Bad Bad Seymour Brown - Susan Isaacs

Bad Bad Seymour Brown - Susan Isaacs

Release Date: May 2, 2023

She read

This is the second in the Corie Geller series.  Although I have read both of them, this one works well as a stand alone.

Former FBI agent and an Arabic language translator, Corie is happily married to a judge and step mom to a teenager. She is dealing with PTSD due to a kidnapping and torture in the recent past.  During Covid, her parents moved in with them and are continuing to live there.  Her father is a retired NYPD detective.  One of his unsolved cases from twenty plus years ago was the arson murder of Seymour Brown and his wife.  Seymour was an accountant who worked with the Russian mob, helping to launder their money.  Their five year old daughter, April, managed to escape the house fire by jumping out a window.

When April, now a university professor, contacts Corie’s father because it appears someone tried to run her down, the father daughter team look into the case as well as try to solve the historical one.  Along the way, they decide to become licensed as PIs and become partners in a new business venture.   

With richly drawn characters, and Isaac’s signature wit, this is not a fast read. 

It is more of a slow burn.  The storyline strained credulity a bit as did the belief that Corie was once a savvy, successful FBI agent.  But if you are OK with that, this is an entertaining read.  I enjoyed Corie’s somewhat cynical but loving view of and relationship with her parents.  

Thanks to #netgalley and #groveatlantic #atlanticmonthlypress for the ARC.

****

Nonna Maria and the Case of the Stolen Necklace - Lorenzo Carcaterra

 Nonna Maria and the Case of the Stolen Necklace - Lorenzo Carcaterra

Release Date: May 2, 2023

She read

This is the second of the Nonna Maria mysteries I have read; it works well as a standalone.  

Nonna Maria is a venerable woman whose goal in life seems to be to help and protect her friends and family….and feed them wonderful meals and savory coffee. Through the many contacts made through her years on Ischia, she has an uncanny ability to assist in solving crimes and the captain of the carabinieri is smart enough to rely on her. This time, there are two cases to be solved.  A woman accuses a hotel worker of stealing her valuable necklace; the worker just happens to be Nonna Maria’s goddaughter. Another woman is found dead on the side of the street with no identification.  It is determined that she has been murdered, but no one knows who she is.  Ah!  but Nonna Maria thinks she knows her identity. 

This is a cozy mystery Italian style with wine and espresso instead of tea.  Nonna Maria is enchanting.  She is surrounded by unique and equally charming characters.  There is humor and pathos in this story.  

The book ends with a set up for what seems to be Nonna Maria’s next case; I am looking forward to it! 

Thanks to #netgalley and #randomhouse #ballantine for the  ARC. 

Swamp Story - Dave Barry

esse Braddock is living in a cabin in the Everglades with her infant daughter, a no good boyfriend and his friend.  The boyfriend wants to be a realty show star as “Glades Man” who likes to remove his shirt to show off his physique. When she stumbles across long lost treasure of gold bars from the Civil War, she places herself in danger as there are two disreputable characters also seeking it. 

Meanwhile, down and out Phil, a disgraced journalist, is enlisted to make a video about Melon Monster who had “emigrated” down from the midwest.  This is the brainchild of one of the Bortle brothers, owners of the equally down and out Bortle Brothers Bait and Beer store on Tamiami Trail.  Sure enough, the video goes viral.  

Then there is the narcissistic man who wants to be president, the slimy Miami lawyer, the gator, the urinating boar, the python….well, you get the idea.  Yes, it is insane, but, after all, it is Floriduh (write I, a Floridian). 

This is a suspenseful, humorous, not too much over the top read if you understand Florida; very entertaining, along with a good spoof of social media. 

A lot of the characters and activities here represent the true south Florida…only maybe a little bit more so.   And, by the way, there really is a Skunk Ape Research Headquarters on Tamiami Trail with a stature of the legendary creature out front. 

Thanks to #netgalley and #simon&Schuster for the ARC.

****

Paper Cuts - Ellery Adams

 Paper Cuts - Ellery Adams

She read

Release Date:  April 25, 2023

This is the sixth in A Secret, Book, and Scone Society series.  It is the first I have read and it worked well as a standalone.

