Tag: Mysteries

Book 19 – Misery Bay – Steve Hamilton

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So I was all set last night to write about my run. How another rock band Voodoo Circle and their new album Black Heart Syndrome was the soundtrack for the 4.2 mile run complete in just under a ten minute per mile pace (which was not bad because I went uphill for parts of the run), but alas that was not to be! I sat down started to read Book 19 Steve Hamilton‘s latest Alex McKnight novel Misery Bay and continued reading until I went to bed,(except for that 1/2 hour nap). I finished the book at lunchtime today.<u> Misery Bay</u> is the eighth book in the McKnight series and the first since 2006 and is a worthy addition to the series.

The story starts when Alex gets a visit from an old nemesis Sault Ste. Marie police chief Roy Maven, who has appeared in past books. Maven asks Alex to do a job for his friend Charles “Raz” Razniewski. Razniewski and Maven were on the State Police force years earlier and recently Razniewki’s son had committed suicide. Razniewski wants McKnight to go to his son’s college and talk to some friends and generally try to find out why his son killed himself.  Alex does just that and when he returns he really doesn’t have any reason for the suicide. When he goes to report his findings to the senior Razniewski, who is staying at Maven’s home, he finds Razniewki laying on Maven’s kitchen floor with his throat slashed! The FBI soon sends two agents to investigate “Raz’s murder because he is now a U.S. Marshall. The agents soon determine that the murder is probably retaliation for some of the unsavory, well connected criminals Raz has put away. But Maven and Alex don’t think so and set of to investigate the suicide and murder. Soon they  connect another police officer’s son suicide to the case and the story moves on from there!

I love everything about this series. The setting Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, which sounds like a wonderful place to visit (maybe for the three days of summer), the characters Alex, Maven, Alex’s friend Vinnie, Leon Purcell and Jackie, owner of the Glasgow Inn. The stories are always interesting and the pages usually fly by! While this the eight in the series, I think that it can be read alone and then the reader can go back and find out about some of the earlier events. Like how Alex’s cabin burned down and what happened to Alex’s love Natalie Reynaud:

Before I lit the match, I took one f the slats of wood and I rubbed the spot where the blood had seeped in forever. I said good-bye to Natalie Reynaud one more time. I kissed the wood once and then put it back on the pile.

So go and visit Alex and the residents of Paradise, Michigan and I’m sure it won’t be your  last visit!!

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Book 16 – Gideon’s Sword – Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

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Book 16 is the latest book from the writing team of Douglas Preston and Lee Child Gideon’s Sword.The book is the first book in a proposed series featuring Gideon Crew. I go back a long way with Preston and Child to the first book in the Pendergrast series Relic published in 1995! Unfortunately, I only read the first book and parts of the second Reliquary. That series is now up to book ten and I have several on my Mount to Be Read pile! Anyway rather than go back and catch up I thought I move forward with the new series! At twelve years old Gideon sees his father killed in a hostage stand-off involving his work for the government. On her death bed his mother his mother reveals that his father was a scapegoat concerning a failed project that left twenty six CIA agent s dead! Gideon sets out to clear his father’s name and does that rather quickly in the book. After revenging his father’s death Gideon returns to his favorite fishing hole and thinks he will just resume his normal life. Soon he is contacted by a subcontractor for the Department of Homeland security and offered an assignment to steal the plans for a new weapon from a Chinese scientist who is entering the country. This plunges Gideon into a whole new world, but he may have the talents for it because along the way the reader discovers that he is a master of disguises and a former Art Museum thief. The action is fast paced with several twists and turns. I enjoyed the read but in places found some events very implausible, but sometimes that in these types of books, so you just suspend belief and go along for the ride. The ride is pretty damn good so check it out! I enjoyed the character of Gideon Crew and along the way I learned a few things particularly about the Falun Gong and the Potter’s Field at Hart Island in Long Island Sound. So again check it out as for me I guess I need to go back and read some of those Pendergrast books!

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Book 1 – 2011 – Crush – Alan Jacobson

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WooHoo! Finally I finished the first book of 2011 – Alan Jacobson’s Crush. It was another book read on the Kindle. I am also reading on the Kindle The Devil We Knew by Robert Baer a book about Iran that we gave to Peter for Christmas, that is really good! Anyway back to Crush. The novel is set in the wine country of California and is the second book in the Karen Vail series. Karen Vail is a profiler who works tracking serial killers. The first book is The 7th Victim, which I saw at Barnes and Noble a while back and made a note on my phone about to look for at the library. But when I got the Kindle I checked out some of the books that I had made notes about and there it was it was for a good price but Crush was a better price FREE! So I’ve read the series out of order!

Like I said the series revolves around Karen Vail a FBI profiler and single mother, who was on vacation in the California wine country, with her boyfriend Robby Hernandez. A mutilated body is discovered in a Wine Cave and soon Karen isn’t on vacation and more but working with the local police to track down the killer. It’s a thriller because you know the killer but it’s one of those, what will he do before you can catch him books! Karen is a likable character and the action is pretty fast paced with a few twists and turns and more dead bodies!

