Tag: Mysteries

The Girl Who Was Taken : Another Winner from Charlie Donlea

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The Girl Who Was Taken – Charlie Donlea

The Girl who was Taken - Charlie Donlea

The Girl Who Was Taken is second book written by Charlie Donlea I read his debut novel Summit Lake last year and thought it was a great read. I think that this book is even better. So I can’t wait for book his next book!

 The Story

In The Girl Who Was Taken, two girls are taken. After two weeks one girl escapes Magen McDonald. She becomes a celebrity while the second girl Nicole Cutty is forgotten.

That is until the body of a jumper turns up on the autopsy table of her Nicole’s sister Livia. Her autopsy reveals that the young man did not commit suicide but was murdered. In addition, Livia discovers that the young man was Nicole’s boyfriend during the summer she when she was taken.

Soon Livia sets out to discover what happened on the night Nicole was taken, on the night that Livia did not answer Nicole’s frantic call.

The tale of Nicole’ taking and Livia’s hunt are told side by side through the book. Nicole’s story is told in short flashback passages and while Livia’s in present time.

The third story that weaves its way through the book is Megan’s story. Though she has become a celebrity through a book that she wrote about her miraculous escape, she has never forgotten about Nicole. Throughout the book Megan tries to discover more and more about her taking. She is particularly interested where she was kept. Why? Because it wasn’t the bunker that she escaped from!

Bottom Line

The Girl Who Was Taken is a four and half star book for me. Maybe even a five-star book!

The story line was great. It had several twists and turns. Then, when it all came together in the final pages I couldn’t believe what I was reading!! The characters were all believable especially Livia Cutty and well Nicole, too. I really don’t think that we have heard the end of their story! As  I said in the beginning of this post I can;’ wait for Charlie’s next book.

The Girl Who Was Taken and Books Have to Call You Back!

Charlie wrote on his website that when he started out to write his books he knew that they face a lot of competition from other mediums, i.e TV, the Internet and movies. So he thought about what made him put down the remote or the mouse and pick up a book instead. He concluded that “the book has to call him back” So he has issued a challenge……..

So try them. Pick up one of my books and get into the story. Then, put it down and get on with your life. If the characters or the setting or the mystery calls you back to it, then turn off the television for a night, stow the tablet at bedtime, and read a good book. And if you’re able to figure out the twist in Summit Lake or The Girl Who Was Taken, let me know by dropping me a line. I’d love to hear from you.

Yes, both of his books did call me back! And know I didn’t figure out the twists in either of the books. How about you???? Believe me it’s worth trying!

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Vicious Circle – Joe Pickett vs. the Cates Family Part 2 – C.J.Box (Joe Pickett # 17)

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Vicious Circle - C J Box

 

Earlier in the week, I finished Vicious Circle the latest book In the Joe Pickett series from C.J.Box. It’s the seventeenth book chronicling the adventures of Joe and his family. Like all of the books in the series. It’s a great read.

If you are unfamiliar with the series, Joe Pickett is a game warden living in Saddlestring Wyoming. Joe has a way of being in the wrong place at the wrong time which makes for many exciting adventures and the loss of a lot of government trucks.

Typically, somewhere along the way Joe is assisted by his friend the shadowy Nate Romanowski. Nate operates on the edges of the law and serves to offset Joe’ Dudley Do-Rightish nature.

Joe is also a family man with a wonderful wife, Marybeth and three daughters. Natural daughters Sheridan and Lucy and adopted daughter April, He even has the mother in law from hell – Missy(surname whichever man she is married to now) Missy believes that her daughter unlike herself has married down.

The Beginnings of the Vicious Circle

 

Two books ago in Endangered Joe’s adopted daughter April ran away with Rodeo Champion Dallas Cates. The Cates family is bad news. If something bad happens in the county the first people the police look for are members of the Cates family

So when Joe’s daughter April ran away with Dallas Joe was rightly upset. And when Dallas she is found beaten on by the side of the road and she ends up in the hospital. Dallas becomes the focus of Joe’s wrath. Needless to say things didn’t end well, with Dallas ending up in jail!

