#suspense – Page 5 – Rosepoint Publishing

None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell – #AudiobookReview – #Suspense

in Women Sleuth Mysteries (Audiobooks)
Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense (Kindle)

Rosepoint Publishing: Five stars

Book Blurb:

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author known for her “superb pacing, twisted characters, and captivating prose” (BuzzFeed), Lisa Jewell returns with a scintillating new psychological thriller about a woman who finds herself the subject of her own popular true crime podcast.

Celebrating her forty-fifth birthday at her local pub, popular podcaster Alix Summer crosses paths with an unassuming woman called Josie Fair. Josie, it turns out, is also celebrating her forty-fifth birthday. They are, in fact, birthday twins.

A few days later, Alix and Josie bump into each other again, this time outside Alix’s children’s school. Josie has been listening to Alix’s podcasts and thinks she might be an interesting subject for her series. She is, she tells Alix, on the cusp of great changes in her life.

Josie’s life appears to be strange and complicated, and although Alix finds her unsettling, she can’t quite resist the temptation to keep making the podcast. Slowly she starts to realize that Josie has been hiding some very dark secrets, and before she knows it, Josie has inveigled her way into Alix’s life—and into her home.

But, as quickly as she arrived, Josie disappears. Only then does Alix discover that Josie has left a terrible and terrifying legacy in her wake, and that Alix has become the subject of her own true crime podcast, with her life and her family’s lives under mortal threat.

Who is Josie Fair? And what has she done?

My Review:

Talk about unreliable narrators! The hair goes up on the back of your neck almost at the beginning of his immersive, compelling audiobook.

Two women both celebrating their forty-fifth birthday at a local restaurant to celebrate the occasion. Josie Fair notices the happy conversation from the other table and introduces herself to Alix Summer. They also discover they were born at the same hospital—“birthday twins.”

Both women have vastly different stories, but Josie is aware of Alix, a renown podcaster. Josie has hit the wall with her life—looking to completely change her story and she sees an opportunity with Alix, who is currently winding down her podcast thread—looking for a new subject.

Alix is interested, though wary—fascinated but repulsed at the same time by Josie. Still, she sees a possible successful podcast thread. Follow a woman in her prime as she reinvents herself, the steps she takes. What is her backstory? How did she get here?

The reader was put on alert at the beginning. None of this is true, right?

Has either woman been truly successful at finding the right man, career, or motherhood? Perhaps Josie engineered her life, the marriage with a much older man, responsible for her now estranged children. As her story escalates, the plot line turns dark and Josie successfully invades Alix’s family. Aren’t they almost as dysfunctional, Alix’s husband being an alcoholic?

But no, not as damaged as the toxic relationship between Josie and her husband or her kids who have searing stories of disturbing family events of their own.

The well-plotted and fast-paced narrative veers sharply off the original intent of following a woman overcoming a life of abuse and control. The atmosphere is menacing, traumatic, manipulative—and Alix lost control of it some time ago.

The characters are well-developed. It becomes shocking to realize where this is going. Or, think you know where it’s going. Both Alix and the reader lose control of the situation at this point. I couldn’t begin to get into the terrifying mind of Josie. She is warped.

The conclusion lets fly with another twist and comes as a gut punch.

Oh no!

I can’t believe this is my first book by this author. I’ll certainly be on the lookout for another of these psychological thrillers. Totally disturbing, out of my realm of thinking and dark.

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

Book Details:

Genre: Suspense, Women Sleuth Mysteries, Women Sleuths
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
ASIN: B0BHFBQ76G
Listening Length: 10 hrs 20 mins
Narrators: Lisa Jewell, Kristin Atherton, Ayesha Antoine, Louise Brealey, Alix Dunmore, Elliot Fitzpatrick, Thomas Judd, Dominic Thorburn, Nicola Walker, Jenny Walser
Publication Date: August 8, 2023
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Link: None of This Is True [Amazon]
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

The Author: LISA JEWELL was born in London in 1968.

