"A Gathering of Secrets" by Linda Castillo

A Gathering of Secrets by Linda Castillo is a murder mystery that is extremely sad.  Right from the Prologue, this book blew me away!  It is downright gruesome at times with some suspense.  The Chief of Police, Kate Burkholder gets herself into a couple dicey situations in this book.  When she discovers what a slime bag the 18-yr-old Amish boy really was, it becomes a struggle for her to hunt down his killer.

This book had some surprises but I came close to figuring out who the murderer was.  I thought the plot was interesting and kept my attention throughout the book.  I finished this one in just two days.
(Karen's review, 4 stars)

Gerard's review (3.5 stars):
In A Gathering of Secrets by Linda Castillo, a teen-age boy is found burned to death in his own barn.  Foul play is suspected.  It is up to Kate to find out who did this and why.  This book is pretty much the same as her other books with it set in the Amish community, her in danger while trying to solve the case, and some of her personal life.  The names and incidents change, but pretty much follows the same pattern.  I thought it was okay.

Teaser from page 6:  Meet me in the barn at midnight.  I'll make it worth your while.

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"That Darkness" by Lisa Black (Contemporary Fiction)

That Darkness by Lisa Black takes place in Cleveland, Ohio and is a work of fiction that makes one think. It is about Jack Renner, a vigilante cop who makes sure the scumbags in Cleveland who got off before do not get off again! He takes care of them himself! He justifies it by the fact that he’s saving others from their exploits. Maggie, a forensic investigator for the Cleveland Police Department suspects him and finds herself in dangerous situations as she gathers evidence.

This book is very creepy and at first; I was feeling overwhelmed with so many dead bodies to keep track of. Then though, things settled down some and I got caught up in wondering what I would do if I were Maggie and whether I liked Jack or not. This is a book with adventure and suspense that makes you think. It is definitely not a happy little story with a predictable ending, nor is it a murder mystery.  There is no mystery at all so if that's what you are looking for, you will be disappointed. I look forward to reading the sequel, Unpunished next.
(Karen's review, 4 stars)

Teaser from page 172:  "That in times of crisis, morality is the first thing to go out the window.  It becomes a luxury people just can't afford."


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"Marrying Miss Marshall" by Lacy Williams (Wild Wyoming Hearts Book 1)

Image from Amazon

Marrying Miss Marshall by Lacy Williams is an historical romance that I thoroughly enjoyed! This takes place in Wyoming territory in 1889 where the town of Calvin has a female Marshall, Danna Carpenter. She was appointed to replace her husband when he died in the line of duty. Chas O’Grady is a detective from Boston investigating cattle rustlers as well as revenge on the man who killed his brother and his sister-in-law. The Marshall and Chas meet when the Marshall rescues him from being trampled by a stampede! Although he’s shocked to see a woman Marshall, he grows to admire her and soon becomes her deputy since he needs a job.

This entertaining book has a good story line in addition to the love story between Danna and Chas. It has quite a bit of adventure which kept my interest and I liked both Danna and Chas. Danna’s dog, Wrong Tree, also added interest for me.
(Karen's review, 5 stars)

Teaser from page 7: Chas’s heart thundered in his chest, much like those hooves that had been so close to taking his life. This time for a different reason.


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"Close to the Bone" by Lisa Black

Close to the Bone by Lisa Black is a murder mystery that mostly takes place at the Cleveland medical examiner’s office! Theresa, acting supervisor for Trace Evidence, finds one deskman dead and the other missing when she heads into the office around 3 a.m. Upon investigation, it comes to light there is a serial killer on the loose targeting people who work at the medical examiner’s office who were connected to a murder of one of their employees ten years ago.

This is a pretty sad, gruesome book. It has several murders and an abduction in it. It is pretty good, but why Theresa is the one to solve the mystery instead of the cops was a bit puzzling to me. I liked the suspense and that it kept me guessing for most of the book.
(Karen’s review, 4 stars)

Teaser from page 1:  The corpse under the sheet left her to it.  The dead are courteous that way.

