KN Magazine: Reviews
Hardcore Twenty-Four by Janet Evanovich / Review by Danny Lindsey
HARDCORE TWENTY-FOUR
By Janet Evanovich
G.P. Putnam's Sons
$28.00
ISBN 978-0399179198
Publication Date: November 14, 2017
Book of the Day
Zombies are loose in the Burg, and Stephanie Plum is on the lookout for them. In Janet Evanovich’s latest in the Stephanie Plum series (Hard Core Twenty-Four, G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2017) it’s a tossup whether bounty hunter Stephanie and plus-sized sidekick Lula will be squeezed to death by a 20-foot boa constrictor or have their brain sucked out through a straw by zombies. Neither prospect slows the familiar duo as they eat their way through chicken, donuts, sandwiches, and pizza on their way to apprehending a series of bail jumpers.
No Stephanie Plum tale is complete without a continuation of the “which man will it be next?” quandary that Steph finds herself in regularly. A semi-committed relationship with plainclothes cop Morelli is in her comfort zone, but the mysterious and oh-so-sexy Ranger is a constant temptation. If that weren’t enough, the newcomer Diesel takes her breath away and sends her hormones into orbit. It doesn’t help that she occasionally wakes up with him in the bed with her, naked.
For those not already fans of the series, Stephanie hunts bail jumpers for a living, for her cousin Vinnie’s bail bonds business. She’s been beaten up, rolled in various nasty substances, captured, tied up and left for dead, and shot at. Somehow either Morelli or Ranger, sometimes both, manage to rescue her and send her on to her next misadventure.
A girl with many talents, Stephanie excels at original ways to destroy cars, both hers and loaners from Ranger’s security fleet of luxury vehicles. Burned, bombed, crashed, filled with concrete, smashed by a garbage truck, stolen, drowned (without her in it), and filled with exploding animal carcasses are but a sampling of the ways she ends up on foot or driving her late grandfather’s indestructible ’53 Buick.
If you’re not a fan, you should be. If you only read serious fare, change. If you aren’t entertained by Evanovich’s female protagonist, you probably take life way too seriously. Have a donut (or six), grab a cold beer and a sandwich, and prepare to chuckle a lot and laugh out loud several times
Danny Lindsey keeps trying to retire. After a 20-year Army career and a 25-year second one in the private sector, he’s finally settled down. His current gig is as the Veteran Employment Services Manager for a Huntsville, A.L. based non-profit, Still Serving Veterans. Both full careers were characterized by numerous writing assignments, from war plans to operating policies and procedures, then on to white papers, analyses of alternatives and competitive contract and grant proposals. Now his writing consists of blogs for the website www.ssv.org, podcasts for the local NPR affiliate, and a half dozen Pulitzer-worthy, albeit unpublished novels.
Update: Danny won the 2017 Killer Nashville Claymore Award with his manuscript Serial Justice – so he will not be unpublished for long!
The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn / Review by Liz Gatterer
THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW
By A.J. Finn
William & Marrow
$26.99
ISBN 978-0062678416
Publication Date: January 2, 2018
Book of the Day
Unless you have been living under a literary rock, you have heard of A.J. Finn’s debut novel The Woman in the Window (William Marrow 2018). Hailed as a “love letter to classic Hitchcock”, it certainly delivers … I read this novel in one of my obsessive/compulsive reading sessions (employing the audible version for those moments when one cannot hold a book–driving, cooking, or showering) that often leave me physically exhausted the next day, which, indeed I was, but I also found myself a bit emotionally exhausted as well.
Dr. Anna Fox is an agoraphobic/alcoholic/addict that is living alone in a refurbished 4-story townhouse in New York. Formerly a successful child psychologist. She fills her days with old movies, wine, capturing her neighbors comings and goings with her digital camera, pills, chat rooms, wine, conversations with her estranged husband and daughter, pills, ogling her tenant, wine, interrupted only by the weekly visits from her psychotherapist, her physical therapist and the deliveries of groceries, medications, and wine. She is psychologist herself, but no longer practices. Obviously, none of this is good for her–but together they are a slow form of suicide. But which one will be her demise? What will tip the balance and push her over the edge? Ah… the delight of the psychological thriller. The tension that builds as you know, just KNOW that this train is going to crash. It is racing down the tracks, the impossibly tight curve is up ahead…and… BAM! It gets hit by a meteorite falling from space. As you are trying to recover from that shock– you realize there is another train is barreling up behind you.
Red herrings, MacGuffins, unreliable narrators… Finn knows the tricks of the trade and utilizes them to their fullest. He is not new to the business. He was a successful editor for over a decade with a major publishing house and his clients are some of the giants of fiction. In one of the interviews, I read he stated that he had not tried to write a novel before because the type of novel he wanted to write was not commercially viable at the time. But, with the success of the “Girl” novels, he decided the time was right. Apparently, he was correct.
There may be moments when you think you know what is going to happen (and you might be right) but it is still a great read. Everyone is talking about this book and it’s already being developed into a movie so even if this type of book isn't your normal read, you should read it anyway so that you don’t look like an idiot when people start referencing it in conversation. And they will.
Liz Gatterer is the Special Events Coordinator for Killer Nashville. She is blessed to be employed at a job that encourages her addiction to books and allows her to actually speak to her favorite authors.
Look for Me by Lisa Gardner / Review by Holly Chaille
LOOK FOR ME
By Lisa Gardner
Dutton
$27.00
ISBN 978-1524742058
Publication Date: February 6, 2018
Book of the Day
In Gardner’s latest book in the Sergeant D.D. Warren series, readers return to the Boston streets as Warren again teams with Flora Dane, a former victim of a violent crime (Find Her), to track down a killer. An entire family has been murdered except the oldest daughter, Roxy. She’s missing, as are the family’s two dogs. Warren naturally pings her as suspect number one and drives the police procedural side of the book in that direction. Dane, a vigilante who understands survival instincts, uses her skills to help other survivors get back to living. She believes Roxy’s hiding from the real killer and her first-person narrative takes us along as she tracks the girl.
Finding her will either mean a killer is caught, or the last living family member’s life is saved. With her familiar storytelling style Gardner tacks between Ward’s investigation into the life of her suspect, and Flora, whose dead set on finding Roxy alive and safe.
With Gardner’s hefty bibliography fans expect the twists and turn she routinely carves into her writing and Look for Me provides them in spades. Although some are predictable red herrings and dead ends, she doesn’t fail to pull the rug out from under readers and keep them guessing until the last possible moment.
In another of Gardner’s signature moves, Look for Me creates the opportunity for readers to find themselves in a moral dilemma as she zooms in on the over-crowded foster care system and the nightmares formed in a foster home packed with more than one troubled kid. Something bad is bound to happen. But could it have been prevented? And, who’s really at fault here?
