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From the publisher:

Award-winning author Val Collins returns with a suspenseful, twisty thriller

Everyone thought Danny Walsh deserted his family when his sons were young. But when Danny’s body turns up fifteen years later and his wife, Maura, is implicated in his murder, accusations and old rumours surface.

Aoife rushes in to clear her mother-in-law’s name. But why is it that Maura’s story concerning Danny’s disappearance doesn’t quite add up?

Aoife’s investigation uncovers old secrets, long-held jealousies, and lies upon lies. With every new revelation, Aoife realises she doesn’t know her family at all. Now her new boss is acting strangely, her best friend is more and more distant, and her husband is no help at all.

With her support network crumbling and her family threatened, Aoife must race to keep one step ahead of danger before more innocent lives are lost. But how will she uncover the truth when only lies remain?

Set in present-day Ireland, Collins presents a second novel featuring Aoife as a protagonist. She is on the descending side of a failed marriage, is the sole support of her only child, and in the process of trying to get rid of her ex-husband. He, on the other hand has found a sinecure In Aoife, moving in with her indicating that he will help care for their little girl and also allow time to try and work out their problems in an attempt to make the marriage work. In reality, he continues with the conduct that caused the marriage to break up as he just lays around and gives orders to serve him.

Suddenly the dead body of her father-in-law appears, dispelling the idea that he had deserted his family fifteen years ago. On top of her own problems with an ex-husband camping in her house and no means of support available, Aoife now has to attempt to comfort Maura, her mother-in-law who is plagued again with guilt over her own possible culpability or innocence in driving her husband away.

Val Collins takes Aoife through various crises in her life. She gets a part-time job and has a friend of hers developing a romance with her new boss. A handsome police detective calls on her, charged with investigating the death of her father-in-law and continues to call on her, obviously looking for romance. Her daughter becomes more and more precocious and at one point is seemingly kidnapped. She is returned but carries a note warning Aoife to stop meddling in affairs that don’t concern her or her daughter will be captured again.

The novel is entertaining and a good read but not an all-engrossing novel. Sufficient to say that the book is worthwhile reading and enjoying with the idea of getting Val Collins’ next book.

2/2020 Paul Lane

ONLY LIES REMAIN by Val Collins. VCB Publishing (December 9, 2019). ISBN: 978-1916298941. 316p.

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From the publisher:

“Altogether unpredictable.” —Karin Slaughter, New York Times bestselling author

Coming to Netflix!

Propulsive and addictive, and perfect for fans of “You,” The Other Mrs. is the twisty new psychological thriller from Mary Kubica, the New York Times bestselling author of The Good Girl

Sadie and Will Foust have only just moved their family from bustling Chicago to small-town Maine when their neighbor Morgan Baines is found dead in her home. The murder rocks their tiny coastal island, but no one is more shaken than Sadie.

But it’s not just Morgan’s death that has Sadie on edge. And as the eyes of suspicion turn toward the new family in town, Sadie is drawn deeper into the mystery of what really happened that dark and deadly night. But Sadie must be careful, for the more she discovers about Mrs. Baines, the more she begins to realize just how much she has to lose if the truth ever comes to light.er investigation weaves together with the story of what really happened during their deliberation, told by each of the jurors in turn, the secrets they have all been keeping threaten to come out—with drastic consequences for all involved.

It’s a good thing that Mary Kubica can’t write a book every week because if that were the case I wouldn’t get any sleep. This novel, if not her best, is certainly near the top. Her styling grabs the reader from the start pulling him or her right into a great story and not letting up until the ending is reached. The ending is the epitome of a surprise and not what is thought of during most of the book. But, and definitely, a strong point after reading the novel a short reflection by the reader will provide the information that it is realistic, not one that is just juxtaposed in order to end the book.

Sadie and Will Foust have just moved away from their home in Chicago to a small island in the state of Maine. They inherited a house there from Will’s sister who has committed suicide after suffering from a long bout with Fibromyalgia and the unbearable pain that stems from the disease. Sadie is an MD and secures a position with the only medical office on the island while Will gets a teaching position in a city on the shore of Maine. All seems well with an idyllic existence laid out for them and their two children. The couple also adopts Will’s sister’s daughter who is devastated by her mother’s suicide and resents Sadie’s presence and having to live with her obeying her rules. But the couple understands the girl’s anguish and try to help her as much as possible.

