PAST CRIMES by Glen Erik Hamilton

May 15, 2016
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Book 1 in the Van Shaw Series

“Come home, if you can.”

Van Shaw might have chosen to ignore his grandfather if Dono hadn’t added the latter part of the request. And if he wasn’t already laid up recuperating from a recent surgery. The request is an odd one considering the two men haven’t spoken in a decade, but the fact that Dono reached out to begin with leads Van to believe it must be serious.

Unfortunately, Van arrives in town and at his grandfather’s house just moments after the old man has been shot and left for dead. Before he can even connect with 911, the police have arrived and it’s only a neighbor’s confirmation that Van appeared after the shots were fired that saves him from becoming a suspect. Dono has always been into shady business but nothing that would have him gunned down in his own home. And with his grandfather laid up in a coma, it’s up to Van to find out exactly who has it in for the old criminal.

Glen Erik Hamilton’s debut is the start of a brand new series featuring a kick ass hero.

Van Shaw is an ex criminal himself, trained at his grandfather’s knee from a very early age. But Van left that life way behind him the day he joined the military. His leaving was prompted by circumstances that also caused the two men to break any and all contact, circumstances the author lays out through a series of flashbacks outlining Van’s life with Dono.

Van dons the hat of amateur investigator, using the skills and connections Dono himself passed on, at the risk of angering the local authorities but (of course) turns out to be much better equipped for breaking Dono’s case than anyone else. It makes for fabulous reading and is sure to be a hit for readers looking for another Reacher-esque hero/antihero to follow.

5/16 Becky LeJeune

PAST CRIMES by Glen Erik Hamilton. William Morrow; Reprint edition (February 23, 2016).  ISBN: 978-0062344564. 448p.

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THE GIRL I USED TO BE by April Henry

May 13, 2016
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Olivia was only three years old when her mother was murdered. Now, fourteen years later, she only remembers what she’s been told about the incident: High school sweethearts Naomi Benson and Terry Weeks, twenty and twenty-one respectively, took their three-year-old out to hunt for a Christmas tree. All three and Terry’s truck were reported missing when they failed to return home. One day later, the toddler was identified as a girl found three hours away, abandoned at a local Wal-Mart. Another three weeks passed before Naomi’s body was discovered and Terry’s truck was found in an airport parking lot.

Of course the running theory was that Terry murdered his girlfriend and left his daughter before escaping. But new evidence proves that wasn’t the case. As the only witness, Olivia has always wondered if the truth about that day might be hidden somewhere in the depths of her own memory. And now she’s determined to find out. But the killer who once spared her isn’t likely to do so again.

April Henry has made quite a name for herself in teen mysteries. But Henry was a name on my radar long before she broke onto the teen scene thanks to her Claire Montrose series. It was a series I quite enjoyed (I can’t see a vanity plate without it coming to mind.) so I was understandably excited to sink my teeth into her latest teen release. And I was not disappointed.

Olivia, born Ariel, is an emancipated minor who’s long lived with the knowledge that her father murdered her mother and then ran for the hills. But that belief is shaken when Terry Weeks’s remains are discovered fourteen years after the crime in question took place. The guilt of knowing she was so wrong in her assumptions about her father prompts Olivia to attend his funeral and face the people who knew him best. And in doing so she realizes that she can anonymously dig into the case on her own.

As with any amateur investigation, especially one so close to the heroine in question, the killer does eventually catch wind. This of course leaves Olivia vulnerable to a killer whose face she can’t remember in spite of the fact that random memories of her childhood have started to return.

The Girl I Used to Be is a quick read that’s absolutely packed with suspense. It’s an excellent addition to the genre (and a fantastic return to her work for this older fan).

5/16 Becky LeJeune

THE GIRL I USED TO BE by April Henry. Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) (May 3, 2016).  ISBN: 978-1627793322. 240p.

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DARE TO TAKE by Carly Phillips

May 11, 2016
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A Dare to Love Novel, Book 6

 

I can hardly believe it but this is my first Carly Phillips book. She is a hugely popular contemporary romance writer, and now I understand why.

This series is about the Dare family, and this book is about the last bachelor in the family, Tyler. Tyler and his sister’s best friend, Ella, have some history. She’s always had a crush on him, and one drunken night she crawled into bed with him and lost her virginity. He was drunk too, and in the morning, he freaked out and took off, and they’ve been avoiding each other ever since.

Until Ella is stuck in the Caribbean with a hurricane on its way. She was mugged, lost all her ID, and her best friend insists Tyler, who heads a security company, go rescue her. The Dares are a wealthy family, so he takes the private jet, knowing that is the only way she’ll be able to get off the island without her passport.