Gardner’s characters are each carrying heavy baggage, and it’s their flawed natures, their need to rescue, to retaliate and to rectify that makes them dangerously unpredictable. Some characters linger with readers after the story is over. These characters haunt. Gardner’s fan base has come to expect each new book will have characters who are simultaneously victims and victimizers, and storylines that shine a light into the dark places of those characters.
The layering of subplot seamlessly stitches in hot-button topics like domestic violence and bullying, while deftly pulling back the camera before we start to suspect a sermon on morality is coming soon. Fans will recognize the strong female protagonists, the survivors, and the moral struggles, and they won’t be disappointed in this fast-paced and literally, right out of the headlines read.
Gardner’s respect for the suspense genre is evident throughout, and in particular in the continued unreliability of two of her ongoing character, D.D., and Flora. An author who consistently touches on topics close to her heart, Gardner’s knack for penning a taught thriller brings issues to the page that many readers can empathize with. The pacing and voice Gardner employs keep the story vibrating with excitement, and the change in POV guarantees the reader won’t get bored or mired in one perspective.
With a passion for research and her own experience volunteering with an agency serving at-risk and special needs kids, Gardner easily articulates the sad truths of our failing foster care system. But while social issues are ever-present she still keeps the reader turning page after page to get to the final answer.
Holly Chaille is a member of Sisters in Crime and the daughter of a librarian. Growing up in the stacks cultivated her lifelong love of suspense and thrillers, and she's currently querying her first mystery and developing her blog at HollyAChaille.com.
Beneath the Surface by Lynn H. Blackburn / Review by Lois Schmitt
BENEATH THE SURFACE
By Lynn H. Blackburn
Revell
$15.99
ISBN 978-0800729387
Publication Date: March 6, 2018
Book of the Day
Beneath the Surface is the first book a new series by award-winning author Lynn H. Blackburn. It features homicide investigator Ryan Parker and Leigh Weston, a nurse in the local hospital. Leigh has returned to her hometown of Carrington, NC after a terrifying incident with an obsessed patient. When someone tampers with her breaks she reaches out to her old high school friend, Ryan. The first few pages have a lot of backstory and information, but the action begins on page four with the discovery of a mutilated body in the lake. From that point on, the action, suspense, and romance create a thrill ride of a book.
The relationship development between Ryan and Leigh was my favorite part of the story. Both characters are extremely likable, and their blossoming romance adds as much to the suspense the novel as the murder and its investigation does. Lynn’s enviable talent of making the reader really care about the characters is not something to be taken lightly.
The story is full of tension and surprises. Several attempts at murder are unexpected and catch the reader off guard. The dialogue is realistic and moves the story along at a good pace with the romance and mystery intertwined. The identity of the killer is well hidden and keeps the reader guessing until the end.
The book is categorized as a Christian Mystery and there is no question that the “good guys” in this story believe in God and the Bible–and behave accordingly. It is not "preachy" in any way or overly dogmatic. The suspense, mystery, and romance are exciting but the reader will not have to worry about inappropriate content. In our tumultuous world, this reader found this to be a comforting aspect of the book.
This is the first book in the Dive Team Investigation series. Actual diving only occurs in the first chapter, so readers who would like more underwater activity will have to wait for book 2 in the series.
Beneath the Surface is a good read that keeps the reader wanting more. I am hoping for a sequel. I would rate this book 4½ stars. So, dive right in–the water is fine!
Night Moves by Jonathan Kellerman / Review by Danny Lindsey
NIGHT MOVES
By Jonathan Kellerman
Ballantine Books
$28.99
ISBN 978-0345541468
Publication Date: February 13, 2018
Book of the Day
Jonathan Kellerman has written more than 30 Alex Delaware thrillers. Night Moves, the latest in the series, (Random House, 2018) is vintage Delaware. With characters so familiar to readers that each has his own biography and fan base, Alex and Lieutenant Milo Sturgis are once again on the trail of an ephemeral murderer, one whose MO is shotgun and band saw. Identification is not easy, nor is the actual crime scene obvious. Add a completely dysfunctional family and no apparent motive, and Alex and Milo are left to concoct a series of scenarios, ranging from the ridiculous to the sublime, none of which appear to bring the perpetrator closer to justice.
A second murder does little to clarify matters. In fact, the waters are if anything, murkier than ever. Who is the target? What do the victims have in common besides the obvious? Serious detective work is called for, but never to the extent that they interfere with Milo’s gustatory habits.
Solid police work, nosy, reclusive and sometimes helpful neighbors finally develop enough information for Alex to begin to see a more clear picture and to develop a profile of the killer that he and Milo can pursue. Kellerman’s skill is such that no reader will solve the mystery before it’s time to reveal the killer and the motive. Like the real-life psychologist that he is, he brings the reader toward a conclusion slowly, bit by bit, emulating his fictional alter-ego.
Night Moves is an altogether enjoyable read, another in a long string of sure hits for Kellerman. Any review would be incomplete, however, without quoting a few of the more poetic lines he has penned into this one:
“A starless sky sagged like a rain-soaked tarp, a malnourished moon cast anemic light.”
“The flame turned into sprinkles of earthbound stars plummeting to the ground.” (tossing a lit match away)
“Tattoos ran up his neck, flirting with his carotid.”
Kellerman devotees may not be surprised with his use of imagery, but occasional readers will undoubtedly be.
Many thanks to Sharon Propson and Random House for providing Killer Nashville with the advance review copy.
Danny Lindsey keeps trying to retire. After a 20-year Army career and a 25-year second one in the private sector, he’s finally settled down. His current gig is as the Veteran Employment Services Manager for a Huntsville, A.L. based non-profit, Still Serving Veterans. Both full careers were characterized by numerous writing assignments, from war plans to operating policies and procedures, then on to white papers, analyses of alternatives and competitive contract and grant proposals. Now his writing consists of blogs for the website www.ssv.org, podcasts for the local NPR affiliate, and a half dozen Pulitzer-worthy, albeit unpublished novels.
Update: Danny won the 2017 Killer Nashville Claymore Award with his manuscript Serial Justice – so he will not be unpublished for long!
The Bad Daughter by Joy Fielding / Review by Sharon Marchisello
THE BAD DAUGHTER
By Joy Fielding
Ballantine Books
$27.00
ISBN 978-0399181535
Publication Date: February 27, 2018
Book of the Day
Joy Fielding's new psychological suspense novel, The Bad Daughter, explores complex familial relationships and chilling secrets. Robin Davis, the heroine, works as a therapist but suffers from panic attacks, a dysfunctional family background, and insecurity about her romantic future. Her fiancé, Blake, has been spending long hours at his law office, and Robin speculates he may be having an affair with his pretty new assistant.