Nora Pennington is a bookshop owner in the small town of Miracle Springs, NC, so named because of the legendary healing power of its waters. She is also romantically linked with the local sheriff.  When the woman her husband left her for years ago shows up in town and is later found murdered, suspicion falls on Nora.  With support from the three other women in A Secret, Book, and Scone  Society (they all have a secret in their pasts), and some newcomers in town, she uncovers a mystery that will help solve that murder and another related one, as well as thwart her ex husband’s shady business plans.

The wrongly accused is not my favorite storyline, but this one was tolerable.  

This is a cozy mystery; lots of tea, flowers, baked goods, and bookish references. Beyond that, it has decent plot development, some charming characters, strong female  models, some humor.  And, kudos for featuring and demonstrating some understanding of a neurodiverse child.

Fans of Ellery Adams’ writing are sure to enjoy this latest addition to her body of works; cozy mystery aficionados who have not read her yet should seek her out.

Thanks to #netgalley and #kensingtonbooks for the ARC.

****

The Last Remains - Elly Griffiths

 The Last Remains - Elly Griffiths

Release Date: April 25, 2023

She read

This is the 15th in the Ruth Galloway series; it is the first I have read.  How have I missed this author?  The book worked well as a standalone and although the author did a good job of filling in background information,  I wished I had read some of the earlier stories to know more about the characters’ histories. 

Taking place just after the worst of the Covid pandemic, archeologist Ruth Galloway is called in to assist on a case when a skeleton is found encased behind a wall in a shop being renovated.  Her life is complicated as the university where she teaches announces they are going to close the archeology department while she is also trying to her figure out her relationship with DCI Nelson.  When the bones are identified as belonging to a young woman who went missing twenty years earlier, they lead to links within the world of archeology and a close friend of Ruth’s. 

This was a well written, engrossing read.  I didn’t want to put it down.  I enjoyed all the richly drawn characters in this well plotted and quite atmospheric novel, as well as some of the folklore from the Norfolk area. 

I have read that this may well be the last book in this series.  While loose ends were tied up at the conclusion of the book, I hope that there will be more!  Ruth is a strong, intelligent, capable female main character.  I’m sorry it took so long for me to meet her!

Thanks to #netgalley and #marinerbooks for the ARC.

****

Hard Rain - Samantha Jayne Allen

 Hard Rain - Samantha Jayne Allen

Release Date:  April 18, 2023

She read

This is the second in the Annie McIntyre Mystery series.  Although I did read the first one, this works well as a standalone. 

Annie has returned to her hometown of Garnett in hardscrabble Texas where she has joined her family’s private investigation business. When there is a catastrophic flood, an old school friend contacts her to find a man “who looks like Jesus”and saved her from drowning. Annie’s investigation leads to her discovery of a murder and begins to reveal the underbelly of the town’s drug problems as well as raises questions about the local church leaders.

Well plotted, and a bit of a slow burn, the writing is atmospheric and descriptive.  It is a good character study of small town Texas.  I could see the river swelling and receding, picture the beautiful bluebonnets, smell the approaching rain and the night blooming jasmine. 

It was nice to see Annie growing in her new profession…now, if she would just learn some self defense methods…..

Thanks to #netgalley and #stmartinspress #minotaurbooks for the ARC.

****

Where are the Children Now? Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke

 Where are the Children Now?  Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke

She read

Release Date:  April 18, 2023

For those readers unfamiliar with Mary Higgins Clark, a little history. …Clark, who died in 2020, has been attributed with creating the modern suspense novel.  Of her 50+ bestsellers, her first, “Where are the Children?” (1975) sold the most and is still in print, it’s 75th edition.   

Clark was one of my mother’s favorite authors.  I have read all her books and, out of sentimentality,  continue to do so as a matter of routine, and also because I like them.

In the first Where are the Children? a mother in California was convicted of killing her two children and then released on a technicality.  Abandoned by her husband, she changed her identity, moved to Cape Cod, and remarried.  Her two children from this second marriage then went missing. Suspicion again fell on the mother, but eventually the children were rescued and the true perpetrator identified.  

In this sequel, decades later, the daughter, Melissa,  who had been kidnapped is married to a widower with a young daughter.  When that child goes missing, suspicion falls on Melissa and it is up to her and her brother to solve the case, while also confronting their unresolved issues related to their early experience. 

There are twists and turns and the suspense of wanting to find the truth kept me glued to the book that I finished in a day, eschewing all outside interruptions including a beautiful day outside! MHC books do have a bit of a fairy tailish quality to them.  With some very likable characters, they all seem to end with something positive coming out of something terrible. 