They both still have feelings for each other which bloom right from the get go. But they also both have a lot of baggage, and need to work things out before they can have their happily ever after.

Unfortunately, this is the last book in the series so apparently I missed quite a bit. This was a fast, fun read with a lot of great sex. My only complaint was the epilogue, which apparently only served to introduce a character that will be in the first book of a new series. I would have liked this couple’s happy ending instead.

DARE TO TAKE by Carly Phillips. CP Publishing (May 3, 2016). ISBN: 978-1942288701. 292p.

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WALLEYE JUNCTION by Karin Salvalaggio

May 10, 2016
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Macy Greeley Mysteries, Book 3

In this third entry in the fine Macy Greeley mystery series, a kidnapping/murder in the small town of Walleye Junction, Montana, keeps state-police detective Macy occupied.

Controversial radio talk-show host Philip Long is kidnapped, then murdered with Macy’s own gun, making this case clearly personal. Long had been angering the growing number of right-wing militias in the area, so they are the prime suspects until the two alleged kidnappers turn up dead of heroin overdoses.

The local authorities are satisfied that the case is solved, but Macy is not convinced; the kidnappers’ bodies had been moved, and their son is on the lam. Macy leaves her kids with her mother so she can concentrate on investigating in the small town.

Meanwhile, Long’s daughter, Emma, returns to Walleye Junction after a long, troubled absence, and suddenly prescription-painkiller abuse becomes an issue in the town

This is another complex thriller that drives much of its appeal from the author’s ability to evoke the small-town Montana setting; C.J. Box and Archer Mayor fans will feel right at home here.

Copyright ©2016 Booklist, a division of the American Library Association.

5/16 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

WALLEYE JUNCTION by Karin Salvalaggio. Minotaur Books (May 10, 2016).  ISBN 978-1250078926. 336p.

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WILDE LAKE by Laura Lippman

May 9, 2016
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Laura Lippman, why do you make us wait so long for new books? I know you have a toddler, and I know I’m being totally selfish, but I read this new one in one night and could just cry thinking about how long it will be before you give us another. If I thought I could get away with it, I’d go back and reread your entire series, but there are just too many new books to read.

Anyway, Wilde Lake is another stunning novel from one of my favorite authors. Lippman has left Tess Monaghan for another book (I hope?) and this standalone is set in a small town called, Wilde Lake. A town much like the one Lippman lived in through her own high school years.

Lu Brant has just beaten out her incumbent boss for the state attorney’s job in Howard County, Maryland. She is settling in when a murder case falls into her lap. There are very few murders in this suburb, but Brant is determined to win this one. A homeless man is accused of beating a woman to death in her own home, and while they cannot find a motive, his diminished mental capacity may be cause enough, while not being severe enough to plea out on insanity.

The book is written in alternate chapters of the present day case and Lu’s coming of age in the 1980’s. She lost her mother a week after her birth, and was raised by her state attorney father and much older brother, AJ. This is a very close family so when secrets start to come out, we realize even the closest of families may have skeletons in the closet. Lu’s view of events as she was growing up take a decided turn as an adult with a much different perspective.

Somewhat reminiscent of To Kill a Mockingbird, (and I don’t say that lightly,) this is a deeply compelling story with themes of family, secrets, murder, mental illness, truth and justice. And one of the best books I’ve read this year.

5/16 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

WILDE LAKE by Laura Lippman. William Morrow (May 3, 2016).  ISBN 978-0062083456.  368p.

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THE VISCOUNT NEEDS A WIFE by Jo Beverley

May 8, 2016
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Company of Rogues Series, Book 17

Beverley is another new to me author who writes historical romance. As you can see by the heading, there have been many books in this series prior to the one I’m reviewing. But like most romances, it doesn’t matter.

Our heroine is Kitty, a young widow who lives with her in-laws. Her husband was a soldier who was severely injured, but Kitty is the empathetic type and was fairly happy in her marriage – other than the occasional bruises her husband gave her.

The mother-in-law is still in deep mourning, and probably always will be and wants Kitty to be there with her. But Kitty is getting very tired of it all. When an old friend writes and invites her for a visit, she jumps at the chance to get away. Especially when her friend tells her the recently inherited Viscount needs a wife to manage his country estate.

It turns out there is more than just the estate to manage. The Viscount also inherited the 5th Viscounts dowager mother and teenage daughter, both of whom resent him and make their displeasure known. Plus the teen is trying to marry him per her grandmother, to keep things all in the family.

