Murder in the Park

I selected Murder in the Park for the Calendar of Crime Challenge. The book was published during March 2022 and because the story takes place in a town that I used to reside in, I knew I had to read it. The book is the first one in a new mystery series taking place in Oak Park, Illinois. Elizabeth Fairchild is the amateur sleuth. She is a widow living with her parents during the 1920s.

The publisher's summary:  

June, 1925. Having been widowed in the Great War, Elizabeth Fairchild lives a quiet life at the home of her wealthy parents in genteel Oak Park village, Illinois. Although she does her best to avoid emotional entanglements, determined never to be hurt again, Elizabeth forms a close friendship with gentle Mr Anthony, who owns the local antiques store.

But tragedy strikes when Mr Anthony is found stabbed to death in the alley behind his shop. Why would anyone murder a mild-mannered antiques dealer who simply loved beautiful things? A robbery gone wrong? A gangland execution? Or could it have something to do with the mysterious customer who bought a gold pocket watch from Mr Anthony on the day he died? 

When one of her father's oldest friends is accused of the crime, Elizabeth determines to expose the real killer. But her investigations soon attract unwelcome attention. With gangsters moving into the neighbourhood from nearby Chicago, Oak Park is no longer the safe haven it once was. Could Elizabeth be seriously out of her depth?

I enjoyed the beginning of the book; just the introduction of the characters. The murder occurred early and I expected the rest of the story would be about the sleuthing. However, there was no sleuthing. Elizabeth relied on other characters to set up a meeting with neighbors. In the meeting she asked too many questions, resulting in the Chicago police breaking into her house to scare her while she hid in the basement. Another character informs Elizabeth that the Chicago police are corrupt and controlled by the mob. He insinuates that Mr. Anthony was a mobster because he was Italian. Anthony's Catholic faith also made him appear suspicious to his Oak Park neighbors and most of them thought he was involved in criminal activity for this reason. Elizabeth thought that the Walosa group, the female branch of the KKK, probably had something to do with Mr. Anthony's death since there was a local branch of them in Oak Park. Elizabeth learns new information about what may have happened at social events she is invited to.

Murder in the Park is a straight murder mystery story. There was no real plot action though. It seemed to me that the author concentrated on the setting with narrative and dialogue. She forgot to write a story. The characters she created could make fantastic characters in future novels.

No rating.

Murder on the Beach

Murder on the Beach is the third book in a cozy mystery series called Chef Dani Rossetti Cozy Mysteries. There are 9 books in the series to date. I selected the book for the Calendar of Crime Challenge because it was published in the month of February. 

The publisher's summary:

Jackson Kelly may have been middle-aged and the vice-president of the exclusive Oceana Resort Hotel, but Jackson loved to surf and he loved the ladies, who were mostly young women he referred to as his “diversions.”When he dies on the beach while surfing with no apparent injuries, the question is: “What happened to him?" Too bad he had an angry looking rash on his leg. And Dani and Arthur were only at the resort to cater a dinner meeting for the resort’s stockholders! When the coroner says, yes, it was murder, they have their work cut out for them – another mystery to solve.The owner of the resort and his family have a lot to gain financially if Jackson’s dead. But maybe it was a crime of passion. His wife or current “diversion” could have done it. A lot of interests to be protected. Greed, revenge, hatred – those are all possible motives.

While cozy mystery writers are known for testing the limits of suspension of belief, I think Ms. Harman went too far. There were two sleuths in the story: Chef Dani and Arthur, her one-time bodyguard and owner of a private investigation firm. While Arthur was hired by the owners of the resort and had a reason to investigate, Dani didn't. I don't know why she questioned some of the suspects and I cannot imagine why anyone would allow themselves to be questioned by a chef about a murder. Since this is the first book in the series that I have read, perhaps how these two characters came to do their sleuthing together would have been explained in earlier novels. It just seemed odd to me that the chef did more sleuthing than the professional investigator.

What I did find interesting was that digital vehicle forensics was supposed to be used in the investigation. I had never heard about this type of forensics before. However, after Arthur brought this idea up with his clients, it should have been used to determine who the killer was. It not only wasn't used, Arthur never even looked into the car owned by one of the suspects that he was interested in. Why was digital vehicle forensics even mentioned?

One more thing bothered me. When visiting chef Dani arrived at the resort, she was given the Presidential Suite. Granted, Dani is a celebrity chef but this still was odd to me.