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"The Couple Next Door" by Shari Lapena

The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena is one crazy read involving kidnapping, family secrets, betrayal, infidelity, greed and manipulation. Anne and Marco come home from a dinner party next door to find their little 4-month-old daughter, Cora, gone! Of course, the cops are called and keep questioning the parents who are the primary suspects. The whole book is about the police investigation and their efforts to find and return Cora. Eventually, the truth comes out.

Teaser from page 21:  She can feel him shaking, can feel the painful thumping of his heart.  She tells herself that together they will get through this.  The police will find Cora.

This contemporary fiction mystery was a page-turner for me that moves along very quickly with lots of twists. I enjoyed the writing style of this one because it was easy to follow and things gradually fell into place. If you enjoy books about scheming, dysfunctional families and very sleezy characters, I would recommend this book. I think this would make a good book club selection because I think it would make for interesting discussion of the characters.
(Karen's review, 5 stars)


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"Motion to Kill--a Lou Mason Thriller by Joel Goldman

Motion to Kill—a Lou Mason Thriller by Joel Goldman is a legal thriller with lots of murder, several cases, and lots of characters. Lou Mason discovers the dead body of his partner in a lake at the firm’s partner retreat. When he learns it was murder, Lou tries to investigate to figure out who the killer is and why. Is it client-related? Is it someone in the firm? Is the death of another partner related? Is there more than one killer? There are lots of things going on in this book!

Teaser from page 1: A dead partner is bad for business, even if he dies in his sleep. But when he washes ashore on one side of a lake and his boat is found abandoned on the other side, it’s worse.

This book is pretty complex and I found it a bit hard to follow at the beginning but as the investigation moved along, I got more drawn into it. Some parts were very good with lots of suspense, while others were mostly conversations. I felt sorry for Lou that he didn’t get out of the firm sooner and felt bad for the sheriff too. I liked the ending.
(Karen’s review, 4 stars)


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"Without Warning " by Lynette Eason (Book 2 of Elite Guardians Series)

Without Warning by Lynette Eason is the second book in the Elite Guardians series. Daniel and his 17-yr.-old niece Riley get bodyguards when Daniel finds a former employee hung in the basement of one of his restaurants and another of his restaurants burned by arson. Daniel, an ex-marine, is a very nice guy whose life is in danger due to greed. He even owns his own plane!

This book is about betrayal, arson, suspense, faith and romance. It was a page-turner for me with a lot of action. It grabbed my interest right from the start.
 (Karen's review, 5 stars)

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"Winter Journey" by Diane Armstrong

Image from Amazon.com

Winter Journey by Diane Armstrong is based on a true story!  Halina is a forensic dentist.  She is taking part in a war crime investigation, but emotions still run deep and she finds herself in the middle of something that will probably not end well.  She is also about to discover something that will change her life as she knows it!  The ending is fantastic!  I did not see that coming at all. 

Some of the best books I read are non-fiction books on topics that I know little or nothing about.  WOW!  What a story this is!  Halina is a great character and the others are well developed as well, especially the priest.  LOVED IT!  This is my new favorite book of the month.
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

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"Little Deaths" by Emma Flint is Based on a True Story

Little Deaths by Emma Flint is based on a true story. Ruth Malone lives a loose life, and that is putting it mildly. She has two kids and an on-again-off-again relationship with her husband. One night her kids are missing and in the days that follow, both are found dead. Did Ruth do it? The police and public opinion have her guilty. This book played out pretty good and kept my interest for the most part. It is worth reading for sure!
(Gerard's review, 4 stars)

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"A Tap on the Window" by Linwood Barclay--Good Stuff! (Updated)

A Tap on the Window by Linwood Barclay is about Cal Weaver who lives in a small town and is looking to find out if his son's death was an accident or not.   One night he gets involved in something that he probably should not have, but it's too late to get out!