Her first novel, Ralph’s Party, was the best-selling debut novel of 1999. Since then she has written another twenty novels, most recently a number of dark psychological thrillers, including The Girls, Then She Was Gone, The Family Upstairs, The Family Remains and The Night She Disappeared, all of which were Richard & Judy Book Club picks.

Lisa is a New York Times and Sunday Times number one bestselling author who has been published worldwide in over thirty languages. She lives in north London with her husband and two daughters.

Happy Thursday!

Good Bad Girl by Alice Feeney – #BookReview – #TuesdayBookBlog

Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Book Blurb:

Twenty years after a baby is stolen from a stroller, a woman is murdered in a care home. The two crimes are somehow linked, and a good bad girl may be the key to discovering the truth.

Edith may have been tricked into a nursing home, but at eighty-years-young, she’s planning her escape. Patience works there, cleaning messes and bonding with Edith, a kindred spirit. But Patience is lying to Edith about almost everything.

Edith’s own daughter, Clio, won’t speak to her. And someone new is about to knock on Clio’s door…and their intentions aren’t good.

With every reason to distrust each other, the women must solve a mystery with three suspects, two murders, and one victim. If they do, they might just find out what happened to the baby who disappeared, the mother who lost her, and the connections that bind them.

My Review:

OMG, not like I haven’t read this author before, my first being His and Hers back in July 2021 followed shortly after that by two more of her successful audiobooks. I loved the first—but experienced a bit less enthusiasm with the successive choices.

This narrative begins with a baby kidnapped on Mother’s Day (twenty years previous) and the POVs of those most closely related to the scenario of the missing child after that. Now, Edith, 80 years old, is plotting her escape from a local nursing home placed there by daughter Clio—her greatest disappointment. Patience works at the nursing home and has bonded with Edith.

There is a jump between the original event and twenty years later when the POV goes to Frankie who lives and raises her estranged daughter, Patience, on a narrow boat on the Thames. Frankie found employment as a librarian at the local prison and is frantic to find her missing daughter.

The characters are obstinate, paranoid, distrustful, and alienated. The author carefully develops these characters bit by slow bit, adding a layer each time. They are wonderfully diverse and sympathies begin to divide and invite reader engagement or alienation. Can this dysfunctional cast of personalities possibly find a way to reconcile?

The storyline weaves in and out of the varied characters and timelines, adding a bit more backstory, information that fills in the blanks. There are secrets quietly divulged, lies, deception, and finally murder.

Yikes!! There are twists and turns but I couldn’t believe what I’d just read. Are you kidding? Somebody has a dark sense of humor…

This is a study of mother-daughter relationships like you’ve never read before leading to a raft of notable quotables:

(Motherhood) “A job I thought I wanted and now can’t quit.”

“Sadly it is human nature to squander love and stockpile hate.”

(A reference that brought a chuckle and mood-lightening moment)

“Am I supposed to Columbo what you just said…”

“Life seems better at punishing bad deeds than it is at rewarding good ones.”

(Of course, the mantra, theme of the narrative)

“The world is full of people who are good at being bad, and people who are bad at being good.”

(But my favorite)

“Mother knows best but sometimes it’s best Mother doesn’t know.”

It might be that you’d read the book for the pearls of wisdom doled out in bite-sized pieces—the easier to swallow—almost slipped by, but then you’d miss the lesson in a book with themes of dysfunction, abuse, manipulation, and reconciliation.

Is blood thicker than water? It’s gentle, but you can’t have missed that capsule.

You might need a chart to keep up or just pay attention so you don’t get lost. I did appreciate the conclusion. The novel is satisfying, in that defying kinda way, but on the whole, I found it rather depressing heartrending.

I received a copy of this book from my local library’s recommended list that in no way influenced this review. These opinions are my own.

Rosepoint Rating: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Domestic Thrillers, Kidnapping Thrillers
Publisher: Flatiron Books
ASIN: B0BST5X6GS
Print Length: 310 pages
Publication Date: August 29, 2023
Source: Library recommendation

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Alice Feeney is a New York Times million-copy bestselling author. Her books have been translated into over thirty-five languages, and have been optioned for major screen adaptations. Including Rock Paper Scissors, which is being made into a TV series by the producer of The Crown. Alice was a BBC journalist for fifteen years, and now lives in Devon with her family. Good Bad Girl is her sixth novel.