There were several flaws in the story but it still had some appeal for me. I enjoyed the first half of the book but when Jackson Kelly died at the midpoint, it fell flat. The second half of the novel, which was the investigation, was not plausible.

2 out of 5 stars.

Murder in Plain Sight

Murder in Plain Sight is the first book in the Brotherhood of the Raven trilogy that takes place in Amish country. It is different from the usual Amish fiction as this one is a murder mystery. Author Marta Perry has published 118 novels! All of them are Amish fiction. I enjoyed this book so I think I will be very busy reading some of her novels this year. 

The publisher's summary:  

Did a sweet-faced Amish teenager brutally murder a young woman? To save her career, big-city lawyer Jessica Langdon is determined to defend him—against the community's bitter and even violent outrage. Yet without an understanding of Amish culture, Jessica must rely on arrogant businessman Trey Morgan, who has ties to the Amish community… and believes in the boy's guilt.

Jessica has threats coming from all sides: a local fanatic, stirred up by the biased publicity of the case; the dead girl's boyfriend; even from the person she's learned to trust the most, Trey Morgan. But just when Jessica fears she's placed her trust in the wrong man, Trey saves her life. And now they must both reach into a dangerous past to protect everyone's future—including their own.

The mystery concerning who killed Cherry Wilson was expertly plotted. However, our protagonist Jessica Langdon is a lousy attorney. No, this is not stated in the story but it is obvious that she is incompetent because she was sharing confidential information about the case with most of the characters in the story. She let herself be guided by them.

Jessica's character is the only character I didn't like much. She is not plausible as an attorney. Trey is interesting in that he is an Englischer who is fully trusted by his Amish neighbors. His mother Geneva is a sweet, wise woman and I would love to read more stories that include them both. The Amish Bishop was portrayed as a kindly old soul. He was not the usual ornery, stay away from the English, boss that I am accustomed to read about. All of these characters would make awesome series characters. Jessica needs work though. The budding romance between Jessica and Trey was hard for me to accept. While opposites attract, I felt that the author was telling the reader and not showing the reader how their relationship developed.

Despite the negatives I described above, the solving of the crime was suspenseful and kept me reading. 3 out of 5 stars.

Dark August

I chose this book for my August entry in the Calendar of Crime Reading Challenge.  The author is a successful screenwriter and this is her debut novel. I am a little confused, though, about the publication date of her next book Poison Lilies. It was published in Canada on May 22, 2022 while Dark August was published on June 30, 2022. Why is Dark August her debut novel? Is it a debut novel in the U. S.?  

The publisher's summary:

Augusta (Gus) Monet is living an aimless existence with her grifter boyfriend when she learns that her great grandmother—her last living relative—has just died. Ditching her boyfriend, Gus returns to the home she left as a young girl. Her inheritance turns out to be a dilapidated house and an old dog named Levi. While combing through her great grandmother’s possessions, Gus stumbles across an old trunk filled with long-lost childhood belongings. But that’s not all the trunk contains. She also discovers cold case files that belonged to her mother, a disgraced police detective who died in a car accident when Gus was eight. Gus remembers her mother obsessing over these very same documents and photographs, especially a Polaroid of a young ballerina.

When Gus spots a front-page news story about the unearthing of a body linked to one of the cold case files from her childhood trunk, she can’t resist following her mother’s clues. As she digs deeper, determined to finish her mother’s investigation, her search leads her to a deserted ghost town, which was left abandoned when the residents fled after a horrific fire. As Gus’ obsession with the case grows, she inadvertently stirs up the evils of the past, putting her life in danger. But Gus is undeterred and is committed to uncovering long-buried secrets, including the secrets surrounding a missing geology student, the young ballerina in the Polaroid, a prominent family’s devastating legacy, and a toxic blast that blew an entire town off the map. 

But is Gus ready to learn the truths that culminated on one terrible August night, more than a decade earlier, when lives were taken, and secrets were presumed buried forever…? 

I loved this novel! It is a tightly paced, engrossing mystery with a captivating cast of characters. Gus is a fantastic female investigator so I hope that this book will become a series. She is a strong enough character who can anchor a series. The plot was pretty amazing as well. It had a couple of huge surprises that floored me. In fact, there is absolutely nothing negative that I can say about the story. It is the perfect mystery. The Ontario, Canada setting felt somewhat international to me because I am not Canadian and I would love to continue to read stories set here.

