Category Archives: Mystery/Suspense/Thriller

Author Cindy Brown who has several books in this series that I have read. I originally read this book just after reading the second book in this series but have only since decided to publish my review. This book, “Macdeath” is Cindy Brown’s debut novel. Whether it is a debut book or one written by a long standing novelist, it is outstanding. The plot is fun and different, the characters memorable (for both their good and bad traits) and the mystery was a great whodunnit – pointing you this way and that before being solved.

Ivy Meadows (aka Olive Zeigwart) is an actress – well, she has just been cast as a witch in Macbeth. So what if it took literal somersaults and cartwheels to get the part. This version of Macbeth is being set in a circus. All seems going well when one of her cast mates ends up dying on opening night. While everyone, police included, are figuring the death was natural causes, Ivy is not so sure. She starts investigating and ends up well over her head in clues and false starts.

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I’ve read all of Jane Aiken Hodge’s older books (there are several newer ones that I did not know that existed that I will have to read in the future.) I read “Rebel Heiress” last when I was eighteen. Re-reading it as an adult makes a world of difference in understanding some of the nuances of the story.

In this book, Henrietta Marchmont’s American aunt has just passed away – leaving her with precious little while giving the bulk of her estate to the church. Henrietta find information about her father (Lord Marchmont) in England and is able to get passage on an English boat just ahead of the War of 1812. The story is what happens to Henrietta once she makes her way to England and, eventually, to her father’s home.

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I’ve read a number of Lauren Willig’s earlier books and enjoyed them. When I read “The English Wife”, I was happily surprised at how much the author has grown in her ability to weave a multi-level story and keep my interest riveted throughout the book.

In this book, the story switches back and forth between events in the past and those in the present time of the story (1899.)

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This is the first book I have read by Molly MacRae. It is also the second book in this series. I felt a little lost as far as the many characters in this book and I feel that had I read the first book in the series, I might have understood who was who and why they were in the story.

After getting through that bit of a hump, I enjoyed the story. There are references to the last book but not so much that it gives away the plot line of it.

In this story, a prodigal daughter returns home again to the small town in Scotland where she was raised. She is a famous author who has been living in the wilds of Canada. Literally, the wilds. She lives in a cabin in the middle of nowhere. While she is not an appealing individual, as the story evolves, one discovers why she acts as unpleasant as she does.

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This is the second book in this series I have read. The first one was a bit confusing to me but now that I have a background in the story, this new book flowed well for me. Because of this, I suggest reading the books in order. It will help keep the characters straight and also give you a chance to see the development of the plot line and characters as the story moves rapidly from book to book.

It can hot in Southern California where almost no one has air conditioning. I know as I lived there most of my life. The local of the book is a beach side community near LA – I’m kind of reminded of Hermonsa or Redondo Beach. The people in this town are fairly close (which wasn’t my experience in LA!) but nice to know there are areas were there is still a small town vibe in such an urban spot.

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While I am a Christian, I rarely read Christian fiction. Perhaps that is why “The House on Foster Hill” did not resonate as well with me. I was looking for a story with a Christian message (or perhaps just a few references to Scripture) and instead found myself reading a suspense book with a mystery that was, unfortunately, all too easy to solve.

This story is set in two time periods, present and a little over a hundred years in the past. The setting, Foster Hill House, is the same; however, the characters are quite different. In the past, we have Ivy Thorpe who has turned away from God after her beloved brother has passed and she has immersed herself in remembrances of the dead. In the present, there is Kaine Prescott, a young woman who has also pulled back her belief after her husband’s death.

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This is only the second Dean Koontz book that I have read and nothing about “Ashley Bell” could have prepared me for this hard-driving thriller. In “The Whispering Room”, Jane Hawk has already discovered much of the plans of an elite group who are intent on pressing their vision of the future (and the rewrite of history) to their view.

Jane is a one-woman wreaking crew who is sworn to try to stop this from happening. By the end of the book, I have to say that if anyone could stop a huge conspiracy, it would be this woman.

The author has given her a personality that feels strong and yet still womanly. She loves children and she hates those who would hurt them and destroy their futures. Pretty simple, right?

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I’ve read all three books in this series and am really impressed by the developing plot and characters in the stories. I highly suggest reading the books in order so you can understand how characters have evolved and gone from point A to point B.

Megan Sawyer has thoroughly moved from the legal practice she left at the beginning of books one. She is now a farmer and owns a diner in the small town of Winsome, PA. She is trying to make a go of it and figure out how to bring in much needed revenue during the winter months. She’s also in the midst of a developing relationship with the town vet after being crushed when her beloved young husband died in service to his country several years before.

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This is the first mystery I have read by J.R. Ripley. When I picked it up, I had no idea that it was sixth in a series. The book starts with relationships in place but, for the most part, it was very easy to pick up those relationship (though without history, of course) and let the logically written plot run its course.

The whodunnit was something I figured out during the course of the book because of a few hints; however, there were the red herrings left that steered me off course from time to time.

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This is the first story I have read by Anne Perry but it will certainly not be the last. I am guessing from the tone of the book that the protagonist, Mariah Ellison, plays a part in other books in Ms. Perry’s various series. That alone is enough to have me go seek those books out to read them. I found that the book was very easy to read as a stand-alone but would probably flow even better if a reader has more background on this character.

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