Tag: Thriller

Blown away by Tangles

I was absolutely blown away by Tangles, Kay Smith-Blum’s compelling debut novel, winner of 13 well-deserved literary awards.

Set in Hanford Washington, where two-thirds of the nation’s plutonium was produced as part of the Manhattan Project, now a major clean-up site, Smith-Blum masterfully weaves a tale of riveting historical fiction, romance and mystery – one full of palpable emotion – courage, fear, determination, hope and love.

Told through the eyes of a brave secretary and a young scientist, this stunning Cold War home-front tale reveals the devastating costs of the birth of the nuclear age, and celebrates the quiet courage of wronged women, the fierce determination of fatherless sons, and the limitless power of the individual.

It’s a story that doesn’t leave you. I have laid awake at night thinking about it and how everyone needs to read Tangles. Knowledge is power.

I highly recommend Tangles for historical fiction, romance, mystery, and thriller fans. I received a copy of the book, courtesy of the author. Order online or buy now at your favorite independent bookstore. Mine is Sellers Books and Art in Jim Thorpe, PA.

Review by Di Prokop, More Mystery Please

Bravo, Blackwood!

All the world’s a stage and some of them are deadly.

The most suspenseful Samuel Pepys Mystery yet, The Drury Lane Murders finds Pepys’ inquisitors working to discover not only the source of financial irregularities in the King’s Theatre Company but solve the murder of a lead actress at the Theatre Royale, as well.

With suspects aplenty to keep you guessing, in this sixth book of the series, author Ellis Blackwood masterfully weaves together not only delicious mystery and intrigue but a dash of comedy as well — much of it at poor Jacob Standish’s expense. Blackwood’s exceptional talent for world building also gives readers a rich taste of 17th Century British theatre life in what is now known as London’s famed West End.

When Jacob is barred from the theatre, Abigail Harcourt, his fellow inquisitor, must follow leads in the theatre solo and becomes one, as she replaces the murdered actress onstage. While performing for the King himself, her life may hang in the balance.

I loved the tying in of characters we’ve met earlier in the series coming back to stir the pot, tying up of plot points from previous books, as well as the laying of strings to pull in future marvelous mysteries.

Tip: If you are near the end of this book, do not read it if you wake in the middle of the night, as your adrenalin will rush and despite the most satisfying of endings, you’ll never fall back to sleep.

I highly recommend The Drury Lane Murders for anyone interested in historical cozy mysteries, suspense thrillers, and 17th century London. I received this advanced reader copy of The Drury Lane Murders from Vintage Mystery Press, courtesy of the author.

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

Review by Di Prokop, More Mystery Please

The Final Episode is worth the wait


Hooked from the very first chapter, like heat lightning, Lori Roy’s The Final Episode sets your nerve ends tingling for the storm to come. The two-time Edgar-award winning and New York Times Notable Crime Book author gives readers a five-star amazing, can’t-put-it-down thriller.

Young Francie Farrow is a sick girl who goes missing from her bedroom while her parent’s slept. Miles away, soon-to-be 11-year-old Jennifer Jones believes in her bones that when she receives her foretold gift of “second sight” on her much anticipated birthday, she will find the missing girl. That summer didn’t turn out the way Jennifer expected.

Twenty years later, a true crime television series recreates the summer that changed everything for Francie’s and Jenny’s families. Claiming to shed new light, bringing speculation and attention back to the case, will the man convicted of her murder reveal where Francie is buried? Is the man convicted of her murder really guilty? Or is the murderer still out there? You’ll have to wait for the final episode to find out.

Told in present-day and flashbacks of Jenny (now Jennifer) and Francie Farrow’s mother, Roy easily places the reader wholly in each, giving readers a finale even bigger than the title teases.

I highly recommend The Final Episode to mystery, suspense and thriller fans and those looking for a great summer read. I received an advanced reader copy of The Final Episode from Thomas and Mercer publishers, courtesy of NetGalley.

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

Review by Di Prokop, More Mystery Please

Bravo!

Bravo!

In A Long Time Gone, author Joshua Moehling delivers a beautifully written thriller full of mystery, emotion and suspense that leaves the reader sitting back in their chair saying, “Wow.”

