Keep Her Close

By  

Erik Therme

Keep Her Close, a suspense crime novel, is about a family whose lives are turned upside down again when a horror from the past revisits.  The primary protagonist, Ally, who was abandoned at 3, takes us on a twisted adventure to find her father who has contacted her after 15 years.  Keep Her Close of Erik Therme’s fourth novel.

On their way into a midnight movie, Dan and Holly stumble upon an abandoned 3-year-old girl bearing a hand painted sign “FREE TO A GOOD HOME”.  Fifteen years later Ally receives a letter from a man claiming to be the father who abandoned her.  Dan, now Ally’s adoptive father, refuses to go with her to meet this man and expects that she will not go without him.   Dan is wrong, Ally goes missing, and the frantic search begins.

The book has a great premise and an interesting start.  It then moves into a fast almost frenetic pace where everyone is running somewhere.  I generally like fast paced books but this pace leaves room for little else.  Without story development and background, I almost feel too hurried to get drawn into the drama.

With a few exceptions the characters are too shallow.  I love Judy.  Her character unfolds with the story and I understand her motivation.  Under different circumstances she could have been a genius.  Dan is a well-developed character but he spends more time angry and looking for a fight than he does trying to find Ally.  But, why is Ally in such a hurry? Why does Ellie the roommate even make an appearance?  Holly the mother doesn’t seem to play a significant role either even though you would expect a mother with a missing daughter would be central.  There are many other “cameo” players.  As a final and probably least important note, every female in the book has a name that ends in an “e” sound (Holly, Ally, Ellie Judy, Maddie etc. etc.).  Diversity and variety are good things.

I give this book a 3 on 5 because it is at its heart a good story.  However, I would only recommend it to people who like a quick, fast paced read.  I want to thank NetGalley and Bookouture for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Burglar

by
Thomas Perry 

The Burglar, a murder mystery, follows the day-to-day exploits of Elle Stowell a experienced house burglar in Los Angeles. Stowell looks younger than her age and is able fit right in with the beautiful, fit and energetic women who live in the neighbourhoods that she robs. The Burglar is the latest in a series of several books written by Thomas Perry.

Elle Stowell has never been arrested for Burglary in spite of the fact that she has robbed multiple house in well to do neighbourhoods of Los Angeles. Things are going well for Stowell until she stumbles onto the scene of a multiple murder and she begins being pursued by someone who must have seen her on site. To save herself she must now use her skills to solve a crime rather than commit one.

Thomas Perry has received numerous accolades for his excellent books, but I expect this one will not be remembered as one of his best. The descriptions of how to break into a house and what to steal are tedious. When Elle is discovered she seems to be able to carry on staying in nice hotels and sleep well while people around her are being murdered. When the murderers are revealed, their motives for committing several crimes seem superficial and opportunistic rather than skillfully planned. Finally how could a security company hired to monitor break-ins not know someone was monitoring their offices for weeks. All this makes the book hard to read.

The book is structurally and grammatically well written and a quick read, but the story line leaves me with no choice but to not recommend this book. I give it a 2 on 5.

I want to thank NetGalley and The Mysterious Press for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.

Death Spins the Wheel
by
George Bellairs

Death Spins the Wheel, is an Inspector Littlejohn murder mystery, which takes us on a fast paced journey from a Gambling Casino on the Isle of Man back to the French Resistance during WWII.  Scotland Yard Inspector Littlejohn, now Superintendent, happens to be on holidays helping a friend when he becomes embroiled in solving the murder of an elderly lady at a local casino. Death Spins the Wheel is one of many books written by Harold Blundell under the pseudonym George Bellairs.

Madame Garnier spends the evening gambling and winning.  Shortly after finishing for the evening she takes a walk along the beach and is found dead within less than thirty minutes, shot through the head.  Although everyone initially feels her gambling is to blame, Inspector Littlejohn quickly ascertains that the woman’s past may be even more significant.

