#NetGalleyreviewer – Page 20 – Rosepoint Publishing

Retribution (Koa Kane Hawaiian Mystery Book 5) by Robert McCaw – #BookReview – #TerrorismThrillers – Oceanview Publishing

Book Blurb:

As people around him come under attack, Chief Detective Koa Kane wonders if he might be the real target

In the back alley of a bar on Hawaii Island, a young man is found stabbed to death. When Hilo Chief Detective Koa Kane begins investigating the crime, the murder weapon is recovered only a few feet away from the body. Crime scene technicians find fingerprints on the knife¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ — they are a perfect match for Koa’ s younger brother, Ikaika.

As the brothers scramble to prove Ikaika’ s innocence, another crime sends shockwaves through the Hilo police force. A sniper tries to take out Makanui, Koa’ s closest colleague. As Koa tries to figure out whether these crimes are linked, the sinister force continues their killing spree, threatening Koa and his loved ones at every turn.

Could Koa be the real target? If so, who is behind this trail of retribution? With his own secret criminal past, Koa confronts an all-out offensive against those closest to him and his police force to which he has devoted his life. As the bodies pile up, Koa finds himself the ultimate target of a ruthless adversary and must risk it all to survive.

His Review:

Something is amiss at the police department in Hilo. More murders are happening on the big island than have ever been witnessed before. Koa Kane is the Lead Detective and he is determined to find the killer.

His good friend Ikaika has been tagged for the killings but Koa knows that is not possible. Ikaika was on the volcano for a getaway with Maria when the crime occurred. The problem is that Ikaika has a criminal record and is the prime suspect.

International intrigue and espionage are woven into this tale with the culprit’s true identity carefully camouflaged. The person seems to be rising quickly through the ranks despite little actual experience in law enforcement. Money seems to be a prime prerequisite for advancement in the police department! Cliques within law enforcement make solving crimes a personality test.

Robert McCaw has developed a very twisted narrative of deceit within the Hilo Police Department. The novel is entertaining and at times frustrating, but certainly engaging. Enjoy! 4.5 stars – CE Williams

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Terrorism Thrillers, Vigilante Justice Thrillers, Police Procedurals
Publisher: Oceanview Publishing
ASIN: B0B922ZDXZ
Print Length: 334 pages
Publication Date: June 6, 2023
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Robert B. McCaw is the author of Death of a Messenger (2016) and Off the Grid (to be published July 2, 2019).

He grew up in a military family traveling the world. After graduating from Georgetown University, he served as a lieutenant in the US Army before earning his JD degree from the University of Virginia School of Law. Upon graduation from law school he spent a year as a judicial clerk for Supreme Court Justice Hugo L. Black. He practiced law in Washington, DC, and New York City, representing investment banks, lawyers, directors, and other clients in complex civil and criminal cases, including many that generated significant press coverage.

For a number of years, Bob maintained a home on the Big Island of Hawai‘i, studying its history, culture, and peoples. Archaeology and astronomy are among his many interests. In researching his books, he talked story with Hawai‘i County cops and walked the streets where his stories take place. He and his wife live in New York City.

robertbmccaw.com

Facebook: RobertBMcCaw

Twitter: @RobertBMcCaw

March!

Molasses Murder in a Nutshell: A Nutshell Murder Mystery (Book 1) by Frances McNamara – #BookReview – #TuesdayBookBlog – #LevelBestBooks

“…convict the guilty, clear the innocent, and find the truth in a nutshell…”

Book Blurb:

In January 1919 tank bursts in Boston’s North End, flooding the neighborhood with molasses. When a woman is found murdered in the wreckage, Frances Glessner Lee asks her old friend, medical examiner Dr. George Magrath to help exonerate a young serviceman. He’s a resident at the home for returning soldiers on Beacon Hill that Fanny has come from Chicago to manage. Frustrated by her lack of education and skills, she wants to clear the young man’s name and find the killer. Will creation of a miniature crime scene lead to the truth? It’s the best she can do.

