The Solstice

The Solstice by Matt Brolly
9/17/24; 300 pages
Thomas & Mercer
DI Louise Blackwell #7

The Solstice by Matt Brolly is a very highly recommended procedural and the seventh book in the DI Louise Blackwell series.

In a cave near Weston, cave explorers (called potholers) discover the bones of a child. On her first day back from maternity leave, DI Louise Blackwell immediately finds herself leading the investigation with a new partner, DC Miles Boothroyd. The bones are identified as belonging to Hugo Latchford, a boy who went missing a decade ago, and whose parents belonged to an eco-pagan commune. It’s not long before rumors that he was sacrificed in a midsummer ritual resurface. Since the cult is still active and the summer solstice is fast approaching, the fear is very real that they may be planning another sacrifice.

The well-written plot moves at a quick pace with new discoveries seamlessly propelling the action forward. The narrative is mainly following Louise and the investigation with a few chapters from the point-of-view of Fiona, a member of the commune, who is afraid her son may be targeted next. The group is actually already secretly under surveillance for financial crimes by DI Pepperstone, who is less than happy with Louise also looking into the group members.

The case is complex, disturbing, and intense. Louise throws herself completely into the investigation hoping for answers before there is another victim. She is also experiencing guilt over missing time with her children due to work. This leaves her wondering if she should leave the force or if a potential promotion to DCI would help.

Even though this is the seventh book in the series, The Solstice can be read as a stand-alone novel too. There is enough background information about DI Louise Blackwell provided to easily follow the story. The case is solved in a heart-stopping ending, but Louise's personal quandaries are left as a cliff hanger for the next novel. Thanks to Thomas & Mercer for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The Camborne Killings

The Camborne Killings by Sally Rigby
9/13/24; 240 pages
Storm Publishing
Cornwall Murder Mystery #4

The Camborne Killings by Sally Rigby is a very highly recommended procedural and the fourth book in the Cornwall Murder Mystery series.

Detective Sergeant Matt Price has a former colleague from Lenchester, Ellie Naylor, visiting him in Cornwall when Detective Lauren Pengelly calls him about a murder outside Penzance. When Lauren and Matt arrive at the scene they see an older woman who has been killed. There is a note left by her body reading "Ten Green Bottles," which is part of an old English nursery rhyme. Since the department is down an officer, Matt ask Ellie, who has exceptional research skills, if she could assist. She quickly identify the victim as Carmel Driscoll, a former police officer, and additional helpful information for the investigation. When a second former officer is found murdered with the note "Nine Green Bottles" nearby, Lauren and Matt realize they could be dealing with a serial killer.

The Camborne Killings is a well-written, fast-paced murder investigation with ties to a decades-old case and the Camborne Criminal Investigation Department in the 1990s. The fast pace helps keep interest high while the complexity of the investigation, rumors of corruption, and the sense that more victims could soon follow create an intense atmosphere that will have you glued to the pages.

The team is working increasingly well together with Matt helping Lauren temper her abruptness with others. It was good to see Ellie providing excellent assistance to the case with her research skills. These are known characters for those who are following the series and author, but those new readers can easily read The Camborne Killings as a standalone novel. Thanks to Storm Publishing for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

My Sister's Boyfriend

My Sister's Boyfriend by Nicola Marsh
9/9/24; 266 pages
Bookouture
Martino Bay #2

My Sister's Boyfriend by Nicola Marsh is a recommended psychological thriller. It is highly recommended if you read the first book in the series, My Sister’s Husband.

Brooke has a new boyfriend, Noel. This is her first adult relationship. Brooke, who met Noel through her housekeeper, Hazel, is totally smitten with him. Her sister Lizzie, a psychologist, does not trust Noel, an ex-con. She wants to protect Brooke, who is juggling a new job while taking care of her daughter, Hope. After events from the past, the sister's are both estranged their Aunt Alice and working through their own troubled relationship for the sake of Hope. 

This is a tangled web of lies, secrets, threats, deception, and twists. Each chapter in the narrative is told through the individual point-of-view of either Brooke, Lizzie, or Noel. There is a whole lot going on in the plot concerning various plot threads along with all the numerous lies and secrets that abound in this very dysfunctional family.

