kidnapping crime fiction – Rosepoint Publishing

You Have Gone Too Far by Carlene O’Connor #BookReview #TuesdayBookBlog

A County Kerry Novel Book 3

Book Blurb:

With the haunting, moody prose of Tana French and the compulsive storytelling of Dervla McTiernan or Ann Cleeves, bestselling author Carlene O’Connor lures readers to a remote village on Ireland’s southwest coast, where winding windswept roads open to spectacular views of rugged cliffs against immense, lonely beaches . . . and some fear a mysterious cult could be connected to the disappearance of a young pregnant woman.

After two pregnant women in Dingle who have never met each receive a chilling email warning them that they’re in grave danger, the two decide to meet each other to figure out what is going on. But when one of the mothers, Shauna, a deaf woman, arrives at their meeting place at the village Spring Festival, she fears a trap and hurries off to meet the couple who plan to adopt her baby.

Meanwhile, Dimpna Wilde has her hands full with lambing season and keeping track of her father, so she’s grateful for the help of a well-meaning ten-year-old boy, Dylan, at the veterinary clinic. But when the lad goes missing after going into a bog on a dare with two other boys to search for a “monster,” she is desperate to help find him.

After the adoptive couple are discovered tied up in their home, telling a terrifying story of a deaf pregnant woman being abducted by a man wearing a butterfly mask, Detective Inspector Cormac O’Brien and Detective Sergeant Barbara Neely fear a repeat of a disturbing case from twenty years earlier, when a charismatic leader calling himself the Shepherd, lured poor pregnant girls into his enigmatic cult. Though allegations of baby smuggling were never proven, he’d been put away on other charges. But then they learn that the Shepherd has recently been released from prison.

Trapped in a cold, dark room with a frightened boy, Shauna fears for their lives as well as that of her unborn baby. If she has any chance of getting out and away from the Moth Man, as she calls her abductor, she’ll have to figure out the truth behind who she really is and how that connects to the ordeal she finds herself in now. But time is running out and her baby will be born soon . . .

My Review:

I’ve enjoyed the author’s cozy mystery series for some time, read most of them and then started this series. Book 3 is also my third and I’ve found each a bit darker.

Although Book 2 Some of Us Are Looking, began bordering on noir this one turned even darker from thriller to horror and I found some descriptions just too graphic for me.

Dimpna Wilde is a vet in a remote rural village on Ireland’s coast. Her practice has led her to confront the death of more than animals. In this installment, the gruesome body of a pregnant woman and her baby has been found. At the same time, a young boy and a pregnant teenage girl go missing.

Dimpna is again partnered with Detective Inspector Cormac O’Brien and Detective Sergeant Barbara Neely to help find the missing children as well as determine who and why the young woman was killed and her body dumped. Is an old cult resurfacing?

We’ve come up on the partnership of Dimpna and DI O’Brien before and rooted in the background for them to possibly light the spark that undeniably appears between them.

I’m not sure what really happened to this storyline though. It felt like it made a left turn somewhere in the plot and created a rather disjointed feel to the novel. I liked the POV from the teenage girl (who is also deaf!). Support characters are not developed—left more as dark shadows in the scene. I thought I detected a couple of small contradictions which left me a bit confused and as the narrative raced to the denouement, became ever more complex and confounding. I’m not sure—did that whole confusing explanation in conclusion make sense to you?

There is not enough of E.T., her sheepdog, Pickles, her border collie, and Guinness, her English bulldog in this one. I was enjoying the series even as it turned darker, but this one had me wondering what happened to the author with the sweet cozies and who is this one?

The setting is atmospheric, Dimpna is an interesting main character, and it appears she and Cormac may get cozy. If you enjoy stories written about Ireland or mysteries set in a unique village with a smart and unusual MC with a dark storyline chalked full of twists you can’t predict, you’ll enjoy. But be aware, this one gets graphic.

I received a copy of this book from my library that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts.

Rosepoint Rating: Three point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Kidnapping Crime Fiction, International Mystery & Crime, Kidnapping Thrillers
Publisher: Kensington Books
ISBN: 149673758X
ASIN: B0CTDJTBTL
Print Length: 369 pages
Source: Local Library

Title Link(s):

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

The Author: USA Today bestselling author Carlene O’Connor comes from a long line of Irish storytellers. Her great-grandmother emigrated from Ireland to America and the stories have been flowing ever since. Of all the places across the pond she’s wandered, she fell most in love with a walled town in County Limerick and was inspired to create the town of Kilbane, County Cork. She writes the bestselling IRISH VILLAGE MYSTERIES, the HOME TO IRELAND series, and the new COUNTY KERRY MYSTERIES. Her books have been translated into numerous languages, and optioned for television. Readers can find her at Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100086525205106 or through her website: http://www.carleneoconnor.net

#TuesdayBookBlog

The Girl Who Escaped (Jake Wolfe Book 7) by Mark Nolan – #BookReview – #kidnappingthriller

Rosepoint Publishing: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

One month ago, four college girls were abducted. Three were brutally murdered. One girl escaped.

