Quinn

In Iris Johansen's compelling trilogy for the search of the truth to find Bonnie's body and her killer, Quinn placed us in Joe Quinn's POV. After he recovered from his attack, we were taken back to where it all started for Joe and Eve, when they first met on the case, and the chemistry between them to search for answers in the past. Meanwhile, in the present, Catherine Ling went on the hunt for John Gallo and experienced a sensual heat between them. With Bonnie's spiritual guidance for Joe and Eve, they honed in the devastating hunt continued in Bonnie, when it might be the beginning of the end for Eve's life-long search once and for all.

This was a nice continuation of the trilogy. For once, this shone the spotlight on Quinn, while he recovered from his injuries. This was when I cared for him, when he battled between life and death and spotted Bonnie near him. My heart ached for Jane and Eve. I became in awe of Catherine and despised Gallo some more. He continued to rub me the wrong way. I loved the Georgia settings throughout the novel and the series.

Ready to reach out to an angel? Snatch a copy today!

From Doon With Death

If you love classic and timeless British mysteries, you'll love the first one in the Wexford series by Ruth Rendell. In From Doon With Death, it was up to Inspector Wexford and Detective Burden to discover who killed Margaret Parsons. They dissected and examined every piece of her life that went back to her childhood. The closer they get to the truth, the more puzzling it appeared to them on who's lying and who told the truth. It all stemmed from that ancient book collection and the inscription. In this fast-paced British mystery, there were lots of twists and turns with a shocking conclusion in the end.

From the start, we do get a sense of how it all started for Wexford and Burden. I loved the backdrop of an English countryside to set this all up. I did feel bad for Parsons who lost his wife to a brutal murder. We do get a sense of how Wexford's mind worked on solving a most complex and disturbing case of  murder. I didn't like Fiona and Douglas for sure.  It gave me the creeps. Plenty of good suspenseful drama to the very end with a shocking twist.

Ready, set, go! Grab a copy today!

Special review from 9/2008: Findings

In the fourth installment of the Faye Longchamp series, Findings, it brought Faye and Joe into another compelling archeological mystery. When they were on another site to dig for clues, Faye's joy was short-lived, when there was a violent break-in her neighbor's house that left him dead. Later on, she discovered a clue to why he was dead. A mysterious emerald in the midst. Her friend's widow asked her to organize the relics on the floor. Her field notes wound up missing. It was now up to Faye and Joe to determine the connection between her friend's death and the story of the emerald. While they were closer to the truth, the chemistry between Faye and Joe were turning up the heat for them. Another good mystery to add to the series.

This archeological mystery was another clincher. I loved the concept of archeology and the artifacts from our past time. I loved the Floridian island connection to the deep south for the series. I liked how Faye went out to help a friend out in need with Joe. Between the two of them, they make an unbelievable couple despite their differences. I couldn't find anything to hate about this mystery. Good drama, nice active scenes and a little romance between Faye and Joe to turn things up in one great story.

Ready to make this a great finding? Pick up a copy today!

May Day

Welcome to a new kind of cozy mystery, when there's a murder every month. When you think of May Day, you'll think about the call for help, like in a distress signal or the first day of May, when there's a parade and a dance. Well, for Jess Lourey's May Day, the first book in the Murder-by-Month mystery series, her heroine Mira James sent out her own SOS. When she returned back to her home small town of Battle Lake, Minnesota, who said you can't go home again, she got a new job as the librarian at the library and discovered a dead body in plain sight. We learned about Mira's past with her father and her troubled adolescent years, when we found out about Mira's connection to the deceased. And from there, she was on the hunt for clues on why the state's hero was killed and with what motives. Jealousy? Greed? Or something else entirely, that may or may not stem from the past. She'd gotten to know the people in Battle Lake, its history of the land, and the residents hidden secrets. She became closer to the truth, until someone sent her a message to back off, before she's next. What a shocking twist in the end!