I like this book because it is fast paced and takes many twists and turns before it finally becomes clear what has occurred.  The characters in the story are unique and interesting enough to hold the readers interest.  Although written in the 60’s and I find it a bit dated in style, there is intrigue and humour throughout the book.  I recommend this book because I found it entertaining and surprising and I give it a 4 on 5.

I want to thank NetGalley and Agora Books for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.

Nantucket Counterfeit

by

Steven Axelrod

Nantucket Counterfeit, is a murder mystery where we follow Police Chief Henry Kennis in his fifth Nantucket murder investigation this time involving the local Community Theatre.  Kennis, a former LAPD detective, is an intuitive investigator who has found his niche solving crimes in the darker side of the otherwise quiet surroundings of beautiful Nantucket Island. Nantucket Counterfeit is Steven Axelrod’s fifth installment in his Nantucket series of murder mystery novels.

Horst Refn the artistic director in the Nantucket Community Theatre is murdered and shoved into a freezer face first. It looks like quite a violent confrontation and many people dislike Refn enough to bring his life to such a violent end.   Several of the suspects, however, are members of the rich elite of Nantucket and they are reluctant to tell Police Chief Kennis anything.  It turns out that although victim was far from popular, he was in fact much worse than Kennis imagined. 

The author Steven Axelrod is an entertaining writer and the book is very humorous.    I particularly like the exchanges Chief Kennis has with his girlfriend.  Many of the self-deprecating comments he makes are particularly funny.

The one complaint I have about the book is all the lengthy asides that are interjected for no reason.  For example when Kennis discovers a clue about the murder he says:  “It reminded me of the night I figured out Joe Arbogast was sleeping with my ex-wife.”   He then goes on for 11 e-reader pages about Arbogast before he gets back to the point!  There are many asides like this in the book.  I find these very distracting and although they are often funny they are too frequent and for me they make the style cumbersome.  Overall I would give it 3 on 5.

I want to thank NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.

The Shining Fragments
by
Robin Blackburn McBride

The Shining Fragments, is an adult general fiction account of the trials and tribulations of the Irish immigrating to Canada in the late 1800’s.    The protagonist Joseph Conlon, a resilient 8 year-old lad, boards a ship in Northern Ireland with his mother and sister but ends up growing up on his own in Toronto, Canada. The Shining Fragments is Robin Blackburn MacBride’s first novel, which she adds to her previously published self-help ebook (Birdlight) and poetry book (In Green).

“Mam died on the third day of the crossing.  After that Joseph stayed in the dark…”

Joseph is left with his sister Coleen on the first line of Chapter 1.  Soon after this he is separated from Coleen and spends his life growing up in an environment that is inhospitable for both his nationality and his religion.  Through the help of his friends and the people he loves he learns to survive and to find his place.  With age he even starts to understand the influences that make him the man he becomes.

McBride does an excellent job of portraying Joseph Conlon.  I have to admit that I don’t like him.  He continually makes himself a victim.  When given opportunities he walks away from them.  He focuses on himself primarily and does not treat those closest to him very well.  He is very much a follower and is extremely lucky that the people around him lead him down the right path.  McBride receives my accolades because she managed to make me really dislike Joseph without overtly making him out to be the bad guy.

There is an overall sadness about the book that I feel doesn’t break even as the book closes.  Again McBride does an excellent job of leading one toward this feeling without dwelling on tearful events that make it obvious why one should feel depressed.

I recommend this book to people who like emotional stories.  Life can be hard for some and they still do alright.  I want to thank NetGalley and Guernica Editions for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.

Singularity

by
Eldon Farrell

Singularity, a futuristic suspense novel, chronicles the adventures of an unconventional policeman through the decaying streets, of Union City, Virginia.  The protagonist Nathan Miller, a tough cop, claims to be cleaning up the streets of the city, but has a hard time staying clean himself.  Singularity is the first instalment of a series by Eldon Farrell who also wrote the Descent series of suspense novels.

The story starts with mass murder during a church service.  People are gruesomely murdered in the pews without apparently seeing it coming.  Nathan Miller, a decorated policeman, quickly sees it as a cover up for a targeted murder and the chase begins.   In the meantime, Alexis King begins maligning Miller and maintaining on her influential blog site that Miller is a corrupt policeman and a drug trafficker.  Of course, finding out the truth makes the story.