I will certainly read more of Jacobson’s books my question now is, do I go back and read the first book, which available on the Kindle or do I go and get the third book out of the library! Jacobson left so many threads hanging at the end of the book that I think I’ll go read Book 3 Velocity next and then go back and read The 7th Victim!

Track of the Cat – Nevada Barr

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WooHoo! So after a month plus of slugging through Michael Koryta’s So Cold the River and only getting half through it, although I was enjoying it, I just haven’t had the time to finish it! I did finish a shorter book Track the Cat by Nevada Barr is book 42 for the year. The book is the first Anna Pigeon novel. Anna is a national park ranger and here’s what it says about her on the back cover of the book:

“The fascinating hero of Nevada Barr’s award-winning series , park ranger Anna Pigeon has brought an unyielding love of nature and sense of fair play to the mystery game. Track of the Cat is the acclaimed  novel that first introduced readers to Anna, as a woman looking for peace in the wilderness – and finding mystery instead…..

The murder in this case is a fellow park ranger and when the murder is blamed on a rouge mountain lion and Ana’s investigation proves that that was not the case, Anna sets out to find out what really happened! Althoug I didn’t think that the plot was all that great I did like the character and didn’t guess the murderer! I will probably continue with the series and already have a few more books on my Mount to Be Read!!

Book 41 – Moonlight Mile – Dennis Lehane

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In the world of Dennis Lehane‘s Kenzie and Gennero, 12 years have past since Patrick found Amanda McCready and returned her to unfit mother (see Gone Baby Gone). Patrick and Angie are now married and the proud parents of a four year four year old daughter. Patrick is hoping to get a full time job at a very affluent security company. One night he gets a call the caller says “You found her before, find her again”. The next morning Patrick runs into Amanda’s Aunt Beatrice who apologizes for the previous night’s late call and then tells Patrick that Amanda, now a straight A student at a Boston prep school and a chance to go to Harvard or Yale, has been missing for three weeks and no one cares! Soon Patrick is sucked back into the world he hoped he’d left behind including drugs and the Russian Mafia. But Patrick has to find Amanda to put the past behind him, the past that haunts him everyday because he did the legally right thing that was actually the wrong thing. Finding Amanda now could help to set things right!

I really enjoy the characters of this series and Lehane’s writing overall. The pages of this book just flew by last night and like most of his stories there are enough twists to keep you guessing as to what’s going on! As with every Lehane book. It’s a great read! So read it now and then compare it to the movie sequel which is bound to come!

True Evil – Greg Iles

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Greg Iles is one of those authors that when I read one of his books I have one of those “What was I thinking?” moments for not reading his books as soon as they come out!! (Can you say too many books, too little time!) Anyway True Evil has been sitting on my bookshelf waiting to be read for a long while and I’m glad I finally got around to reading it and at 637 pages it should count as two books! But like all of Iles’ books those pages just flew by!

In this book FBI agent Alexandra (Alex) Morse is called to her home of Mississippi when her sister Grace is struck down by brain hemorrhage. On her death bed she tells Alex that she was murdered by her husband and asks Alex to save her son from his father. Soon Alex, who is having one of those when it goes bad it goes bad all at the same time periods as her father was killed in a robbery attempt gone bad (Dad the ex-cop and now PI), her mother’s dying of ovarian cancer, and she has been demoted at the FBI from her position as a top hostage negotiator when a hostage situation went bad leaving her face scared and a fellow FBI agent dead, sets out to find out how her brother-in-law killed her.She soon finds that Bill Fennel had visited a divorce attorney in Jackson, who seems to be providing a service whereby clients seeking a divorce are saved losing their money, or children by having their spouses mysterious die of cancer! Alex enlists the aid of Dr. Chris Sheppard whose wife Thora has visited the same attorney and Alex is convinced Sheppard is the next victim!

Iles writes good thrillers with believable characters that keep the action moving until the last pages of the book are turned!

Raves about the book:

“A pulse-pounder…… A fresh twist on the cat-and-mouse game between an FBI agent and a fiendishly clever serial killer…. Smooth prose, psychological depth and crafty plotting” – Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Fascinating…. The medicine and science at the heart of this book are chillngly real” Bookreporter.com

So if you’ve never read Greg Iles pick up one of his books and I bet you won’t be able to put it down, and maybe you won’t be like me and wait too long until you read the next one!! Where is that Devil’s Punchbowl hum, I think there’s a copy up on son Andrew’s bookshelf. But, oh wait, maybe Tess Gerrritsen’s latest is still waiting for me at the library, damn!

Blues Wednesday – not! – Book 34 – Virgin Heat

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ok so I picked out some new names and listened to a couple of tracks from several albums but never got to listen that much to any of them. A slow connecting computer coupled with a good Phillies game and finishing Book 34 Virgin Heat kept me busy tonight! The artist that I started to listen to included: Mark Scott LaMountain and the Blue Thunder Band and their album Guitars, Gun and Southern Women, J.J Grey and Mofro’s album Georgia Warhorse, Jay Gaunt a blues harp player whose new album is on the Roots Music Blues Chart but Rhapsody only has some earlier albums and the one I was ready to listen to was Blown Away. The last thing that I previewed today was Charlie Musselwhite’s new album The Well which sounded pretty good. So I will listen to these albums tomorrow and we’ll celebrate Blues Wednesday on Thursday!