Robin has a toxic rapport with her older sister, Melanie, who still lives in their hometown of Red Bluff, in Northern California, with her teenage autistic son, Landon. It has been five years since Robin last spoke to their father, who married her former best friend, Tara, just a few months after their mother died from cancer. Tara had been engaged to Robin's younger brother Alec, whom she jilted in favor of his wealthier father. Robin and Alec remain cordial, but since she lives in Los Angeles and Alec lives in San Francisco, their communication is infrequent.
In the opening chapter, Robin receives a call from Melanie, which she allows to go to voicemail while she struggles to focus on her patient during a therapy session. When she finally returns Melanie's call, she learns their father, Tara, and Cassidy, Tara's 12-year-old daughter from a previous marriage, have all been shot in an apparent home invasion. Tara is dead, and the prospects for survival of the others are grim.
Robin feels duty-bound to return to Red Bluff, despite her fear that leaving Blake alone in Los Angeles will hasten the end of their engagement. She wouldn't dream of imposing on his career aspirations by asking him to accompany her.
As Robin and Melanie work with the local sheriff to figure out who committed such a heinous crime, they uncover clues that suggest the assault was more personal than random. Greg Davis, their father, had business enemies, and rumors are circulating that both he and Tara were having affairs. But what kind of psychopath would try to kill a 12-year-old girl?
Also estranged from the family, Alec refuses to come home, despite the crisis. However, his car was spotted in Red Bluff on the night of the shooting, and he soon becomes a suspect. Landon won't speak about that night, but Robin notices him constantly rocking back and forth, staring out his bedroom window at his grandfather's house next door, and she wonders what he might have seen… or done.
Cassidy wakes up and is able to provide some answers, but how much of her story can be believed? She tells Robin she's the only one she can trust, and she wants to leave Red Bluff and live in Los Angeles with Robin and Blake if her stepfather does not survive.
Secrets, past and present, abound. Relationships are not as they appear. Long-lost relatives show up, smelling a pay-out. Robin pieces together a disturbing truth she never saw coming, even as it stares her in the face.
Joy Fielding is the New York Times bestselling author of Someone is Watching, Charley's Web, Heartstopper, See Jane Run, and other acclaimed novels—25 and counting. Before embracing a full-time writing career, she earned a BA in English Literature and dabbled in acting. She divides her time between Toronto and Palm Beach.
Many thanks to Cindy Murray and Random House for providing Killer Nashville with the advance review copy.
Sharon Marchisello (sharonmarchisello.com) is the author of Going Home, (Sunbury Press, 2014) a murder mystery inspired by her mother's battle with Alzheimer's. (It was not a New York Times bestseller.) She earned a Masters in Professional Writing from the University of Southern California and is a member of the Atlanta Chapter of Sisters in Crime. She lives in Peachtree City, Georgia, with her husband and cat, does volunteer work for the Fayette Humane Society, and writes a blog about personal finance, Countdown to Financial Fitness https://sharonmarchisello.blogspot.com/.
Coyote Zone by Kathryn Lane / Review by Robert Selby
Coyote Zone
Kathryn Lane
Pen-L Publishing
$16.99
ISBN 978-1683131083
Published September 27, 2017
Book of the Day
Coyote Zone is the thrilling new installment in the Nikki Garcia series by Kathryn Lane. Once again, Lane takes her readers to exotic locales with glutinous helpings of adventure and intrigue. The heroine, Nikki Garcia is drawn back into threatening circumstances when her client's daughter, kidnapped from the local food court by a Mexican coyote, sends her into undercover work that threatens her life and those of the young victims she needs to rescue.
The setting, as with all of Ms. Lane’s thrillers, is a big part of the story. San Miguel Allende is the historical town in Mexico where the drama begins. As the story unfolded, it was entertaining to recognize how many similar characteristics Ms. Garcia has with internationally renowned author Isabel Allende; whose last name is attached to the town where this story originates by way of her infamous uncle.
Ms. Lane is a master at pacing the “thrill”. She sets the emotional hook the moment the little girl is abducted. The pace intensifies to such heart-stopping degree that it is almost hard to read more—yet, it is impossible to put down. Following the strange turns of events that seem to overshadow every step forward with head shaking steps back, it seems the drama has run it's course, as the young kidnap victim has been returned to her mother. However, by the number of pages left to read, it's obvious that there's a quarter of the story yet untold. It's a rare drama that can successfully take a reader on a roller-coaster ride to a climax, only to realize that it's premature and still lead to an exciting and satisfying end. But when Nikki goes undercover to be taken by the coyote and his small band of kidnappers and killers the adventure begins again.
The first book in this series, Waking Up in Medellin, won the 2017 Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Book of the Year Award. Coyote Zone is the perfect sequel. It is a well-written and suspenseful tale that all thrill-seeking readers of adventures will enjoy. We look forward to more Nikki Garcia adventures in the future.
Robert Selby is a screenplay writer, book reviewer, and volunteer at Killer Nashville
Killer Nashville Noir: Cold-Blooded by Clay Stafford / Reviewed by Clay Snellgrove
Killer Nashville Noir: Cold Blooded
Edited by Clay Stafford
Diversion Publishing
$19.99
ISBN 978-1626818781
Published October 27, 2017
Book of the Day
Killer Nashville Noir: Cold-Blooded, the first annual anthology of short fiction inspired by the Killer Nashville Writing Conference and online magazine, is a treat for any fan of crime and mystery fiction. The twenty stories making up the collection bleed from the pens of established writers who boast impressive resumes. Editor Clay Stafford lays out this smorgasbord of quick, exciting reading, anchoring the roller coaster of suspense, intrigue, twists, and blood with his own story, “Savage Gulf.” This story more than holds its own with those that come before.
Every story in this collection puts forth some heat, admirably showcasing the writer’s specific flavor. Like tapas, most of these shorts will give readers a taste that will have them googling the authors’ novel length works, adding many to their “must-read” lists.
Like any appetizer menu, Cold-Blooded boasts a couple dishes that could stand alone, the prime cuts. International best-selling author Jeffery Deaver delivers with “Repressed”, a tight thirty-page piece revealing why college professor Sam Fogel should have never sought counseling for his mid-life malaise. Every bit as gripping as Stephen King’s best shorts, “Repressed” is well worth a second read even after its disturbing conclusion is known.
