Category Archives: Mystery/Thriller

Low Pressure

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by Sandra Brown

Bellamy Lyston was only 12 years old when her older sister Susan was killed on a stormy Memorial Day. Bellamy’s fear of storms is a legacy of the tornado that destroyed the crime scene along with her memory of what really happened during the day’s most devastating moments.

Now, 18 years later, Bellamy has written a sensational, bestselling novel based on Susan’s murder. Because the book was inspired by the tragic event that still pains her family, she published it under a pseudonym to protect them from unwanted publicity. But when an opportunistic reporter for a tabloid newspaper discovers that the book is based on fact, Bellamy’s identity is exposed along with the family scandal.

Moreover, Bellamy becomes the target of an unnamed assailant who either wants the truth about Susan’s murder to remain unknown or, even more threatening, is determined to get vengeance for a man wrongfully accused and punished.

In order to identify her stalker, Bellamy must confront the ghosts of her past, including Dent Carter, Susan’s wayward and reckless boyfriend — and an original suspect in the murder case. Dent, with this and other stains on his past, is intent on clearing his name, and he needs Bellamy’s sealed memory to do it. But her safeguarded recollections -once unlocked-pose dangers that neither could foresee and puts both their lives in peril.

As Bellamy delves deeper into the mystery surrounding Susan’s slaying, she discovers disturbing elements of the crime which call into question the people she holds most dear. Haunted by partial memories, conflicted over her feelings for Dent, but determined to learn the truth, she won’t stop until she reveals Susan’s killer.

That is, unless Susan’s killer strikes her first…

My thoughts…

I would give this  three stars. I did enjoy reading Low Pressure and found it to be somewhat entertaining.  It’s just doesn’t measure up to some of past books I’ve read by Sandra Brown. Some other books I’ve really liked from Sandra are:  The Witness, Chill Factor, Hello Darkness, Smoke Screen, Ricochet, White Hot, and Play Dirty.

The Lincoln Conspiracy

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by Timothy L. O’Brien

From award-winning journalist Timothy L. O’Brien comes a gripping historical thriller that poses a provocative question: What if the plot to assassinate President Lincoln was wider and more sinister than we ever imagined?

In late spring of 1865, as America mourns the death of its leader, Washington, D.C., police detective Temple McFadden makes a startling discovery. Strapped to the body of a dead man at the B & O Railroad station are two diaries, two documents that together reveal the true depth of the Lincoln conspiracy. Securing the diaries will put Temple’s life in jeopardy—and will endanger the fragile peace of a nation still torn by war.

Temple’s quest to bring the conspirators to justice takes him on a perilous journey through the gas-lit streets of the Civil War–era capital, into bawdy houses and back alleys where ruthless enemies await him in every shadowed corner. Aided by an underground network of friends—and by his wife, Fiona, a nurse who possesses a formidable arsenal of medicinal potions—Temple must stay one step ahead of Lafayette Baker, head of the Union Army’s spy service. Along the way, he’ll run from or rely on Edwin Stanton, Lincoln’s fearsome secretary of war; the legendary Scottish spymaster Allan Pinkerton; abolitionist Sojourner Truth; the photographer Alexander Gardner; and many others.

Bristling with twists and building to a climax that will leave readers gasping, The Lincoln Conspiracy offers a riveting new account of what truly motivated the assassination of one of America’s most beloved presidents—and who participated in the plot to derail the train of liberty that Lincoln set in motion.

My take:

I wanted to like this book and did read it to the very end with some reservations along the way. I found that the characters were very hard to differentiate between, especially in the beginning. As the book progressed the characters were whittled down to the few manageable complex characters, this made it much easier to follow. Toward the end it finally felt like a mystery was forming and I looked forward to reaching the end of the book, but that turned out to be disappointing for me, maybe I expected too much. This would have been a great book if only the author had spent more time developing this mystery through history a little bit better based on the information gleaned from the two diaries Temple came to possess.

The Lincoln Conspiracy: A Novel

 

 

Only the Strongest Survive

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by Ian Fox

Product Description:  The novel opens with a hair-tingling scene, as two men kidnap Emely Donnovan, one of the wealthiest women in America, and bury her alive.  What is behind this horrific crime?
Raised in a strict religious institution, Emely never knew her parents.  Fearing a life of poverty, she starts up a small business that deals mainly with buying and selling stocks.  Thanks to her extreme dedication and knowledge, the company grows over time into a major conglomerate. In her desire for ever greater financial security, this beautiful, ambitious CEO has accumulated a number of enemies.

But now she finds herself locked in the basement of a remote house in the middle of a forest, watched over by one of her captors who makes her buy and sell stocks for him so he can get rich. Her challenge to survive becomes even more complicated when Emely’s captor falls in love with her.

