festive in death

festive in death
in death #39
jd robb
putnam adult
published 2014

Personal trainer Trey Ziegler was in peak physical condition.  If you didn't count the kitchen knife in his well-toned chest.

Lieutenant Eve Dallas soon discovers a lineup of women who'd been loved and left by the narcissistic gym rat.  While Dallas sorts through the list of Ziegler's enemies, she's also dealing with her Christmas shopping list - plus the guest list for her and her billionaire husband's upcoming holiday bash.

Feeling less than festive, Dallas tries to put aside her distaste for the victim and solve the mystery of his death.  There are just a few investigating days left before Christmas, and as New Year's 2061 approaches this homicide cop is resolved to stop a cold-blooded killer.

It's harder to be invested in finding a killer when you really just can't stand the victim.  Which is quite the point of this case.  Eve will stand for the dead, no matter how much of an asshole he is.  And the suspects are sympathetic, except one who doesn't really seem to get what they deserve.

For me, this time, I was more absorbed in the personal life part of the story than the case.  I found myself wishing she'd just wrap it all up so we could move on to the Christmas party and all the festivities afterward.  I wanted to read about her hanging out with Peabody and McNab just chit chatting and having some dinner.

These characters have become so familiar to me that I don't even really need a story.  I can just read about what they're doing.  But in my opinion the case seemed to unnecessarily drag on and I was ready for it to wrap up.  She consults with far too many friends who are 'experts' in their fields.  Even Mira, this time, felt kind of unnecessary to me because the victim seemed to apparent.  But it is what it is.

deadline

deadline
virgil flowers #8
john sandford
fiction/mystery/suspense
putnam adult
published 2014

In Southeast Minnesota, down on the Mississippi, a school board meeting is coming to an end.  The board chairman announces that the rest of the meeting will be closed, due to personnel issues.  "Issues" is correct.  The proposal up for a vote before them is whether to authorize the killing of a local reporter.  The vote is four to one in favor.  Meanwhile, not far away, Virgil Flowers is helping out a friend by looking into a dognapping, which seems to be turning into something much bigger and uglier - a team of dognappers supplying medical labs - when he gets a call from Lucas Davenport.  A murdered body has been found - and the victim is a local reporter.

Now I'm not saying that Deadline is going to keep you at the edge of your seat.  Or that you'll be stunned by the ingenious ways of the bad guys.  There is just something about Virgil that keeps me highly entertained.  He's funny for one, but most of all, the stories seem so real.  The characters are not caricatures of people, they are almost real life people.  Flawed, sometimes ditzy, sometimes cunning, simple, complex, nice, greedy, and real.  The conversations Virgil has with people is almost mundane, but somehow it's fascinating.

And really, let's be honest, Jenkins and Shrake should really have their own series by now.

whiskey beach

whiskey beach
nora roberts
suspense/romance
putnam adult
published 2013

For more than three hundred years, Bluff House has sat above Whiskey Beach, guarding its shore - and its secrets.  But to Eli Landon, it's home.  A Boston, lawyer, Eli has weathered an intense year of public scrutiny and police investigations after being accused of - but never arrested for - the murder of his soon-to-be-ex wife.

He finds sanctuary at Bluff House, even though his beloved grandmother is in Boston recuperating from a nasty fall.  Abra Walsh is always there, though.  Whiskey Beach's resident housekeeper, yoga instructor, jewelry maker, and massage therapist, Abra is a woman of many talents - including helping Eli take control of his life and clear his name.  But as they become entangled in each other, they find themselves caught in a net that stretches back for centuries - one that has ensnared a man intent on reaping the rewards of destroying Eli Landon once and for all.

I enjoy Nora Roberts female characters.  They know when to be tough and know when they can't do something on their own.  For Whiskey Beach I liked how this was Eli's story more than Abra's.  He was the main character.

What to say that hasn't been said about Nora Roberts's books?  This had a little less mystery than others, the male was the main character, the setting, while important, wasn't as vast as others.....Usually you get a better sense of the town the story takes place in, but this story mainly takes place inside Bluff House.  I wasn't surprised by the killer and I didn't get too much of a sense of characters other than Abra and Eli.

I was hooked and once I got started a tore through the book, but I wouldn't say this was on par with other Nora Roberts books.

a rule against murder

a rule against murder
armand gamache #4
louise penny
mystery
minotaur
published 2009

It is the height of summer, and Armand and Reine-Marie Gamache are celebrating their wedding anniversary at Manoir Bellechasse, an isolated, luxurious inn not far from the village of Three Pines.  But they're not alone.  The Finney family - rich, cultured, and respectable - has also arrived for a celebration of their own.