Robert Dugoni and Paula Gail Benson team up to write “A Matter of Honor”. Without the blood and guts that paint the pages of the rest of Cold-Blooded, this satisfying mystery featuring agent B.A. Azevedo has the feel of a much longer piece. Readers will want this to be the start of a series starring the South Carolina sleuth.
Beginning the anthology amidst the decomposing corpses on the Body Farm with “In Plain Sight” by the writing duo Jefferson Bass is a great move, setting the tone and making it clear that this collection was born in Tennessee. Blake Fontenay starts his intriguing historical mystery in front of President Andrew Johnson, and Jon Jefferson shows the readers every ounce of life-supporting fluid in the human body in his story “Giving Blood.”
The Killer Nashville-inspired short-story collection would not be complete without a country-western singer killing for a number-one song. Eyre Price’s “Sad Like a Country Song” takes what could be a hokey premise and crafts something cool. “Sad Like a Country Song” will make readers smile because it’s so darn good! Readers will be glad to know this anthology is set to be a yearly event.
Clay Snellgrove is the author of The Ball Player. He’s a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University. A former professional baseball player, Clay holds an MFA in creative writing from Converse College.
The Ghosts of Galway by Ken Bruen / Review by Kevin Tipple
The Ghosts of Galways
By Ken Bruen
Mysterious Press
$24.27
ISBN 978-0802127334
Publish Date: November 7, 2017
Book of the Day
One does not read Ken Bruen to be uplifted and hopeful for humanity. One reads him for the stylistic beauty of his prose and his ability to capture powerful emotion in few words. That is especially true of his latest mystery, The Ghosts Of Galway: A Jack Taylor Novel. This is an intense read where the past and the toll this mortal coil takes on the living is the story from the first to the last page.
Jack Taylor has survived a suicide attempt as well as a botched medical diagnosis. Those two incidents have not changed Jack Taylor’s outlook on life. His new job has not improved his outlook either, but it keeps him away from people and that is good for everybody.
These days he is working as a security guard. While he works nights by himself and it is boring, at least he can read on the job and get paid to do so. The warehouse on the docks does not really need protecting, but with a phone and a flashlight, he does so each night. That is until his supervisor tells him the owner, Alexander Knox-Keaton, originally from somewhere in the Ukraine wants to see out at his mansion.
While the man’s name is clearly a fake, his money is not. Jack Taylor goes out to see Mr. Knox-Keaton and learns the man knows something about his work and background in getting things done. He wants to hire Taylor to find a book known as The Red Book. Believed to be the true first book of heresy, it decries the book of the gospels also known as The Book of Kells. According to Mr. Knox-Keaton, the book has been stolen from the Vatican by Father Frank Miller. The priest is now hiding out in Galway and has offered the book for sale. Mr. Knox-Keaton wants Jack Taylor to find the priest and negotiate the purchase of the book. He will pay very well for Mr. Taylor to do so and does not really care how he goes about getting the job done.
The last thing Jack wants is to deal with any priest for any reason. But, the money is too good to pass up. It does not help that Em, also known as Emily and a few other names, is soon back in his life and definitely involved in the hunt for the priest and The Red Book. She is also involved in a couple of other matters that could easily get Jack Taylor killed.
The Ghosts of Galway: A Jack Taylor Novel is both a remembrance of things past as well as a settling of a number of scores. The past is a living, breathing presence in books by Ken Bruen and that is especially true here. Blending pop culture references and a steady pace with the mystery, author Ken Bruen creates an intense and very emotional read. The Ghosts of Galway: A Jack Taylor Novel is a very good book and one you should read.
ARC was supplied by the publisher by way of Killer Nashville for my use in a review for Killer Nashville.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2017
Kevin Tipple When not offending someone in person or online due to his strange sense of humor, Kevin reads and reviews books, watches way too much television, and offers unsolicited opinions on anything. His short fiction has appeared in magazines such as "Lynx Eye," "Starblade," "Show and Tell," and "The Writer's Post Journal" among others and online at such places as "Mouth Full Of Bullets," "Crime And Suspense," "Mysterical-e" and others. The fact that most of those publications and sites no longer exist is not his fault. You can still read his short stories by purchasing a copy of Mind Slices: A Collection of New and Previously Published Stories at Amazon and elsewhere. For those sure that the author has no brain, an image of his documented MRI was used for the cover. Fully trained before marriage, Kevin can work all major appliances and, despite a love of nearly all sports, is able to clean up after himself.
Come Home by Patricia Gussin / Review by Linda Petrilli
Come Home
By Patricia Gussin
Oceanview Publishing
$26.95
ISBN 978-1608092598
Publish Date: November 7, 2017
Book of the Day
Come Home by Patricia Gussin is a two-pronged, culture mixed thriller. Twin Nicole Nelson and her husband Ahmed Musud have what appears to be a happy life. Fulfilling jobs as partners in a surgical practice and a son they both love. There is trouble in paradise when Ahmed starts having difficulties at work, and his family in Egypt starts pressuring him to return home and bring only his son, but not his American wife.
The story is told from two points of view. Nicole watching her once loving and easy-going husband drawing away from her and their son. Although he comes from a rich, influential family in Egypt he has never seemed to be interested in returning to that life. He has adapted American cultures, even allowing his son to be brought up in a non-Muslin church. Accepted by Nicole’s large and friendly family he appears mostly happy and is well liked. Nicole becomes increasingly worried about him as he seems to be withdrawing a little more from their life after every weekly call to his family in Egypt.
Ahmed loves living in America away from his domineering older brother and strict Muslim dictates. He enjoys his wife’s large and diverse family that has come to accept him. But the stress is getting to him. He has had some lawsuits against him and wonders if it is due to his ethnicity. He starts devolving into self-doubt and bows to pressure from his family to take control of his family and return to Egypt due to unrest in the political scene. He leaves his so American wife behind and returns to Egypt with his son to assume his place in the family textile business. When he gets there, he finds things are not as they seem and must try to save them both from the mess he’s in.
When Nicole discovers that her husband and son are gone, she turns to her family for help. With the help of her twin sister her husband, Nicole and a top line security team go after Alex.
The story hits on many current and cultural events. Spanning three continents and two very different cultures, Gussin connects with the very relatable feelings of love, devotion, greed, and arrogance. It has many twists and turns leading to an unexpected ending. Gussin keeps the tension up compelling the reader to continue on to the next chapter. Readers who enjoy strong family stories with a twist will find this a very interesting read.