I am rating this book way over 5 out of 5 stars!  Mystery fans are definately going to want to read this one.

Take Your Breath Away

Take Your Breath Away is Linwood Barclay's 21st crime thriller. Barclay has written a few short series but this book is a standalone novel. It was published on May 17, 2022.

The publisher's summary:

One weekend, while Andrew Mason was on a fishing trip, his wife, Brie, vanished without a trace. Most everyone assumed Andy had got away with murder—it’s always the husband, isn’t it?—but the police could never build a strong case against him. For a while, Andy hit rock bottom—he drank too much to numb the pain, was abandoned by all his friends save one, nearly lost his business, and became a pariah in the place he once called home.

Now, six years later, Andy has finally put his life back together. He sold the house he once shared with Brie and moved away. To tell the truth, he wasn’t sad to hear that the old place was razed and a new house built on the site. He’s settled down with a new partner, Jayne, and life is good.

But Andy’s peaceful world is about to shatter. One day, a woman shows up at his old address, screaming, “Where’s my house? What’s happened to my house?” And then, just as suddenly as she appeared, the woman—who bears a striking resemblance to Brie—is gone. The police are notified and old questions—and dark suspicions—resurface. 

Could Brie really be alive after all these years? If so, where has she been? It soon becomes clear that Andy’s future and the lives of those closest to him depend on discovering what the hell is going on. The trick will be whether he can stay alive long enough to unearth the answers. 

The book is billed as suspense. However, I think it is more realistic to call it a crime thriller. There was some suspense but it was not tightly written as you would normally see with a suspense novel. The characters were masterfully drawn. Their backgrounds are what created most of the suspense. With their backstories being slowly revealed the reader comes away with the thought that perhaps they could be motivated to kill. As far as whether Brie was or was not alive, the author was able to keep us guessing until the end.

4 out of 5 stars.

My Wife is Missing

My Wife is Missing is another great novel by Dan Palmer. When the story opened with Michael Hart finding his wife and children missing from their hotel room in New York City, I assumed that they had left of their own accord. It's the classic disappearing act one spouse does when they want a divorce. I did not think much about it but knew that it would take alot for me to give up this premise.  I was totally surprised where Palmer took the story though. As usual, he came up with an ending that shocked me.

The publisher's summary:

A family vacation turns into a nightmare for Michael Hart when he discovers his wife and two children have disappeared from their New York City hotel room. Horrified, he fears they've been kidnapped. Michael's frantic search to find them takes a shocking turn when he discovers that his wife, Natalie, appears to have left quite willingly, taking their children with her. The police want to know why, and so does Michael. But there may be a reason why Natalie ran, something Michael can't tell the police - the truth about his past.

While untangling his deceptions might be the key to locating Natalie, Michael knows it could also be his undoing. To find his wife, he must now turn to the one person capable of exposing all that he's been hiding.  Natalie thinks she has Michael all figured out and has hatched a plan to escape from him permanently. One detail, though, threatens to derail her efforts: sleep - or more accurately- the lack of it. Since the moment the shocking revelations about her husband come to light, Natalie's insomnia has worsened to the point that she now suffers from delusions.

Dan Palmer writes psychological thrillers that never disappoint. My Wife is Missing is no exception. The suspension was kicked up a notch with each chapter and the twists were creative. The story is told from the viewpoints of Michael and Natalie but also from past to present. It is also action driven as well as character driven. The reader develops a feeling early on that neither Michael nor Natalie are who they seem to be. You don't know who to believe so as the action unfolds, the suspense builds. Michael is the character who is the villain, even though he appears to be the victim of a runaway spouse. His internal thoughts characterize him as such because he tells himself that he cannot let the police find out about all his secrets. As I was reading, I wondered whether the plot line came from the news headlines. I had this in the back of my mind but to give my blog readers some of their own suspense, I won't tell you. Read it for yourself.

This may be Palmer's best book to date.  It certainly is the most suspenseful. 5 out of 5 stars.

Among the Innocent

I received an advanced review copy (ARC) of this book from the Early Reviewer's Club at Librarything in exchange for an honest review. It is an Amish story but with a different twist. This suspense thriller features Leah Miller, a former Amish woman, as a police officer who is investigating a murder. 