This is the first in a series of fictional stories roughly based on the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death. Over twenty miniature crime scenes were used from the 1940s to the present to train police detectives. Set in the 1920s, these stories imagine Frances Glessner Lee working with Dr. George Magrath to learn about “legal medicine” as forensic science was known at the time. Working with Magrath provided the foundation for the miniatures for which Frances Glessner Lee has become known as the Mother of Forensic Science.

My Review:

This historical fiction story features a real-life event back in 1919 when a huge molasses tank in Boston exploded, literally burying the immediate area in molasses. I had no idea that molasses, which I enjoyed in childhood in various homemade concoctions, was used to make industrial alcohol for munitions during WWI. The explosion released two million gallons of molasses on the Boston wharf.

I appreciated the way the author took a true event and weaved a mystery into a story, creating characters both fictional and those developed from persons involved at the time, including the local medical examiner, Dr. George (Jake) Magrath. A man ahead of his time.

The main character centers around Frances (Fanny) Glessner Lee, a privileged socialite who decided she needed to do something for the boys returning from the war and is engaged in a halfway house to assist them in their return home. It is Fanny’s housekeeper who discovers her sister in the muck—not a victim of the molasses—but something even darker.

It’s a volatile period of political unrest, alarm at the numbers of foreign anarchists creating chaos, as well as abusive police power, the coming of prohibition, and women suffragists.

Fanny must work hard to circumvent the police chief (whose wife died under suspicious circumstances) to get to the hard truth of her death and possibly uncover what might have been catastrophic negligence.

I really liked the character of the medical examiner—staunch in his efforts at remaining outside the influence of powerful politicians or wealthy businessmen. He was not one to jump to any conclusion.

“If the law has made you a witness, remain a man of science: you have no victim to avenge, no guilty or innocent person to ruin or save. You must bear testimony within the limits of science.”

Fanny had a sheltered and privileged upbringing, bringing naiveté to her investigation and collaboration with Jake. These two were childhood friends and Fanny being divorced, I expected somewhat of a background romance. Fanny’s expertise was in “miniatures” which she used to help her housekeeper envision the discovery scene of her sister.

I enjoy reading historical fiction, particularly based on real life, and the author’s imagination created a well-plotted and paced narrative. The sensibilities of the time appear well described, although there were instances of impatience with Fanny as she tried to separate social privilege from her escalating independence.

While I’m not wholly sold on Fanny (or her miniatures), I did enjoy Jake. He’s smart, science-driven, and exhibits a caring heart. I’ll be looking for Book 2.

I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author and publisher through @NetGalley that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts.

Rosepoint Rating: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Historical Mysteries, Historical Mystery, Women Sleuths
Publisher: Level Best Books
ASIN: B0BRL9CP13
Print Length: 283 pages
Publication Date: January 10, 2023
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Author of the Nutshell Murder Mystery series set in Boston

#1 Molasses Murder in a Nutshell (set January 1919)

Author of the Emily Cabot Mysteries set in Chicago

#1 Death at the Fair (set in summer 1893)
#2 Death at Hull House (set in winter 1893-94)
#3 Death at Pullman (set in spring/summer 1894)
#4 Death at Woods Hole (set in late summer 1894)
#5 Death at Chinatown (set in summer 1896)
#6 Death at the Paris Exposition (set in spring 1900)
#7 Death at the Selig Studios (set in spring 1909)
#8 Death on the Homefront (set in spring 1917)
#9 Death in a Time of Spanish Flu (set in fall 1918)

Frances McNamara is a former librarian who lives in Boston and Cape Cod. Like her protagonist, she was born in Boston but spent some years in Chicago at the University of Chicago Library.

March!

Path of Peril by Marlie Parker Wasserman – #BookReview – #TraditionalDetectiveMysteries – Level Best Books

Rosepoint Publishing: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

Would the assassins plotting to kill Theodore Roosevelt on his visit to the Panama Canal succeed? Until this trip, no president while in office had ever traveled abroad. White House secretary Maurice Latta, thrilled to accompany the President, could not anticipate the adventures and dangers ahead. Latta befriends watchful secret service agents, ambitious journalists, and anxious First Lady Edith Roosevelt on their hot and humid trip, where he observes a country teeming with inequalities and abounding in opportunities. Along the way he learns about his own strengths-what he never imagined he could do, and what he discovers he can’t do.