Since this is the second book in the Martino Bay series, I think it would be beneficial to read the first book before My Sister's Boyfriend. Alas, I didn't read My Sister’s Husband before My Sister's Boyfriend and had a struggle session untangling all the characters and plot threads that were originally established in the first book. I did figure it all out but I sincerely think I would have enjoyed the novel more if I knew the backstory and wasn't trying to figure out all the previous family drama. There were also a few twists that were predictable. Thanks to Bookouture for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

Here One Moment

Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty
9/10/24; 512 pages
Crown Publishing

Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty is a very highly recommended psychological thriller that explores existential questions regarding free will versus destiny. Here One Moment asks the questions: What would you do if you knew when you were going to die? Would you do things differently? Would you try to dodge your destiny?

After a long delay, a short domestic flight proceeds smoothly from Hobart, Australia, to Sydney. This ordinary flight turns extraordinary when an unremarkable older woman wearing a brooch stands up, counts to three, and then proceeds to walk down the aisle while proclaiming the cause of death and age at death for each passenger she encounters before the cabin crew intervenes. She also states, “Fate won’t be fought.”

For some passengers the date is far in the future and they laugh it off, but for some passengers their predicted deaths are not far away at all. Allegra Patel is predicted to die at 28 from self-harm on her 28th birthday. Ethan Chang, 29, will die at age 30 from assault. Leo, 42, will die at age 43 in a workplace accident. For Dom and Eve, a young couple on their honeymoon, she is predicted to die young at 25, from "intimate partner homicide." Sue and Max O’Sullivan are told he will into his 90s while she will die soon from pancreatic cancer.  Paula Binici learns her baby Timmy will die at age 7 from drowning.

A few months after the flight one passenger, Kayla, dies exactly as she predicted. Then two more passengers die as she predicted. The woman making the predictions is now nicknamed “The Death Lady” and no one is laughing off her predictions. In fact, they are trying to find out who she is. Her real name is Cherry Lockwood. She grew up with a mother who was a psychic who went by the name of Madame Mae, but does she actually posses any psychic ability?

Here One Moment is a well-written, intriguing, articulate, and compelling novel that follows a series of characters as they deal with the predictions handed to them by The Death Lady. It is a long book, but the short chapters make the length feel more reasonable and the pages fly by quickly. The chapters alternate between the point-of-view of the different characters, keeping the tension is high throughout the novel as you wait to see if someone dies and how they are dealing with everything.

The diverse cast of characters are all fully realized individuals whose flaws and strengths are clearly developed realistically as they deal with their predicted demise. I was invested in the lives of these characters. Cherry's life and background is also presented in much detail, making her a real person and not the horrific Death Lady that she is presumed to be from the flight. Her chapters could have been edited a bit to lessen the length of the novel. And, in actuality, I was more interested in the other characters dealing with the question of their impending fate.

The final denouement of Here One Moment is pitch perfect and pulled it all together nicely. Thanks to Crown Publishing for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

Den of Iniquity

Den of Iniquity by J. A. Jance
9/10/24; 368 pages
HarperCollins
J. P. Beaumont #26

Den of Iniquity by J. A. Jance is a very highly recommended investigative mystery and the 26th novel in the J. P. Beaumont series.

J. P. Beaumont (Beau), currently a private investigator, formerly a Seattle homicide cop, undertakes cases both personal and professional in 2020, just before the lockdown occurs in this outing. First, his grandson, Kyle Cartwright, 18, shows up at his home in Bellingham, Washington, and asks to live with Beau and Mel and finish high school there. His parents are splitting up. His mother, Beau's daughter, has moved out. His father has a younger, pregnant girlfriend living with him and Kyle doesn't want to live there anymore. Beau begins looking into the girlfriend by running a background check and makes some discoveries.

Next, a friend asks Beau to look into the case of Darius Jackson, a young man whose death of a fentanyl overdose was ruled accidental. His grandmother has some legitimate questions about it. She says he was not using and has suspicions that something else happened. Beau begins looking into the death and his investigation leads him to uncover similar mysterious deaths that all point to a most unlikely suspect.