Leah's own Amish family was murdered in their barn ten years prior. She was taken in by the local sheriff and his wife who raised her as an Englisher. Leah became a police officer because she loved her adopted father. She works in her home town, St. Ignatius, Montana, where a murder has just occurred that had similarities to the murder of her family. With a piece of paper written by the killer stating that he will be coming for Leah, it is apparent that the killer will continue to kill until he can catch Leah. As Leah and the new police chief, Dalton Cooper, work long hours struggling to fit the pieces together, they can't help but grow closer. When secrets from both of their pasts begin to surface, an unexpected connection between them is revealed. But this is only the beginning. Could it be that the former police chief framed an innocent man to keep the biggest secret of all buried? And what will it mean for Leah--and Dalton--when the full truth comes to light?

I LOVED this book! The fast pacing is what makes this book so intense. The story began with an edge of your seat prologue that would not let me put the book down until I finished reading it. There is alot of action with plenty of twists that keep your heart pounding. The two main characters, Leah and Dalton, were both tough and vulnerable at the same time and they could have been the stars of the novel. However, the gripping plot carries this whodunnit to a 5 star rating. It's been awhile since I read a suspense thriller with such an intricate plot and intensity and it was very satisfying.

5 out of 5 stars.

Roses are Red

Roses Are Red is a gripping psychological thriller that will keep you up all night. I was a little scared after finishing the book because our protagonist was a trusting person who almost got killed by 2 of the closest people to her. Lydia's close calls with her husband and a girlfriend just shows that you shouldn't take everything people tell you at face value. Sometimes it's good to do a little research for your own peace of mind.

The publisher's summary:  

"Lydia Palmer seems to have it all - a thriving business, a beautiful house, a picture perfect husband and two wonderful kids.  But things are different behind closed doors - Lydia is desperately unhappy and wants a divorce. Then, shockingly, her husband Adam dies. When her grief eases, Lydia starts online dating and almost immediately meets Patrick. Handsome, successful, loving, he'll make the perfect second husband. But is Patrick too good to be true?  Can you really find prince charming online? These are questions Lydia is forced to ask when her world begins to collapse. First, the police say Adam may have been murdered.  Then her daughter turns against her, her business disintegrates... Lydia is convinced that someone is trying to destroy her happiness.  She's wrong.  They want so much more than that..."

To say that this was a gripping story is quite an understatement. The author had me guessing all along on how the novel would end. I was surprised by the ending but shouldn't have been.  It would have been easy to figure this one out but the author ended each chapter with a cliff hanger. It could have been story action, a twist and turn, or just a character's inner dialogue but it kept me reading. I just did not know how each twist was going to turn out. 

There is a moral to this story for women who are desperately seeking love. It is always best to discuss with friends and family your forays into online dating. There are always warnings but to get a nudge from someone who loves you is the best way to avoid disaster. 

A great read!  5 out of 5 stars.

An Untidy Death

Simon Brett's newest book is a Decluttering Mystery set in Littlehampton, UK. It's the second book in a series following The Clutter Corpse. The protagonist, Ellen Curtis, is a professional declutterer who helps hoarders get control over their messy homes. When Ellen is approached by Alexandra Richards to sort out her mother's flat she gets the impression that Alexandra doesn't like her mother much. After spending an hour with Ingrid Richards at her home, she sees that there are papers lying everywhere but that there is an order to the clutter. The next day Ingrid dies in a fire in the home. The police are inclined to dismiss Ingrid's death as  an accident due to the messy home. However, Ellen is not so sure that this was an accident. She wonders whether Alexandra's resentment toward her mother spiraled out of control and the more she learns about Ingrid the more suspicious she is about the reason for her death. Ellen's other client, Edward Finch, appeared to be a straightforward job of putting things away. But it wasn't.

I loved this novel. First of all, having a declutterer as a protagonist is simply brilliant. I can see this as a lengthy series. Ellen's character seemed reserved, considering that most protagonists have larger than life personalities. Her clientele were more excitable so I guess it takes someone quieter to handle them and handle them well she did. Ellen's sleuthing was low- key compared to other amateur sleuths. At first this seemed odd but I began to enjoy it more because the plot centered around the whodunnit rather than the amateur sleuth's life. 

Mystery lovers are going to want to read this.  4 out of 5 stars.

The Guest List

The Guest List is a novel about the wedding of Jules and Will on a remote Irish island. The festivities are taking place at The Folly, a restored fifteenth century building. All of the characters are in the bridal party. None of the actual guests are part of the plot. We have Aoife, the wedding planner, Johnno, the best man, Olivia, sister of the bride, Charlie, the man of honor for the bride, Charlie's wife Hannah, and ushers Duncan, Pete, Femi, and Angus.  The ushers met the groom whe they were in school at Treveyllen's. The story takes place on the day before the wedding, the day of the wedding and the night of the wedding. 