You can follow Alice on Instagram and Twitter: @alicewriterland

To find out the latest book and TV news, or to sign up for Alice’s free newsletter, please visit: http://www.alicefeeney.com

Thirteen by Steve Cavanagh – #AudiobookReview – #TBT

Eddie Flynn Book 3

Book Blurb:

2019 Hudson Booksellers Best of the Year

The serial killer isn’t on trial. He’s on the jury.

It’s the murder trial of the century. And Joshua Kane has killed to get the best seat in the house – and to be sure the wrong man goes down for the crime. Because this time, the killer isn’t on trial. He’s on the jury.

But there’s someone on his tail. Former conman turned criminal-defense attorney Eddie Flynn doesn’t believe his movie-star client killed two people. He suspects the real killer is closer than they think – but who would guess just how close?

My Review:

Holy moly, how have I missed this author? I do enjoy legal thrillers, but this dual POV had me from the first page with two unique characters that kept me absolutely super-glued to the page. Alternate POVs between protagonist and antagonist. Not really anything new with that ploy—it was the characters; honed, crafted, molded into street-wise attorney and brilliant despot.

Eddie Flynn is the conman turned lawyer and he’s been asked to help defend one of the biggest names in the movie business on trial for murdering both his wife and her associate. Eddie is pretty sure that Robert Solomon didn’t do it. One thing Eddie is good at with his experience on the other side—people—and their “tells.” Bobbie is innocent.

Joshua Kane meanwhile has set in motion another of his well-crafted dramas. He loves it, the planning, the plotting, the manipulation—like marionettes on a string.

While the POV alternates chapters, the reader is soon embroiled in the diabolical cunning of the clever and cruel Kane and the push-back of Flynn. He may be a step behind but not for long. Flynn is great for leading the reader on his investigation in descriptive show, not tell, and we get an inkling of the mind that thinks out of the box with cunning reasoning and deductive power.

Kane has maneuvered his way bit by deadly bit to be part of the jury pool. The tension rises quickly as you realize how he will handle any further impediments to his succession into the box.

There are twists, gasps with totally unexpected turns and the already fast pace ramps up the urgency. Loved the courtroom drama, the behind-the-scenes action, and the blood pressure-spiking conclusion. More than a legal procedural, crime thriller, courtroom drama, it’s a heart-pounding ride through the mind of a one-of-a-kind character.

Coming in without reading the first two or three? So did I. But it made no difference. I had no problem following along other than now I’ll want to go back and play catch up.

Adam Sims does an outstanding job of capturing those opposing voices and making them real. I downloaded a copy of this audiobook from my local well-stocked library. These are my honest thoughts.

Book Details:

Genre: Legal Thrillers, Crime Thrillers, Suspense
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
ASIN: B07MTKTS23
Listening Length: 11 hrs 23 mins
Narrator: Adam Sims
Publication Date: August 13, 2019
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Link: Thirteen [Amazon]

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

The Author: Steve Cavanagh is a critically acclaimed, Sunday Times best-selling author of the Eddie Flynn series which has sold a million copies in the UK. His third novel, The Liar, won the CWA Gold Dagger for Crime Novel of the year 2018. Thirteen won the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime novel of the year 2019. FIFTY FIFTY was a Richard and Judy Book club choice, and the BBC Between The Covers book club choice. All of his novels have been nominated for major awards. His last four novels have all been Sunday Times Bestsellers.

The Eddie Flynn series can be read in any order, but the list in full in order of publication is as follows:

The Defence
The Cross (ebook exclusive novella)
The Plea
The Liar
Thirteen
Fifty Fifty
The Devil’s Advocate
The Accomplice
Standalone books – Twisted.

