Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth

 

This is my first time reading this author, although she is a familiar name with a proven track record for writing good thrillers. If this book is any indication, I will read her again.

Tweens Jessica, Norah, and Alicia form a sisterly bond over the abuse they suffer at the hands of Miss Fairchild in foster care. Afraid of being separated if they report psychological abuse, they cope as best they can instead of trying to fight a broken social services system. Would anyone believe them or do anything?

Flash forward to the present: bones have been found under the house where they were in care, and the trauma the three suffered and dealt with in different ways comes rushing back. Now, as adults, they have another chance to address the wrongs they were dealt in their childhoods. But will they be believed even now?

This fast-paced book, which travels back and forth in time and is told from multiple points of view, is gripping and poignant. I rooted for the three and was saddened by their helpless position. This is a psychological thriller with a couple of twists,  but it is more of a look at the problems of children stuck in social services and how powerless they feel. I also found myself relating to their situation and remembering my dysfunctional childhood more than I would have liked. Overall, this is a satisfying read. 

3.5/5 stars.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The publication date is April 23, 2024.

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The Hunter by Tana French

 This is the second book featuring Cal Hooper and Trey Reddy. The first book, "The Searcher," was a twisty mystery that brought rural Ireland to life in a gritty, engaging story. This second book delves even deeper into the people of Ardnakelty, Ireland, and the vigilante justice they mete out to those who don't abide by their rules.

A heat wave has engulfed Western Ireland, bringing fears of selling off land or sheep to make ends meet. On top of this, scoundrel Johnny Reddy returns with Englishman Cillian Rushborough and tales of gold just waiting to be claimed. This news is a Godsend to those facing financial ruin, and even though Johnny isn't the most reliable man, the citizens of Ardnakelty see a possible out for their economic woes. Thinking they are pulling a con of Rushborough, they fall in line, not realizing there is a more significant con in play--one that will ruin them financially faster than the drought.

Retired Chicago detective Cal Hooper has taken fatherless Trey Reddy under his wing and is teaching her some skills to help her support her family. When Trey's father suddenly reappears, she is far from happy to see him. After Cal meets Johnny, he spots him for what he is: a charming grifter who is up to no good. Each develops a plan to stop Johnny, not realizing they are at cross purposes. Figuring out Cal's and Trey's plans, motives, and what Johnny is up to moves this story along.

I loved French's Dublin Murder Squad series—they were dark and compelling—but she outdoes herself with the characters Cal and Trey and their small Irish village. This is a moralistic story of revenge and the ties that bind; it sometimes left me wondering about my own moral compass. Loyalties are tested, and secrets are revealed in this raw, fast-paced novel. The writing is lyrical and atmospheric. I recommend reading "The Searcher" first, as events in that novel are referenced here. 

5/5 stars.

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Lost Colony: The Hennepin Island Murders by Steve Berg

I love it when I try a new author and am rewarded with an excellent read. Such is the case with this book and its author.

In 1986, Sweden's Prime Minister Olaf Palme was assassinated; his killer was never found. Flash forward to 2016 on a small island in the Mississippi River between Minneapolis and St. Paul and the shocking murders of a Lutheran minister and the church custodian. Island residents, Reverend Maggie Lindberg and journalist Span Lokken are caught up in the investigation and quickly become allies, pooling their information and investigative skills to try and determine who would want to kill these men and why. Early indicators point to another island resident, wealthy and eccentric businessman, Jonas Kron, who has been very public in his feud with the late Reverend Hammar. It is apparent professionals carried out the killings and Kron is just the man with the money to orchestrate such a killing. But would he go that far?

Told from the points of view of Maggie and Span as well as the killers, this is an engaging story that captured my interest from the beginning. It is fast-paced, excellently plotted, and ties into the assassination of Palme with a surprising twist. This is Berg's first venture into writing fiction and he does an outstanding job. 5/5 stars.

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Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn

 

This book came highly recommended to me and I'm happy to say it lived up to my expectations.

Billie, Natalie, Mary Alice, and Helen were recruited by the Museum, a shadow organization of assassins who only killed people who needed killing. Now after forty years of service, they are given a retirement gift of a luxury cruise, but all is not what it seems when they spot another Museum operative who appears to be out to assassinate them. Barely escaping, they must find out who is behind the order to kill them and why. Coming together one last time, the foursome targets high-ranking members of their organization in order to save themselves.

