Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister #BookReview #TuesdayBookBlog #WomensCrimeFiction

A Suspenseful Domestic Thriller with Shocking Twists, Unravel the Deception

Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Book Blurb:

From the author of Reese’s Book Club Pick and New York Times bestseller Wrong Place Wrong Time comes an addictive thriller about a new mother’s world upended when her husband commits a terrifying crime. How well does she truly know the man she loves? And what danger does she face if her entire life has been built on a lie?

It is June 21^st, the longest day of the year, and new mother Camilla’s life is about to change forever. After months of maternity leave, she will drop her infant daughter off at daycare for the first time and return to her job as a literary agent. Finally. But, when she wakes, her husband Luke isn’t there, and in his place is a cryptic note.

Then it starts. Breaking news: there’s a hostage situation developing in London. The police arrive, and tell her Luke is involved. But he isn’t a hostage. Her husband – doting father, eternal optimist – is the gunman.

What she does next is crucial. Because only she knows what the note he left behind that morning says…

My Review:

There’s nothing like an all out race that slams at 150 mph into a wall. Sorta what this novel does as the beginning is both a shock and thrill ride.

New mom Camilla didn’t have a particularly restful night and hoping for a little help getting ready for her first day back to work discovers her hubby’s note. Harried and a little resentful, she manages both herself, the baby, and the house and gets to her own job. Before she can get settled down, however, the police are asking to speak to her.

Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister — Famous Last Words – UK cover

There is an apparent hostage situation in London. She’s thinking hubby is a hostage, but no, they inform her, he is the hostage taker.

Whoa! Switcharoo! Not what the reader expects and it’s a great hook. With two POVs, hers and the hostage negotiator, things progress swiftly until the whole premise hits that proverbial wall. The hostages are killed and Luke manages his escape.

Part II, left without the rug underneath, the reader is now a hostage as well—hanging onto the storyline simply because you have to know the how, why? Cam insists he’s innocent. But in the face of everything, including damaging videos, does she really still believe it can’t be him? If it IS him, WHY?

What follows after that mad scramble into incredulity are the personal back stories and struggles with Cam and the negotiator, Niall, who with the death of the hostages now has those deaths and failure laid at his feet.

AH! Then Part III kicks in and the pace picks up again, but that middle part definitely slows and chills the narrative. In the meantime, some seven years have elapsed, it’s old news, and her life may be changing with a new romance. She decides it’s time to have Luke officially declared dead.

Now the hitch in the giddy-up. Oops. Maybe not. Truth to say, she might always love Luke. If it’s him, trying to reach her—she must know.

Yeah, those twists. It’s possible you also figured out a few things, stretched your imagination. Great characters. I found Niall particularly engaging and empathetic. Still, there’s a whole story yet to reveal denouement. A surprising departure from most plots, tension filled, suspenseful. If you enjoy thrillers, you’ll enjoy this one—even through the slower part. 4.5 stars

I read Wrong Place Wrong Time and I’m still experiencing vertigo from that one. This one pushes disbelief and also leaves you tilted. The author looks so innocent in those author photos, hard to believe these plots come from that mind.

Many thanks to my local library for the opportunity to read and review this book. The thoughts expressed here are my own.

Rosepoint Rating: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Women’s Crime Fiction, Domestic Thrillers, Women’s Psychological Fiction
Publisher: William Morrow
ISBN: 978-0063338449
ASIN: B0D3CH5FZS
Print Length: 332 pages
Publication Date: February 25, 2025
Source: Local Library

Title Link(s):

Amazon-US | Amazon-UK | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Gillian McAllister

As you find me, it’s winter 2025 and my new novel is Famous Last Words, a thriller with a marriage at its centre. It asks the question: what would you do if your husband is caught up in a siege in central London? Only, the police tell you he isn’t one of the hostages: he is the gunman… I hope you like the answer!

As to me, otherwise, I am the author of these novels:

Everything But The Truth (2017)
Anything You Do Say (2018) called The Choice in America
No Further Questions (2018) called The Good Sister in America
The Evidence Against You (2019)
How To Disappear (2020)
That Night (2021)
Wrong Place Wrong Time (2022)
Just Another Missing Person (2023)
Famous Last Words (2025)

My most popular novel is probably Wrong Place Wrong Time, which was selected for the Radio 2 book club and was the Reese’s Book Club August ’22 pick. It debuted at number 4 on the Sunday Times Bestseller List and number 2 on the New York Times Bestseller List.