Find out more at http://www.stevecavanaghauthor.com or follow Steve on Twitter @SteveCavanagh_

The Narrator: Adam Sims trained at LAMDA. An award-winning and experienced stage actor, his credits include the West Yorkshire/Leeds Playhouse, the RSC, Royal Exchange Manchester and London’s West End. His screen credits include Band of Brothers and Lost in Space. As well as many recordings for BBC Radio, his voice-over credits are extensive and include computer games, animation, podcasts, television narration and corporates. He has recorded hundreds of audiobooks; titles ranging from Henry James, Edgar Allan Poe and Nathanial Hawthorne, to Haruki Murakami, Patricia Highsmith, Dennis Lehane, and Steve Cavanagh. He won the 2017 APA/Audible Audiobook Narrator of the Year for Flowers for Algernon.

#ThrowbackThursday

Danger in Numbers by Heather Graham – #Audiobook Review – #TBT

Book Blurb:

On the edge of the Everglades, an eerie crime scene sets off an investigation that sends two agents deep into a world of corrupted faith, greed and deadly secrets.

A ritualistic murder on the side of a remote road brings in the Florida state police. Special Agent Amy Larson has never seen worse, and there are indications that this killing could be just the beginning. The crime draws the attention of the FBI in the form of Special Agent Hunter Forrest, a man with insider knowledge of how violent cults operate, and a man who might never be able to escape his own past.

The rural community is devastated by the death in their midst, but people know more than they are saying. As Amy and Hunter join forces, every lead takes them further into the twisted beliefs of a dangerous group that will stop at nothing to see their will done.

Doomsday preppers and small-town secrets collide in this sultry, twisty pause-resisting thriller.

My Review:

Sometimes an audiobook is better because of the narrator’s talent and sometimes it just makes it a bit tougher to multi-task and follow along when it switches POV or timelines. In the case of this novel, the latter.

Two special agents are thrown together in the investigation of the savage way in which the deaths of two women harken back to the possible comeback of a cult experienced years before. Amy Larson of FDLE is teamed with experienced Hunter Forrest of the FBI to find and hopefully stop the start of the gruesome killing before it really gets a foothold in the Florida Everglades.

Apparently a religious, white supremacist cult, it is led by a charismatic and dynamic individual who holds his followers in a tight-fisted setting. Bids to escape or deny his bidding are dealt with swiftly and deadly.

Of course, there is a growing romantic interest between Amy and Hunter as they gradually gain insight into the members and location; secrets held quietly by the local community. Arguments are made regarding the brain-washing of members and their unwavering allegiance to the leader, as well as references to well-known recent tragic similar factions.

Okay, as this was my third (unintentional) book with the same plot and similar devices, arguments, and characters, my attention waned until I became aware of the switch in POVs and played catch-up a few times. It was a matter of déjà vu and a strong idea where it was going, the romance unnecessary to the familiar plot.

Some graphic descriptions are stomach turning and I couldn’t get engaged with either main character. It is well-plotted and paced, but been there, done that…and was left a little cold.

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

Book Details:

Genre: Romantic Suspense, Police Procedural Mysteries, Suspense
Publisher: Harlequin Audio
ASIN: B08HSQB45S
Listening Length: 8 hrs 37 mins
Narrator: Eva Kaminsky
Publication Date: March 23, 2021
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Link: Danger in Numbers [Amazon]

Rosepoint Publishing: Three point Five Stars

The Author: New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Heather Graham, majored in theater arts at the University of South Florida. After a stint of several years in dinner theater, back-up vocals, and bartending, she stayed home after the birth of her third child and began to write. Her first book was with Dell, and since then, she has written over two hundred novels and novellas including category, suspense, historical romance, vampire fiction, time travel, occult and Christmas family fare.

She is pleased to have been published in approximately twenty-five languages. She has written over 200 novels and has 60 million books in print. She has been honored with awards from booksellers and writers’ organizations for excellence in her work, and she is also proud to be a recipient of the Silver Bullet from Thriller Writers and was also awarded the prestigious Thriller Master in 2016. She is also a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from RWA. Heather has had books selected for the Doubleday Book Club and the Literary Guild, and has been quoted, interviewed, or featured in such publications as The Nation, Redbook, Mystery Book Club, People and USA Today and appeared on many newscasts including Today, Entertainment Tonight and local television.