This is a fast-paced, engaging read with wonderful characters I rooted for. The plot is twisty and action-packed and kept me up late to see how this fearsome foursome would prevail. The writing is excellent and the dialogue witty despite the danger the women are in. Seeing four strong women who work well together in an otherwise male-dominated genre is a treat. I recommend this book if you like a good action-packed mystery/thriller. 5/5 stars.

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The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger

William Kent Krueger has to be one of the best storytellers out there. Although I haven't gotten far in his Cork O'Connor series--something I am determined to fix--I love all of his standalone books. They are expertly crafted with prose that begs to be highlighted.

It's Memorial Day, 1958, in Jewel, Minnesota, a small town that is the seat of Black Earth County. Not much happens around there so when the body of wealthy landowner Jimmy Quinn is found in the Alabaster River with a gunshot wound in his side, the town immediately begins to speculate: was it murder? An accident? Suicide? That's up to Sheriff Brody Dern to determine.

Tensions are high and gossipers are sure Noah Bluestone is involved. Noah is a decorated WWII veteran who is Native American and who brought home a Japanese bride after the war. Both his ethnicity and that of his wife don't sit well in Jewell. With all the righteousness of small-town bigots everywhere, Bluestone is tried in the court of public opinion and found guilty. It's up to Brody to protect Noah and his wife and still get to the bottom of what happened to Quinn.

This is an atmospheric, absorbing read that transports the reader to the years when The Great War, WWII, and the Korean conflict were still fresh in people's minds. There is a strong sense of place and time, rich with characters that make this a must-read book, especially in today's political climate when hatred of those considered different is once again on the rise. 5/5 stars.

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One Last Kill by Robert Dugoni

 

I can't believe this is the tenth book in the Tracy Crosswhite series and that I've been a fan since the beginning, eagerly awaiting each new installment. The series just keeps getting better and better.

Detective Tracy Crosswhite is still the sole member of Seattle's cold case department and often clashes with Chief of Police Marcella Weber as to what direction she should take. She is blindsided when Weber orders her to reopen the decades-old Route 99 serial killer cases in advance of a series of newspaper articles on them beginning on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the last killing. Not only that, Weber orders her to partner with her nemesis and boss, Captain Johnny Nolasco, who was head of the task force investigating the crimes when they first occurred. Nolasco and Crosswhite immediately disagree on their approach to solving the cases and things go downhill from there. 

As the investigation proceeds, Tracy begins to see connections between these cases and another case she just solved involving the disappearance of an investigative reporter that occurred at the same time as the serial killings. The more Tracy and Nolasco dig, the more the evidence leads them to powerful people, both past and present, who may not want the duo to solve the murders or continue at a cost they may not be willing to pay.

This book can be read as a standalone, but the reader is missing out on some excellent books by not reading the series. I especially liked how this book dovetailed with the storyline from Dugoni's last book, What She Found, and I can see where characters from both books could feature in future books. As usual, Dugoni's plotting, pacing, and writing are exceptional. The reader is also treated to perhaps the thawing of the relationship between Nolasco and Crosswhite, or at least an uneasy truce in their working relationship that is promising. I highly recommend this book and this series in general if you enjoy character-driven police procedurals. 4.5/5 stars.

Thank you, NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The publication date is October 3, 2023

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The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

 

I'm a bit late to The Thursday Murder Club  fan base but I have arrived! I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can't wait to start the second one in the series.

In the retirement community of Coopers Chase, residents Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron, and Ibrahim have formed a murder club in which they review old unsolved murders from files supplied by a former police detective. When an actual murder occurs close to them, they put aside the cold cases and focus their various skills on solving this much more interesting case. Their involvement often treads on the toes of the two lead detectives working the case, Chris and Donna, but they form an uneasy alliance that seems to produce results. When another murder occurs, the club and the detectives work to see if the two are connected and how. With multiple suspects and a time span going back years, the game is afoot.

This is a highly entertaining book with a complex plot and charming characters. There are red herrings galore and enough misdirections that kept me guessing who the murderer(s) could be. This is the start of what promises to be an excellent series and I'm on board for it.