Now Dallas has been released from prison and he is back in Saddlestring. And He’s coming for Joe and his family!

Bottom Line

lVicious Circle like most of its predecessors, is  a four star book for me. One of the best aspects of the Joe Pickett series has been the development of the characters over the  course of the series. Joe has been Joe with a few changes through the years.

But all three of his girls have grown from little girls to young women. In addition, wife Marybeth has gone from library volunteer to the library’s head administrator.

Other characters have also changed. Nate Romanowski has gone from an ex-Seal on the run from the law to a free citizen, who may still be willing to operate outside the law. While Joe’s mother in law is now on her sixth?? husband as she continues to marry up and up. So if your willing start at the beginning and enjoy the ride.

At a minimum readmEndangered first. Now you still may be able to read and enjoy Vicious Circle without reading Endangered, but I still think it’s better if you know what happened in the first half of the vicious circle!!

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Goodreads:Joe Pickett Series

C J Box author of Storm Watch

About C J Box

Charles James Box Jr. is an American author of more than thirty novels. Box is the author of the Joe Pickett series, as well as several standalone novels, and a collection of short stories.

Visit the Author Page

If you like the family and character connections in this series…

You might also enjoy:

William Kent Kreuger
Michael Robotham
Michael Robotham
Peter May
  • William Kent Krueger — the Cork O’Connor series blends crime with family, history, and a strong sense of place
  • Michael Robotham — especially the Joe O’Loughlin books, where personal lives are always part of the story
  • Peter May — the Lewis Trilogy, where past, family, and landscape are tightly woven together

In the Midst of Death – Matthew Scudder #3 – Lawrence Block

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Book 2  of 2017 – A Return to the World of Matthew Scudder….thanks to Lawrence Block

 

One of my Reading Challenges for 2017 is to catch up on a few of the mystery and thriller series that I am behind on. The series that I had in mind include: Daniel Silva’s Gabriel Allon series, Steve Berry’s Cotton Malone  or maybe Alex Berenson’s John Wells series. What I didn’t envision was going back to a series whose last book I read in, oh, 1994!  Anyway, that’s what I did this week when I read In the Midst of Death – book number 3 in Lawrence Block’s Matt Scudder series. I really didn’t set out to read the book. It just happened to be sitting out on a pile of books in the basement, when I was looking for something. Anyway, I picked it up, and didn’t put it down until I finished it!  Lucky for me it was only 246 pages long!!!

Now when I stopped reading the Matt Scudder books, I didn’t stop reading books by Lawrence Block. What I did was switch series and read his Bernie Rhodenbarr series, The Burglar who….. These books had a lot lighter reading than the Matt Scudder books. They were fun! Anyway I read seven of those books up until book 9 The Burglar in the Rye published in 1998.checking with Goodreads I see  that there are three more books in the series. Hmm, maybe I wll come back to that series!!

Matthew Scudder Books I’ve Read

Anyway back to Matthew Scudder. I started to read that series in 1988. Good God! almost 30 years ago!  The first book I read was When the Sacred Gin Mill Closes, book number six in the series.Somehow then  I missed book  7 Out on the Cutting Edge and next read books 8 and 9  A Ticket to the Boneyard and A Dance at the Slaughterhouse, respectively. Cheery titles, eh?  I guess after those I went for the lighter  stuff!!

In The Midst of Death 

From Amazon:

Bad cop Jerry Broadfield didn’t make any friends on the force when he volunteered to squeal to an ambitious d.a. about police corruption. Now he’saccused of murdering a call girl. Matthew Scudder doesn’t think Broadfield’s a killer, but the cops aren’t about to help the unlicensed p.i. prove it — and they may do a lot worse than just get in his way. Read More

My Thoughts on In the Midst of Death

I really enjoyed this book and am now harboring thoughts of re-entering the world of Matthew Scudder. Which is the gritty side of New York City. Matthew is a an ex-cop. He seen life at it worst and for many years used alcohol to get him through it. It’s not until book #5 in the series  Eight Million Ways to Die that Matthew comes to terms with his alcoholism. Matthew is a flawed man but he sees his flaws  and tries to make amends.