It has been so many years (and so many books!) since I read the first book, I remembered no details from it; that did not interfere with being able to pick up the past history as it related to this story. 

Thanks to #netgalley and #simonandschuster #simonbooks for the ARC.

The Fourth Enemy - Anne Perry

 The Fourth Enemy - Anne Perry

She read

Release Date: April 11, 2023

Prolific writer Anne Perry has published three series, two set in Victorian England, one of which features police inspector/supervisor Thomas Pitt and his wife, Charlotte.  The third centers on their barrister son, Daniel, and his forensic pathologist wife, Miriam.  This is the sixth in the Daniel Pitt series; it works well as a standalone.

There is a new silk leading Daniel’s law office who chooses to prosecute a well known newspaper publisher and philanthropist for fraud.  It is a difficult case to prove and who knows what depths to which the accused will sink in order to remain free?  How many people are in danger from his far reaching grab for money and power?

Do not expect a fast paced, edge of your seat legal thriller in this piece of historical fiction.  At least, not for the first part of the book.  There is cerebral discourse that paints a good picture of the lives and times in pre World War I England and sets up the crime.  Once the trial begins, the pace picks up and it got quite exciting.  The characters, except, of course, for the villains, are charming.  I especially liked the female characters, strong individuals on their own and proponents of women’s suffrage.  I loved that the theme of political power grabbing and even some of the antics resonated so much with today’s world. 

Anne Perry fans (of which I am one) will enjoy this latest addition to her body of work.  Those new to her should try The Fourth Enemy to see if her writing style is for them.

Thanks to #netgalley and #randomhouse #ballantinebooks for the ARC.

****

The Only Survivors - Megan Miranda

 The Only Survivors - Megan Miranda

She read

Release Date: April 11, 2023

Cassidy is lured to the tenth annual reunion of a group of former classmates.  Yet, it is not a happy occasion for what the reunion commemorates is an accident involving two school vans in which ten students and two teachers died.  There is a big secret about the accident that the survivors are harboring and already two of them have subsequently died. Now, it seems someone may be on to them and is after the truth.  Are they being stalked?  Why did one of the deceased’s phone mysteriously appear?  And then a storm hits the Outer Banks making their escape all the more perilous.  

Told in two timelines, past and present, the story slowly unfolds.  Don’t expect a fast paced thriller.  I thought the unfolding a bit tiresome….I kept reading quickly not so much to find out what was going on but to finish the book. 

The characters were not particularly likable; I didn’t engage with any of them.  However, they had all been through a traumatic experience and are racked with guilt, so perhaps personality faults are to be expected.  The book is quite atmospheric.  Some will find it tension filled; I didn’t. 

Megan Miranda is a talented writer.  I have read other of her works that I have liked better, and I look forward to reading her next release.

Thanks to #netgalley and #scribner #marysueruccibooks for the ARC

***

There Will Be Fire - Rory Carroll

 There Will Be Fire:Margaret Thatcher, the IRA, and Two Minutes that Changed History - Rory Carroll

Publication Date: April 4, 2023

She read; he will read

This is the true account of the 1984 attempt on the life of Margaret Thatcher by the IRA.  A bomb was planted at the Grand Hotel in Brighton where she was attending a Conservative conference.  Thatcher was spared, but five people died and many were injured, some maimed for life.  In telling the story, Carroll goes into the history behind the Irish fight for freedom and significant events in this history including the assassination of Mountbatten as well as the hunger strike that resulted in the deaths of some of the IRA prisoners. He recounts the intricate investigation into the Brighton bomb and search for the perpetrators, as well as the background of the bomber and other members of the IRA.  Finally, he theorizes how Thatcher’s survival shaped modern politics.  

This is a very detailed, yet thrilling account of events in history.  I found the story fascinating. I also liked the historical perspective going back to the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 (“remember remember the fifth of November”).

I loved Patrick Radden Keefe’s Say Nothing; A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland and recommended it to many friends. I think this book ranks up there with Keefe’s and will certainly recommend it.  Researching and writing this book was an ambitious project and Carroll provides a thorough retelling while maintaining reader interest throughout.  Don’t let the fact that this is nonfiction scare you…it reads like a novel. 

Thanks to #netgalley and #GPPutnumssonsbooks #Penguin

*****