian who believes herself to be ‘invisible’ to others, non-descript, plain-Jane type, stereotypical nerdy librarian whose prospects for a future with love limited at best. Mia’s best friend Jess Pierce is tasked with writing an article about dating apps, and signs up Mia for a chance at love. Mia is immediately taken with ‘Adam’, a businessman who is willing to help give Mia the push she needs to try something new but something isn’t quite right, and Mia begins to suspect that Adam isn’t the man he presents himself to be. As the bodies begin to amass, all in the name of defending our story line heroine, Mia knows there is only one man who may be able to help, a man who isn’t at work when she needs him the most but as the people in her life disappear or die, Mia struggles to separate herself from the online persona.

YOU LOOK BEAUTIFUL is a murder-mystery, suspense thriller focusing on obsession and madness, delusion and determination. LR Jones pulls the reader into a fast paced story line that covers a few days in the life of our story line heroine. The premise is intriguing although the direction of the story, and the guilty parties were obvious and predictable; the characters are desperate and dogged- most of the secondary and supporting characters control every aspect of our heroine’s life. I had some concern about the immaturity of the characters, and the adolescent dialogue-not what I was expecting.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

L. R. Jones is a pseudonym for New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Lisa Renee Jones, whose dark, edgy fiction includes the highly acclaimed novels The Poet, A Perfect Lie, and the Lilah Love series. Prior to publishing, Lisa owned a multistate staffing agency recognized by the Austin Business Journal. Lisa was listed as #7 in Entrepreneur magazine’s list of growing women-owned businesses. She lives in Colorado with her husband, a cat who always has something to say, and a golden retriever who’s afraid of her own bark. For more information visit:

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Her Dark Grave by Carolyn Arnold – a Review

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Her Dark Grave by Carolyn Arnold – a Review

 

 

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Description:
Her eyes widen at her reflection in the steel blade as it comes closer, closer, closer…

Detective Madison Knight thought a midnight drive through the countryside would help clear her mind, but she thought wrong. Her car runs out of gas, stranding her in the middle of nowhere in pitch darkness. When she gets out to stretch her legs, the beam of her phone’s flashlight lands on a suitcase in the ditch. After she opens it, she’s sorry she did.

Tara Jackson was only twenty-one years old with her entire life ahead of her before she was stabbed to death and stuffed into a piece of luggage. Madison is determined to find her justice and soon uncovers that Tara was keeping secrets from those closest to her and suspects they may have gotten her killed. But while she’s exploring that lead, the body of another young woman is found in a sports equipment bag.

She looks just like Tara and is the same age, and Madison starts to wonder if the killer she’s after has killed before. Desperate, she turns to cold cases and missing person reports to see if she can dig up anything to further the investigation.

Madison finds eighteen-year-old Daphne Tucker, who was reported missing from the area three years ago. She’s a doppelganger to the other victims. Is the reason Daphne hasn’t been heard from because she’s dead too? And has her killer returned, hungry for more blood?

As Madison edges closer to the truth, someone is stalking her from the shadows, and she fears it just may be the twisted, demented killer she’s hunting. But can Madison outsmart him or her before she becomes the next victim?

 

 

 

Review:

Her Dark Grave by Carolyn Arnold is the 12th book in her Detective Madison Knight series. As I have noted a number of times in previous reviews, Carolyn Arnold always gives us exciting suspenseful murder mysteries, led by Detective Madison Knight; and Arnold’s knowledge of police procedurals makes these investigations perfect.

Madison continues to fight her PTSD nightmares from her previous Russian case; she can’t sleep, and goes out in the middle of the night for drive to clear her mind.  When she runs out of gas, she awaits a tow truck to bring her gas, and decides to walk around in the dark. She spots a suitcase, and to her horror, she discovers the mutilated body of a young woman; the victim is identified as Tara Jackson, a 21 year old woman. Madison and Terry (her partner) take over the case, and interviewing some of her friends and those she knew at work. In a very short time, another mutilated body is discovered, who sort of looks a bit like Tara. Maddie and Terry try to find clues to see if both murders are somehow related, with them also looking into missing person and cold cases.  They bring a few suspects to be interrogated, but they have to let them go, due to not enough evidence. Madison becomes desperate when a  homeless women is now missing. Did the murderer kill her, after she interviewed the woman. 