Overall the pace of the book was good. The story line never dragged or gave you a reason to put it down. The plot had enough twists and turns  to keep you guessing as to who the murderer was. And as I’ve already said Matt and the other characters are terrific!

Lawrence Block Thoughts on Series Characters in Mystery Scene Magazine

In the holiday 2016 issue of Mystery Scene Magazine. Lawrence Block wrote an article titled “Some Thoughts on Series Characters”. In the article Block compares the characters of Bernie Rhodenbarr and  Matthew Scudder. Her describes the Bernie Rhodenbarr series as a static series.

“Both Bernie and the private universe he inhabits stay essentially the same forever. i’ve never been specific about his age., but he is somewhere in his mid-30s in the first book . Burglars Can’t Be Choosers, first published in 1977 – and he is the same age almost 40 years later.

Bernie doesn’t age – and neither does he change. He’s not stuck in 1977, his home town of New York is up to date in whtever book you encounter him, and he has to be concerned about security cameras and high-tech locks, but he still leads the same life, earns the same unlawful living and has the same doomed relationships with women.”

“…..Matthew Scudder, on the other hand, has aged in real time from one book to the next. . That was never my intention when I began writing about him. I really didn’t give it much thought. but I assumed he’d go on drinking at Jimmy Armstrong’s Saloon as long as his liver held out.

But I discovered he had to age and he had to change. Unlike Bernie Rhodenbarr, Matthew Scudder lived in a far more realistic universe,  and the books I was writing about him hewed to a more realistic line. How could  he fail to be affected by the  experiences he had in his previous adventure?”- From Mystery Scene Magazine Holiday 2016 p 28

Block goes on ti o discuss how in Book 4 (next up for This Man?) A Stab in the Dark. Matthew finds that his alcoholism was becoming more of a problem and  ends with Matthew walking in, and then quickly leaving an AA meeting.

So I know that most of the series I read are not static. The characters change and evolve and that’s what I love about  series. Joe Pickett and his family are not the same family that I met in Open Season  sixteen  books ago!  Nor  is Cork O-Connor and his family. Now Stephanie Plum I don’t know about!

How about anyone else? Have your favorite characters evolved or are they static?

Links for the Further Exploration of the Books of Lawrence Block

 

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Robotham and Donlea End April on High Note

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Starter House by Sonja Condit Starts May Right!

Over the last several weeks I have finished reading several books and over the weekend I added several to my “to be read” shelf. Here are the books that I have finished….along with the date finished and the book’s number on my list of books read in 2016……

20. Close Your Eyes – Michael Robotham (April 27th) Book Joseph O’Loughlin #8

From Goodreads….

When a former student bungles a murder investigation, clinical psychologist Joseph O’Loughlin steps in to face a ruthless killer.

A mother and her teenage daughter are found murdered in a remote farmhouse, one defiled by multiple stab wounds and the other posed like Sleeping Beauty waiting for her Prince. Joe O’Loughlin is drawn into the investigation when a former student, trading on Joe’s reputation by calling himself the “Mindhunter,” jeopardizes the police inquiry by leaking details to the media and stirring up public anger.

With no shortage of suspects and tempers beginning to fray, Joe discovers a link between these murders and a series of brutal attacks where the men and women are choked unconscious and the letter “A” is carved into their foreheads. Read More

Along with the above there is a secondary storyline the book. Joe is asked by his estranged wife to move back into their cottage with his family which includes his wife and their two daughters. Joe is thrilled at the prospect of reuniting with his wife and daughters only problem is that his wife has cancer. And once again Joe is faced with the problem of balancing his work and his family!!