Braydon, the new Viscount, is nobody’s fool. He works for the government in a sort of quasi pre-MI5 type undercover role. There is a mystery afoot when there is an attempt on the lives of three of the princes in near succession to the throne. Another mystery is the whereabouts of the 5th Viscount’s wife – she has disappeared without a trace.

There is a lot of history and a lot of details  in this book so it moves rather slowly. There is not a lot of sex, and what there is seems rather perfunctory and more hinted at than explicit, although it does play an important part of the story.

If you are a fan of the arranged marriage trope, which I generally am, you might like this book. I found it slow going which is not why I read these books. I like to rip through them in a few hours and it took me a few days to get through this one.

05/16 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

THE VISCOUNT NEEDS A WIFE by Jo Beverley. Signet (April 5, 2016). ISBN 978-0451471901. 432p.

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CITY OF THE LOST by Kelley Armstrong

May 7, 2016
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Casey Duncan Novels, Book 1

Casey and her college boyfriend, a mobster’s son, are mugged and he takes off, leaving her to get beaten within an inch of her life. When she is sufficiently recovered, she kills the boyfriend and is never caught.

In an ironic twist, Casey becomes a cop, quickly moving up the ladder to homicide detective. Her only personal relationships are with a bartender she’s using for sex, and her friend Diana, who she protects from a crazy, abusive ex-husband. +

The mobster finds Casey and Diana’s ex shows up and things get ugly. In desperation, they decide to try and get into Rockton, an invisible town in the Yukon where people go to disappear. They apply and are accepted as there has been a murder in town, and a good detective would be an asset. There are more gruesome murders, and in a town this small, everyone is suspect.

Rockton is completely off the grid – no electricity, running water, or Internet, and is ruled by martial law. I’ve read a couple of books with towns reminiscent of Rockton, most notably The Pines by Blake Crouch and more recently, Make Me by Lee Child, so I was expecting this to go in a much darker, different direction than it took. Not that this was light reading by any means.

At heart this is a blood-soaked locked room mystery on steroids; lots of tension and enough twists make this an all nighter.

Copyright ©2016 Booklist, a division of the American Library Association.

5/16 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

CITY OF THE LOST by Kelley Armstrong. Minotaur Books (May 3, 2016).  ISBN 978-1250092144. 416p.

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THE LAST MILE by David Baldacci

May 6, 2016
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Amos Decker series

In his novel Memory Man, David Baldacci created one of the most original detectives in fiction.  Due to an accident, Amos Decker cannot forget anything. He can take part in a situation, or read something and can call up the incident anytime with a total remembrance of every detail involved.

In The Last Mile, Decker joins an FBI special task force with the mission of looking into older cases, bringing up the facts and finding additional evidence in order to solve the case. On joining the task force, Decker arrives with an interest in looking at a situation involving Melvin Mars, a convict on death row with his execution pending shortly. Amos is struck by the similarity between Mars’ case and his own personal experience. Both have had their families murdered and both have had someone come forward years after the crimes and confess to the killings.

Another commonality is that both Mars and Decker were talented football players in their youth with both having their careers cut short by the tragedies befalling them. In the case of Melvin Mars, he was charged with and convicted of the murders of his parents and sentenced to death.

Decker and his group pick up the case when another death row inmate comes forward and confesses to the Mars’ family killings. The confession has the potential to get Melvin out of prison and return him to society. Cementing Decker’s belief that there is a lot more than first appears is the disappearance and probable kidnapping of one of the members of his team.

Baldacci’s portrait of Amos Decker is striking in itself. Decker comes into the task force about 100 pounds overweight. One of the other members, who might appear as a love interest in future books, talks Amos into going on a strict diet and his agonies in following it will be familiar to all of us that have gone on one.  The medical causes for Decker’s extraordinary memory have been researched and explained for the reader’s information about the man.

There are stops and starts in going forward on the case, and insight into the intricate world of playing football.  Descriptions of the characters involved, especially those of Decker and Mars, make them into very real people going through a traumatic situation.

The twists and turns provide a rollercoaster ride for the reader, making this one of the better whodunnits in a long time. Extremely well done novel and providing definite interest in looking for the next book in this series.

5/16 Paul Lane

THE LAST MILE by David Baldacci. Grand Central Publishing (April 19, 2016).  ISBN 978-1455586455.  432p.