The beautiful Manoir Bellechasse might be surrounded by nature, but there is something unnatural looming.  As the heat rises and the humidity closes in, some surprising guests turn up at the family reunion, and a terrible summer storm leaves behind a dead body.  It is up to Chief Inspector Gamache to unearth secrets long buried and hatreds hidden behind polite smiles.  The chase takes him to Three Pines, into the dark corners of his own life, and finally to a harrowing climax.

Note: I finished this book over a week ago and I've been so distracted with other things I haven't gotten around to reviewing, which bugs me because I like to review books when they're still fresh in my mind so please excuse the shortness of my review!

Here's the thing, Gamache is a good man.  He's too good.  I want to punch people in the face because of the way they treat him, but he just lets it roll off his back.  I think I'm like Jean Guy Beauvoir that way.  (I can't believe I spelled his name right on the first try!)  It was nice to get out of Three Pines to see how the team operates in a different setting and still go back to Three Pines to see familiar faces.

I'm still not a fan of Peter.  Like, I'm an anti-fan.  I just don't see what Clara sees in him.  I think he's a jerk.

But every time I finish one of these books I want to immediately go into another.  This time I'm actually doing that!

never go back

never go back
jack reacher #18
lee child
thriller/suspense
random house
published 2013

Former military cop Jack Reacher makes it all the way from snowbound South Dakota to his destination in northeastern Virginia, near Washington, D.C.: the headquarters of his old unit, the 110th MP.  The old stone building is the closest thing to a home he ever had.

Reacher is there to meet - in person - the new commanding officer, Major Susan Turner, so far just a warm, intriguing voice on the phone.

But it isn't turner behind the CO's desk.  And Reacher is hit with two pieces of shocking news, one with serious criminal consequences, and one too personal to even think about.

When threatened, you can either run or fight.

Reacher fights, aiming to find Turner and clear his name, barely a step ahead of the army, and the FBI, and the D.C. Metro police, and four unidentified thugs.

Combining an intricate puzzle of a plot and an exciting chase for truth and justice, Lee Child puts Reacher through his paces - and makes him question who he is, what he's done, and the very future of his untethered life on the open road.

Note: I finished this book over a week ago and I've been so distracted with other things I haven't gotten around to reviewing, which bugs me because I like to review books when they're still fresh in my mind so please excuse the shortness of my review!

Reacher finally makes it to Susan Turner.....kind of.  Things have gone bat shit crazy and all of a sudden Reacher finds himself back in the Army.

This was an unusual installment in the Reacher series.  We find Reacher contemplating his lifestyle in a way he never has before, including wondering if he missed out on things he never thought he cared about.  But Reacher is still there.  He's still the guy who needs to right the wrongs and take care of the people who can't take care of themselves.  Of course, Turner isn't necessarily one of those people.  I think Turner could take care of anybody, but things go easier with Reacher by your side.

So now that four book odyssey is over with.  Let's see where the road takes Reacher next.

Note:  I finished this book over a week ago and I've been so distracted with other things I haven't gotten around to reviewing which bugs me because I like to review books when they're still fresh in my mind so please excuse the shortness of my review!

always watching

always watching
chevy stevens
thriller/mystery/suspense
st. martin's press
published 2013

She helps people put their demons to rest.

But she has a few of her own....

In the lockdown ward of a psychiatric hospital, Dr. Nadine Lavoie is in her element.  She has the tools to help people, and she has the desire - healing broken families is what she lives for.  But Nadine doesn't want to look too closely at her own past because there are whole chunks of her life that are black holes.  It takes all her willpower to tamp down her recurrent claustrophobia, and her daughter, Lisa, is a runaway who has been on the streets for seven years.

When a distraught woman, Heather Simeon, is brought into the Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit after a suicide attempt, Nadine gently coaxes her story out of her - and learns of some troubling parallels with her own life.  Digging deeper, Nadine is forced to confront her traumatic childhood, and the damage that began when she and her brother were brought by their mother to a remote commune on Vancouver Island.  What happened to Nadine?  Why was their family destroyed?  And why does the name Aaron Quinn, the group's leader, bring complex feelings of terror to Nadine even today?