Heather loves travel and anything that has to do with the water, and is a certified scuba diver. She also loves ballroom dancing. Each year she hosts the Vampire Ball and Dinner theater at the RT convention raising money for the Pediatric Aids Society and in 2006 she hosted the first Writers for New Orleans Workshop to benefit the stricken Gulf Region. She is also the founder of “The Slush Pile Players,” presenting something that’s “almost like entertainment” for various conferences and benefits. Married since high school graduation and the mother of five, her greatest love in life remains her family, but she also believes her career has been an incredible gift, and she is grateful every day to be doing something that she loves so very much for a living.

#ThrowbackThursday

A Beautiful Ferocity by Jean Grainger – #BookReview – Women’s Historical Fiction

in Historical Irish Fiction

Rosepoint Publishing: Five Stars

Cullen’s Celtic Cabaret – Book 2

Book Blurb

In A Beautiful Ferocity, the second instalment of the Cullen’s Celtic Cabaret Series, we’re taken on a thrilling ride through the Roaring Twenties as Ireland fights for her freedom. Peter Cullen leads his troupe of eclectic performers through the troubled country, in a daring new direction, entertaining audiences who’ve had enough of the old ways. When their cabaret is threatened, the performers must fight to keep their dream alive, treading the dangerous line between propriety and entertainment.

When outside forces intervene, and put not just their livelihoods in danger, but their lives, loyalty, friendship and even the bonds of love are tested to the edge of endurance.

Book Review

Yes! The continued saga of the characters that comprise Cullen’s Celtic Cabaret Series, the troupe lead by Peter Cullen! The performers hit the road in the roaring twenties through Ireland with an eye on England and, hopefully, the US.

The performers have settled into a rollicking show that includes the first members, Peter, Nick, May, Enzo, and Celine. May has bankrolled the “fit up” in partnership with Peter so they could keep their own money and not have to seek venues. They added chorus girls.

May is great at the administration, control of supplies, costumes, and equipment while Peter orchestrates the program to keep each performance fresh. May is still madly in love with Peter—Nick with Celine. Nick has held a secret that he’s managed to hide until the troupe faces a financial crisis.

As always, there are little charms of wit, wisdom, and good old Irish sense of humor peppered through the well paced narrative.

“She might have a title, but she ain’t no lady.”

“…poor old Cecily was so ugly, even the tide wouldn’t take her out.”

Tension builds with the couple’s relationships and builds in the conclusion to a move that smacks of deceit and deception demanding the reader know what will happen with the characters and hoping it will follow a plot path that leads to happy ever after.

It’s obvious, however, the author may have other ideas as she abruptly ends the installment with a cliff hanger. I thought Book 1, For All the World, kicked off the series with a great hook. I’m loving this new series, a darker and immersive departure from the family dramas we’ve to love and I’m looking forward to installment three. Heartily recommended!

Book Description

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CDZR54XD
Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 27, 2023
Print length ‏ : ‎ 273 pages
Source: Author
Genre: Historical Irish Fiction, Historical British & Irish Literature, Women’s Historical Fiction
Title Link: A Beautiful Ferocity [Amazon US]
Amazon UK

The Author: JEAN GRAINGER – USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR

SELECTED BY BOOKBUB READERS IN TOP 19 OF HISTORICAL FICTION BOOKS.
WINNER OF THE 2016 AUTHOR’S CIRCLE HISTORICAL NOVEL OF EXCELLENCE

Hello and thanks for taking time out to check out my page. If you’re wondering what you’re getting with my books then think of the late great Maeve Binchy but sometimes with a historical twist. I was born in Cork, Ireland in 1971 and I come from a large family of storytellers, so much so that we had to have ‘The Talking Spoon’, only the person holding the spoon could talk!

I have worked as a history lecturer at University, a teacher of English, History and Drama in secondary school, a playwright, and a tour guide of my beloved Ireland. I am married to the lovely Diarmuid and we have four children. We live in a 200 year old stone cottage in Mid-Cork with my family and the world’s smallest dogs, called Scrappy and Scoobi..