Theodore Roosevelt did visit Panama in 1906, accompanied by White House staffer Maurice Latta. Interweaving the stories of real-life characters with fictional ones, Path of Peril imagines what the newspapers feared to report and what historians never discovered about Roosevelt’s risky trip.

His Review:

Being an Under Secretary to a U.S. President is not an easy task. The title secretary connotes a person setting down with the president to take dictation and process correspondence but Theodore Roosevelt was a dynamic individual who found it very difficult to stay in one place. Noted for his exploits in Cuba with the Rough Riders among other adventures, he ran most of his staff ragged.

France has failed to complete the Panama Canal and Teddy went with a cadre of Secret Service Agents and other dignitaries to assess the progress of the canal. This was the first time a standing president departed from the continental United States. The trip was fraught with peril as many people felt that no government was the best government. Anarchists around the world planned ways to eliminate this bothersome President.

Ms. Wasserman develops a very intriguing tale of intrigue as a number of people try to eliminate this dynamic President. The problem for his security details was his penchant for rushing off in different directions with his security detail in tow attempting to keep him safe. Assassins could be anywhere and vigilance is the name of the game.

Panama during the visit is a virtual sweatshop and enjoys rain every day. Mud is everywhere and the project is monumental. Many of the workers are from the islands around Panama and the workers are divided into segregated groups. The golden group is the whites and the silver group is those other than whites. Panama is an independent country and diplomatic relationships between Panama’s government and the President need to be maintained. Meanwhile, the anarchists are plotting to eliminate this up-start President.

C E Williams This book does not disappoint in the movement of events. Read and enjoy this writer’s talents. 5 stars – CE Williams

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

Book Details:

Genre: Traditional Detective Mysteries, Historical Thrillers, Historical Mysteries
Publisher: Level Best Books

ISBN-10: ‎ 168512240X
ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1685122409

ASIN: B0BSXWCQ1F
Print Length: 320 pages
Publication Date: January 17, 2023
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Marlie Parker Wasserman writes historical crime fiction. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, hiking, and sketching. After spending decades in NJ, she has settled in Chapel Hill, NC with her husband Mark.

Blogger, Bookblog, Bookblogger

The Bark of Zorro (Gone to the Dogs Book 4) by Kathleen Y’Barbo – #BookReview – #TuesdayBookBlog

Valentine’s Day, aka National Singles Awareness Day

Book Blurb:

Who Is Spray Painting the Dogs in Brenham, Texas?

Cozy up with your favorite pooch and unwind with a small-town mystery in book 4 of the Gone to the Dogs series.

Strange happenings are afoot in Brenham, Texas, as dogs start showing up at the Lone Star Veterinary Clinic with a Z spray painted on them. The cops blame pranksters, while pet owners are blaming each other. Receptionist Cassidy Carter uses her social media expertise to try to get the culprit caught on camera, but Texas game warden, Justin Cameron, thinks online media attention is the last thing this case needs. It’s bad enough he’s currently being followed around by reality TV cameras. When Cassidy’s post goes viral, more dogs are found painted and her new home gets marked with a big Z too. How could her good intentions have backfired so badly?

Gone to the Dogs series:
Off the Chain by Janice Thompson
Dog Days of Summer by Kathleen Y’Barbo
Barking up the Wrong Tree by Janice Thompson
The Bark of Zorro by Kathleen Y’Barbo
Every Dog Has His Day by Janice Thompson
New Leash on Life by Kathleen Y’Barbo

My Review:

Once again I blundered into a series that is written by more than one author. I’ve read neither author before but thinking this is a good start, as I certainly enjoyed it.

It’s a sweet read, entertaining, and of course my big draw—dogs.

