"With Friends Like These", by Alissa Lee

Five Harvard alumnae have played a yearly tag and kill game with each other for 20 years that has kept them connected to each other and to the memory of a roommate who died playing the game.

At the 20th anniversary reunion Wesley tells her friends that the money they had chipped in decades earlier has grown nearly $1 million…..In their minds, each woman equates the prize with freedom and soon secrets begins to emerge…….

My thoughts:

This is a very tense read that brings out the dark side of people when money is concerned. How one can be haunted by the ghost of a roommate who died, seeing her in odd places, thinking can she somehow seek revenge? Their imagination goes wild……

My feelings reading this book was all over the place and I had a very hard time getting into this story. I tried to push through it but I finally had to skip passages to reach the end, I was wasting too much time reading something I didn’t care for and of course my mind was constantly someplace else…it was time to give up and move on.

Having said this, by all means “With Friends Like These” is not a bad book. It is simply not my cup of tea but it may be yours.

I received this ARC from Atria Books via Netgalley for my thoughts: this is the way I see it.

"The Devil is in the Details", by Vicki Delany

Sherlock Holmes Bookstore Mystery #11

Short and sweet like the book:

I like reading Vicki Delany cozy mystery she always gives us a sweet touch and delight us with surprises and plenty of suspects.

Andy about to marry Jayne is throwing a birthday party for his beloved when during the evening Tina, old fling of his, and an uninvited guest plunges to her death in icy water. The big question: Was it accident, suicide, or murder?

Using her distinctive Holmesian methods Gemma goes into sleuthing mode and finds plenty of people who might have wanted the woman to drown. …..and the irresistible cozy chaos begins….

This story did not disappoint it is always a pleasure to revisit with Gemma Doyle and the gang. The main suspect being Andy, Gemma raced to prove his innocence. I like how she goes about eliminating or adding suspects to her list and prove she is right. And the plot thickens when a second body is found and more twists and turns are added to the equation making a cleverly twisty mystery, full of exes and mostly secrets to kept us guessing to the very end. It is not fast paced but keep a steady tempo all through.

Although this may be the 11th in the series, the story is fresh and the characters only change slightly. It is a fun and an interesting series easy to get into and one I look forward to rekindle with.

My thanks to the publisher Crooked Lane Books as well as Netgalley for this ARC.

"Samarkand", by Ty Patterson

Cutter Grogan book #10

If you want never ending over the top action this book is for you, never a dull moment and a pretty good story to top it all. Cutter is super human, a Delta Force agent turned P.I always ready to help someone whether he is on vacation or not. In book #10, Cutter is on a trip of a life time exploring “The Silk Road “ when he receives a call from his friend FBI Gina Difiore asking him to find her niece Emily who has gone missing exploring “The Silk Road”. No hesitation, Cutter will fight fire and water and will open hell to their enemies….He has no limits….and the action commence…..and what action we find ourselves into.

I was just in the right mind set to tackle this story and I loved it, this is one of the best in this series. Cutter looking for Emily faces the Cartel, human traffickers, War Lords, killers, crooked cups and corrupt officials but Cutter has all the resources needed to success, even Meg and Beth from home has local contacts to provide all what he needed.

This pacing is super fast and well thought of to keep us flipping pages, well I did zip through this thriller in a couple of settings, unfortunately life got in way and I hated so much to put it aside, I was so invested in it from the time I opened the first page till I reached the excellent ending. Along the way the story brings us to places not all have or will visit…I took my atlas out to follow the trail…learn something new even in thrillers…

Well-said and well executed.

Thank you, Ty, for the hours of enjoyment

"The Midnight Knock", by John Fram

The summary in a few words:

Eight weary travelers converge at a lonely roadside motel nestled at the foot of a massive mountain. Ethan, Hunter, Tabatha, Kyla, Fernanda, Penelope, Ryan and Jack Allen have a story to tell and somehow, they are all connected to the enigmatic Sarah Power, another motel guest. When Sarah is found dead some hours later….something keeps lurking in the darkness … what could it be and what to do about it….nothing is quite as it seems…the guests will soon find out.

My views:

“Twilight Zone” reinvented and the law of nature bent in a provocative way. Supernatural horror is not my cup of tea. I really don’t know why I accepted to give this book a go.

This is one strange story I had trouble keeping up with it. Told from each guest point of view in alternate chapters. The story is also divided into section recounting from a different angle the guests experience past and present. This circle repeats too many times for my pleasure, it was very frustrating. The plot is way too complex.

Definitely this is a nightmare, a razor-sharp thriller that is creepy, somewhat clever and too cinematic for my taste…very atmospheric with vivid scenes, a motel that breathe and landscapes that loom with menace. The story is unique no doubt about it.

“The Midnight Knock” definitely pushes the boundaries of mystery storytelling.

This is one story that will please some and not so much others.

I received this ARC from Atria Books via Netgalley for my thoughts: this is the way I see it.

"The Hawk is Dead", by Peter James

Roy Grace #21

Peter James in this latest mystery takes us deep into Buckingham Palace where Roy Grace never thought his latest murder investigation would take him.

The story in a few words:

Queen Camilla aboard the Royal Train is headed to a charity event when disaster strikes and the train derails. Minutes later an aide is shot dead by a sniper… everyone jumped to the assumption her Majesty was the intended target but debonair Inspector Grace was not on the wave link and finds himself alone with his suspicions…….is he right?.....

My thoughts:

The book can be read on its own but you will appreciate the characters more if you have read the others. Although I have read many books in this series, not all were read in sequence and I never felt lost.

In his investigation Grace takes us on a tour of the Palace and describes its opulence décor and history behind some paintings and “objet d’art” While meeting the monarchy and the various roles of the staff James gives us all the fluff that goes which such an encounter. Really it was a bit much. IMO, this took over the crime and who was behind. Having said this, it still a fun read once the investigation took wings and getting to the arrests and finding out the whodunit is and the why. Definitely a lot more procedural in this one.

I do question: would an attempt on the Queen’s life be handle by the local police or handed over to a squad expert in terrorism?

In a few words:

The plot is well paced and engaging, the characters are well drawn and the setting is vividly described. A good story I enjoyed passing time with.

My thanks to Pan Macmillian and Netgalley for this ARC.