Life hasn’t been easy of late for my favorite sexy detective. In this third book in the Ben Packard mystery series, we find our protagonist pulling court-security detail when a shooting puts him on leave and under investigation with too much time to think – not only about recent events and his future but his older brother’s decades earlier disappearance from the family’s lake house, as well.

After more details of that tragedy had come to light, a visit with his mother to visit the owner of his grandparent’s former home brings back memories. It also sends Packard on another investigation with life-threatening consequences.

Moehling should teach a master class on creating rich, fictional characters as real as they come. From Ben to his mother, his friends/coworkers and romantic interests, it’s all there with depth and easy, subtle strokes.

I highly recommend A Long Time Gone for mystery, thriller and LGBTQ fiction fans. I received this advanced reader copy of A Long Time Gone from Poisoned Pen Press, courtesy of NetGalley.

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

Review by Di Prokop, More Mystery Please

Clever five-star suspense

From the first page to the last, award winning author Maggie Smith delivers a clever, five-star suspense thriller in Blind Spot.

The tantalizing first chapter finds Assistant District Attorney Rachel Matthews, in court for the defense, in the most important criminal case of her career. Having always prided herself on the fact that she could read people, now she’s never been so wrong. Who can she trust?

Raising a teenage daughter as a single mom is never easy. With old family secrets, office politics, a stalker, not to mention a murder to solve, juggling takes on a whole new dimension for the ambitious attorney.

In this, her second novel, Smith offers a deftly plotted mystery with rich characters, red herrings, and twists and turns that keep you guessing, plus a WOW ending!

I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend Blind Spot, published by Puzzle Box Press, to mystery and suspense thriller fans. I received my copy courtesy of the author.

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

Review by Di Prokop, More Mystery Please

Powerful historical fiction

In The Goddess of Warsaw, New York Times bestselling author Lisa Barr tells the powerful story of fictional Hollywood icon Lena Browning, her — unknown to fans — life before/in the Warsaw Ghetto as Bina Blonski, her resistance missions as Irina Zieliński and her escape to America.

When we first meet Lena in the prologue set in 2005 Hollywood, it seems like an over-the-top portrayal of an octogenarian Golden Age actress, not realizing that Lena was playing a character – herself. It’s a well-honed craft she used to not only survive the horrors of Nazi terror over Jews in WWII-era Poland but to battle them, survive and exact revenge.

With master strokes, Barr paints a picture of guts, determination and an unwillingness to surrender amidst the despicable and heart-wrenching events going on all around Bina Blonski, whose blonde hair and blue eyes were key to her survival. With Nazis in Hollywood, Lena’s self-appointed missions to combat them continue.

Barr seamlessly weaves all of the threads of Lena Browning’s life together for an emotional climax and while the actress may have had a ‘no tears clause’ in her film contracts, they poured down my face.

I highly recommend The Goddess of Warsaw to readers of WWII-era historical fiction, thrillers and spy novels. I received an advanced reader copy of the novel from Harper Collins Publishers, courtesy of NetGalley.

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

Review by Di Prokop, More Mystery Please

Can’t-Put-It-Down-Rainy-Day-Read-Ride

Bestselling author and 2023 Edgar Award nominee Sulari Gentill took me on a can’t-put-it-down, rainy-day-read ride that had me finishing The Mystery Writer in less than 10 hours even with a packed day of innkeeping duties for a full house of B&B guests.

The title drew me in. The prologue intrigued me. Chapter One’s first paragraph had me wondering what I was getting myself into and whether or not I should just close the book. Luckily, just paragraphs later I met Theo and was hooked.

Theodosia Benton left law school and showed up on her attorney big brother’s Kansas doorstep, having not seen Gus since he left Australia when she was just 10 years old.

Inspired by events from her life back in Tanzania, Theo was determined instead to become a writer, a goal Gus supported, encouraging his little sister to follow her dream never expecting what came next. The dream turned into a nightmare when her brother became the prime suspect in the murder of the man, who had become Theo’s mentor.

I highly recommend The Mystery Writer. With engaging characters, as well as a couple of conspiracies, expected and not, you’ve got a gripping mystery in store.

