The Family Remains - Lisa Jewell

 The Family Remains - Lisa Jewell

She read

Publication Date: August 9, 2022

This sequel picks up where Jewell’s The Family Upstairs left off and continues the stories of the main characters still alive (and one who was murdered), as well as introducing some new players.   The plot is too intricate to try to quickly summarize.  Suffice it to say that fans of the first book will enjoy learning more about the survivors and their offspring from that house of horrors in Chelsea thirty years ago.

While it will help if you have read The Family Upstairs, I think this one can work as a standalone.  

Written in dual timelines and from a few points of view, it took a while to draw me in.  Well written, with colorful characters, the plot is a bit over the top, but it was eventually an engrossing, enjoyable, sometimes dark,  read.

****

The Pier - Matt Brolly

 The Pier - Matt Brolly

She read

This is the fifth in the Detective Louise Blackwell series; It is the second one I have read.

With the upcoming trial of a dishonest policeman, Tim Finch,  who Louise helped put behind bars, a bomb planted at her niece’s school and subsequent explosions elsewhere, notes are planted indicating the detective is the target and only she can prevent further carnage.  Her lover, Thomas, former police officer turned private security specialist is caught up in a drugs caper at his new place of employment. Soon, Louise is scrambling to solve the bombing case, testify against Finch, over come bad publicity, and come to terms with her relationship with Thomas.  Fortunately, she has a capable, supportive team to assist her. 

I like the character of Louise, a strong female leader. This book is a fast engrossing read with a well crafted plot.  Fans of British police procedurals will enjoy it and want to read some of the prior in the series  

Although this is the fifth in the series, it works well as a standalone.  I missed the fourth one of which this seems to be a closely aligned sequel, however,  Brolly does a good job of filling in the background information.

****

Such a Good Mother - Helen Monks Takhar

Such a Good Mother - Helen Monks Takhar

She read

Publication Date: Aug. 2, 2022

 Rose, the daughter of a scam artist, lost everything when her father died.  Now she and her mostly unemployed husband struggle to make ends meet in a neighborhood turned upscale by the presence of an exclusive school, the Woolf Academy.

Despite her social insecurity and his difficulty fitting in, she applies for her son to attend the Woolf and he is accepted.  There are strange goings on here, including a tight group of women called The Circle who run the school, the death of one of them, and their charismatic but suspicious and overbearing leader.  Soon Rose is called upon to enter The Circle, but at what price?

Many have really liked this book; I am an outlier.  It was well written with twists and turns but it just wasn’t for me.  I really had to force myself to stay with the book as I found it tedious.   I couldn’t get invested in the story; most of the characters were unlikable and I just didn’t care what happened to any of them.  Incidentally, I the saw genre of this book as more of a horror story than a mystery. 

Thanks to #Netgally and #RandomHouse for the ARC.

**

Long Gone - Joanna Schaffhausen

 Long Gone  - Joanna Schaffhausen

She read

Publication Date: Aug. 9, 2022

This is the second in the detective Annalisa Vega series. I think it works as a standalone, as Schaffhausen fells in a lot of background information.

Annalisa’s life is complicated.  Her persistence in an earlier case resulted in the arrest of her brother and her police officer father, putting her on the outs with many others in the department.   Her ex husband is her partner.  

When a hot shot police officer is shot in his bed with his young wife present, it is the beginning of the unraveling of an earlier incident, exposure of corruption, and more murders.  Add to that Annalisa’s determination to solve another cold case and we are off on a fast paced, intricately plotted police procedural.  

I enjoy Schaffhausen’s writing (see also her Ellery Hathaway books).  With strong character development, Annalisa is an intelligent young woman whose doggedness is her worst enemy. I look forward to the next in the series.

****

Thanks to #netgalley and #minotaurbooks for the DRC.

The New Neighbor - Karen Cleveland

 The New Neighbor - Karen Cleveland

She read

Publication Date:  July 26, 2022

Beth ’s life is falling apart.  As her third child goes off to college, her house in a neighborhood she loved is sold, her husband leaves her, and she is removed from a case she has been working on for years at the CIA.  Determined to solve that case, she goes rogue.  As clues point to neighbors she had been close to for years, it seems to some that she is becoming unhinged.

This is a domestic story and a spy thriller. Scenes shift back and forth from the present to earlier times in her life and neighborhood.   I thought Cleveland was at her best when describing the breakdown of a marriage.

I have a hard time when women who are supposed to be intelligent and in professional positions act impulsively and inappropriately.  I also find it difficult to believe that a seasoned CIA agent would behave the way Beth did. The more she pursued the case inappropriately, the more annoying she became.  But, of course, since this is fiction, she had to be right.

This is the second book I have read by this author and both have a sub theme of how far parents will go to protect their children.

I vacillate in how I would rate this book.  Despite the annoyance, it was an engrossing, fast read. 

Thanks to #netgalley and #ballentinebooks for the arc.

*** 1/2

Sparring Partners - John Grisham

 Sparring Partners - John Grisham

He and she read

Sparring Partners

Although I enjoy Grisham’s writings, I am not a fan of novellas and Sparring Partners is composed of three of them.  

Homecoming.  The time is 1991, the place is Ford County, the setting of other Grisham works.   Attorney Mack Stafford  disappeared from the town ofClanton;  he declared bankruptcy, divorced his wife, abandoned his family. There  was a lot of suspicion that he absconded with ill gotten funds. Three years later, he reaches out to attorney Jake Brigance (a Grisham character readers have met in earlier works) because he wants to return home. 