Linda Petrilli Duncan, MSN, BSN, ADN, RN, has been a nurse too long to want to tell. Served as a Commissioned Officer as a trauma/triage nurse, been a Firefighter II/RN/EMT, red carded with the forestry service to fight forest fires, trained as a TEMS (tactical EMS) for SWAT and law enforcement. Trained as a pilot and flew rescue and DEA missions for the Civil Air Patrol. Trained in martial arts. Trained in most weapons of minor destruction including knifes and tomahawks. Been sent to Israel, Egypt, Turkey, and various parts of South America. According to her children, she is an adrenaline junkie and gets bored easily. Reads voraciously and writes as yet unpublished murder mysteries and thrillers. Belongs to MWA, SinC, RWA and has given internet classes on medical issues in writing, poisons and has been on various panels at KN. She lives in Kentucky with her Newfoundland Ace.
Merlin at War by Mark Ellis / Review by E.J. Boyd
Merlin at War
By Mark Ellis
London Wall Publishing
$17.99
ISBN 978-0995566712
Published October 12, 2017
Book of the Day
Merlin at War is the 3rd installment in the Dci Frank Merlin series by Mark Ellis. It begins in the summer of 1941. Europe is at war against the Nazi's and Vichy France has fallen under Nazi rule. England has survived the Blitz and is holding on, but the future is very uncertain. The British Army has just withdrawn from Crete with significant casualties. But, life (and death) goes on in London. There, Inspector Merlin is set as lead investigator in the separate deaths of an unknown young woman from a botched abortion and the murder of a Jewish French National. He is also approached by an old friend seeking advice about the execution of a dying request made by his commander during the fallback from Crete.
Merlin is a depicted as a very relatable character. He stumbles a bit as he tries to balance his professional life and personal life. He is honorable and honest, but not afraid to take chances and willing to challenge traditional mores of the time. Cognizant of his own faults he is able to understand the motivations of others and uses that knowledge to sort out clues that might go otherwise unnoticed. Even when his personal and professional life does collide he is able to keep his head and do what needs to be done.
Ellis has written a wonderfully detailed and layered story – cleverly fitting together all of the pieces. Backstories and side stories are laced with historical facts, detailed descriptions of actual places and cameo appearances of several important real-life figures. It feels very real. One can almost smell the French cigarette smoke wafting through the air. There are so many fun, little, Easter Eggs hidden throughout the book I know I will need to read it again just to find them all.
This is the first Dci Frank Merlin book I have read. I certainly did not feel like I was jumping in mid-story. It can easily be read as a stand-alone novel. I also was able to swing between the Audible version and the Kindle version (I'm not one to stop reading just because I have to drive or walk the dog). The narrator, Matt Addis, was exceptional. He easily slipped in and out of a myriad of accents and maintained the cadence of the era. I will certainly be looking for the first two in this series, Princess Gate, and Stalin's Gold.
E.J. Boyd is a new to Killer Nashville. She lives in Upstate New York with her dog, Meggie. E.J. earned her Bachelors in English Literature from SUNY Oneonta.
The Immortal Irishman by Timothy Egan / Review by Laura Stewart Schmidt
The Immortal Irishman
By Timothy Egan
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
$28.00
ISBN 978-0544272880
Published March 1, 2017
Book of the Day
The Immortal Irishman (Timothy Egan, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) is the story of Thomas Francis Meagher (pronounced Muh-HAHR), an important figure in Irish history and the man who designed the Irish flag as we know it. Even to the reader who doesn’t trace his or her roots back to Ireland, this fascinating book is well worth reading for the historical significance of a man who spent his life struggling on behalf of the poor and downtrodden. Meagher’s life is well documented, but his death under mysterious circumstances in 1867 was never adequately explained.
Meagher grew up in an Ireland suffocated by English rule and dismissed in an unconscionable manner when catastrophe struck. Potatoes were the major crop, and because they were easy to grow in their many varieties, often fed entire large families. The potato famine, brought about by a fungus believed to have arrived on a ship from the young country of America, devastated Ireland. The people basically had two choices—flee or die of hunger. Many couldn’t afford passage, and the ones who tried often died en route to another country, or arrived as indentured servants, owing more for their passage (and that of deceased family members) than they could hope to pay. The ones left behind were not a concern to the ruling English, whose treatment of the starving Irish was appalling. They promised “relief”—but only to those who could pay for it.
Young Thomas and his friends, incensed and tired of being second-class citizens, staged an uprising. Unfortunately, they were eventually caught, tried and sentenced to Tasmania at a time when England used its new colony of Australia as an Alcatraz of sorts. Meagher ultimately escaped and fled to America, which was on the verge of the Civil War. The blacks’ struggle for emancipation hit home with Meagher and he joined the Union army. Although many of his fellow Irish immigrants, finding themselves on the bottom rung of society in their new home, despised blacks and had no interest in fighting and dying for them, Meagher saw the Confederate States behavior as allegorical to the English treatment of his own people. He wasn’t fooled by politicians who spurred poor whites to hate blacks and immigrants, understanding better than most the destructive results of such divisionary tactics.
Following the war, Meagher found himself in Montana, acting as territorial governor. He helped to establish a “New Ireland” in his adopted home, but not without a further struggle. A gang of vigilantes terrorized the settlers, accusing and passing “sentence” on anyone they did not like. Meagher was wearying of serving as governor, an unpaid position when he was sent to pick up a cache of arms from a riverboat. Ultimately he ended up in the Missouri River, and his body was never recovered.
The leader of the vigilantes gave an account of Meagher’s actions, implying the governor had committed suicide. This is possible; however, when the story of a man’s last day is iterated by his worst enemy, it doesn’t quite pass the smell test. Egan examines the various possibilities (suicide, accident, murder) and offers a plausible theory as to what really happened to Thomas Meagher. The book reads like a novel with history lessons, both educating and entertaining readers. Among the fascinating tidbits are names of famous Irish emigrant families and the parentage of playwright and poet Oscar Wilde. Unfortunately, many of the accounts of ill-treatment of entire races and classes are not unfamiliar to modern readers. Perhaps we can learn from history and try to stop repeating it.
Laura Stewart Schmidt is a lifelong reader who was inspired by “good books for bad children” such as Harriet the Spy and Otis Spofford. She has a degree in Political Science with a minor in Criminal Justice from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Laura worked for several years as a community education coordinator, encouraging parents to read to their children and setting up reading clubs for middle-school students.
Laura spent two years as a family court advocate for at-risk youth and parents suffering from substance addiction. She also worked for several years at an agency offering one-on-one support for children and adults with developmental disabilities and their families.
Her current writing project is:
DON’T FEAR, MY DARLING, a suspense novel in the tradition of Hallie Ephron’s THERE WAS AN OLD WOMAN. Louisa is grieving her cherished grandfather’s death and stumbling through a series of demeaning jobs when she finds the perfect position–a live-in secretary to an elderly author, Marguerite Roberts. Louisa’s Native American heritage teaches respect of elders, and she is puzzled that Marguerite’s family members have nothing to do with her. But Louisa soon realizes there is much more to the job than she expected. Nothing in the family is what it appears to be, and Louisa begins to fear for Marguerite’s life–and her own.
