In the Line of Fire – Rosepoint Publishing

Rosepoint #BookReviews – August Recap Wrap-Up – #rosepointpub

Welcome to September! August alternately had some very hot days tempered with cool but an alarmingly little amount of rain. We normally don’t water in NWI, relying on rain. This year I had to water my tomatoes which ended up looking puny and unhappy anyway. And my fairy garden turned swamp garden became so dry the soil was cracking. Still, you can see it doesn’t look much like a desert garden either! It is, however, a work-in-progress. (Yes, the leaves are already beginning to fall.)

Spending so much time outdoors this time of year, I struggled with getting reviews posted. Perhaps you’ll remember I tried for one from Berkley that was declined and then WON Life and Other Inconveniences by Kristen Higgins from Stephanie at Stephanie’s Novel Fiction. (Or find her at #stephlvsbooks.) Holy smokes that is one riveting read! My associate reviewer, the intrepid CE, read The Plain of Jars by N. Lombardi Jr. which he absolutely loved and gave a glowing five-star review.

In spite of the time spent on my withering gardens, my count of books read in August totaled eleven, which included a biography, thrillers, historical reads, mysteries, and a humorous, LOL-worthy book by Worthen. Review links are listed below the pics.

The Daughters of Temperance Hobbs by Katherine Howe

Grateful American: A Journey from Self to Service by Gary Sinise

The Hallows by Victor Methos
The White Feather Killer by R N Morris
The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware
The Daughters of Temperance Hobbs by Katherine Howe
In the Line of Fire by R J Noonan
Desolate Shores by Daryl Wood Gerber
Bark of Night by David Rosenfelt (an Audiobook)
Grateful American by Gary Sinise
Thicker Than Water by Johnny Worthen
The Firefly Witch by Amanda Hughes
Hot Shot by Fern Michaels

Still lagging on my Goodreads Challenge, hoping to catch that up come fall. However, going some time between giveaways and winning, I actually won a second book in the same month–now waiting to receive from across the pond Portal to Murder by Alison Lingwood from Kerry at Chat About Books. Excited? You betcha! You may remember I posted an article about Goodreads Giveaways simultaneously offered on NetGalley. Never win anything? Have you tried recently? Keep trying–someone wins.

I see many of the same books being reviewed by you and always love to read your comments. Was Rewind your favorite of the month? Did you also read one of the above? What were your thoughts on it? (Hard to beat Gary Sinise’s book.) Have one you’d like to recommend? Is it a thriller?

Thank you so much for taking the time to read and like my posts and leave those comments and welcome to my new followers!

In the Line of Fire by R J Noonan – a #BookReview

Title: In the Line of Fire: A Laura Mori Mystery by R J Noonan

Genre: Crime Thrillers, Police Procedurals

Publisher: Crooked Lane Books

ISBN-10:1643850156
ISBN-13:978-1643850153
ASIN: B07M9LHFZY

Print Length: 297 pages

Publication Date: Happy Release Day! August 13, 2019

Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link: In the Line of Fire

Book Blurb:

When secrets are too big to buy, it’s worth killing to bury them.

Growing up, Laura Mori was constantly overshadowed by her far more successful siblings. She had a tough time appeasing her parents, and now that she’s a police officer, recently promoted to detective, they still seem less than fazed. Everyone knows a cop’s salary—it’s meager, to say the least. But Laura has found her calling—she was born to be a detective and is determined to prove it, if not to her parents, then at least to the boys club that is Sunrise Lake PD. She sticks out like a sore thumb as the only young female minority, but she has resolved to at least seem like an unshakeable thumb.

The next case file on her desk turns out to be a bank heist and it should be easy enough, but what starts off as a one-and-done job quickly begins to seem too by-the-book and oddly like a notorious series of deadly bank hits from years past dubbed Twilight. But it’s a dead end—Twilight is only ever mentioned in hushed tones, and there’s little to no history on it in the department. And then she receives her first sign, of many more to come, that her investigation is not welcome. Alongside her partner Z and stunningly attractive FBI agent Nick Derringer, she begins to pull on the frayed thread, and that’s when she sees the bloody writing on the wall: the only other young female cop on the force was KIA during Twilight.

With too much on the line to lose, including her own life, Laura must get to the bottom of the case and fast, or she, too, will become history.

My Review:

Only the second in the series, this narrative can function well as a standalone. There are only a few references to the previous book, a case that Laura Mori solved which propelled her into detective grade with the Sunrise Lake PD, a small town in the Pacific NW.

She is a natural with her investigative calling and as a Japanese American with successful siblings has something to prove to her parents as well as the men of the department as she whittles away at a firm position within the force. She has been partnered with Zion “Z” Frazier. He and his former partner were on a call when she was killed in the last of the Twilight robberies and the memory of the brutal loss still shakes him.

When what looks like a copy cat bank heist of the Twilight robberies that led to the officer fatality occurs, Laura is given lead into the investigation and is soon joined by FBI agent Nick Derringer (enter the romance). She is quickly told not to tie in the three-year-old investigation but the more she learns about that one the more she realizes there is a connection.

The well-paced and plotted mystery is multi-layered with her partner Z concentrating on petty theft at a local assisted living facility while she gleans information on the cold case file as well as the recent bank heist. She is met with derision from the good ole boy network but doggedly pursues leads and questions witnesses of both crimes. Then she receives threats to leave the Twilight investigation alone.

This one may have been a bit ambitious with layers connecting to the next offense, or corruption, and infused with well-worn tropes. While Laura is smart and effective at gleaning information from her interrogations, she’s still busy vying for her parental approval and fighting the guys at work. (And as a detective, I’m still trying to figure out why she is wearing a uniform or she and Z drive a police cruiser.) Laura is fairly well-fleshed, as is Z, not so much the heart-throb. The perp is rather one-dimensional and easy to figure out, a bit too obvious.

The author is, however, building an interesting group of characters and it will be interesting to see how they grow and Laura mature. I’m not sure she needs a long-distance romance, cute or not, and you’ll have to stifle some disbelief with this one. The conclusion ramps up the tension and neatly closes the book.

I received this ebook download from the publisher and NetGalley and appreciated the opportunity to read and review. These are my own opinions. Recommended for mystery fans of light police procedurals.

Rosepoint Publishing: Three-point Five of Five Stars

The Author: (From Goodreads) Rosalind Noonan is a New York Times bestselling author of women’s fiction and domestic suspense novels and is a graduate of Wagner College. She lives in the Pacific Northwest, where she writes in the shade of some towering two-hundred-year-old Douglas fir trees. This is her first mystery under the name R. J. Noonan.