"Have You Seen Her". by Catherine McKenzie

 

Ms. McKenzie signature trade mark has been her success for years and she knows how to exploit it to maximum. In “Have You Seen Her” she keeps us in the middle of the action while taking her protagonist on a journey into her past as everything moves along she intermixes modern twists and provides us with a buffet of events to enjoy. As in her previous novel this latest is no exception to the thrill we experience.

Cassie Peter, the star player, decides to leave life in New York City to return home to Mammoth Lakes to start a new job working Search and Rescue at Yosemite National Park and reconnects with other seasonal workers. Being at the site she once worked at triggers memories of events that have been haunting her for years. Soon she crosses paths with Petal and Jada ......this encounter will turn out to be a summer that Cassie will never forget....

We have a solid narration to guide us even when the story spins around in deferent ways. The twists and turns keep teasing us to follow through, I surely love the suspense. This drama is well said and the characterization is up to par. Nicely done, Ms. McKenzie you penned a stunning thriller.

A large thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for providing me with this ARC

"A Valuable Asset" by Chloé Archambault

Decoy series book#2

Staring with book #2 is not a problem we have enough background information to blend right in and enjoy this heart-pumping action international intrigue. Now that I read “A Valuable Asset” I may take a step back and read “The Decoy”, book#1.

The story in a few words mixed with my thoughts:

When a mission to exfiltrate a Russian hacker goes awry, Nina's cover is blown, and her father becomes the target of a Novichok attack. With her father poisoned, Nina must uncover who is after her family and why. The stakes are high and while she sets of on a mission she must navigate in a dangerous web of spies, love and assassins. Along the way we are on the edge of our seat until the very end.

No doubt, I was hooked from the opening words after all most of this thriller is set in my home town of Montréal and following Nina through the streets was a cakewalk. We find a lot of French Canadian and “Franglais” (a mixture of French and English in the same sentence) in the narration and dialogue giving us a pervading tone and mood to experience, the author does this with grace. The story flows well, easy to follow and is very fast paced with many twist and turns along the way. If you like spy thriller, with double agent, Russian spies, lots of entertaining action, some assassins and a dash of romance to soften everything you will find all of this in the riveting plot penned by Ms. Archambault.

Well said, well done.

My thanks to The Book Whisperer and Netgalley for this ARC

"The Bucharest Legacy", by William Maz

The Rise of the Oligarchs

This suspenseful sequel to “The Bucharest Dossier” is an engaging and exciting cold-war thriller on its own, no need to read the previous book in order to enjoy this one. The story sheds light on the unbelievable corruption of both the West and the East. The narrative over 400 pages covers basically the Bucharest of the 1993 and takes place three years after the revolution against the Communist regime.

The protagonist is Romanian born Bill Hefflin who finds himself entangled with the CIA handling a mysterious Russian asset, Boris, a double agent maybe even a triple agent...how convoluted can this become. Wait to see what Mr. Maz has in mind in his book. When a rumor flies that he is the top Russian mole in the CIA, he definitely knows he is being set up and sets out to get to the bottom of things. After ensuring that his son and wife’s are safe, he sets off to Romania where immediately things go haywire. And the bodies start to mount...while the crooks get richer and half the population are starving.

You need to stay alert reading this book so much goes on back and forth and many characters are added to the action and the suspense gets even more intense. Hefflin and his wife Catherine, who plays a huge role, are well-drawn and complex characters. As for Boris, he is a shadow hanging over the spy hunts. I may have found the story to be way longer than it should have been with the repetition of information we have already been told but delving deeper into the gripping action scenes I discovered how crafty Mr. Maz’s writing style is. His research, techniques and action sequences only can keep us on the edge of our seats till the very end. The language is easy and engaging what is not to like. Well said, well-done

My thanks to Oceanview Publishing and Netgalley for this ARC

"The Woman From Death Row", by Peter Hogenkamp

A Jade Stryker Thriller book #1

This is the a fictional story of two doctors one Jade Collins who grew up on the seedy side of Los Angeles finds herself on death row after killing a man who had been abusing one of her patient. It is also the story of Dr. Mark Brand whose life has sent him on a downward spiral till the day he meet a powerful man he once knew and gave a reason to move forward. Mark is sent to San Quentin to meet Jade and to get her off death row...that is what he did...and the story begins.

Loved, loved this story I simply couldn’t put it down it is so active, exciting and well executed. On the run Jade and Mark have a hard time trusting each other and while encountering obstacles they managed to be one step ahead of whoever was chasing them. Not only did they have the authorities to dodge but a string of bad guys also were on their tails. All along the story Mark develop a “thing” for Jade but reciprocity doesn’t seem to be there. Will they survive this dangerous assignment and really what was it? Of course Mr. Hogenkamp teases us from the start to finish with tension and expectation and finally by the end we know why Jade was sprung out of death row and who Mark really is. The storyline is original and captivating. There are no dull moment I wanted so much to see what would come next, with fire under my fingers I needed to flip the pages to see if our two escapees will make it out alive or not. Will they be together yes or no....you are not left wondering by the end you know the answer and of course the giveaway after all this...book #2 is around the corner.... I up my hand volunteering to read it. I simply love Jade and Mark they are great characters and to boot they played excellent roles.