Note:  I finished this book over a week ago and I've been so distracted with other things I haven't gotten around to reviewing which bugs me because I like to review books when they're still fresh in my mind so please excuse the shortness of my review!

I was incredibly disappointed with Always Watching.  After Still Missing I went to Never Knowing and that was a disappointment.  But Always Watching was even worse than Never Knowing (which I didn't hate, but I really didn't care for Sara).

Nadine was the worst character in a book with terrible characters.  I felt no sympathy for anyone except for maybe Willow and Heather who are fleeting in this novel.  I couldn't relate to anyone and I don't think even Chevy Stevens did.  The writing felt stifled and amateur, nothing like Still Missing.  It's very sad.

I still have That Night sitting on my bookshelf.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed...

cross my heart

cross my heart
alex cross #21
james patterson
mystery/suspense
little brown & co
published 2013

Detective Alex Cross is a family man at heart -- nothing matters more to him than his children, his grandmother, and his wife Bree.  His love of his family is his anchor, and gives him the strength to confront evil in his work.  One man knows this deeply, and uses Alex's strength as a weapon against him in the most unsettling and unexpected novel of James Patterson's career.

When the ones Cross loves are in danger, he will do anything to protect them.  If he does anything to protect them, they will die.

This review will contain spoilers.

I find it slightly humorous that the synopsis talks about how much Alex Cross loves his kids and his family, but the truth is, he may love them but he has no time for them.  Damon is calling his father, something obviously wrong, but Alex brushes him off.  Jannie is pissed because he never makes it to any of her school events and they're letting 7-year-old Ali watch The Walking Dead.  Are you kidding me?

Nothing of interest happens for 80% of the book.  I looked on my Kindle when stuff started happening.  There is a case going on but it's resolved and you know there's a bigger thing going on.  And when it got to that point I thought it sucked that it was going to get wrapped up so quickly.

But he didn't.  He left us hanging.  For the first time that I can remember James Patterson wrote an Alex Cross novel with a cliffhanger.  So I can't really judge the book on the first 80% because that was useless.  So I'm reserving my review until I read the next book.

field of prey

field of prey
lucas davenport #24
john sandford
fiction/thriller/mystery
putnam
published 2014

The night after Fourth of July, Layton Burns, Jr., of Red Wing, Minnesota, finally got lucky.  And unlucky.

He'd picked the perfect spot to lose his virginity to his girlfriend, and abandoned farmyard in the middle of cornfields: nice, private and quiet.  The only problem was ... something smelled bad, like, really bad.  He mentioned it to a county deputy he knew, and when the cop took a look, he found a body stuffed down a cistern.  And then another, and another.

By the time Lucas Davenport was called in, the police were up to fifteen bodies, and counting.  And as if that wasn't bad enough, when Lucas began to investigate, he made some disturbing discoveries of his own.  The victims had been killed over a great many years, one every summer, regular as clockwork.  How could this have happened without anybody noticing?

Because one thing was for sure: The killer had to live close by.  He was probably even someone they saw every day.

I love these books.  I love these books so much I'm considering blowing off all the books I have started reading and just going back to Rules of Prey and start the whole series over again.  Honestly, they really do just get better and better.  After Stolen Prey and Letty's amazing freaking amazing-ness (there's really no words for how much I love Letty) and then the appearance of Kidd & Lauren in Silken Prey I really didn't imagine that things would get even better, but they did.

Here's why John Sandford is such a perfect story teller: He tells a slow burner story.  There is this HUGE case in Red Wing and Lucas isn't even the head investigator.  He's the heavy.  He's the one Rose Marie sends in to get shit done.

So he's doing.  And usually he's doing with Del, Jenkins or Shrake along for the ride, but this time there's stuff going on all over the place and everyone, including Virgil are off on other cases.  So Lucas is poking around.  And the whole time you know who the killer is.  You know how close and how far they are from him.  But everything is taking time.  Lucas jumps to the wrong conclusions, makes assumptions that are close, but not right.  He gets the guy, right there, but then skips right over him.  And you, as the reader are thinking, holy crap!  He's RIGHT THERE!

But you're not mad, because if you've read a Lucas Davenport book you know he'll get it done.

So you wait.  And while things are moving slowly you aren't frustrated or bored.  Sandford somehow makes the mundane interesting.  In the middle of the giant case, Lucas goes home so he can go shopping to buy new shoes.  But that's how real life works.  Cases don't get solved right away.  Sometimes months go by.  Sometimes cases go cold.

