"Chosen Prey" is the latest Lucas Davenport novel I read by John Sandford and again he has crafted a well written murder mystery. This time there's a serial killer on the loose who has a "type" -- all young blonde women. When a body turns up in the countryside, a killer's graveyard is uncovered that leads to more bodies and the need to identify the young women buried there.
One body turns out to be the missing niece of a local law enforcement officer who involves himself with the team Lucas has put together to help find out who is behind these crimes. While they are busy solving the crimes, Lucas and his former fiance, Weather, are beginning to resolve their issues. She's sleeping over more nights than not and they're talking about having a family, getting married, settling down, etc.
Davenport's boss warns him that the coming election may bring some changes that will include her being replaced by a different political appointee, If that happens, there's also the possibility Lucas will lose his job, too. The pressure is on to solve this case to enhance both their records to enable them to move into other positions. As usual, Lucas puts together clues with his flashes of insight that lead to an unexpected conclusion. pazt
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Thursday, July 23, 2015
"The Dark Tide"
"The Dark Tide" by Andrew Gross was nominated for the Best Thriller of the Year Award by the International Thriller Writers.
This book appears to be the first in a series featuring police detective Ty Hauck and it was hard to put down! As far as his friends and family know, Charles Friedman is a successful businessman living in Greenwich, Connecticut, with his wife, daughter, and son but unbeknownst to his wife, Karen, he's a worried man as his business seems to be in trouble. When he's killed in a rail explosion taking the train to work in the city one day, Karen and her children begin to be threatened. Someone wants money Charles owed them and they think Karen knows where it is.
Meanwhile, Ty is investigating a hit and run that happened on the same day that Charles died and the investigation leads him to Karen's door. Together they begin to unravel a mystery that is going to put them both in danger. Ty previously lost a daughter to an accident and their shared grief brings them closer as they offer each comfort. Don't miss this novel of twists and turns. You think you know who you can trust? Think again! pazt
This book appears to be the first in a series featuring police detective Ty Hauck and it was hard to put down! As far as his friends and family know, Charles Friedman is a successful businessman living in Greenwich, Connecticut, with his wife, daughter, and son but unbeknownst to his wife, Karen, he's a worried man as his business seems to be in trouble. When he's killed in a rail explosion taking the train to work in the city one day, Karen and her children begin to be threatened. Someone wants money Charles owed them and they think Karen knows where it is.
Meanwhile, Ty is investigating a hit and run that happened on the same day that Charles died and the investigation leads him to Karen's door. Together they begin to unravel a mystery that is going to put them both in danger. Ty previously lost a daughter to an accident and their shared grief brings them closer as they offer each comfort. Don't miss this novel of twists and turns. You think you know who you can trust? Think again! pazt
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
"Water, Stone, Heart"
"Water, Stone, Heart" is Will North's second novel and one review likens him to Nicholas Sparks and I suppose with the romance angle I can see that but it has so much depth to the story that I can't think of another author to compare North to.
The story centers around two people and the setting is in Bocastle. Bocastle is a real village on the north coast of Cornwall in southeast England that experienced a devastating flood in August of 2004. This novel is based on that event and some of the characters (renamed for privacy purposes) are real people but everything else is fiction. This was a devastating event and it was a miracle that not one person (tourists or locals) died in the flood.
Our main characters are Andrew Stratton, a Professor of archeology at a Philadelphia university and Nicola Rhys-Jones, an ex-pat and local artist. Andrew (renamed Drew by Lily, a local 9-year-old girl who claims Drew and Nicola as her best friends) is newly divorced and looking for an escape from his predictable life in Philadelphia. He has come to Bocastle to learn to piece rocks together to build intricate walls -- called stone hedges. It is hard work and a great distraction but building the wall changes Drew and the wall he's built around himself starts to come down as he works on the project.
Nicola has walls, too, that she hides from those around her -- childhood sexual abuse and a divorce from a man who also abused her physically. She's a brilliant artist who has found her place in this community but finds herself unable to open her heart to try to love again.
The community welcomes Drew and he and Nicola encounter each other through Lily and at the pub and almost anywhere they might go in this small village. At first they enjoy verbal sparring but eventually their banter deepens to love but first they have to conquer their personal demons.
I'm going to quote a passage that, to me, shows North's writing ability - It's on page 131 of the hardback book: "After Katerina left him, his heart had shriveled like a hard, infolded black raisin..."
In his acknowledgement, North thanks Lorie Dwinell, a teacher and friend, and Dr. Lucy Berliner at Seattle's Harborview Center for Sexual Assault and Traumatic Stress for their help with the very serious subject of the lifelong psychological effects of childhood sexual abuse. This is an important part of this story. pazt
The story centers around two people and the setting is in Bocastle. Bocastle is a real village on the north coast of Cornwall in southeast England that experienced a devastating flood in August of 2004. This novel is based on that event and some of the characters (renamed for privacy purposes) are real people but everything else is fiction. This was a devastating event and it was a miracle that not one person (tourists or locals) died in the flood.
Our main characters are Andrew Stratton, a Professor of archeology at a Philadelphia university and Nicola Rhys-Jones, an ex-pat and local artist. Andrew (renamed Drew by Lily, a local 9-year-old girl who claims Drew and Nicola as her best friends) is newly divorced and looking for an escape from his predictable life in Philadelphia. He has come to Bocastle to learn to piece rocks together to build intricate walls -- called stone hedges. It is hard work and a great distraction but building the wall changes Drew and the wall he's built around himself starts to come down as he works on the project.