My experiences leading groups, mainly from the United States, led me to write my first novel, ‘The Tour’. My observances of the often funny, sometimes sad but always interesting events on tours fascinated me. People really did confide the most extraordinary things, the safety of strangers I suppose. It’s a fictional story set on a tour bus but many of the characters are based on people I met over the years.

[truncated—please see her full bio on her Amazon author page]

Many of the people who have reviewed my books have said that you get to know the characters and really become attached to them, that’s wonderful for me to hear because that’s how I feel about them too. I grew up on Maeve Binchy and Deirdre Purcell and I aspired to being like them. If you buy one of my books I’m very grateful and I really hope you enjoy it. If you do, or even if you don’t, please take the time to post a review. Writing is a source of constant contentment to me and I am so fortunate to have the time and the inclination to do it, but to read a review written by a reader really does make my day.

Have a great weekend!

Tangled Webs by Maria McDonald – #BookReview – #TuesdayBookBlog

A spellbinding new historical psychological mystery

Book Blurb

Two women take drastic action to protect the life they’ve built, in this gripping new novel set in early twentieth-century Belfast by the author of The Devil’s Own.

Jane Best and Agnes Williams are known in Belfast for taking in lodgers at Riverdale House, the business they started together after losing their husbands in the Anglo-Zulu War. For forty years, they’ve welcomed young women in need of a respectable place to stay in the city—including unfortunate cases like young Iris Seoin, who’s come here to get away from her abuser.

When a man shows up at the lodging house looking for Iris, he experiences a flash of recognition. He knows these two. He knows their past. And he knows what they’re hiding.

For Jane and Agnes, everything is at stake. But if they succeed in burying this blackmailer, will their secret stay buried with him?

My Review

Jane Best and Agnes Williams both experience the death of their husbands. While they had two very different backgrounds, neither could return to their former lives and agree on a new location with a business they could use to generate income as well as a stable home.

Each have their areas of expertise and soon they own and operate a safe lodging residence for ladies. Against the odds, however, an uncouth man from their former lives recognize them. What follows is a suspense-driven, well plotted mystery set in the latter 19^th century Ireland.

“…Home Rule means Rome Rule.”

I enjoyed the early account of their experience and later the struggle to create their lodging house. The antagonist is just nasty enough to stack the tension. Support characters and descriptions of the area and time create authenticity.

Several twists come as a surprise and plot re-direction. The prose provides light-hearted insight to the circumstances while the background turns darker.

A quick and easy read that adds spice to the suspense and generates the need to know more. Recommended!

Book Details

ASIN: ‎ B0CDCPFG9M
Publisher‏ : ‎ Bloodhound Books
Publication date‏ : ‎ September 1, 2023
Print length ‏ : ‎ 322 pages
Genre: LGBTQ+Genre Fiction, Lesbian Fiction
Source: Author
Title Link: A Superior Death [Amazon]

Rosepoint Publishing: Four points

The Author: Originally from Belfast, Maria McDonald lives in Kildare, with her husband Gerry.

Maria is an avid reader who loves to write but only indulged in her passion for writing fiction after retirement. Since then, her short stories and articles have been published in Woman’s Way and Ireland’s Own, as well as numerous anthologies; Intermissions, Grattan Street Press Melbourne; Same page anthology, University College Cork; Fragments of Time, Amber Publishers. Maria is a founder member of Ink Tank Writing Group, based in Newbridge library and contributed to their anthologies, Timeless in Kildare and Let Me Tell You Something.

#TuesdayBookBlog

That Others May Live by Sara Driscoll – #BookReview – #TuesdayBookBlog

An FBI K-9 Novel, Book 8

Rosepoint Publishing: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

A treat for dog lovers, this latest novel in the only mystery series that revolves around a K-9 search-and-rescue unit is gripping, timely, and “wonderfully readable” (Publishers Weekly), with a gutsy heroine and an authentic, harder edge that will appeal to fans of harder-edged mysteries.

There are situations that fill even the most seasoned FBI K-9 handlers with shock and horror. Meg Jennings is preparing for another work day when she gets words of a catastrophic scene in downtown Washington, DC. Part of a twelve-story condo building has collapsed, and the rest of the structure could soon follow. Every search-and-rescue worker and K-9 team is needed on-site immediately to find survivors—and assess the casualties.