I enjoyed this book because it has good action and lots of characters.  I kept trying to figure out who were the good guys and who were the bad guys.  I wasn't sure until the last page how it all worked out!  Good stuff!  This is a new author to me, got this one because a friend recommended it.
(Gerard's review 12/1/16, 5++ stars)

Karen read this one too on 12/8/16:
A Tap on the Window by Linwood Barclay is a thriller involving several mysteries. This takes place in a small town where cops like to take things into their own hands. Cal Weaver, a private investigator, is trying to find out who sold ecstasy to his teenage son who got high, fell off a roof and died. On a rainy night, against his better judgment, Cal gives Claire a ride when she taps on his window because she mentions that she knew his son Scott. From there, things really get messed up and snowball.

This is an interesting mystery that I only partially figured out. The short chapters that had conversations between a mother, son and a man whose names were not revealed until much later were annoying to me. I really wanted to know who these people were! There was a lot of tension in this book between the mayor and the police department, tension between Cal and his wife in dealing with the loss of their son and if Cal could track down Claire before something bad happened to her. There is a lot of suspense and mystery happening in this book with some very creepy people! (4 stars)

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"Where Courage Calls" by Janette Oke

Where Courage Calls by Janette Oke is about Beth, a young woman who shows courage by leaving her nice home in the east to move west to teach in a school in a mining town.  Thinking she will be free from Edward, the man her parents would like her to marry, is disappointed to see him on the same train and hear he will be stationed out west too!  Beth soon makes friends with the townspeople, teaches school at the pool hall, starts a Bible club for the children and then even adds teaching English to some miners!  When one of her students almost dies from drinking some hooch, she even becomes involved in the investigation and finds a new love interest in Jack.

This Christian fiction book moved slowly and I got bored by the end, really looking forward to finishing it so I could start another.  Beth was like super woman.  She did quite a bit of praying and the whole point of the book was that God is in control as Beth surrendered to Him to show her what he wanted her to do.  It was okay but Beth just seemed a little too perfect. 
(Karen's review, 3 stars)

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"The Dead Man" by Joel Goldman is 3 Mysteries in 1!

The Dead Man by Joel Goldman is about a former FBI agent, Jack who has a movement disorder that makes him shake. He takes a job as director of security at the Harper Institute of the Mind, working for an extremely rich man who has early stages of Alzheimer’s.  With the help of his landlady, an ex-cop, Jack finds himself investigating the deaths of two Dream Project volunteers who died, one suicide, one accident but what he believes to be murders connected with the institute.   The institute tries to help people who have bad nightmares be able to take control of what happens in them.

Jack's daughter, Wendy, who overdosed was believed to be involved with a drug ring and the FBI believes Jack knows what happened to the missing five million dollars they believe she had.  The mystery is what happened to the money.

The third mystery is who killed the parents of a little 10-yr.-old girl, Maggie while they were sleeping.  She got away by jumping from her bedroom balcony two-stories high.

This is a very complex mystery!  I figured out just one of the three.  There is a serial killer on the loose and lots of deaths in this book.  The title refers to the crime scene itself which gives the most evidence.  Jack is the main character and I liked him.  This is good from start to finish--I was never bored with it and recommend it to anyone who likes a good murder mystery!
(Karen's review, 5 stars)

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"The Undoing of Saint Silvanus" by Beth Moore

The Undoing of Saint Silvanus by Beth Moore is her first fiction novel. It takes place in New Orleans and centers on a group of people who live in an old refurbished church. When Jillian gets a mysterious phone call from a woman who works for her grandmother telling her that her father is dead, she hops on a plane and finds her grandmother living at Saint Silvanus. Jillian’s mother does not get along with her mother-in-law and was not happy about Jillian going to see her. Some family secrets are revealed, Jillian finds herself in great danger when she gets involved with the wrong person but makes some good friends with the bunch at Saint Silvanus. Jillian is not a religious person but Adella, the woman who called her, is and managed to help Jillian and her grandmother mend their relationship. This novel is about how God can pick up the pieces of broken lives and put them together.