What follows is an exciting, tense, action filled thriller with many suspects, as well as surprising developments with the help of Cynthia (Maddie’s police friend).  This is a very nasty case, with an evil murderer.  Maddie concentrates solely on the case, not spending time with her fiancée, Troy. She also discovers that Terry is hiding something he is planning, and the Sargent Winston, continues to be nasty to her.  I thought in this book, Maddie was very harsh and a bit abrasive, being very unlikeable throughout; at the end was the only time she seemed nice when she was with Troy.

Her Dark Grave was another fantastic, exciting, tense, riveting police procedural, so very well written by Carolyn Arnold.  Madison Knight is a great detective, though I as noted previously, more annoying in this book. I will say I love Detective Amanda Steel a lot better.   If you enjoy mysteries, police procedurals, a tough as nails cop, then you need to be reading this series, as Carolyn Arnold is one of the best in police procedure stories.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy supplied for Review

 

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Loving the Wolf by Paige Tyler – a Review

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Loving the Wolf by Paige Tyler – a Review

 

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Description:
When you find your fated mate, don’t let go, no matter what… The problem with Jenna Malone is that she’s SWAT werewolf Trevor McCall’s best buddy’s sister. Trevor suspects she’s The One, but how the heck can he make a move? When Jenna invites Trevor to visit her in Los Angeles, he figures he can withstand the temptation. But what’s hiding in LA is much more dangerous and complicated than any of the SWAT team could have guessed, and Jenna’s right in the middle of it…

 

 

Review:

Loving the Wolf by Paige Tyler is the 14th book in her fantastic SWAT: Special Wolf Alpha Team series. I have been a big fan of Paige Tyler’s books, as she always gives us wonderful, paranormal romance suspense stories, that are exciting, pulse pounding action filled, as well as great couples and hot alpha men (werewolves) that are part of the SWAT team.

Jenna Malone, our heroine, has returned home from visiting her brother, Connor (last book hero); and after trying to convince him that he needs to help find their missing sister, Hannah (kidnapped 10 years ago). Connor has always thought Jenna was hallucinating, with her seeing Hannah being taken by a creature, and she angrily leaves to go back to LA.

While in Dallas, she met Trevor McCall, another member of the SWAT team, and they spent time together, enjoying their company. Jenna invites Trevor to visit her in LA, and he makes plans to take a vacation, as he begins to feel she is the ‘One’.
Jenna takes Trevor around LA, and while sightseeing, they hear a scream, with both running to help save the woman being dragged by a creature. Trevor has never seen this type of creature, but manages to save the woman. He later learns from Jenna that the creature is the one who kidnapped Hannah all those years ago. Trevor calls Hale to get some backups to help discover about the creatures, and to tell Gage, not to bring Connor. That didn’t work out, as Hale, Mike and Connor are send to help. Connor is upset, as he is angry that Trevor is around his sister; despite Jenna saying Trevor is staying at her place.

Throughout, there were fights between Trevor and Connor (he was really annoying), but Trevor knew Jenna was his soulmate.
The mystery behind Hannah’s disappearance, was an enthralling non-stop action filled adventure. The SWAT members go underground to battle the creatures (Ghouls), and try to rescue the people kidnapped, as well as find Hannah. When Hannah is seen, Connor realizes the error of his ways, knowing Jenna was right, and he did nothing to try and find Hannah. The team will work with Hannah to help rescue others, as she worked with a group of Ghouls, who want peace and stop the others.

What follows is a suspenseful, exciting, intriguing, action filled mystery, that kept me unable to put the book down. I loved Jenna and Trevor, as they made a great couple; especially when they both know that they are soulmates. I also loved the pack members who were there, Madeline, Jenna’s friend, and other great secondary characters.

Loving the Wolf was a fantastic addition to this wonderful series, as well as very well written by Paige Tyler.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

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The House on Prytania by Karen White – a Review

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The House on Prytania by Karen White – a Review

 

 

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Description:
Nola Trenholm may not be psychic herself, but she’s spent enough time around people who are to know when ghosts are present, and there are definitely a few lingering spirits in her recently purchased Creole cottage in New Orleans. Something, or someone, is keeping them tethered to this world. And not all of them are benign.