But then shit hits the fan.  And it isn't even anything to do with what you think it should be, but damn it, I'm invested.  I'm invested in all of these people.  For most of them, I've been with them for 20 years.  They're like my book friends.

So some shit hits the fan, but then all of a sudden, ALL of the shit hits the fan and I've got 88 more pages to go and I'm slapping my legs, bouncing up and down, pulling my hair, everything but biting my nails.  And it is so intense that when it's over I feel drained.  I feel relief and I feel spent.

Lucas is flawed.  And he's bent and twisted and ruthless.  But he is good and dependable and loyal and a fucking maniac.  And damnit I love Weather.  I love that she knows this man so well and loves him for it, expects nothing less than who he is, what he's capable of.

There is no better author out there.  None.

monster, vol. 2

monster, vol. 2
naoki urasawa
graphics/manga/suspense
viz media
published 1995

An ice-cold killer is on the loose, and brilliant Dr. Kenzo Tenma is the only one who can stop him!  Conspiracies, serial murders, and a scathing indictment of hospital politics are all masterfully woven together in this compelling manga thriller.

Tenma springs into action when he discovers that Johan, the boy whose life he saved nine years ago, has grown up and turned into a serial killer.  But when Tenma finds out that Johan has strong inside connections with government officials, he realizes that this monster is far more powerful than he could have ever imagined.

Dr. Tenma is searching desperately for clues to Johan & his twin sister's whereabouts, sure that more murders will happen soon if he can't find them.  He teams up with a reluctant reporter and together the try to connect the dots that will ultimately lead them to terror.  The story builds within every page, tension is rife throughout the entire book.  How is that possible?!

The manga reads like a novel, rich and satisfying, but seriously terrifying as well.  I think it's time to rip into this series!

the darkest evening of the year

the darkest evening of the year
dean koontz
suspense/horror/fantasy
bantam
published 2007

Amy Redwing has dedicated her life to the southern California organization she founded to rescue abandoned and endangered golden retrievers.  Among dog lovers, she's a legend for the risks she'll take to save an animal from abuse.  Among her friends, Amy's heedless devotion is often cause for concern.  To widower Brian McCarthy, whose commitment she can't allow herself to return, Amy's behavior is far more puzzling and hides a shattering secret.

No on is surprised when Amy risks her life to save Nickie, nor when she takes the female golden into her home.  The bond between Amy and Nickie is immediate and uncanny.  Even her two other goldens, Fred & Ethel, recognize Nickie as special, a natural alpha.  But the instant joy Nickie brings is shadowed by a series of eerie incidents.  An ominous stranger.  A mysterious home invasion.

And the unmistakable sense that someone is watching Amy's every more and that, whoever it is, he's not alone.

Someone has come back to turn Amy into the desperate, hunted creature sh's always been there to save.  But now there's no one to save Amy and those she loves.

In most of Dean Koontz's recent books I've read there is an autistic or child with Down's and a dog that has some uncanny sort of understanding of humans.  Most of the time I love it, but the way that the child was treated in this book was hard to read.  I mean, really hard to read.

The whole story is very slow.  He's building suspense and trying to lay out the story, but this time it didn't feel suspenseful and when the resolution is coming to and end it happens in about 4 pages.  After 10 years of being tormented by this woman there is no confrontation it's just over.  And the outcome is so 'magical' that I just couldn't get into it.  In the end, I just didn't care who lived and who died.

monster, vol. 1

monster, vol. 1
naoki urasawa
graphics/manga/thriller/mystery
viz media
published 1995

Brilliant doctor Kenzo Tenma risks his reputation and promising career to save the life of a critically wounded young boy.  Unbeknownst to him, this child is destined for a terrible fate.  Conspiracies, serial murders, and a scathing depiction of the underbelly of hospital politics are all masterfully woven together in this compelling manga thriller.

This one was recommended to me by a friend.  I went to the library and found the first volume and now I wish I had put the others on hold!  Grrrrrr

Volume 1 begins in Germany, 1986 with a young Dr. Tenma, rising star at Eisler Memorial Hospital.  Destined for big things and engaged to the daughter of the hospital director he's also dedicated and hard working, but his ideal life begins to show signs of tarnish when he wonders if the man he looks up to is really someone worth idolizing.  When he goes against the directors orders to save a gravely injured young boy his life goes into a tailspin.

