#bookpost – Page 3 – Rosepoint Publishing

Rosepoint Reviews – April Recap – May Day? Already?

Rosepoint Reviews - April Recap

You’ve all heard it…”the best laid plans”…blah, blah, blah

Sorta of what happened with my April which blew by me with our new, not necessarily improved, weekly schedule. Perhaps I can lay it at the feet of the “Y” schedule we’ve adopted. I mentioned last month joining the recreational facility and discovering all kinds of exercise (and social) opportunities, many for us seniors.

Suffice to say, we’ve settled into a “senior (exercise) circuit” (Tuesday), machine circuit and indoor cycling (for me), rowing (for the CE) on Wednesday, and Tai Chi on Thursday. (There are also yoga classes, but in studying the benefits of both, decided that the former was the better choice for our age and goals (balance, whole body). With traveling there and back and incurring ravenous appetites, the remaining available time on those days is limited.

Needless to say, no spring cleaning started, no veggie or flower starts.

Okay, new spring plans: I’ve decided to take a blogging sabbatical. I’ve talked about decreasing the number of posts, either it hasn’t happened or didn’t make a significant difference to my schedule. Blogging does appear to be a full-time job—and I’ve retired twice already. So…

Beginning May 11, I’ll be concentrating on home projects, including said spring cleaning and gardens until May 22. May 14 will mark my first attendance to the “Y” Book Club. National Rescue Dog Day occurs on May 20^th and I hope to acknowledge Punkin that day. May 8^th marks nineteen months with us.

Guess I pretty much stuck to status quo as we read and reviewed twelve books in April.

Of the twelve, six were audiobooks. I got into gothic horror and magical paranormal in April, sampled new authors (to me) as well as favorites and discovered two new K-9 series, both of which I enjoyed, one I’ll continue.

I source many titles through my library, a few in NetGalley, as well as author and publisher requests. As always, the links on titles are to our reviews that include purchase information.

Rosepoint Reviews - April Recap

Open Season by Jonathan Kellerman (audiobook)
Murder in Galway by Carlene O’Connor (CE review-#begorrathon25)
Watchers by Dean Koontz (5*)
The Neon Rain by James Lee Burke (audiobook)
The Cartagena Cartel by T C Roberts (CE review)
A Lesson in Dying by Ann Cleeves
Accidental Magic by Iris Beaglehole (audiobook)
The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths (audiobook)
Chasing Justice by Kathleen Donnelly
The Paris Express by Emma Donoghue (audiobook)
Breaking Creed by Alex Kava (audiobook)
Hunting the Truth by Kathleen Donnelly

Favorite Book of the Month

One five-star review for April? Hard to believe, especially since the CE read and reviewed two. Still, even with just a few little credibility problems, I have to name Watchers as my favorite for the month. Hey, it’s a story about a dog. Not just any dog. This is a special—very, very special, lab dog. Could mean Labrador, but in this case (remember who is the author), the dog named Einstein is a laboratory dog. Okay, I’m easily entertained, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Great characters, both human and canine. Fast-paced, hard to put down. It’s an old one but a good one.

Favorite for April – Watchers by Dean Koontz

My Reading Challenges page…Okay, don’t faint. I’ve caught up the Reading Challenges page. Dang, I’m proud of myself! And I really hope you’ll check it out if for no other reason than to note my latest counts.

But here’s a conundrum: My Goodreads landing page shows the 2025 Reading Challenge at 63 books completed of the goal of 150 (changed up from 125). But when I go to copy the latest widget HTML to update my blog, it notes a count of 53. Ten difference? How did that happen?

Welcome to my new subscribers! I hope you found a book or two that appealed to you and I always appreciate suggestions! Have a beautiful May!

Have a good week!

Rosepoint Publishing Reviews – February Recap – March Holds a Spring Promise

Rosepoint Publishing Reviews - February Recap

I loved it for a while, but alas, the AI freebies are over (used my free credits) both on Canva and Gemini. Now I’m back to sampling Freepik—without much luck. The background of the bookcase below is a sample, but obviously not very close to my description of the picture I’d envisioned. Must admit, Gemini came closer to creating the images I wanted, but it too is bye-bye. I used to try to use only those pictures I originated, my pictures or designs. That’s no longer working. Got a source you like? What is your favorite go-to for images?