In this case, however, one is discovered having had a “Z” painted on the side of him. The main character, Cassidy Carter, is the Lone Star Veterinary Clinic’s office manager involved in the Second Chance Ranch Dog Rescue, all round gofer. So it is when the regular person in charge of taking an abandoned dog call is otherwise occupied, Cassidy goes to find the dog. She does and in hazardous conditions.

Later also involved is game warden Justin Cameron. Justin apparently has an unwelcome entourage—a television reality show in which he’s involved. I won’t call this inst-love, but it supplies the romance part of the cozy theme mystery.

I liked the dogs in the storyline as well as the inclusion of humorous highlights, not so much Justin. He bothered me as being too hovering, controlling, and for me the red flags popped up. Not so for Cassidy apparently as, of course, he is gorgeous, sexy, and studly.

In the meantime, there appears more than one dog sporting painted “Z”s on their furry sides and it’s time to zero in on the perp. I did have a little problem with the reveal—another of those who do not appear in the plot throughout the book. No way to have guessed who.

The pacing is fine and it’s wholesome. I liked Cassidy except for the CYA she issued more than once regarding her position being “just an office manager.” Maybe so, however, the setting is interesting, the characters (for the most part) engaging, and I’ll likely seek a second in the series.

I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author and publisher through @NetGalley that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts.

Rosepoint Rating: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Christian Mystery & Suspense Romance, Cozy Mysteries
Publisher: Barbour Publishing Inc

ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1636095178
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1636095172

ASIN: B0BFCFNG8S
Print Length: 256 pages
Publication Date: April 1, 2023
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: KATHLEEN Y’BARBO is a Publisher’s Weekly bestselling author of more than one hundred books with two million copies of her books in print in the US and abroad. A tenth-generation Texan and certified paralegal, she is a member of the Texas Bar Association Paralegal Division, Texas A&M Association of Former Student and the Texas A&M Women Former Students (Aggie Women), Texas Historical Society, Novelists Inc., and American Christian Fiction Writers. She would also be a member of the Daughters of the American Republic, Daughters of the Republic of Texas and a few others if she would just remember to fill out the paperwork that Great Aunt Mary Beth has sent her more than once.

Kathleen and her hero in combat boots husband have their own surprise love story that unfolded on social media a few years back. They make their home just north of Houston, Texas and are the parents and in-laws of a blended family of Texans, Okies, and three very adorable Londoners.

To find out more about Kathleen or connect with her through social media, check out her website at http://www.kathleenybarbo.com.

Who Killed Jerusalem? by George Albert Brown – #BookReview – #satire – Galbraith Literary Publishers Inc

A Rollicking Literary Murder Mystery Based On William Blake’s Characters & Ideas Updated To 1970s San Francisco

Book Blurb:

A seamless melding of (i) the intricate plotting of Umberto Eco in The Name of the Rose,

(ii) the side-splitting humor of John Kennedy Toole in A Confederacy of Dunces,

and (iii) the fabulous world of William Blake.

In 1977, Ickey Jerusalem, San Francisco’s golden-boy poet laureate (based on Blake), is found dead in a locked, first-class toilet on an arriving red-eye flight.

Ded Smith, a desperately unhappy, intelligent philistine with a highly developed philosophy to match, is called in to investigate the poet’s death. Thus begins a series of hilarious encounters with the members of Jerusalem’s coterie (updated amalgams of characters from Blake’s work).

Ded soon realizes that to find out what happened, he must not only collect his usual detective’s clues but also, despite his own poetically challenged outlook, get into the dead poet’s mind.

Fighting his way through blasphemous funerals, drug-induced dreams, poetry-charged love-making, offbeat philosophical discussions, and much, much more, he begins to piece together Jerusalem’s (Blake’s) seductive, all-encompassing metaphysics.

But by then, the attempts to kill Ded and the others have begun.

Before Ded’s death-dodging luck runs out, will he be able to solve the case, and perhaps, in the process, develop a new way of looking at the world that might allow him to replace his unhappiness with joy?