Laura lives near St. Louis with her husband and two dogs. She is a member of Sisters in Crime http://www.sistersincrime.org/ and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) https://www.scbwi.org/.
The Jealous Kind by James Lee Burke / Review by Laura Stewart Schmidt
The Jealous Kind
By James Lee Burke
Simon & Schuster
$27.99
ISBN 978-1501107207
Published August 30, 2016
Book of the Day
Anyone familiar with the music of alt-country artist Rodney Crowell knows that 1950s Houston had little in common with the 1950s of television sitcoms. In James Lee Burke’s The Jealous Kind (Simon and Schuster, 2016), seventeen-year-old Aaron Holland Broussard’s life bears no resemblance to TV’s Cunninghams or Cleavers. His gritty Houston is a darker West Side Story, with a skyline the color of “the glitter of thousands of razor blades.” There are violent teenage gangs everywhere, toting chains and switchblades, and no one dares to cross into the opponents’ part of town. Moreover, oil has created wealth, and wealth begets people to exploit it—the kind who “look like they’re glued together from other people’s body parts.” This is the world Aaron is cautiously navigating—until he dumps caution to the pavement and spits on it.
Aaron gets on the mob’s bad side when he interferes with Grady, a connected man’s son who is mistreating his girlfriend. Aaron instantly falls in love with the girl, Valerie, further enraging his new nemesis. Aaron’s best friend, Saber Bledsoe, is foolish without fear and finds ingenious ways to enrage their enemies. The bad guys strike back, framing Aaron and Saber for a nasty crime against a man the boys have good reason to hate.
Saber befriends two criminals in his short jail stay, and suddenly Grady’s expensive cars come up missing. Saber clearly has more moxie than brains, and Aaron reflects that a conversation with him is akin to “talking to the driver of a concrete mixer (backing through) a clock shop.” But Aaron refuses to turn his back on his friend, even when the organized criminals suspect him of wrongdoing and threaten to hurt Valerie, Aaron’s pets, and his parents. The mob doesn’t forgive and forget. Aaron must come up with another way out of the trouble he and Saber are in—as well as try to figure out who is responsible for a murder the police aren’t interested in solving.
It is obvious Aaron survives to tell us the tale. The reader isn’t sure if the same is true for Saber and Valerie, as there is a sense of escalating danger and impending doom for most of the story. Houston as a setting is so vividly drawn it is a character in itself. The sparkling image of the 1950s that post-Baby Boomers were raised on is clearly a whitewash this book corrects like a slap to the head. The Jealous Kind is a mystery, a love story, and a coming-of-age story, wrapped up in one excellent package. Open it and enjoy the gift.
Laura Stewart Schmidt is a lifelong reader who was inspired by “good books for bad children” such as Harriet the Spy and Otis Spofford. She has a degree in Political Science with a minor in Criminal Justice from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Laura worked for several years as a community education coordinator, encouraging parents to read to their children and setting up reading clubs for middle-school students.
Laura spent two years as a family court advocate for at-risk youth and parents suffering from substance addiction. She also worked for several years at an agency offering one-on-one support for children and adults with developmental disabilities and their families.
Her current writing project is:
DON’T FEAR, MY DARLING, a suspense novel in the tradition of Hallie Ephron’s THERE WAS AN OLD WOMAN. Louisa is grieving her cherished grandfather’s death and stumbling through a series of demeaning jobs when she finds the perfect position–a live-in secretary to an elderly author, Marguerite Roberts. Louisa’s Native American heritage teaches respect of elders, and she is puzzled that Marguerite’s family members have nothing to do with her. But Louisa soon realizes there is much more to the job than she expected. Nothing in the family is what it appears to be, and Louisa begins to fear for Marguerite’s life–and her own.
Laura lives near St. Louis with her husband and two dogs. She is a member of Sisters in Crime http://www.sistersincrime.org/ and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) https://www.scbwi.org/.
Blonde Ice by R.G. Belsky / Reviewed by Jonathan Nash
BLONDE ICE
By R. G. Belsky
Publisher
$16.00
ISBN 978-1501129780
Published 10/18/16
Want to read it? Buy it here!
Book of the Day
Review by Jonathan Nash
A recent string of murders has New York City on edge in R.G. Belsky’s latest Gil Malloy novel, Blonde Ice.
Malloy, an ace reporter for the New York Daily News, has the scoop on a series of peculiar murders. However, the more he investigates it appears that the murderer has the scoop on him.
Belsky allows the reader to unravel the case through the eyes of Malloy, whose life becomes hectic after an unexpected visit from Veronica Issacs. While her appearance resurrects nightmares from Malloy’s past, it proves to serve that he has much bigger problems ahead.
Malloy soon finds himself on the frontline of a serial killer investigation. He is forced to adapt to the ever-changing landscape of journalism while juggling his personal life, job opportunities, and, ultimately, his safety.
The novel is a suspenseful read from start to finish. The reader gets to pull back the layers of the investigation with Malloy, and the twists and turns of each chapter leave the reader wanting to bite in. Belsky delicately toys with the reader's psyche as they try to solve the murders alongside Gil.
Belsky’s attention to detail throughout the novel is much like a journalist painting their story. Each detail, no matter how insignificant it may seem at the time, plays a part in the suspenseful reveal. Much like watching a movie again to see what you might have missed, Blonde Ice leaves the reader wide-eyed and eager to start back from the beginning.
Reading Blonde Ice through the first-person perspective of Gil Malloy provides everything a reader can ask for. Malloy’s witty humor and sarcasm pairs perfectly with the seriousness of the murder investigations. The reader is also given a window to see past his snarky, outward persona and into his flawed and doubt-filled conscious. His doubt and internal dialogue make the reader question the mystery as much as the character does.
As the investigation unfolds, the reader is pulled closer and closer to the edge of their seat. Each character's prerogative and motives fall into question, and anyone can have a hidden dark side. As Malloy notes, “you never know what demons are inside people.”
Blonde Ice is an exhilarating read and is on sale now. Put yourself in Malloy’s shoes and witness how the story unravels. One way or another, Gil Malloy is sure to end up on the front page.
Jonathan Nash was the former Special Projects Coordinator for American Blackguard, Inc. He graduated from Tusculum College in May of 2014 with a degree in Journalism and Professional Writing. He has previously served as a Copy Editor for the Citizen Tribune newspaper in Morristown, TN. In his free time, he enjoys being outdoors, playing music, and writing.