February is a short one and it flew by. I used to love March. Spring. Warmer weather. New growth, babies. Promise. Of course, for me, it’s also birthday month and as usual the body is saying one thing and the mind another. It’s a clash of wills but it may be the body who wins and both the CE and I are beginning to make more of those dreaded trips to the doc. We used to joke we’d need a car only for groceries and doctor visits. Ugh. Not so funny anymore, but that’s where some of our reading time went.

I’m still using Goodreads to find good audiobooks, as well as blogger buddy suggestions. My library has most of what I look for but it’s amazing the number of books that are on waiting lists despite having numerous copies. Of course, I still find books at NetGalley, as well as author and publisher requests.

We managed ten reviews between us in February that included four audiobooks. As always, the links on titles are to our reviews that include purchase or source information.

Rosepoint Publishing Review - February Recap — Background bookcase courtesy Freepik.com AI

You Have Gone Too Far by Carlene O’Connor
The Friday Afternoon Club by Griffin Dunne (audiobook)
This American Woman by Zarna Garg
Connie: A Memoir by Connie Chung (audiobook)
From Here to the Great Unknown: A Memoir by Lisa Marie Presley and Riley Keough (audiobook)
Valley of the Wolves by Brock Farrow (CE review)
Guardian of the Crossroads by Melanie Forde
To Catch a Spy by Mark ONeill (CE review)
Gathering Mist by Margaret Mizushima
Audition by Barbara Walters (audiobook)

Favorite Book of the Month

WOW, it was a tough one this month! A number of them could have been five-star reads from either of us, but despite a small issue that may have knocked off a half-star, the story was still outstanding. Included in the month—several memoirs! In particular though, This American Woman—super, Guardian of the Crossroads—excellent, and Gathering Mist—love the dogs—really ticked off all the boxes. Zarna Garg has an amazing view of issues—some alien to mine but always with a sense of humor. Melanie Forde definitely pushed outside of her familiar family sagas. This one deeper, darker than I’d seen before and it worked, leaving me slack-jawed. Most readers have sampled Margaret Mizushima’s books. Always good, fast paced, and informative. So which one gets the coveted Rosepoint nod?

Favorite for February – Guardian of the Crossroads by Melanie Forde

My Reading Challenges page…

My Goodreads Challenge is currently at 33 of a 2025 goal of 125. No, keeping up with my Challenge page wasn’t a New Year’s resolution. I’ll get to it…

Welcome to my new subscribers! So glad you joined this group. I hope you found a book or two that appealed to you here, and I’m always looking for your suggestions! And to all my readers, have a beautiful March!

It's so hard to choose! — Gemini-generated AI image

Audition: A Memoir by Barbara Walters #AudiobookReview #ThrowbackThursday

Young people starting out in television sometimes say to me:
“I want to be you.” My stock reply is always: “Then you have to take the whole package.”

Book Blurb:

And now, at last, the most important woman in the history of television journalism gives us that “whole package,” in her inspiring and riveting memoir. After more than forty years of interviewing heads of state, world leaders, movie stars, criminals, murderers, inspirational figures, and celebrities of all kinds, Barbara Walters has turned her gift for examination onto herself to reveal the forces that shaped her extraordinary life.

Barbara Walters’s perception of the world was formed at a very early age. Her father, Lou Walters, was the owner and creative mind behind the legendary Latin Quarter nightclub, and it was his risk-taking lifestyle that made Barbara aware of the ups and downs that can occur when someone is willing to take great risks.

The financial responsibility for her family, the fear, the love all played a large part in the choices she made as she grew up: the friendships she developed, the relationships she had, the marriages she tried to make work. Ultimately, thanks to her drive, combined with a decent amount of luck, she began a career in television. And what a career it has been! Against great odds, Barbara has made it to the top of a male-dominated industry.

She has spent a lifetime auditioning, and this book, in some ways, is her final audition, as she fully opens up both her private and public lives. In doing so, she has given us a story that is heartbreaking and honest, surprising and fun, sometimes startling, and always fascinating.

My Review:

It’s always fun to get the down low on our celebrities. I always wonder how they got their start. Born with a silver spoon or gagging on mush for the twentieth day? In this case, she appears to have experienced a bit of both.

First, I marveled that as a girl of her generation, she was given the opportunity for college when most women were not expected to have more than a high school education if that. That generation would not waste an education on someone whose role was expected to be a wife and mother.