When not writing (which is basically never), I can be found walking my dog Wendy and parenting my small toddler. The best moments of my day always are the first sip of my coffee, the moment I step into the bath at night, and my son telling me he loves me. And that rare thing that happens only once a year – a novel idea.

Happiness is a Reading Buddy

Rosepoint Reviews – May Recap – June? Wait, I’m not ready!

Rosepoint Reviews - May Recap

If I thought I could clean up both the house and the yard in two weeks, I was sadly mistaken. Granted, I took on a lot more yard projects than I’d originally intended. (I’m one of those who’d rather work outside than in.) Clean a house, it just needs it again the next day or two. Fix up a veggie, flower bed, or fairy garden and it’s something you can enjoy for…maybe the whole summer?

I got my veggie garden all set, hopefully protected from bunnies, possums, and deer. Right now it’s looking a little rough with bird netting and chicken wire around everything, but give it a month. I’ve been cleaning up and doing some redesign in the fairy garden. Really wanted a little all-weather bench down there, but haven’t seen anything affordable so I decided to “make” a bench from the downed trees.

Trying to install a water barrel for the veggie bed, but can’t find proper fittings. The projects I bestowed on the CE are languishing in their original shipping boxes. Had hoped to have at least the kitchen ceiling fan light up in time for the escalating temps set to hit us next week. So, yes, will need more time, hopefully, to get to the house and those clean-up projects.

Flower bed

And it doesn’t help that we are trying to do the Y three times a week. The classes are only 45 minutes but with travel and then lunch and clean up, it ends up a good portion of the day, not to say that the classes don’t wear us out. Now they’ve added a summer challenge which we are going to try—adding one more class–yoga.

Yeah, I know—gluttons for punishment, huh?!

We did manage eight reviews along with a couple topical posts in May, and I’m mildly surprised it was that many with everything going on. The CE provided two and I managed four audiobooks (one for my new book club at the Y). I enjoyed two new authors and will be looking for more from both Alex Kava and Archer Sullivan. With those names, what are the odds they are women authors? (Apparently pretty good as both are.)

I source our books through the library, NetGalley, and author and publisher requests. As always, the links on titles are to our reviews that include purchase information.

Rosepoint Reviews - May Recap

Parents Weekend by Alex Finlay (CE review)
Sincerely, Grace by Jean Grainger
Silent Creed and Reckless Creed by Alex Kava (audiobooks)
Once Upon a River by Bonnie Jo Campbell (bookclubs) (audiobook)
Nightshade by Michael Connelly (CE review)
The Witch’s Orchard by Archer Sullivan
One False Move by Alex Kava (audiobook)

Favorite Book of the Month

The five-star review in May goes to Michael Connelly for Nightshade, reviewed by the CE. Hard to beat Connelly and I thoroughly enjoyed the latest in the Knocknashee series by Jean Grainger for her atmospheric and gripping Irish tales.

Favorite for May – Nightshade by Michael Connelly

My Reading Challenges page…having caught up through April, now one month behind.

The Goodreads landing page may be correct at 77 of a goal of 150 or 51%, but the book count widget is still off at 62—worse than before. Right now, I’m too busy and tired to work on that too. Maybe later.

Love my new subscribers! I hope you found a book or two that appealed to you and I always appreciate your comments! Have a warm, but wonderful June!

A little light summer reading.

Graphic courtesy Freepik

One False Move by Alex Kava #AudiobookReview #ThrowbackThursday

Book Blurb:

Internationally best-selling author Alex Kava delivers a searing thriller of one woman’s encounter with her past which could jeopardize her future

Melanie Starks has never lived life by the rules. She and her 17-year-old son, Charlie, have been running one con job or another for as long as she can remember, justifying the petty crimes as the necessary survival moves of a single mother. But Melanie is ready to give it up. Then Jared Barnett reappears in her life.

Fresh out of prison after serving five years of a life sentence for murder, Jared is released on a technicality that by no means proves his innocence. And he’s feeling more invincible than ever. He has the perfect plan for a big score and he needs Melanie’s help. But everything goes terribly wrong. Only one thing is clear: A line has been crossed. Suddenly there’s no turning back, and there is nothing left to lose.

My Review:

In my haste to grab another Creed series book, this one came up as “next” and I downloaded without realizing it was a standalone and not even part of her original Maggie O’Dell series, which I was also going to check out. Well, rats! But I went ahead and listened to the audiobook anyway and discovered it quite a bit different from the writing style and prose of the Creed books.