Bottom Line: Close Your Eyes is another excellent book from Michael Robotham. This series is one of my favorites and like many of them it keeps getting better which is very hard to do because Robotham set the bar really high with his early books!! I will even forgive him for joining the ranks of William Kent Krueger and Karin Slaughter Ratings: Goodreads **** (4.15)  *RGrandad **** 1/2 (4.5)

Summit Lake a recent reads21. Summit Lake – Charlie Donlea (April 29th)

From Goodreads…..

Set in a small, picturesque North Carolina town, Charlie Donlea’s suspenseful debut novel tells the haunting story of a murdered law school student, the reporter assigned to her story—and the intimate connection that comes when the living walk in the footsteps of the dead.

“No suspects. No persons of interest. Just a girl who was alive one day and dead the next.” Read More

This is Charlie Donlea’s debut novel and a smashingly good debut it is! The murder victim is Becca Eckersley a first year law student and the daughter of a powerful attorney who is about to become a judge. After Becca is murdered investigator Kelsey Castle is sent by her employer Events magazine to Summit Lake to find out what happened. Once she arrives Kelsey discovers that the murder appears to be more complex than the theory that the Feds are promoting that it was a random robbery gone bad. The story is told by both flashbacks which chronicle the last year of Becca’s life and Kelsey’s current investigation.

Bottom Line: Summit Lake was a very good read. It took me a while to get into the story and I must admit that I found some aspects of the story somewhat implausible. Particularly the willingness of the county police chief to give police files to Kelsey. But the overall story more than made up for those minor dislikes.  Ratings Goodreads **** (4.07) RGranddad ****

 

Starter House a recent read22. Starter House –  Sonja Condit  (May 8th)

From Goodreads…..

In the vein of Heart-Shaped Box and The Thirteenth Tale, Starter House is a haunting and skillfully told debut novel about a newlywed couple and their first home — a home that seems to be haunted by a very malicious ghost. Read More

This was a Dollar Tree purchase and I have to say that the were more aspects of this book that troubled me than in Summit Lake.  The first thing that bothered me was that after meeting that little boy and feeling a presence that pushed her down the stairs resulting in almost losing her baby.,Lacey Miszlak didn’t just say I’m not staying in this house. Secondly, is that she never really tells her husband what’s going on in the house! Poor Eric! But as the storyline progressed those things seemed less and less important and I enjoyed the unraveling mystery.

Bottom Line : While I liked Starter House it never really that scared me . I did get engrossed in the book about two-thirds of the way in and really liked it from then on until the end. While I enjoyed the characters I never really connected all that much with them particularly Eric, whose character I really did not like that much at all. So over all good but not great for me! Ratings Goodreads: ***+ (3.16) RGranddad *** (3.00)

Ok so I was going to discuss the three new books that I added to my to be read pile in this post, but I think that I’ll save that for another post!!

Entry Island – Peter May

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Peter May’s – Entry Island  A Read for Mystery Lovers and Lovers of Genealogy

 

I always say that I love to read because books take me to places that i will never visit. One such place is the Outer Hebrides islands off of the western coast of Scotland. I have visited these islands four times thanks to the books of Peter May. The first three visits came via May’s Lewis Trilogy. That trilogy is composed of Blackhouse, The Lewis Man and The Chessmen. Each of these books is a terrific read. The last visit was through another of May’s books Entry Island. The setting for the trilogy is modern-day Scotland and features Edinburgh, police detective Fin Macleod. The dual settings for Entry Island are contemporary Entry Island in the St Gulf of St.Lawrence in Canada and the Outer Hebrides of the mid-19th century. The one thing that one gets from all the books is the life is rough in the Outer Hebrides!!