There certainly was a drive in her, however, in that her father worked heavily in the entertainment business. Lou Walters, who managed during tough financial times in the US, created the sensational Latin Quarter Nightclub in New York. Originally from London, his nightclub was a sensational hit. And then it wasn’t. Feast or famine. And insecurity.

But, yes, as with any who finally makes it to the top, there was a combination of luck, timing, and hard, hard work—willing to take on anything. And back then, a woman in that industry was expected to do little more than fetch coffee.

In her sixty-five years in the industry, as a journalist, she interviewed anyone and everyone. The famous and infamous. Newsworthy. News reporter, co-anchor, and anchor. Television personality, appearing and/or creating topical talk shows. I must admit that I didn’t watch The View, but did enjoy 20/20 and her interviews.

At almost twenty-seven hours of an audiobook, translating to more than 628 Kindle or print pages, you can imagine she didn’t leave anyone out of her book. Less you believe I didn’t pound through all that, I’ll admit there were more than a few dry areas, then jerking back into someone of interest. Enough that there would be someone of interest to a wide range audience.

Her love life, affairs, and marriages? Gees, Barbara, TMI.

Still, there were a number of quotables and I found it fascinating that she vacillated so much over decisions. Indeed, one of my favorites:

“On my gravestone I want inscribed maybe, on the other hand, I should have lived.”

Obviously, something may have made the decision for her. She passed away in 2022.

She may possibly have reduced this book by half if she had not expanded on the story of most everyone she cited. Granted, they were all notable, maybe some more than others. Somehow, though, this reader hung in there for every new celebrity by speeding up the audiobook pace or I’d still be listening to it.

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: Biographies of Journalists, Editors & Publishers, Journalist Biographies, Biographies of Women
Publisher: Random House Audio
ASIN: B001M5G75Y
Listening Length: 26 hrs 46 mins
Narrator: Bernadette Dunne
Publication Date: November 24, 2008
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Links: Amazon-US
Amazon-UK

Barbara Walters - author - photo by Lynn Gilbert — Barbara Walters, photo by Lynn Gilbert, courtesy Wikipedia

The Author: Barbara Walters of American television reported news from 1961 for the National Broadcasting Company, and afterward in 1976 joined as the first woman to anchor the nightly network to 1979.

Barbara Jill Walters wrote as a journalist and media personality as a regular fixture on morning shows like The View. People knew Walters for more than a decade in the morning on Today, where she with Hugh Downs later hosted Frank McGee and Jim Hartz. Walters later spent a quarter-century as co-host of 20/20, an evening magazine. She stood with Harry Reasoner on The American Broadcasting Company Evening News. [Wikipedia]

[Wikipedia has an extensive bio on Ms Walters from personal to professional life, well worth checking out. She accomplished more in her ninety-three years than most can imagine and is truly inspirational in breaking records and opening doors for women.]

©V Williams

#ThrowbackThursday

AI generated graphic by Canva.com

To Catch a Spy by Mark ONeill #BookReview #HeistCrime

Book Blurb:

“A worthy sequel to the classic.” ― Harlan Coben

Estate approved sequel to the novel To Catch a Thief by David Dodge and 1955 Academy Award-winning film by Alfred Hitchcock

It’s been a year since John Robie, notorious Riviera jewel thief, proved his innocence by catching a copycat burglar. And it’s been a year since John has seen Francie Stevens, the adventurous socialite who not only saw through his disguise, but helped him catch the copycat. Now Francie is returning to the Riviera for its first-ever Fashion Week as a model for a top French designer, and John plans on rekindling their romance. But there’s a problem. While helping a friend, John chases down a mysterious courier, whose ruthless associates now want John dead. To make matters worse, when Francie arrives, she has a boyfriend in tow, and tells John that she wants nothing to do with him.

John has to figure out why he’s a hunted man, and why Francie is acting suspiciously. Digging deeper, he discovers a spy ring with evil intent. As John works unofficially to gather evidence, a question begins to haunt him―could Francie Stevens be a spy? With his enemies closing in, John turns to his cat burglar skills to try to save his life and expose the traitors. To survive, he has to catch the spies before they catch―and kill―a retired thief!

His Review:

John Robie is a very accomplished individual. He has trained as an acrobat in the circus and has maintained his climbing abilities throughout his life. He is an ex-patriot living on the French Riviera and has honed his craft as a jewel thief. He frequents the posh hotels and other places where the rich and famous go to play.