I thought this Christian fiction novel would have more humor but most of it was pretty dark. It moved along very slowly and some things didn’t make sense to me, like why all the flashbacks to when the church was actually a church. Nor did I understand if the father had money for Jillian to inherit, why he lived on the streets like a bum. I liked Adella the best because although she was the Christian in the book, she was presented in a good light and provided at least some humor with her wit and direct ways. I didn’t much care for Jillian, the main character, but liked her better as the book progressed. It certainly is quite a story and one I will probably remember because of the original plot.
(Karen's review, 3 stars)

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Wife and Husband Differ on "I Let You Go" by Clare Mackintosh

Karen's review 5/29/30:
I Let You Go by Clare Macintosh really annoyed me.  I started it but after Part I, took a long break from it because it made no sense to me.  It turned out to be a good story in the end, but it was very confusing along the way due to the strange writing style.  It is about solving the mystery of a hit-and-run driver who killed a little boy and domestic violence.  The fact it is an International Bestseller made me expect great things but I was disappointed.

This is not a book I looked forward to getting back to; however, I did plow my through it after breaking away from it three times to read other things.  The characters were not very likeable and even Jenny, the main character, was mostly annoying because she was so stupid.  This is written in first person but was very hard to follow because it was gold from several different views and was hard sometimes to know who was doing the talking.  Most books have the name of the individual who is talking at the beginning of the chapter so the reader knows right away; unfortunately, that is not the case with this one.  I found myself having to go back and re-read things several times to figure out who was saying what.  I guess the author did that on purpose just to confuse the reader, but I did not appreciate it.

Another thing that was annoying to me was how it jumped from the present to the past and back all through the book.  I know I am in the minority on this, but it just did not appeal to me at all due to the writing style and the characters.  The only character I really liked was Patrick, the vet.  Ian was plain horrible and did not like him at all, especially when he hit his wife on their wedding day, killed her cat on purpose and kicked the dog across the room.  This book did make me angry!  Even the detectives weren't very likeable for me.

I'm sorry I couldn't be more positive, but this is not one I liked much at all.
(1 star)

Gerard Liked it:
I Let You Go by Clare Macintosh is about a young boy who was with his mom, but ran ahead to get home first. He is killed when a car hits him and keeps on going! The cops look for a clue to find who could have done that. In the meantime, the boy’s mother is desperate to leave the accident scene behind and heads for a remote cottage where she hopes no one will know her.

This story is told in two parts: the first sets the scene and the second really gets into the action. It kept my interest. The second part is very good and I was anxious to see how everything would turn out. The unexpected twist at the end sealed the deal for me! This is well worth reading and goes on sale May 3, 2016.

Thank you to Penguin Random House for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.
(Gerard's review 4/27/16, 5 stars)

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"The Watcher in the Wall" by Owen Laukkanen

In The Watcher in the Wall by Owen Laukkanen, there is a website that young teens are going to.  It's a suicide how to and somebody is encouraging them to do it!  The detectives are on it and it's a race to stop this person before more kids die.  But they will need all their skill to stop it.

I thought this action-packed book was really good; the pages flew by!  The characters were developed well and very believable.  The ending was kind of drawn out, but that is a minor point.
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

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"The Widow" by Fiona Barton

The Widow by Fiona Barton is about a young girl that goes missing.  It's also about a married couple, Glen and Jean who both have secrets about the missing girl, but then Glen dies.  Jean is free now to tell her secret, or is she? 