In this short novel, the antagonist is released from prison on a technicality after serving only five years of a life prison sentence for murder. Unfortunately, he engages his sister Melanie Startks and her teenage son, Charlie, in his hair-brained scheme to rob a Nebraska bank, whereupon Jared loses control of the situation and multiple people are killed forcing them all to flee…with a hostage.

There are multiple POVs, getting inside the head of the despicable Jared for one. The narrative is short and action packed, building suspense, tension from the beginning. These are not particularly characters in which you’ll engage, but they are well developed and ooze malevolence.

There is a good mystery here and the book proves fun and entertaining, apparently modeling after a real experience. The ending provides such a jaw-dropping knee-jerk twist that you don’t see coming, you are left with unanswered questions. Interesting.

Okay, so fans of fast-paced mysteries, tension-filled crime chronologies, and desperate characters may well enjoy this one. I did despite triggers of language and sex. But I’ll look for a Maggie O’Dell book next.

I downloaded a copy of this audiobook from my local well-stocked library. These are my honest thoughts.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Suspense, Suspense Thrillers, Romance
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
ASIN: B0002SQSII
Listening Length: 5 hrs 5 mins
Narrator: Maggi-Meg Reed
Publication Date: July 28, 2004
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Links: One False Move (Amazon)

The Author: ALEX KAVA is a New York Times, USA Today and Amazon bestselling author of twenty novels including the award-winning FBI Profiler Maggie O’Dell series and the critically acclaimed and now award-winning Ryder Creed K-9 Mystery series. Recently LOST CREED won the 2019 Nebraska Book Award. Her novel Stranded was awarded both a Florida Book Award and the Nebraska Book Award. One False Move was chosen for the 2006 One Book One Nebraska and her political thriller, Whitewash, was one of January Magazine’s best thrillers of the year. Published in over thirty-four countries, Kava’s novels have made the bestseller lists in the UK, Australia, Germany, Japan, Italy, and Poland.

#ThrowbackThursday

The Witch’s Orchard: A Novel by Archer Sullivan #BookReview #TuesdayBookBlog

Book Blurb:

A ninth generation Appalachian herself, Archer Sullivan brings the mountains of North Carolina to life in The Witch’s Orchard, a wonderfully atmospheric novel that introduces private investigator Annie Gore.

Former Air Force Special Investigator Annie Gore joined the military right after high school to escape the fraught homelife of her childhood. Now, she’s getting by as a private investigator and her latest case takes her to an Appalachian holler not unlike the one where she grew up.

Ten years ago, three little girls went missing from their tiny mountain town. While one was returned, the others were never seen again. After all this time without answers, the brother of one of the girls wants to hire an outsider, and he wants Annie. While she may not be from his town, she gets mountain towns. Mountain people. Driving back into the hills for a case this old—it might be a fool’s errand. But Annie needs to put money in the bank and she can’t turn down a case. Not even one that dredges up her own painful past.

In the shadow of the Blue Ridge, Annie begins to track the truth, navigating a decade’s worth of secrets, folklore of witches and crows, and a whole town that prefers to forget. But while the case may have been buried, echoes of the past linger. And Annie’s arrival stirs someone into action.

My Review:

Yes! Start with Book 1 of a new series and love it when you discover a debut author and new series that catches your attention.

Annie Gore PI is a former Air Force Special Investigator. She’s taken on a case that sends her back to an Appalachian holler similar to that of her childhood. It’s a cold case. A very old, cold case, but one she couldn’t resist looking into—being close to home in more ways than one.

Of course, the setting is right down the author’s alley—she knows those mountains and those people. These are mountain people, tough, resilient, and generous. Also, closed to any that’s not one of them. The soul of the people pervades the background as another character, subtle, but ever present.

‘”Too proud to whitewash, too poor to paint” comes to mind.’

Annie is a great protagonist, strong, smart, capable. She has an ingratiating nature that gives the reader a connection and an interest in who she is and why. It’s fun to work with her in her investigation as she slowly wheedles more clues, more info, more insight. She’s no bully, but she can get what she needs.

Entertaining, compelling, providing an atmosphere with an engaging main character, it’s a winner. I’m in and looking for Book 2.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book. The thoughts expressed here are my own.

