"Africa", by Ty Patterson

Cutter Grogan book #8

This latest brings Cutter to South Africa to avenge the murder of his godson Thabo Nkosi and his father, Cutter’s best friend. This is a personal matter for him and refuses the help of Zeb Carter and the team but accept the one of Warner, their mighty computer and of all their gadgets. Off to Cape Town he goes....

From the time he sets foot in Cape Town all hell breaks loose and from then on we are in never ending chaos and mayhem as our super hero follows the trail that would lead him to the killers. Along the way Warner interacts with Cutter to give him pointers. Where Cutter goes behind him is a trail of bodies more than we can visualize and getting to that point is why Ty Patterson is a master in giving us entertaining action sequences. A tad of humour to break the tension is ejected when Quindica and Difiore on a different assignment show up to tease him and when Cutter makes friends with the local cow (lol). Of course Cutter, Quindica and Difiore get in trouble leaving Zeb Carter and the team to save the day.

Mission accomplished

As usual the plot is fast and furious, well executed and exciting. The characterization well done but the players are the same same old ones very predictable in all ways. You must love reading action packed stories to fully enjoy them. The Cutter Grogan series is my preferred although I loved all of them.

Thank you Mr. Patterson for the hours of enjoyment

"Break-Up Pact", by Emma Lord

I really stepped away from my usual genre tackling this deeply emotional novel. One side of me says I loved it yet the other tells me what a boring book....How do I get out of this conundrum and say my true feelings without getting in trouble...ok I may be exaggerating a bit.

The story in a few words:

June and Levi were two best friends who haven’t spoken in ten years pretend to date after break-ups with their respective exes go viral. They both experienced public, humiliating break-ups with their exes that spread like wildfire across TikTok and daytime talk shows alike. By doing this subterfuge June hopes to get back on her feet and Levi wish his ex. realize she made a mistake and comes back.....

My thoughts:

The positive and the negative:

Emma Lord’s writing is very enthusiastic and moving. She beautifully blends humour and emotional depth in one smooth stroke. The story in its own is cute and the characters are well defined. The author also has a beautiful style if you like mushy and extremely slow story. The plot is so slowed down by June’s frequent monologues in which she expresses her emotions and past experiences...over and over. I often wish things would speed a bit but no, I almost fell asleep, unfortunately, so bored I became that was happy to see the very predictable ending in sight. This fiction was not for me: messy bits of heartbreak, crying, run-ins with exes and the multiple crisis got to be too much for me.

This story about love, friendship and self-discovery is not for everyone but to those believing in magic of love will simply adore “The Break-Up Pack”. So far I seemed to be an exception in thinking this is a boring fiction...Judge for yourself.

I received this ARC from St-Martin Press via Netgalley for my thoughts: this is the way I see it.

"Murder 8", by Brian Shea

Nick Lawrence #5

This book has an awesome story filled of action, suspense and is quite entertaining. Mr. Shea gave us a great story very relevant in today’s age.....opioids and the dangers of fentanyl. In addition to following the law enforcement coming down hard on the rampant drug rings that is plaguing the streets of Massachusetts the author gives us a captivating spin into the corruption that is rampant everywhere.

Nick Lawrence and the Valhalla Groups are tasks with taking down the distribution network but when they were about to make a bust, things go south. The drama started when the daughter of Senator Buzz Litchfield overdosed and he wanted revenge....tension galore from then on. The plot is good and moves along at a steady pace, I also like the characterisation: Declan, Nick, Mouse and Jay are depicted with care, although without having read the previous books it was harder to relate to them. It may be recommended to start with the previous books first.

Who doesn’t love crooked politicians? And what a joy when they get what they deserve.

This novel is not taxing, it is short and sweet and is one to zipped through it in no time.

“Murder 8” is a pretty good read I enjoyed passing time with.