#NYTimesbestsellingauthor – Page 5

One False Move by Alex Kava #AudiobookReview #ThrowbackThursday

Book Blurb:

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

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

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

My Review:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rosepoint Publishing: Four Stars

Book Details:

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

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

#ThrowbackThursday

Nightshade by Michael Connelly #BookReview #crimethrillers

in Crime Thrillers

Rosepoint Publishing: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

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

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

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

His Review:

Nightshade by Michael Connelly — Nightshade cover – US

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Book Details:

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

Title Link(s):

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

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

Have a Great Sunday

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

Books 2 and 3 Ryder Creed

Audiobook Reviews - Ryder Creed Books 2 and 3

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

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

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

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

Silent Creed Book 2

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

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

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

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

Reckless Creed Book 3

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Happy Listening!

The Neon Rain by James Lee Burke #AudiobookReview #ThrowbackThursday

A Dave Robicheaux Novel Book 1

Book Blurb:

New York Times best-selling author James Lee Burke’s Dave Robicheaux novels began with this first hard-hitting entry in the series.

In The Neon Rain, Detective Robicheaux fishes a prostitute’s corpse from a New Orleans bayou and finds that no one, not even the law, cares about a dead hooker.

My Review:

My first go-round with this author and I gotta admit checked most of the boxes for me. I could identify with the time period, if not “Nalans” and, indeed, New Orleans is a whole character unto itself.

It’s good I was listening to the audiobook as the author did a beautiful job of the accents (French), dialects of the locals (Cajun), as well as the protagonist’s name, Robicheaux (pronounced Row-be-show).

Even better when I start a healthy (24 installments in the series??) with Book 1. Yes, the first book is usually an introduction to the main character, the location, and the setting, in this case, the police department. Back then we had a lot of veterans, some still fresh from ‘Nam. Dave Robicheaux has apparently been back long enough to have achieved detective level with the local police department.

I loved how the description of the area rolled off the tongue of the narrator, making it almost sensual. I got a feeling pretty quickly about gritty Robicheaux, hardened from battle, brass, baddies, and loss. He’s no one to mess with.

When he discovers a young prostitute’s body, it hits him hard, and he throws all effort at finding the perp. Unfortunately, it also begins to uncover a lot more than he bargained for, and he reverts to drinking again and is placed on leave.

No problem.

He goes rogue.

In the meantime, the reader is treated to the prose created by the beauty of the bayou, the music, the mood, the food, the heat, the French Quarter, and the rain. In our experience, the latter happened every afternoon about 4 p.m. Ever notice that moss hanging from those iconic trees? Did you wonder why?

Graphic details, descriptions, and language paint a noir picture through the storyline and solid support characters. It is well-paced, suspenseful, gritty, and within a hard-boiled mystery. Armchair tourist? This might well be one trip you’ll enjoy.

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: Police Procedural Mysteries, Crime Fiction, Suspense
Publisher: Recorded Books
ASIN: B0028TY1GU
Listening Length: 8 hrs 22 mins
Narrator: Will Patton
Publication Date: May 5, 2009
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)

Title Links:

Amazon-US
Amazon-UK

The Author: James Lee Burke is a New York Times bestselling author, three-time winner of the Edgar Award as well as the Grand Master Award from Mystery Writers of America, winner of the CWA Diamond Dagger and Gold Dagger and the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière, and the recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship for Creative Arts in Fiction.

#ThrowbackThursday

Watchers by Dean Koontz #BookReview #TuesdayBookBlog

Rosepoint Rating: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

On his thirty-sixth birthday, Travis Cornell hikes into the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains. But his path is soon blocked by a bedraggled Golden Retriever who will let him go no further into the dark woods.

That morning, Travis had been desperate to find some happiness in his lonely, seemingly cursed life. What he finds is a dog of alarming intelligence that soon leads him into a relentless storm of mankind’s darkest creation…

My Review:

Yeah, so I’ll admit it—the cover got me first—and then, despite my son’s admonition about my reading choices (“Koontz is a horror writer, mom”), I grab a Koontz book when I see one.

Watchers by Dean Koontz — Watchers cover posted on Goodreads

Well, mercy, first we are introduced to Travis and the golden retriever (Koontz’ favorite dog) whom he later names Einstein. Travis is an ex-Delta Force now reduced to a lonely, lost soul without much that’ll get him up in the morning. Whether PTSD or the losses he’s suffered and, inexplicably, blames himself (it’s a curse), he’s lost any macho he ever had.

It’s the dog that saves him from a lonely walk in a deserted forest that hides an unnamed monster. Explaining to the dog that he can’t keep him (he’s cursed), he notices this is not your average dog at the outset. Yeah, he keeps him.