Fast forward 9 years later and life is much different for Dr. Tenma and he seems to be happy with his new outlook on a doctor's life.  But things that happened 9 years ago are threatening to come back to haunt him.

I was told that Naoki Urasawa is Japan's Master of Suspense and that's evident here in this first volume.  But he's also really good at creepy.  There's a few creepy characters (I don't want to name any names so as not to spoil the story for you) and a few despicable ones too!  The other thing I really like is that I can easily tell the different characters apart!  One thing that always bums me out with lots of mangas is how everyone kind of looks the same.  Not necessarily main characters, but the supporting cast of friends, co-workers or relatives all tend to have that same look and I start getting people confused.  But Urasawa's artwork is unique and distinctive.

The story is goooood and leaves you with pretty much no closure.  What I expected to happen, happened, but that wasn't a bad thing and now I need to get my hands on Vol. 2!

dust to dust

dust to dust
kovac/liska #2
tami hoag
fiction/mystery/thriller
bantam
published 2000

Sorry.  The single word was written on the mirror.  In front of it hung the body of Andy Fallon, a Minneapolis Internal Affairs cop.  Was it suicide?  Or a kinky act turned tragic accident?  Either way, his death wasn't a crime.  The investigation will be a formality, a duty that veteran Homicide detective Sam Kovac isn't looking forward to.  He doesn't want to spend any more time than he has to in the bleak, empty world of the victim's father, Iron Mike, Kovac's old mentor and a department legend.  It's too much like looking into his own future.  But Kovac has a sixth sense for crime, and it's buring.

Together with his partner, the wisecracking, ambitious Nikki Liska, Kovac begins to dig at the too-neat edges of Fallon's death, uncovering one motive and one suspect after another.  The shadows of suspicion fall deeply not only on the city's power elite, but into the very heart of the police department itself.

While Ashes to Ashes was touted as the first Kovac/Liska book they merely had background roles in the book.  Kovac was present more than Liska was, but not much.  Here in Dust to Dust they are both in the forefront working together, but also separately on two different cases.  Both of them involving the police department.

Kovac's case is personal and he's pretty much the only one who thinks that a crime actually occurred.  Liska is following up on a closed case, much to the irritation of their boss.

There are times when I wonder why Liska makes such dumb choices, or ignores something that any self respecting cop would ignore.  And there are times when Hoag goes off describing something or added a scene that was completely unnecessary.  The book was longer than it should have been and to be honest, there were no surprises anywhere.

Who else could the killer have been?  The players could all only fit into certain roles so the pieces all fit in much faster than I think Hoag was aiming for.  

ashes to ashes

ashes to ashes
kovac/liska #1
tami hoag
fiction/suspense/thriller/mystery
orion
published 1999

The newspapers have dubbed him the Cremator.  He has already claimed three lives and he won't stop there.  He has a plan for greatness, only this time there is a witness.  A teenage runaway with a dubious identity and a murky past, Angie DiMarco has seen the face of the killer in the flickering light of the funeral pyre.  Now the police have Angie, but Angie isn't talking.

While I've read a few Tami Hoag books I've kind had a hit or miss sort of luck with them.  I bought a bunch of her books after I read the first one I really liked, but then I read the one I didn't like and I wasn't too excited to start any other one.

But after years of sitting on my shelf I've decided to finally give them another shot. And I was pleasantly surprised.  Much better than the not so great one I read, but I didn't quite get into it the way I did the first one!

It was really long.  And for why, I'm not entirely sure.  There were moments that dragged on, musings that seemed to muse for too long.  But it was interesting enough to keep me entertained until the end.  I have the next book Dust to Dust which features Kovac & Liska who were a little more than background characters in Ashes to Ashes.

And while it was interesting it was slightly predictable.  I knew who the killer was and I figured out the connection between the killer and the witness, but still there were a few surprises that I won't spoil for you.  All in all it was a good read!

touch & go

touch & go
d.d. warren #6
lisa gardner
fiction/suspense
dutton adult
published 2013

This is my family: Vanished without a trace....

Justin & Libby Denbe have the kind of life that looks good in the pages of a glossy magazine.  A beautiful fifteen-year old daughter, Ashlyn.  A gorgeous brownstone on a tree-lined street in Boston's elite Back Bay neighborhood.  A great marriage, admired by friends and family.  A perfect life.

This is what I know: Pain has a flavor...