The story is told from several points of view. We hear from Jules, Will, Johnny, Aoife, Olivia and Hannah, who is Charlie's wife. All of these characters have secrets with another character. No one knows all of the secrets. How they are related becomes aware as each character tells their story. 

I tend to like novels with alternate stories but this one had too many. Usually there are only two alternate storylines. We have six here. It was difficult to follow but, more importantly, it was a little dull. The last thirty pages show how all of the character's lives intersect and there is  a shocking conclusion. However,getting there did not make much sense. There were so many main characters that none of them seemed appealing to me. I think the author had a difficult time with the plot because she showcased six people at the same level. 

Not my best read. 2 out of 5 stars.

The Murder of Emma Brown

This short murder mystery is packed full with interesting twists and turns. Emma Brown's best friend is Charlotte Martin.  Charlotte drinks excessively, takes plenty of drugs and is a bad influence on Emma.  Emma has future plans of owning a business and refrains from pharmaceuticals as best as she can.  However, one night the two women go out partying in their hometown on Saskatoon in Saskatchewan, Canada. Only one of them returns home. Major Crimes Division inspectors William Gagnon and Scarlett Gauthier have to find a killer.  Someone severely beat and strangled a woman to death with bare hands and a leather belt. At first they think that only a man could have committed the crime.  It would have taken someone strong to strangle Emma as hard as her wounds showed.  Scarlett believes that it could have been a woman though. They wonder whether a gang war had broken out as two young people were killed in a single night in town.  Friends and relatives turn on each other, battling it out on Facebook and blaming each other for Emma's death.

While it was obvious who killed Emma, it was interesting to read how the killer's memories of the day of the crime were revealed. The killer had blacked out and could not remember what happened that night.  Through reading social media posts about the party, the killer was able to recover some memories but not all of them.  The police felt that they knew who the guilty party was but were unable to obtain a confession. There was no character development here.  If there had been I am sure that this 205 page book would have been longer and with more mystery. It is strictly a whodunnit. 

3 out of 5 stars.

The Girl From Silent Lake

Wow!  What an exciting, pulse throbbing book.  This crime thriller is the first in a new series featuring former FBI detective Kay Sharp. The second book in the series, Beneath Black Water River, was published last week and I will definitely be buying it. Although she was written 19 novels, Leslie Wolfe is a new author for me. It always feels good when you find an author you love.

The publisher's summary:  

When single mother Alison Nolan sets off with her six-year-old daughter Hazel, she can't wait to spend precious time with her girl.  A vacation in Silent Lake, where snow-topped mountains are surrounded by the colors of fall, is just what they need.  Hours later, though, Alison and Hazel disappear.  Detective Kay Sharp rushes to the scene.  The only evidence that they were ever there is an abandoned rental car with a suitcase in the back, gummy bears in the open glove compartment and a teddy bear on the floor.  Kay's mind spins.  A week before, the body of another woman from out of town was found in a wrapped blanket, her hair braided and tied with feathers. Instinct tells her that the cases are connected - and it won't be long until more innocent lives are lost.  

As Kay leads a frenzied search, time is against her, but she vows that Alison and little Hazel will be found alive.  She works around the clock, even though the small town is up in arms, saying she's asking too many questions. Then she uncovers a vital clue - a photograph of the blanket that the first victim was buried in.  Just when Kay thinks she's found the missing piece, she realizess she's being watched. Is she getting too close, or is her own past catching up with her?  With a little girl's life on the line, Kay will stop at nothing.  But will it be enough to get inside the mind of the most twisted killer she has ever encountered, or will another blameless child be taken?  

I loved this novel!  The main character, Kay, is a superb detective. Her background in profiling the personalities of serial killers is a great asset and the author revealed her expertise gradually as the plot developed.  I thought this was written well. Normally you see a detective's entire skillset revealed in the beginning of a novel. This added to the excitement while I was reading.  Her partner in the investigation was a good foil for her personality. Elliot is a Texas good old boy who thinks he knows more than Kay because he is a man. However, Elliot was continually impressed by Kay's analysis of the case they were working on. 