In the meantime, we are introduced to Nora, and it’s pretty obvious this will be a romantic match—these two severely damaged persons are made for each other. Nora, never having had a pet is not put off by the dog or his size and quickly realizes that he must be special.

So, wait…

Have you read this? It’s not like it’s a new book and there was quite some sentiment about it. Admittedly, there were a few problems that even I discerned.

Still, I got so involved in the storyline that I couldn’t stop flipping pages. Yeah, I read it—this was not one of my audiobooks. So, I’m flipping pages, and I just LOVE this dog. Unfortunately, he has a history, and the history is trying to catch up with him.

He’s a lab dog. I don’t mean Labrador—I mean laboratory. And the same lab that spawned him also spawned his opposite. Not a dog—but a brutal, nasty animal. Travis (even Travis) realizes this is not a dog he can return to the lab. Poor doggy.

Also, did I mention there’s a hit man out there on a mission?

If you haven’t read it, I don’t want to spoil it for you. You’ll just have to trust me. It’s a wild ride whether or not you have to suspend some disbelief. Just go with it and enjoy the story.

I received the eBook loan from my local library for the opportunity to read and review this book. The thoughts expressed here are my own. I do enjoy a Dean Koontz doggy story! Recommended.

Book Details:

Genre: Ghost Suspense, US Horror Fiction, Horror Suspense
Publisher: Berkley (reprint edition)
ISBN: 0425221806
ASIN: B001974DG0
Print Length: 402 pages
Publication Date: May 6, 2008
Source: Local Library

Title Link(s):

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

The Author: Dean Koontz, the author of many #1 New York Times bestsellers, lives in Southern California with his wife, Gerda, their golden retriever, Elsa, and the enduring spirits of their goldens, Trixie and Anna.

Open Season: An Alex Delaware Novel by Jonathan Kellerman #AudiobookReview #PoliceProceduralMysteries

Book Blurb:

The most beloved and enduring duo in American crime fiction is back.

People come to Los Angeles to chase their dreams. Sometimes they find themselves cast into a nightmare. And sometimes, the most ardent dreamers turn out to be the most vicious monsters.

The body of an aspiring actress is found dumped near a hospital emergency room. She’s been drugged and murdered and the motive for the callous crime remains maddeningly out of reach. Until, a prime suspect materializes. Another Hollywood hopeful. Only to be shot dead by a sniper using a weapon that turns out to have been catalogued in a previous murder. And another, before that. It’s not long before more bodies begin piling up.

What makes the murderous spree baffling is the apparent lack of connection among the victims. Is this the work of a random thrill killer, the toughest of all cases to unravel?

But as Alex and Milo dig deeper they’re faced with an even knottier scenario: a highly complex killer with deep-seated motivation that will require all of their highly honed skills to decipher.

The latest thriller from #1 New York Times bestseller Jonathan Kellerman, is a tale of psychological complexity, dark suspense, and shocking surprises. A wild ride through L.A.’s surreal underbelly climaxed by an edge-of-the chair conclusion.

My Review:

It’s been a couple years since my last Alex Delaware book, The Ghost Orchid, as my last two reads by this author have included his son Jesse as co-author in the Clay Edison series. I was a little disappointed in the last Clay Edison, A Measure of Darkness, while I loved my last Alex Delaware book.

The Alex Delaware series always has three main characters: Alex, Milo, and the City of Los Angeles. Goodness, if anyone can make LA sound exciting, adventurous, and exotic, Kellerman can. His descriptions of the people and environs are atmospheric and always create a setting full of anticipation.

In this installment, they are involved in the murder and dumping of a young, aspiring actress. But of course that would only be the tip of the iceberg and soon there will be more bodies, both victim and perp.

Alex, as a main character, has been grandfathered in as a “volunteer” in the department (the series is that old), a partner to Milo, an official LA detective.

I don’t know if it was the narrator or the writing, but there has always been the sense that Alex is the intelligent one, though then the question would be how Milo made it this far. But he did seem more a ding-a-ling this time. Still, he is the one with the resources of the department while Alex provides cerebral input. Together, they are effective.

I’m still not sure where it went wrong for me this time. Yes, an audiobook; yes, I’m multi-tasking while listening; yes, there’s been another 90-degree flip in the storyline and now where am I? New characters, new case. Related? I guess so. Somehow, it became a bit of a blur for me, and there were short spaces of time I tuned out. Not good for an audiobook!

So, yeah, a little disappointed in Book 40 but looking forward to Book 41.

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: Police Procedural Mysteries, Crime Thrillers
Publisher: Random House Audio
ASIN: B0D5Z2L5B6
Listening Length: 9 hrs 10 mins
Narrator: John Rubinstein
Publication Date: February 4, 2025
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)

Title Links:

Amazon-US

Amazon-UK

Barnes & Noble

Kobo

The Author: 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.

