Murder on the Switzerland Trail

In Mike Befeler's Murder on the Switzerland Trail, he gave us a classic mystery with an intriguing tale. It's June 1919 after the Depression era, Officer Harry McBride and his wife Susan went on a train ride from Boulder to Eldora, Colorado. Along the ride, they were joined by a couple of passengers to took the same trip. At first, it sounded like a fascinated trip to see the scenery, but there was a lot of tension in the area and a lot of gripes for one person named Frederick Hammond, a war veteran who recovered from influenza. There was a lot of swipes at each other and jobs to set him off. At the stop of Eldora, before they returned to Boulder, Frederick was murdered on his way to board the train. Now it was up to Harry to uncover whodunit before they stopped at Boulder. As the only fellow police officer on the job, he made a shocking discovery before the culprit would stop at nothing in the end with a bittersweet ending.

This was a pretty decent mystery in my book, but due to a lot of factual information via the train ride, the murder took place halfway through the novel and not earlier. I did like the scenic route via the train on the Switzerland Trail from Boulder to Eldora, Colorado and the tidbits of historical knowledge thrown in. I liked Harry and most of the characters, though I couldn't stand Professor Sager and Frederick Hammond altogether. This is nice for a light ride from start to finish with a lot of intrigue to suck you in and take you on a ride of your own with drama, tension, and little non-stop action.

Check out Murder on the Switzerland Trail today!

No Game for a Dame

In M Ruth Myers's No Game for a Dame, the first installment in the Maggie Sullivan historical mystery series, we're transferred back in time to hit the easy streets. In Post-Depression era in Ohio, Maggie Sullivan is a private eye and hoping to catch her first case. It all started when someone threatened her in her office and the police have an eye on her. When she worked on a case to help Lewis Throckmorton's nephew, Peter Stowe, who's in a bind, it was up to her to find out what's it all about. As soon as she unraveled the mystery on who was behind the threats for him and even on her, she doesn't break under pressure, even when her first client dumps her. When she believed she had it, she discovered who was behind it, when her life was on the line to fight for her own life.

This was a fantastic historical mystery that took place in 1930s Ohio. This paid homage to hard boiled mysteries from the past decade. I really cared for Maggie and how she made out on her own, when danger darkened her footsteps. I also cared for Flora, Thelma and Peter and a couple of cops. I loved the 1930s Ohio was the idealistic location and settings for this interesting twisted turn for historical mysteries. This would take you back into time, when things weren't so easy and everything was cheaper than a dime with non-stop action, drama, intrigue and suspense.

Will you check out No Game for a Dame today?

Only the Hunted Run

In Neely Tucker's Only the Hunted Run, the third installment in the Sully Carter mystery series, he had interwoven a fascinating mystery with a hint of some historical facts. It all started at the mass shooting at the Capital, when Sully himself encountered a crazy psychopathic who killed the senator who was on the run. Now Sully had an exclusive story as a reporter in Washington D.C., when he had dug up this mass shooter named "Terry Waters" from Oklahoma. In a blink of an eye, they faced each other and had some kind of bond, since they both lost their mothers who were murdered. For Sully, he left his nephew Josh with his friend Alexis, while he took off to Oklahoma to dig up dirt on Waters himself. There, he discovered his true identity and his family life before he left it all behind. When he had uncovered almost everything, he went back to St. Elizabeth's a most notable hospital for the criminal insane to see for himself. But after he had blown his cover, his nemesis had a trick up his own sleeves to make ends meets in an explosive ending.

This was an intriguing and delightful look at journalism at its finest in Washington D.C. We had a closer look at the criminal insane and the judicial system when it comes to mental health. I did care for Sully and his nephew Josh, when Sully had encountered some gruesome acts of violence. I did like the dual locations of Washington D.C. and Oklahoma to show a depicting look at how things were back then and now. This fast-paced mystery will leave you hanging at the edge of your seat with non-stop action, suspense, intrigue and lots of drama on every page.

Will you be ready to read Only the Hunted Run real soon?

Dead`Beat

In Patricia Hall's  Dead Beat, get ready to do the time warp again. Before the Beatles made it big in Liverpool and London in the 1960s, a serial killer had struck the SoHo area with some gruesome deaths. For Kate O'Donnell, a young woman trying to make it as a professional photographer to impress her boss, she was also looking for her brother Thomas who she haven't seen it in years. For DC Harry Barnard, he's looking for a suspect in a line of murders of queers and runaways, while he has his eyes on Kate and Tom. While the both of them looking for answers, they dealt with the taboo  subject of same-sex relationships, corrupt cops and a gangly mobster who might stand in their way. In the end, they came to the shocking truth with a disturbing ending on who it was.

This was a stand out historical mystery to portray how London was back in the day in the 1960s. I really cared for Kate and how she made herself known in the world as a young professional photographer, while she looked for her brother. As for Harry, I thought he was okay who was only doing his job and did nab the right bad guy. I hated how they portrayed queers. I did like the dual locations of Liverpool and London in the 1960s time period for this storyline with crisp settings for the scenery. Great drama, suspense, intrigue, and a lot if intense non-stop action in this moving plot.

Follow the trail of music to the sound of a dead beat today.

Serpentine

In Peter Parkin and Alison Darby's Serpentine, this thriller will take you on a fast-paced thrill ride. Nathan Morrell is the head of Flying Machines Inc., and had designed Serpentine, a brand new roller coaster for Adventureland. On the day of the reveal, something's going awfully wrong when 25 people died. Beyond his shock and awe, he couldn't believe his eyes and rescued the lone survivor. From peer pressure from the brass to file a lawsuit to the NTSB's involvement, they discovered what people would take to cover up a secret in terms of sabotage and foul play. While it brought Shelby and Nathan together as a couple, it brought them in terms of who would try to thing of something so heinous and sinister in the end with a shocking fallout.

This was a spectacular debut thriller about the roller coaster. I cared about Nathan Morrell and Shelby Sutcliffe and how they went through and endured this ordeal. There's some nasty characters in there too. I loved the theme park setting in Virginia and the locations of Washington D.C and Florida. This would leave you with chills and thrills in this fast-paced page-turning thriller. Hang onto your seat as this has romance, drama, intrigue and mystery along the way.

Would you be tempted to ride Serpentine if you dare?