Farrell does a great job of describing the people and the emotions they go through.  However, I missed getting more background.  Why is there a wall in the city?  Why does Miller live on the bad side of the wall while Quinn, his partner lives on the good side?  Who is Quinn and where did he come from?  How did Miller get to be who he is today?  There are many questions that need to be answered in the first book of this series so that we can better follow what comes up next and why. 

 “How we ever allowed Americans to be refugees in our own land. ... Shameful.”
“Call me sweetheart one more time…”
“You are making my skin crawl being this close to your filth.”
“Keep you heads down, shit’s about to get real.”

There are many one-liners like the above that feel like they come from the script of a B-grade movie.  In my opinion most of them are unnecessary and detract from the seriousness of the storyline.

It also struck me as strange that the novel jumped genre from suspense thriller to science fiction near the end.  Readers will have to read it to see what I mean.

I recommend this book to people who like suspense novels because Eldon Farrell writes a good story.  However, because of the inconsistencies noted above, it is not one of the best I have read, so I give it a 3 on 5. 

I want to thank NetGalley and Xpresso Book Tours for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.

We The Jury

By
Robert Rotstein

We The Jury, a fascinating work of fiction with a real twist, follows the deliberations 8 members of a jury who are expected to rule on a particularly gruesome murder.  The protagonists are jury members from the community with highly varied backgrounds, which ultimately steer their decisions. We the Jury is a departure for Robert Rotstein from his immensely popular Parker Stern series of 3 books.

The fact that David Sullinger has killed his wife Amanda is undisputed.  When the police arrive Mrs. Sullinger is dead, killed by a blow to head with an axe.  Mr. Sullinger claims self-defense and indicates that his wife had been abusing him for years.  Mr. Sullinger has a high-powered lawyer who has never lost a trial.  Meanwhile the public defender Jack Cranston is considered to be a bumbling fool.  The Jury’s choice seems obvious, but is it?  This story centers on the jury and how they reach their conclusions.  All is not what it seems.

Robert Rotstein is a master at character development.  Everything we learn about the people in that room relates to the conclusions they finally reach.  I particularly liked the interactions between the jurors.  Their relationships deteriorate because they are stuck together trying to solve a difficult issue.

The messenger says it best:  “I know I have no friends in this room.  I know you think I’m just a momma’s boy, . . . We don’t have to like each other.  A jury is supposed to be a cross-section of the community and that’s what we are.  Maybe it’s better if we don’t like each other, because maybe that means we’re diverse like we’re supposed to be.  I say let’s do the best we can to cooperate, so we can reach a verdict.”

I am a bit confused by all the time spent on the judge and her health issues.  I am not sure I understand whether or not her issues contribute to the final result.  Regardless, as with the other characters, Rotstein helps us really get to know her.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in human behavior and what drives people.  I give it a 5 on 5.  I want to thank NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.

The Smiling Man

By 

Joseph Knox

The Smiling Man, a rather convoluted detective mystery novel, follows Detective Constable Aiden Waits, a seasoned detective through a series of big city crimes including harassment, assault, and even murder.  Waits, an emotionally disturbed individual, with a sordid past, struggles to develop a future in the police department in spite being hated by his superiors and colleagues.  This is Detective Waits second appearance with his first being in Joseph Knox’s debut novel Sirens.

A reported break-in at the closed Palace Hotel turns out to be much more than it first appears.  A body sporting a grotesque smile is found in room 431.  A security guard is found unconscious in the hallway and a shadowy figure exits through the fire escape.  The hotel owners are not cooperative.  The lead lawyer has taken an unexpected holiday for health reasons.  And to make matters worse no one can identify the body.  On top of this Waits is distracted by a sexual harassment case that his superiors want him to forget and by an old enemy reappears but won’t say why.

Aiden Waits is a very complex character.  Knox does a very good job of letting the circumstances surrounding his violent tendencies and drug problems unfold carefully as the story proceeds.  This for me is a highlight of the novel.