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WEDDING GIRL by Stacey Ballis

May 5, 2016
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Sophie Bernstein is an up and coming pastry chef in Chicago. Her fiance works at the same restaurant as the sommelier.  Sophie is planning her dream wedding, and maxing out every credit card she owns, figuring her wealthy husband-to-be will take care of the debt after they are married.

If that sent up some red flags for you, pat yourself on the back. Theirs may be a match made in a restaurant, but like many restaurants, it is headed for disaster. Sophie is left at the alter when the news of fiance’s elopement hits social media practically during the wedding march.

Humiliated and deep in debt, Sophie moves in with her beloved grandmother, Bubbles. She finds a job at the neighborhood bakery, way beneath her skills but no one she knows will find her there and she can hide out and lick her wounds.

The bakery is barely breaking even. The menu hasn’t been updated in decades, and neither has the decor. So when word that a food TV star (think Martha Stewart) is opening a bakery a few blocks away, Sophie knows her days are numbered there.

Unbeknownst to her, the owner of the bake shop enters them in a city wide bake off, figuring with her skills they can win and that will help his business. But when he can’t compete, his son steps up. Sophie is none too fond of the businessman, but it turns out he has mad baking skills.

Meanwhile, Sophie helps out a bride with some wedding advice and that bride turns into her new best friend. To thank Sophie for all her good advice, she sets up a wedding advice website for her, WeddingGirl.com. Sophie gets emails and charges a few dollars for her advice. It’s a good way to earn some extra money to pay off her debt, but things get even more interesting when a best man planning a bachelor party takes her advice and starts an online flirtation with her.

Sophie is falling for this online romance, but also for her boss’s son and she is torn. If this sounds a bit like You’ve Got Mail, it should, and I enjoyed this book almost as much as that movie. This is a really fun read – just don’t read it while you’re hungry! Recipes included.

5/16 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

WEDDING GIRL by Stacey Ballis. Berkley (May 3, 2016).  ISBN 978-0425276617. 416p.

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FINDING FRASER by kc dyer

May 4, 2016
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I’m going to start off by assuming you don’t know who Jamie Fraser is, that you haven’t read all the Outlander books or watched the series on Starz. But if you have, read on anyway.

In the simplest possible explanation of a series of 8 books (so far) that clock in somewhere in the neighborhood of 6500 pages (not a typo,) Jamie Fraser is a Scottish Highland warrior from the 18th century who is honorable, good looking and madly in love with his 20th century wife.

The Outlander series is superb and probably tops the list of books I would take to a desert island. They encompass action, adventure, time travel, history and one of the greatest romances of all time (see my review of the audio version of Outlander, and my review of the Outlandish Companions.)

Finding Fraser is a contemporary romance based on the premise that Emma Sheridan, a reader and fan of the series, has gotten the idea in her head to go to Scotland and find her own Jamie Fraser. A 21st century edition, if you will. This is not as far fetched as it may sound. You can book yourself on an Outlander tour of Scotland and see all the places from the book. Seriously.

Emma doesn’t know about those tours though. She has lost her barista job, but saved up enough money to go the hostel route for a few months and hopefully find her Fraser. She plans on blogging about her adventure as she goes. Her sister thinks she’s lost her mind altogether but Emma ignores her and her parents and gets herself to Scotland.

Emma meets some interesting people, finds a guy who may her Fraser except for the fact he bleaches his hair and is obsessed with California, falls in love with Scotland, finds work in a coffee house, gets scammed out of almost everything she owns, helps a sheep give birth, has all sorts of adventures and finally finds her Fraser. Hey, it’s a romance, it has to have the happy ending.

This is a must read for Outlander fans, but also for anyone who has ever had an itch to travel and find romance as well. And it’s a fun read – if you’d like to win a copy, read on!

 

AUTHOR BIO:kc dyer

kc dyer resides in the wilds of British Columbia in the company of an assortment of mammals, some of them human. She likes to walk in the woods and write books.

To win FINDING FRASER by KC Dyer, please send an email to contest@gmail.com with “FINDING FRASER” as the subject. You must include your U.S. street address in your email.

All entries must be received by May 15, 2016. One (1) name will be drawn from all qualified entries and notified via email. This contest is open to all adults over 18 years of age in the United States only. Your prize will be sent by Berkley & NAL, Penguin Random House.

One entry per email address. Subscribers to the monthly newsletter earn an extra entry into every contest. Follow this blog to earn another entry into every contest. Winners may win only one time per year (365 days) for contests with prizes of more than one book. Your email address will not be shared or sold to anyone.

FINDING FRASER by KC Dyer. Berkley (May 3, 2016). ISBN: 978-0399584367. 368p.

 

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