Francie Stevens is a young lady learning the modeling trade. She is very lovely and picks up the business fairly well. Some of the designers decide to use her in the upcoming fashion shows and she is quickly becoming famous. Many designers wish to engage her to promote their designs. She is new to the business and eager to please.

Francie has an off/again, on/again affair with John, and although they seem to hit it off, they soon part ways. She is lured by wealthy designers who want her to help with their clandestine activities. She does not know she is being used, but many of the designers are engaged in many nefarious activities. Francie is unknowingly drawn into this world and she is dragged into the world of espionage.

This story is well written and follows the format of a story written nearly a century earlier. The plot has many twists and will keep any reader glued to the outcome. The characters are particularly well developed. The French Resistance during WWII honed the skills of many of the participants. Enjoy! 4.5 stars – CE Williams

I read To Catch a Thief by David Dodge in January. While this author has been given approval to write this sequel by his estate and did an admiral job, there was a certain writing style to the original by David Dodge that I just didn’t quite find in this novel. The book will catch and hold your interest and attention but if you’ve read the original concept, (especially recently) might note a perceptible difference.

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.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Heist Crime, Heist Thrillers, International Mystery & Crime
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
ISBN: ‎ 146422501X
ASIN: B0D1XMV53C
Print Length: 366 pages
Publication Date: April 1, 2025
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

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

Mark ONeill - author — Author photo courtesy Goodreads author page

The Author: No bio

Rosepoint Reviews – January Recap – Catch the winter reading bug, not the flu

#Rosepoint Reviews - January recap

January is a catch-up month around here, packing holiday decorations away, doing some cleaning, updating blog folders (and Challenge page) to 2025, and doing some general website housekeeping. I took a hard look at my challenges and signed up for the same few, but reduced goals this year. Just too much always going on to keep up and I’d dearly love to do some AI graphics.

After looking at WP templates and formats, it would appear I am pretty well stuck with the same one as I still don’t want to try the block editor again and so many of the templates only work with the block editor. As is, I’m finding problems with my widgets, the blocks interfering with spacing and I’m blocked from linking both Twitter feed and Instagram. Still, I want to update the look somewhat with whatever additional resources I have.

Decided I would continue to try for posts on Tuesday and Thursday—Sunday if the CE has a review available. Felt like our stats were dropping and I went in to get an average number of reviews per month, but last January 2024 (not counting bookish posts), we posted ten reviews. So then looking at all months and tallying the average, discovered that between the two of us, we are generally running about 11.33/books/mo. Maybe not fewer then, just a shift in where we are getting the books and an increase in audiobooks equal to the decrease in digitals.

I mentioned AI graphics before and looking at different apps and free downloads, found more than I thought available. I played around with the free version of Freepik, but the free version is very limited and doesn’t make sense to pay for the little I’d use. Between the two, the AI graphics on Canva (again my free version) offers greater diversity and is more user friendly. Still, one can always resort to Google Gemini 2.0 which creates limited graphics as well as text.

I’m using Goodreads to mine the opportunity for good audiobooks, as well as your suggestions, and books sourced at NetGalley, author and publisher requests, and my well-stocked library.

We managed thirteen reviews between us in January that included seven audiobooks. These links on titles are to our reviews that include purchase or source information.

Rosepoint Reviews - January Recap

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore (audiobook)
Downstate: A Novella by Jeffery Deaver (CE review)
History’s Pages: The Knocknashee Story by Jean Grainger (5 stars)
The Burning and The Lost Coast by Jonathan and Jesse Kellerman (audiobooks)
To Catch a Thief by David Dodge (CE review)
All We Thought We Knew by Michelle Shocklee
Half Moon Bay by Jonathan and Jesse Kellerman (audiobook)
A Measure of Darkness by Jonathan Kellerman and Jesse Kellerman (audiobook)
The Crossing Places: The First Ruth Galloway Mystery by Elly Griffiths
A Dead Draw by Robert Dugoni (CE review)
The Investigator by John Sandford (audiobook)

Favorite Book of the Month

No question this month, All We Thought We Knew by Michelle Shocklee left me breathless and satisfied. I recommended it to the CE and he burned through it in a couple days. No doubt this would make a super selection for any book club.