Grisham is a talented storyteller; this story is meh.  

Strawberry Moon chronicles the last three hours of a young man on death row about to be executed.  When he was 14, he and his brother burgled a house resulting in the homeowners and his brother being killed.  As an accomplice, he was sentenced to death.  Now 19, he reflects back on his history and his life in solitary.  

This was a heartbreaking story.

Sparring Partners chronicles a family law practice. The founder is in jail for murdering his wife; his sons who hate each other are driving the business into the ground.  All of their unsavory antics are observed by a long suffering associate.

I thought this the best of the three offerings; well worth a read and I loved the ending!

****

Things We Do in the Dark - Jennifer Hillier

 Things We Do in the Dark - Jennifer Hillier

She read

Publication Date: July 19, 2020

The book opens with with Paris Peralta, the wife of an older comedian making a comeback being arrested while holding a blood soaked weapon in the same room as his dead body.  Soon we are introduced to Drew who hosts a true crime podcast, Ruby the Ice Queen, in jail for killing her lover and apparently blackmailing Paris for some unknown act in her past, and Joelle, Ruby’s daughter who died in a fire.  This very brief synopsis may sound confusing, but it isn’t.  

The story is divided into sections, with two timelines.  One involves the present and the other the past, with quite a bit of the characters’ historical backgrounds.  Eventually, the past and present come together.

There are twists in this narrative that I thought predictable and the plot, although intriguing, a bit implausible.  Trigger warning:  The reader is introduced to a very dark world filled with child abuse and the lengths some people are forced to go to protect themselves. 

Yet, this was well written and engrossing and if you are willing to overlook the caveats noted above, an entertaining read.  

****

One Last Day of Summer - Shari Low

One Last Day of Summer - Shari Low

Publication Date: July 19, 2022

 Romance/rom com novels are not usually my genre of choice, but the description of this one appealed.  Or maybe it was the thought of a trip to St. Lucia!

Four strangers meet on a nine hour flight from London to St. Lucia.  All have their own romantic quandaries.  In those nine hours, they become fast friends, sharing their innermost thoughts, embarrassments, and hopes. The chapters alternate in perspective among the four characters.

This was an engaging, pleasant read.  A feel good story, it is perfect for the beach, a rainy day,  or a Sunday afternoon relaxation read.  I’m glad I mixed it up a bit and read this!

Thanks to #netgalley and #boldwoodbooks for the DRC

****

The It Girl - Ruth Ware

 The It Girl - Ruth Ware

She read

Publication Date: July 12, 2022

April is the “it” girl at Pelham College, Oxford.  She is wealthy, smart, attractive, talented. Hannah, her roommate, and she quickly become close friends.  When April is found murdered in her room, Hannah’s statement to police helps put someone behind bars.  Ten years later, that person dies in prison, still claiming his innocence.  When a journalist reaches out to Hannah, now married to April’s college boyfriend, she questions whether someone else was the guilty party and sets out to answer some nagging questions.

Told in two timelines, before (the first year at Pelham for April, Hannah and a close group of friends) and after, 10 years later, it is cleverly plotted with good character development.  However, it took too long to develop the after story.  The before story where all the characters are introduced was well crafted.  However, the after dragged on, especially all of Hannah’s ruminations.   

Still, it was an engrossing, worthwhile read for those who enjoy psychological thrillers.  

Thanks to NetGalley and Gallerybooks for the DRC.

****

A Fatal End - Faith Martin

 It is 1963 Oxford, a time of the discovery of the Beatles and other bands trying to find their big break.  When a band member is found dead with his skull crushed halfway down the steps of a backstreet nightclub, it looks suspicious to Coroner Clement Ryder.  He again requests the services of WPC Trudy Lovelady to investigate. 

This is the eighth in the Ryder and Lovelady mysteries; it is the fourth I have read.  Obviously, I enjoy Faith Martin’s writing (including her DI Hillary Green novels), although I thought this story line wasn’t quite as captivating as some of the earlier ones.  

Still, it is a pleasant read (yes, even with the murder). It is fun to revisit the 60s when the world is on the brink of so many social changes. A woman in a police uniform is a rarity and Lovelady’s abilities are often dismissed especially by her superiors.  But, Ryder appreciates her skill and promotes her successes.  

This works well as a standalone, but it is worthwhile to read some of the earlier books to see the relationship between these two characters as well as some supporting players develop.  

It is no spoiler to note that Ryder has the beginning of Parkinson’s and is contemplating the end of his career.  I hope this is not the finale of the series and that Ryder will find some way to continue assisting in investigations and that Lovelady will fully come into her own.   

Thanks to #netgalley and #HQ for the DRC

****

Fatal Witness - Robert Bryndza

 Fatal Witness - Robert Bryndza

She read

Publication Date: July 7

This is the seventh in the Detective Ericka Foster series.  It is the first for me, although I did read and enjoy a selection from Bryndza’s Kate Marshall series.  

Erika, who lost her policeman husband five years ago, devotes her life to her work, but is finally moving into a new home.  Fixing up the house and even buying a bed for it is delayed by a new case when a young woman, a true crime podcaster,  is found savagely murdered. 

A well crafted story, there are twists and turns and red herrings. It is a fast, engrossing read.  Fatal Witness worked well as a standalone, although if I ever find the time, I would like to go back and read the earlier Erika Foster books.

I enjoy British police procedurals, especially ones that feature strong female characters; I will certainly be adding this series to my “don’t  miss” list! 

Thanks to NetGalley and Raven Street Publishing for the DRC.

*****