Putting aside her fears for her firefighter fiancé, who’s already inside the unstable building, Meg turns to the task at hand. If anyone is still alive within the rubble, she and Hawk, working alongside other K-9 teams, must find them. Every hour, every moment counts—and a wrong move could trigger a deadly chain reaction for those buried beneath. But beyond the present danger is a deeper threat, as evidence indicates that this wasn’t a random tragedy, but an act of domestic terrorism. And identifying the culprit and motivation, in time to stop another attack, means taking on an enemy with terrifying skills—and nothing left to lose.

His Review:

The call came in and Meg and Cody, a canine disaster recovery team, were called in to put their rescue efforts to the test. How could a building just over 30 years old collapse? Talbot Terrace at the corner of I and 9^th streets collapsed.The event was so sudden that families getting ready for their days were trapped in the collapsed building. The 12-story building had collapsed into a little over three stories high.

Rescue teams were called in including some of the finest from all over the Eastern seaboard. Meg with her rescue dog Cody began at the top of the pile looking for survivors. It seemed impossible looking at the pile of rubble that anyone could have lived through the catastrophe!

Finding a young man near the top floor felt like a major accomplishment. The F.B.I. and other teams were called in because the smell of explosives gave away the cause of the collapse. Was someone trying to kill a high-level diplomat or someone else in the melee? Meg and Cody were able to find a few survivors but the less than four feet between floors left a grim cleanup.

Sara Driscoll writes with clarity and authority. I felt like this book gave me an introductory primer to the construction of high-rise buildings. The description of the building methodology made it seem that there was little chance of a collapse but the investigation pointed pretty quickly to sabotage.

Could it have been a foreign power or enemy of the United States? This book explains the investigative process and subsequent means of identifying the culprits. Enjoy! 5 stars – CE Williams

Note: I read Before It’s Too Late in June and love the Sara Driscoll series. The crunch of time had me reluctantly sharing this book with the CE. You can see he enjoys the K-9 series as much as I. vw

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

Book Details:

Genre: Terrorism Thrillers, Conspiracy Thrillers, Serial Killer Thrillers
Publisher: Kensington Books
ASIN: B0BZBK2PW1
Print Length: 352 pages
Publication Date: November 28, 2023
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link(s): That Others May Live

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Sara Driscoll is the pen name of Jen J. Danna, coauthor of the Abbott and Lowell Forensic Mysteries and author of the FBI K-9s and the NYPD Negotiators. After over thirty years in infectious diseases research, Jen hung up her lab coat to concentrate on her real love—writing “exceptional” thrillers (Publishers Weekly). She is a member of the Crime Writers of Canada and lives with her husband and four rescued cats outside of Toronto, Ontario. You can follow the latest news on her books, including the FBI K-9s, at http://www.saradriscollauthor.com.

#TuesdayBookBlog

A Superior Death by Nevada Barr – #AudiobookReview – #ThrowbackThursday

Book Blurb:

Nevada Barr quickly attracted the attention of mystery fans when her first Anna Pigeon mystery, Track of the Cat, appeared. Now she immerses the intrepid park ranger in a perilous search that will take her far below the waters of Lake Superior. As Anna spends her days patrolling its shores, the surface of Lake Superior fills with tourists. In the depths below lie an ancient ship and the bones of its sailors. But when two tourists dive down to see the wreck, they discover that a new body has joined the skeletal crew. As Anna tries to discover how and why, she encounters secrets darker and more deadly than the waters surrounding the corpse. Filled with suspense, A Superior Death is also laced with Anna Pigeon’s self-deprecating humor. With Barbara Rosenblat’s spirited narration, you’ll immediately be scanning the splendid setting and looking for clues through the eyes of the savvy naturalist.

My Review:

I got a hankering for a Nevada Barr book again, a major reason being Barbara Rosenblat, the narrator for the audiobook. (And by the way, I’ve listened to a couple of Barbara’s other books and you wouldn’t know it was the same voice if it didn’t say so on the cover. She’s good. Her Anna Pigeon narration is primo.)