Compared to other books in this genre, I find this story very cumbersome.  There are at least three major stories going on at once.  All three can become books on their own.  One has to try to hold on to the multiple characters believing that the stories are linked in the end, but unfortunately this is not the case.  I believe that the multiple storylines and the multitude of characters lead to confusion rather than an intriguing story.   One line of investigation with a handful of suspects is in my opinion plenty.  I lost count of the important characters in this novel.

I do not recommend this book to those who enjoy detective novels, but again want to emphasize that the character of Aiden Waits is interesting.  I give it a 2 on 5.

I want to thank NetGalley and Crown Publishing for providing me with this digital copy in exchange for a fair review.

Us Against You

by

Fredrik Backman

Us Against You, a refreshing piece of contemporary fiction, sees the return of the people of Beartown in their continuing battle to save their town, their hockey and even their lives in this emotionally charged description of life in a small community in rural Sweden.  Maya, an emotionally destroyed teenager, Benji a star player with a secret, and “the Pack” are just of few of the protagonists we have missed since they were first introduced to us in Fredrik Backman’s Beartown.

Beartown is in peril.  The hockey team is bankrupt and the town council has decided to support another team.  The local factory is shutting down and jobs are being lost.  People are divided over whether or not the team should be supported.  An unknown sponsor buys the factory and supports the team, but not without conditions that put many people at odds with each other. 

Backman sums it up best.  “This has been a story about ice rinks and all the hearts that beat in and around them.  About people and sports and how they sometimes take it in turns to carry each other.  About us, dreaming and fighting.  Some have fallen in love and some have been destroyed, we’ve had good days and some very bad days.” 
The story is also so much more than this.  It is emotionally draining and at the same time uplifting.  It gives you faith in people and their resiliency in the face of adversity.

Backman is a master at Character development.  He gives you so much detail about each person that you begin to know them personally and develop a vested interest in how well they do.  Even Vidal, who is a boy bound for prison, is a person you can’t help but love.

 “Have you ever seen a town fall?  Ours did.”

Backman uses foreshadowing often and effectively.  He creates a sense of anticipation that makes the book a real page-turner.  Sometimes the event turns out to be anti-climatic but you still race to get there expecting something else.  For example at one point someone dies of cancer when you have hurried to get to that point in the story thinking there was going to be a murder. 

I highly recommend this book, but suggest that Beartown is a must read before you dive into Us Against You.  I would give the pair of books a 10 out of 5 if possible. Five stars for sure for Us Against You

I want to thank NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing me with this book in exchange for a fair review.

Hazelet's Journal

By 

George Cheever Hazelet

edited by
J. H. Clark

J.H. Clark introduces us to his Great Grandfather, George Cheever Hazelet, through a journal Hazelet kept when he first went to Alaska.  In this interesting first person account we get a glimpse into the lives of rugged men and women who travelled to Alaska and struggled to settle in America’s last frontier.

George Hazelet was a successful businessman who found himself caught up in a recession in the US and decided to leave his family behind temporarily to seek his fortune in the Gold Rush in Alaska.  From 1898 to 1902 his diary documents his journey from the comforts of home to the rugged frontier where he struggles to survive and prosper.  The journal contains several pictures and maps that help one develop a picture of what life must have been like for this incredible individuals.

Although the book is fascinating it is more of a documentary than a story.  This is not in my area of interest but I do recommend it to anyone who has an interest in American history, particularly the settling of state of Alaska.

I want to thank NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.

The Insect House
 By
 Shirley Day 

 The Insect House is a mystery novel that is not all what it seems. In her debut mystery novel Shirley Day introduces us to Helen, a housewife who lives in an ambling old house in East Anglia. Helen is waiting for her brother to arrive after a 24-year absence. What appears to the return of the prodigal son turns out to be quite different in this ever twisting, but sometimes tedious, account of a family that is being torn apart by its own secrets.