Graphic - It's so hard to choose!

Connie: A Memoir by Connie Chung #AudiobookReview #BiographiesofJournalists

Best Biographies & Memoirs

Book Blurb:

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER • A NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS’ PICK
NEW YORK TIMES 100 NOTABLE BOOKS OF 2024 • A LA TIMES BESTSELLER AND BEST BOOK OF THE MONTH
TIME MAGAZINE’S 100 MUST-READ BOOKS OF 2024 • KIRKUS BEST NONFICTION BOOKS OF THE YEAR
WASHINGTON POST 50 NOTABLE WORKS OF NONFICTION FOR 2024 • A PEOPLE BOOK PICK AND A BEST CELEBRITY MEMOIR OF 2024

In a sharp, witty, and definitive memoir like no other, iconic trailblazer and legendary journalist Connie Chung delves into her storied career as the first Asian woman to break into an overwhelmingly white, male-dominated television news industry.

Connie Chung is a pioneer. In 1969 at the age of 23, this once-shy daughter of Chinese parents took her first job at a local TV station in her hometown of Washington, D.C. and soon thereafter began working at CBS news as a correspondent. Profoundly influenced by her family’s cultural traditions, yet growing up completely Americanized in the United States, Chung describes her career as an Asian woman in a white male-centered world. Overt sexism was a way of life, but Chung was tenacious in her pursuit of stories–battling rival reporters to secure scoops that ranged from interviewing Magic Johnson to covering the Watergate scandal–and quickly became a household name. She made history when she achieved her dream of being the first woman to co-anchor the CBS Evening News and the first Asian to anchor any news program in the U.S.

Chung pulls no punches as she provides a behind-the-scenes tour of her singular life. From showdowns with powerful men in and out of the newsroom to the stories behind some of her career-defining reporting and the unwavering support of her husband, Maury Povich, nothing is off-limits–good, bad, or ugly. So be sure to tune in for an irreverent and inspiring exclusive: this is CONNIE like you’ve never seen her before.

My Review:

Connie, as she did with her journalistic endeavors, tells it like it is. Sometimes warts and all. She explains her father’s position and the times her family lived under in China that was instrumental in moving her family to America and her birth here. Interesting childhood and background in Chinese traditional culture. Connie appeared driven early, fortune and timing steering her into ever-increasing opportunities but she had two large blocks to the glass ceiling: she is a girl (gasp!) and a minority.

Not just driven, but smart, she watched how the men conducted themselves and worked to emulate them. Coming from her background, she was shy and quiet. She had to learn to dump both as there were few men willing to accept women in their domain. As a rookie reporter, and a woman to boot, she was given fluff assignments when she was itching to gather real stories that made a difference.

Connie details the years with the different networks, the assignments, her accomplishments, her interviews, and the clashes with Newt Gingrich and Dan Rather. She reports what really happened and then defends her position. There were a number of occasions that recounted both sexism and racism in her dealings with the good ole boys club. The armor she wore got thicker as the years passed in the industry.

Connie also mentions the graphic story of responding many years later to her own experience with the “you too” movement as well as the men she welcomed into her life, including the long-distance relationship she formed with Maury Povich who would finally become her husband. The account of their struggle with infertility hits home; for them with the adoption of son Matthew. And I must say, her stories of Povich have me seeing him with different eyes and a great deal more respect.

After the years of crashing the glass ceiling, her storyline chills a bit and the pace slows. Still, I enjoyed hearing so much “inside” info in the news biz, knew it was cut-throat, and a battle only for the very strong. She was obviously that strong.

I borrowed the audiobook from my library and love it when the memoir is narrated by the author. So much fun to actually hear the voice behind those words and adds such depth to the book for me. These are my honest thoughts and think you’ll also enjoy.

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

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Biographies of Journalists, Editors & Publishers
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
ASIN: B0CS3TQNW7
Listening Length: 11 hrs 35 mins
Narrator: Connie Chung
Publication Date: September 17, 2024
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Links: Connie – Amazon-US
Amazon-UK
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

The Author: (The book is her bio.) A google search of Ms Chung gleans the following public information: Constance Yu-Hwa Chung Povich was on born August 20, 1946) and is an American journalist who was a news anchor and reporter for the major U.S. television news networks. Born the youngest of ten children and the first to be born in the US, she was named after singer and actress Constance Moore and attended Maryland schools. Chung was only the second woman and the first American of Asian descent to anchor a major nightly news program in the U.S. She has been married to talk show host Maury Povich since 1984 and in 1995 adopted a son, Matthew Jay Povich. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connie_Chung]

#TuesdayBookBlog

AI graphic generated by Gemini 1.5 Flash

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.