Fast Boys and Pretty Girls

Fast Boys and Pretty Girls by Lo Patrick
7/8/25; 336 pages
Sourcebooks Landmark

Fast Boys and Pretty Girls by Lo Patrick is a very highly recommended literary Southern mystery and coming-of-age story told in a dual timeline. I have read and loved every novel Lo Patrick has written.

Danielle (Dani) Greer moved back to North Georgia after a brief career as a teen model in NYC. Now she is a married mother of four daughters living in her childhood home. One afternoon her girls coming running back into the house saying they found bones in the ravine behind the house. Danielle knows who it couldn't be, but may know who it was. She calls local police officer Cady Benson.

Years ago when insecure teenage Dani, 17, came home from NYC for a visit she fell in love with motorcycle riding bad boy Benji Law, 15, and quickly became obsessed with him. Her modeling career may not be taking off as fast as promised, but her fixation on Benji is overwhelming, although seemingly not reciprocated in kind. He was killed in a motorcycle accident on the road in front of her family's house so she knows the body in the ravine isn't his and still recalls the events leading up to his death.

The extremely well-written literary novel held my complete attention throughout. The narrative unfolds through chapters following events in dual timelines set in 2004 and 2019. Danielle is the narrator and the novel follows her point-of-view. Even though it is a slow-burning novel, it is full of psychological insight, complex family dynamics, and tackles the emotional intensity of a first love. We have both a mystery and coming-of-age story, that follows the folly of a youthful and the realities of adulthood.

Danielle is portrayed as a fully realized individual, with strengths and flaws, especially since we meet her as a teen and later as an adult (who is likely suffering from depression). Her character development is carefully crafted and Patrick manages to capture the heartbreak, confusion, and resignation she experiences in pitch-perfect prose that is both insightful and poignant.

When the realization of what happened becomes clear toward the end with clues provided in the plot, it is both surprising and shocking, yet somehow understandable. I may be an outlier in my love and appreciation of Fast Boys and Pretty Girls, but I was completely immersed in the novel from start to finish.

Fast Boys and Pretty Girls is a perfect choice for those who enjoy literary novels, Southern fiction, mysteries, and coming-of-age stories. Thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

Them Bones

Them Bones by David Housewright
6/24/25; 320 pages
St. Martin's Press
Rushmore McKenzie #22  

Them Bones by David Housewright is a highly recommended investigative mystery and the 22nd novel featuring unofficial P.I. Rushmore McKenzie. This outing is a search for a stolen dinosaur skull.

Angela Bjork saved McKenzie's life seven years ago and now she needs his help. Angela, who is now a doctoral candidate at the University of Minnesota, was working at a dig site near Powderville, Montana when she found skeleton of an Ankylosaurus. At the end of the season the skull was stabilized and loaded on a truck to move to the university, but that night the camp was attacked and the skull, valued at $6 million, was stolen. When it appears the police investigation is going nowhere, Angela turns to McKenzie for help in finding the skull.

The first quarter of the book involves Angela relating the actions, people, and dynamics at the dig site. It is engaging if you are interested in the finer details at a dig site and does serve to introduce all the characters. Once McKenzie is contacted the investigation takes off. He has plenty of contacts through official and unofficial sources to assist with his inquiries. His initial suspect list consisting of 10 professors, graduate students, and undergraduate interns involved with the dig.

Them Bones can be enjoyed as a standalone novel. You won't have the background information and insight into previous cases and interpersonal relationships, but you will be able to follow the current investigation. The even paced novel provides plenty of clues to follow along the way and the plot takes an interesting turn in the effort to recover the skull. There is some humor along the way and the interaction between all the characters is interesting.

Them Bones would be a good choice for those who enjoy low-tension mysteries and for everyone following the McKenzie series. Thanks to St. Martin's Press for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

It Happened on the Lake

It Happened on the Lake by Lisa Jackson
6/24/25; 592 pages
Kensington 

It Happened on the Lake by Lisa Jackson is a highly recommended atmospheric thriller with Gothic undertones.

It's 1988 and Harper Reed Prescott has just turned 37, the age her grandmother's will stipulated she would inherit her estate and the Victorian mansion located on a private island on Lake Twilight. Recently divorced with her daughter now in college, Harper, who never planned to return to the island, finds herself back living in the mansion while deciding what to do with it. 