Shortly after the family moves in a next-door neighbor is murdered; something the local police indicate is an almost nonexistent problem. Sadie is very affected and frightened by the event. She begins wondering if the murderer is hiding in one of the homes on the island that is temporarily uninhabited while their owners are away during the off season. Sadie is also seeing a psychiatrist due to having had issues with lapses of memory and disassociation. It is felt that the condition is treatable and Will is very supportive of his wife. He helps Sadie in many ways including cooking and cleaning the house as well as making sure the children leave for school and are picked up afterward.

The novel is, of course, a five-star book, and my advice is to keep on the lookout for Kubica’s next book in order to get it hot off the press.

2/2020 Paul Lane

THE OTHER MRS. by Mary Kubica. Random House (February 18, 2020). ISBN: 978-0399591778. 336p.

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The Gray Man, Book 9

From the publisher:

From Mark Greaney, the New York Times bestselling author of Mission Critical and a coauthor of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan novels, comes another high-stakes thriller featuring the world’s most dangerous assassin: the Gray Man.

While on a mission to Croatia, Court Gentry uncovers a human trafficking operation. The trail leads from the Balkans all the way back to Hollywood.

Court is determined to shut it down, but his CIA handlers have other plans. The criminal ringleader has actionable intelligence about a potentially devastating terrorist attack on the US. The CIA won’t move until they have that intel. It’s a moral balancing act with Court at the pivot point.

The only book more exciting and filled with action involving Court Gentry, “The Gray Man,” is another book about his exploits. And “One Minute Out” certainly fits the bill.

Gentry is an assassin. He works for the CIA but also does paid work for others and has made himself very wealthy doing so. The story opens as The Gray Man is in Croatia fulfilling a private contract. While in the process, he stumbles upon a worldwide human trafficking network and is forced by circumstances to go after it. It is a huge operation netting billions of dollars to its leaders, but in the process making slaves and ruining the lives of countless women and girls forced into sexual slavery.

While handling the Croatian contract, Court meets a young woman whose sister is among the many girls captured by the Consortium (the name of the network). For many reasons he indicates that he will help her rescue her sister and the action begins. Following the route of the kidnapped girls takes Court from the Balkans to Hollywood in the United States. The entire journey is filled with action, with Court and the young girl he is now loosely aligned with following the trail of the ring transporting the women to their ultimate destination where they are to be sold off as sex slaves.

An unforeseen obstacle presents itself when the CIA intervenes, prohibiting Court from killing the head of the kidnapping group as the individual is supplying information to the agency about various criminal activities. Greaney does not hide his feelings about any government agency condoning turning people into slaves under any circumstances. The horrors these women meet when captured is described in graphic detail including their murder when their useful life is overdue to physical impairments.

The author is a master at grabbing his readers, getting them drawn into the action and keeping them glued to the book until finished. This novel is the ninth involving the Gray Man and is another five star read with the reader anxiously awaiting the next one.

2/2020 Paul Lane

ONE MINUTE OUT by Mark Greaney. Berkley (February 18, 2020). ISBN 978-0593098912. 512p.

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From the publisher:

In the newest thriller from best-selling author Harry Dolan, Sean Tennant stops a deadly mass shooter. And that act of courage may get him killed.

Sean Tennant and Molly Winter are living quietly and cautiously in Houston when a troubled, obsessive stranger shatters the safety they have carefully constructed for themselves. Sean is at a shopping mall when Henry Alan Keen, scorned by a woman he’s been dating, pulls out a gun at the store where she works and begins shooting everyone in sight. A former soldier, Sean rushes toward Keen and ends the slaughter with two well-placed shots―becoming a hero with his face plastered across the news.