Angie Taylor was traumatized and shocked speechless.
The police think she killed her friends, and then had a mental breakdown.
Her psychiatrist believes she has an emotionally unstable personality disorder.
Can she ever speak up and describe the killer’s face to a police sketch artist?
Is the murderer stalking her right now, eager to finish what he started?
Everyone in the city is on edge, fearing the worst, not sure what to believe.

A visit from a determined FBI agent shakes things up and raises the stakes. FBI Special Agent Brenda Reynolds of the VSRT must investigate whether the mysterious silent girl is a victim, a killer, or has gone insane.

Grab your copy of the suspense thriller everyone is talking about, and start reading right now.

His Review:

Young coeds are missing during spring break and cannot be found anywhere. Angie and her friends have enjoyed parties but the night is winding down. She has a strange feeling that someone is stalking them. She does not know why but as the designated driver for the group she stays vigilant. However, the attack on the girls is quick, disabled by a strange substance. They are taken on a remote road in the country and the outlook is desperate.

Jake and his faithful dog Cody are called in to assist the FBI and local law enforcement to help crack the case. This book introduces us to a division of the FBI called VSRT (The Victims Special Response Team). This group of dedicated agents work with victims who have been traumatized by vicious criminals.

Wealth seems to cause an altered reality for some billionaires. A remote island is owned by just such a man who prefers a harem of very young and attractive women. He pays large sums to a bounty hunter who finds and brings him the girls. He keeps them for a while and then sells them when he feels they have outlived their usefulness for his depravities.

Jake and Cody work with the hospital to assist in resolving the issue of the young woman charged with murder, restrained in the hospital. Charged with the murder of her three friends, she has been spread-eagled in the bed for the month but is slowly coming out of her catatonia by the love and attention of the dog.

Mark Nolan has written a superb and at times exasperating tale of friendship and heartache. Can this heinous crime be unraveled? The adversary is a very devious and persistent despot who wants to avenge the escape of Angie. The novel is well-paced and held my attention throughout. As always, Cody shines as the co-protagonist. Enjoy the latest as the author’s dynamic duo help to close another edge-of-your-seat thriller. 5 stars CE Williams

Between us, we’ve read most in this series, with Book 6, Key West Dead in 2021, and Deadly Weapon in 2020 most recent. Always a gripping plot and my favorite dog and his person. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me the opportunity to read and review this book. Available now.

Book Details:

Genre: Kidnapping Crime Fiction, Kidnapping Thrillers, Psychological Fiction
ASIN: B0B5MCGQKS
Print Length: 318 pages
Publication Date: July 29, 2022
Source: Author request
Title Link: The Girl Who Escaped [Amazon]

The Author: Mark Nolan is an Amazon Bestselling Author and Kindle Unlimited All-Star. Subscribe to his reader newsletter at marknolan.com for updates, specials, and news.

Mark Nolan is the author of the Jake Wolfe thriller series.

Book 1: Dead Lawyers Don’t Lie
Book 2: Vigilante Assassin
Book 3, Killer Lawyer
Book 4: San Diego Dead
Book 5: Deadly Weapon
Book 6: Key West Dead

Website: marknolan.com

Click FOLLOW under Mark’s author photo, and Amazon will notify you when a new book is available.

Have a Nice Weekend!

The Girl in the Missing Poster by Barbara Copperthwaite – A #BookReview – #psychologicalthriller

Book Blurb:

MISSING – Have you seen this girl? Nineteen-year-old Leila Hawkins was last seen on 24 June, 1994, when she left her parents’ anniversary party early and ran into the stormy night wearing her twin sister Stella’s long red coat. She was never seen again.

I wrap my arms around the tree trunk, pressing my cheek against it until the bark digs in and the missing poster is finally secured. I try not to look at the photograph on it. At the features so similar to mine. Perhaps this will be the year someone comes forward.

Were crucial mistakes made by detectives from the very beginning?

Could the pressure of living two lives have led my sister to run away – or even end it?

Or did someone in her tight circle of friends and family have reason to want her gone?

Someone out there must know something.

