Ware’s Zero Days offers heart-pumping suspense

Ruth Ware’s Zero Days will have you hanging from your fingertips right along protagonist Jack Cross as she races to find out who killed her husband before she’s locked up for his murder or much worse.

The international bestselling author of The It Girl has been referred to as the new Agatha Christie. In fact, the British novelist’s short story Miss Marple’s Christmas was included in the New York Times bestseller Marple: Twelve New Mysteries.

Zero Days, however, is no cozy and Jack Cross is no Jane Marple. Instead of knitting needles in her bag, Jack has tools to pick locks, break into buildings and hack computer systems for corporate security reports. She is also smart and brave and tough and sad, her physical pain and grief raw and palpable on the page, all the while moving the story’s pace in this one-day-read-page-turning-heart-pumping suspense thriller.

I highly recommend Zero Days and look forward to reading more Ruth Ware. I received this free egalley from Simon & Schuster, courtesy of NetGalley. This review is fair and impartial.

Order online or buy now at your favorite independent bookstore. Mine is Sellers Books and Art in Jim Thorpe, PA.

June 20, 2023 0

Welcome to More Mystery Please 2.0

It was about this time last year when I launched MoreMysteryPlease.com in an effort to get back to writing on a more regular basis, reviewing advanced reader copies of some of my old favorite authors and discovering some new favorites, as well.

Since that time, the previous Wix site had some mobile view technical difficulties, which I was unable to easily remedy, so I made the jump back to WordPress. While I still have a bit of tweaking to do, I hope this new site is easier to access, no matter your device.

Thank you to all of you who have followed More Mystery Please with Di Prokop. I hope you’ll continue to join me to explore all things mystery, no matter the genre or media – except horror because I’m a chicken.

June 15, 2023 0

Ukelele of Death

By E. J. Copperman

What a fun read! Humor, mystery, and a dash of sci-fi combine to make a sure-fire hit.

In Ukelele of Death , author E. J. Copperman introduces us to a new crime-solving duo — brother and sister Fran and Ken Stein. The characters play out the true love and drive-you-crazy aspect of any sibling relationship but with a secret bond and I’m not talking about their Private Investigation business helping people find birth parents.
Their names are your first clue. I imagined Fran, as the hilarious British actress Miranda Hart, whose self-titled series forever broke the fourth wall, telling viewers how she really felt. Ken, I see as a cross between Arnold Schwarzenegger and Steve Howey, who started out as the goofy football player son-in-law on Reba and now, almost 20 years later, playing Schwarzenegger’s role in the TV version of True Lies.

This is my first time reading Copperman, known for both his Haunted Guesthouse and Jersey Girl Legal Mystery series.

He hooked me with the very first line. Not only was I intrigued with Fran and the mystery from the onset, he introduced the rich supporting characters as the plot twisted and turned, offering satisfying chuckles all along the way.

I highly recommend Ukelele of Death to anyone looking for a new cozy series and an enjoyable, light beach read.

I received this advance reader copy from Simon & Schuster, courtesy of NetGalley. This review is fair and impartial.

Order online or buy now at your favorite independent bookstore. Mine is Sellers Books and Art in Jim Thorpe, PA.

June 14, 2023 0

Where are the Children Now?

By Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke

Thrilled to see this sequel to one of my favorite Mary Higgins Clark books, Where are the Children Now? did not disappoint.

When the Queen of Suspense died in 2020, Where are the Children? (first published in 1975) was in its 75th edition in paperback and since 2005 has sold more than 1.5 million copies in all formats.

Clark’s longtime collaborator and co-author of her Under Suspicion series, Alafair Burke, a New York Times bestselling author herself, perfectly honored the original story that launched Clark’s career.

Burke brings us the first book’s protagonist, Nancy Harmon, in the midst of a move after the death of her husband and her children, Mike and Melissa, all grown up and in the center of a life or death mystery of their own that echoes the family’s traumatic past.
Burke, in true Higgins Clark-fashion keeps the readers guessing with surprise plot twists until the very end.