A Brief Synopsis

Entry Island begins when police detective Sime MacKenzie is sent to the island as part of a team investigating a murder. The main suspect of the murder is the victim’s wife and when Sime first meets her he swears he knows her! As he mulls over why he may know her, Sime begins to have vivid dreams based on the stories that his grandmother used to read to him and his sister when they were little. The stories came from Sime’s great-grandfather’s dairies. They focus on the his life in Scotland and eventually Canada in the mid-1800s.

Entry Island works as both a fine mystery novel with many twists and turns before the final murderer is revealed and a historic tale about the adversities faced by residents of the Outer Hebrides.The novel also paints a grim picture of the conditions that many of our ancestors faced as they made their way to a new land. Reading the novel  made me stop and think about what it must have been like for my ancestors who came to America in the 1800s. from both Scotland and Ireland.

Here’s what some others say……

“Told with exceptional clarity and a fine eyefor the clausrophobia of island life, it weaves a hypnotic spell as it jumps between generations and proves that May is a writer to be cherished” – Geoffrey Wansell, Daily Mail

“May is the master of painting a vivid picture of his chosen landscapes and weaving a fascinating plot. The research he has packed into this well-paced dual tale is impressive…. An absorbing tale from a writer at the top of his game.” Daily Express

Bottom Line:

Entry Island is another fantastic read from Peter May. It works for both mystery lovers and those who love genealogy! Entry Island was named the Deanston Scottish Crime Book of the Year 2014, and it also won the ITV Specsavers Book Club Dagger for the Best Read of the Year 2014, So Check it Out!!   Rating **** Book 19 of 2016

Links for Further Exploration of the Books of Peter May

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Off the Grid – C; J  Box  – (Joe Pickett #16) The Stories Get Better and Better.

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Off the Grid - C,J,Box

Soon after finishing The Hunting Wind by Steve Hamilton, I received notice that C J Box’s new novel Off the Grid was available for pick-up at the library. So I hurried over to the library and then I came home and quickly devoured the book!

Yes, Off the Grid, book 16 in the Joe Pickett series is a good one! I finished Endangered book 15 in the series last April and it took me a little while to remember what happened in that one but Box as always kept revealing little bits of that storyline, which jogged my memory and brought that story back to me.

But while it is definitely better if you know the back story and the relationship between Nate Romanowski and Joe and his family it is not essential to the enjoyment of this book.

The Story

In this installment two Federal Agents approach Nate, who has been living off the grid since escaping from the hospital at the end of Endangered (Book 15 Joe Pickett), and present a proposal to him.

The agents want Nate’s help in destroying a suspected terrorist cell in Wyoming’s Red Desert. If the operation is a success the agents will make Nate’s criminal record disappear!!

So Nate soon finds himself alone in the Red Desert facing the biggest challenge of his life a group of “patriots” led by a charismatic falconer who have created a weapon that could wreak havoc, if it falls in the wrong hands, and those wrong hands may be within the group!

Meanwhile, Joe has his hands full with a grizzly bear before Wyoming’s governor sends him on a special assignment to find out what they Feds and Nate are up to in his state! So now Joe and Nate are facing down the terror cell and to make matters worse Joe’s oldest daughter and her roommate end up on old sheep ranch that serves as the base for the group.

My Thoughts

The Joe Pickett series has been a favorite of mine for a long time now and the great thing about the series is that the books are just getting better and better and Off the Grid is one of the best!

 I think what sets the Joe Pickett books apart from other books in the genre is the Pickett Family, Over the course of the series, the reader has watched the two Pickett girls Sheridan and Lucy grow up. In addition their adopted daughter April has become a central character in the series. Even Joe’s mother-in-law Missy has been key in several books!! Here’s what Booklist says……

“Is there a crime-fiction family as fully fleshed out as Joe Pickett’s? In singing the praises of Box’s series, we often praise the plotting, pacing, and the down-to-earth hero’s friendship with force-of-nature Nate Romanowski But Pickett’s supporting cast – wife Marybeth and daughters Sheridan. Lucy and April – lends a continuity to this series that sets it apart.”

