Other Characters: Stuart, Denzel, Lieutenant Talbot, Keith Hatchet, The Captain, Shane
Stars: 5
This book grabbed me from the very beginning. I couldn’t put it down.
A woman sees a picture of of a man on the news and is convinced it is her son who was kidnapped decades ago when he was 12 years old. The authorities don’t believe her but a special Private Investigator does and decides to take her case to prove it. A current kidnapping has the same MO so he thinks the two may be connected in some way. As he researches these cases, he uncovers much more than he ever expected.
This book had great character development and the plot was great. It was fairly fast moving with a lot of detail. There were a lot twist and turns while the plot unravels as to what is happening and who is behind this. I had never read anything by this author before but I know I will read more. If you love a great suspense thrill and you don’t mind a little bit of bad language (the bad language isn’t a lot but there is some) you will love this book.
Other Characters: Danny, Jessica, Blake, Kinder, Richard, Pam
Stars: 5
This is the first book I have read by this author and I could not put it down. It was exciting, suspenseful and & thrilling from the first page until the climax.
Nicole and Brad live in a small quiet suburban neighborhood with their two young children. They are happy, in love and appear to have everything they want in life. Then the unimaginable happens, their young daughter Jessica, doesn’t get off the bus after school. It is soon discovered that she has been abducted.  Brad’s brother, Blake, is a member of the local police department and appears to be more interested in how this affects their community rather than finding his niece. Nicole decides to enlist the help of the FBI. Nicole is determined to find her daughter, while at the same time, she trying to come to terms about something that happened in her past that she has even hidden from her husband. As her past comes back full circle will her family come together and find Jessica so they can heal and move forward!
Plan to lose some sleep when you read this book, because you will not be able to put it down. If you love a great mystery in a small town with 3-dimensional characters, you are going to love this book.
Other Characters: Paul Fairburn, Scott Fairburn, Harper Fairburn, Fiona Austin, Joseph Austin, Detective Fred Clarke, Olivia Wiesner, Esme Lin, Salvador Sobrai, Niall Pickerd, Bob Kerns, Robin Kerns
Pets: A dog named Jax & a cat name Pajamas
Stars: 5
Sally Fairburn is back in another top-notch book by LA Larkin. This is the third book in the Sally Fairburn Crime Thriller series. I really like Sally, She is always on a mission to solve the crime, and she doesn’t stop until she gets the answers she’s looking for. She’s also a great mother, and there’s nothing she won’t do for her son, even if it means protecting him from his own father.
Sally is a former police officer and an amateur detective. Initially, she believed that police work was a thing of the past. However, when her former employer requests her return to the force as a detective in order to assist in the investigation of Joseph Austin’s murder and the attempted Murder of his wife, Fiona, who is left comatose, how can she resist. This her chance to prove herself. With two more murders, including their top suspect for the Austin murder, Sally is in a race against time to connect the dots. Not helping matters is the fact that her abusive ex-husband comes back to the Franklin Police Department and attempts to obstruct the investigation. Fiona, who is in a coma & is the sole surviving witness to her husband’s murder, may possess all the answers.
I can’t get enough of this series! It’s got everything you want in a good mystery: secrets, compelling characters, an amazing protagonist, and plenty of twists and turns to solve a murder with an ending you won’t see coming! It’s a must-read!
Main Character: Helen Morrisey & her Detection Club
Other Characters: Eliot Davies & his wife Allison, Detective Joe McAllister, Liz, Shawn, Tammi, Diane, Ronnie, Maggie, Britany, Craig
Pets: A Golden Retriever named Rocky & 2 cats Trixie & Watson
Stars: 5
This is the 3rd installment of the Chesapeake Bay Mysteries series and Ms Murray does not disappoint. Helen Morrisey once again finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation and of course she has to try and solve it much to the chagrin of the handsome detective, Joe McAlister.
A haunted Bed & Breakfast, A party given by a State Senator Candidate and a dead body! What could go wrong! Despite the fact that the Victorian Mansion has been rumored to be haunted, Helen ultimately sold the property to Eliot Davies, who is running for the office of state Senator and his wife Allison. They’ve turned it into a Bed & Breakfast, and they’re getting ready to party. The party comes to a screeching halt when a dead body is discovered in the Pool House, with Allison standing over it. Of course, the main suspects are Eliot and Allison, so Helen is intent on proving that her friends could not have committed this murder. Did they do it and If they didn’t, then who did? When someone else dies, the conspiracy deepens to discover what the two victims might have in common. Is the past coming back to haunt them? Is this murder connected to a 50-year-old mystery? Helen and her world-renowned detection team are on a mission to discover the answer. But how will her involvement in yet another murder case affect her blossoming relationship with handsome detective Joe?