 Helen the protagonist presents herself as hard done by having to care for a her sick mother, tolerating a neglectful husband, and longing for her long absent younger brother. As the novel continues we slowly see quite different Helen emerge. There is an evil in the house that seems to be consuming Helen and her family, but as the story unfolds we realize that the evil is coming from a completely different direction.

 Day does a masterful job of holding the family secrets away from the reader until the concluding pages of the story. I enjoy the twist at the end, but I have to say that it is a hard to get into the book initially. There are many details introduced that are difficult to put into context until the very end and I find it all a bit confusing. I feel the development of the husband Tim, the American Carla and the Mother are all a bit shallow. However, the character development of Helen and her brother Gareth are exceptional.   I recommend this book to people who enjoy waiting for the twist at the end of the story, but I personally only give it a 3 on 5 because I feel that the wait is too long and tedious.

 I want to thank NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.

Restoration heights

by

Will Medearis

Restoration Heights is a mystery novel that is of interest to anyone who has ever wanted to help someone.  In his debut mystery novel Wil Medearis introduces us to Reddick, a young white artist turned detective in a historical black Brooklyn neighbourhood.  Reddick’s imagination leads him in many directions when he decides against everyone’s advice to help a young woman he believes has been kidnapped and possibly murdered.

Reddick is an unfulfilled artist who works crating and moving other people’s art and hanging it on other’s people’s walls.  One night, while taking out the garbage, he is approached by a young woman who makes a pass at him and then quickly disappears.  The next day while working in the mansion of one of the richest families in the world he realizes that the same girl is the fiancé of his client’s son.  When he sets off the alarm the family tells him there is nothing to worry about.  Regardless, Reddick just can’t stop thinking about the young woman and the search begins.  He is basically taken down two paths one where he mingles with the rich who insist he doesn’t belong and the other where he wallows in the underbelly of criminal society, which threatens to cause him harm.   All the time he is asking himself “Where is the girl?”

I really enjoyed the protagonist in the story.  Reddick truly wants to help but he is an inexperience detective.  When he bounces ideas off his friends they all say, “Stop this or you will get yourself killed!”  He goes down many tracks and has to backtrack many times when his basic assumptions prove wrong.  He is not brilliant or exceptionally tough.  He just wants to help.  He could be anyone of us.  What’s not to love about this guy?

The story is exceptional.  We are introduced to the clash of the world of artists who are just getting by and the world of real estate, which threatens their existence.  Has their been a crime?  Who is the criminal?  Shouldn’t the police be called?  All these questions come up continuously and few of them are answered until the end of the book.   I highly recommend this book to those that love a good story with lots of interesting characters and strong character development.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Hanover Square Press for providing me with a copy of this excellent book in exchange for a fair review.

                             

In The Galway Silence:

A Jack Taylor Novel

By Ken Bruen

I want to thank NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for providing me with a digital copy of this book  

This is my first read of a Ken Bruen novel (Jack Taylor series #13) so I must admit I am a bit of a neophyte when it comes to following Bruen’s style of storytelling.  How it compares to other books within the series is for others to say, but for me it is a difficult novel to read.  The discourse is rapid and choppy and at times difficult to follow. 

Jack Taylor says he is happy, although his drinking and drug consumption have you wondering.  So when Monsieur Renaud enters the bar and asks Jack to find out who killed his twin sons he refuses to take the job.  Of course, as with any good detective, saying no is not that easy. This change of heart as well as the return of a girlfriend and then his ex-wife spins things out of control for Jack and many of the people close to him.  

The story itself is interesting but morbid.  The black humor and quick-witted insults serve to speed the book along, but for me they are also a distraction.  Frequent and non-relevant references to worldwide current events will quickly date the book (at least I hope Trump is history very soon).    Having said this, once you are into the rhythm of Ken Bruen’s style of writing, this story is a unique and engaging read.  It can be funny and yet heartbreaking.  I recommend one give it a try and for the reason I score it 3/5.