But the last thing I ever expect is a direct response from the person who took Leila. Wracked with guilt and completely alone in the world without the other half of me, I have no choice but to agree to his strange request: private, intimate details of my life in return for answers.

As the final moments of my sister’s life play out before me, I feel closer to her than I ever dreamed I’d be again. So close, it could almost be happening to me. But when I finally realise who is behind this terrifying tragedy, will I make it out alive?

From the bestselling author of The Perfect Friend, this absolutely gripping psychological thriller will keep you up all night and leave you sleeping with the light on. If you loved Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train and The Wife Between Us this book is for you!

His Review:

Her identical twin sister is missing! The police have investigated for twenty-five years and are no closer to solving the crime than when it first occurred. The younger twin (8 minutes) continues to search for answers. Can the often-touted genetic connection between identical twins help solve the case?

Barbara Copperthwaite weaves a very interesting intrigue involving a young dog whisperer and her male suitors. The ardent attention of the television production companies’ owner as well as her past romances keeps this novel fresh. Suspicion of the various suitors kept me projecting and guessing. Great tactic Ms. Copperthwaite! The ending was certainly not expected although in retrospect it made perfect sense.

I suggest this thriller to everyone who enjoys noir mysteries. The suspense grows at a quick pace only to be exposed as not possible near the end of the chapter. The ending of the book wraps the suspense in a very logical bow. 4 stars – CE Williams

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from publisher through NetGalley. These are my honest opinions.

(Editor’s Note: I previously read two of the author’s works: The Perfect Friend and Her Last Secret. Her novels dip into deep psychological noir, validating the “psychological thriller” definition. They are gripping, immersive, and thoroughly engaging.)

Rosepoint Publishing: Four of Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Kidnapping Crime Fiction, Women’s Psychological Fiction, Psychological Fiction
Publisher: Bookouture

ASIN : B088F26YSF

Print Length: 360 pages
Publication Date: February 23, 2021
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link: The Girl in the Missing Poster [Amazon]
Also find the book at these locations:
Barnes and Noble
Kobo

The Author: Barbara [Copperthwaite] is the Amazon, Kobo and USA Today bestselling author of psychological thrillers INVISIBLE, FLOWERS FOR THE DEAD, THE DARKEST LIES, HER LAST SECRET and THE PERFECT FRIEND. Her new book THE GIRL IN THE MISSING POSTER is out on February 23, 2021 – but is available for preorder now!

Her writing career started in journalism, writing for national newspapers and magazines. During a career spanning over twenty years Barbara interviewed the real victims of crime – and also those who have carried those crimes out. She is fascinated by creating realistic, complex characters, and taking them apart before the readers’ eyes in order to discover just how much it takes to push a person over a line.

Her first book, Invisible, was ‘totally gripping, and scarily believable’ according to Bella magazine. Its success was followed by Flowers For The Dead, which was the Sunday Mirror’s Choice Read, beating Lee Child’s latest offering. ‘Will have you looking over your shoulder and under your bed… Original, gripping, with a deep psychological impact,’ their review read.

The Darkest Lies came next, published by Bookouture, and became a USA Today bestseller. The follow-up, Her Last Secret, hit the Number 1 spot on Kobo. The Perfect Friend is a No 1 Kobo and Amazon best seller.

When not writing feverishly at her home in Birmingham, Barbara is often found walking her two dogs, Scamp and Buddy, or hiding behind a camera to take wildlife photographs.

To find out more about Barbara’s novels, go to:
Website: http://www.barbaracopperthwaite.com
Blog: http://www.barbaracopperthwaite.wordpress.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorBarbaraCopperthwaite
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/BCopperthwait
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/barbaracopperthwaite

2021 CE Williams – V Williams

In Her Tracks (Tracy Crosswhite Book 8) by Robert Dugoni – a #BookReview – #kidnappingthriller – #TuesdayBookBlog

Rosepoint Rating: Five Stars

“…certified tracker, often referred to as a sign-cutter.”

Book Blurb:

What family secrets are behind two disappearances? Seattle detective Tracy Crosswhite is determined to uncover the truth in the latest installment of New York Times bestselling author Robert Dugoni’s heart-stopping series.

Returning from an extended leave in her hometown of Cedar Grove, Detective Tracy Crosswhite finds herself reassigned to the Seattle PD’s cold case unit. As the protective mother of an infant daughter, Tracy is immediately drawn to her first file: the abduction of a five-year-old girl whose parents, embattled in a poisonous divorce, were once prime suspects.

