"Heartless Highway", by Melinda Woodhall

 

A Bailey Flynn FBI Mystery book # 9

The story in a few words:

When the body of a beautiful young woman is discovered near a busy highway it didn’t take long for Special Agent Bailey Flynn to find evidence linking the murder to the East Coast Highway Killer recently apprehended. She is suspecting the FBI task force may have the wrong man in custody ….she sets out to find the answer.

My thoughts:

Melinda Woodhall never fails to entertain, her latest is no exception. Once started I was so into this suspenseful story I lost track of time, so eager to see what Baily would come up with. For sure the task had pinned the murders on the wrong man but Baily did her all to find who really had no regards for a human life and sniff him out. The original investigators stuck to their outcome not way would they bend leaving Bailey with an immense challenge. I appreciated how the author excelled in throwing one red herring after the other and spinning a tale that derailed all expectations. Well done.

This gripping and emotional charge mystery is a good addition to the series. I am amazed how authors can come up with a fresh story with each installment without making them too formulaic. This is not only police procedural-oriented story it also gives us a great amount of personal and family saga. I enjoy this immensely.

There are a lot of characters to keep track of, many are recurring ones we came to know well through this series and a couple added to the mix for us to get to know or forget…. Of course, Melinda Woodhall style is clear and active with no sex scene and foul language and provides us with a thrilling read to enjoy.

I received a copy of this book for free with no obligations to write a review.

"Phoenix Rising" by Michael Reit

1 September 1939

This installment chronicles the lives of four people as Hitler’s armies pushes across the Polish border.

Felix Wolff, a Jewish refugee thought he found save heaven in England but soon was arrested and thrown into an internment camp. To clear is name he joins the fight against Hitler.

Sicherheitsdienst agent Karl Vogt is sent to control the growing Jewish population within the Reich. His actions were the groundwork for Poland’s Jewish annihilation and the horrors that came with it.

Adela Beran, in occupied Czechoslovakia risks everything to pass secrets from a weapons factory to the Czech resistance and is asked to help assassinate Heinrich Himmler at Berlin….

In a central role we have Albert Göring using his famous name and position to help the resistance in the Protectorate to sabotage production and hamper the Nazi.

This is a recreation what may have happened during the war.

My thoughts:

This is a powerful story of courage, survival and resistance. It is told in vivid and grim details. You can feel in the author’s words how Karl is an impassioned and cold -hearted individual with only task is to eliminate the Jewish population. While Felix, faces one horror after the other and gives his all to the war effort. Mr. Reit gives him sensibility and a strong will to succeed. With the help of Albert Göring, the factory manager and the brother of the infamous henchmen Hermann Goring, Adela shows how a courageous individual she is and behind the words you feel as apprehensive as her.

A mention: Albert Göring used his famous name to save hundreds from Nazi persecution….not all German were cruel, although what he did put a target on his back.

The story is active and very captivating…even for those who may have read more then their share of war stories it is an excellent read. ..

Well said and well done.

My thanks to the Book Whisperer and Netgalley for this ARC

"The Quiet Mother", by Arnaldur Indridason

Detective Konrad, #3

This mystery is a gripping noir novel that follows retired detective Konrad as he seeks redemption after failing to help Valborg, a woman who was later found murdered. The investigation draws him into a web of lies and betrayals. The story is about the heavy toll of keeping secrets.

The slow pace facilitates the chance to get to know the characters, how they think and react even if their names are hard to pronounce, try to remember them they often pop up in this police procedural saga.

Following Konrad, the tension gradually rises and I soon found myself deep into a difficult story to follow and even harder to stay with. Although, I like how Konrad ferrets out leads and information into Valborg’s past, each revelation pointing to a hidden life that connected her death to a decade old murder and eventually having Konrad solving the murder. It was an intense read.

No doubts about it, the story is a slow burn and jumps timeline quite often, so again be present. It a bit complicated and puzzling at time but it does come together and it all make sense by the end, if you stay with it.

If you like puzzles, intriguing narrative and baffling style you will surely be contented.

I love this author I have him on my watch list but admit that “The Quiet Mother” was not my favourite books by him.

Thank you, St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for this ARC