The setting includes the Native American tribes in the Mount Chester locale where the story takes place. Several tribes were known to be in the area but their burial traditions were slightly different from each other.  Knowledge of this was essential to solving the crime.  I enjoyed learning about the differences between them. 

The Girl From Silent Lake is a fabulous story. I highly recommend it to mystery lovers. 5 out of 5 stars.

My Sister's Grave

You've heard the writing advice "show don't tell."  In My Sister's Grave there is alot of telling. The first 20 pages were awkward to read and this telling continued throughout the book.  Once the plot got started though, it became much more interesting.

The publisher's summary:  

"Tracy Crosswhite has spent twenty years questioning the facts surrounding her sister's disappearance and the murder trial that followed.  She doesn't believe that Edmund House - a convicted rapist and the man condemned for Sarah's murder -is the guilty party. Motivated by the opportunity to obtain real justice, Tracy became a homicide detective with the Seattle PD and dedicated her life to tracking down killers. hen Sarah's remains are finally discovered near their hometown in the northern Cascade mountains of Washington State, Tracy is determined to get the answers she's been seeking.  As she searches for the real killer, she unearths dark, long kept secrets that will forever change her relationship to her past - and open the door to deadly danger."

I had a hard time maintaining interest in this novel because of how the author wrote his narrative throughout it. Perhaps it would have read better if background information was revealed with dialogue. There is a definite fabulous plot here but this was just a big miss for me.  The setting should have helped me to stay interested as I love the Cascade Mountains.  However, the setting wasn't used to its maximum impact. Many book reviewers loved this novel and the author is a critically acclaimed writer. This is the first book of his that I have read and I am sorry to say that I just didn't like it.

2 out of 5 stars.

Raven Black

Ann Cleeves's Raven Black is a fantastic story.  Taking place on the main island of the Shetland Islands, it is the first book in her Shetland series.  It has also been produced as a TV drama for BBC1.  There are 5 other books in this series.

It is a cold January morning and Shetland lies buried beneath a deep layer of snow.  Trudging home, Fran Hunter's eye is drawn to a vivid splash of color on the white ground with ravens circling above. It is the strangled body of her teenage neighbor Catherine Ross. As Fran opens her mouth to scream, the ravens continue to peck at the body. The locals on the island stubbornly focus their gaze on one man - loner and simpleton Magnus Tait. However, when Detective Inspector Jimmy Perez insists on opening out the investigation, a veil of suspicion and fear is thrown over the entire community. For the first time in years, Catherine's neighbors nervously lock their doors, while a killer lives among them them.

The ice cold setting of Shetland is prominent to the story. Not only does the harsh weather hide most of the body, it also impedes the law enforcement investigation. Experts from other islands, as well as Scotland, cannot travel to the crime scene immediately. They must wait for weather conditions to safely allow them to fly in to the island. Thus, Catherine's body lies in the snow for more than a day. However, the snow and ice prohibit her deceased body from decaying. The Shetlands are only accessible via boat or plane.  They lie several hundred miles north of the Scotland coast.  

I really liked the Magnus Tait character.  He was a lonely person who seemed to be afraid of people but I thought he was lovable. Because he is a recluse, Tait was taunted by the children in their community.  The Jimmy Perez character had a good introduction as the protagonist.  However, without the kooky citizens in town this book would not be as great. They are essential for providing contrast to the serious minded Jimmy.  

The element of surprise in each twist and turn of the plot make this novel a thriller. The ending was also a surprise when the killer's identity is revealed. It was not anyone that I suspected.  5 out of 5 stars.

One by One

 

One by One is a modern locked room mystery, offering technology with old-fashioned suspense.  Locked room mysteries consist of a key set of ingredients: a fixed location, a fixed set of characters and a murder or two.  There is a striking aspect to this novel which I doubt the author intended as it must have been written before its 2020 publication date.  The characters, as well as the readers, are confined in isolation.  Sound like a pandemic? 

The publisher's summary of the plot:

"When the co-founder of Snoop, a trendy London based tech startup, organizes a weeklong trip for the team in the French Alps, it starts out as a corporate retreat like any other:  PowerPoint presentations and strategy sessions broken up by mandatory bonding on the slopes.  But as soon as one shareholder sends the agenda by pushing a lucrative but contentious buyout offer, tensions simmer and loyalties are tested. The storm brewing inside the chalet is no match for the one outside, however, and a devastating avalanche leaves the group cut off from all access to the outside world. Even worse, one Snooper hasn't made it back from the slopes when the avalanche hit.  As each hour cases without any sign of rescue, panic mounts, the chalet grows colder, and the group dwindles further . . . one by one."