Her Darkest Nightmare by Brenda Novak / Review by Danny Lindsey
Her Darkest Nightmare
By Brenda Novak
St. Martin's Press
$7.99
ISBN 978-1250076564
Published 08/30/2016
Book of the Day
Brenda Novak’s latest work, Her Darkest Nightmare is as unpredictable as the winter storms that blast throughout the Alaskan landscape which forms the setting for her story.
At 16, Evelyn Talbot’s first love betrayed, raped, tortured and left her for dead after murdering three of her friends in front of her. After 20 years, psychiatrist Dr. Evelyn Talbot has dedicated her practice to delving into the minds of the nation’s worst pathological personalities. She has arranged for them to be transferred to a newly constructed maximum security prison located in Hilltop, Alaska. The townsfolk have mixed emotions—jobs are scarce, but prisons are scary. When body parts begin to show up, the prison is the first place peoples’ thoughts turn.
Amarok, the lone state trooper assigned to Hilltop, is young and an inexperienced investigator of crimes more serious than the occasional drunk or poacher. But, he is certain that none of the Hilltop residents are capable of murder. Dr. Talbot sees three possibilities—either her teenage torturer has found her again, one of her subjects found a way to come and go from his maximum-security cell, or a member of her staff has begun to emulate the pathology of the inmates. It is not until the second murder that it becomes obvious the true target is Dr. Talbot. She and Amarok agree to join forces to track down the killer, but find themselves embroiled in an escalating relationship which at times threatens to derail the investigation.
Just as one storm after another pushes through Hilltop, one plot twist after another leaves the reader wondering whether it will take until the spring thaw to separate the good, the bad, the ugly, and the horrible. The novel is full of twists, turns, false starts, and red herrings that leave the reader breathless, and heart pounding. Readers will recognize elements of such thrillers as Silence of the Lambs and Fatal Attraction as Novak cements her standing with such names as Dugoni, Rule, and Gerritson as a leader in the genre.
Danny Lindsey keeps trying to retire. After a 20-year Army career and a 25-year second one in the private sector, he’s finally settled down. His current gig is as the Veteran Employment Services manager for a Huntsville, A.L. based non-profit, Still Serving Veterans. Both full careers were characterized by numerous writing assignments, from war plans to operating policies and procedures, then on to white papers, analyses of alternatives and competitive contract and grant proposals. Now his writing consists of blogs for the website www.ssv.org, podcasts for the local NPR affiliate, and a half dozen Pulitzer-worthy, albeit unpublished novels.
Cast the First Stone by James W. Ziskin / Reviewed by Lia Farrell
Cast the First Stone
By James W. Ziskin
Seventh Street Books
$15.95
ISBN 978-1633882812
Available 06/06/2017
Book of the Day
It’s 1962 and Ellie Stone—girl reporter for the local paper in the small town of New Holland, N.Y.—gets a big break when she’s sent to Los Angeles to interview hometown hero, Tony Eberle. Tony has landed a big role in a real Hollywood movie, a fact which has generated a swell of pride throughout the town.
Undaunted, Ellie gets the actor’s address and sets out to conduct her interview. But Tony isn’t home when Ellie arrives. After a series of missed connections, Ellie is forced to give up the hunt and try again in the morning. She soon learns that her simple interview is anything but when a well-known movie producer—Bertram Wallis—turns up dead. The producer is believed to have fallen victim to foul play, and the missing Tony Eberle is the primary person-of-interest
Interestingly, both the movie’s director and his “fixer” are also searching for Tony. Their motivation is unclear, but Ellie suspects it might involve some missing photographs last seen in Wallis’ home or possibly a missing movie script. In her search for Tony, Ellie is propositioned by a woman and men, continually lied to, and even evicted from a bar.
Cast the First Stone contains more twists and turns than the hairpin curves on North Canyon Road, the treacherous path near the late producer’s home. Wallis’ well-publicized parties were more orgy than cocktail party and included underage boys. These facts alone are horrifying to sheltered young Ellie, but she’s not dissuaded from continuing her search for Tony. Ellie is motivated by her zeal to find the actor and, if possible, to get his job back for him.
In this treacherous world of Hollywood wannabes, panderers, and pornographers, Ellie carries on—unearthing secrets no one wants revealed. Will she find Tony? And, if she does, what truth will she uncover? These and other mysteries carry Ziskin’s story to a satisfying conclusion borne along on his clever and incisive writing.
Cast the First Stone is the fifth book in the Ellie Stone Mystery series.
Lia Farrell is the author of the Mae December mystery series.
Grace by Howard Owen / Reviewed by Robert Selby
Book of the Day Review
Grace, by Howard Owens, grabs you from the opening paragraph and refuses to let go. The main character, Willie Black, is a blue collar, crass and colorful reporter following a murder in the neighborhood. The first several “graphs” report a newspaper employee holding the editor hostage with an unloaded gun, and propel the story line toward the killer of his brother. The murder of a young and aspiring black teenager turns quickly into the investigating a couple of decades of similar young boys that have disappeared; and Willie is following that thread.
The most captivating aspect of this book is the development of the main character, and his story may be more compelling than the story he’s following and trying to unravel. In fact, unraveling is apparently something that Willie is most talented at achieving. He does so with an ever-mounting sense of protectiveness that grows in the reader, trying to ‘will’ him not to head off the deep end. He is at times throughout the story line more detective than reporter, but his hunches and ability to put together the clues far outclass the local law enforcement.
More often than not, the local police chief has about had it with Willie and comes close several times to 86’ing the reporter from any interaction with himself or his officers. Ultimately, this hardscrabble reporter stays a step or two in front of the investigating officers and becomes the guy that puts the defiant police chief in his place by solving 20 years’ worth of unsolved murders. Owens has created a reoccurring character who is similar to Sam Spade—especially in regard to his penchant for colorful— and use of— challenging language, particularly when he’s been over served. He picks up on clues that elude others as often as he picks arguments that others would avoid.
At the climax of the story line, a celebrity and local philanthropist is gruesomely murdered in his estate and Willie recognizes that this can’t be coincidental. As he continuously puts himself in danger with nearly every other character in the story in some fashion or another, it becomes a large part of the suspense for the reader as to whether Willie can solve the puzzle before he implodes upon himself. There seems to be more impetus for Willie Black to destroy himself than there is to be the hero of the tale. Those that enjoy a great wordsmith and a unforgettable character in a classic whodunit style will enjoy this next reporter’s tale.