This book goes back in time to set up the missing girl's disappearance.  It is also told by a few detectives who want to know the truth.  This novel kept me interested, the writing was good and the ending pleased me.
(Gerard's review, 5 stars)

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"If I Run" by Terri Blackstock is the first of a Series about a Fugitive

If I Run by Terri Blackstock centers on two people:  Casey Cox, who leaves a crime scene that she may or may not have had something to do with, and Dylan Roberts, whose job is to find Casey and get to the truth of the matter.  I really liked this book because Casey and Dylan were both good characters that I got into very quickly.  I encourage you to read this one.  If it would have had just a bit more action, I would give it 5 stars.
(Gerard's review, 4.5 stars)  

Karen's review 3/23/16, 3 stars:
If I Run by Terri Blackstock is about Casey, a woman who finds a journalist friend of hers dead at his home shortly after he told her to come over. She is convinced that dirty cops murdered him and are going to arrest her for his murder. She leaves town, gets a new identity and becomes a fugitive. The victim’s parents hire Dylan, a close friend back from the war in Afghanistan, to find Casey. Casey’s father’s death was declared a suicide when she was just 12, but she always believed he was murdered and fears her friend was murdered because he was looking into her dad’s death for her. Casey is a good person who goes out of her way to help others even when she is trying to stay low and not be found.

I liked this book all right but not the ending. When I read through the questions in the back though, I discovered that this is only the first book of a trilogy so I was glad to see that! Casey questions if there even is a God but finds herself praying just in case there is when she gets into sticky situations. I have a feeling this series will not only be about Casey’s running from the law but also about her personal search for God.



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"The Shut Eye" by Belinda Bauer is Pretty Good

The Shut Eye by Belinda Bauer tells the story of a little 4-yr.-old boy named Pantel Buck.  One day he wander off and is gone.  Only his footprints are left.  Anna, his mom, is devastated and is desperate for hope to find her son.  One day she comes across something she believes to be the answer.  So, was her son found?  What was that hope she latched on to?  Read it to find the answers!

I thought this book was pretty good.  Anna was a great character and John Maguel, a detective trusted in the case was very good.  
(Gerard's review, 5 stars)

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"Killing Trail--a Timber Creek K-9 Mystery" by Margaret Mizushima

Killing Trail--a Timber Creek K-9 Mystery by Margaret Mizushima is going to be made into a series of books.  It stars Deputy Mattie and her K-9 partner, Robo.  A young girl is found dead and her dog has drugs in its stomach.  The story line was okay but it moved kind of slow for my taste.  I had the killer figured out early and the ending was sort of anti-climatic.  I did love Robo though and Mattie was okay.
(Gerard's review, 4 stars)

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"The Neighbor" by Lisa Gardner--Who Is the Real Monster?

The Neighbor by Lisa Gardner is a mystery told from multiple points of view about a wife and cat who turn up missing. She has a husband who works second shift and a 4-yr-old daughter who was the last person to see her mother before she disappeared. Both husband and wife had bad childhoods but love their daughter very much and want to give her a good family. The cops are clueless as to what happened to the wife but have lots of suspects.  The husband and wife are both good liars and very good at keeping secrets.

This book kept me guessing right to the unexpected ending but I felt really bad for the neighbor. It deals with family secrets, marriage issues, prejudice, computers and sexual abuse.  This book is an eye opener to the problems pedophiles face. The plot is similar to Gone Girl; however, I liked both the main characters in this and didn’t like either of the main characters in Gone Girl. This book doesn’t have near as much swearing as Gone Girl does either. I liked it!
 (Karen's review, 4 stars)

Gerard's Review, 5++ stars:
In The Neighbor by Lisa Gardner, a husband comes home and finds that his wife and cat are missing.  The rest of the house is normal and his young 4-yr.-old daughter is fine.  The police are on it and have plenty of suspects including the husband, but no body.  This is a real page turner!  The author keeps dropping tidbits that change the focus every so often to different possible suspects, but there's really no evidence.  I really enjoyed it a lot and was blown away by the ending!

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