When investigator Tessa Leoni arrives at the crime scene in the Denbes' home, she finds scuff marks on the floor and Taser confetti in the foyer.  The family appears to have been abducted, with only a pile of their most personal possessions remaining behind.  No witnesses, no ransom demands, no motive.  Just an entire family, vanished without a trace.

This is what I fear: The worst is yet to come...

Tessa knows better than anyone that even the most perfect facades can hide the darkest secrets.  Now she must race against the clock to uncover the Denbes' innermost dealings, a complex tangle of friendships and betrayal, big business and small sacrifices.  Who would want to kidnap such a perfect little family?  And how far would such a person be willing to go?

This is the truth: Love, safety, family...it is all touch and go.

Let's start with what I loved:

• Gardner knows how to write suspense.  There are parts where I had to force myself to slow down and read each word instead of skipping ahead because the suspense was just killing me.
• Libby & Ashlyn were strong despite their weaknesses.  Another good thing Gardner does is write good female characters.
• She also writes the occasional good guy.  Wyatt was funny, smart and not afraid to defer to a smart woman.

And now, this is what I didn't love:

• Not enough Tessa.  She kind of had to share her thunder with Wyatt.  Thankfully, he's a good character, but I would definitely like to see more of Tessa.
• I did see the outcome a mile away.  There was just no other resolution.

While I did see this outcome coming a mile away, I didn't have the details worked out.  I didn't account for Radar and Z and what they were really capable of.  I truly didn't see the role of any other players except for Justin, Libby and Ashlyn.  It's really hard to explain what I didn't see without giving any spoilers away!

I can definitely see Tessa carrying her own series.  As an investigator now it kind of opens up all kinds of stuff for Gardner to write about.  And her 'connections' with Boston PD and now North Country New Hampshire Sheriff's Department means she can be a part of even more investigations if necessary.  I love this woman who will do anything for her kid and almost anything for someone else's kid too.

I am including this in the DD Warren series for my Finish That Series challenge only because DD does make and appearance and Tessa is part of that Universe.

storm front

storm front
virgil flowers #7
john sandford
fiction/suspense/mystery
putnam adult
published 2013

In Israel, a man clutching a backpack searches desperately for a boat.  In Minnesota, Virgil Flowers gets a message from Lucas Davenport:  You're about to get a visitor.  It's an Israeli cop, and she's tailing a man who's smuggled out an extraordinary relic - a copper scroll revealing startling details about the man known as King Solomon.

Wait a minute, laughs Virgil.  Is this one of those Da Vinci Code deals?  The secret scroll, the blockbuster revelation, the teams of murderous bad guys?  Should I be boning up on my Bible verses?

He looks at the cop.  She's not laughing.  As it turns out, there are very bad men chasing the relic, and they don't care who's in the way or what they have to do to get it.  Maybe Virgil should start praying.

Sooooo this was not my favorite Virgil Flowers book.  It still had the humor, which I love, but I'm just not into this Israeli, Hezbollah terrorists, religious stuff.  I don't know why.  I like books like The Da Vinci Code, conspiracy laced in religion, but for some reason I just can't get into books like this.

It was still good, just disappointing to me based on the subject matter though I did like the twist at the end.  I was afraid that somehow Sandford overlooked the discrepancies in the beginning, but of course that wasn't true.

There is one more thing that bothered me about this book that also bothered me in the last Virgil book, Mad River.  The ones who got away.  Virgil either knows who they are or flat out arrested them, but they still got away somehow.  It doesn't ft with my just desserts mentality.  It just struck me that maybe this is just another difference being highlighted between Lucas and Virgil.  Lucas will go back and fix it, legal or not, but Virgil will just wait it out.  Sure, it bugs him, but I think he figures they'll get what's coming to them.

catch me

catch me
dd warren #6
lisa gardner
fiction/suspense/thriller
dutton
published 2012

Detective D. D. Warren is hard to surprise.  But a lone woman outside D. D.'s latest crime scene shocks her with a remarkable proposition:  Charlene Rosalind Carter Grant believes that she will be murdered in four days.  And she wants Boston's top detective to handle her death investigation.

This is probably one of Gardner's best.  The story is tightly wound, supremely suspenseful and wonderfully written.  D. D. is at her best.  Motherhood has softened her a bit, but it's good for her.  She's not as bitchy as she was and that only makes her a better detective, I think.