This is an amazing book! The Protagonist is genuine, a great friend, She loves her kids and she is funny. I just adore her detection club and the way she interacts with them as if they were real people. The term “detection club” is derived from Helen’s collection of Literary Amateurs Sleuths. Those who have read the preceding two books of the series are aware of her ‘Detection Club’. If you haven’t read them, then what are you waiting for!! I recommend that readers read the books in order to gain an understanding of the characters’ back story. It really helps to develop the relationship with the characters.
The author has a great way of building tension and pulling the reader in. What I like the most is that the book is full of twist & turns to solve the puzzle. Just when you think you have solved the mystery, she adds another twist that makes you rethink it. I must warn you, be prepared to lose some sleep because this book is hard to put down.
Real Estate Rule #3: It’s rare a buyer who wants to buy a haunted house”
Other Characters: Millie, Ethan, Detective Fred O’Malley
Pets: Olivia’s Golden Retriever Barkley
Stars: 5
This is the first book I have read by this author and I will be reading more. I really enjoyed this mystery. It’s a little different from what I’m used to reading. I’m used to mystery books, but rarely one that takes place more than a century ago.
Olivia, who lives in the small New England town of Sparrow Haven is the town librarian and an amateur sleuth. Mysteries has always fascinated her and her best friend, Milly. They always seem to be involved in some kind of investigation, much to the dismay of Detective Fred O’Malley. When some local teens find an old painting, it piques Olivia’s curiosity, so of course she has to find the secrets hiding beneath the brush strokes. Olivia, her Faithful companion, a Golden Retriever named Barkley, the hot new veterinarian, Ethan, and her best friend Milly solve a 100-year-old mystery with present implications. During their journey, they uncover family secrets that may be best left alone. Could uncovering the past get Olivia, Ethan and Millie killed!!
If you love a suspenseful mystery that takes you on a journey to past secrets that carry on to the present, then you will love this book. I read it in one sitting, which I rarely do. I just couldn’t seem to put it down. I had to find out how it ends and it definitly did not disappoint. The author just has a way of keeping the reader engaged and wanting more.
***I received this free ARC. This review is my honest opinion***
Other Characters: Detective Clark, Detective Lin, Richard Foster, Paul, Margie, Caroline, Matt, Lauren, Nicole, Becca, Daisy
Stars: 5
This is another great thriller by L.A. Larkin. The author has a way of twisting a story to keep you guessing till the end.
Sallie’s neighbor Caroline confides in her that she thinks her husband is trying to kill her. Sallie doesn’t want to get involved since she and her son were almost killed by the Poster Killer in book one.. When Caroline turns up dead, Sallie regrets not helping her friend so she tries to find evidence agains her husband, Matt to prove he killed his wife. Once again, Sallie’s snooping could get her killed.
When she starts receiving mysterious flowers and she feels she is being watched, she knows she must be getting close to finding out who killed Caroline. Could the Poster Killer, who is serving a life sentence know something! She may have to visit him in prison to find out. Then when one of Caroline’s friends is killed by a hit and run, the race is on to find a killer.
Ms Larkin keeps us guessing all the way to the end. It is fast paced with a lot of twists and turns to find a killer. I loved this book just as much as the first. The author knows how to keep the reader engaged and there is never a dull moment. If you love a thrilling mystery, with a surprise ending, you will love this series.
Other Characters: Paul Fairburn, Bryan Topham, Detective Clark, Detective Richard Foster, Aiden Foster, Theo Durrant,
Stars: 5
This is the first book I have read by this author and I will be reading more. I loved it from the very first word to the very last. I was so captivated by it that I just couldn’t put it down.
Saly is a former cop now working as a victim’s advocate. She lost her daughter five years ago and is still reeling from that. She is divorced from a controlling abusive husband and now her main focus is her 14-year-old son. Additionally, the memory of 6 girls who were abducted from her community 4 years ago still haunts her.