His Review:

Icky Jerusalem is found suffocated in the restroom of a 747! Could this have been a suicide? He seemed to be a little distraught with his decision to cease his life’s work of crafting metaphysical poetry, but would that have caused him to commit suicide? And how could his hands become tied behind his back? Nobody on the transcontinental flight noticed anything unusual in first class!

Being a poet laureate is a daunting responsibility. How does one continue to write prose when the karmic juices are not flowing? Ah, but there are certainly distractions in life that can fill the creative voids. One is the lovely Beulah who had been a professional female wrestler prior to developing hysterical blindness. Icky was her doorway to life’s experience through his magnificent verses. She was more than willing to repay his protection and kindnesses with gifts of her own.

Ded Smith is an Insurance Adjuster whose primary goal is to ferret out insurance claims that are suspect or fraudulent. The $20 million dollar policy taken out just prior to the death of Icky was his next assignment. Icky had a reputed fortune of nearly $350 million, so why take out a $20 million dollar life insurance policy on himself payable to the lovely Beulah? The home office wants to deny the claim!

Twists and turns abound in this frolic of the San Francisco lifestyle. So much to deduce within this novel that waxes metaphysical contemplation or argument amid the prose. I am glad the author brings it to a satisfactory conclusion but it could be considered overly long to do so. 3.5 stars – CE Williams

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

Rosepoint Publishing: Three point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Satire, Satire Fiction, Historical Mysteries
Publisher: Galbraith Literary Publishers Inc
ASIN: B0BJ7GDM7V
Print Length: 605 pages
Publication Date: February 6, 2023
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link(s): Who Killed Jerusalem?

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: George Albert Brown, a graduate of Yale University and Stanford Law, started as a hippie in San Francisco’s Haight Ashbury and retired at age 40 after having co-founded a successful international finance company. Following stints thereafter as a humorous author (The Airline Passenger’s Guerrilla Handbook) and an angel investor in over a score of high-tech university spinouts, he built a catamaran in Chile and for more than a decade, cruised it across the globe with his significant other. Today, as a father of three grown children, a grandfather of four not-yet-grown children, and an involuntary lover of stray cats, he continues his peripatetic lifestyle by other means.

Who Killed Jerusalem? is the book that George, a life-long devotee of William Blake, had always wanted to write.

Enjoy Your Sunday!

All That Is Mine I Carry With Me by William Landay – #BookReview – #legalthrillers – #Bantam

Book Blurb:

One afternoon in November 1975, ten-year-old Miranda Larkin comes home from school to find her house eerily quiet. Her mother is missing. Nothing else is out of place. There is no sign of struggle. Her mom’s pocketbook remains in the front hall, in its usual spot.

So begins a mystery that will span a lifetime. What happened to Jane Larkin?

Investigators suspect Jane’s husband. A criminal defense attorney, Dan Larkin would surely be an expert in outfoxing the police.

But no evidence is found linking him to a crime, and the case fades from the public’s memory, a simmering, unresolved riddle. Jane’s three children—Alex, Jeff, and Miranda—are left to be raised by the man who may have murdered their mother.

Two decades later, the remains of Jane Larkin are found. The investigation is awakened. The children, now grown, are forced to choose sides. With their father or against him? Guilty or innocent? And what happens if they are wrong?

A tale about family—family secrets and vengeance, but also family love—All That Is Mine I Carry With Me masterfully grapples with a primal question: When does loyalty reach its limit?

His Review:

Jane Larkin had been in love with Dan since high school. They had three lovely children with their youngest being Miranda in the seventh grade. The family did everything together with Dan being a very successful attorney. When Jane goes missing in November 1975, the family is frantic.

The police start an investigation into the disappearance and are unable to find anything regarding Jane’s whereabouts. The case lingers and the first suspect is Dan. There is no evidence to connect him with the crime but a dogged investigator, Mr. Glover, continues to investigate the whereabouts. Surely a loving mother like Jane Larkin would not simply leave and abandon her children.

This novel is very well structured and developed with a number of twists and turns. I developed a real empathy for the characters and their sudden loss of a very beloved mother. Would a devoted mother and wife suddenly decide that she can no longer stay with her husband and care for her family?