I started getting inklings of the outcome, of the killer, but unlike other books the only reason I was figuring it out was because Gardner was writing it so I could figure it out.  It was brilliant.  Charlene is tough and paranoid, but good and flawed and human.  The only one I took an instant dislike to was Detective O.  She reminded me of a harsher, pre-motherhood D. D., but not in a good way.  I guess every story has to have someone you clash with though, right?

But my favorite part, by far was the convergence of multiple characters from nearly every story she's ever done!  Appearances were made by Kimberly & Pierce Quincy (the FBI Profiler series), Roan Griffin (The Survivor's Club) and JT & Tess (The Perfect Husband/FBI Profiler series).  The only one who didn't make an appearance was Bobby Dodge, which is strange since he's part of the D. D. Warren series.  But it was fun to catch up with everyone, especially Pierce and hear just a little bit about what has happened with him & Rainie - two of my favorite characters.  It was also crazy to think about JT & Tess to be in their 60s!

If none of them had been included in this story I still would have loved it, but the fact that they were just made me all giddy with excitement.

the 7th month

the 7th month
d.d. warren #5.5
lisa gardner
fiction/suspense
dutton adult
published 2012

In her seventh month of pregnancy, D.D. should be taking it easy.  Instead, she accepts a small consulting role on the set of a serial killer film shooting in Boston.  D.D. figures she'll be useful to someone for at least one night, serving as a police expert and making a little extra money in the bargain.  It seems like a simple task - until the previous film consultant, a former Boston cop, is found beaten to death.  Suddenly D. D.'s date with Hollywood gets serious.  Extremely pregnant, on the trail of a killer, and surrounded by a hundred and four murder suspects in the middle of a graveyard, D.D. must quickly unravel a tangled web of lies.  As another cast member is attacked, D.D. realizes that like it or not, her priorities have changed - and her last desperate hope is that she can catch a killer before she and her unborn baby face mortal danger.

This was not your usual Lisa Gardner story.  It was almost comical instead of nail biting.  The mystery was solved super fast (because of the length of the story, of course) and you didn't get a chance to get to know or care about any of the characters.  I've read plenty of shorts, novellas, whatever you want to call them and most felt like they added something to the series, but this one just felt like she wanted to do something different and it didn't quite work out.

live to tell

live to tell

d. d. warren #4

lisa gardner

fiction/mystery/crime/romance/thriller

bantam

published 2010

He knows everything about you—including the first place you’ll hide.
 
On a warm summer night in one of Boston’s working-class neighborhoods, an unthinkable crime has been committed: Four members of a family have been brutally murdered. The father—and possible suspect—now lies clinging to life in the ICU. Murder-suicide? Or something worse? Veteran police detective D. D. Warren is certain of only one thing: There’s more to this case than meets the eye.

Danielle Burton is a survivor, a dedicated nurse whose passion is to help children at a locked-down pediatric psych ward. But she remains haunted by a family tragedy that shattered her life nearly twenty-five years ago. The dark anniversary is approaching, and when D. D. Warren and her partner show up at the facility, Danielle immediately realizes: It has started again.

A devoted mother, Victoria Oliver has a hard time remembering what normalcy is like. But she will do anything to ensure that her troubled son has some semblance of a childhood. She will love him no matter what. Nurture him. Keep him safe. Protect him. Even when the threat comes from within her own house. 

The lives of these three women unfold and connect in unexpected ways, as sins from the past emerge—and stunning secrets reveal just how tightly blood ties can bind. Sometimes the most devastating crimes are the ones closest to home.

Whoa.  This book was intense.  Dealing with very psychologically disturbed children, Live to Tell doesn't pull any punches.  We switch narrators between Detective D. D. Warren, Victoria, the mother of a violent son and Danielle, the only survivor of a family annihilation.  That in itself sounds pretty heavy, but then you add in time spent in a children's psychiatric ward you're pretty much wrung dry.

I have very little to complain about Lisa Gardner's writing.  I was at the edge of my seat, the pages flew by.  I was both enthralled and horrified.  But Warren was sooooo dang grumpy in this book!  I truly don't remember her being this obnoxious.  While the crimes were awful and she had to face them I didn't feel like she was emotionally disturbed by the crimes themselves, but more that she was pissed off that they weren't as clear cut as she thought and she was really horny and not getting any sex.

I counted the number of times she 'scowled' at someone.  It was 13.  One thing that drives me nuts in books is repetitive stuff and the scowling was too much repetition for me.