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The Raging Storm by Ann Cleeves

 Once again Ann Cleeves weaves her magic in a book that grips the reader from the beginning and holds them throughout, capturing the natural beauty of the Devon coast at its deadly best.

The quiet village of Greystone is abuzz when the sailing legend Jem Rosco shows up and tells everyone he is there to meet someone, but he won't say who that someone is--adding to the gossip surrounding him. When Rosco's naked body is later found in a dinghy anchored in a cove during a raging storm, Matthew Venn and his team are called in to solve the mysterious death. 

Just as Rosco had ties to the area, so does Matthew Venn. Greystone has a large contingent of the religious cult he was raised in and he has old connections to some of the residents as well. Viewed suspiciously by the residents and coldly by the cult, Venn works to establish trust with both factions to try and solve this case. When another death occurs that is deemed suspicious, the race is on to find the killer.

I admit that Cleeves' old Shetland Island series and her current Vera Stanhope series are among my favorite reads. I also admit that I wasn't completely sold on her Matthew Venn series when it first started, but I'm happy to find that Matthew is growing on me. In this outing, we get more background on Venn and the circumstances of his upbringing. Having renounced the religious cult and then being thrown back into it to solve the murders shows how adept Venn is at dealing with all sorts of people. 

The plot and characters in this book are complex and the writing is excellent with enough twists and red herrings to keep the reader engaged. Once again, another engrossing police procedural by Cleeves.

Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur Books for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The publication date is September 5, 2023.

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Dark Ride by Lou Berney

 This is the third Lou Berney book I've read (November Road and The Long and Faraway Gone being the other two) and Dark Ride is Berney at storytelling his best. His characters are well-drawn and the story engaging.

Hardy "Hardly" Reed is happy with his life. He has no ambitions, is currently working as a sheriff in a rundown wild-west theme park and is stoned most of the time. His aimless life takes an abrupt turn when he encounters Jack and Pearl, aged six and seven, on a bench in the Department of Motor Vehicles waiting for their mother. He notices injuries on the children consistent with abuse and knows he must do something. Fanagiling the mother's information from a clerk who helped her, he contacts Child Protective Service, only to have the caseworker walk off the job in the middle of his report! Frustrated by the inaction and bureaucracy, Hardly gains a purpose in life: save these two children. What follows is an often cringe-worthy journey for Hardly as he transitions from an aimless life into a person who realizes he is the only person who can save these two children.

I did enjoy this book although the description of the child abuse was sad. Hardly is a wonderful, hapless character. who, once he got a goal, shifts gears and goes into savior mode. His friends are quirky but big-hearted. All-in-all, this is another excellent story from Lou Berney.

Thank you, NetGalley and William Morrow for an advance copy for review. The publication date is September 19, 2023.

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What She Found by Robert Dugoni

 

I admit that this series is one of my favorite police procedurals. Robert Dugoni continually delivers excellent stories that are adeptly plotted and contain interesting characters, both with this series and his many standalone books.

Tracy Crosswhite is still the lone detective working Seattle cold cases when she is approached by Anita Childress whose mother, investigative journalist Lisa Childress, went missing 24 years ago. Under pressure to investigate only old cases with DNA samples that modern technology could probably help solve now, Tracy secretly begins to look into what happened to Lisa. What she finds intrigues her enough that she begins digging into the case, knowing full well that Lisa is probably dead, but still hoping to find something that could give closure to her daughter. To her surprise, the more Tracy digs the more she realizes that what Lisa was investigating could shine the spotlight on potential corruption not just in the police department but in the upper reaches of the Seattle government as well. Working the case could also put some of her own close relationships in jeopardy and possibly put her life at risk. 

Even though I liked Tracy more before she got married and had a child, the family relationships certainly add a depth of character to her that was missing in the earlier books. She is still a dedicated investigator but now sees that balancing her life is important to her well-being, a thing many of us perhaps need to be reminded of occasionally. This is a far-ranging story with many subplots that all come together neatly by the end. There are some moral dilemmas Tracy and other characters face that test the bonds of friendship and the need for absolution. All-in-all, this is another good book in the series.