My Take:

Only the Strongest Survive was a very different type of mystery/thriller.  Most mystery/thriller books/novels spend most of the time on the introduction of how it happened, the back story of the individual(s), possible suspects, and so on.  Only the Strongest Survive dives right into the kidnapping of Emely Donnovan and very little time is spent on the back story, or even trying to actually find Emely for that matter.  In some instances I felt things were a little off because no one was looking for Emely, but as I kept reading it didn’t matter.  The whole of the book [to me] was what happened between Emely and her captors after she was kidnapped, and most of the characters in the book were well developed and memorable; others, not so much.

I received this book free from the author and was asked to give my honest opinion.  I did enjoy reading Only the Strongest Survive and would read other books by Ian Fox.

 

 

Damage Control

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by Timothy Gilbert

Product Description:

When a Mexican drug lord sets his sights on celebrity money manager, Peter Hansen, a quiet terror is unleashed across suburban New Jersey. As Peter’s investment business morphs into a money laundering center for drug lord Julio Viola, friends, family and clients get caught in the wake.

Dr. Nick Johnson, Peter’s good friend, is appointed to serve on a high profile heart drug study, and is flattered and eager to further his stagnant career. But Nick’s excitement turns to terror when Julio discovers the valuable inside information Nick has about the pharmaceutical trial and unwittingly makes it known to Nick that the cartel has no plans to let him live in the end. Peter helps his friend Nick plan to fake his death so as to escape from the cartel, while Peter is soon forced to worry about his own family once Julio’s paranoia leads to several murders of Peter’s employees and clients.

Will Julio deliver on his death warrant for Nick? Will a celebrity client take vengeance on Peter for his lies? Once the money laundering outfit begins to unravel, Peter must act swiftly and harshly. The struggle Nick and Peter have in escaping from the deadly grasp of the cartel drives the energy of the novel.

My take:

The actual plot line could have made Damage Control a best seller if it didn’t lack organization of the plot and subplots, as well as better characterization of the players in the book.  I found it hard to follow and hard to know when one plot ended, when another subplot began, and when it returned to the main plot.  The author has a sequel to Damage Control called “Overload” that I have not had the opportunity to read, but was wondering if the author were to combine the two, would it make more sense?  Maybe I’ll have to get it.

Web of Evil

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by J. A. Jance

Product Description:

The New York Times bestselling author of Edge of Evil is back with another masterful thriller featuring Ali Reynolds, an ex-television journalist who finds herself in a twisted web of mystery and murder.

Fired from her dream job as a Los Angeles new anchor and still recovering from the truth about her cheating husband, Ali is content to lick her wounds far away in Sedona, Arizona.  But before she can leave the past behind, she must return to L.A.: her ex, Paul, is in a hurry for a divorce so he can marry his very young, very pregnant fiancee.  But the day before the final proceedings, Paul’s bound and broken body is found in the Palm Springs desert.  Ali finds herself the sole heir to his wealthy estate – and the prime suspect in his brutal murder.  As the evidence piles up against her, she must navigate a torturous path strewn with danger – and bodies – to expose the real cold-blooded thriller.

Web of Evil is the first book I’ve read by J. A. Jance and I intend to read more by this author.  Web of Evil was a very thrilling, suspenseful read.  I’ve noticed other reviews that classify the book as “Hokey” but I thoroughly enjoyed reading of Ali’s adventures.

 

A Patriot’s Betrayal

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by Andrew Clawson

Product Description:

The last thing Parker Chase expected to find after burying his murdered uncle was a cryptic letter from the dead man. Parker realizes that his death was far more than a robbery gone bad, and soon finds himself pursued by the very men who killed his uncle. Joined by his brilliant ex-girlfriend, Parker fights to stay one step ahead of a shadowy organization hell-bent on silencing him forever.

Desperate to discover why his uncle died, Parker realizes that he had uncovered information about a centuries old mystery involving America’s Founding Fathers. Soon both the CIA and police join the death-dealing group of murderers in the chase to capture Parker, who must run for his life while unraveling the greatest conspiracy in American history.

My take:

“A Patriot’s Betrayal” is a brilliant debut novel and clearly a 5-star read.  This is my first experience reading Andrew Clawson’s writing, I must say it was extraordinary in every way; it inspires me to read more of his writings.  The characters were well developed and authentically true to life.  The story was incredible, realistic, and historically intriguing.  “A Patriot’s Betrayal” did remind me of the movie “National Treasure” with Nichols Cage; maybe it was the similarities of the clues that lead Parker and Erika down the path to find the reason behind the murder of Parker’s Uncle Joe.

“A Patriot’s Betrayal” will keep you turning the pages long into the night.

Running Dark

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Running Dark by Jamie Freveletti

Running Dark: A Novel

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Synopsis:

“From internationally bestselling author Jamie Freveletti comes a riveting new thriller featuring brilliant biochemist Emma Caldridge, except this time there’s nowhere to run. . . .