I loved this book! There were a few hiccups, though. There are nine major characters in the novel.  Initially, it was hard to remember who was who. Once I got them all firmly set in my mind, I could not put the book down. The suspense was riveting. Another hiccup is that the story is told from the point of view of two characters. I could not tell the difference between them because their personalities were similar. I am not sure why the author wrote the story in this way but these points of view didn't make a difference in how the plot unfolded. However, the suspense was ratcheted up high and it carried the novel. 

I will definitely be reading more of Ware.  4 out of 5 stars.

With No One As Witness

Elizabeth George's books run hot and cold for me. With No One As Witness was lukewarm.  The mystery to be solved was interesting in the beginning but I got bogged down in all of the British words that I did not know the meaning of. The book read slowly for me.  At 627 pages, this book qualifies as a selection for the Chunkster Challenge.

The publisher's summary is below:  

"When an adolescent boy's nude body is found draped over a tomb in a graveyard, the police recognize the work of a serial killer who's been murdering boys in London.  This is the killer's fourth victim but the first to be white.  Hoping to avoid charges of institutionalized prejudice in their failure to pursue the earlier crimes to their conclusion, New Scotland Yard takes the case and hands it over to Detective Constable Barbara Haverstraw and Detective Sergeant Winston Natalie.  The killer is a psychopath who does not intend to be stopped.  But a devastating tragedy within their ranks causes the police to fumble in their pursuit, which may bring more fatal consequences."

This is a slow moving book. In addition to all of the unfamiliar British words, the abundance of descriptions made this book painfully slow. For example, an entire page may contain only a description of what a character wore or what a room or street looked like. Put two or three of these pages together and you get a bored reader. The author's note at the conclusion of the story states she is an American writing a novel set in England. I would never have guessed she was American. In fact, I thought that the book may have been written for a European audience. The plot was lost amidst this backdrop.

A disappointing read. 2 out of 5 stars. 

Piece of my Heart

 

Piece Of My Heart is the 65th book that Mary Higgins Clark has written and the 6th with co-author Alafair Burke.  Since Clark died one year ago I assume that this is her last novel.  I haven't heard about any unpublished manuscripts from her.  The last novel that she wrote on her own was Kiss the Girls and Make Them Cry which was published in 2019.  I am going to miss her but all good things must come to an end.  She lived a great life and lived to a ripe 92 years of age.  

In Piece of My Heart TV producer Laurie Moran and her fiance Alex Buckley, criminal defense attorney and the former host of her investigative television show, are just days away from their August wedding when events take a dark turn.  While vacationing in the Hamptons with their family and friends, Alex's seven-year-old nephew Johnny vanishes from the beach while playing with Laurie's 10-year-old son Timmy.  The boys had been supervised by Laurie's babysitter and her girlfriend but an attractive lifeguard had caught their attention.  A search party begins and witnesses recall Johnny playing in the water and collecting sea shells behind a beach shack.  However, no one remembers seeing him after the morning.  As the sun sets, Johnny's skim board washes up to shore and everyone realizes that he could be dead.  When it appears that he was kidnapped, the question arises whether he was the actual target or was another boy the target. Laurie's father, a former NYPD officer, believes that the abduction could be related to a murder case that he handled eighteen years ago.  Laurie decides to do a show on that eighteen year old case and possibly connect it to Johnny's disappearance.

As you would expect from Mary Higgins Clark, this novel is suspense at its best.  Not only does each chapter end with suspense but so do the pages and paragraphs. I don't know anyone who can write suspense this well and it's a cliche to say that in her books there are lots of twists, turns and suspects to keep you reading. The characters were all compelling, even the villains.  The secondary characters had just as much prominence as the main characters, Laurie and Alex. Alex's brother and sister-in-law, Marcy and Andrew Buckley, were the parents of the missing child.  Laurie's father Leo Farley was also prominent as he was able to use his work in law enforcement to help Laurie investigate the crime. There were five additional characters who were possible villains and their backgrounds were fully developed by the authors.  On top of that there were three characters affiliated with the villains whose lives were interwoven into the story.  How all of these characters are connected is a mystery for the reader.

I am sad that this is my final review of Clark's novels.  Perhaps I should begin rereading them in the order of publication.  That would be fun and I know that I have only reviewed the last 10 of them so the reviews would be new.  5 out of 5 stars!