Favorite for January – All We Thought We Knew

My Reading Challenges page…My Goodreads Challenge is currently at 18 of a 2025 goal of 125. No, keeping up with my Challenge page wasn’t a New Year’s resolution. I’ll get to it…
by and by.

Welcome to my new subscribers! So glad you joined our group. I hope all my readers are finding some amazing books to spend some quality hot chocolate, fireplace time with!

The Investigator by John Sandford #AudiobookReview #TuesdayBookBlog

A Letty Davenport Novel Book 1

Best Mystery, Thriller, & Suspense

Book Blurb:

By age twenty-four, Letty Davenport has seen more action and uncovered more secrets than many law enforcement professionals. Now a recent Stanford grad with a master’s in economics, she’s restless and bored in a desk job for U.S. Senator Colles. Letty’s ready to quit, but her skills have impressed Colles, and he offers her a carrot: feet-on-the-ground investigative work, in conjunction with the Department of Homeland Security.

Several oil companies in Texas have reported thefts of crude, Colles tells her. He isn’t so much concerned with the oil as he is with the money: who is selling the oil, and what are they doing with the profits? Rumor has it that a fairly ugly militia group might be involved. Colles wants to know if the money is going to them, and if so, what they’re planning.

Letty is partnered with a DHS investigator, John Kaiser, and they head to Texas. When the case quicky turns deadly, they know they’re on the track of something bigger. The militia group has set in motion an explosive plan . . . and the clock is ticking down.

My Review:

My second novel for this author, although the first was a Virgil Flowers series, a macho male protagonist apparently a spin-off of the Prey series. I don’t think this is another spin-off, but it almost feels as if it’s the same protagonist, just that now she’s a twenty-four-year-old recent Stanford Master’s graduate on her first job (Sheesh!) and she’s bored. Poor baby. Not sure how she got the job for a US senator, but it’s not law enforcement.

Coming from a horrific childhood, one of which had her tracking and killing animals for food and money, she definitely hit the lottery at age twelve. Yes, her particular adoption was more than luck, and they must have really spent some bucks cause now she’s too smart for twenty-four, too sophisticated for name brand jeans, and pushing rude and obnoxious.

Also, the book published in 2022 smacks in the middle of quite the immigrant conundrum. Letty is assigned a Homeland Security investigator, and she and Kaiser head to Texas.

A large militia group headed by a woman is focusing her troops and efforts on stopping a contingent of immigrants heading for the border. Their tactics are deadly. Letty subtly leads the more experienced Kaiser in infiltratation, as they fall into step as a team. Meanwhile, it becomes clear Letty has her equal in the antagonist, who is almost equally developed.

The pace gains speed as it nears the conclusion of the book which culminates with a cliffhanger into Book 2.

Yes, Letty is badass, but her field experience is not that of ex-military or an agent experienced under fire. She was educated in economics—not combat. She was…just too much. Interesting narrative, kept my attention, but also a story we have been living with for years. I can almost predict Book 2—so—I don’t think so.

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

Rosepoint Publishing: Three point Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Crime Fiction, Mysteries, Suspense
Publisher: Penguin Audio
ASIN: B09B4FT7L2
Listening Length: 13 hrs 2 mins.
Narrator: Richard Ferrone
Publication Date: April 12, 2022
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Link: The Investigator [Amazon-US]
Amazon-UK

The Author: John Sandford is the pseudonym for the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist John Camp. He is the author of the Prey novels, the Kidd novels, the Virgil Flowers novels, and six other books, including three YA novels co-authored with his wife Michele Cook.

#TuesdayBookBLog — AI graphic by Canva.com

A Dead Draw by Robert Dugoni #BookReview #policeprocedurals

Tracy Crosswhite Book 11

Book Blurb:

An Amazon Charts and Wall Street Journal bestselling series.

A killer fueled by revenge. A detective haunted by the past. They are headed for a high-stakes showdown in this bone-chilling new Tracy Crosswhite novel by New York Times bestselling author Robert Dugoni.

Detective Tracy Crosswhite isn’t one to lose her cool. Until her interrogation of the taunting and malicious Erik Schmidt, a suspect in two cold case killings. Schmidt also has unnerving ties to the monster who murdered Tracy’s sister, stirring memories of the crime that shaped Tracy’s life. After a critical mistake during a shooting exercise, Tracy breaks.