I highly recommend Where are the Children Now? for all Mary Higgins Clark fans and anyone one who enjoys thrilling suspense.

I received this advance reader copy from Simon & Schuster, courtesy of NetGalley. This review is fair and impartial.

Order online or buy now at your favorite independent bookstore. Mine is Sellers Books and Art in Jim Thorpe, PA.

June 14, 2023 0

Mystery at Clarke Mansion

By Cheryl Rodgers

In the 1920s, Agatha Christie introduced her fans to Tommy and Tuppence Beresford. In the 1930s, there were Dashiell Hammett’s Nick and Nora Charles. In the 1980s, we met Sidney Sheldon’s Jonathan and Jennifer Hart.

In Mystery at Clarke Mansion, Cheryl Rodgers introduces us to a 21st Century married team of investigators for readers to sleuth along with — Kate and Nick Gregory.

In this lighthearted mystery with puns galore, readers will enjoy meeting the Gregory’s and their supporting cast of characters, as they come to the aid of a reformed forger friend turned chef suspected of vandalism and art theft at another friend’s wedding.

Set on the shores of Lake Michigan, the retired museum exhibit evaluator and her old-moneyed younger husband, put their skills and connections to great use as they become amateur detectives working to solve their first case.

I highly recommend Mystery at Clarke Mansion and look forward to the Gregory’s next adventure in the Nick & Kate Senior Sleuth Series – Mystery at the Museum, where I hope, pardon the pun, Rodgers will throw readers a bone and also solve the mystery of Dallas the pup’s breed and coloring.

I received this advance reader copy courtesy of the author. This review is fair and impartial.

Order online or buy now at your favorite independent bookstore. Mine is Sellers Books and Art in Jim Thorpe, PA.

June 14, 2023 0

The Cabinet of Dr. Leng

By Douglas Preston and Lincoln Childs

While the 400 plus pages lay out an exciting story, with well-drawn characters and plot twists aplenty, I don’t know that I’ve ever been livid when I reached the end of a book — perhaps happy or sad to say goodbye to characters I came to know and care about but never angry.

But then, I can’t remember ever reading a book where the authors apologized and said they are working as fast as they can to write the next book. I had no idea this was the 21st book in the series. Perhaps Agent Pendergast fans may be more forgiving.

While I do still recommend this excellent science fiction/fantasy mystery, it is with one caveat. Wait until the 22nd book in the series is available and thoroughly enjoy both together. Or if new to the series, read the sequence which will be the Leng Quartet, according to the authors: The Cabinet of Curiosities, Bloodless, The Cabinet of Dr. Leng and the yet to be published fourth book.

I received this advance reader copy from Grand Central Publishing, courtesy of NetGalley. This review is fair and impartial.

Order online or buy now at your favorite independent bookstore. Mine is Sellers Books and Art in Jim Thorpe, PA.

June 14, 2023 0

All That is Hidden: A Molly Murphy Mystery

By Rhys Bowen and Clare Broyles

All That is Hidden, the New York Times bestselling author Rhys Bowen’s and daughter Clare Broyles’ latest Molly Murphy Mystery, is a cozy best enjoyed with a wee spot of tea, soda bread and butter, released today just in time for St. Paddy’s Day.

When her husband, Captain Daniel Sullivan, leaves the police department, purportedly to run for sheriff, Molly is forced to move their family from her beloved home in Greenwich Village up to a grand marble-stepped edifice on Fifth Avenue.

It’s not long, however, before she’s rubbing elbows with Old New York’s elite and Tammany Hall politicos, putting her investigative skills to the test, helping Daniel to solve a murder while protecting her family and friends.

I received this advance reader copy from Minotaur Books, courtesy of NetGalley. This review is fair and impartial.

Order online or buy now at your favorite independent bookstore. Mine is Sellers Books and Art in Jim Thorpe, PA.

June 14, 2023 0

The Girl Under the Floor

By Charlie Gallagher

I loved this book.