This is the second installment in the Anna Pigeon mystery series that I’ve followed for some time, as usual picking off the top first and basically listening to whatever was available at my local library. Not all in the series, but I’ve listened to a bunch of them totally out of order of course, but you could probably consider each as a standalone.

This installment has ranger Anna Pigeon on Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior. I chose this particular book precisely because of its location. Anna’s last assignment was in the desert southwest, so this is a complete 180 for her and she’s still getting used to it, the people, and the living conditions.

When a body is found in a wreck on the lake bottom, Anna finds herself investigating suspicious circumstances. I love hearing about these remote locations, the beauty, the wilderness, and in this particular storyline, the diving and mystery of deep frigid water underwater wrecks as well as the mystique of the island inhabitants.

Lake Superior is known for quirky winds and ship-sinking storms. Kamloops, sunk in 1927 is a focus here. The frigid waters manage to preserve corpses as well as artifacts.

There are various plot lines, degrees of sketchy support characters, and suspects. Take your pick, but as Anna does so, the clever well-paced plot divulges answers. You might guess the perp when the action ramps up considerably into a satisfying conclusion.

Anna can be pretty amazing sometimes and you might have to suspend disbelief just a little, but go with the flow. It’s fun, descriptive, full of a snarky sense of humor delivered in that slightly wise-cracking whiskey voice that IS Anna. You can picture her. She can handle it.

This series is fun. It’s all good. I downloaded a copy of this audiobook from my local well-stocked library and I’ve started on Book 3 now. These are my honest thoughts.

Book Details:

Genre: Amateur Sleuth Mysteries, Women Sleuth Mysteries, Suspense
Publisher: Recorded Books
ASIN: B0002T8XL2
Listening Length: 11 hrs 43 mins
Narrator: Barbara Rosenblat
Publication Date: July 29, 2004
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Link: A Superior Death [Amazon]

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

The Author: Nevada was born in the small western town of Yerington, Nevada and raised on a mountain airport in the Sierras. Both her parents were pilots and mechanics and her sister, Molly, continued the tradition by becoming a pilot for USAir.

Pushed out of the nest, Nevada fell into the theatre, receiving her BA in speech and drama and her MFA in Acting before making the pilgrimage to New York City, then Minneapolis, MN. For eighteen years she worked on stage, in commercials, industrial training films and did voice-overs for radio. During this time she became interested in the environmental movement and began working in the National Parks during the summers — Isle Royale in Michigan, Guadalupe Mountains in Texas, Mesa Verde in Colorado, and then on the Natchez Trace Parkway in Mississippi.

Woven throughout these seemingly disparate careers was the written word. Nevada wrote and presented campfire stories, taught storytelling and was a travel writer and restaurant critic. Her first novel, Bitterweet was published in 1983. The Anna Pigeon series, featuring a female park ranger as the protagonist, started when she married her love of writing with her love of the wilderness, the summer she worked in west Texas. The first book, Track of the Cat, was brought to light in 1993 and won both the Agatha and Anthony awards for best first mystery. The series was well received and A Superior Death, loosely based on Nevada’s experiences as a boat patrol ranger on Isle Royale in Lake Superior, was published in 1994. In 1995 Ill Wind came out. It was set in Mesa Verde, Colorado where Nevada worked as a law enforcement ranger for two seasons.

The rest is, shall we say, HISTORY! Nevada’s books and accomplishments have become numerous and the presses continue to roll, so in the interest of NOT having to update this page, books, awards, status on the New York Times Best Seller List — and more — will be enumerated with the relevant books else where on this website.

Barbara Rosenblat - narrator — Attribute: Wikipedia

The Narrator: Barbara Rosenblat has been narrating for more than 20 years, and even had the honor of performing the first book ever recorded at Audible in 1999.

She has also appeared on screen such as in the Netflix original series Orange Is the New Black as Miss Rosa. Rosenblat was born in London, England and raised in New York City. Upon returning to the US, she read books to the blind for four years at the Library of Congress. On Broadway she appeared in The Secret Garden and Talk Radio. Barbara Rosenblat has narrated more than 400 audiobooks.

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