Haunted by nightmares and flashbacks, Tracy heads to her hometown of Cedar Grove to refocus. Just a peaceful getaway with her husband, her daughter, and their nanny at their weekend house. But Tracy’s sleepless nights are only beginning. A legal glitch has allowed Schmidt to go free. And Tracy has every reason to fear that he’s followed her.

Forced into a twisted game of cat and mouse, Tracy must draw on all her training, wits, and strength to defeat a master criminal before he takes away everyone Tracy loves.

His Review:

A detective can never be certain that someone he/she tracks down and arrests will not seek revenge. This is the umbrella that Tracy Crosswhite lives under every day. She had been relentless in hunting for her sister’s killer and making sure that he would spend the rest of his life in prison.

A really good defense attorney will work to free his/her clients no matter what egregious crimes they have committed. Erick Schmidt had killed her sister as well as a number of young women. The killings were cruel and messy and he made sure that they suffered the maximum amount before they expired. Meanwhile, he languished in jail as appeal after appeal was filed on his behalf. The process is exacerbated by a judge who feels that every convict is harassed by the officers who hope to get them off the streets and put away.

Tracy’s twin sister had been one of Erik’s playthings. Her body was mutilated and buried in a shallow grave. He had hoped to put Tracy in a similar grave but was caught instead. This story exemplifies the problems faced by the police and the judicial system and the horrors that result. 4.5 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.

[The author is nothing if not prolific. Together we’ve read five of his novels since 2022 and probably missed a few including Book 10 of the Tracy White series. The last few were intros to new series or standalones such as my last two reads, The Cyanide Canary in June last year, and Beyond Reasonable Doubt in July. Regardless the genre, series, or standalone, you can always count on his books to deliver. VW]

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Police Procedurals, Women Sleuths
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
ASIN: B0D7NPY2ST
Print Length: 395 pages
Publication Date: May 27, 2025
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon-US | Amazon-UK | Barnes & Noble

The Author: Robert Dugoni is the critically acclaimed New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and #1 Amazon bestselling author of the Tracy Crosswhite police series set in Seattle, which has sold more than 10 million books worldwide. He is also the author of The Charles Jenkins espionage series, the David Sloane legal thriller series, the Keera Duggan legal thriller series, and several stand-alone novels including the literary novel, The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell – One of Newsweek Magazines Best Books of All Time and Suspense Magazine’s Book of the Year. Dugoni’s narration won an AudioFile Earphones Award. He has also written critically acclaimed historical novels based on true events: The World Played Chess a coming of age story and the Vietnam War; Hold Strong an untold story of WWII; and A Killing on the Hill, about a 1933 killing and trial in Seattle. HIs nonfiction exposé The Cyanide Canary, was a Washington Post Best Book of the Year. His novels have been optioned for movies and television series. Dugoni is the recipient of the Nancy Pearl Award for Fiction and multiple awards for best novel set in the Pacific Northwest. He has also been a finalist for many other awards including the International Thriller Award, the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction, the Silver Falchion Award for mystery, and the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award.

Robert Dugoni’s books are sold in more than forty countries and have been translated into more than thirty languages.

Visit his website and follow him on Amazon, Goodreads, twitter, Facebook, Tik Tok and other social media sites.

#tobereleased in May, #ADeadDraw by #RobertDugoni

AI Graphic courtesy Canva.com

A Measure of Darkness by Jonathan Kellerman and Jesse Kellerman #AudiobookReview #PoliceProceduralMysteries

Book Blurb:

Former star basketball player Clay Edison is busy. He’s solved a decades-old crime and redeemed an innocent man, earning himself a suspension in the process. Things are getting serious with his girlfriend. Plus his brother’s fresh out of prison, bringing with him a whole new set of complications.

Then the phone rings in the dead of night.

A wild party in a gentrifying East Bay neighborhood. A heated argument that spills into the street. Gunshots. Chaos.

For Clay and his fellow coroners, it’s the start of a long night and the first of many to come. The victims keep piling up. What begins as a community tragedy soon becomes lurid fodder for social media.

Then the smoke clears and the real mystery emerges – one victim’s death doesn’t match the others. Brutalized and abandoned, stripped of ID, and left to die: She is Jane Doe, a human question mark. And it falls to Clay to give her a name and a voice.

Haunted by the cruelty of her death, he embarks upon a journey into the bizarre, entering a hidden world where innocence and perversity meet and mingle. There, his relentless pursuit of the truth opens the gateway to a dark and baffling past – and brings him right into the line of fire.