My answer to that first question is maybe.The O’Connor family from William Kent Krueger’s Cork O’Connor series may be tied with them! But Joe’s family still makes this series special!

Bottom Line

Off the Grid for me is one of C.J.Box’s best books. it had a believable, scary plot with lots of page-turning action. I do believe that the final paragraph set the stage for the next book in the series and I for one can’t wait.

So join Joe and his family for this adventure, and while you wait for the next installment, go back and catch-up with the past lives of Joe and Nate and the rest of the clan!

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Goodreads:Joe Pickett Series

C J Box author of Storm Watch

About C J Box

Charles James Box Jr. is an American author of more than thirty novels. Box is the author of the Joe Pickett series, as well as several standalone novels, and a collection of short stories.

Visit the Author Page

If you like the family and character connections in this series…

You might also enjoy:

William Kent Kreuger
Michael Robotham
Michael Robotham
Peter May
  • William Kent Krueger — the Cork O’Connor series blends crime with family, history, and a strong sense of place
  • Michael Robotham — especially the Joe O’Loughlin books, where personal lives are always part of the story
  • Peter May — the Lewis Trilogy, where past, family, and landscape are tightly woven together

 

Pretty Girls: Karin Slaughter – Her Ho. 1- Yes, Sir!

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Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter

So it seems that I oftentimes avoid reading stand alone books written by authors whose series are among my favorites. This was the case with Karin Slaughter’s stand alone novel Pretty Girls, which was released in September of 2015.

However, when I saw that the Kindle Edition was on sale for $3.99 the other day, I thought now is the time! All I can say is Wow! What a fool I am!! And bring on William Kent Krueger‘s Ordinary Grace!

I guess one of the reasons that I avoid stand alone novels is that I’m afraid that they won’t measure up to the series that I love! In the case of Karin Slaughter that series is the Grant County/ Will Trent Atlanta series. Hmm, let’s see Pretty Girls not only measured up it may be the best book that Karin Slaughter has written, and at least one of my top favorites of her books.

The Story

The story revolves around two events. One the 1991 disappearance of the teen-aged Julia Carroll and the second is the murder of millionaire Paul the husband of Claire Carroll Juila’s sister. When Julia disappeared the Carroll family was torn apart Claire’s sister Lydia turned to drugs to ease the pain, While their parents marriage fell apart and their father eventually committed suicide. Claire forced Lydia out of her life after Lydia accused Paul of attempting to rape her!

After Paul’s death Claire discovers that her husband had a secret life that involved rape, snuff films and stalking women including her sister Lydia. Soon Claire asks Lydia to help her unravel all of Paul’s mysteries and the sisters are pulled into a very dark and dangerous world that may provide closure to their sister’s disappearance, but it may also cost them their lives!!

Praise for Pretty Girls

“Searing, searching, soulful: a major achievement…Every Karin Slaughter novel is a cause for celebration — but simply put, Pretty Girls is the finest novel of her career.” (Kathy Reichs, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of Speaking in Bones)

“Unique in voice, brilliantly plotted…an uncompromising depiction of pure evil…Slaughter has managed the most difficult of feats–to tell a gripping, page turning

crime story…. Fiction doesn’t get any better than this.” (Jeffery Deaver, New York Times-bestselling author of Solitude Creek and The Skin Collector)

Final Thoughts

Read this Book!! Like the above authors said – it doesn’t get much better than Pretty Girls. I think that I read this book about as quickly as any book I have ever read! I literally couldn’t put it down or turn the pages fast enough!! Five Stars for Book 10 of 2016, which should have been read back in 2015!

Links

Author’s Website
Facebook
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Amazon
Goodreads

About Karin Slaughter

Karin Slaughter (born January 6, 1971) is an American crime writer. She has written 25 novels, which have sold more than 40 million copies and have been published in 120 countries. Her first novel, Blindsighted (2001), was published in 27 language and made the Crime Writers’ Association’s Dagger Award shortlist for “Best Thriller Debut” of 2001. Wikipedia

Visit Karin Slaughter Page

 

The Highway – C.J.Box Another Winner from Box!