Nicola has walls, too, that she hides from those around her -- childhood sexual abuse and a divorce from a man who also abused her physically. She's a brilliant artist who has found her place in this community but finds herself unable to open her heart to try to love again.
The community welcomes Drew and he and Nicola encounter each other through Lily and at the pub and almost anywhere they might go in this small village. At first they enjoy verbal sparring but eventually their banter deepens to love but first they have to conquer their personal demons.
I'm going to quote a passage that, to me, shows North's writing ability - It's on page 131 of the hardback book: "After Katerina left him, his heart had shriveled like a hard, infolded black raisin..."
In his acknowledgement, North thanks Lorie Dwinell, a teacher and friend, and Dr. Lucy Berliner at Seattle's Harborview Center for Sexual Assault and Traumatic Stress for their help with the very serious subject of the lifelong psychological effects of childhood sexual abuse. This is an important part of this story. pazt
Wednesday, July 8, 2015
"Killing Floor"
After watching the Jack Reacher movie I decided it was time to read the Jack Reacher series by Lee Child and I started with the first novel, "Killing Floor." Once I started reading I couldn't put the book down and read it straight through except for periods when I fell asleep because I just couldn't keep my eyes open any longer -- not because the book wasn't holding my attention.
This novel is full of twists and turns and once the first shocking twist came out it was nonstop from then on and I didn't anticipate any of them. The book reads like the story of someone's life (not the kind of life I'd wish for) because it goes into the depth of Reacher's life itself as well as some of the other characters. When Reacher talked about the closeness of his relationship growing up with his older brother and the distance that had grown between them now that they were both out of the military and leading adult lives, I thought about my husband and his younger brother. They moved a lot when they were young (just like Reacher and his brother as part of a military family) and I'm sure there were times when all they had was each other until they made new friends. Some of their moves came so close together that I'm sure they didn't have time to even make friends. Now that they are older and living in different parts of the country they have little contact -- just like Reacher and his brother. Perhaps, that is what made this story feel so real to me? If you like mystery and suspense that keeps you guessing, I highly recommend this book! Child has become a new favorite author. pazt
This novel is full of twists and turns and once the first shocking twist came out it was nonstop from then on and I didn't anticipate any of them. The book reads like the story of someone's life (not the kind of life I'd wish for) because it goes into the depth of Reacher's life itself as well as some of the other characters. When Reacher talked about the closeness of his relationship growing up with his older brother and the distance that had grown between them now that they were both out of the military and leading adult lives, I thought about my husband and his younger brother. They moved a lot when they were young (just like Reacher and his brother as part of a military family) and I'm sure there were times when all they had was each other until they made new friends. Some of their moves came so close together that I'm sure they didn't have time to even make friends. Now that they are older and living in different parts of the country they have little contact -- just like Reacher and his brother. Perhaps, that is what made this story feel so real to me? If you like mystery and suspense that keeps you guessing, I highly recommend this book! Child has become a new favorite author. pazt
Saturday, July 4, 2015
"Death Penalties"
"Death Penalties" by Paula Gosling is part of her Luke Abbott mystery series but actually highlights his Sergeant Tim Nightingale more than Abbott. When a retired policeman dies at home of what is ruled as natural causes, Nightingale discovers he'd been keeping a notebook about Roger Leland. Leland was killed in a traffic accident and the retired policeman was almost run over by Leland's car just before the accident. He seemed to think Leland was being chased by another car and that it might not have been an accident at all. Since Leland's young son, Max, was in the car with him, no believes he would be driving recklessly without good reason.
Nightingale tries to persuade Abbott to reopen the investigation into Leland's death but the police are busy and shorthanded and Abbott doesn't see a case there. He grudgingly allows Nightingale to do some sleuthing on his own time, however.
When Leland's widow reports break-ins and threatening phone calls at her home, the police begin to take it all a little more seriously. She's being wooed by her husband's ex-partner who did very well after her husband's death due to an insurance policy held by him through the business. His widow had her house paid off by insurance but otherwise is just scraping by financially. However, the partner wants her to marry him and let him take care of her. She's not sure she wants to go back to being taken care of, thouugh.
She's also being wooed by the nephew of a woman whose home she is redecorating and a new lodger -- a professor being offered free rent in return for tutoring Max while he recovers at home from rheumatic fever.
As the investigation continues and the violence escalates, she begins to wonder who she can really trust. At this point Max disappears and the danger to all of them increases. Don't miss this well told tale of intrigue. pazt
Nightingale tries to persuade Abbott to reopen the investigation into Leland's death but the police are busy and shorthanded and Abbott doesn't see a case there. He grudgingly allows Nightingale to do some sleuthing on his own time, however.
When Leland's widow reports break-ins and threatening phone calls at her home, the police begin to take it all a little more seriously. She's being wooed by her husband's ex-partner who did very well after her husband's death due to an insurance policy held by him through the business. His widow had her house paid off by insurance but otherwise is just scraping by financially. However, the partner wants her to marry him and let him take care of her. She's not sure she wants to go back to being taken care of, thouugh.
She's also being wooed by the nephew of a woman whose home she is redecorating and a new lodger -- a professor being offered free rent in return for tutoring Max while he recovers at home from rheumatic fever.
As the investigation continues and the violence escalates, she begins to wonder who she can really trust. At this point Max disappears and the danger to all of them increases. Don't miss this well told tale of intrigue. pazt
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