William Landay has written a very interesting novel about a family torn apart by the disappearance of the wife and mother and subsequent turmoil of ongoing suspicion. I found the novel disturbing and sad. 4.5 stars – CE Williams

[Note from V: When I listened to the audiobook Defending Jacob, I was blown away by the heart-pounding and gripping novel with that unbelievable twist at the end. Of course, the audiobook was narrated by one of my favorite authors, Grover Gardner. No question the author writes a chillingly hard domestic thriller.]

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Legal Thrillers, Psychological Fiction
Publisher: Bantam
ASIN: B0B3HZQD1Z
Print Length: 336 pages
Publication Date: March 7, 2023
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: William Landay‘s latest novel is the New York Times bestseller “Defending Jacob.” His previous novels are “Mission Flats,” which won the Dagger Award as best debut crime novel of 2003, and “The Strangler,” which was an L.A. Times favorite crime novel and was nominated for the Strand Magazine Critics Award as best crime novel of 2007.

Visit the author at http://www.williamlanday.com or on Facebook at facebook.com/williamlanday

Good Dog, Bad Cop (K Team Novels Book 4) by David Rosenfelt – #BookReview – #TuesdayBookBlog

Rosepoint Rating: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

For the K Team, playing “good dog”, “bad cop” is all fun and games… until there’s a body on the scene, in the next K Team Novel by bestselling author David Rosenfelt.

The K Team enjoys investigating cold cases for the Paterson Police Department. Corey Douglas, his K-9 partner Simon Garfunkel, Laurie Collins, and Marcus Clark even get to choose which cases they’d like to pursue. When Corey sees the latest list of possibilities, there’s no question which one to look into next.

Corey’s former mentor, Jimmy Dietrich, had his whole identity wrapped up in being a cop. When Jimmy retired three years ago, his marriage quickly deteriorated and he tried–and failed—to get back on the force. Jimmy was left to try to adjust to life as a civilian.

Not long after, two bodies were pulled from the Passaic River. A local woman, Susan Avery, and Jimmy Dietrich. With no true evidence available, the deaths went unsolved and the case declared cold. This didn’t stop the whispers: an affair gone wrong… a murder-suicide committed by Jimmy.

Corey never believed it. With this case, the K Team has the opportunity to find the real murderer, and clear Jimmy’s name. Bestselling author David Rosenfelt returns in Good Dog, Bad Cop, where there’s little to go on, but that won’t stop Paterson, New Jersey’s favorite private investigators from sniffing out the truth.

My Review:

It’s not true that I request these books because there are dogs on the cover. Of course, that doesn’t hurt as it’s easy to see both dogs are sweet as they can be. I’ll hug the Golden Lab, you can hug the GSD (if he’ll let you). I was happy to jump on this spin-off of the Andy Carpenter series as I’d devoured just about all in that series I could at the time.

In this series, Corey Douglas and his K-9 partner Simon Garfunkel, are the main characters with Andy’s wife, Laurie, and several of the Carpenter team also in this team. They are quasi-working with the local police in an unofficial capacity looking into cold cases.

In this case, he’ll opt for looking into Corey’s former mentor, Jimmy Dietrich. But never let it be said that these are cut and dried, find out what happened to Jimmy, one and done. No, this series, as with the Carpenter series manages to run into sub-plots, and plots behind that, and become seriously complicated so it’s necessary to pay attention.

Over the course of the series, I’ve seen a change in Corey and I like it. He’s settling down somewhat, not due in small part to his SO, Dani. She’s an independent lady and hasn’t pushed toward that nasty “M” word that even Corey has been tossing around lately. It’s not all due to her, however, in that the seriousness of the well-plotted and paced storylines has loosened a bit, allowing for just a little of the snark I’d grown to love in the Carpenter series. Somewhere in there all the time was that sense of humor and that easy, happy relationship between he and Dani.