But with the sudden return of Sunny Ryan, Beau Ryan’s long-lost sister, Nola has plenty to distract her from her ghostly housemates. Especially when the tempting–yet firmly unavailable–Beau, wanting to mete out justice to those he blames for Sunny’s kidnapping, asks Nola for a favor that threatens to derail her hard-won recovery and send her hurtling backward. He asks her to welcome Michael Hebert back into her life, even though Michael is the reason for Nola’s bruised heart. Beau is convinced that Michael’s powerful family was behind Sunny’s disappearance and that Michael is the key to getting information the police won’t be able to ignore–if Nola is willing to risk everything for which she’s worked so hard.

Torn between helping Beau and protecting herself, Nola doesn’t realize until it’s almost too late why the ghosts are haunting her house–a startling revelation that will throw her and Beau together to fight a common enemy. Assuming Nola can get Beau to listen to what the spirits are trying to tell him, because ignoring them could prove to be a fatal mistake…

 

 

Review:

The House on Prytania by Karen White is the 2nd book in her Royal Street series. The story continues with Nola Trenholm (heroine) still working on her new Creole cottage in New Orleans, which is haunted with ghosts (some good and some evil). Nola learned a lot of historic preservation, especially being the step daughter of Melanie, who has the ability to talk to ghosts (Tradd series).  We follow Nola, as she tries to get Beau (who does see ghosts, but refuses to talk to them); and with Beau’s sister (taken as a young girl) returning home, he is bent to find those who kidnapped her. Though Nola loves working on the house, she does fear the evil entity that seems to cause problems.

Beau is convinced that Michael’s (Nola’s ex-boyfriend) family was behind Sunny’s disappearance and that Michael is the key to getting information the police won’t be able to ignore.  Nola has second thoughts, but agrees to meet with Michael and his family to discover the truths, but first she welcomes her family who are visiting.  

It was great to see Mellie, Jack and the twins (Sarah and JJ), as well as an old flame, Cooper.   Sarah is only 13 years old, but she had the ability of seeing and hearing ghosts, which she gained from her mother, Melanie (Mellie).  Sarah was such a great addition, always giving Nola information she gained from reading certain books, as well as revealing what the ghosts are telling her.  Jolene, who has become Nola’s best friend, is such a fun and awesome character, always making sure Nola dressed properly, and cooking/baking for everyone. Thibeau and Jorge continues to help Nola with renovating the house, despite the ghosts. 

What follows is the mystery as to who kidnapped Sunny all those years ago, as well why the ghosts who haunt her house. As we reach closer to the end, some surprising secrets are revealed, and lives are threatened, with Nola and Beau working together to fight the evil entity.

The House on Prytania was so very well written by Karen White, which was an excellent story, with a fabulous heroine in Nola, in a town that has so much history, with ghosts, mystery, suspense and historical homes. I loved the wonderful secondary characters, especially Jolene. Karen White once again gives us a fabulous addition to this series and I look forward to the next book.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

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The Bride Wore White by Amanda Quick – a Review

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The Bride Wore White by Amanda Quick – a Review

 

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Description:
Being Madame Ariadne, Psychic Dream Consultant, wasn’t Prudence Ryland’s ideal gig, but it paid well which was reason enough to do the work—until she realizes that her latest client intends to kill her. But Prudence, a master at reinvention, finds a new job and home as far away as possible and is finally able to relax—which turns out to be a big mistake. Letting her guard down means being kidnapped and drugged and waking up in a bloodstained wedding dress in the honeymoon suite next to a dead man. With the press outside the hotel, waiting with their cameras and police sirens in the distance, it’s obvious she’s being framed for the man’s murder. Prudence knows who is responsible, but will anyone believe her?

It doesn’t seem likely that rumored crime boss Luther Pell or his associate, Jack Wingate, believe her seemingly outrageous claims of being a target of a ruthless vendetta. In fact, Prudence is convinced that the mysterious Mr. Wingate believes her to be a fraud at best, and at worst: a murderer. And Jack Wingate does seem to be someone intimately familiar with violence, if going by his scarred face and grim expression. So no one is more shocked than Prudence when Jack says he’ll help her. Of course, his ideas for helping her involve using her as the bait for a killer, but Prudence feels oddly safe with Jack protecting her. But who will protect Prudence from her growing fascination with this enigma of a man?