I loved the concept of having a murder every month, even if it corresponded with a holiday or not, along with the seasons. And to have the setting in a library made it even homier and better. I did feel bad for Mira, when she found Jeff dead. I didn't like his ex-girlfriend, who was a bit much of a drama queen. We cared about Mira and her journey for justice as well. This was a page turner that kept you hooked into suspense to find out who had done it and why.

Ready for a  new cozy? Give this one a try today!

The Dog Park

In the Dog Park, Laura Caldwell told us a beautiful story about two people and the love for their dog via Jess's POV. It all started out for Jess Champlin and Sebastian Hess, once married and now divorced, when she took their dog out to the dog park in part one. When Baxter saved a girl's life, he became a superstar and phenomenon  went across the airwaves and social media. He'd been known as "superdog". For Jess a stylist, it helped her branched out into the dogwear business with his collars, while her ex Sebastian didn't want to be in the papers and became secretive, due to his work. For Jess and her ex, they had joint custody of Baxter with timeshare. That's when she met Gavin, a new love interest in her life. In part two, it was about Jess and Baxter's high rise to fame and how Baxter's accident changed everything for all of them--it also created a love triangle between them and her ex. Betrayal and a standstill rocked Jess's world in part three, when it brought her closer to the truth and a much happier ending. A lovely woman's fiction novel and for those who are dog lovers as well.

This book tugged at my heart and my soul. I fell in love with Baxter, who was charming and amazing at the same time. I loved the scenic backdrop of the dog park as well, too. I was saddened, when Jess and Sebastian had grown apart, and when Baxter was hit by a car, and when Sebastian was taken hostage overseas. That left a lump in my throat. As for Gavin, I had a love/hate relationship with him. I was glad when Jess threw him to the curb. In the end, I loved happy endings between Jess and Sebastian. If you love dogs, you'll love this one as well.

Grab a hankie and buy this for someone you love!

After the Ashes

After the Ashes took place after the American Civil War. This  wasn't a typical love story. But Cheryl Howe took us down south to where Lorelei Sullivan was worried about her waylaid baby brother Corey. He was a most wanted man for a train robbery. And when Chris Braddock came into the picture, he was a marshal after him and wasn't the type to settle down. But when they met, sparks do fly between them. There was a big conflict out there for a bag of gold and another wanted man. A lot of drama and heated romance between them, when it came to a life and death situation, they knew they belonged together in the end.

This was a most beautiful and tense historical romance I've read that took place post-Civil War. That's when both regions rebuild from the destruction and recover from the grave loss of loved ones who found in the war, too. I did feel a lot of heartache for Lorelei, when she lost her loved ones during the war, and became concerned on Corey, who became a thorn on her side. But for Chris Braddock, I was conflicted with a love/hate relationship with him. I loved Jay and his family, too, when they overcame obstacles like with Jay's own war injuries. But I was happy in the ending, when they sorted everything out. Gripped from the first page and hooked on since, you would feel real things for Lori and Chris, when they deal with their own war wounds of the heart.

Ready to go down south? Take a journey with this book today!

Plunder

In the 7th installment of the Faye Longchamp series, Plunder, Mary Anna Evans took this story down to New Orleans. On an oiling archeology gig, Faye and Joe Mantooth were on the search of lost shipwreck debris, when they come across a family on the ocean. The Landrenaus are embroiled into a mess of greed, murder and family secrets and scandals. That's when Faye and Joe help Amande and protect her from harm. This young woman have been dealt a bad hand of cards, when she encountered a missing loot of rare Spanish coins. Everyone wants to get their hands of them and her money. The closer they unravel the whodunnit and why in this mystery, the more endangered they'll be. They'll do anything to place her in a safe home until she's at legal age. A great story.

This was an intriguing archeological mystery that dealt with a side story of missing pirate loot. I loved the location of New Orleans. I loved how the Mantooths brought little Michael on the trip with them, too. He was such a cutie. I did care about Amanda and Miranda, but not much for the rest of her family. I did feel for her and glad that Faye could help her out in some way. This captivated me with another level of suspense and intrigue in one big package. Good drama and plenty of action to keep me enthralled for the rest of the story.

Ready to plunder for some treasure? Grab a copy today!