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C.J. Box – The Highway -Cody Hoyt #2 – Cassie Dewell #1

 

Last week I saw that C.J.Box would be releasing a new box on the 28th of this month titled Badlands. The book is the sequel to his release The Highway. Now I am a fan of C.J Box’s work and have read all but one of one of the Joe Pickett novels  and why I never finished Cold Wind, I really can’t say, but I have stayed away from The Highway. Why? Again, I can’t say, But with the second book of this Cassie Dewell series coming out, I thought better get on the stick and read The Highway! When I went to Amazon, I discovered that the Kindle edition of the book was only $2.99 and well that sealed the deal!! Last Tuesday, I finished the book and all I can say is that I should have known better!! C.J.Box is a terrific author and The Highway is as good as any of his Joe Pickett books or his stand-alone books!!

The Highway introduces the reader to a new character Cassie Dewell, a young detective new to the Lewis & Clark County Police Department. When the story opens Cassie is waiting to catch her partner Cody Hoyt, a splendid and somewhat rogue detective, planting evidence at a murder scene! She succeeds and soon Hoyt is suspended from the force.

Meanwhile, a long distance trucker known as the Lizard King, a psychopath who preys on prostitutes, who work the truck stops has accidentally killed his last conquest. In his haste in leaving the truck stop he almost kills two young girls. Those two young girls, Danielle and Grace Sullivan are traveling from their Colorado home to Omaha to visit their father, only Danielle decides to visit her boyfriend in Montana on the way! That boyfriend just happens to be Cody Hoyt’s son Justin. Soon the two girls are kidnapped by the Lizard King and Cody Hoyt is off to save them with Cassie helping at home!

Cody Hoyt, Justin and the Sullivan girls all appeared in Box’s Back of Beyond, which was another great book by Box! All of these characters are well drawn the damaged Hoyt and the spunky Grace Sullivan and her ditsy sister Danielle. Additionally, the new character Cassie Dewell is one that you can definitely root for!!

Bottom Line: The Highway while darker than the Joe Pickett novels was a great read! The pages flew by and the story twisted and turned until the very end! There was one twist that I didn’t see coming and I still don’t believe happened. I can’t wait until the 28th for the release of Badlands!! So don’t do what I did, go and get The Highway now!! Rating: ****

Links for the Further Exploration of the Books of C.J.Box

C.J Box Website
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Goodreads: C.J. Box, The Highway
Amazon: C.J.Box

 

 

The Poacher’s Son – Paul Doiron

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Paul Doiron – The Poacher’s Son – (Mike Bowditch #1) – Maine Game Warden

 

Paul Doiran - The Poacher's SonA while back I saw an ad on a sidebar at Goodreads.com for a book called The Precipice by Paul Doiron. I read that the book was part of a series that features Mike Bowditch who is a Game Warden in Maine. Since I am a big fan of another game warden Joe Pickett who resides out in the great state of Wyoming, I figured that this book would be right up my alley. When I went to Goodreads to find our more about Mike Bowditch, I discovered that The Precipice is the sixth book that features him as the main character. Since the series is not all that new i.e there are less than ten books in the series, I figured that it would be best to go back to the first book and start the series at the beginning and start reading the series with book one, The Poacher’s Son. So that’s what I did and I am glad that I did! The Poachers Son was a great read!

The plot of The Poacher’s Son begins when Mike misses a call from his father, who he hasn’t had contact with for two years. His father leaves a message that he needs Mike’s help! The next morning discovers that a police officer and a business man have been shot in the northern part of Maine, where Mike’s dad lives. His father is the prime suspect and when he was detained for questioning, he attacked the arresting officer and escaped into the woods, after crashing the police car and leaving the officer for dead. Mike is about the only person in the state that believes that his father is innocent and as he sets out to prove it his whole life starts to unravel!