While reconstructing the days leading up to the girl’s disappearance, Tracy is brought into an active investigation with former partner Kinsington Rowe. A young woman has vanished on an isolated jogging trail in North Seattle. Divided between two critical cases, Tracy has little to go on except the treacherous deceptions behind a broken marriage—and now, the secrets hiding behind the closed doors of a deceptively quiet middle-class neighborhood.

To find two missing persons, Tracy will have to follow more than clues, which are both long cold and unsettlingly fresh. Given her own traumatic past, Tracy must also follow her instincts—to whatever dark and dangerous places they may lead.

My Review:

I was thrilled when Thomas & Mercer granted me this advance copy through NetGalley as I’ve become a solid fan of the Tracy Crosswhite series.

Seattle detective Crosswhite has had a bit of a transition recently following maternity leave, expecting to return to her position as part of the Violent Crimes Unit and finding herself instead in Cold Cases. The retiring detective of Cold Cases left a couple of awesome, caring shoes to fill as well as credible stats. Violent Crimes partner Kins, however, taps her for just a bit of help in his active kidnapping case and as Crosswhite begins her journey into Cold Cases finds a thread that might provide a crossover.

Big hook at the beginning gets the ball rolling into her cold case while Kins’ investigation adds dimension to the active case. Crosswhite still struggles with some of her history and the kidnapping cases heap on the anxiety and apprehension.

The author does an amazing job of gradually upping the tension (the pacing is perfect) with Kins’ active missing person case as well as Crosswhite’s Cold Case, slipping into the house as a fly on the wall of three brothers living in their parents old home, persons of interest in the missing person’s case. Dugoni has a way of eeking out the most sinister despots, highlighting all the warts, the character development coursing seamlessly between Crosswhite’s team, their investigation, and the scheming predators.

Crosswhite is relentless, focused. The well-plotted storyline just flows, grabs and holds attention as it builds toward a pulsing, overwhelming sense of urgency—so close…hurry!! And so satisfying. Should I mention the little red herrings and one devil of a shocker near the end I NEVER saw coming in Kins’ case (while I’d correctly guessed the resolution to Crosswhite’s Cold Case).

I’ve read a number of Dugoni’s books, including a couple from the Charles Jenkins series, as well as three others in the Crosswhite series, Close to Home, A Steep Price, and A Cold Trail. This one, however, may be my favorite, until another comes out, that is. Highly recommend this thriller and the series, though this could work as a standalone if this one is your introduction to the series. (Trust me, you’ll catch up quickly.) On pre-order now.

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley. These are my honest thoughts.

Book Details:

Genre: Kidnapping Crime Fiction, Kidnapping Thrillers, Murder
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer

ASIN : B087Q1QNTL

Print Length: 340 pages
Publication Date: April 20, 2021
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | 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 detective series set in Seattle, which has sold more than 7 million books worldwide. He is also the author of The Charles Jenkins espionage series, and the David Sloane legal thriller series.

His stand-alone novels include The 7th Canon, Damage Control, and the literary novel, The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell – Suspense Magazine’s 2018 Book of the Year, for which Dugoni’s narration won an AudioFile Earphones Award; as well as the nonfiction exposé The Cyanide Canary, a Washington Post Best Book of the Year. Several of his novels have been optioned for movies and television series.

Dugoni is the recipient of the Nancy Pearl Award for Fiction and the two-time winner of the Friends of Mystery Spotted Owl Award for best novel set in the Pacific Northwest. He is also a two-time finalist for 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 twenty-five countries and have been translated into more than two dozen languages.

Visit his website at http://www.robertdugoni.com, and follow him on twitter @robertdugoni and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/AuthorRobertDugoni

The Hallows by Victor Methos – a #BookReview

Title: The Hallows by Victor Methos

Genre: Kidnapping Crime Fiction, Legal Thriller, Political Thriller & Suspense

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer

ISBN-10:1542042720
ISBN-13:978-1542042727
ASIN:B07GVLW3D7

Print Length: 346 pages

Publication Date: July 1, 2019

Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link: The Hallows

Book Blurb:

A ruthless lawyer cross-examines his life after a guilty client walks free in this sharp legal thriller from the bestselling author of The Neon Lawyer.

Ruthless defense attorney Tatum Graham has been living large in Miami, but when his recently acquitted client claims another victim, Tatum has a crisis of conscience. Disillusioned, he heads to his small Utah hometown for a simpler life…but that’s not what he finds.

Soon after he arrives, Tatum’s childhood crush offers him a job at the county attorney’s office and assigns him a murder case. The victim is a teenage girl not unlike the victim in the last case he tried. Now a prosecutor, Tatum sees a chance for redemption, but politics, corruption, and a killer defense threaten to thwart justice.