 

 

Review:

The Bride Wore White by Amanda Quick is the 7th book in her wonderful Burning Cove series. This series takes place during the 1930’s in the small town of Burning Cove, California.  Some of the recurring characters we have met in the previous books continue to have secondary roles, as we return to Burning Cove.

We meet Prudence Ryland (our heroine) at the start, when she worked as a Psychic Dream Consultant, Madame Ariadne. When a customer comes into her store, her psychic ability gives her the vibe that this customer plans to kill her; when he makes his attempt on her, she manages to fight him off with her own powers, which causes the person to have heart failure.  Madame Ariande calls for an ambulance, and Prudence Ryland decides to drop this kind of work, and takes a job at the college library.  One night she is kidnapped, and wakes up next to a dead man, with her wearing a wedding gown with blood all over.  Prudence manages to escape, and calls Luther Pell in Burning Cove for help.

Prudence explains to Luther and Jack Wingate, who is a criminal consultant, about her kidnapping and murder threats, as well as her psychic dream reader ability as Madame Ariande.  Prudence and Jack get off on the wrong foot, he looks at her like a fraud; but Luther convinces them that together both of them can work well together, and find the people involved in trying to kill her or frame her for something she did not do. Jack, whose face was scarred from a fire, is very much familiar with violence, especially since he is creating a book to help police have clues on solving crimes.  Jack and Prudence slowly begin to work closely together, as he sets things in place to bait the killer; as well as protect her.   Their respect for each other grows, and a slow burn romance begins. There were many multiple antagonists, especially almost all members of the Dover Family. 

What follows is an exciting, intriguing, intense and suspenseful story that has a number of surprises and twists. The last half of the book was enthralling, as Prudence’s life was constantly in danger, and Jack was always there to protect her.  Prudence’s ability to not only read dreams, but to get people to reveal secrets, allowing for more surprises and clues.  I do not want to give spoilers, saying anything more would ruin the book for you.

The Bride Wore White was a terrific addition to this series, with a bit of romance, great couple, and a paranormal element.  Despite their bad start, I loved Prudence and Jack together. Amanda Quick once again gives us a complex mystery that had a bit of everything in this glamorous historical world of 1930’s.   I suggest you start this series from the beginning to enjoy the setting of this series, as well as meet some very good characters. However, each book does read very well as a standalone.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

 

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Deep Tide by Laura Griffin – Review, Excerpt & Giveaway

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Deep Tide by Laura Griffin – Review, Excerpt & Giveaway

 

 

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Description:
An undercover FBI agent and an independent coffee shop owner must team up when a local barista is found dead and danger circles their coastal Texas town.

With two brothers on the police force, Leyla Breda is well aware of the rising crime in her small beach town, but she never expected it to show up on her doorstep. When Leyla finds one of her employees murdered in the alley behind her coffee shop, she’s deeply shaken, and as a new law enforcement officer in town begins to circle her place of business, her instincts only sharpen.

Sean Moran is on an undercover mission: The seaside community of Lost Beach may look like a picturesque postcard, but his team suspects it’s a point of intersection for several crime syndicates that the FBI has been investigating for years. Even so, when the brash and beautiful Leyla Breda starts bossing him around, he’s immediately intrigued. He knows her brothers want him to back off, but every time he sees her, he feels more of a spark.

Leyla’s connections in the local community and Sean’s skills allow them to go deeper into the case together than they would be able to go alone. But when a single crime spirals into something much darker, Sean’s carefully planned mission takes a deadly turn.

 

Review:

Deep Tide by Laura Griffin is the 4th book in her wonderful The Texas Murder Files series.  I am a huge fan of Laura Griffin, as she is one of the best at murder suspenseful mysteries, police procedurals and a bit of romance.  We meet our heroine, Leyla Breda, who runs two shops in Lost Beach, The Island Beanery, a popular coffee and pastry shop on the island, and The Windjammer. Leyla is catering the wedding of her brother, Joel and Miranda (previous heroes), with help from her assistant, Sienna; and meets Sean Moran, an old friend of Joel.  The following morning, with the happy couple away, she enters her coffee shop and to her dismay, finds the dead body of one of her employees. 