Robert Selby is a screenplay writer, book reviewer, and volunteer at Killer Nashville
Poisoned Justice by Jeffrey Lockwood / Review by Jeanie Stewart
Poisoned Justice
By Jeffery Alan Lockwood
Pen-L Publishing
$14.99
ISBN 978-1683130086
Published October 11, 2016
Book of the Day Review
Cross a hard-drinking, hard-nosed, hard-boiled 70’s PI with a guy who likes bugs and classical music and you get C. V. Riley. Riley, the hero of Poisoned Justice by Jeffrey Lockwood, copes with the vermin of 1970’s San Francisco with neither regrets nor excuses.
When an ecology professor is found dead in his Los Angeles hotel room, his death is chalked up to natural causes—but his widow thinks otherwise. And after examining insects from the room, so does Riley. Promised a princely sum for his favorite charity, Riley, an ex-cop turned pest exterminator, agrees to help the widow find the truth. His investigations lead him from the conference attendees in LA, to the professor’s friends and enemies in Berkley, and even to the drug trade in San Francisco. He has run-ins with professors, pot-growers, drug-dealers, radical ecology-activists, and sexy teaching assistants. The list of suspects grows when he learns the dead professor had plans to bomb a chemical plant. Could the politically connected bigwigs in the chemical business have put a hit out on the professor?
Riley’s backstory, carefully woven into the fast-paced action, reveals his motivation to rid San Francisco of vermin—both the 6-legged and the 2-legged kind. But how will he do it? Will he go the legal route or take care of business in his own way?
Lockwood’s book fits well into the tough PI genre with seedy bars, fist-fights, and even the practice of giving suspects the third degree. The characters, though a bit insensitive, are true to the attitudes and turmoil of California in the late ‘60’s. Fans of the fictional characters of Raymond Chandler or Robert Parker will enjoy this tough but sensitive lover of booze, bugs, and Beethoven.
Jeanie Stewart has been a mother, grandmother, speaker, freelance editor, teacher, and library director, but before, during, and after these, she was a writer. Her first novel was published in 1997. Eight books followed in Bantam’s SVU series, including thrillers: Don’t Answer the Phone and Deadly Terror. She has published 9 children’s books for Steck-Vaughn and Rigby. Ten Book Summer won the Missouri Writer’s Guild 2002 award for Best Juvenile book. New Coach Blues won the same award in 2004. Shifting Ground won MWG’s award for best book about Missouri. She has also published numerous short stories and articles for children and adults
Another Day Another Dali by Sandra Orchard / Review by Kathleen Cosgrove
Another Day Another Dali
By Sandra Orchard
Revell
$14.99
ISBN 978-0800726690
Published October 18, 2016
Book of the Day Review
Another Day Another Dali by Sandra Orchard, is the fun and fast-paced sequel to A Fool and His Monet. The story’s hero, Serena Jones, is an art fraud investigator with the FBI. When she takes on the case of a forged Salvador Dali painting at the request of her grandmother, she sets in motion a chain of twisting events that does not stop until you reach the last page. It is chock-full of interesting characters, including an aunt who keeps turning up in unexpected places, and a nice little love triangle that doesn’t resolve in the end, giving the reader hope for more in this series.
Orchard introduces the action right away and paces the novel in such a way that the reader wants to keep turning the page. But she does not allow the action of the story to bog down the plot or exhaust the reader. Her detailed research gives the reader a behind-the-scenes look into the world of art forgery and fraud. There is plenty of humor and lightness to balance the dire undercurrent of villainy and perhaps even corrupt police officers.
All in all, this is an clever mystery with a smart, believable and—above-all—an immensely likable hero that will give the reader a fascinating look into the world of art and the people who love it, steal it, or forge it—sometimes all at once
Escape Velocity by Susan Wolfe / Reviewed by Laura Hartman
Escape Velocity
By Susan Wolfe
Steelkilt Press
$29.99
ISBN 978-0997211702
Published October 4, 2016
Book of the Day
Escape Velocity has been described as being approximately 33 times the speed of sound on earth. That defines the pace of this second novel by Susan Wolfe.
Georgia Griffin is a daddy’s girl. She loved spending time with him at their home in Piney, Arkansas. Taking care of their horses and learning how to read and manipulate people were activities he taught Georgia and her younger sister Katie-Ann. They have his skills, but didn’t use them. But when one if his cons goes bad and sends him to prison, Georgia knows she has to make some drastic changes to survive. Things go from bad to worse after her mama takes up with a real creep. Georgia set a goal and is determined to see it through. Getting a job in Silicon Valley is the first step, and then saving enough money to get her younger sister out of harm’s way is the second. Katie-Ann is only in high school and too much of a temptation for her mom’s latest boyfriend, so Georgia is on a tight timeline to accomplish what may be near impossible with only a paralegal certificate.
Lumina Software could be her big break. She has interviewed with several companies, but nothing has panned out so far. But this interview is different. She is so convinced it might be the thrust she needs to begin her escape velocity, she is willing to put just a little of what her daddy taught her into play to give herself an edge. She immediately clicks with her potential boss, and finally getting the break she has been looking for; the job is hers.
The pay is great, her boss is even better than she first imagined, but some of the others in the company seemed to have personal agendas. The deeper she becomes involved; the more Georgia feels she needs to channel her daddy to make sure the company is a success. After all, if the company has problems, she might lose her job, then how would she get her little sister out of the mess of a life she has in Arkansas? Georgia is good at finding things out and using them to her advantage. If she pulls one small con to help the company, how could that be wrong? First she needs to find a vulnerable spot or two in a few obnoxious execs, then play them just like daddy would. But could she find out something that might put her in more danger than the business losing a bit of money? Certainly these boardroom bullies wouldn’t go as far as to kill someone – or are the stakes higher than Georgia imagined?
I love the mind games the characters play with each other. After working in an office for over twenty years, I could picture a few of my former unsavory co-workers taking things a step further than they should and then over the line. Fortunately in my life that never happened, but the realistic settings, events and characters in Wolfe’s book bring the schemers and scammers to life. I love hating the bad guys in this book and kept turning the pages to find out if and how they get what they deserved.
Anyone who likes twists, turns and intrigue will love this book. It was fun trying to figure out just who was bad and who was good until the very end. There is nothing better for a mystery reader than not knowing all of the answers until they are revealed in the final chapter, and then realizing the clues were there all along.
Laura Hartman is a short story author and book reviewer. She has work appearing in A Woman’s Touch: 11 Stories of Murder & Misdemeanors and The Killer Wore Cranberry, A Second Helping. She began reviewing books for GenReviews in 2011 and currently reviews for publicist Maryglenn McCombs, Penguin First to Read and NetGalley. She is a writer by day and a reader by night.
DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: I have a material connection because I received a review copy for free from the publisher/author in connection with Killer Nashville in return for my review. Copyright © 2017 Laura Hartman
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