I received this advanced reader copy of Poisoned Pen Press, courtesy of NetGalley. Order online or buy now at your favorite independent bookstore. Mine is Sellers Books and Art in Jim Thorpe, PA.
 
 
 

Have you met Detective Ben Packard?

I loved Where the Dead Sleep! And its lead character.

Ben Packard is the kind of sheriff every small town would be lucky to have and a detective they would be able to count on to run down every lead in search of the truth, no matter where it takes him. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t forces in play, some not even relegated to the shadows, that not only challenge his mission and authority but also his life.

In Where the Dead Sleep, Joshua Moehling offers us a beautifully written, turn-the-page thriller set in Sandy Lake, Minnesota, a small town with loads of charm and just as many secrets. In this sequel to And There He Kept Her, the fact that their acting sheriff, a relative newcomer, is gay is no longer one of them.

With a plethora of suspects in the murder of Bill Sandersen, a local unambitious partier who had married into one of the town’s founding families not once but twice, Packard has his work cut out for him, not only in the case but also settling into a place he knew as a child, for better or worse.

I love the relationships between the characters, so richly drawn that you know them. Ease and tension, jokes and silence, love and violence, Moehling captures it all.

I highly recommend Where the Dead Sleep. When I turned the last page, I was excited for the next Ben Packard mystery (I’ve already ordered the first) and started wondering who would play one of my new favorite detectives onscreen. I’m thinking Henry Cavill.

I received an advanced reader copy of Where the Dead Sleep from Poisoned Pen Press. 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.

Mother Daughter Traitor Spy

By Susan Elia MacNeal

The New York Times bestselling author of Mr. Churchill’s Secretary and the Maggie Hope mysteries, Susan Elia MacNeal has a rare gift for making historical fiction real and relevant in today’s world.​

Mother Daughter Traitor Spy is no exception.

In this standalone suspense thriller, the award-winning author introduces us to mother and daughter Violet and Veronica Grace, just as Veronica graduates from college about to set off on a promising and exciting career in journalism.

Life and our grand plans for it, however, can unravel like the delicate thread of a cherry blossom on a silk blouse. That’s when life gets interesting and can become more than a bit scary.

Based on a real-life mother/daughter team, Grace and Sylvia Comfort, MacNeal shines a light on a shocking World War II-era story previously relegated to the edges of our history – of Hollywood Nazis, two brave women and the Jewish spy ring that worked together to take them down.

MacNeal’s compelling storytelling had me on the edge of my seat, sometimes yelling at the characters. While I was afraid for the inexperienced mother and daughter spies as they infiltrated a Nazi cell, I was terrified for the Jewish undercover operatives with whom they worked, worrying what would happen to them, to their families, should they be found out. 

What makes this story all the more frightening is that you can see current-day forces in play that could make it feasible for these unbelievable events to happen in our country today.

I received a free advanced reader copy of of Mother Daughter Traitor Spy courtesy of Bantam Books, Random House Publishing Group, through NetGalley. This review is fair and impartial.
 
I highly recommend Mother Daughter Traitor Spy. In fact, I believe it along with MacNeal’s Maggie Hope series, should be required reading not only to give context to the world we live in today but to more importantly show how unsung bravery can make all the difference.

Order online or buy now at your favorite independent bookstore. Mine is Sellers Books and Art in Jim Thorpe, PA.
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Comey thrills with Central Park West

The evidence is clear that former FBI director turned bestselling nonfiction author, James Comey, has what it takes to deliver an impressive, captivating legal thriller.​

In his debut novel, Central Park West, Comey not only shows the reader the inside workings of the Justice Department but with a can’t-put-it-down story of murder, political corruption and the mob as told through the eyes of those working to bring them down.
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With his long career, Comey’s sense of technical realism is understandable. During his tenure with the US Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York, he served as lead prosecutor in the six-month mafia racketeering and murder trial of John Gambino in 1993. His chops as a fascinating storyteller, layering in all that detail with rich, well-drawn characters is outstanding – an exciting surprise. I can’t wait to read his next offering.​

Let the record show that I highly recommend Central Park West beyond a reasonable doubt.​
 I received this advance reader copy from Mysterious Press, 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.

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