The Poacher’s Son is an award-winning book among the awards it won were;  the Barry Award and the Strand Critics Award for Best First Novel, an Anthony Award, a Macavity Award, and a Thriller Award for Best First Novel, and the Maine Literary Award for “Best Fiction of 2010.”. It was nominated for an Edgar Award, and PopMatters named it to its Best Fiction of 2010 list.

Bottom Line: The Poacher’s Son was an outstanding novel dealing with not only the mystery surrounding the brutal murders, but also with Mike and his father Jack’s relationship. Andre Dubus III says this about the novel….

“With precise and evocative prose, Paul Doiron weaves a riveting tale set deep in the wilderness that can be the tenuous bond between father and son. This is a compelling, moving and utterly impressive debut”

and Nelson DeMille writes:

:The Poacher’s Son is one of the best-written debut novels I’ve read in years. The story has it all – a great plot. a wonderful Maine woods setting, a truly remarkable and believable cast of characters”

I liked everything about this book, the setting,  the main characters and the intricately woven tale of belief in a parent, that you feel guilt over not liking, but yet would do anything to save!! Rating **** plus!

So check it out! As for me I have to check out book #2 in the series The Trespasser!!  Move over Joe Pickett and make room for Mike Bowditch on my bookshelves!

Links for Further Explorations of Paul Doiron and Mike Bowditch

Authors’ Website
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Facebook
Amazon
Goodreads: Paul Doiron
Goodreads: Mike Bowditch

 

Book 31 for 2015 – 17 on a goal of 23 in my Clock and Dagger Reading Challenge!!

Brimstone – Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child

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Brimstone – Preston & Child – Pendergrast and D’Agosta chase down the Devil?

 

Preston & Child’s FBI Agent Pendergrast investigates those curious cases, so when Brimstone opens with art critic Jeremy Grove found burnt to a crisp in a locked and barricaded room in the attic of his mansion in the Hamptons, you knew Pendergrast would be there soon. Grove is found burnt to death from the inside out, amid the smell of brimstone. And next to him is the devil’s hoof print burnt into the floor! Soon the question arises: Had Grove really made a Faustian pack with the devil and he came to collect???

In the hours before his death, Grove called three names. One of those names turns up dead in the same manner as Grove, with the devil’s likeness burnt into his NYC apartment. Then the case really gets exciting!
Soon Pendergrast is out to determine the earthly cause for these murders, before the killer can collect the souls of the last two names on the list! Aiding Pendergrast in his quest, and he is going to need all the help he can get, are Vincent D’Agosta and Laura Hayward ,who have helped Pendergrast on past cases..(Relic and Reliquary) Vincent is now a Sargent in the Southampton police department, while Laura is a Captain in the NYPD.

The quest will take Pendergrast and D’Agosta from the mansions of Southampton, to the townhouses of New York and ultimately to the city of Florence, Italy and the Italian countryside,where four young men may have made that pact with the devil!! While Laura faces a preacher and a newspaper man. And they have NYC residents believing that the end of days are here!

Oh No! – I Read Books Out of Order

Brimstone book five in the Agent Pendergrast I series and the first book to feature Pendergrast’s brother Diogenes. I read this book after I reading Dance of Death, Book 6 in the series. I mistakenly thought that Dance of Death was the first book of three that featured Diogenes.
Anyway,I would recommend that Brimstone be read before reading Death of Dance and The Book of the Dead. As Brimstone does provide background for the various relationships in the books!

Bottom Line: Brimstone was another terrific read from Preston & Child. Easily four plus stars out of 5. Once again I enjoyed all of the wonderful characters especially Pendergast. I think is one of the most interesting and unique characters in the genre. The storyline kept the pages flying by, the suspense mounting, and the authors provided an ending that would have left me starting Dance of Death immediately had I not screwed up!! As it is I can’t wait to start  The Book of the Dead!!