Book reviews of mysteries, historical fiction and graphic novels with a smattering of non-fiction books.
Monday, April 1, 2024
Darling
Monday, March 25, 2024
You Only Call When You're in Trouble
Saturday, February 10, 2024
The Woman Inside
Daisey Garrett wakes up in a hospital bed. She remembers her boyfriend has left her for another woman, but she doesn’t remember what happened to her the night she was attacked in her own home. Daisey shouldn’t be alive but against all odds, she’s survived an ordeal most would never recover from. But Daisey’s mind is broken. She’s on edge, drinking too much and, despite the painful breakup, finds herself in bed with her ex, Luke. And while she desperately tries to keep herself together, she can’t shake the feeling that she is being watched. Yet the missing pieces of that fateful summer night are beginning to surface… The lies she told the police. The lies Luke told her. Daisey’s memory is flickering like a faulty light bulb, flashing with images just out of reach. She can’t remember. She mustn’t.
Monday, February 5, 2024
The Last Patient of the Night
The death of a nameless young woman in his emergency room spurs physician AJ Docker to seek answers. Together with his policeman friend and a police dog, he sets out on a quest for justice for his lost patient, but he discovers more questions than answers as he delves into the criminal world.
Last Patient of the Night is an action packed thriller interspersed with lighthearted stories from the emergency room, featuring a cast of interesting characters.
Gary Gerlacher’s experience as an emergency physician lends authenticity to the ER culture. His debut novel is the first in the AJ Docker series, and will leave you turning pages late into the night.
The back cover blurb states that this book is a mystery but with alot of information on working in an emergency room (ER). This is 100% accurate. It seemed to me that the author wrote a book on the ER and then tried to throw in a murder. The ER setting was more prominent than the mystery. While the setting provided was interesting, the book is supposed to be a medical thriller. However, it falls short of the thriller category description. The author is an ER physician himself which is why he has numerous anecdotes about the ER. I can understand the desire to put everything you know about a setting into a novel but Gerlacher should have pulled back.
While Tracy Palmer was dead on arrival at the ER, she was never mentioned again. Another woman by the name of Jenny Smithton seems to have taken her place. There was no mention that they were the same person but I figured it out from their character descriptions. Another odd part of the book is that it begins with Docker performing a tracheotomy on a ski slope. I thought it would be connected to the plot but it wasn't. I am assuming Gerlacher was introducing the reader to his main character.
AJ Docker is a smart ass character. He is arrogant and gets away with plenty of shinnanagans. He is our amateur sleuth. I have never before read a book where a man was an amateur sleuth and it was awkward for me. Also, amateur sleuth mysteries tend to follow a particular cozy mystery formula. Last Patient of the Night does not do this. In addition, while Docker was performing his investigation he killed 3 men on three separate days. The two officers that were in charge of the official investigation were aware and never arrested or charged him. This just isn't realistic.
This book had many problems and the more I think about them the more disappointed I am. I am rating it 1 out of 5 stars.
Monday, January 8, 2024
Salt House Place
In the far reaches of the Pacific Northwest, three best friends spend a day at the lake…but only two come home. Ten years later, Delia Albio is tormented by the mystery of what happened to fifteen-year-old Zee on the lake that day. When she receives an email from Cara, the remaining friend in the trio, she can’t resist the pull of the “life-changing” news in the message. Delia, hopeful for answers, travels home to see her old friend. Cara is gone by the time she gets there, setting off another mystery. When Delia hears about the women’s empowerment group that Cara joined, she sets out for the group’s retreat property on the Oregon coast to find her. Delia feels this could be her chance to reconnect with Cara and reckon with that fateful day at the lake. Instead, Delia uncovers a possessive group with a dark agenda. As their leadership closes in, Delia hurtles ever closer to the truth―if only she can survive a cult that will protect its secrets at any cost.
I had a hard time becoming interested in the story. It just didn't grip me as I expected it would. We read about main character Delia's everyday habits and exchanges with her family but none of it had any bearing on the plot. The story picked up 50 pages into the story which is my DNF cut-off point. At this point in the story Dee is investigating the Artemis cult that Cara had joined. It is a new age cult that reminded me of scientology. My interest in the story waxed and waned throughout my read. I continued to read because I was interested in finding the answer to the fundamental question of why Zee died and how did Cara end up in a cult. I got those answers but the book did not satisfy me.
While the book has received some good reviews it was not my cup of tea. I would recommend passing this one by. No rating.