Rosepoint Rating: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Small Town & Rural Fiction, Private Investigator Mysteries
Publisher: Minotaur Books
ASIN: B0DDJ8YPX5
Print Length: 320 pages
Publication Date: August 12, 2025
Source: Publisher and Netgalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon-US | Amazon-UK | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: ARCHER SULLIVAN is a ninth-generation Appalachian. She’s moved thirty-seven times and has lived everywhere from Monticello, Kentucky to Manhattan, New York and from Black Mountain, North Carolina to Beverly Hills, California. Her work has appeared in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Tough, Shotgun Honey, Reckon Review, Rock and a Hard Place, and The Best Mystery Stories of the Year 2024.

#TuesdayBookBlog

Nightshade by Michael Connelly #BookReview #crimethrillers

in Crime Thrillers

Rosepoint Publishing: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

Introducing Detective Stilwell: a cop relentlessly following his mission in the seemingly idyllic setting of Catalina Island.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Detective Stilwell has been “exiled” to a low-key post policing rustic Catalina Island, after department politics drove him off a homicide desk on the mainland. But while following up the usual drunk-and-disorderlies and petty thefts that come with his new territory, Detective Stilwell gets a report of a body found weighed down at the bottom of the harbor—a Jane Doe identifiable at first only by a streak of purple dye in her hair. At the same time, a report of poaching on a protected reserve turns into a case fraught with violence and danger as Stilwell digs into the shady past of an island bigwig.

Crossing all lines of protocol and jurisdiction, Stilwell doggedly works both cases. Though hampered by an old beef with an ex-colleague determined to thwart him at every turn, he is convinced he is the only one who can bring justice to the woman known as “Nightshade.” Soon, his investigation uncovers closely guarded secrets and a dark heart to the serene island that was meant to be his escape from the evils of the big city.

His Review:

Nightshade by Michael Connelly — Nightshade cover – US

Santa Catalina is a world unto itself. “Twenty-six miles across the sea…” the island was a retreat for the Wrigley family and their casino. The casino was intended to be a retreat for the wealthy from southern California but a town was built and the island populated by the wealthy and their poorer caregivers.

Automobiles are not allowed on the island. Transportation is by foot or electric golf carts. This eliminates the gas and diesel fuel smoke so plentiful on the mainland. The rich can come and disappear on the island to many campgrounds and hiding spots.

Nightshade by Michael Connelly - UK cover — Nightshade cover – UK

The idyllic beauty and the island tranquility become background when a body is found bound in chains and weighted down in the bay. The body is distinctive by the purple streak in her hair. No way to deny foul play as she has obviously been killed and dumped at sea.

A sub-plot is introduced involving one of the island’s long residents. Protagonist Detective Stilwell has his hands full with both cases. He proves to be a determined and dogged investigator and will stop at nothing until he uncovers the secrets of both.

The story has many twists and turns as everyone seems innocent but someone must have tried to destroy evidence.

C E Williams This author shares many interesting detective techniques and methods for solving the killing. The machinations of the suspects and their attempts at providing alibi are intriguing and entertaining. Enjoy! 5 stars – CE Williams

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book. Any opinion expressed here is my own.

Book Details:

Genre: Crime Thrillers, Literary Fiction, Police Procedurals
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
ISBN-13: 978-0316588492
ASIN: B0DNDZWQ9R
Print Length: 347 pages
Publication Date: May 20, 2025
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon-US | Amazon-UK | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Michael Connelly is the bestselling author of more than forty novels and one work of nonfiction. With over eighty-nine million copies of his books sold worldwide and translated into forty-five foreign languages, he is one of the most successful writers working today. A former newspaper reporter who worked the crime beat at the Los Angeles Times and the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, Connelly has won numerous awards for his journalism and his fiction. His very first novel, The Black Echo, won the prestigious Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award for Best First Novel in 1992. In 2002, Clint Eastwood directed and starred in the movie adaptation of Connelly’s 1998 novel, Blood Work. In March 2011, the movie adaptation of his #1 bestselling novel, The Lincoln Lawyer, hit theaters worldwide starring Matthew McConaughey as Mickey Haller. His most recent New York Times bestsellers include The Waiting (2024), Resurrection Walk (2023), Desert Star (2022), The Dark Hours (2021), The Law Of Innocence (2020), Fair Warning (2020), and The Night Fire (2019). Michael is the executive producer of Bosch and Bosch: Legacy, Amazon Studios original drama series based on his bestselling character Harry Bosch, starring Titus Welliver and streaming on Amazon Prime/Amazon Freevee. He is the executive producer of The Lincoln Lawyer, streaming on Netflix, starring Manuel Garcia-Rulfo. He is also the executive producer of the documentary films, “Sound Of Redemption: The Frank Morgan Story’ and ‘Tales Of the American.’ He spends his time in California and Florida.