Emma Caldridge is on mile thirty-six of the fifty-five-mile Comrades ultramarathon in South Africa when a roadside car bomb explodes. Dazed and disoriented, she regains consciousness after the blast to find a man standing over her with a white plastic injector. She feels the prick of a needle and the rush of medication under her skin, but before she can make a sound, the man is gone.

Shaken by the event and unsure of what substance was pumped into her, Emma calls the one person who can help her figure things out: Edward Banner of the security company Darkview. But Banner has his hands full with another emergency: Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden have attacked a cruise ship, and Darkview has been hired to assist with the rescue.”

My take,

The book starts off with a “bang” with the roadside bomb that throws Emma Caldridge to the ground and she is approached and stuck with an object that looks like an epi-pen. She is able to get herself to her feet and is compelled to finish the race at breakneck speeds considering the injuries she sustained in the blast. She is very concerned with what might have been injected into her at the bombing site and proceeds to do testing to diagnose the substance. While this is going on Cameron Sumner (a coworker) is on a cruise ship in the Gulf of Aden and pirates proceed to overtake the ship and Cameron is forced to expose his identity to help protect the cruise ship and its occupants from the pirates.

Edward Banner is the head of Darkview which is a security company that was hired to protect areas of the Gulf of Aden and convinces Emma Caldridge to sneak onto the cruise ship and help Cameron Sumner. Emma’s main objective is to determine what the cargo is and how dangerous it may be to the world.

I won this book in the Librarything.com Early Reviewers Giveaway. This is the first book by Jamie Freveletti that I’ve read. I had heard great things about her first book “Running with the Devil” but did not have the opportunity to read it. As I read “Running Dark” there were some areas that probably would have been better understood had I read her first book. There were also times while reading Running Dark that things seem to be cut short or left hanging or unfinished. I hope that some day I will have the opportunity to read her first book and then read Running Dark and maybe things will come to light.

The Wake of Forgiveness

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The Wake of Forgiveness:

“Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.” Paul Boese

What a fantastic debut novel, this begins in the late 1800’s with the birth of Vaclav Skala fourth son, Karel, and the death of his loving wife Klara during childbirth. We then jump to 1910 where Vaclav uses his four sons as he would horses to plow his fields. Vaclav keeps his horses rested and ready to race, the prize is a bet on a parcel of land. His youngest, Karel, is the rider in the race and he hasn’t lost yet, that is until Guillermi Villasenor shows up with his three daughters. Villasenor has come to find his daughters a husband. Vaclav’s three oldest sons are very pleased with what they see and are ready to marry them.

Villasenor challenges Vaclav to a race for a parcel of Vaclav’s land. The race is set and Karel, his youngest son, and Graciela Villasenor’s daughter will race her horse against Karel. The race will not turn out the way Vaclav expects as Karel loses to Graciela.

Now Vaclav is upset that Karel has lost and a fight ensues between Vaclav and his four sons. The three older sons fight against Vaclav and Karel. This fight causes a great strain on the relationship between Vaclav and his three older sons. It seems that Vaclav has much stronger feelings for Karel and Karel stays with and learns from his father as well as takes care of him until his untimely death.

Karel has married Sophie and has two daughters. Sophie is pregnant with their third child. Karel becomes a proud father of a baby boy. It seems that Karel is much closer to his children than his father was with him and his brothers.

The story jumps between the past and the future to encompass the way things were as they were growing up and what they’ve become in the future as adults.

What was once a seemingly happy family turns into a very strained relationship for all and as the book progresses a tragic turn of events brings the brothers and their wives back together.

The author did exceptionally well with the writing of this debut novel. I always felt that I was right there entwined in the events as they unfolded. I never lost interest as I read and highly recommend this book and will read other books authored by Bruce Machart.

Hanged to Death

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When Rachel takes a college internship at a museum, all she expects to do is help with exhibits. What she doesn’t expect is to find her boss murdered.

The list of suspects includes a cranky museum director, a sweet administrative assistant, and a know-it-all board member. Throw in a cute detective who plans on shutting down Rachel’s exhibit unless the murderer is found, and you have one college intern who might just be in over her head. However, the show must go on, and Rachel finds herself getting more than college credit to find out who killed her boss.

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Rogue Wave by Boyd Morrison

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A minor seismic disturbance in a remote section of the Pacific causes barely a ripple of concern for Kai Tanaka, acting director of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Honolulu. But when an airliner en route from L.A. to Sydney vanishes in the same location, Kai is the first to realize that a mysterious explosion has unleashed a series of massive waves destined to obliterate Hawaii. In just one hour, Kai will lose all he has ever known—including his wife and daughter— unless he can save them from nature’s most destructive force.

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