To complicate matters, Tatum’s estranged father has terminal cancer, and the time to reconcile is running out. Tatum moved to Utah to find clarity, but his thoughts swirl with old feelings and present dangers. As the case heats up, so does the risk, threatening to adjourn Tatum’s new life before it begins.

My Review:

I do love a good legal thriller and this one hooks you in quickly and works that legal magic, but beware the trope of a rich defense attorney with an over-the-top inflated ego, so full of himself that even as the protagonist, is easy to dislike. Tatum Graham is super alpha male, easily destroying the opposition with his keen intellect, experience, and a win at all cost attitude. He knows he has the answers to a strong victorious practice and is writing a book using the principals he’s gleaned from years of an extremely financially rewarding practice.

But here’s the conundrum: the last client he got acquitted of murder has just killed again–using the same MO. He is SO disgusted and crushed he quits the law firm of Gordon & Graham, gives away his house and its contents and loads his car to head west. All the bluster is gone–and the façade with it–until he arrives at his old home town.

Arriving at River Falls, Utah (just over the Nevada line), he discovers little has changed. Not the town. Not the people. His father is still there and he discovers he has cancer and is refusing treatment. It isn’t long before he sees a former teenage sweetheart. Gates Barnes is now the elected county attorney. All the old movers and shakers are still there.

Unfortunately, there has been a recent murder of a seventeen-year-old and Gates manages to get him to switch sides (defense to prosecutor) as they feel they have the perp(s) in jail, but one is a rich kid’s son and his dad has hired the other best lawyer in the nation. Gates doesn’t want the kid to walk. Tatum gets entangled in the case whether or not he wants to and is introduced to two fresh young deputy county attorneys. Yes! One, Jia, is smart, heads-up and will be a brilliant attorney one day.

Tatum looks at the case, the file, the pictures and is positive he’ll have no problem properly handling the case. He enlists the help of the deputy attorneys, Jia and Will, and with his direction all proceed with investigation, interviews, and legal maneuvering. But the deeper he gets into the investigation, the more complex it becomes. Maybe it’s the kid…or maybe not. Ack! Is it or isn’t it?

Red herrings send the reader in another direction, misdirection, along with twists that further develop the characters, both main and support. Almost from the get-go, surprises pop up that widen the chasm between what is truth and what isn’t. Who is telling the real story and who isn’t? And in court, it’s worse. He’s waylaid big time.

He’s ready to crumble. What, again?

So is he Macho Tatum or not? He is dealing with his father’s advancing illness and his case is falling apart and the good-old-boy network seems to have it handled. OH NO! He might loose! But I still don’t like him. And the underlying layer of reawakening romance with Gates…I can’t figure out how she can stand him and except for Gates and Jia, maybe Will, these characters don’t invite a lot of investing.

Still, it’s a well-plotted legal thriller. Maybe you don’t have to invest in the main character to enjoy the storyline. It is engaging and holds your interest. Courtroom scenes make you feel you are in the spectator section watching the drama unfold before your eyes. The opposing counsel, by the way, is as obnoxious as Tatum, but dialogue, given their images, feel natural.

This looks to me like a series in the making. An attorney you love to hate because he has some intricate cases and the plot MOVES. Oh, and he wins. Always.

I received this digital download from the publisher and NetGalley and fully enjoyed the fast-moving novel. I’ll be looking forward to another.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four of Five Stars

The Author: Victor Methos knew he would be a lawyer at the age of 13, when his best friend was interrogated by the police for over eight hours and gave a confession to a crime he didn’t commit. From that time forward, criminal law was in Methos’s sights.

After abandoning a doctorate in philosophy to pursue his childhood dream of becoming a defense lawyer, Methos graduated from the University of Utah School of Law. After graduation, wanting to learn the true practice of law rather than what the law schools taught, he worked for a special kind of lawyer, the kind with neon signs up front that did anything and everything to win for their clients. Afterward, he sharpened his teeth as a prosecutor for Salt Lake City before founding a law firm that would become the most successful criminal defense firm in Utah.

In ten years, Methos conducted over 100 trials, with only two losses under his belt in that time. One particular case of a father who shot his daughter’s rapists stuck with him, and he knew he had to write the story. It became the basis for his first major bestseller, The Neon Lawyer. Since that time, Methos has focused his work on legal thrillers and mysteries and produced two books per year. He currently splits his time between Salt Lake City and Las Vegas, and continues to defend the poor and the weak against the strong and the powerful.