iiiiReader Book Reviews

“Wings in the Dark” is like a visit back to the old Hollywood version of the 1930’s where men were the tough and silent types who could take it on the chin and the women were good hearted dames who knew their way around an investigation or two.

Jake Donovan is a mystery writer (though previously a Pinkerton detective and a former police detective.) He and his newly married wife, Laura Wilson, are on their honeymoon in Hawaii. Laura is an up-and-coming actress who has a big fan base and, fortunately or not, the two of them keep running into those fans throughout the story.

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“Beyond A Doubt” is the second in the Carol Childs mystery series by Nancy Cole Silverman. Carol is a reporter for a local radio station which seems to be located in Culver City, California. While some of the directions to and from the station (and to a degree, around the Southland) seem a little off to me (I lived in Culver City for almost 30 years and got to know the lay of the land fairly well), the vibe and the personalities of the individuals in the story are dead on for the area.

In this story, Carol has been tasked with reporting on the rash of missing young women and girls who have disappeared in recent months. The story begins with her reporting of the finding of a body of one of the young women, the daughter of a local and prominent judge. The story involves the requisite “whodunnit” which is solved fairly early and then turns on the how and why it was done.

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“Silent Creed” is the second book in Alex Kava’s new series featuring Ryder Creed who is a K9 search and rescue dog handler. While I didn’t read the first book in this series, I have read previous books by Ms. Kava which feature a character who is in this book, FBI agent Maggie O’Dell. This series is a definite off-shoot of that series and Maggie is present and a major character in this story.

There is a landslide in North Carolina and it involves a government sanctioned medical research lab. There is a huge rush to get to the site to find out who and what are left after the decimating event. Ryder Creed is called in by a “friend” from his days in Afghanistan. Once he lands and starts his search, the book explodes into action.

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