Truth be told, The Girl Under the Floor first caught my attention because of the author’s name. I though it might be a different Charlie Gallagher, one I knew from my reporter days.

Not so. This Charlie Gallagher is a former UK police officer, now prolific British author and an amazing storyteller.

To quote Gallagher himself, “Coppers scare the best, because the ghost stories you hear, those myths and monsters that sound so ridiculous, we get to see that they’re real.”

The Girl Under the Floor, the eighth in the Detective Maddie Ives series, is no British cozy. It’s an emotional, suspense thriller from start to finish with interesting, well-drawn characters the reader cares about.

Now a temporary detective inspector, Maddie Ives’ and boyfriend Police Constable Vince Arnold’s plates are full with the job, with heartrending family illness and promises to children – some impossible to keep.

Tortuous murders by corkscrew, hiding cupboards and spaces because the murdered knew someone would be coming for them.

Who and what connects the victims have Maddie, Vince and their boss Detective Inspector Harry Blaker and Eileen Holmans (a slipper-wearing, tea cozy-making intelligence analyst), at odds with how to proceed.

I highly recommend The Girl Under the Floor for unbeatable suspense that doesn’t forfeit rich characters for action. I can’t wait to read the seven other books in the Maddie Ives series and hope to watch the characters come to life one day on Acorn or Britbox streaming channels.

I received this advance reader copy from Joffe Books, courtesy of NetGalley. This review is fair and impartial.

Order online or buy now at your favorite independent bookstore. Mine is Sellers Books and Art in Jim Thorpe, PA.

June 14, 2023 0

The Houseguest

By Hank Phillippi Ryan

In The House Guest, USA Today bestselling author Hank Phillippi Ryan masterfully weaves the story of the newly separated socialite Alyssa Macallan and all the drama and turmoil that goes along with a high-profile divorce.

Add in Bree Lorrance – a woman she meets at a bar, whom she doesn’t pick up but brings home, helping to track down Bree’s inheritance from an unknown relative, and an FBI investigation into Alyssa’s ex’s high roller business dealings, the fallout from which could also land our protagonist in prison.

With all Ryan’s twists and turns of the thread, like the best of artisans, you don’t see the true beauty of the pattern until it’s finished.

Even though I know what it is like to separate and divorce and had empathy for her character, I wanted to smack Alyssa several times throughout the novel and tell her to put the wine away and think straight. The cat and mouse and rat game, however, is superb.

I received this advance reader copy from Forge Books, courtesy of NetGalley. This review is fair and impartial.

Order online or buy now at your favorite independent bookstore. Mine is Sellers Books and Art in Jim Thorpe, PA.

June 14, 2023 0

Just Murdered: A Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mystery

By Katherine Kovacic

Old fans of Australian author Kerry Greene’s and Acorn TV’s Miss Fisher Murder Mysteries series and it’s spin-off Modern Ms Fisher Murder Mysteries, will enjoy this fun 1960’s romp with Phrynne Fisher’s long-lost niece, Peregrine Fisher.

Katherine Kovacic’s novelization of the television series will garner new fans as well. In Just Murdered, Peregrine learns about her inheritance from Aunt Phrynne, who has been missing in the jungles of New Guinea for more than six months.

Solving fashion scene murders at her own peril, Perigrine also discovers and proves to the Adventuress Club of the Antipodes that she is just as much the adventurer as her aunt, who was known to use her charm, wits and intellect to solve the most perplexing of crimes.

I had previously watched the Modern Ms Fisher episode, played out in Just Murder, and enjoyed seeing the cast of supporting characters come to life on the page just as much.
Interesting to note that while Peregrine is a brunette girl detective, she still drives a little blue roadster. 😉

I received this advance reader copy from Poisoned Pen Press and Sourcebooks, courtesy of NetGalley. This review is fair and impartial.

Order online or buy now at your favorite independent bookstore. Mine is Sellers Books and Art in Jim Thorpe, PA.

June 14, 2023 0