If you are so inclined, you might want to set up a spreadsheet with all the background characters as they come and go in this one, adding one twist after the other and setting the reader’s head to spinning. ACK! But don’t get too excited, you won’t get lost. It’s not a real problem to float in the narrative and just enjoy the ride. In the meantime, there’s a character for everyone including Simon who gets to do his fur missile thing—which he is very good at—by the way.

Don’t need to start with Book 1, although you might just to get the flavor of this particular team. This book is quite capable of being a fun and fast novel as a standalone.

I listened to Book 3 Citizen K-9 (audiobook) in March last year and can also recommend the audiobooks narrated by Fred Berman. I have found each entry to the series more enjoyable as they settled into their own cast of solid characters and storyline.

I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author and publisher through @NetGalley that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts.

Book Details:

Genre: Animal Fiction, Private Investigator Mysteries
Publisher: Minotaur Books
ASIN: B09Y46PTQ4
Print Length: 288 pages
Publication Date: March 14, 2023
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: DAVID ROSENFELT is the Edgar-nominated and Shamus Award-winning author of more than twenty Andy Carpenter novels, including One Dog Night, Collared, and Deck the Hounds; its spinoff series, The K-Team; the Doug Brock thriller series, which starts with Fade to Black; and stand-alone thrillers including Heart of a Killer and On Borrowed Time. Rosenfelt and his wife live in Maine with an ever-changing pack of rescue dogs. Their epic cross-country move with 25 of these dogs, culminating in the creation of the Tara Foundation, is chronicled in Dogtripping.

The Drift by C J Tudor – #BookReview – #psychicsuspense

Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Book Blurb:

Hannah awakens to carnage, all mangled metal and shattered glass. Evacuated from a secluded boarding school during a snowstorm, her coach careered off the road, trapping her with a handful of survivors. They’ll need to work together to escape—with their sanity and secrets intact.

Meg awakens to a gentle rocking. She’s in a cable car stranded high above snowy mountains, with five strangers and no memory of how they got on board. They are heading to a place known only as “The Retreat,” but as the temperature drops and tensions mount, Meg realizes they may not all make it there alive.

Carter is gazing out the window of an isolated ski chalet that he and his companions call home. As their generator begins to waver in the storm, something hiding in the chalet’s depths threatens to escape, and their fragile bonds will be tested when the power finally fails—for good.

The imminent dangers faced by Hannah, Meg, and Carter are each one part of the puzzle. Lurking in their shadows is an even greater danger—one with the power to consume all of humanity.

His Review:

Could mankind be destroyed by a new disease? This novel explores an apocalyptical era where Earth’s inhabitants die from an extremely toxic and rapidly spreading disease. Those who do not die from the disease are changed into people with bad breathing problems. The dying easily pass on the disease.

The government sets up compounds where those afflicted can be quarantined. Old ski lodges are used for this purpose. A good portion of the story centers around survivors being stuck on a chair lift around 250 yards from the ski lodge. Those stuck in the gondola are trying to make it to the lodge but the cables have problems. They are stuck in the air one thousand feet above the ski slope.

The characters are well-developed and the novel points out the selfishness and avarice that people exhibit trying to save themselves. Killing is random and the more selfish of the group tend to become survivors.

I’ve read several books by this author including A Sliver of Darkness and was not quite prepared for the heavy side of horror and apocalypse. It was well-written and paced but was just a little too much blood and guts for me. 4 stars – CE Williams

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Psychic Suspense, Horror Suspense, Psychological Thrillers
Publisher: Ballantine Books
ASIN: B09Z91SS77
Print Length: 337 pages
Publication Date: January 31, 2023
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: C. J. Tudor lives with her partner and young daughter. Her love of writing, especially the dark and macabre, started young. When her peers were reading Judy Blume, she was devouring Stephen King and James Herbert.

Over the years she has had a variety of jobs, including trainee reporter, radio scriptwriter, dog walker, voiceover artist, television presenter, copywriter and, now, author.

Her first novel, The Chalk Man, was a Sunday Times bestseller and sold in thirty-nine territories.

Have a Great Sunday