But Sean’s newfound notoriety exposes him to the wrath of two men he thought he had left safely in his past. One of them blames Sean for his brother’s death. The other wants to recover a treasure that Sean and Molly stole from him. Both men are deadly and relentless enemies, and Sean and Molly will need to draw on all their strength and devotion to each other if they hope to elude them. Thus begins a cross-country chase that leads from Texas to Montana, from Tennessee to New York to Michigan, as the hunters and their prey grow ever closer and, in a heart-stopping moment, converge.
A wickedly clever and exhilarating thriller, The Good Killer offers a sophisticated, breathtaking look at the extremes people will reach for love, greed, and survival.

Sean Tennant and Molly Winter are a young couple that are currently living in Houston, Texas. We know that they have come there after fleeing from something in their past. They live quietly and don’t mingle with others very well. Suddenly fate takes a hand in their lives. Sean is walking through a mall when shots ring out around the area. A man named Henry Alan Keen who has just been dumped by his girlfriend and has been looking for her has spotted her in the mall. He pulls out a gun and shoots a man standing near her killing him. Keen than grabs his ex-girlfriend’s arm and begins dragging her around while shooting at people.

Sean is an ex-soldier and carries a concealed weapon. He runs towards Keen, calmly pulls out his gun and shoots the killer dead. Anyone witnessing this scene immediately thinks of Sean as a hero for his actions but does not understand his quickly getting out of the area. He also does not stop for any photos of him. The mystery about Sean and Molly deepens as instead of waiting for the police and the praise they would certainly have made plans to immediately leave Houston.

The novel turns to two different men that have been searching for the couple for several years. One blames his brother’s death on Sean and the other is looking for both in order to get back a fortune in rare antiquities they have stolen from him. The story follows the chase after the couple once the two men recognize them from TV. Action and plenty of it runs from Houston to Montana from Tennessee to New York with an aside at a rundown settlement deep in the woods. The pace of the novel keeps the reader glued to the book with every incentive to finish it in one splendid read. And a very good read it is supplying every reason to pick up Harry Dolan’s future books.

2/2020 Paul Lane

THE GOOD KILLER by Harry Dolan. Mysterious Press (February 4, 2020). ISBN: 978-0802148414. 304p.

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Duncan Hunter Thriller, Book 5

From the publisher:

Law enforcement agencies have chosen to ignore rather than investigate dozens of political figures and defectors who have died under mysterious circumstances. When a Democratic National Committee staff member is murdered before the presidential election, Washington, D.C. police is also uninterested in investigating the crime.

The President is well behind in the polls. Some powerful people want assurances that the President will never take the oath of office if he unexpectedly wins.

On Election Day, the Central Intelligence Agency Director uncovers treachery at the highest levels of his organization. A rogue group of senior intelligence officers may have exposed themselves for who they really are before disappearing with a secret experimental weapon. Mounting evidence suggests the President may be in peril but the Secret Service isn’t interested in conspiracy theories or implausible weapons with impossible capabilities.

Will CIA pilot Duncan Hunter save the President from a group of assassins?

Mark Hewitt presents the 5th book in his series headlining Duncan Hunter, a pilot for the CIA. The book opens at a point where Hunter destroys a field of marijuana via the use of computer-aided weapons. And as in previous books, he jumps right into more action.

A plot is discovered by the CIA director in which it appears likely that a rogue group of high-level government officials have stolen and fled with a secret weapon. The weapon is unknown to most people and involves a gun that can be aimed, fired, and effective up to 10 miles from the target. The fleeing rogue officials are feared to want to assassinate the new, recently elected president of the United States and claim a reward for doing so from the Soviet Union.

Hunter goes right into the pursuit of the officials aided by his wife, and also his daughter from a previous marriage who is coincidentally working for the CIA. Their hunt for the rogue group is hampered by the inability of the CIA to understand that a weapon unknown to them would have a feasible killing range of up to 10 miles and not be more than a weapon carried by one person.
The action takes place over a complicated mix of politics, tradecraft, political realities and normal government functions giving the reader a very solid conspiracy theory novel and a couple of all-night reads. The ending finds Hunter and his family on vacation but called upon by his supervisor to drop everything and get back to headquarters to move into another sequence of battle against America’s enemies. No rest for the weary, but good reading material.

2/2020 Paul Lane

WET WORK by Mark A. Hewitt. Black Rose Writing (January 2, 2020). ASIN: B07YR2GLVT. 669p.

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