No Place for Wolverines: A Jenny Willson Mystery (A Jenny Willson Mystery #2)

by  

Dave Butler (Goodreads Author)

The book begins with a close up view of a wolverine attack on a baited trap in the Canadian Rockies. The author, Dave Butler, uses this as a close up view of how beautiful and fragile the mountain environment can be. In this realistic work of fiction, we find Park Warden Jenny Willson working in Yoho National Park trying to determine the push behind a new ski resort within the park boundaries. Virtually everyone agrees that another ski resort in the Rockies is foolish. However, due to a minor rewording of a law protecting the national parks, both the provincial and federal government have a proposal on their desks. Surprisingly, both governments are actually considering it. Why? When a wolverine researcher dies under mysterious circumstance, Willson is forced to work with the RCMP to investigate the ski hill proponent’s role in the crime. What appears to be a straightforward investigation soon grows to endanger those closest to Willson.

This fast paced story brings economic development, road building and pipeline construction into the discussion. Although it is fiction, this book is realistic enough to be very timely and important. I enjoyed this book because it strikes at the heart of an issue that concerns us all today: economic development versus environmental conservation. I highly recommend this book to people that need a spellbinding story of how these two opposing factors may meet head on in real life.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Dundern Press for providing me with an advanced copy of this excellent book. 

Fortune's Wheel (the Meonbridge Chronicles #1)

By

Carolyn Hughes (Goodreads author)

Carolyn Hughes first book is a historical fiction focusing on the small village of Meonbridge in aftermath of the plague in England. There are too few people to do all of the work and those who are left feel that they should get higher wages for their labor.  Of course the ruling class sees no reason to bow to the wishes of the working class.

Hughes focuses particularly on the women and how strong they are during difficult circumstances. A primary character, Alice, has lost her husband Philip and has two sons to deal with.  One of Alice’s previous love interests develops a mean streak making life in the village difficult.  Everyone agrees that his behavior is difficult to understand.

I am attracted to books with action.  I find Hughes does an excellent job of describing people but her descriptions of events are lacking.  Murders occur, but they are only mentioned.  People disappear but little is done.  Murderers are identified but their motives are vague and, in my mind, poorly described.  I found I was bored at times.

This book is about change.  People are forced to approach life through a new lens.  Citizens need to cooperate if villages are going so survive.  Of course this leads to murder and mayhem at first, but people must adjust if they are going to survive.   It’s a good story and I recommend this book to those looking for in depth character development.

Marilyn, My Marilyn

by Art Johnson

Marilyn, My Marilyn, part historical fiction and part fantasy, is an attempt to synthesize all that we know and much that we imagine about Marilyn Monroe.  The protagonist, Rory Long, is a young and naïve reporter who Marilyn requests as an interviewer because of a previous article he has written. Thus Long’s youth and naivety is used to develop a fresh picture of the “whole” Marilyn in this, Johnson’s third mystery novel.

Most people picture Marilyn as one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s. Rory is at first enthralled the Marilyn we know “what is it about a beautiful woman that causes a man to melt before their very eyes?” but quickly falls in love with the Marilyn he comes to discover is an intellectual “Marilyn returned to her poetry… She seemed to be perfectly at peace.”  Through Rory’s eyes we develop a picture of a well-rounded and talented businesswoman who is unfortunately held in check by the needs of the movie industry of that day.

In my opinion, Johnson tries to bring too many aspects together in his effort to understand the real Marilyn and what happened.  First we have a beautiful addict who is extremely intelligent, but lonely and looking for someone who understands her.  Then we have a fictional reporter who steps in and immediately understands where many have not.  The FBI and a mysterious organization setup to protect the president become involved.  All parties have peripheral interests in a gruesome murder, which may or may not be pivotal to what happens to Marilyn.  Even Marilyn’s closest companion is a suspect and subsequently other conspiracy theories are introduced.  I realize all of these theories have come to the forefront at various times in history, but I am not certain they all need to be included in one book.  It becomes too much like a documentary.

Having said this, I recommend this book because it is well written as one expects from Art Johnson.  Most importantly, however, by reading it one can see a multi-dimensional and beautiful Marilyn Munroe with the clarity she deserves.

I want to thank NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book.