Sean, our hero, is an FBI agent, who is also in town on a secret mission; though he finds himself very attracted to Leyla; who tries her best to not allow herself to fall for the handsome hunk. Leyla knows what its like to have two brothers on the police force, and even when she questions him, she gets no answers. 

Nicole is a detective on the police force, and she is assigned to take the lead on the case of the murder at the coffee shop; especially with Joel away on his honeymoon, and Owen (previous hero with Macey), and neither of the brothers are allowed to participate in the murder mystery. Nicole does a good job in trying to find clues, and with help from her co-worker, Emmett, they manage to discover that the murder could very well be part of the secret mission Sean is on.

Sean knows there is an enemy in Long Beach, and he worries that Leyla during her catering, will put herself in danger. Leyla accepts a catering job for a wealthy Tech millionaire, and decides when she has a moment, to take a peek in his office, and snaps a picture of a map.  Though, Sean was happy to have that information, her meddling was too dangerous; and Leyla continued to learn more about the victim possibly dating the millionaire. Sean’s skills allowed him to take Leyla’s information to dig further in this case.    

In a short time, Sean and Leyla succumb to their feelings, with great chemistry between them.   I also loved Nicole, who was doing an excellent job of getting clues, as she learns more during her investigations. 

What follows is an exciting, intriguing, suspenseful thriller that kept me on the edge throughout, especially as we raced to the climax. The last half of the book was extremely tense, I could not put the book down.  I do not want to give spoilers, so you need to read this book to discover what happens.

Deep Tide was another excellent mystery in this series, which to no surprise, was very well written by Laura Griffin. The last third of the book was very exciting, as Leyla finds herself in danger, and Sean, with help from the brothers, needs to find a way to save her.  

Laura Griffin once again, gives us a fantastic exciting suspenseful mystery, with a great romantic couple and wonderful secondary characters. If you enjoy murder mysteries, police procedurals, lots of intense action, suspense, with a touch of romance, you should read this book.  If you have never read Laura Griffin, it’s time to start now, as she is an amazing writer for romance suspense.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

DEEP TIDE by Laura Griffin
Berkley Romance | On sale April 25, 2023

                                Excerpt

Sean Moran slipped away from the party. The bride and groom had left under a shower of rice, but people were still milling around beneath swags of white lights, drinking the couple’s booze and enjoying the breeze off the water. Sean would have liked another drink, but he needed to get back to his condo. As he crossed the wooden bridge spanning the sand dunes, he spied a woman on the beach with a champagne flute in hand.

Leyla Breda.

Her formfitting dress looked silver in the moonlight, and it shimmered against her body as she strolled toward the surf. Nearing a piece of driftwood, she dropped her shoes to the sand and sat down. She nestled the flute at her feet, then lifted her arms and twisted her dark hair into a knot at the top of her head.

Sean stopped at the end of the bridge. He had about a hundred things left to do tonight, including contacting his boss.

Instead, he walked over to Leyla.

“How’s the champagne?”

She jumped and turned around. Recognition flickered across her face, and her shoulders relaxed.

“It’s good.” She held up her glass. “You didn’t have any?”

“Nope. Can I get you a refill?”

She smiled. “What, are you a waiter now, too?”

He stepped closer. “I’m Sean Moran, by the way.” He held out his hand. “We never actually met.”

“Leyla Breda.” Her handshake was brisk and businesslike, but the warm look in her eyes gave him hope.

“Joel’s little sister,” he said.

“That’s me.”

He turned toward the water so he wouldn’t be tempted to stare down the front of her dress.

“I didn’t get a chance to thank you earlier,” she said. “Things got really hectic.”

“Looked like you had your hands full.”

“So, are you here for Joel or Miranda?”

He looked at her. “Joel.”

She tipped her head to the side as she gazed up at him. “And you know him from . . . ?”

“Work.”

She frowned. “Here?”

“No. We go way back. We were in the same academy class in Houston, spent some time at HPD together.”

“Oh. That was a while ago.”

“Yeah.”

“So . . . the vice squad, then?”