The island is the site of tragedies for her. Her mother died here when Harper was nine. Her brother died there. Her grandmother died and boyfriend Chase disappeared on the same night twenty years ago in 1968.  Right after she entered the mansion, Harper sees Chase's mother on the lake, her boat on fire. She calls 911, swims out to save her, but fails and is injured in her attempt. And now that Harper is staying in the mansion, creepy things are happening.

As expected this is another well-written and twisty thriller from Jackson. The slow-burning narrative jumps back and forth between the past, in the 60's, mainly 1968 and the present year, 1988. It is easy to follow what time period the novel is following as dates are given at the opening of the chapters. Chapters are from multiple points of view, including Harper, Rand, a childhood friend and currently a police officer, and Levi, Chase's brother. 

There is a plethora of backstory for all of the characters, showcasing their personalities and past interactions. They are all portrayed as complex, fully realized individuals who all have secrets from the past and the present that they want to keep. The setting on the lake and in the mansion loom large in the plot, bringing up memories and creating a moody, Gothic atmosphere. The police, Rand and his partner, begin looking at some of the past deaths centered around the lake and the Reed Mansion, which is interesting and provides further insight into all the characters.

However, the pace slows down in the middle. At almost 600 pages some more editing would have helped to tighten this up and remove some of the repetitious and extraneous bits. The pace picks up along with the twists and surprise reveals toward the end and reaches a very satisfying conclusion.

It Happened on the Lake is a good choice for those who enjoy character driven Gothic thrillers and don't mind a big book. Thanks to Kensington for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

Smile for the Cameras

Smile for the Cameras by Miranda Smith
6/24/25; 320 pages
Random House

Smile for the Cameras by Miranda Smith is a recommended locked-room thriller and horror movie drama.

Twenty years ago the slasher movie Grad Night was released and became a cult-classic. In the movie Ella Winters was the sole survivor and this role made her famous. However, something happened during the making of the movie which Ella and her co-stars agreed to never mention again, but the secret has weighed heavy on Ella for years. Ella left acting after this to care for her ill mother. 

Now her mother has passed away and Ella is talked into doing a reunion documentary about Grad Night. She has never wanted to do this but all her co-stars in the film have agreed to participate. If she does the reunion she is promised a role in a new film, which will ease her way back into acting. The reunion show is being filmed at the original site, an isolated cabin in rural Tennessee. Ella immediately knows this is a mistake.

There is a lot of potential for this plot. The narrative follows the present day reunion shoot, the actions from twenty years ago during the original movie, and includes excerpts from the Grad Night script. Everything indicates something bad is going to happen and it does. The pace starts out slow and builds to create more tension toward the end.

The characters all slide into their roles smoothly, and all of them have overlaying shadows of suspicion surrounding them. Ella is generally likable, but incredibly fragile.

The atmosphere created is never really that frightening and while it held my attention, the plot never quite came together for me. Perhaps if I was more a fan of slasher movies rather than locked-room thrillers it would have helped, along with more originality and surprises. I actually started skimming the script excerpts because they were so insipid. The biggest drawback, however, was a surprise twist toward the end that left me shaking my head and saying, "No, just no." It also knocked a star off.

Smile for the Cameras might be best appreciated by slasher movie fans. Thanks to Random House for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The Medusa Protocol

The Medusa Protocol by Rob Hart
6/24/25; 320 pages
Penguin/Putnam 
Assassins Anonymous #2

The Medusa Protocol by Rob Hart is a very highly recommended thriller and the second book in the Assassins Anonymous series. This is a great series for anyone who enjoys action-packed plot with a good dose of humor.

Mark, formerly the killer known as the Pale Horse, now runs a 12-step Assassins Anonymous' group that helps killers recover from their violent ways. He is the sponsor of Astrid, known in her assassin days as Azrael. When Astrid stops showing up to the group, Mark is concerned, but when a pizza with olives on it is delivered to their meeting he knows it's a sign from her that something is wrong. This is immediately proven true when a group tries to attack Mark and his fellow AA members, Booker, Ms. Nguyen, Valencia and her baby Lucia at their meeting. After taking care of them, Mark and Booker set out to find Astrid.

Astrid hasn't relapsed into her assassin lifestyle. She has been abducted and is being held prisoner at a complex on a remote island teeming with poisonous snakes where a doctor is performing tests on her. What she doesn't know is what the tests are and who is financing them.