The Girl She Wanted

The Girl She Wanted is an engrossing psychological thriller that will satisfy all mystery lovers. The main characters are sisters Carrie Parsons and Alexa Ford. Alexa and her husband Perry have a one year old daughter named Florence.  Carrie adores Florence and spends a lot of time with her, especially since Carrie moved in with the Fords eight months ago after her marriage fell apart. Perry, however, wants Carrie to move out. Carrie is an ER nurse at a local Nottinghamshire hospital. After a junior doctor files a complaint with the hospital management over two mysterious deaths in the ER, Carrie is arrested as a suspect in the deaths and suspended from her job.  An eighty year old man and a one year old baby died in the ER. Soon thereafter Carrie disappears with baby Florence. The plot then thickens as many twists and turns uncover a myriad of of secrets and lies.

I loved the connection between the two sisters.  Alexa is a timid woman who relies on Carrie to help her raise her daughter.  Alexa is afraid to go outside on her own and only goes out with Florence if Carrie is with them.  Their abilities to handle stress become reverted as Alexa gains in confidence and Carrie seems to have internal problems. The tension between the two sisters ratcheted up throughout the book. Of course, there were other strong characters and all of them were women!  Carrie's two best friends are also nurses at the hospital and one of them has a secret too.  

I loved this thriller.  5 out of 5 stars.

Hide Away

Jason Pinter's latest book is the first in a new series.  I am not sure what type of mysteries the Rachel Marin Series will be. It is hard to tell from Hide Away. Rachel is not in law enforcement so I am assuming that she is an amateur sleuth. However, in Hide Away Rachel did not do an investigation of the crime. She was present at a number of events but did not go out and look for evidence or interview witnesses. 

The publisher's summary of the book:

"On the surface, Rachel Marin is an ordinary single mother; on the inside, she’s a fierce, brilliant vigilante. After an unspeakable crime shatters her life, she changes her identity and moves to a small town in Illinois, hoping to spare her children from further trauma…or worse. But crime follows her everywhere. 

When the former mayor winds up dead, Rachel can’t help but get involved. Where local detectives see suicide, she sees murder. They resent her for butting in—especially since she’s always one step ahead. But her investigative genius may be her undoing: the deeper she digs, the harder it is to keep her own secrets buried. 

Her persistence makes her the target of both the cops and a killer. Meanwhile, the terrifying truth about her past threatens to come to light, and Rachel learns the hard way that she can’t trust anyone. Surrounded by danger, she must keep her steely resolve, protect her family, and stay one step ahead, or else she may become the next victim."

I think the book has a few failures.  Rachel does not have a defined role.  Being a vigilante, as the publisher summary states, is not enough.  She needs to be involved in the investigation of a crime and the author has not shown if she will be an amateur sleuth.  If she is not a sleuth then who is she?  Also, I did not think that she was a likable character.  She bored me.  Other characters stated that she was crazy but the author did not give her any attributes of a crazy or eccentric person.  How can a series have a heroine that is undefined in the first book? The reader does not know what to expect in future novels. 

Hide Away was an OK book.  I rate it 3 out of 5 stars.

Runaway

I had a hard time getting into this novel but after the first 50 pages I became interested. The story alternates between events that occurred in 1965 and the present time.  I liked the 1965 story better but it ended with the present and all the loose ends were wrapped up.

The story opens in 2015 with 4 childhood friends getting reacquainted. The story then goes back to 1965 with 5 teenage friends running away from their homes in Glasgow for London with hopes of making it big in the music industry. Guitarist Jack Mackay makes the decision to leave after being expelled from high school and his bandmates decide that they don't really want to stay home either. Luke is tired of going door to door with his Jehovah Witnesses parents, keyboard player Maurie wants to give up the opera lessons his parents have forced him into taking , drummer Jeff is a school dropout selling cars and bass player Dave just wants to leave. They lose all their money from a fellow traveler who takes advantage of them and upon arrival they are taken advantage of again by a man who says he can get them a demo record that they can market to an agent.  While they are in London a new friend is killed. When the group are seniors they decide to retrace their steps in London.  Maurie gathers the group together telling them that he has something to finish in London that got started all those years ago.  With Jack's grandson as the driver they set off for London.

While this was a good book it was not as good as earlier May novels.  The plot was simpler and the characters were less developed.   It just wasn't as interesting as the usual Peter May novel.

3 out of 5 stars.