Well-done, well-said.

Thank you Mr. Hogenkamp for this ARC.

"Valley of Evil", by Melinda Woodhall

Bridget Bishop Mystery book # 6

The story in a few words:

Behavioral analyst and profiler Bridget Bishop investigates the disappearance of barn manager at Wilde Valley Stables. This should be a simple missing person case but after threatening letters are received at the police station and the local press from a vindictive killer and the discovery of the hidden graveyard is discovered it soon becomes a race against time before other victims succumb at the killers hands.

My thoughts:

This is a fast paced mystery that not only gives twists and turns to derailed us and keeps us guessing till the very end but it also engages us to be one step ahead of the characters whether you follow the good guys or the bad ones. Ms. Woodhall knows how to tease us without losing us along the way. The language is clean and simple, the plot line suspenseful and exciting and the characters even the evil ones are well define. After 5 books those who have been following this series are well acquainted with the recurring cast: Bridget, Santino, Charlie, Gage but no fear if you are not you fit right in and of course we also being introduced to new set of players to follow.

This book as with the all previous is a great read of course if you like mysteries involving serial killers.....

Very engaging mystery: well-done, well-said

I received a free copy of this book and I leave a voluntary review, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

"The Paris Daughter", by Kristin Harmel

Set in Paris 1939, this heart-stopping tale of survival and heroism of three mothers who must make unthinkable choice in the face of the Nazi occupation. Their names are Elise, Ruth and Juliette who met in the beautiful Bois de Boulogne and became fast friends. Soon their lives will be irrevocably changed....”The Paris Daughter” will tell us what happened...enjoy.

A cloud of doom hangs over Paris as German and Allied bombing begins in Europe

Written with poignant words, this beautiful and strong story of motherhood and friendship will break your heart. The impossible choice to leave their children behind or send them away in order to save them is emotionally wrenching. Through her research Ms. Harmel brings this historical moment to life by conveying an acute sense of emotions through her characters as they face tragedy. You really feel for them. This story is also a poignant portrayal of how we assign guilt even in the most blameless of circumstances. It is not an easy book to read but the further I traveled with these hard women the better the story was getting maybe I simply mesmerized by what was going on.....this story touched me deeply.

“The Paris Daughter’ is beautifully layered tale of broken women and the impacts their choices have made for generations to come. It is also a sweeping celebration of resilience and love. Well-said and well-done.

I received this ARC from Simon & Schuster via Netgalley for my thoughts

"Take the Honey and Run", by Jennie Marts

Book#1 in the Beer Keeper’s Mystery

The title and picture on the cover attracted my attention I simply couldn’t resist asking for this novel. This cozy mystery is the perfect read when you want a story that is fun and not too challenging, a perfect book to bring with you on vacation.

The story moves along in a fictional town in Colorado with Bailey Biggs and her young daughter coming to see their grandmother (granny Bee) who runs Honeybuzz Mountain Ranch where she raises bees for their honey and sells it in various forms. Everything goes smoothly till the mayor highly allergic to honey is found dead with his face smeared in Granny Bee’s honey......Granny is the first to be suspected of killing him....and the fun begins.

This story has an interesting premise – the murder weapon honey is quite unique and to top it all we have plenty of suspects to go around. Well written to be engaging without giving us too much to think about. A bit too much by me was that the main character stayed ahead of the sheriff pointing at facts he never saw...was he that bad? For an outsider Bailey was a bit too smart but again her grandmother needed to be vindicated. The style simple and clear is also funny I laugh (smile) at some of the passage so much shenanigans trying to solve the murder. I can’t miss telling you we are lured with mouth-watering menus...tempting sweet goodies throughout.

Cute story I didn’t mind passing time with.

My thanks to Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley for this ARC

"Retribution", by Robert McCaw

Koa Kane Hawaiian Mystery book # 5

In “Retribution”, Koa struggles to discover the truth when someone frames his brother for murder and how it might connect with a series of attacks aimed at those closest to him. Might he be the real target and who is behind this trail of retribution?

This taut, suspenseful plot of deceit and intrigue within the Hilo Police Department where the culprit’s true identity is carefully camouflaged continues the saga of conflict between two men who were once childhood friends. Mr. McCaw's prose highlights the beauty of the Hawaiian people and their cultural tradition and incorporates slang and dialect in the dialogues. On the down side, the author’s overkill of the Polynesian language with its English translation is a huge distraction and slows down the flow immensely.

The storyline is suspenseful as we follow Koa unofficially investigating a murder where damming piece of evidence found at the scene points to his brother as the killer. When a sniper shoots at one of his colleague and someone attacks his family no doubts to Koa that there is a criminality behind all of this...With small clues to guide him Koa needed to get to the bottom of this complex conspiracy. The many twists and turns Koa had encountered and dealing with a large pool of suspects that kept derailing everything I stayed glued to this mystery totally captivated till the very end.

I am a big fan of police procedurals and following Koa and his team tracked down suspicious activities and suspects was a thrill.

Many thanks to Oceanview Publishing for providing me an advance review copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.