Beau is a great character and it is a pleasure to follow along as he investigates. As a character, Beau is very appealing, witty, and insightful. He and Mel, who is still working as the Police Chief of Bellingham, Washington, have a good relationship and work together well adding their grandson to the household. I appreciated their understanding and wisdom in helping Kyle handle the personal, emotional situation he is in. They provided him gentle but good advice. 

In this well-written investigation, both cases are interesting, complex, and compelling, which means following the discoveries as Beau looks into things is highly entertaining. The plot moves at a smooth, quick pace and held my complete attention. Even though this is the 26th novel in the series, there is enough background information provided to easily slip into the lives of these well established characters. 

This is an excellent addition to the series. Thanks to HarperCollins for providing me with an advance reader's copy. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The Essential Elizabeth Stone

The Essential Elizabeth Stone by Jennifer Banash
9/10/24; 301 pages
Lake Union Publishing 

The Essential Elizabeth Stone by Jennifer Banash is a highly recommended domestic drama about a Martha-Stewart-like character and her daughter.

Through her renowned parties, books, and TV show, Elizabeth Stone was a food and lifestyle icon for thirty years before her sudden death. She left her multimillion-dollar empire to her daughter, Juliet. A year later Juliet is still mourning the loss of her beloved mothers and is struggling to fill her mother's shoes. The company is in financial trouble and the idea of writing the definitive biography of her mother is set forth as a way to keep the company solvent.

While researching her mother's past with writer Noah Sharpe, he discovers that Elizabeth Stone never existed and the story she often told about her childhood in Bar Harbor, Maine, was a fabrication. The two set out together to discover who Elizabeth Stone really was. They find out she was originally Billie (Elizabeth) Abbot and did not come from a life of privilege. She worked her way up from nothing to become the entertainment brand known across the world.

The narrative alternates between chapters following Juliet's research into her mother's past and chapters set in the past as Billie struggles to make her way in the world. The alternating viewpoints works out quite well in the plot and will keep interest high in both time lines. It makes a clear point that secrets and lies are not always what they seem to be and not always devious.

With each new fact, emotional details, and surprises uncovered, Juliet's emotions are expertly captured and shared. Billie's emotions are equally well presented. Readers will come to appreciate both of these complicated women, mother and daughter, and what they encounter along the way. Thanks to Lake Union Publishing for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

 

Calico

Calico by Lee Goldberg
9/3/24 (original release Nov. 2023); 416 pages
Severn House

Calico by Lee Goldberg is a very highly recommended and very entertaining fusion of a procedural, historical western, and science fiction novel.

In Barstow, California, a city in the Mojave desert, detective Beth McDade is now working after a fall from grace banishes her from the LAPD. The first strange case she encounters is a man who is killed after he runs in front of an RV outside Peggy Sue’s in Yermo. By all appearances he appears to have come out of the 1800s. Oddly enough, next an extinct grizzly is killed after attacking a camper. Then Owen Slader, a chef and food writer, completely disappears on his way from Las Vegas to LA with no trace and no car. While she is search for leads, his bones, buried in a coffin, are found a week later. They appear to be over 100 years old. Beth is suspicious that the nearby Marine Corps Logistics Base may be involved, although they deny everything.

The novel follows two story lines in two different time periods. The present day follows along with Beth as she investigates. The second follows Owen back in the 1880s. I'll freely admit that the novel became more interesting as both stories were further explored and I was hooked. Admittedly, you have to suspend disbelief along the way, but once the dual narratives both got going I was totally immersed.

Beth is a highly flawed character, She drinks too much and makes poor personal choices. I can't say I really liked her, but by the end of the novel I did respect her insight and intelligence during her investigation. Owen is more likeable character while being thrust into a surreal situation that forces him to make a way for himself. The descriptions alone of life in the 1880s are great. There are many other characters in both time lines that fall clearly on the side of good or bad.

This is a very entertaining compelling blend of three different genres with many clever scenes and moments along the way. Realistic, nope, but sit back, read, enjoy, and picture the movie Calico would make. Thanks to Severn House for providing me with an advance reader's copy via Edelweiss. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.