But tonight belonged to those Phils and Roy Oswalt as they extended their lead over my daughter’s team those Atlanta Braves and Book 34 Virgin Heat. This is the first book I’ve read by Lawrence Shames and it won’t be the last! Set in Key West the book tells the tale of Angie Amaro who for years has pined for her lost love Sal Martucci. The reason she pines is that Sal is now living as Ziggy Maxx in Key West after ratting Angie’s father a mob member Paul Amaro and sending him to prison. After Angie’s Uncle Louie visits Key West and returns with a video in which Angie recognizes Sal, she sets off for Florida to find her lover. Soon Uncle Louie takes off to find Angie and a good tale is told in the style of Elmore Leonard and Carl Hiaasen. Ann Helmuth of the Orlando Sentinel calls it The Birdcage meets the Godfather and that’s appropriate for this often funny and touching book, full of good characters and wit! I enjoyed it and will certainly be on the look out for more Shames and there appears to be seven other books set in Key West!

End of Story-Peter Abraham

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Book 31 for 2010 is End of Story by Peter Abrahams. This is the second book I’ve read by Abrahams the other Oblivion I read in 2007 so you can see he is not really a favorite author, but I did enjoy this book and will probably pick up his newer stuff.

The main character in the novel is Ivy Seidel a would be author with a MFA and a stack of rejection letters from The New Yorker. Ivy takes over a part time job teaching writing in a prison in upstate New York. When Vance Harrow enters her group she is impressed by his writing ability and soon begins to look into his background. She finds that he is serving time for a robbery at an Indian Casino near his home town. Ivy is convinced that he is innocent and is taking the fall to protect his wife. Overall the pages flew by.  I liked the characters although  some of the actions in the story seemed to stretch reality a little much. The last hundred pages were really good and overall I liked the book.  I  will be on the lookout for his other books – maybe at the fall sale at the County Library!

Peter Abrahams – End of Story

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Book 31 for 2010 is End of Story by Peter Abrahams. This is the second book I’ve read by Abrahams the other Oblivion I read in 2007 so you can see he is not really a favorite author, but I did enjoy this book and will probably pick up his newer stuff.

The main character in the novel is Ivy Seidel a would be author with a MFA and a stack of rejection letters from The New Yorker. Ivy takes over a part time job teaching writing in a prison in upstate New York. When Vance Harrow enters her group she is impressed by his writing ability and soon begins to look into his background. She finds that he is serving time for a robbery at an Indian Casino near his home town. Ivy is convinced that he is innocent and is taking the fall to protect his wife. Overall the pages flew by.  I liked the characters although  some of the actions in the story seemed to stretch reality a little much. The last hundred pages were really good and overall I liked the book.  I  will be on the lookout for his other books – maybe at the fall sale at the County Library!

Broken – Karin Slaughter – Will Trent and Faith Mitchell In Grant County

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Broken - Karin Slaughter

Broken by Karin Slaughter is the seventh book in the Grant County series. It is also Book #2 in the Georgia Series which features Will Trent and Faith Mitchell. The Georgia Series combines Slaughter’s two series – the Grant County Series with the Atlanta series and together Slaughter’s book list is notable and great!

Broken opens with Sara Linton returning to her home town for Thanksgiving and she is quickly immersed in a mystery

The Story…. from her website:

When the body of a young woman is discovered deep beneath the icy waters of Lake Grant, a note left under a rock by the shore points to suicide. But within minutes, it becomes clear that this is no suicide. It’s a brutal, cold-blooded murder. All too soon former Grant County medical examiner Sara Linton – home for Thanksgiving after a long absence — finds herself unwittingly drawn into the case. The chief suspect is desperate to see her but when she arrives at the local police station she is met with a horrifying sight — he lies dead in his cell, the words ‘Not me’ scrawled across the walls. Something about his confession doesn’t add up and deeply suspicious of the detective in charge, Lena Adams, Sara immediately calls the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Shortly afterwards, Special Agent Will Trent is brought in from his vacation to investigate. But he is immediately confronted with a wall of silence. Grant County is a close-knit community with loyalties and ties that run deep. And the only person who can tell the truth about what really happened is dead.

Final Thoughts

Like all her books the story flies by as you can’t wait to find out what happens, but to me the real beauty lies in the characters that populate her books. These characters are real and face real problems and as you read the books you really feel for the characters as they deal with their disabilities and the consequences of their past actions and shared history.

Karin has a quirky sense of humor and writes a very funny newsletter and is great on Facebook. She is always having contests. The latest contest was  making cupcakes with a murderous theme. The winners are displayed on her website.

While the books can be read out of order. It’s my opinion that it is best to start at the beginning! So check out her work!

Links

Author’s Website
Facebook
Save the Libraries
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 the Karin Slaughter Page