Have a Great Sunday

Once Upon a River by Bonnie Jo Campbell #AudiobookReview #bookclubs #TBT

Goodreads Choice Award nominee for Readers’ Favorite Fiction (2011)

My first participation with the Y Book Club in our local area. I was thrilled to find an active, dynamic book club and attended on Wednesday for their May selection: Once Upon a River by Bonnie Jo Campbell. This book club meets once a month and is very popular. I could see why—it’s lovely—the moderator did a great job keeping us to script. It was discovered that there were several books by the same name and this was not the one recommended.

Book Blurb:

A finalist for the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award, Bonnie Jo Campbell is a rising star in contemporary fiction. Hailed by Booklist as a female Huckleberry Finn, Campbell’s heroine is 16-year-old Margo Crane. Complicit in her father’s death, Margo flees home for the Stark River. And as she follows the current, she learns the ways of the world from the eccentric characters she meets.

My Review:

I must say that Campbell weaves a spell-binding tale—she is quite the storyteller.

Unfortunately, the ladies in the club didn’t appreciate her brand of raw, rude, and sometimes crude, style of storytelling. This sixteen-year-old was taught by her dad and granddad to hunt and dress game. In fact, she is an excellent shot. Too good. She flees following the death of her father.

What follows is her experience as a teenager left to fend for herself, any way she can. Margo may appear unacceptable to the main population, but this is the 70s and 80s (although it seemed older than that).

I thought it was similar to Where the Crawdads Sing, except this narrative is darker, shocking. Margo Crane, the main character, is a strong fan of Annie Oakley, sees herself in Oakley, and tries to model after the famed nineteenth-century sharp shooter. Having been abandoned at an early age by her mother, she goes on a quest to find her and reconnect.

You might argue that, once again, we have a coming-of-age story not with a male MC, but a female MC, experimenting, pushing boundaries, pushing sexual limits, exploring the limits of her own abilities and reveling in successes.

In any case, you may see the gradual growth of maturity but still refuse to like the character. She is all but feral and essentially retains that essence of wild through the climax. Margo is self-sufficient. She may be looking for love. But she doesn’t need it to survive.

Book Club Thoughts

On the whole, most of the attendees did not like the book, with one commenting, “that is the worse book I’ve ever read.” Others commented they couldn’t identify or engage with the main character, nor any of the support characters. One of the ladies asked how the book club ended up with that book. (Yes, same title but was written by another author.) Lively discussion and as another lady pointed out, salient points noted by other attendees actually raised, perhaps one-half star their original estimate of star rating. Final concensus was approximately 1.75-2 stars by the body.

Book Club Rating

I’m looking forward to attending more book club meetings, the next scheduled book being The One in a Million Boy by Monica Wood. Many thanks to my local library for providing me with the audiobook. The thoughts expressed here are my own.

Book Details:

Genre: Coming of Age Fiction, Literary Fiction
Publisher: Recorded Books
ASIN: B005HH0KLK
Print Length: 349 pages
Publication Date: August 16, 2011
Source: Local Library

Title Link(s):

Amazon-US | Amazon-UK | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Bonnie Jo Campbell is the author of the national-bestselling novels The Waters and Once Upon a River. Her critically-acclaimed short fiction collections include American Salvage, which was a finalist for both the National Book Award and the National Book Critic’s Circle Award; Women and Other Animals, which won the AWP prize for short fiction; and Mothers, Tell Your Daughters. She is also author of the novel Q Road and a poetry chapbook. Her story “The Smallest Man in the World” was awarded a Pushcart Prize and her story “The Inventor, 1972″ was awarded the 2009 Eudora Welty Prize from Southern Review. She was a 2011 Guggenheim Fellow.

#ThrowbackThursday

Just taking a little blog break, but I’ll be back

Just doing a little housekeeping...