My Review:

The second in the series with protagonist Clay Edison, a former college basketball glory boy, though that is still well ingrained in his psyche. In this installment, his brother shows up, pretty much the opposite of Clay. A feature of this series, matching his personal life to his professional which makes him a real human, flesh and bone being with all the foibles as well as triumphs.

The line blurs often, however, with his professional life as a county coroner. While his duty is to check a body, possibly determine one of the five causes of death, and notify next of kin, he often steps outside those boundaries. It makes for an interesting story while stretching credulity.

It’s character driven plot has Clay out to identify a victim that makes it a bit difficult. There was a party that got out of hand and ended with more than one death. This one, however, was found just outside the main scene and was atypical of the others—strangled—not shot.

A Measure of Darkness by Jonathan and Jesse Kellerman — A Measure of Darkness – UK cover

In order to notify the next of kin, Clay would first have to sort out who he/she was. The storyline meanders a bit with kicky dialogue between Clay and his sweetie, his co-workers, and his erstwhile brother. I’ve still not warmed up to Amy (his love life), but love Clay’s character. There is a LOT going on, splitting the main plot point, the conclusion drawing most together in explanation.

Interesting, but probably not my favorite of the series and this completes all five. I was just really getting into the series by Book 4, but then the whole scenario changed with Book 5. I last read Half Moon Bay, Book 3, which was good. Crime Scene starts the series, which I also enjoyed and led me to listen to the others.

I like the writing style for the most part. It’s smart, clipped, believable. And, I’m happy to be introduced to the narrator who does an excellent job of making these pages come alive.

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

Rosepoint Publishing: Three point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Police Procedural Mysteries, Crime Thrillers, Contemporary Fantasy
Publisher: Random House Audio
ASIN: B07BB11JLB
Listening Length: 8 hrs 3 mins
Narrator: Dennis Boutsikaris
Publication Date: July 31, 2018
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Link: A Measure of Darkness – Amazon-US
Amazon-UK
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

The Authors:

Jonathan Kellerman

Jonathan Kellerman is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than three dozen bestselling crime novels, including the Alex Delaware series, The Butcher’s Theater, Billy Straight, The Conspiracy Club, Twisted, True Detectives, and The Murderer’s Daughter. With his wife, bestselling novelist Faye Kellerman, he co-authored Double Homicide and Capital Crimes. With his son, bestselling novelist Jesse Kellerman, he co-authored The Golem of Hollywood and The Golem of Paris. He is also the author of two children’s books and numerous nonfiction works, including Savage Spawn: Reflections on Violent Children and With Strings Attached: The Art and Beauty of Vintage Guitars. He has won the Goldwyn, Edgar, and Anthony awards and has been nominated for a Shamus Award. Jonathan and Faye Kellerman live in California, New Mexico, and New York.

Read more at:
http://www.jonathankellerman.com/

Jesse Kellerman

Jesse Kellerman has written dozens of plays and published seven novels, two of them cowritten with his father, Jonathan Kellerman. He has won numerous awards, including the Princess Grace Award for Playwriting (“Things Beyond Our Control”) and the Grand Prix des Lectrices de Elle (“The Genius”/”Les Visages”). His novel “Potboiler” was nominated for the Edgar Award for Best Novel. An essay, “Let My People Go to the Buffet,” was included in Penguin’s Best American Spiritual Writing (2011). His next book, Crime Scene, was also cowritten with Jonathan Kellerman and will be published in fall 2017. He lives in Berkeley, California, with his wife and children.

The Narrator:

Dennis Boutsikaris

Dennis Boutsikaris was born December 21, 1952 in Newark, New Jersey, to a Greek American father and Jewish mother,^[1] and grew up in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey.^[2] He took up acting while a student at Governor Livingston High School, because he felt he was too small to succeed in athletics.^[3] A graduate of Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts, Boutsikaris toured the country with John Houseman’s The Acting Company doing classical theatre. Boutsikaris was married to actress Deborah Hedwall; they divorced in 2002.

He can be heard in over 160 audiobooks and has received eight Audie Awards and two Best Voices of the Year Awards from AudioFile Magazine.^[14] He was voted Best Narrator of the Year by Amazon for The Gene.

Find him at:
http://www.dennisboutsikaris.com *

*Thanks to Wikipedia for this info.

Graphic courtesy Freepik.com