Chapters follow Mark and his present day efforts to find Astrid, Astrid in captivity, and flashbacks to Astrid's past that not only show her history but may point to why she was abducted. All of the characters are portrayed as interesting, complex, and intelligent individuals. We know they all have a past, but their past also gave them some mad skills, intense training, and contacts.

The action is non-stop, the tension is high, twists abound, and the humor runs rampant on every page of this entertaining, well-written thriller. Sure, you have to set disbelief aside, but it is totally worth if for this un-put-downable, exceptional addition to the series. The plot moves along at a lightning fast pace and even the flashback sections work perfectly in the narrative. I'm hoping there is another addition to this exceptional series.

The Medusa Protocol is a perfect choice for those who like thrillers with action and humor. Rob Hart is an outstanding writer. Thanks to Penguin/Putnam for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The Red Queen

The Red Queen by Martha Grimes
7/1/25; 256 pages
Grove Atlantic
Richard Jury #26

The Red Queen by Martha Grimes is a recommended procedural and humorous cozy mystery. This is the twenty-sixth novel in the series featuring superintendent Richard Jury. It may be best appreciated by those who have been following the series and intimately know all the characters. Many of them are present, including Melrose Plant.

Jury and Wiggins of New Scotland Yard are asked to investigate when businessman Tom Treadnor is shot through the window at The Queen pub in Twickenham. No one saw who did it and Treadnor doesn't appear to be well liked, including by Alice, his wife. He was planning to divorce her. At the same time Jury sees a photo in the newspaper of a man who is the doppelgänger of Treadnor. The man is traveling in the USA and unable to be located.

Another case involves Wiggins, Jury’s partner at New Scotland Yard. His missing sister sent a postcard to their mother and Wiggins takes off with Macalvie to find her. The two follow various clues to find her. Eventually the two investigations begin to converge. There is also an incident with a goat and some pigs.

This is a short, fast-paced novel that can be quickly read. Along the way there are some delightful scenes and humorous encounters. This doesn't represent the best novels in the series. It doesn't have the suspense or complexity of earlier novels. The investigation seems lackluster and was easily predicted. However, Grimes is in her nineties now so another Richard Jury novel is a feat in itself.

The Red Queen is a great choice for those who have been following the Richard Jury series. Thanks to Grove Atlantic for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

A Beautiful Family

A Beautiful Family by Jennifer Trevelyan
6/24/25; 320 pages
Knopf Doubleday

A Beautiful Family by Jennifer Trevelyan is a very highly recommended family drama set in 1985 at a New Zealand beach town

Alix and her family decide to go on vacation at a beach town rather than the secluded places they normally chose for their holiday. Vanessa, 15, wants nothing to do with her family, Alix, 10 (but almost 11) plans to spend as much time as she can at the beach, their mother is going to finish writing her book, and their father wants to grill and watch cricket. Alix meets a boy, Kahu, 12, who is also in town on vacation and he tells her about Charlotte, 9, who disappeared, presumed drowned two years ago. Her body was never found so the two decide to conduct their own investigation.

While Alix and Kahu are looking all over at the beach for clues during the day, Alix is noticing other things going on with her family. Her parents seem to be fighting all the time. Her mother, who is supposed to be watching her, keeps disappearing. Her sister is sneaking out at night. There is also a creepy older man who is constantly watching her.

This well-written debut mixes a coming-of-age novel with a mystery that results in a compelling family drama. The pace moves quickly and held my complete attention throughout. With each chapter another twist is revealed and the tension increases. You will be waiting for something to happen. There is so much going on, but it is told through the eyes of a child.

The narrative is told through the point-of-view of Alix. She observes and takes note of what is going on around her, but her age and naivety means she doesn't always completely understand what she is seeing so she is unable to piece the clues together. She is a fully realize character, but is still a child. Readers will quickly realize what Alix is missing and sympathize with her.

Although the novel doesn't end with everything completely wrapped up, this resonates with me. It is the story of a specific time in a child's life. Think of Alix now, as an adult, looking back at this specific memorable vacation and telling the story of it, as she understood things at that time, with the full knowledge as an adult of all the little clues she missed and didn't put together at the time.

A Beautiful Family is an excellent choice for readers who enjoy coming-of-age family dramas. Thanks to Knopf Doubleday for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.