They convicted Theo Durrant for a series of crimes and they suspect him of being the poster killer who is responsible for the disappearance of the six girls. Imagine Sally’s shock when Theo requests that she go to the prison to visit him because he has information about the Poster killer. She wasn’t going to go until she saw a poster of herself. This really upset her since the poster killer always put up a poster of each girl before he took her. When she goes to visit him, Theo claims he is not the poster killer, but he knows who is. He won’t tell her who it is, but he gives her two hints. When Theo is later killed in prison, she realizes her own life could be in danger. The local cops reopen the cold case. When there is a stalker who won’t leave her alone and her son also becomes a target, she is determined to find the poster killer before he kills again.
During Sally’s search for the truth, other secrets are revealed.
This book is exciting and keeps you guessing from the very first page. It takes the reader on a roller coaster ride until the killer is revealed. There is a lot of action and suspense with an ending I didn’t see coming.
If you love a great suspense with a surprise ending, you will love Next Girl Missing.
This is the fifth book in the series, and I have to admit that I didn’t like it as much as I enjoyed the first four. I didn’t dislike it: it just didn’t hold my interest as well as the previous books.
In this story, Katy worries about Nina, her elderly neighbor. Donna, Nina’s niece, visited to take care of her and Katy hasn’t seen or heard from Nina since Donna arrived. When Katy would go over there, Donna would always claim Nina was sleeping. In an effort to figure out what was going on, Katy began spying on Nina’s home because she was growing increasingly suspicious. She believed Donna had wronged Nina in some way. Since there was no proof of a crime, she was unable to receive much assistance from the authorities, so Katy used all of her sleuthing abilities to solve the case.
Donna is a mystery author as well, so Katy starts reading her works. It appears that what Donna is describing in her books and what is taking place at Nina’s house are related.
The amount of time it took to learn Donna and Nina’s situation took way too long. Like in the previous books, there were some humorous moments, but it felt like it went on forever. The ending wa a surprise. I enjoy a good mystery and attempt to solve it every time. This author does have a way of twisting a story so it is a bit more difficult to figure the ending.
If you decide to read this book, I would love to know your thoughts.
This is another great book in the Murder Blog Mystery series. I love the way that author can weave some humor in the otherwise dramatic story.
This book takes Grandma Ruby and Katy to England where Ruby’s sister, Edith, passed away suddenly. While taking her dog for a walk. Edith evidently slipped on some ice on her steps and died. Ruby is beside herself with grief and needs to go to England immediately to take care of Edith’s home and finances. Katy wasn’t about to let Ruby go by herself so she goes to help.
It took them a little longer to travel to England than they had anticipated because their flight kept getting delayed. The author nevertheless managed to inject humor into the plot despite all the stress brought on by the delays.
Even from across the ocean, Katy often finds herself in life-threatening situations. It is almost immediately apparent that someone in the community does not want them there. Ruby and Katy begin to suspect there is a problem in the small English community as a result of the deaths of several citizens and the vandalism of Edith’s cottage. Some of the citizens of this community are not as they seem.
Who doesn’t want them there and is trying to scare them into leaving? Who could be vandalizing their property? Why did several people die? Was Edith’s accident really an accident? These are questions that will be answered when you read this book.
I genuinely believed I had the mystery figured out. I did manage to figure out a portion of it, but it was much more complex. This author has a way of weaving a story with a lot of twists and turns so the ending is always a surprise. I just love all the characters in this series. There are so many facets to Katy and Ruby, and just when you think you understand them, something unexpected happens.
If you love a good mystery with lots of twists & turns, and surprises and don’t mind a few curse words scattered about, you are going to love this mystery series.
Pets: Labrador Retriever named Daisy & a Tabby cat named Tabitha
Stars: 5
This book was equally as fantastic as the first. The characters have a lot of depth. The way this author describes everything makes you feel as though you know the characters.
Once again Katy finds herself in the middle of a murder mystery. As Katy is working on her graphic design business and trying to make enough money to p ay her bills, her estranged half-sister shows up, and she has a secret. What secret could Katy’s mom be keeping? Katy’s best friend Samantha talks Katie into joining a book club with her and there is a quirky cast of characters who also have their share of secrets. Of course, Katy has to blog about all of it.
This book has lots of twists and turns & a lot of secrets with a surprise ending.
Katy has a stalker who just happens to be her ex-husband Chad who she likes to call Chad the Cad. He is really a deadbeat with a pregnant wife and a girlfriend. There are lots of drama, secrets and surprises and somebody gets shot.
I could not put this book down. I was engrossed with it from the very first word till the last. I couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen next. I love all the characters, especially Katy and Grandma Ruby. Some of the lines they say are priceless.
Chapters & Lattes 