Graphic courtesy Canva.com

Silent Creed and Reckless Creed by Alex Kava #AudiobookReviews #ActionThriller #TBT

Books 2 and 3 Ryder Creed

Audiobook Reviews - Ryder Creed Books 2 and 3

Remember back in April when I posted a review for Breaking Creed, Book 1 of the Ryder Creed series? Yes, I got hooked and vowed to listen to all eight in the series. Unfortunately, my library had only these three in audiobook format. I’d read the others if I weren’t quite so stacked up on ebooks in the TBR just waiting for attention. Needless to say, I greatly enjoyed Ryder Creed and the saga of his dog rescue, the great support characters, and the stories incorporating rescues turned service animals. Hey—it could happen and I imagined it so through these entertaining books.

I snapped up Books 2 and 3 and hardly turned off the earbuds except to charge them.

Ryder Creed – An ex-military Afghanistan veteran. He has teamed with Hannah. They rescue and train dogs from their compound in Florida. All breeds, all sizes, different jobs. A few dogs, for instance, Grace, a little Jack Russell Terrier, are multi-service and their expertise is in increasing demand.

Maggie O’Dell, a character from which this series is apparently a spin-off, is a FBI profiler. She’s smart, experienced, and wields her authority with impunity.

Silent Creed Book 2

This time Creed and his dog Bolo have been called to North Carolina to the scene of a horrific mudslide that took out a covert lab and personnel.

Maggie O’Dell continues to play a part. I appreciate that we don’t have an underlying romance thing going on here, although it’s lightly suggested (maybe it was in Book 1), that they might have a brief history. (Now they have a good reciprocal working relationship.)

This novel introduces a new veteran, Jason Seaver, dealing heavily with PTSD as well as a missing arm who settles into the rescue compound ably handled by Hannah, also an appealing and engaging character.

There is intrigue, twists, and a fast pace to the book. The conclusion ends rather abruptly—was that a cliff-hanger? Or no…not sure. 4 stars

Reckless Creed Book 3

Things turn slightly more complex when there are multiple, seemingly unrelated events that culminate in the death, explanatory or not, of several individuals. Each have their own POV ramping up engagement, emotions, and connection and then gradually—with each other.

The plot, though the book was published in 2016, is certainly topical and garners attention immediately. The suspense is palpable, the fear real. The storyline builds tension throughout. Is it terrorism?

There is always some explanation into a dog’s psyche. In this installment, info of disease transmittable from animal to human, some woven in so you don’t realize the information being digested.

Once again, the storyline culminates rather quickly, although this episode does knit in a few loose threads from Book 2, while leaving a couple new threads to chew on for Book 4. 5 stars

I do greatly enjoy the series but perhaps it is not one that you might want to jump into the middle rather than at the beginning with Book 1. I love the obvious affection that Ryder has for his dogs, each handled with respect for their individual abilities. The dogs are well developed and lovable characters. I’d prefer continuing with audiobooks, but it appears my library only has a few more of the series but in digital format.

This series began in 2014 and ended in 2023 with Ryder Creed #8. I’ll be looking for more. Each of the audiobooks was about 7+ hours published by Recorded Books and was narrated by Graham Winton who did a credible job.

If you like suspenseful doggy stories and action thrillers, you may very well appreciate these fun and entertaining books. I downloaded a copy of these audiobooks from my local well-stocked library. These are my honest thoughts.

The Author: ALEX KAVA is a New York Times, USA Today and Amazon bestselling author of twenty novels including the award-winning FBI Profiler Maggie O’Dell series and the critically acclaimed and now award-winning Ryder Creed K-9 Mystery series. Recently LOST CREED won the 2019 Nebraska Book Award. Her novel Stranded was awarded both a Florida Book Award and the Nebraska Book Award. One False Move was chosen for the 2006 One Book One Nebraska and her political thriller, Whitewash, was one of January Magazine’s best thrillers of the year. Published in over thirty-four countries, Kava’s novels have made the bestseller lists in the UK, Australia, Germany, Japan, Italy, and Poland.

“A TRAILBLAZER IN THE K-9 FICTION GENRE, Kava creates a “dynamic between Ryder and his canines that reveals a world rarely shared in fiction and perhaps nowhere presented more effectively than in this series.” —Phil Jason, Florida Weekly

“It’s impossible not to care about and root for the human and canine heroes in Kava’s series.” —Tracie Holtcher, The Radio Pet Lady Network ™

She is a member of the Nebraska Writers Guild and is a founding member of International Thriller Writers. Kava divides her time between Omaha, Nebraska and Pensacola, Florida with her pack of of westies.

Happy Listening!