“Yeah. Mind if I sit down?”

“Not at all.”

Sean lowered himself onto the other end of the sandy log. He didn’t like the direction the conversation had taken so he steered it back to her.

“So, how long have you been a caterer?” he asked.

“Hmm . . . let’s see. I guess it’s been about three weeks now.” She turned and smiled at him, and he felt a hot jolt of attraction. “Why? Can you tell?”

“Not at all.”

“Right.”

“Well, the timing seemed a little bumpy.”

“Just a little.” She rolled her eyes. “We had several staffers no-show. It happens a lot in this business. People are flaky. Despite all my planning, you could say we were a bit rushed.”

Rushed was right. No woman had ever clapped at him before. He’d discovered it was a turn-on.

Excerpted from Deep Tide by Laura Griffin Copyright © 2023 by Laura Griffin. Excerpted by permission of Berkley. All rights reserved.

 

 

 

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Seven Girls Gone by Allison Brennan – a Review

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Seven Girls Gone by Allison Brennan – a Review

 

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Description:
For three years, women have been disappearing—and eventually turning up dead in the small bayou town of St. Augustine, Louisiana. Police detective Beau Hebert is the only one who seems to care, but with every witness quickly silenced and a corrupt police department set on keeping the cases unsolved, Beau’s investigation stalls at every turn.

With nobody else to trust, Beau calls in a favor from his friend on the FBI’s Mobile Response Team. While LAPD detective Kara Quinn works undercover to dig into the women’s murders and team leader Matt Costa officially investigates the in-custody death of a witness, Beau might finally have a chance at solving the case.

But in a town where everyone knows everyone, talking gets you killed and secrets stay buried, it’s going to take the entire team working around the clock to unravel the truth. Especially when they discover that the deep-seated corruption and the deadly drug-trafficking ring at the center of it all extends far beyond the small-town borders.

 

 

Review:

Seven Girls Gone by Allison Brennan is the 4th book in her fantastic Quinn and Costa series.  I am a big fan of Allison Brennan, who always gives us sensational mystery thrillers; and Seven Girls Gone was a fabulous addition to this series.

Beau Hebert, is a police detective in a small town, St. Augustine, Louisiana, and he is very frustrated. During the last three years, five women have been murdered, one is still missing, with no one in his department caring, as his leads continually gets squashed; and Beau suspects the police department, mayor are all corrupt. He reaches out to an old friend who works for the FBI Mobile Response Team for help. Special Agent Matt Costa and Detective Kara Quinn, as well as all of the FBI Mobile Response team are called in to help Beau.

Kara and Michael arrive first, with Kara, who is a great detective, having lots of experience working undercover.  She makes it her business to visit Magnolia Inn, where many of the victims who worked there ended up being killed. Kara uses her disguise to meet many of the police and people working at the Inn.  Michael goes with Beau to search the swamp for the missing girl, Lily. Matt arrives with the rest of his team, which includes Jim and Ryder.  Matt (the leader of the mobile team) visits the police chief to explain that they are investigating these deaths, and no one from the department is happy about their being here, especially Officer Guidry, who already angered Kara, as well as Beau’s grandmother. In a short time, the seventh girl is found dead, and Kara is concerned that Winnie will be next; she is determined to get Winnie to work with them, in order to save her.

The relationship between Kara and Matt is still on the border line, as Kara isn’t sure she wants to stay with the mobile team, or go back to being a Los Angeles Detective (she on loan, and her job in LA is in jeopardy). Matt finds himself falling hard for Kara, and though she is very much attracted, she isn’t sure if she can become permanent with Matt. Kara also became close to Beau’s grandmother, and very protective.  The danger escalates, as Mat, Kara, Michael, Jim (forensics expert) finds themselves under attack.  To say to much more would be spoilers, as you  need to read this book from start to finish.

What follows is an intense, pulse pounding thriller, with many twists and turns. Who was truly behind the corruption and murders? As we got closer to the tense climax, the danger escalated in this heart stopping thriller, with so many people involved.  I could not put the book down, as the suspense was amazing.  Seven Girls Gone was so very well written by Allison Brennan, that I fully recommend you read this fantastic exciting edge of your seat thriller.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

 

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