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The Square of Sevens by Laura Shepherd-Robinson

I wasn't a fan of the fortune-telling part in the book The Cloisters so I was hesitant when I saw the main character in this book was also a fortune-teller. It turned out that the use of cards in The Square of Sevens was so deftly woven into the story that I looked forward to seeing what the cards would reveal.

Red was orphaned at an early age when her father, a Cornish "cunning man", died and left her in the care of a wealthy gentleman scholar, Robert Antrobus. Her legacy is her knowledge of fortune-telling using the Square of Sevens technique. Although she no longer casts fortunes for money, she is still in demand even in the sophisticated society of Bath. Secure in the Antrobus household, Red delves into her past, trying to find out who her mother was and what happened to her. What Red finds not only disrupts her life but those of the wealthy De Lacy and Seabrooke families. Could she be related to them and, if so, could she be a long-lost heir? Finding out could put her life in peril as well as those closest to her. 

This is a beautifully written book that is intricately plotted and whose characters come alive in eighteenth-century England. It is a complex mystery with twists that kept me engaged throughout. Red is a wonderful heroine and her life, though often trying, is one such that the reader hopes she comes out on the winning side. I highly recommend this book.

Thank you, NetGalley and Atria Books for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The publication date is September 5, 2023.

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Reykjavik by Ragnar Jonasson

 I always enjoy Ragnar Jonasson's books but this collaboration with Katrin Jakobsdottir is outstanding! Good story and excellent writing and pacing. It hooked from the start.

In 1956, fifteen-year-old Lara, who had been working for a couple on an unoccupied island near Reykjavik, vanishes without a trace after telling the couple she was going home. In the close-knit country of Iceland, this is a mystery that grips the country for years to come.

In 1986, on the thirtieth anniversary of her disappearance, journalist Valur Robertsson was assigned to rehash the case to see if he can find any new clues. What he finds not only sheds light on what happened to Lara but puts his own life in jeopardy.

This is an engaging story with an interesting cast of characters. The mystery of what happened to Lara not only gripped the citizens of Iceland but this reader as well. Just when I thought I'd figured out what happened to her, a new twist appeared that sent me off down another line of thought. If you like a good mystery, I highly recommend this book. It's a winner.

Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur Books for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The publication date is September 5, 2023.

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The Night House by Jo Nesbo

 

I don't think Jo Nesbo can write anything but captivating stories with excellent characters. This book is no exception but it differs from his Harry Hole series or his other standalone books in its structure and genre.

After Fourteen-year-old Richard Elauved's parents die in a house fire, he goes to live with his aunt and uncle in the tiny town of Ballantyne, but he has problems adjusting to his new environment and classmates. Viewed as an outcast, Richard befriends fellow outcast Tom, who goes missing after he and Richard were last seen together. Richard swears Tom was eaten by a telephone after making a prank call. It's no small wonder that the police do not believe him. When another classmate goes missing after being in Richard's company, suspicion rises. Richard is convinced a long-abandoned house on the edge of a creepy forest is somehow responsible for his missing classmates, but how to prove it?

This is a horror story, not a police procedural. and it's great to see Nesbo playing around with a different genre. As usual, the writing and the characters are outstanding in this atmospheric novel. It is a story within a story and its structure and content may not appeal to all, but if you enjoy good storytelling, this book is just the ticket.

Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The publication date is October 3, 2023.

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Stolen Children by Michael Wood

 This is such an addictive series that continues to get better and better.

With one old missing child case perhaps solved, another one occurs with eerie similarities to the first. Nine-year-old Keeley Armitage disappears after being left outside a market while older sister Jodie goes in for a quick shop. Then comes the call no parent wants to receive: a ransom call. DCI Matilda Darke and her Homicide and Major Enquiries Team are called in to help the family. When the kidnappers fail to call again, the focus shifts to trying to determine who would abduct her and for what reason.

Wood doesn't seem to hesitate to kill off characters so every time a character's life is in danger the reader is left holding their breath to see if he will do it again. This makes a dangerous situation even more suspenseful and adds to the tension. Always a dark, twisty read, this series ratchets up the life-or-death situations for Darke and her team as well as the crime victims--there aren't always happy endings. If you like a good police procedural with excellent characters and plots, try this series; it's excellent.

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