But really, that was it.  I loved Danielle, went back and forth with Victoria.  Sometimes I felt she was an idiot, that her ex-husband was right and other times I thought she was the hero and in the end I found she was the strongest one of all.

Definitely not a story for everyone.  Definitely full of stuff people don't want to think about actually existing in their world, but it was a good read if you're up for it.

the wizard heir

the wizard heir

the heir chronicles #2

cinda williams chima

ya/fantasy/suspense

hyperion

published 2009

Sixteen-year-old Seph McCauley has spent the past three years getting kicked out of one exclusive private school after another. And it's not his attitude that's the problem. It's the trail of magical accidents--lately, disasters--that follow in his wake. Seph is a wizard, orphaned and untrained--and his powers are escalating out of control.

After causing a tragic fire at an after-hours party, Seph is sent to the Havens, a secluded boys' school on the coast of Maine. At first, it seems like the answer to his prayers. Gregory Leicester, the headmaster, promises to train Seph in magic and initiate him into his mysterious order of wizards. But Seph's enthusiasm dampens when he learns that training comes at a steep cost, and that Leicester plans to use his students' powers to serve his own dangerous agenda.

In this companion novel to the exciting fantasy The Warrior Heir, everyone's got a secret to keep: Jason Haley, a fellow student who's been warned to keep away from Seph; the enchanter Linda Downey, who knew his parents; the rogue wizard Leander Hastings, and the warriors Jack Swift and Ellen Stephenson. This wizard war is one that Seph may not have the strength to survive.

My review the first time I read wasn't very revealing:

A great follow-up to The Warrior Heir! I love books that introduce new characters while still showcasing the original players. I can't wait to see what happens in the Dragon Heir. 

Let's see if I can elaborate on that pitiful review....

The Wizard Heir takes place a some months after the events at Raven's Ghyll.  Seph is a wizard without any sort of training.  He knows what he is, but he's an orphan brought up by a sorcerer with a mistrust of wizards so his knowledge is very limited.  He lands himself at Haven, a school for boys with issues.  When he learns there's a wizard there who will train him he's thrilled, until he starts getting glimpses of something terribly wrong at Haven.

He meets Jason who wants nothing more than to escape Haven and find The Dragon, a mysterious rebel who is turning the Wizard Council against each other and strengthening the Anawizard weir.

Basically, we're introduced to Seph, Jason & Madison and eventually the major players from the first book come together.  Cinda Williams Chima is awesome at creating characters like Dr. Gregory Leicester whom you just can't stand.  The perfect villain to our stoic heroes!  She did write an amazing follow-up and set us up quite well to be eager for The Dragon Heir.  So I guess my review wasn't as bad as I thought!

flawless

flawless

pretty little liars #2

sara shepard

harpercollins

published 2007

In the exclusive town of Rosewood, Pennsylvania, where the sweetest smiles hid the darkest secrets, four pretty little liars - Spencer, Aria, Emily and Hanna - have been very bad girls...

Spencer stole her sister's boyfriend.  Aria is brokenhearted over her English teacher.  Emily likes her new friend Maya...as much more than a friend.  And Hanna's obsession with looking flawless is literally making her sick.  But the most horrible secret of all is something so scandalous it could destroy their perfect little lives.

And someone named "A" is threatening to do just that.

At first they thought A was Alison, their friend who vanished three years ago...but then Alison turned up dead.  So could A be Melissa, Spencer's ultra-conservative sister?  Or Maya, who wants Emily all to herself?  What about Toby, the mysterious guy who left town right after Alison went missing?

One thing's for certain: A's got the dirt to bury them all alive, and with every crumpled note, wicked IM, and vindictive text message A sends, the girls get a little closer to losing it all.

AAAARRRGGGHHHH!!!!!!!

I'm torn between knowing who A is and not.  If we find out that would mean that the series would be over, right?  And we know it's not because there's 14 books in the series (I think).  But not knowing is driving me CRAZY!!

And every time I think I have a handle on who I like and who I don't the tables get turned and something else about one of the girls reveals itself.

I will say that one of the things that kind of bugs me is the drama queen-ness of some of the parents.  I'm sure that there's parents out there like these, but all in one place in one group of friends?  And it kind of bugs me that the girls aren't friends anymore, but with secrets as big as they have I guess that's kind of expected.  Now though it seems maybe they've come together and are seeing each other as their allies.  Though with 12 books left who knows what will happen!